Faced with the bizarre yet tempting offer, accompanied by Gu Jian's bright and honest smile — which looked more like that of a merchant about to swindle someone — Lei Yun and Mu Luyin couldn't help but have their lips twitch.
Lei Yun, as experienced as he was, found himself in a dilemma at that moment.
He could see sincerity in the man's eyes and, in fact, he was tempted by a technique the man described as so powerful, capable of cleansing impurities of such a level with such ease. At the same time, he found Gu Jian's exaggerated enthusiasm in recruiting him to be strange.
He hadn't shown anything extraordinary besides a bit of talent and temperament.
Of course, he imagined that his temperament might seem out of place in such a young body. But just because of that, he, a powerful Mahayana, would not suddenly become a reckless and foolish youth, willing to disguise such inconsistencies with youthful liveliness. His temperament and arrogance were those of a strong man, and he wouldn't go trembling in corners or pretending to be a sheep just because he had reincarnated.
At most, he would avoid calling others juniors and respect the cultivation and seniority of others — albeit reluctantly — since, indeed, his current level was low.
Without understanding, Lei Yun decided to be straightforward in order to clarify his doubts.
"Senior Gu Jian, why do you insist so much on recruiting me into your sect to the point of offering such a deal? I don't recall showing anything extraordinary, worthy of your attention," he asked, looking at the middle-aged, golden-haired man before him, carrying doubt and a bit of disguised suspicion.
'Of course it's because I suspect you're a reincarnator and I want to take advantage of you!' Aotian thought, but of course he would never say such a thing.
As a reincarnator and certified reader, Aotian knew that revealing knowledge about another person's reincarnation was the best way to drive them away — or even create mortal enemies. Therefore, he would never walk that path.
He also knew he was being a bit abrupt in his recruitment, but he was already prepared for that.
Gu Jian tilted his head with a smile, while the other elders behind him looked at the boy with different expressions.
Some rolled their eyes, others smiled in amusement, and a few even raised their hands to their foreheads helplessly.
This time it was Lei Yun's eye that twitched in irritation, feeling that those men were mocking his stupidity.
He felt like shouting: 'What do you mean by that, you bastards?!' but restrained himself from making a scene.
Even he, a former Mahayana, couldn't bear those looks. He even wondered if they had foreseen such a situation and lowered their hoods earlier just to provoke him with their mocking faces.
If Aotian could hear his thoughts, he would swear they hadn't — though with his fingers crossed behind his back.
Normally, in Lei Yun and Mu Luyin's eyes, the nine men barely spoke to the couple and left Gu Jian as the representative to deal with them.
However, the boy noticed that the men communicated discreetly through sound transmission, so he didn't find it strange.
Of course, it was just Aotian in his puppet show and schizophrenia, but no one could say it was useless. Even Lei Yun, an ancient and powerful cultivator, hadn't realized he was dealing with the same person pretending to be ten the whole time.
Be it in mannerisms, movements, attitudes, or aura, each avatar seemed unique, and this was Aotian's personal effort in giving life and personality to each of them.
So, despite having received reactions before, this was the first time the men seemed to be mocking him together, as if it were something obvious that only he himself hadn't realized.
Gu Jian, after staring at the boy in amusement for a moment, finally replied:
"Well… I don't know if this was your attempt at being discreet, but keeping yourself upright and calm under the pressure of twelve Soul Formation cultivators with only a Foundation Establishment cultivation, staying indifferent to life and death under the bombardment of enemy spells, as well as identifying impurities far beyond your realm sneaking discreetly into your body under the disguise of a powerful talisman… that's not exactly the best way to be discreet, or to avoid drawing attention, as you said," he joked, and a few avatars behind him sighed, shaking their heads before pulling up their hoods and ignoring the boy as if he were a fool.
Lei Yun's teeth clenched, and he almost felt like spitting fire from his mouth and rushing to punch those bastards. He had never thought he could be irritated by such simple reactions, even with his strong cultivation mentality.
To make matters worse, Mu Luyin covered her mouth beside him, holding back laughter, nearly making a vein burst from Lei Yun's forehead in rage.
Gu Jian, seeing him like that, smiled subtly.
"Well, now you look more like someone your age. It's not good for your growth to be so serious all the time," he teased, making Lei Yun freeze.
The boy came back to himself and calmed down with a sigh, massaging his temple.
"Ok, so, you want to recruit me because of my temperament? Without even knowing my talent?" he asked, turning his gaze back to the man, filled with strong suspicion.
Talent was the most important thing in this world. Without it, temperament mattered little. That was why his suspicions grew even stronger, and he began leaning toward refusing the recruitment offer.
Gu Jian shook his head.
"My sect is not like the common sects that waste talents. As long as someone has a high-quality root or above, of any element — even mixed — it doesn't matter, we accept. Of course, with your temperament, we can make an exception with my elder authority, even if your root isn't at that level, and even help you raise it in the future," he explained, to the astonishment of the two listening.
Instead of reassuring them, their gazes overflowed with suspicion.
Gu Jian's mouth twitched at the looks he received, which almost seemed to say they were staring at a lunatic, or a simple fool.
"You two little friends, stop doubting the good intentions of a gentleman. Little friend Lei Yun, I have a good temper, but if you keep looking at me like that, I really will hit you," he spoke, helpless before the two, and couldn't help but raise his fist in a playful threat.
Lei Yun was left speechless before that man, and the worst part was that he couldn't detect any lies in what he was saying.
'Could it be that he's a super liar, and everything he said before was really a lie that I just couldn't see through?' The thought inevitably crossed his mind.
Sighing, Gu Jian insisted on ending it once and for all.
"Little friend Lei Yun, isn't it enough to just follow the agreement I proposed, and the truth will become clear then? If I lied about anything, you can leave without issue, and we won't do anything against you. If we really wanted to harm you, wouldn't our current strength already be more than enough? If we weren't sincere, we wouldn't be causing such trouble," he spoke firmly, though still helpless.
This time, the couple remained silent, collecting themselves, because the man was indeed right.
Having sufficient strength truly helped a lot in proving sincerity.
Lei Yun reflected for a moment and thought it was worth trying. Even if the technique turned out to be a trap, with all the knowledge of his past life, he was confident he wouldn't be deceived.
Thinking of this, he nodded. After all, those men didn't seem like bad people, so he decided to believe in them a little and see if he could gain something from the technique the man was so confident in.
"Alright, let's do as you say. I just hope you keep your promise," he agreed, taking a deep breath and meeting the man's eyes.
Gu Jian waved his hand casually, as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Alright, don't worry, we won't act over something so small. I'll request the technique for you now. Will you show your roots? Or do you prefer to give me the technique you're using, and then I'll use that to find a similar one? The first option is better for you, since that way the technique will be the most compatible possible, but the choice is yours," he asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Hearing that, the girl Mu Luyin opened her mouth to complain that there was no way to communicate from within the mountain, let alone send an entire technique that was much more complex than a simple message, but in the end, she just closed her mouth and waited with narrowed eyes, ready to see what those men were plotting.
Lei Yun pondered.
'There's no way I can show my root. Even though it's still awakening, it already shows signs of being extraordinary. Passing my cultivation technique, even if only up to the Foundation Establishment part, isn't good either, since it's too extraordinary and could stir up greed… hmm… I'll pass that old technique I found that time, the one that suits me. Although it's not bad, it's also not too good, just in the right measure.'
Quickly finding a solution, he pulled out a jade slip, inscribed the technique into its memory, and handed it over to Gu Jian.
Aotian already expected he wouldn't be completely honest, but he didn't care. As long as he saw the technique, he knew the boy would be hooked. And once he was, the return would come immediately.
Taking the technique the boy had passed, Elder Gu immediately pressed the jade slip against his forehead and activated it.
Since it was a high-quality slip, the knowledge flowed comfortably into the mind of a Golden Core cultivator, specified by the energy intensity with which it was activated. Still, Gu Jian furrowed his brow as he felt it was taking too long, and sent energy to speed up the process.
In an instant, all the knowledge was absorbed, and he lowered the slip calmly under Lei Yun's astonished gaze.
'This… how did he do that? That was a Nascent Soul cultivation technique, and if he's really in the Golden Core realm, he shouldn't be able to absorb so much knowledge with such ease and speed!'
It must be remembered that the higher the realm of a technique, the more complex and difficult it becomes. Absorbing the knowledge of a Nascent-Tier technique all at once wasn't easy even for a cultivator in the Nascent Soul realm itself.
Seeing such extraordinariness only increased his eagerness to receive the technique that man would give him, for these men had already proven themselves mysterious many times before.
Aotian observed the technique he had received, now in his mind, with a raised eyebrow. Of course, with his more than three hundred minds, reading something small like a Nascent Soul technique in an instant couldn't be easier.
'Heeh… who would have thought I'd find such a thing here. It seems this kid's root isn't simple… a mutant root. These roots only appear alongside special physiques, so he has at least a spiritual-level physique, if not higher. Even if he isn't really a reincarnator, he'll still be an excellent addition to the sect,' Aotian pondered, a small smile appearing at the corner of his main body's lips.
Without wasting time, he processed the technique called: "Heavenly Thunder Fury Technique."
'Terrible name.' Aotian chuckled, and immediately controlled Tian Zhi to synthesize a new technique based on it.
'This is the first time I've created a technique of a mutant element. Thunder… if I'm not mistaken, it's a mutation of the fire element. With this technique as a base, I can start studying how to simulate thunder using my roots.'
He blinked, intrigued.
'Anyway, the operating method of this technique isn't too different. With the size of the database I have, as long as I get a reference like this "Heavenly Thunder Fury," it's easy to synthesize a new technique.'
Back to Gu Jian, under the astonished gaze of the couple, he pulled out a jade slip, inscribed the freshly forged technique onto it, and handed it to the boy under their surprised stares.
"This is the technique the sect has sent back. Since you haven't yet reached the Golden Core, nor accumulated enough contribution points with just a Nascent Soul technique — which are the two essential steps to acquiring sect techniques — you only received it up to the Foundation Establishment stage. But that's already enough for your current realm."
He explained, while Lei Yun, who was already reaching out his hand, froze for an instant upon hearing that, really wanting to punch someone.
'Are you seriously telling me that I handed over a rare and excellent Nascent Soul technique and received a Foundation Establishment one in return?! I think you just wanted to steal my techniques! And what kind of communication with the sect was that?! Do you think I'm an idiot? You did nothing! Haah... let's see what you're actually giving me.'
Helpless and a bit irritated, he pressed the jade slip to his forehead. His expression, which started normal, slowly grew grave and, finally, left him open-mouthed and stunned as he analyzed the contents.
Aotian only smiled, convinced, upon seeing the scene.
Since he was the one who made the deal, of course he knew he would come out on top. After all, he hadn't lied even once.
Now, if Lei Yun were foolish enough to try to escape after receiving the technique, Gu Jian would show that the elders of the sect were not vegetarians.
It was sealed — the Thunder Sovereign couldn't escape from the Infinite Dao Sect in this life.