Chapter 13: The Mysterious Senior Has Not Left

"The potency of this wine is truly incredible..."

Next door, Shao Shan listened to the commotion and smiled slightly. The effects of this wine were indeed formidable.

He had experience with it beforehand, so he hadn't drunk a single drop.

Instead, he had listened with great interest to many of Shao Jianguo's youthful indiscretions.

Then Shao Shan's face turned green again.

If this wine was so potent, what exactly had he said when he got drunk at He Zhi's house? How much had He Zhi overheard?

The next morning, He Zhi awoke from his meditation and stretched, smiling slightly.

The legend that cultivation could replace sleep was indeed true.

At this moment, he was brimming with energy, feeling even better than if he had slept.

"Let me check the game and see how Qingxuan Sect is doing."

After washing up, He Zhi prepared to open the game again to check on Qingxuan Sect.

As soon as he opened the game, several pop-up windows appeared one after another.

[Qingxuan Sect has offered you Spirit Beast Meat.]

[Qingxuan Sect has offered you Spiritual Fruit and Spiritual Wine.]

[Qingxuan Sect has offered you...]

All were various offering notifications, five in total.

"Just one night has passed, why are they making so many offerings?"

He Zhi felt puzzled. Had something happened?

"Let me take a look."

He Zhi moved his perspective and found the Sect Master and others meeting in the Sect Master's Hall.

"It's been a month. Since the Mysterious Senior last accepted our offerings, there has been no movement whatsoever."

"We've been seeking his guidance on that matter but have received no reply. What should we do?"

The Sect Master sighed softly.

Beside him, Yan Yu and the others also looked somewhat dejected.

They were worried—could it be that the Mysterious Senior had left?

After all, the Mysterious Senior had never verbally agreed to become their Grand Elder; he had only accepted their offerings.

The Mysterious Senior had saved their lives, so what was wrong with accepting some offerings?

Even if the Mysterious Senior left, no one could complain; they could only feel disappointed.

"A month?"

Outside the screen, He Zhi was slightly stunned.

He had clearly only cultivated for one night—how had it become a month?

"Could it be that time flows differently? Is time faster in the Cultivation World? No, right now the time on both sides is normal."

"It must be that when I shut down and go offline, time in the Cultivation World accelerates, making one night equal to one month."

He Zhi quickly understood.

Last night when he was cultivating, he had closed the game and shut down the computer.

This was equivalent to "going offline."

Now it seemed that when He Zhi went "offline," time in the Cultivation World would accelerate.

One night equaled one month in the Cultivation World.

He Zhi was quite familiar with this situation.

This was a common setting in computer games—after a character goes offline, time in the game world accelerates. Very normal.

The only abnormal thing was that in this "game," there really was a world.

Verifying this setting was actually simple for He Zhi.

Tonight, he could leave the game running and sleep with it idle to see if time would accelerate.

If the verification succeeded, it meant He Zhi had a certain degree of control over time in the Cultivation World.

"This game really has so many secrets that need to be slowly uncovered."

He Zhi pondered, discovering that there were still many aspects of this game that needed exploration.

In the Cultivation World.

The people of Qingxuan Sect were still in discussion.

The Sect Master and others made various speculations about He Zhi's month-long silence.

What worried them most was that the Mysterious Senior had already left without saying goodbye.

If the Mysterious Senior left, where would they find such a powerful backer again?

Actually, for cultivators, a month of silence meant nothing.

The previous Grand Elder had been in closed-door cultivation for a full eighteen years.

The main issue was that He Zhi, this new Grand Elder, had never communicated with anyone from Qingxuan Sect from the very beginning.

He was truly difficult to fathom.

Half a month ago, the Sect Master and others wanted to forge a sword formation for the disciples, so they would have some resistance when a great enemy attacked.

This matter required using artifact forging materials from the treasury to craft a large number of Flying Sword Artifacts.

Naturally, the Sect Master needed to seek approval from the newly appointed Grand Elder.

To show respect, the Sect Master had even brought offerings.

However, after the Sect Master made his request, He Zhi gave no response whatsoever.

After all, at that time, he had gone offline and shut down.

Later, the Sect Master and others tentatively made several more offerings to He Zhi, but still received no reaction.

Immediately, they all panicked.

Clearly, this Mysterious Senior had already accepted their offerings and, by all rights, had become Qingxuan Sect's Grand Elder.

But why had he suddenly gone silent?

As a new appointee, he should at least show some sign of activity, or give some hint.

As time passed, the Sect Master and others grew increasingly anxious.

At this moment, they were already considering what to do if the Mysterious Senior had truly left.

"It seems my month-long absence has frightened them quite a bit."

Outside the screen, He Zhi listened to the Sect Master and others' discussion and smiled slightly.

Then he moved his mouse and clicked on the screen, collecting all the offerings.

The various offerings placed on the long table at the entrance of the Elder Hall instantly disappeared, stored in He Zhi's game inventory.

This time's offerings, besides the previous Spiritual Fruit and Spiritual Wine, also included some Spirit Beast Meat.

All were items of enjoyment.

True Core Formation Stage cultivation resources were too precious; the Sect Master and others couldn't produce them, so they could only use these to please He Zhi.

At least these food and drink items could be used by anyone who hadn't ascended to immortality.

He Zhi glanced at these items twice and nodded slightly.

He wondered what this Spirit Beast Meat tasted like—he'd stir-fry a plate later to try it.

Presumably, since the Spiritual Wine and Spiritual Fruit were extremely delicious, this Spirit Beast Meat probably wasn't bad either.

Although He Zhi didn't crave luxury, at least it could supplement his nutrition.

While He Zhi pondered how to eat the Spirit Beast Meat, on Qingxuan Sect's side, the Sect Master and others were all overjoyed.

"Excellent! Just now, my divine sense detected that the offerings at the entrance of the Elder Hall have disappeared!"

"The Mysterious Senior has not left!"

The Sect Master's face was full of joy as he exclaimed excitedly.

His divine sense had been constantly monitoring the situation at the entrance of the Elder Hall.

So the moment He Zhi accepted the offerings, he noticed.

"Wonderful!"

Yan Yu and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the Mysterious Senior hadn't left, everything was fine.

"Come, let's seek the Grand Elder's approval regarding the sword formation forging."

The Sect Master said to everyone with high spirits.

So everyone came to the entrance of the Elder Hall again, respectfully seeking He Zhi's guidance.

However, this time they still received no response.

Immediately, the Sect Master and others looked at each other in bewilderment again.

The Grand Elder didn't respond—did that mean he disagreed?

Or did it mean he tacitly agreed?

Not a single word—what did it mean? The Grand Elder was truly unfathomable.

Should they forge this sword formation or not?

"You're asking the wrong person for approval."

"I hope you'll learn to make your own decisions soon."

He Zhi looked at the Sect Master and others on the screen and chuckled softly.