Chapter 16

Today's third update is complete!

---

In that one glance, Wang Lin instantly felt as if his entire body had become transparent, thoroughly seen through by the other party.

The old man frowned. He didn't detect anything unusual about Wang Lin and asked in a deep voice, "Wang Lin, when did you return?"

Wang Lin, who had been startled by that one glance, quickly replied, "Disciple returned last night and heard from Senior Brother Liu of the miscellaneous affairs department this morning that you were looking for me, so I came over immediately."

Elder Sun's face was grim. Without a word, he grabbed Wang Lin, took a step, and immediately a rainbow cloud appeared, rushing straight to Wang Lin's residence.

The speed was so fast that Wang Lin felt a sense of suffocation. Fortunately, it didn't last long, and they arrived at his residence. Throwing Wang Lin to the side, Elder Sun's divine consciousness swept through the room.

"Hmm?" Elder Sun's body moved, and he came to Wang Lin's bed. With a large hand, he grabbed the gourd containing the spring water from under the bed.

Wang Lin appeared calm on the surface, but his heart skipped a beat. His mind raced as he searched for an excuse.

Elder Sun examined the gourd for a long time, his expression changing slightly. After a while, he stared at Wang Lin and said in a low voice, "Wang Lin, what is in this gourd?"

Wang Lin hurriedly pretended to be ignorant and said, "Elder, this gourd contains spring water from the mountain. This spring water is quite miraculous. Whenever I feel tired, I drink it and immediately feel refreshed. When I was a child, I read in a book that the things of immortals are all good. I didn't expect the spring water to be so miraculous. If you want this spring water, the miscellaneous affairs department has ten large vats of it, as big as a house, all carried by me from the mountain."

Elder Sun opened the gourd's lid, smelled it, and his face immediately changed. He said urgently, "Who asked you about the spring water? Tell me, where did you find this gourd? Speak quickly!"

Wang Lin was taken aback and asked foolishly, "Elder, is there something wrong with this gourd? I saw it floating downstream while carrying water and thought it was good, so I picked it up."

Elder Sun narrowed his eyes and looked at Wang Lin meaningfully, stroking the gourd in his hand. He thought to himself, "The spiritual energy inside this gourd is extremely abundant. Although ordinary people can't absorb it, they will feel refreshed after drinking it. He didn't lie about that, but it's a waste to use it on him. If used to refine elixirs, the effect would be excellent.

As for the withering of the Blue Line Grass and Purple Night Flower, it is likely related to this gourd. Perhaps there is some principle of mutual generation and inhibition between them, but this will only be known after the experiment."

Thinking this, his expression changed, and he carefully examined the gourd. With a stern face, he glared at Wang Lin and said, "Wang Lin, you have a lot of nerve to deceive an elder. It seems you've had enough of staying in the Hengyue Sect!"

Wang Lin's face showed confusion, and he hurriedly said, "Elder, I didn't lie to you. The miscellaneous affairs department really has ten large vats of spring water..."

Before he could finish, Elder Sun laughed in anger and said, "You're still pretending to be ignorant. I asked about the gourd. The vine on the gourd clearly looks like it was recently broken, but you say you found it in the spring water. Wang Lin, I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me where you got this gourd, or I'll expel you from the Hengyue Sect today!"

Wang Lin's face turned angry, and he showed a look of determination, shouting, "So be it. In the Hengyue Sect, I do nothing but carry water every day. With ten large vats of water, I often go a week without a meal. If it weren't for the sweet potatoes my mother brought me, I would have starved to death long ago. This isn't cultivation; it's pure suffering.

I finally managed to pick up this gourd from the water. If you want it, take it. Why say I lied? Whether there's a vine on the gourd has nothing to do with me. Maybe someone else broke it and threw it into the spring. If you ask me, who should I ask?"

Elder Sun glanced at the remaining sweet potatoes in the luggage and then at the gourd in his hand. After a moment of contemplation, he inwardly sneered, "I'm determined to get this gourd. But if I take a named disciple's treasure and force him to leave, it would be too embarrassing if it got out. My reputation in the sect would be ruined, and if other seniors found out, they would surely come to divide it. I don't have the ability to compete with them. I mustn't let them know, and this kid still won't tell the truth. There must be more than one gourd. If I get them all, my cultivation will surely increase greatly."

Thinking this, he paused for a moment, then put on a surprised look and sighed, "You've had a tough time, going a week without a meal. I didn't know this before, but now that I do, I'll handle it. A named disciple is still a disciple of the Hengyue Sect!"

After saying this, he saw that Wang Lin was still angry and inwardly sneered, but said kindly, "Wang Lin, I'll take this gourd, but I won't treat you unfairly. Are you willing to be my attendant?"

Wang Lin grumbled, "No, an attendant is a servant. If my father knew I was a slave to someone, he would beat me to death."

Elder Sun almost lost his temper and wanted to strike him dead before his father could. After all, even though he was at the bottom of the second-generation disciples, if he said he wanted an attendant, the named disciples would all vie for the position.

Suppressing his anger, he said irritably, "Forget it, I'll take you as a disciple. I'll go to the sect leader and discuss this. Pack your things and wait in my garden." With that, he waved his sleeve and walked out of Wang Lin's room, stepping on the rainbow cloud and heading straight for the sect leader's location.

After he left, Wang Lin's face turned grim. He inwardly sneered, thinking this old man had ulterior motives. He pretended to take him as a disciple but actually wanted more gourds.

Wang Lin pondered for a moment, then laughed lightly, thinking to himself, "It's just a gourd. There are plenty in the mountains. I can just soak some beads in it. Now that I have the chance to become an inner disciple, I must seize this opportunity to cultivate properly."

Thinking this, he became very excited, packed his luggage, and left many sweet potatoes for Zhang Hu before slowly walking to the main courtyard.

This time, he didn't register and walked directly into the main courtyard. The young man in white, sitting cross-legged on a large tree in the corner, looked down but didn't stop him. He had just received a message from the sect leader that Uncle Sun had taken Wang Lin as a disciple, so he muttered to himself, "A trashy master has taken a trashy disciple; they are well-matched."