He Pingsheng followed Zhao Ling'er all the way to the back.
First, they passed the Grandmaster's main hall.
Then, they walked past the east side of Jade Profound Martial Uncle's Daoist temple.
When they reached Jade Virtue Martial Uncle's Daoist temple, Zhao Ling'er suddenly said, "He Pingsheng, in the future, if you have nothing to do, do not come to Jade Virtue Martial Uncle's place. He keeps a Spirit Beast that is extremely violent and once harmed a life!"
"Oh!"
He Pingsheng nodded cautiously.
Beyond Jade Virtue Martial Uncle's Daoist temple was the residence of Immortal Master Yu Ning.
This was also a palace; although not large, it had both a main hall and side halls.
"Let's go, I'll take you to see Master. Our Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters are all there too!" Zhao Ling'er led He Pingsheng into a courtyard and then arrived at the entrance of the palace.
He Pingsheng looked up and saw three large characters carved on the lintel above the palace's entrance: Yu Ning Palace.
"Master, I've brought him!"
Zhao Ling'er respectfully cupped her hands towards the main hall's entrance and bowed.
"Mm..." A rather gentle female voice came from within the main hall, saying, "Both of you, come in!"
Then, He Pingsheng and Zhao Ling'er entered the palace.
The palace was very spacious; although the natural light from outside couldn't enter, several luminous pearls were embedded in the palace's dome, illuminating the entire hall brightly.
The ground was spotless.
Sitting directly in front was a Daoist Nun who appeared to be around fifty years old. She wore a green Daoist robe and had a solemn expression.
In front of the Daoist Nun sat more than ten Disciples.
Everyone sitting on the futons turned their heads and bodies curiously, each looking at He Pingsheng with varied expressions.
He Pingsheng had seen some of them two years ago, but they wouldn't recognize him.
On one hand, He Pingsheng's status was extremely low at the time, and no one paid him any attention; on the other hand, He Pingsheng's body, appearance, and demeanor had undergone drastic changes over the past two or three years.
"Quickly, kneel and kowtow to Master!" Zhao Ling'er reminded He Pingsheng.
He Pingsheng naturally didn't dare to delay, respectfully kneeling on the ground and kowtowing three times to the Master above.
Only then did the Daoist Nun at the head nod and say with a smile, "Not bad... You may rise!"
He Pingsheng cautiously stood up and respectfully stood in the center of the main hall.
The Daoist Nun said, "My Daoist name is Yu Ning, and from now on, I will be your Master. From today onwards, you are a True Disciple of my Xiuzhu Peak's Yu Ning Palace, and by order, you should be ranked ninth!"
"These are your Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters; greet them individually!"
He Pingsheng quickly scanned the others in front of him, then immediately cupped his hands and said, "Junior Brother greets all Senior Sisters and Senior Brothers!"
Everyone chuckled.
Immortal Master Yu Ning said, "You are currently at the fifth level of the Qi Refinement Stage. What Cultivation Technique do you cultivate?"
He Pingsheng had already prepared. He took out a copy of the Basic Breathing Technique that he had personally transcribed and respectfully presented it to Yu Ning, saying, "Reporting to Master, this Disciple cultivates this, but it is primarily focused on the Fire Spiritual Root!"
The Basic Breathing Technique has no specific attribute.
It is a low-level technique that only teaches how to guide Qi into the body and refine Spiritual Qi. Whatever Spiritual Qi you refine determines your primary Spiritual Root attribute.
"Mm!" Yu Ning nodded, took the Cultivation Technique, flipped through it a couple of times, and said, "It's difficult for you... To be able to cultivate to such a degree with a basic Cultivation Technique, it seems just as Ling'er said, you must be skilled in Alchemy!"
"This..." He Pingsheng quickly said, "I wouldn't dare say skilled; this Disciple only occasionally succeeds in refining!"
"I have a Fire attribute Cultivation Technique here that suits your cultivation perfectly!" Yu Ning took out a book, tossed it through the air to He Pingsheng, and said, "Take it back and study it carefully; consider it my welcoming gift to you!"
"Additionally, these twenty Spirit Stones are for your temporary use. From now on, you can receive the Inner Sect Disciple welfare as usual every month, which includes ten Spirit Stones!"
He Pingsheng was overjoyed, accepting the items and repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
It must be said, being an Inner Sect Disciple was truly good; he had everything immediately after becoming a Disciple.
Cultivation Techniques, Spells, and Spirit Stones were all given.
"Furthermore, there are residences on the left side of my palace; you can choose one. All of your Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters have residences of the same standard!"
"There are also sixteen sets of seasonal Daoist robes!"
"Go, choose a residence, put on your Daoist robe, and then come see me again!"
"Yes!" He Pingsheng and Zhao Ling'er together chose a relatively secluded residence to live in, and also received sixteen sets of seasonal Daoist robes, along with an Inner Sect Disciple token and other items.
Finally, after changing into his new clothes, he returned to Yu Ning Palace.
"Not bad!" Immortal Master Yu Ning nodded and said, "You previously mentioned you are good at Alchemy. Very well, I will test your Alchemy skills!"
"Here are ten portions of the Materials for a 【Qi Gathering Pill】 for you. Please give it a try!"
As she spoke, Immortal Master Yu Ning threw out a jade box.
The jade box landed in front of He Pingsheng.
"Hou Muxian!" Immortal Master Yu Ning said, "Go out and bring some of the wood needed to refine the 【Qi Gathering Pill】."
"Yes!" A tall Junior Apprentice Brother wearing a moon-white Daoist robe stood up and left Yu Ning Palace.
After about half an incense stick's time, Hou Muxian returned with several Utility Disciples into the courtyard.
"Let's go!" Yu Ning said, "Let's go outside and watch!"
The firewood was brought, but Alchemy certainly couldn't be done inside Yu Ning Palace; it could only be refined in Immortal Master Yu Ning's courtyard.
"Open..." Immortal Master Yu Ning waved her hand and produced a Pill Furnace!
The Pill Furnace, palm-sized, spun in the Void Realm and instantly transformed into a foot-wide circle, landing in front of He Pingsheng.
"He Pingsheng!" Yu Ning said, "According to the rules of the Cultivation World, I will give you ten chances. If you can successfully refine a 【Qi Gathering Pill】 within these ten chances, you will have passed my assessment; if you speak falsely, do not blame me for being ruthless!"
A hint of coldness appeared on her face.
To be honest, Yu Ning still looked down on a mere fifth-level Qi Refinement Stage cultivator.
She didn't need such a Disciple.
What she valued was He Pingsheng's Alchemy technique.
If He Pingsheng dared to deceive her, his fate would be very miserable.
"Yes!" He Pingsheng took a deep breath.
Under normal circumstances, his success rate for refining was one-third.
Now he was given ten portions; if he couldn't refine one out of ten, then he truly had no future.
"Master!" He Pingsheng cupped his hands and said, "This Disciple has one request!"
Yu Ning said, "Speak!"
He Pingsheng said, "This Disciple has his own Pill Furnace, and I am accustomed to using this to refine pills. I cannot change it temporarily. I ask Master to allow this Disciple to use his own Pill Furnace!"
Yu Ning nodded and said, "Very well..."
She waved her hand and put away her Pill Furnace.
In fact, Immortal Master Yu Ning's Pill Furnace was of a higher grade than He Pingsheng's.
He Pingsheng's Pill Furnace was a top-grade Magical Artifact with four Restrictions.
Immortal Master Yu Ning's Pill Furnace, however, was a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact with six Restrictions.
Yu Ning then said, "These two Utility Disciples are used when I refine pills in Yu Ning Palace. They have no problems with controlling the heat, so you can confidently let them control the fire!"
"Alright, you may begin!"