The old man was talking endlessly about the glorious history of Qianji Gate, getting more and more excited as he spoke, with a sparkle of excitement in his eyes.

  When it comes to the heyday of Qianji Gate, the old man is naturally eloquent and vivid, making people feel as if they are on the scene. However, when it comes to the current situation of Qianji Gate, he lightly glosses over it with a few words, as if letting completely ignorant cultivators who don't know that Qianji Gate has declined listen, they would definitely think that Qianji Gate is still one of the giants in the Star Sea.

  On the surface, Zhao listened with relish, revealing a look of admiration and reverence. In his heart, however, he was secretly sneering: this Thousand Machines Gate is really too unrefined, having to resort to flaunting old tricks to deceive even a Qi Refining stage disciple!

  Half a time later, Zhao Di was already dizzy and his cheeks were slightly red. The old man finally stopped talking nonsense and asked Zhao Di: "What's your name? Where did you practice before?"

  "Junior Jian Han has always been a loose cultivator, and he has practiced on Fangzhang Xian Island for several years." Zhao Di replied respectfully and eloquently.

  "Square inch fairy island! You're still a worldly guy, huh! That kid A Chi said you're good at refining equipment, is that true?" The old man asked with slight surprise, as someone of such low cultivation level rarely had the opportunity to travel between islands and broaden their horizons. For people like them, the cost of teleportation was simply too expensive!

  "As for what Senior said earlier, I did indeed refine some materials in the past and even earned a bit of spiritual stone." Zhao Di replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.

  "Hmm, not bad! Your cultivation is already at the seventh level, although it's not very high, but it's passable! Come on, let me, the sect leader, take a look at your spiritual root talent. As long as it's not too poor, you can enter the sect!" The old man said, raising his right hand to grab Zhao Di's arm.

  Zhao Di's clever hands stretched out actively to welcome the old man, but his eyes were tightly fixed on the old man's every move.

  The old man made no extra movement, lightly grasping Zhao Di's wrist, then slightly injecting a thread of spiritual energy into his body, carefully distinguishing the response transmitted from Zhao Di's body.

  "Hmm, it's the Five Elements lacking Metal, turns out it's the Four Spirit Roots, not bad!" The old man nodded his head, this result was roughly what he had expected. If one's innate talent was too poor, it would be difficult to cultivate to the seventh layer at such a young age; if one's innate talent was extremely good, they wouldn't have ended up as disciples of the Thousand Machine Gate!

  "Hehe, the master is really playful. By slightly changing the spiritual wave with the Hunyuan Jue heart method, this old man was completely deceived and couldn't find any flaws!" A soft, silvery laughter echoed in Zhao Di's mind.

  "Right, I was worried that the master would be rejected because of his poor spiritual roots! Who would have thought that the Hunyuan Technique is so wonderful, it can easily mobilize and change the five elements of spiritual energy, making it impossible for people to detect even if they are close at hand!" Youlan sincerely praised.

  "Haha, it's also because this old man's cultivation is far inferior to mine, so he can't see through even a little bit. If it were a fellow cultivator of the same stage as me who had formed their dan, they wouldn't be able to hide it in such a mysterious way! As for age and root bone, those are things that this old man can't detect at all."

  "Alright!" The old man put down Zhao Di's arm and nodded, saying: "Jian Han, from today on, you are officially a disciple of our Qianji Gate. From now on, you must abide by the rules of the gate, work hard to cultivate yourself, and make our sect's glory shine brighter!" When he said the last few sentences, the old man's expression was serious, with a hint of a leader's demeanor.

  "Yes! Thank you, Master. Your disciple obeys!" Zhao said respectfully.

  Next, the elder simply registered Zhao Di and then gave him some introductory items. Since Zhao Di had a certain amount of experience in refining equipment, he was naturally assigned to assist a Qi Foundation initial stage cultivator who was responsible for refining puppets within the sect.

  The old man took out a red token, whispered a few words to it, and then handed it over to Zhao Di, instructing him to go report to Li Shibo at Lianxintang on Xiaozhufeng and await his assignment of tasks and guidance on cultivation.

  Zhao Di took the transmission token and bowed his head in farewell.

  Looking at Zhao Di's back, the old man revealed a hint of a smile, then shook his head and muttered to himself in a low, barely audible voice: "This child is well-behaved and has good manners, quite like a young master from a prestigious family. Unlike those little brats like Ah Chi, who have no respect for their elders or betters, even within the Qianji Gate it's still tolerable, but if they were to go out into the cultivation world, I fear that with one misstep they would offend some senior cultivator and foolishly throw away their lives! Alas, the younger generation of the Qianji Gate is becoming increasingly incompetent. What will become of them in the future? I can only hope that the Great Elder's plan succeeds; otherwise, this old man won't live to see our sect flourish once more!"

  Although Zhao Di had already walked a few miles away, with his strong divine sense, he naturally heard the old man's words clearly. He smiled slightly and didn't think much about it, but secretly remembered the "Great Elder's Plan". What great plan did the Great Elder of Qianji Gate have to revitalize the sect? Would it conflict with his goal of stealing the puppet cultivation method during the foundation period? If he had the chance, he still wanted to figure it out.

  Neither Songzhu Peak nor Xiaozhu Peak is particularly steep and high, and the two are not far apart. After walking for several hours, Zhao Di arrived in front of a dilapidated stone temple on Xiaozhu Peak.

  This stone hall is also grand and spacious, but there are many damaged places on the wall, and many wild grasses grow on the walls everywhere. If it weren't for the clean and tidy bluestone steps leading to the stone hall, Zhao Di would have thought that this place had been abandoned for a long time.

  However, the plaque hanging above the gate of the stone hall was not an ordinary object. Not only was it spotless, but the three large characters "Lian Xin Tang" also had a simple and elegant feel, giving people a low-key yet majestic feeling. Although the style of this plaque did not match the surroundings of the grand hall, Zhao Di still praised it silently and walked to the front of the stone hall gate. Although the two large doors of the stone hall were half open, Zhao Di did not enter directly, but instead stopped and shouted loudly: "Newly entered disciple Jian Han, seeking an audience with Master Li, I have the transmission token of the master, please take a look!" As he spoke, he gently tossed the red jade token in his hand, which slowly flew into the grand hall.

  "Hey, you little guy knows his manners, didn't barge in! Come on in!" A man's thick voice rang out.

  Zhaodi followed him into the stone hall, walked past the sky well and entered the main hall.

  Just as Zhao Di's divine sense detected, a middle-aged man in his forties with two small mustaches grasped a red transmission talisman in his hand. With a light pinch, the talisman turned into a few points of red light and disappeared. At the same time, an old man's voice also entered his ears.

  "See Master Li!" Zhao Di bowed and paid his respects.

  "Huh? You actually have experience in refining equipment? Old Wei isn't fooling me, is he?" The middle-aged man looked Zhao up and down, his face full of suspicion.

  "In response to Master Li, I indeed once refined some raw ore, the so-called smelting experience, nothing more than that!" Zhao replied humbly and politely.

  "Ah, very good! From now on, you'll stay in Lianxintang and cultivate diligently. I'll personally guide you through some equipment refinement methods. Once you've mastered them, you can start helping me refine puppets. Half of our Qianji Gate's income comes from these puppets. If you do well, the sect will also reward you greatly!" The middle-aged man showed a look of approval and encouraged Zhao Di.

  In the middle of his waist, he searched for a moment and took out a jade slip, throwing it to Zhao Di. "Our Qianji Gate's puppet cultivation method has three layers, which can cultivate puppets equivalent to the initial stage, middle stage, and high stage of the Refining Qi period. This jade slip contains the detailed method of the first layer. You should study it carefully when you have time. In a few days, I will come to test your understanding of the results. If you pass, I will give you some simple things to practice with!"

  Zhao caught the jade tablet and repeatedly thanked him.

  "There are many empty stone rooms in Lianxintang, you can choose one that is unoccupied and move in at will." The middle-aged man pointed to the direction of the stone room, indicating that Zhao could leave.

  "Thank you, Master!" Zhao Di bowed and backed away, heading towards the corridor on the right side of the main hall.

  A middle-aged man looked worried, and after Zhao left, he took out an account book from his pocket and calculated it. A moment later, the man's face turned heavy, and he muttered to himself: "This month, Lianxintang refined a hundred puppets, excluding costs, and probably made less than three thousand spirit stones! Alas, in order to keep a seat in the Bai Zong Alliance, we have to pay five million spirit stones to the alliance every year, and half of the door's income is gone. What can be done in the future..."

  Zhao Di chose a relatively secluded stone house as his resting place, then took out the jade slip given to him by "Li Shu Shu".

  It's indeed similar to the primary puppet crafting method he bought in the market, just a bit more detailed, and the materials used are also the cheapest options.

  Zhao Di had already refined over a hundred puppets equivalent to the middle and late stages of the Refining Qi period, so the contents recorded in this jade slip were immediately grasped by him after just one glance.

  He then quietly rested in his stone chamber, occasionally releasing his divine consciousness bit by bit to monitor every move within a radius of over twenty miles.

  Around the stone rooms, some Qi-refining disciples of Qianji Gate also moved in. Some even set up extremely simple defensive arrays in the stone rooms. For Zhao Di, it was almost effortless to quietly and imperceptibly infiltrate them.

  However, from the surveillance situation in these few days, there is nothing to be found. It seems that all the disciples of Lian Xintang are quite busy and most of the time they are in the deepest layer of the underground refining room in Lian Xintang, refining instruments. And the refining room has a very strong ban, Zhao Di's divine consciousness can't sneak in quietly yet.

  Before long, Zhao Di received the instructions of Li Shibo and came to the main hall of Lianxintang to take his test. Zhao Di answered fluently, making the middle-aged man excitedly praise him repeatedly.

  After that, Zhao Di naturally became one of the core members of Lian Xintang and received the appreciation and recognition of "Li Shibo". He was taught a large number of puppet refining methods and experiences, which really allowed Zhao Di to learn a lot. A few months later, the middle-aged man who was very satisfied with Zhao Di's work in all aspects began to let him participate in the refinement of high-ranking puppets in the Lian Qi period.

  Having just entered the sect for half a year, he obtained such a prestigious and respected position, which is also extremely rare among the disciples of Qianji Gate. The name "Jian Han" gradually spread throughout Qianji Gate as well.

  Zhao Di, for the purpose of gathering information, would not hide in the refining room like he did at Tai Xu Men. Instead, after completing the tasks assigned by Li Shifu, he would actively seek out fellow disciples who had been at Qian Ji Men for a longer period and chat with them to gather news. As Zhao Di was skilled in one aspect, highly valued by the sect, humble, polite, lively, and talkative, he also made many good friends.

  Zhao Di discovered that the atmosphere of Qianji Gate was particularly special, completely different from the bloody rain and wind outside the Xiu Xian realm. Many cultivators, especially those with more seniority, had a deep affection for Qianji Gate and always put the sect first. This made Zhao Di extremely surprised! He speculated that it was probably because half of the cultivators in Qianji Gate came from this island, resulting in a high sense of identity, and also because everyone in Qianji Gate, from top to bottom, were very loving towards the ordinary people on this island, making these low-ranking cultivators have a good impression of Qianji Gate since they were young.

  And those who are not native to the island, but joined Qianji Gate, also have many who value the relaxed and harmonious atmosphere of Qianji Gate. These people will naturally not engage in intrigue and deception like the outside world's cultivation circles!

  In addition, the Thousand Machines Gate is really very poor and has little to gain. Those cultivators who are meticulous about personal gains and losses may not be too willing to join the Thousand Machines Gate, or they will choose to leave after their own cultivation is small.

  These factors combined to form the strange and isolated Qianji Gate, which is out of place in today's entire Xianxia world, but has a few points that seem like a secluded Shangri-La!

  Apart from this, Zhao Di also paid special attention to the affairs of the two elders of the Puppet and Qianji Gate during the foundation-building period.

  The foundation period puppet, there are indeed a few in the thousand machine gate, but the refining method is only known to two elders. This is the result of Zhao Di's verification with multiple "Shifu Shuobo", accurate and flawless.

  In this case, Zhao Di can only pin his hopes on the two Jiedan period cultivators. Among them, the most likely to make a move is Mo Cheng, who is also in the initial stage of Jiedan!

  This Old Mo is also a man with a story, and this matter has been widely circulated among the disciples of Qianji Gate. It is said that Old Mo had excellent qualifications, and he had already successfully formed his elixir decades ago when he was not very old, originally having boundless prospects. Unfortunately, more than 30 years ago, Old Mo suddenly became a drunkard after losing his beloved, drinking until he was dead drunk and almost unconscious before stopping, even putting aside his cultivation path. The elder of the gate repeatedly advised him with great effort, but to no avail. This Old Mo remains in this state of decline, still doing as he pleases, indulging in drink and revelry.

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