Wei Fan rose to his feet and deeply bowed to He Song and Qing Feng. At the same time, Meng Guan also stood up without hesitation and deeply bowed as well.
Seeing this scene, He Song hurriedly helped the two men up and spoke.
"Please do not bow to us like this."
"It makes us seem distant from each other."
"Brother Wei has helped me a lot in the past. It is only natural for me to come here today to repay you."
"I remember clearly that back then, when there was chaos outside Zhu Mountain Market, Brother Wei stood in front of me with his flesh and blood."
"Today, after enduring many trials, Brother Wei is finally about to break through to the Yuan Ying stage. Protecting you during this breakthrough is something I cannot shirk."
"Moreover, if it were just Old Meng guarding you, I wouldn't feel at ease even if I were meditating elsewhere."
"Even if I personally came here, having two Yuan Ying-stage cultivators guarding you, I still wouldn't feel entirely secure."
"Therefore."
"I dared to invite Friend Qingfeng here to add a helping hand for Brother Wei's breakthrough to the Yuan Ying stage."
"Please rest assured."
"Though Friend Qingfeng isn't talkative, he and I have been friends for many years."
"He won't leak our words."
After helping the two sit down beside the round table, He Song let out a slight sigh of relief.
He believed that after his explanation, Meng Guan and Wei Fan would be able to accept everything calmly.
But he didn't know.
Had they prepared anything to deter outsiders before he arrived?
If so, to what extent?
Carrying his doubts, He Song looked at Meng Guan and Wei Fan.
But at this moment, Meng Guan and Wei Fan were also staring straight at him.
Noticing He Song's gaze, Meng Guan and Wei Fan withdrew their stares and exchanged a glance.
Then it was Meng Guan who spoke.
"Friend, coming here with your companion has been a great help to me."
"I thank you and Brother Wei on behalf of us both for your righteous intervention!"
"To be honest with you."
"Before you arrived, I was thinking about whether Brother Wei's attempt to break through to the Yuan Ying stage would result in many unexpected events."
"After all, the Yiyang Sect is surrounded by enemies."
"Even those friendly-looking Yuan Ying-stage sects nearby might take advantage of this time to look at the Yiyang Sect covetously."
"They might even join forces to pressure the Yiyang Sect."
"But I didn't expect."
"Not only did you come to help in person, but you also brought along a powerful friend with cultivation at the late Yuan Ying stage."
"Such an action will surely make the surrounding scoundrels very wary."
"Perhaps, for a long time to come."
"These scoundrels will dare not touch the Yiyang Sect."
"But I wonder."
"How long will Friend and your friend stay in the Yiyang Sect?"
At this moment.
Meng Guan actually hoped that Qing Feng would stay as long as possible.
Because Qing Feng was a powerful cultivator brought by He Song.
Every day Qing Feng spent in the Yiyang Sect made the surrounding Yuan Ying-stage forces nervous and cautious.
After all, He Song was Meng Guan's long-time friend, and this had been known to everyone since the enthronement ceremony.
Under such circumstances.
If something were to happen to the Yiyang Sect,
He Song would definitely step in.
And when He Song stepped in,
Naturally, the late Yuan Ying-stage cultivator He Song had brought today would follow suit.
There was no doubt about it.
A Yuan Ying-stage cultivator who had specifically brought a friend to visit the Yiyang Sect,
Their relationship with He Song was certainly not shallow—it must be very deep.
And given the depth of their relationship,
It was only natural for them to lend a hand.
Therefore, as long as He Song and this late Yuan Ying-stage cultivator stayed in the Yiyang Sect for a single day,
No one around the Yiyang Sect would dare to harm it.
The anger of a late Yuan Ying-stage cultivator would be unbearable to very few people around the Yiyang Sect.
Thus, Meng Guan and Wei Fan hoped dearly that Qing Feng would settle down permanently in the Yiyang Sect.
Of course.
They knew this was impossible.
A late Yuan Ying-stage cultivator who could be invited to the Yiyang Sect for half a month or a month, or even a few months, was already considered to have a deep friendship with He Song.
For anyone else, it would be absolutely impossible to stay in the Yiyang Sect.
Therefore, Meng Guan timely asked how long He Song and Qing Feng could stay in the Yiyang Sect.
This way, he could arrange his future plans accordingly.
However, for He Song.
The departure of Qing Feng was entirely within his control.
As long as he wished, he could even let Qing Feng stay in the Yiyang Sect for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Moreover, such a long time was no longer so distant for He Song.
After all, He Song had already experienced hundreds of years of cultivation.
Thus, the long periods of time that used to seem endless had now become less daunting in He Song's eyes.
At least, hundreds or even thousands of years were no longer considered long for He Song.
Of course, He Song still needed to manipulate Qing Feng to go out and complete various tasks to increase his chances of becoming the branch pavilion master of the Ju Bao Pavilion.
Therefore, even though He Song could let Qing Feng stay in the Yiyang Sect for hundreds or thousands of years,
He couldn't really do so.
Because doing so would bring more harm than good to He Song himself.
In this situation,
After a moment of thought, He Song did not give a direct answer.
Instead, he feigned confusion and looked at Meng Guan in front of him.
Then he spoke.
"Why do you care about these things?"
"Even if Friend Qingfeng is about to leave, as long as he doesn't appear in front of others and get seen,"
"Then who would know that he has left?"
"You must know, Friend Qingfeng is not a cultivator from around the Yiyang Sect."
"Even if he really leaves and returns to where he belongs, the Yuan Ying-stage sects around the Yiyang Sect won't be able to detect it."
"After all, they don't even know where Friend Qingfeng is, nor can they contact the Yuan Ying-stage cultivators in his location."
"In this case, even if Friend Qingfeng leaves, he won't appear in their sight, and nothing will be exposed."
"And."
"When I was at the Zifu stage, I also studied the art of creating puppets and even created some real ones."
"Though these puppets aren't much to us now,"
"Even if their strength is only at the Zifu stage, their appearance, physique, and other aspects are basically indistinguishable from ordinary cultivators."
"In that case, as long as I or any other puppet maker creates a puppet with an appearance and physique similar to Friend Qingfeng, what difficulty would there be?"
"Then, even if Friend Qingfeng has already left,"
"We can bring this puppet out in public when there are rumors outside."
"Those cultivators at the Jindan stage probably wouldn't dare to rashly probe the authenticity of the puppet with their divine sense."
"In this way."
"Not only would it be impossible to make outsiders believe that Friend Qingfeng stayed longer in the Yiyang Sect,"
"It would also be fine to say that Friend Qingfeng has joined the Yiyang Sect and become one of its senior elders."
"However, this depends on Friend Qingfeng's consent."
As He Song spoke, he looked at Qing Feng.
Meanwhile, Meng Guan and Wei Fan were completely bewildered.
What did they hear?
As long as Qing Feng doesn't appear in public,
As long as no one notices Qing Feng's departure,
Qing Feng has always been in the Yiyang Sect.
This statement was not false.
According to He Song's words, it was indeed possible to achieve this.
Moreover, He Song could casually create a puppet with an appearance and physique nearly identical to Qing Feng to impersonate him.
In this way, it might indeed deceive the outside world into believing that Qing Feng has always been in the Yiyang Sect.
However, these things were not something He Song could achieve just by talking.
These things could only continue if He Song's late Yuan Ying-stage companion, Qing Feng, agreed.
Otherwise.
If Qing Feng refused, just releasing some information and appearing personally once would be enough to destroy everything.
Moreover, allowing others to create puppets based on one's appearance and physique was not common in the cultivation world.
After all, if someone manipulated a puppet made in their likeness to do other things,
The one who suffered the most would be the original person.
Whether it was using their appearance to commit crimes or to deceive others,
Even deceiving their own relatives and friends,
With such a puppet, they could almost always succeed.
In this situation, the original person naturally became the scapegoat.
Not only did they have to take the blame for arson and murder, but they also had to bear the blame for deceiving others.
Taking the blame was one thing.
But what if someone used such a puppet to approach the original person's family?
Such a situation was something no ordinary person could endure.
Moreover, if a female cultivator was made into a puppet and scattered around or involved in other incidents,
The consequences would be much greater.
Therefore, in the cultivation world, few people allowed others to create puppets based on their appearance.
To Meng Guan and Wei Fan, He Song's situation was unlikely to happen.
So, although they looked at Qing Feng as He Song did after hearing his words,
They did not hold out much hope.
However, this was exactly what He Song wanted.
There is a saying,
If the room is too dark, you need to open a window, but no one agrees.
But if you tear off the roof, they'll agree to open the window.
He Song was precisely using this method to ensure that Qing Feng could occasionally show up at the Yiyang Sect in the future.
He also wanted to avoid letting Meng Guan and Wei Fan suspect the relationship between him and Qing Feng.
Therefore, he first proposed something that no ordinary cultivator would agree to.
Then, after being refused, he offered another condition and got them to agree.
This way, Meng Guan and Wei Fan would have no doubts about He Song's subsequent proposal.
They would also never suspect that Qing Feng was a puppet made by He Song.
With this in mind,
He Song quickly manipulated Qing Feng to shake his head repeatedly.
"No, no."
"Even if someone impersonates me, creating a puppet is absolutely unacceptable."
"If this gets out, I won't dare to show my face outside in the future."
Shaking his hand, Qing Feng refused outright.
But before Meng Guan and Wei Fan could show any other emotions on their faces,
He Song spoke again.
"Since this is not possible."
"Then set up a teleportation array in the Yiyang Sect."
"In the future, if you really need to appear, you can come here through the teleportation array, how does that sound?"
"Don't worry, I will send you this teleportation array once Brother Wei successfully breaks through."
"You won't lose out."
After speaking, He Song's smile did not diminish.
But there was a hint of bewilderment in Meng Guan and Wei Fan's eyes.
He Song agreed too quickly.
Why not try to negotiate?
And a teleportation array?
Doesn't this mean that the Friend Qingfeng in front of us is a master of array formation?
Carrying this bewilderment and confusion, Meng Guan and Wei Fan had not yet reacted.
But Qing Feng shook his head decisively without hesitation.
"No, no, no matter what you say, I won't agree to you making a puppet based on my appearance."
"Damn you, so that's your plan."
Qing Feng's gaze shifted toward He Song, as if he realized something.
However, after careful consideration,
While Meng Guan and Wei Fan were growing impatient,
Qing Feng also nodded.
"Alright, setting up a small teleportation array is simple. Consider it a gift for your two friends."
"But I'm telling you, once the teleportation array is set up, you can't think about making a puppet anymore."
After speaking, Qing Feng looked at He Song.
As if he could immediately set up a teleportation array here as soon as He Song nodded.
But He Song, at this moment, subtly observed the reactions of Meng Guan and Wei Fan.
Seeing that they seemed to have come to their senses and were looking at him with admiration,
He Song smiled and nodded, agreeing.
Then,
Qing Feng quickly set up a teleportation array in the core area of the Yiyang Sect's mountain gate under Meng Guan's guidance.
However, this teleportation array could not connect to the other teleportation arrays He Song had, only connecting to a few nearby immortal cities.(End of Chapter)