I thought it was getting confusing whenever there was a voice transmission, so I changed the format, and now it's ['bla bla bla'].
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While Aotian remained anxious, with little to do besides watch the situation unfold, he coincidentally noticed another curious presence nearby.
A boy, with sharp eyes and a temperament that didn't match his age.
His eyes stayed calm, even amidst the dangerous pressure of the place and under the threat of having a slave seal forcibly engraved.
His clothes were relatively simple, nothing lofty like those of the holy sons, but the presence, authority, and confidence in his gaze were far greater than theirs.
If someone claimed he was just an ordinary person, or that he was pretending, Aotian would have rolled his eyes. It wasn't possible to fake that kind of aura, and if the youth could, he was already far too abnormal.
'Curious…' Aotian pondered. 'This boy has a great background, that's obvious. But he doesn't seem to be with those young masters. On the contrary, in his eyes there's even an aura of indifference and coldness against them.'
The youth in question had long white hair, wore plain black clothes, and was handsome… but most cultivators were. Still, he stood out, being handsome even among cultivators, and his appearance suggested he was not yet twenty years old.
Of course, Aotian remained confident that he was still more handsome.
Apparently sensing the gazes of the avatars, the youth turned and saw ten men calmly and curiously watching him. His eyes narrowed slightly at the sudden attention from strangers.
'These ten men… why are they looking at me? And they seem calm even under the pressure of these fools surrounding us. Their cultivation is… huh? Strange, I can't identify their cultivation.'
The mysterious youth, who seemed calm and expressionless, suddenly looked a bit surprised at not being able to perceive their cultivation at all.
'Even if they were using Qi disguise techniques, with my vast experience I'd still be able to catch fragments and identify at least their realms. But I see nothing… the only possibility is that they're in a realm far above my current cultivation, or they've mastered an excellent concealment technique.'
Doubt rose in his eyes, since the men didn't seem to have advanced realms, judging from their equipment, which, with his experience, he could tell were Core-Tier level. Still, even though the aura of the equipment was still concealed, he could tell from the details that the quality was impressive, and the origin of this gear was far from ordinary.
"Probably mastery then. But who would waste time mastering a Qi concealment technique? Thieves?" He narrowed his gaze further, considering the possibility he was facing thieves—and that the equipment might have been stolen from some ancient tomb.
'Wait, this isn't the kind of moment someone with a normal mind would think of stealing. What exactly do these little cultivators want?'
While doubts filled his mind, to his surprise, those cultivators really did suddenly approach him.
One of them took the initiative, stepping forward — the youth assumed he was the leader of the group, though the looks from the other men hinted he might not be.
"Hello, little friend, my name is Gu Jian," the man with golden hair and a calm smile greeted him.
The youth's eye twitched slightly, revealing a trace of irritation.
'Calm yourself, Lei Yun, these youngsters don't know who you are… though this small cultivator is truly arrogant to speak in an elder's tone to me, it's still better to calm down.' The youth, called Lei Yun, seemed calm and indifferent outwardly, but inside, irritation had already begun to rise.
Gu Jian, seeing him not respond, raised a brow.
"Little friend?" he repeated.
And yes, this was Aotian's bad taste. When irritated, he had a habit of provoking others to distract himself. And at that moment, he was quite irritated with the situation.
Though not a direct provocation, it could still be annoying to be called that by strangers.
"What do you want?" Lei Yun asked coldly, his tone sharp, unwilling to waste time.
"Oh, nothing much. We just noticed your indifference to the situation and admired it. Do you, by chance, belong to any power?" Gu Jian maintained his smile and asked as if he hadn't just received a cold answer.
"And what business is that of yours?" The boy was blunt, showing no interest in chatting.
"Well, the situation is complicated right now, but we have a way out." Gu Jian got straight to the point, slightly startling Lei Yun with how abruptly the man cut through the conversation, ignoring all subtlety.
"What does that have to do with me?" he asked with a doubtful tone, raising a brow. Still, he seemed a little more interested in what he'd just heard — though only slightly.
It was more curiosity sparked by the suddenness of it all.
['It's simple. We noticed your behavior and found it interesting. If you don't belong to any power, we'd like to recruit you. If you accept, we'll help you escape this situation with us, and these cultivators surrounding us won't be a problem,'] Gu Jian explained calmly, this time through sound transmission, as it would be bothersome if those cultivators overheard.
His words, however, immediately surprised Lei Yun.
'These men… are their eyes sharp enough to notice me, when most are too shortsighted to see? Or are they plotting something and pushing me into a trap? But if they really can help me, it might be a good option. I can deal with such low-level methods as a slave seal, but the real problem will be when I leave the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain… those Soul Formation ants are a huge problem for my current self.'
Lei Yun narrowed his eyes and thought deeply.
Gu Jian and the other nine men watched him silently and calmly.
But in truth, Aotian wasn't calm at all.
At the sect, Ren Shiming and the other inner elder of the Missions Pavilion were nonstop filling jade slips, creating missions and judging their danger levels.
[Mission: Declare Possession of a Powerful Background
Description: Speak with the young masters and ancestors of the various powers surrounding the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain and claim belonging to a force with a Void Refinement ancestor.
Participants: Gu Jian, Yang Shi, …, Sun Yiming.
Danger Level: Fatal]
That was his first attempt, but unfortunately the danger level was deemed directly Fatal. Aotian judged that it was likely due to the lack of evidence and the absurdity of the claim, which would get his avatars killed instantly.
So, he kept trying.
[Mission: Conceal Aura and Escape Underground
…
Danger Level: Fatal]
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[Mission: Take a Young Master Hostage
…
Danger Level: Fatal]
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[Mission: Attempt to Invade When the Gate Opens
…
Danger Level: Fatal]
He kept testing several options, but all of them resulted in Fatal, except for the last one.
[Mission: Lower Your Head and Receive a Slave Seal
Description: Accept receiving a slave seal to enter the mountain. Gain fortune inside the mountain, avoid the young masters who could destroy your dantian, and be rescued at the exit by elder Bao Wuji, where he will threaten all the ancestors of the different powers to remove the seal.
Participant: Gu Jian, Yang Shi, …, Sun Yiming.
Danger Level: Dangerous]
This mission was still dangerous, as the young masters had the authority to destroy the dantian of any enslaved cultivator who disobeyed them upon encounter — not to mention the natural hazards of the mountain itself. Still, it was far better than all the other alternatives, which had been officially labeled Fatal.
When Aotian was already resigned to follow this single option, his eyes fell by chance on the special youth who had caught his attention.
Driven by curiosity, maybe even by instinct, he created a mission — and received an immense surprise.
[Mission: Recruit the Mysterious Youth and Avoid the Slave Seal
Description: Recruit the mysterious youth and avoid the slave seal.
Participant: Gu Jian, Yang Shi, …, Sun Yiming.
Danger Level: Safe]
Aotian was calm when he created the mission, but when he saw the result, he was left incredulous. His expectations had been so low that he didn't even bother to write a proper entry, leaving the title and description the same. Yet it worked. The boy turned out to be even more extraordinary than his unusual calmness in that situation had suggested.
With such a good option before him, Aotian did not hesitate.
Still, while approaching the boy, he kept creating missions nonstop.
In such a dangerous environment, the Missions Pavilion was his greatest trump card to escape from tight spots and perhaps the only hope to bring back his ten outer elders alive.
Back to Lei Yun, the youth was reflecting deeply on the sudden proposal, staring fixedly at the men before him, trying to extract something from their eyes. With his experience, he was not someone who could be easily fooled.
But when he observed them, he found no falseness. Only confidence, lack of fear, and to a lesser extent, a trace of helplessness toward the situation they were in. That only reinforced his impression that their identities were not simple.
['What are your origins to be so confident against twelve Soul Formation cultivators?'] he asked with narrowed eyes, transmitting back.
The ten exchanged glances and shrugged.
['You could say we are from a hidden sect. We came to explore this mountain, but we never imagined we'd find ourselves in a situation like this. Either way, a specialist from our sect has already been informed and is on his way. The only problem is that he will arrive only in seven hours. We may have to temporarily accept the slave seal to enter, but at least when leaving the mountain we will be safe.']
Gu Jian revealed calmly.
Lei Yun furrowed his brows at the information.
['And what does this recruitment consist of? What do you want from me? And why me, specifically?'] He fired off several questions in sequence, keeping his gaze serious.
Aotian realized he was tempted. If he weren't, he wouldn't be seeking so many details. He didn't know exactly what the youth's origins were, but he had already carried out several cross-missions and determined the danger level to confirm there were no problems in interacting with the youth — or even recruiting him.
"We want to recruit you as an outer disciple of our sect. Of course, you can be promoted later, whether by achievements or recognition. In our sect, everyone starts as an outer disciple, so we're not underestimating you. We see talent in you, and if you accept, we can take you there. But you don't need to answer now, and we are not forcing you to accept by taking advantage of the current danger. You may wait until we deal with the situation and decide later with a calm spirit." Gu Jian explained with a smile, without pressuring the invitation, or harboring falseness in his heart.
Aotian had no intention of recruiting anyone by force. According to what the missions pointed out, it was enough to establish a friendly connection with that youth to avoid the slave seal, without needing to force him into anything.
Lei Yun showed a trace of displeasure, almost offense, at hearing "outer disciple." However, when he learned that everyone began like that, even though he had never heard of such a thing, he assumed it was just a strange sect, and his expression softened.
As they spoke, farther ahead of the crowd, some figures sought refuge with the powers surrounding the area. They were generally cultivators from Nascent Soul powers allied in a friendly way to one of the twelve surrounding powers, which guaranteed them entry without the seal.
These were separated from the crowd and placed in another corner.
It was like separating sheep that would be shorn from those that would not.
Because of this, Aotian could take advantage of that time to recruit, since conversations came from all sides, as people fought to find hope amid the encirclement, ensuring he wouldn't draw attention with his own conversation.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lei Yun asked several questions to better understand the situation. After realizing that the men didn't seem to be lying, he did not give a clear answer but also didn't refuse. His silence sounded like a tacit acceptance to wait.
Thus, a calm silence lingered between them as the hours passed. The moment of the gate opening drew closer, along with the moment of the imposition of the slave seals, confirmed by the auras of the Soul Formation cultivators intensifying as they pressed down on the crowd.
Aotian indirectly looked at Lei Yun, who remained calm, and wondered what he would do to help his avatars avoid receiving the seal, allowing them more freedom to act inside the dangerous mountain.