"Master, please calm down. It's all my fault for misjudging his spiritual root. I beg you to punish me," Liu Qinghan said. She had never seen Chi Yunzi lose his composure like this before. She stepped forward and bowed to plead guilty.

"Alas, Qinghan, it's not your fault. Even I mistook this young man for a sixth-grade single fire-attribute spiritual root at first glance," Chi Yunzi, who had practiced Taoism for many years, finally managed to calm down his state of mind.

He accepted the fact that the rumored sixth-grade fire-attribute spiritual root was actually just a first-grade five-element spiritual root.

He pondered for a moment, then looked straight at Lin Hao and said in a tone full of authority, "Tell this sect leader where you found that fiery red fruit that you ate."

"Reply to the sect leader. Three years ago, my hometown was hit by a disaster. To survive, I was forced to flee my hometown. I picked that fruit from a small tree on an unnamed mountain while I was wandering on the road," Lin Hao said carefully, following the way the Immortal Venerable of Longevity had told him to respond, "I don't remember which mountain it was exactly. I only know that the mountain was within the territory of Xuantian City."

"Xuantian City?"

Chi Yunzi frowned tightly.

There were countless mountains within the territory of Xuantian City. Trying to find an unnamed mountain was almost like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, three years had passed, and he didn't know whether the small tree that bore the strange fruit was still there or not.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart and had to give up the idea of looking for the treasure of the fire-attribute strange fruit.

"Let's go. Let's head back," Chi Yunzi was extremely depressed after this embarrassing incident. He didn't want to stay here for another moment and said to the disciples beside him.

"Sect leader, based on his aptitude, even if he paid ten thousand taels of silver, he wouldn't be qualified to join our Xuanyue Sect," an inner sect disciple who held the position of a deacon and was one of Chi Yunzi's confidants asked carefully, "How should we deal with him?"

"Although this kid's aptitude is poor, the spirit fruit he ate is quite extraordinary. It should be no problem for him to cultivate to the third to fifth level of Qi Refining," Chi Yunzi pondered for a moment and said, "Since we've already accepted him into the sect, it's also his fate. Let's just keep him in the Xuanyue Sect as a miscellaneous disciple. There's no need to treat him differently."

After announcing the decision on how to deal with Lin Hao, Chi Yunzi didn't look at him again. In a bad mood, he quickly left with a group of disciples.

"So he's just a first-grade five-element useless spiritual root. I thought he was some kind of genius!"

In the mine cave, as the group of high-ranking members of the Xuanyue Sect left, the envious expressions on the faces of the miscellaneous disciples in the mine cave disappeared and were replaced by mocking sneers.

"Such a waste. If it weren't for eating that strange fruit and looking like a sixth-grade single spiritual root, he wouldn't be qualified to join our Xuanyue Sect even if he paid more silver."

The scornful taunts reached Lin Hao's ears one after another.

Even though he had been mentally prepared for this, it still made him feel bad.

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"If people in the world deceive me, slander me, insult me, laugh at me, look down on me, and despise me, what should I do?"

"Just endure him, let him be, leave him alone, avoid him, be patient with him, respect him, and ignore him. In a few years, just wait and see what happens to him."

Lin Hao remembered the famous saying he had read when he was on Earth, and his depressed and uncomfortable mood eased a bit.

"As long as I'm not driven out of the Xuanyue Sect and become a rogue cultivator, it's already the best result," Lin Hao couldn't help clenching his fist and thought to himself, "The sleeping master, the Immortal Venerable of Longevity, said that the first-grade five-element spiritual root was a top-notch spiritual root in ancient times. It's just that it requires a huge amount of spiritual energy for cultivation. With the Eternal Longevity Tower and the Five Elements Longevity Art, I believe it won't be long before I can shut these guys up."

In the half month since he came to the Xuanyue Sect, he had witnessed many conflicts among the miscellaneous disciples.

Cultivating immortals requires resources, so the struggles in immortal cultivation sects are even more terrifying than those among mortals.

To get along well, besides being able to get along with everyone, one also needs to be strong enough.

"Boss, are you okay?"

The chubby Wang Fu beside him hesitated for a moment and then stepped forward to ask with concern.

Lin Hao was slightly surprised. This chubby guy made him look at him in a new light.

After knowing that he was just a first-grade five-element spiritual root, he didn't sneer at him like the other miscellaneous disciples. Instead, he was still willing to call him boss.

"I'm fine," Lin Hao shook his head and said.

"Boss, now that Yan Heng knows you're not a genius, I'm afraid he'll come to trouble us today. Maybe we can avoid getting beaten up if we publicly give in to him," Wang Fu said, with a worried look on his chubby face.

After losing the backing of Senior Sister Liu and being unable to use her as a shield, their days might be difficult.

Lin Hao couldn't help but feel a headache when he heard the chubby guy mention Yan Heng.

He raised his head and involuntarily looked in the direction of Yan Heng, who was mining in another part of the mine cave.

He found that Yan Heng was looking at him with a sinister smile, as if to say, "Just you wait, kid."

Obviously, this guy had held a grudge because he hadn't been able to snatch the spirit porridge from Lin Hao and the chubby guy for half a month.

"Even if we give in to him, I'm afraid he won't let us off," Lin Hao saw Yan Heng's expression and knew that this matter couldn't be solved by giving in.

Some people will push their luck once you back down.

"Boss, then what should we do?"

Wang Fu was a bit panicked.

Since joining the Xuanyue Sect, he had seen Yan Heng beat people up, and he was extremely ruthless.

Before, a new and rebellious miscellaneous disciple resisted, and Yan Heng beat him until his head was bleeding.

Thinking of this, the chubby Wang Fu's calves trembled involuntarily.

"Let's take it one step at a time. If there's no other way, we'll fight him," Lin Hao clenched his fist and a fierce look appeared on his face.

After transmigrating to this world and being the leader of mountain bandits for a few months, he had also acquired a bit of a bandit's nature.

"Alas... Boss... Yan Heng reached the first level of Qi Refining two months ago. We can't beat him even if we fight with all our might..." Wang Fu sighed.

"Let's mine first. It's useless to think too much now," Lin Hao swung the mining tool in his hand. After reaching the first level of Qi Refining and with his greatly increased strength, by noon, he had dug out ten catties of spirit iron, which could be exchanged for two bowls of spirit porridge.

"Wang Fu, let's go and have lunch," he put away the mining tool and said to the chubby guy beside him.

"Boss, I've only dug out two catties of spirit iron. It's not enough for me to have lunch," Wang Fu said.

"It doesn't matter. I've dug out ten catties of spirit iron and can exchange it for two bowls of spirit porridge. I'll share one bowl with you," Lin Hao said with a smile.

A hesitant look appeared on Wang Fu's chubby face. If he went to the cafeteria with Lin Hao now, he was afraid that Yan Heng would immediately take revenge on them.

But he thought that even if they didn't go to the cafeteria at noon, they couldn't avoid it at night.

It was just a matter of getting beaten up earlier or later.

"Well... okay, Boss. I'll go with you," Wang Fu gritted his teeth and decided to be a loyal friend.

The two put away their mining tools, exchanged the spirit iron they had dug out in the morning for two meal vouchers (meal tickets), and walked out of the mine cave.

The vengeful Yan Heng couldn't wait any longer. When he saw them going out, a sinister smile appeared on his face. Immediately, he swaggered arrogantly and followed closely behind Lin Hao and Wang Fu.

This made the chubby Wang Fu tremble even when he walked.

Lin Hao's expression also became solemn as he was thinking about how to deal with Yan Heng's revenge.