Chapter 361 - Lu Tianzi's Decision

Lu Tianzi did not take long to give his answer.

"Thank you for the offer, Senior, but this junior have some urgent matters to attend to," Lu Tianzi gave a polite bow. "If Senior's offer still stands in the future, I will gladly take you up on the offer!"

"Oh?" Elder Qiren raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Will that still be your decision if I tell you that this is a one-time offer?"

"My apologies, Senior, but I have no choice on this matter as well," Lu Tianzi shook his head in regret. "I truly have something personal that I need to attend to urgently."

"What are you saying, Brother Tianzi! Do you know how rare an opportunity this is?" Ruan Ling's voice suddenly sounded in his head. "What matter could you possibly have that is so urgent?"

"Well, I still have to go back to Old Juan's Equipment Shop," Lu Tianzi shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" Ruan Ling could not believe what she was hearing.

Lu Tianzi would give up on an opportunity to visit the White Tiger Immortal Sect just to rush back to Old Juan's Equipment Shop?

Not to mention the fact that the shop would always be there, what could Lu Tianzi accomplish even if he returned to the shop anyway?

Ruan Ling looked over at Young Master Xuan Hao, who in turn shook his head helplessly.

Young Master Xuan Hao had broken out of his daze by now, and had naturally heard the conversation between Lu Tianzi and Elder Qiren as well.

But unlike Ruan Ling, Young Master Xuan Hao had no interest in visiting the White Tiger Immortal Sect for now.

Even if he was interested, he also understood that Elder Qiren had only extended his invitation to the rest of them because of Lu Tianzi.

If Lu Tianzi was not intending to go, then he was not going to be so thick skinned as to take up the offer alone.

Most importantly, this was the least of his concerns right now.

Seeing how Young Master Xuan Hao found nothing wrong with the matter, Ruan Ling could only give up.

The real reason why Lu Tianzi did not accept Elder Qiren's offer was because he had no idea who this Elder Qiren was.

Yes, he claimed to be an elder from the White Tiger Immortal Sect, but nobody could guarantee that he was being honest.

And even if Elder Qiren was indeed speaking the truth, Lu Tianzi still knew next to nothing about Elder Qiren.

Who knew what he would do to them if they followed him back to the White Tiger Immortal Sect?

For all they knew, Elder Qiren could actually be feeling bitter about Lu Tianzi having resisted his mental pressure, and was intending to torture them back at the White Tiger Immortal Sect, away from the eyes of his four juniors!

Without knowing anything about Elder Qiren, blindly believing him and following him back would be far too dangerous.

Elder Qiren was surprised when he heard Lu Tianzi's rejection, but he was not angered.

Instead, he put on an amiable smile as he replied, "In that case, I won't force you either. However, contrary to what I said earlier, this is not just a one-time offer. So do feel free to visit the White Tiger Immortal Sect in the future. As long as you say that you have been invited by Elder Qiren, the guards will surely let you in. To make things easier, may I know your name?"

Lu Tianzi clasped his fists in gratitude. "My name is Zhanyuan. I will certainly visit in the future if there is the chance. Thank you, Elder Qiren."

"Don't mention it," Elder Qiren maintained his smile. "Now then, I know you have something urgent to attend to, but your friends can stay and cultivate if they wish."

"Elder Qiren!" some of the youngsters exclaimed in shock.

They were already irritated enough that Elder Qiren was treating Lu Tianzi so well, but him letting the rest of them stay in the cave really got on their nerves.

They were all proud members of the White Tiger Immortal Sect!

Why do they have to share a cultivation area with nameless strangers?

However, a stern glance from Elder Qiren was all it took to shut all of their mouths.

When Young Master Xuan Hao saw Lu Tianzi look towards him, he knew that it was time for him to make a decision.

This hidden cave was indeed a great place for cultivation, but everything changed with the appearance of the White Tiger Immortal Sect members.

He was fine with the other youngsters, but Elder Qiren's presence presented too big of a risk.

It was all right now that Elder Qiren was being amiable.

However, if Elder Qiren suddenly went crazy and decided to kill them all, none of them would be able to resist.

On top of that, in this cave that was so well-hidden from the outside, nobody would even find out what happened.

Considering that, no one in the right mind would be comfortable with putting himself in such a dangerous situation!

In the end, Young Master Xuan Hao politely declined.

Seeing that their minds had been made up, Elder Qiren did not insist either. He simply watched on as Lu Tianzi, Nanlan Qianxue, Young Master Xuan Hao, anad Ruan Ling left the cave.

During this time, Elder Qiren continued to wear a smile on his face, and not a single person present was able see through his thoughts.

After leaving the cave, Lu Tianzi's group did not linger to chat.

Instead, they immediately picked up their speed, rushing straight back to Sacred Cliff City.

Apart from Ruan Ling who was still rather reluctant to leave the hidden cave, everyone else only wanted to get out of there as fast as they could.

It was only after they stepped back into Sacred Cliff City that the atmosphere around them lightened, as though a heavy load was finally lifted off their shoulders.

The Burning Titan Overlord reigned supreme in the Sacred Cliff City, and not even other Overlords would dare to challenge his authority by making trouble here.

In other words, they were safe now.

Lu Tianzi, Nanlan Qianxue, and Young Master Xuan Hao exchanged glances on the streets of Sacred Cliff City, and they could not help but break out into a light chuckle.

In the end, Elder Qiren did not go back on his words.

He had truly let them off after Lu Tianzi managed to overcome the pressure in the cave.

"You truly are a wonder, Brother Tianzi!" Young Master Xuan Hao clasped his fists towards Lu Tianzi. "You have my utmost gratitude, for everything that you did!"

Young Master Xuan Hao initially thought that he was doing Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue a favour by bringing them along to Mount Asui.

But not only did Lu Tianzi resolve the situation for Ruan Ling at the War Intent Cliff, he even led them to the other side of the mountain where they managed to uncover the hidden cave.

In the end, he even helped them escape from Elder Qiren.

And this was on top of Lu Tianzi having already helped them out at the Canal of Misery.

With everything added up, it was definitely no exaggeration to say that they were deeply in Lu Tianzi's debt!

"Don't worry about it," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "We benefitted much from your help as well. Qianxue and I also benefitted quite a bit from this trip. If not for you, we wouldn't have even known of the place. If anything, we should be the ones thanking you."

"That's not right. Even without us, you would have learnt of Mount Asui and the War Intent Cliff sooner or later. Our contribution is nowhere near yours," Young Master Xuan Hao said.

"Why don't we stop with the thanks and return to rest? It's been a long trip and surely everyone is tired," Nanlan Qianxue suggested, stopping them from saying anymore.

No one raised any objections.

It had been months since they left Sacred Cliff City, such that they even had to repurchase proofs of entry in order to enter the city. This was because their previous ones had already expired.

After such a long trip, they were indeed feeling weary, and were looking forward to a good rest.

On the way back, they started to discuss about their future plans.

Young Master Xuan Hao had mentioned before that he had come to Sacred Cliff City for two reasons.

One was for the Sacred Lotus Auction, and the other was for the War Intent Cliff.

Now that he was done with both, Young Master Xuan Hao decided to return to the Timeless Flame Sect after he was done consolidating his cultivation level.

As for Ruan Ling, she would return to her clan as well when Young Master Xuan Hao leaves.

When asked by Young Master Xuan Hao, Lu Tianzi answered that he would give artificing one last try. If he still could not find any breakthroughs in the art of artificing, he would just give it up.

Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling were both secretly relieved when they heard that.

They truly thought that it was a huge pity that someone as talented as Lu Tianzi was wasting his time on a meaningless endeavour, and Lu Tianzi could see that on their faces as well.

All he could do was to ignore it, pretending that he did not know.

After they returned to the Fortune Queen Inn, Nanlan Qianxue first went over to Lu Tianzi's room instead of returning to her own.

"So, what's our plan?" Nanlan Qianxue asked.

"Hmm? Didn't you hear me when I was talking to Brother Xuan Hao?" Lu Tianzi asked in return. "I wasn't lying to him. I really am intending to give the art of artificing one last try."

"Is that really the case?" Nanlan Qianxue narrowed her eyes at Lu Tianzi. "But why do I still feel like you are hiding something?"

Nanlan Qianxue was eyeing Lu Tianzi in suspicion, but Lu Tianzi chuckled helplessly at the sight of the beautiful countenance before him. Even when trying to make a doubtful expression, Nanlan Qianxue's looks were still to die for.

Of course, he would not say that out loud, though he suspected that Nanlan Qianxue would not actually mind hearing such comments.

"I guess I can't hide it from you," Lu Tianzi shrugged. "What do you think about heading over to the White Tiger Immortal Sect?"

"The White Tiger Immortal Sect?" Nanlan Qianxue blinked in surprise. "You intend to go back to Mount Asui to find that Elder Qiren? But if that's the case, why did you turn him down earlier?"

"No, I don't mean going to the White Tiger Immortal Sect that way," Lu Tianzi shook his head with a smile. "At this point, we know nothing about that Elder Qiren, so going back with him is far too dangerous. What I am suggesting is to head over there ourselves. This way, we can at least be able to gather more information along the way. If things do not seem right, we will turn back around immediately."

"You have already decided, haven't you?" Nanlan Qianxue smiled as she asked in return. "If you want to go, then let's just go. I'm rather interested in this strongest influence in the central regions as well!"