“I was too rash, I mistook the person.”

Chen Mobai didn’t know what Yuan Chiyi was up to, but it was indeed his own recklessness to rashly approach Ding Ying.

“Actually, the one who went to Nanxi Market with me last time was Junior Sister Yin, but her identity is special. If the hostile sects find out, it might trigger some unpleasant incidents. If anything happens to her, our Shenmu Sect might even start a sect war. So, we borrowed Junior Sister Ding’s identity.”

Junior Sister Yin?

Indeed, she was the one with the legendary heavenly spiritual root.

Chen Mobai confirmed a guess in his heart, but he still showed a “shocked” expression on his face.

“I will keep this matter to myself and will not let anyone know.”

“It doesn’t matter. If Junior Sister Yin fails to establish her foundation, she will not be allowed to leave the sect by Ancestor Fu.”

Yuan Chiyi seemed to trust Chen Mobai a lot, even revealing such a sect secret.

“Junior Brother Chen, in two years, I also plan to retreat and take the Foundation Establishment Pill. However, our faction lacks successors among the true disciples. If you are willing, I can talk to Junior Sister Ding and let you become a true disciple this year.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai’s eyes slightly changed. He didn’t expect Yuan Chiyi to offer such a condition to recruit him.

“Junior Sister Ding might not be willing.”

“As long as you are willing, Uncle Master E Yun is willing to personally persuade Junior Sister Ding. After she gets the Foundation Establishment Pill, it doesn’t make much sense for her to hold the position of a true disciple.”

Yuan Chiyi’s words made Chen Mobai fall silent. It turned out that the position of a true disciple, which they regarded as extremely important, was not that important to the higher-ups.

Right, the greatest significance of the position of a true disciple is the Foundation Establishment Pill, isn’t it?

Those who have already obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill, holding onto it, indeed seem a bit obtrusive.

“What do I need to do to join you? And what can I gain?”

“You can get the care of our faction, but correspondingly, you also need to take over part of my tasks in Dream Swamp when I retreat to take the Foundation Establishment Pill. The group of people who came out of Nanxi Market will be handed over to you.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai shook his head.

If he just stayed in the Shenmu Sect, he would naturally be willing. But the risk in Dream Swamp was too great. Without establishing his foundation, he felt that there was no need to take the risk.

“I owe Uncle Master E Yun a favor. As long as I become a true disciple, I will say that I am one of you.”

Chen Mobai’s words surprised Yuan Chiyi. He didn’t expect to get this answer.

“You mean, not joining us, but still saying you are one of us?”

“Exactly.”

“But without our help, you will need at least five or six years to become a true disciple. Moreover, if you lose this time, the Spirit Plant Department will not lend you a second-order magic weapon again. You can’t wait until the next Jade Marrow Golden Mushroom matures, you may have to wait for the next decade.”

Yuan Chiyi’s words were cold, but very realistic.

“What if I defeat Junior Sister Ding?”

Chen Mobai asked a question that made Yuan Chiyi laugh.

“That’s impossible.”

After this sentence, the two no longer discussed this matter. They chatted about some other topics. Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Mobai proposed to leave.

“Senior Brother Yuan, we met today, but this wine is really average. When my brewed spiritual wine is ready, I will invite you for a drink.”

In the pavilion, Yuan Chiyi watched Chen Mobai leave, put down his wine glass, frowned and drank the remaining half pot of wine.

This wine was worth three spirit stones, which was already one of the better ones in Shenmu City. It couldn’t be wasted.

“Do you really think highly of him?”

A shadow fell, E Yun, with an ordinary face and bright eyes, looked at Yuan Chiyi, picked up the chopsticks and ate the remaining dishes.

“Among the talented people who came from Yun Country, Yu Lian was taken as a disciple by Uncle Master Dan, and the Luo siblings are descendants of Uncle Master Luo. Only he is the most innocent.”

“Liu Wenbo is also okay, but his spiritual root is a bit inferior. Even with our help, he can at most become a true disciple.”

“After us, if we want to stand alone among the true disciples, I think he is the most suitable.”

Yuan Chiyi spoke the truth.

In the previous Spirit Crossing mission, among the four countries under the Shenmu Sect, except for the founding country where the sect was located, the remaining Yun Country was given to E Yun, Yu Country was given to Hong He, and Lei Country was given to Zhou Wangshen.

Unfortunately, among the four geniuses recruited from Yun Country, three were predestined.

Yu Lian was okay, he was a lone ranger.

Just like Chen Mobai, after leaving the New Sprout Hall, he focused on cultivation.

But the Luo siblings took away a lot of people, which made E Yun lack some manpower when opening up Dream Swamp, and the progress was behind other Foundation Establishment elders.

“Let him hit the wall for a few years, then, when the Jade Marrow Golden Mushroom is about to mature, he will come to us.”

After E Yun finished the wine and dishes, he said this.

“Do we need to give a heads up to Junior Sister Ding? She seems to have a little opinion on Junior Brother Chen.””One must endure some hardships to learn humility. Sister Ding knows her limits.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chiyi didn’t say anything more.

When Chen Mobai returned, he found Qi Rui, who was drowning his sorrows in alcohol at the inn where they were staying.

“Did you lose?”

He asked Xi Jinghuo, who was sitting on the side. Xi Jinghuo had been eliminated in the fourth round.

However, Xi Jinghuo believed in his promising future, thinking that he would definitely become a true disciple before the next batch of Jade Marrow Golden Fungi matured.

Therefore, he didn’t feel any emotional fluctuations when he was eliminated in this sect competition, accepting it calmly.

On the contrary, Qi Rui, after reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining, had been stopped in the fifth round for the past two years, except for the first year when he was lucky enough to break into the top forty-eight. This was a blow to him, who had originally planned to make a name for himself.

“I met a true disciple from last year and couldn’t beat him.”

Qi Rui answered himself, taking another bitter sip of his drink.

“It seems that the three of us will end this competition together tomorrow.”

Xi Jinghuo’s words made Chen Mobai shake his head. This guy had already assumed that he couldn’t beat Ding Ying.

“I’m going to rest first. I need to take tomorrow’s match seriously.”

After saying this, Chen Mobai left.

Xi Jinghuo and Qi Rui looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.

How could they take it seriously when they couldn’t beat Ding Ying? Were they supposed to take losing seriously?

That day, the sect competition finally reached the battle for the twenty-four true disciple spots.

“Brother Mu Yuan, please.”

Chen Mobai sat in a tavern, watching the first match being arranged below.

Mu Yuan’s opponent was a true disciple who had already obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill. Xi Jinghuo said it was the sect’s intention to persuade those who had obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill in the previous session but still refused to leave their positions.

However, Yuan Chiyi was strong enough last year to suppress Mu Yuan, who was sent by the Shenmu Hall to clear the field.

But this year, he might not be able to suppress him.

Chen Mobai watched as Mu Yuan, expressionless, knocked his opponent off the stage, secretly pondering in his heart.