Shen Yuan nodded without replying, instead he continued to look around, appreciating the beauties. But before Huo Rong could continue, Shen Yuan took two hairpins from his inventory and gave them to Huo Rong and Han Qingyu.
“You can take these as a good luck charm from me, they would look good on you.” Shen Yuan smiled lightly and said to Huo Rong and Han Qingyu.
Huo Rong took the hairpin with a confused expression, while Han Qingyu happily accepted hers with a bright smile.
Shen Yuan watched as she happily put it on her head on the spot with a bright smile on her face. The hairpin sparkled in her hair, complimenting her beauty.
Huo Rong on the other hand, still had doubts as she looked at Shen Yuan and asked through Harem Connect, “What’s this for, Yuan’er? I doubt you’d give us just a regular ornament right now.”
Shen Yuan chuckled softly and answered her through Harem Connect, “It will be a surprise for you, let’s hope we won’t have to see this surprise though.”
Huo Rong still looked at him curiously but didn’t pursue the matter, while Han Qingyu’s voice sounded from the side, “Brother Yuan, thank you for the gift, it’s so pretty!”
Shen Yuan smiled lightly and patted her head before continuing to walk on the Radiant Heart Peak.
As the group continued their journey, Shen Yuan’s sharp eyes caught the sight of several female disciples grouping together and stealing glances at him.
Some of them whispered among themselves, blushing and giggling as they caught his attention.
Huo Rong, noticing this, smirked slightly and nudged him gently, “You seem to be quite the sensation here, Yuan’er. Did you find any one of them to your liking?”
Shen Yuan smiled playfully, his eyes scanning the distant group of disciples, “What can I do if they find me interesting? It’s most likely their innocent curiosity since they don’t see male cultivators often in their sect.” He paused and continued with a smirk, “And of course, one as handsome as mentioned would be a rare sight anywhere in the world.”
Huo Rong, Han Qingyu, and Xun Shuren faltered slightly at his shameless remark, but when they turned their faces to look at him, they couldn’t help but agree that he was correct.
Han Qingyu giggled softly, “Brother Yuan is right, I have never seen someone as handsome as him.”
Huo Rong also agreed with a proud smile, “Of course, you haven’t, whose brother do you think he is.”
Shen Yuan chuckled while shaking his head, “Alright enough chit-chat, we came here for something else. We can tour the sect later.”
Soon they reached a portal with much tighter security than others, even Huo Rong and Xun Shuren had to show their badges to get entry.
After the entire group got prepared to leave from the portal, Xun Shuren paused and said, “This portal will take us near the Sacred Lotus Hall, where the sect leader usually presides over the sect. Don’t misbehave in front of the sect leader now.”
Shen Yuan nodded in seriousness as he knew the next step would determine his status in the sect. He also needed to explain the Ancestral Pagoda’s disappearance without causing too much of a stir.
[Shen Yuan, do you really think you can join the sect without causing too much of a stir?]
Yue Lan asked curiously.
‘That is impossible. What do you think will happen when one of the biggest sects of the Eastern Desolate Region, which is famous for only accepting female disciples accepts a male disciple?’ he shook his head slightly with a smile.
[Hmm, that’s what I thought too, you can only reduce the impact by hiding the news of the Pagoda being in your possession since no one else other than your group saw it. Maybe you can have a talk with the sect leader and hide it completely.]
Shen Yuan nodded, ‘That’s the plan, I still need to see the personality of the sect leader before seeing if that will work or not.’
As soon as they stepped foot into the portal, Shen Yuan could once again feel the spatial fluctuations, and this time, he used the opportunity to absorb more of the spatial laws around him.
He could sense himself getting closer to grasping the essence of the space intent, but the teleportation was too short for him to grasp it clearly as the world around them shifted as they entered the core area of the sect.
The entire peak was filled with so much Qi that it had turned into mist, even a normal cultivator would become a genius if he cultivated here.
At some distance from them stood a majestic grand hall, adorned with golden Lotus and radiant symbols glowing softly on it.
Shen Yuan scanned the area but couldn’t find anyone in sight, so he stopped looking.
He looked at Xun Shuren, “Why aren’t there any guards here? Shouldn’t this be the most guarded place inside the sect?” He asked as he remembered that in the novels he used to read, the place of the sect leader was the most heavily guarded one.
Xun Shuren looked at Shen Yuan for a moment before replying proudly, “Why do you think she needs protection? She is one of the strongest cultivators of our sect. Why would she need guards.”
“…Makes sense.” Shen Yuan nodded and decided to not use too much of the knowledge from his past life as it seemed quite unreliable.
They all headed towards the hall as Xun Shuren showed her badge to the gates. After waiting for a moment, she opened the gates.
A barrier separated the interior of the hall from the outside, concealing its mysteries. It made Han Qingyu and Shen Yuan curious about what could be inside of the sect as it seemed mysterious enough.
Shen Yuan extended his hand forward and it passed through the barrier without any obstruction, he didn’t hesitate further and walked through the gate.
Han Qingyu, Xun Shuren, and Huo Rong followed behind him.
Inside was a vast space filled with various biomes, and by a serene lake sat a beautiful woman dressed in a pink cultivator’s robe, playing a zither.
She had light pink hair and pink eyes complementing her beauty. She was sitting on the lush grass which was softly dancing in the wind.
Shen Yuan was momentarily stunned as he thought, ‘She didn’t look like this during any of the lives I experienced in the Dao Heart trial on the Desolate Continent, did she?’
[That’s because those were not the future of this world but what you perceived will happen in the future. The trials were there to test your Dao Heart, not to give you a glimpse of future events.]
Yue Lan patiently explained to him the reasons why everything was happening differently than what he experienced before.
Shen Yuan nodded in realization as he focused back on her, but this time listening to her music as well.
Her mastery of zither was truly superb as her music seemed to instill life into the very surroundings.
Before the group knew it, they walked forward and were standing in front of the Sect Leader of Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect.
