He saw that his Daozi was not observing the mountain as usual.
The other had stood up at some point, silently staring at the figure in black robes sitting on the ground.
"Daozi, the Treasure Pill has been retrieved,"
Yang Yunheng spread open his palm, looking at Shen Yi with confusion.
He had not been present earlier and had not seen that drop of sweat roll down; therefore, he did not understand what Yan Chongzhang was so shocked about.
Yan Chongzhang finally let out a sigh, turned around to receive the Treasure Pill, and glanced at Yang Yunheng as he did.
It wasn’t that he was stingy with the Cultivation Techniques of Nameless Mountain.
It was rather that he resented the Great Elder for speaking so hesitantly, not preparing him in advance, almost causing him to lose his composure just now.
He had considered Shen Yi’s talent to be quite good, but he had not expected it to be so astounding.
At least from the current progress, it seemed even stronger than what Yan Chongzhang himself had achieved in his early years.
He had spent so many years and yet had not reached the second milestone on that mountain path, effectively only grasping one and a half styles of the Cultivation Technique.
If it were Shen Yi, he probably would have already fully understood the second style by now.
It truly was a pity, a pity that the other was born in Southern Hong.
Yang Yunheng suddenly coughed lightly.
As if guessing what was on Daozi’s mind, while handing over the Treasure Pill, he also gave a meaningful look.
It was not too late to make amends now.
If they could attract this Shen lad to the Ban Shan Sect and give him a real chance to observe the mountain,
thousands of years later, even if they themselves no longer had the opportunity to cultivate, at least they would leave behind a new and powerful Spiritual Technique for the Sect, one that was especially suitable for Refinement Martial Arts Masters and carried far more significance than other Spiritual Techniques.
Yan Chongzhang frowned, took the Treasure Pill, and stood there, considering.
It was not a concern about Shen Yi affecting him in any way; the age difference was too great, and with his position in Ban Shan Sect, he did not need to consider such messy issues.
The main issue was that in the presence of several Daozi from Southern Hong, it wasn’t gracious to covet a disciple of their Sect.
It would be embarrassing to have that said out loud.
As Yan Chongzhang hesitated, his gaze fell on Yang Yunheng’s face, wanting to discuss it further with him.
Just then, he saw the Great Elder’s weathered old face suddenly twitch violently, and his pupils instinctively contracted, revealing an expression of gnashing his teeth in a loss of composure.
Wei Yuanzhou suddenly called out in a low voice.
Yan Chongzhang quickly turned to look, only to see Wei Yuanzhou and Su Hongxiu already subtly positioning themselves in front of him, while Bai Wu had moved to the back, protecting Shen Yi, who was sitting cross-legged, behind her.
The reason for such a change was that the figure of Shen Yi, who had been quietly sitting, was suddenly soaked with sweat, as if he had just been drenched in water.
Under his jet-black hair, that pale face suddenly showed signs of a sickly pallor, drained of its vitality.
Even his lips had lost their color.
Yan Chongzhang stared at Shen Yi, opening his mouth as if wanting to say something but ended up unable to utter a word.
He swallowed hard, and after what seemed like a long time, he finally came to his senses. Facing the slightly hostile gazes of the three Daozi, he had no desire to explain himself and simply handed over the Treasure Pill: "This is normal, feed it to him... My teacher is still in seclusion within the Sect. If I really wanted to act, I wouldn’t resort to such despicable methods."
Su Hongxiu watched the changes in Yan Chongzhang’s expression.
She suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Back in the Heavenly Sword Sect, when she occasionally gave guidance to the other direct disciples, they too would reveal a similar look.
She had seen such expressions far too many times.
But the problem was... the person in front of her was a Daozi of Ban Shan Sect, with strength no less than her own. Why was he showing such an expression towards Shen Yi?
What exactly had Sect Master Shen done on this mountain?!
"Thank you, Yan Daozi,"
Su Hongxiu nodded to signal Wei Yuanzhou to accept the Elixir, but she did not hand it to Shen Yi to take.
According to her instincts, Ban Shan Sect should not harbor any malice towards Shen Yi at the moment.
But with Sect Master Shen’s high status, and as just a few Daozi, unless there was no other choice, they were certainly not qualified to administer an Elixir to him without his knowledge.
"I suddenly feel somewhat disappointed,"
Yan Chongzhang turned away, as if he no longer cared about maintaining his composure. Only Yang Yunheng, the Great Elder who had also observed the mountain, might understand his current mood.
"I too am perplexed," said Yang Yunheng, finally managing to calm his shock, his face a wry smile.
Having witnessed Shen Yi’s move earlier, his expectations for him were even higher than what Yan Chongzhang had speculated.
But even if he imagined the most exaggerated scenario, if Shen Yi, after sitting in meditation for several months, had managed to comprehend a hint of the True Intent of Shen Yue, it would already be considered a very good result.
However, the way Shen Yi had looked earlier, it was not only that he had entered Nameless Mountain, but he had also seen that mountain path, stepped onto it, and only after standing up again, did he show such a state.
This also meant that Shen Yi had not only awakened to the True Intent of Shen Yue but had most likely glimpsed a part of the Shen Yue Art!
This kid had taken away the true treasures of Ban Shan Sect!
And until this moment, it had been less than an hour.
That Yan Daozi was only somewhat disheartened was enough to show how solid his Dao Heart was; if it were any other disciple who was slightly more arrogant, they probably wouldn’t be able to resist waking Shen Yi up now, to ask what had happened.
Yang Yunheng came back to his senses from the shock, suddenly casting a glance at the three Daozi from Southern Hong.