Lou Mu Yan walked into the forest alone, and the thick fog automatically avoided her.
The scenery in the mountain was self-contained, the birds chirping, the flowers fragrant, and the Spiritual Force was at least more than ten times denser than other places in the Inner Sect.
Based on her accomplishments in arrays, it wasn’t difficult to see that there was a Grade 7 Spiritual Force Gathering Array in this mountain forest and the Spiritual Stones used for the array should be Peak-Quality Spiritual Stones.
Only the occasional wild animals ran past, and no Demonic Beasts appeared in the mountains. Large tracts of Spiritual Herbs and Spiritual Plants spread all over the mountain.
When she walked to the top of the mountain she saw an elegant, otherworldly elderly man in white clothes playing chess against himself outside the wooden house.
The chessboard was placed on a stone table and there was a small stove next to the stone table with a teapot on the stove.
“Pupil greets Ancestor.” Lou Mu Yan gave a pupil greeting to the elderly man.
Although Ao Rong didn’t tell her who this person was, but judging from his restrained aura and the momentum emanating from his entire body, he was definitely one of the Ancestors of the Eight Extremes Sect.
The elderly man in white didn’t look up. He looked at the chessboard in deep thought, then after a while, said leisurely, “How about little girl come and play a round with this old man?”
“Pupil obeys!” Lou Mu Yan nodded with a smile, calmly walking to the opposite of the elderly man and sitting down.
The elderly man’s cultivation base was unfathomable and although his aura was restrained, he also revealed a sense of pressure even when not angry. Even Lou Mu Yan felt pressured in front of him.
However, she was not afraid of the other party. She looked down at the chessboard, smiled and asked: “Should we continue the unfinished round of Ancestor’s, or begin a new one?”
“Let’s continue with this game.” The elderly man’s laughter was as friendly as a spring breeze.
Lou Mu Yan nodded, looked at the chessboard and pondered. After a while, she held a black chess piece in her hand and placed it on the chessboard.
The elderly man held a white chess piece with two fingers, then after pondering, he placed it on the chessboard.
As such, one old, one young went back and forth for a long time and the final result was a draw.
“HAHA…” The white-clothed elderly man laughed merrily, “This old one hasn’t met a chess opponent for many years. Little girl, your chess skills are very high.”
Lou Mu Yan heard the other party’s praise, looked up with a smile, then her eyes suddenly fluctuated, “Ancestor praises too much!”
She hadn’t seen the face of this elderly man earlier, and only looked up after playing chess.
But it was also this one look that surprised her greatly—because the elderly man opposite her was very similar in appearance to her Master in the Immortal Cultivation World, and even the hobby of playing chess was the same.
She was in a trance for a moment, and she gradually grew clearer with the laughter of the elderly man.
This Ancestor wasn’t her Master and had nothing to do with her Master. They were just a bit similar.
Her Master had an odd temperament, like an old, naughty child. This elderly man had an elegant temperament, and the temperaments of the two were decidedly different.
Although they were two different people however, they still had some similarities, which made her feel an inexplicable sense of closeness to the elderly man.
“Does little girl know who this old man is?” The elderly man in white poured a cup of tea for Lou Mu Yan.
Lou Mu Yan took the teacup and held it in the palm of her hand, replying respectfully: “Pupil doesn’t know.”
“This old man’s title is Tian Xuan. Remember it, little girl.”
Lou Mu Yan was exceptionally shocked inwardly, while she still maintained the calmness outwardly.
She didn’t expect that the other party’s title was exactly the same as her Master. Recalling that she had used Old Man Tian Xuan’s title before to pretend that he was her Master in front if Wen Liang and Lan Si, and the shock and confusion that appeared in their eyes, now it seemed that the two must’ve misunderstood.
“Pupil will remember.” Lou Mu Yan nodded.
“Today this old man asked you to come here because I have something to ask your opinion for.” Old Man Tian Xuan said with a kind smile.
Lou Mu Yan raised an eyebrow and said: “Ancestor, please ask.”
Right now, she really was unsure of the purpose of this Ancestor summoning her here today.
“This old man thinks that you and I have fate and want to accept you as a Direct Disciple. What do you think about it?” Old Man Tian Xuan paused, then added, “Of course, this old man accepting you as a Disciple is also inseparable from the excelling talent you displayed.”
Lou Mu Yan was stunned. Today could be considered the day she was dazed the most since coming to this world.
After a while, she got up and respectfully greeted the elderly man with the greeting of a Direct Disciple, “Disciple pays respects to Master.”
Could she refuse when the most honourable Ancestor of the Eight Extremes Sect wanted to accept her as a Direct Disciple? Maybe she could, but it wouldn’t be so easy to manoeuvre the Eight Extremes Sect afterwards.
But most importantly, this Old Man Tian Xuan was very similar to her Master. Since the other party intended to accept her as a Direct Disciple, just by virtue of fate, she would also agree to become his Disciple.
“Haha…” Old Man Tian Xuan was obviously very happy with Lou Mu Yan’s choice, “Little girl, no need for formalities.”
Afterwards, Lou Mu Yan offered a cup of tea to Old Man Tian Xuan and completed a very thorough etiquette of apprenticeship.
Old Man Tian Xuan took out an interspatial ring and handed it to her, saying: “This is a meeting gift from Master to you, accept it.”
“Thank you, Master!” Lou Mu Yan put the ring away and didn’t check it immediately.
“Master has not been involved in the Sect’s affairs for many years, and there is another Direct Disciple under my name. He’s also your Senior Brother and is currently travelling and training. After he returns to the Sect, this Master will arrange for you two to meet.” Old Man Tian Xuan’s eyes revealed a gentleness as he mentioned that disciple, evidently liking him very much.
“Everything according to Master’s arrangement.”
“You don’t have to be restrained in front of this Master, just let free your temper.” Old Man Tian Xuan didn’t need Lou Mu Yan to be so respectful towards him on the surface—he preferred her true self.
“Alright!” Lou Mu Yan nodded with a smile, asking: “Is Master an Array Master?”
“How did you tell?” Old Man Tian Xuan looked at her with great interest and asked.
“There are a lot of arrays arranged in this forested mountain, all of which are centred on the Spiritual Force Gathering Array, and all linked together. I can’t think of anyone else other than Master who can arrange such a high-level and profound array.” Lou Mu Yan replied with a smile.
“Not bad, you are not only observant at such a young age, but this old man is also very pleased with your skills in arrays.” Old Man Tian Xuan accepted Lou Mu Yan as a disciple, first, because there was bound to be the fate of Master and Disciple between them, and two, he also took a liking to her array talent.
He, himself, had studied the skill of the Path of Arrays for his entire life. Although he had accepted a Direct Disciple before, but that person liked Alchemy more, and wasn’t proficient in arrays, so he also wanted to accept Lou Mu Yan to inherit his mantle.
“Master overpraises.” Lou Mu Yan smiled humbly.
“The Grand Competition of the Six Major Sects is arriving soon. This old man ordered you to participate in all six competitions, do you dare to accept?”
Old Man Tian Xuan’s expression was kind and his tone wasn’t heavy, but a sort of momentum was fused into his bones, exuding a magnificence at any time.
“This Disciple dares to accept.” Lou Mu Yan’s expression revealed a confident brilliance.
She knew that the competitions of the Six Major Sects were also a test for her set by Old Man Tian Xuan. Whether he would truly recognise her as his disciple would depend on the results of the competitions. “Good! You really didn’t disappoint Master.”