On this day, the sky was clear and bright as Gu Qingqing, the current saintess of Mysterious Maiden Peak, rode her spear into the territory of the Flowing Cloud Sect.

Heavens be praised, she had longed for this day with all her heart.

The day to prove herself to her Master!

"This Flowing Cloud Sect truly is shrouded in mist and clouds…"

As she approached the seven peaks wrapped in clouds, Gu Qingqing couldn't help but sigh. She then recalled the advice her Master had given her before she set off today—"Qingqing, be mentally prepared. That short-tempered one has had some past grievances with me and will surely try to make things difficult for you."

Surely not… How could Sect Master Leng, the head of a sect, be so petty as to trouble a junior like me?

Gu Qingqing still found it unlikely, but given that she was alone, she couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

In fact, logically speaking, Mysterious Maiden Peak wouldn't have sent Gu Qingqing alone for such a matter. Initially, Mysterious Maiden Peak had indeed planned for Gu Ziying to lead several elders to accompany Gu Qingqing… However, Zhang Xinzhu had sent a message earlier, claiming that the Flowing Cloud Sect was undergoing construction and relocation, and thus wasn't granting group entry permits, allowing only two people at most.

Anyone could see that the construction and relocation excuse was nonsense, but there was no choice. Leng Youxue's dominance in the cultivation world was well-known, and besides, it was Mysterious Maiden Peak that initiated this exchange. So, after cursing in the direction of the Flowing Cloud Sect for a while, Gu Ziying still set off with Gu Qingqing alone.

…Then, as soon as they entered the Flowing Cloud Sect's territory, Leng Youxue suddenly appeared, and after exchanging a few heated words with Gu Ziying, led her off to an unknown location.

So now, Gu Qingqing was left all alone.

"Phew, no matter. It was I who issued the challenge without reason. Sect Master Leng agreeing to it is already a great help to me… Even if the Flowing Cloud Sect wants to make things difficult for me, I can handle it." With these words to herself, Gu Qingqing descended on her spear, soon arriving at a mountain gate.

An elder was already waiting there.

The Peak Master of Hundred Rivers Peak, Zhang Xinzhu.

"Are you perhaps young friend Gu?"

Still looking like an ordinary old farmer, Zhang Xinzhu smiled and asked as he looked at Gu Qingqing.

"Junior Gu Qingqing greets Senior Zhang." Gu Qingqing quickly dismounted her weapon and respectfully saluted Zhang Xinzhu.

She had learned quite a bit about the deeds of these Peak Masters of the Flowing Cloud Sect from her Master, so her respect was genuine.

"No need for such formalities, young friend Gu." Zhang Xinzhu chuckled, "May I ask if you have brought an invitation?"

"Invitation?" Hearing Zhang Xinzhu's words, Gu Qingqing was momentarily stunned, "I… haven't received any invitation."

"But we sent out the invitations a few days ago…" Zhang Xinzhu immediately showed a serious expression, "I wonder where the problem lies…"

"Senior Zhang, is it a big issue if I don't have an invitation?" Gu Qingqing asked nervously, seeing Zhang Xinzhu's expression.

"Our Sect Master recently issued a sect decree. Due to certain special reasons, outsiders now need to have an invitation to enter our Flowing Cloud Sect…"

"But, but didn't Mysterious Maiden Peak already arrange this with the Flowing Cloud Sect?"

"Sect decree, please understand, young friend Gu."

"Then… what should I do?" Seeing Zhang Xinzhu say this, Gu Qingqing, without her elders around, immediately panicked, then had a sudden idea, "How about issuing me an invitation now?"

"That's a good idea."

Zhang Xinzhu nodded, then quickly took out pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and smiled kindly, "However, our invitations aren't issued randomly. Please cooperate with our process and fill out this form first."

"Alright."

Understanding that major sects take these procedures seriously, Gu Qingqing didn't doubt and began filling out the form.

Name… Age… Gender… Gender?

Gu Qingqing paused her writing and looked up at Zhang Xinzhu.

"Please cooperate with our process." Zhang Xinzhu still wore a kind smile.

"…"

Gu Qingqing's mouth twitched slightly, but she continued to fill out the form.

Half an hour later, Gu Qingqing finally completed the form, which included questions like "Hobbies outside of cultivation," "Three admired cultivators," and "Criteria for choosing a Dao companion," and handed it to Zhang Xinzhu.

"Alright, next, young friend Gu just needs to go to our Azure Sea Peak and have Senior Brother Dongfang stamp it for you." Zhang Xinzhu handed the form back to Gu Qingqing and stepped aside to clear the way.

"Thank you, Senior Zhang."

Gu Qingqing thanked Zhang Xinzhu and immediately flew into the Flowing Cloud Sect on her spear.

At that time, she only thought the Flowing Cloud Sect's procedures were quite complex and didn't think much of it.

It was only after she asked around in the clouds for a long time, finally found Azure Sea Peak, and then finally found Dongfang Yu, that she received the response—"Young friend Gu, today is the day of Ding Chou. According to the sect decree, on this day, Azure Sea Peak does not handle stamping matters. If you want a stamp, you need to first submit an application at Soaring Immortal Peak."

Feeling something was amiss, Gu Qingqing immediately rushed to Soaring Immortal Peak, where she received the following response from Peak Master Li Qingjiu—"Young friend Gu, I have received your application. The result will be available in two days. Of course, you can also pay two thousand high-grade spirit stones to get the result sooner."

By this point, Gu Qingqing had fully realized what was happening. She left Soaring Immortal Peak in anger, intending to find Green Lotus Peak herself and directly challenge the chief disciple of that cold-hearted Peak Master.

But after wandering in the clouds for a long time, she still couldn't find Green Lotus Peak. She even noticed that the cultivators who had been giving her directions earlier were nowhere to be found, and she couldn't contact her Master. Finally, she recalled her Master's words—

"Qingqing, be mentally prepared. That short-tempered one has had some past grievances with me and will surely try to make things difficult for you."

She also remembered her own thoughts on her Master's words—

"Surely not… How could Sect Master Leng, the head of a sect, be so petty as to trouble a junior like me?"

No, Sect Master Leng would, and even with the power of the entire sect.

Phew… Sect Master Leng agreeing to the challenge has already helped me greatly, preventing the birth of inner demons… This is nothing, endure it, Qingqing, endure it…

After some mental self-consolation, Gu Qingqing returned to Soaring Immortal Peak and submitted two thousand high-grade spirit stones.

Next, she visited Azure Sea Peak, Fragrant Pill Peak, Artifact Forging Peak, and Hundred Rivers Peak in turn, obtaining various items such as a "Special Passage Permit," "Special Passage Guarantee," "Special Token for Outsiders," and "Activation Mark for Special Token."

After spending three hours in the Flowing Cloud Sect and ten thousand high-grade spirit stones, Gu Qingqing finally reached Green Lotus Peak.

…

(Back to work, and work is always crazy)