Zhao Di had already disguised himself as a middle-aged cultivator in the Foundation Building stage before the Thousand Cloud Sect's turmoil, and was transported to Fangzhang Immortal Island.

  The ones guarding the transmission array were all foundation-building cultivators, and even the most accomplished among them was only in the later stage of foundation building. It was naturally impossible for them to see through Zhao Di's disguise.

  After that, Zhao Di put on a black hood and did not conceal the initial cultivation of Jie Dan. Then, through the transmission array of Fangzhang Xian Island, he came to No. 1 island again.

  Although he knew that he was being widely pursued in the Starry Sea, after putting on a bamboo hat, as long as it wasn't an extremely unlucky encounter with a hundred-year-old primordial infant stage old freak, he wouldn't be recognized.

  Even if someone suspected him, they didn't dare to ask him to take off his bamboo hat. After all, there were countless monks who covered their faces with various hats, and doing so would likely offend a large number of monks. No one wanted to provoke the wrath of the crowd just for a wanted poster.

  So Zhao Di arrived smoothly at the alien star.

  Arrived at the outer star, can avoid the most dreaded Yuan Ying period old monsters. I believe that even if exposed on Island No. 1, those Yuan Ying old monsters will not violate the strict regulations that have been passed down for many years and risk coming to the outer star to kill him.

  This provision even involves the demon clan's transformation of demonic beasts, and it is not something that a cultivator in the Yuan Ying period would dare to touch!

  These things, Zhao Di only knew about after his cultivation entered the Congealing Dan period through various channels and rumors. Cultivators with too low of a level generally find it difficult to come into contact with this high-level content. Although they know that foreign star systems won't have shape-shifting demonic beasts or Yuan Infant stage cultivators, the reasons behind this are hard to explain clearly.

  Apart from this, he promised the great elder Feng Qingyun of Qianji Gate to complete a "task", which can only be done after arriving at the first island of Xingchen. Moreover, this task is likely to start within the next twenty years.

  Considering all of this, Zhao Di, who had left the mortal world and was preparing to re-enter the cultivation world, made Island Number One his destination.

  But he never thought that he had just stepped out of the No. 1 island's transmission array for a short while, and was recognized by someone!

  Two old monks with white beards blocked Zhao Di, who was wearing a bamboo hat and about to leave the first floor of Xingchen Pavilion. One was in the later stage of Jiedan, while the other was Dingguang Dashi, a Jiedan middle-stage cultivator whom Zhao Di had met before.

  "I've met two great masters!" Zhao Di slightly stunned, holding back his voice and voluntarily bowed.

  "Master Zhao, there's no need to hide it. Your identity is special and this place isn't suitable for a long conversation. If you trust me, let's discuss the details with just the two of us on the fourth floor! This matter will bring you a hundred benefits without any harm!" Master Ding Guang transmitted his voice in a low tone, his expression extremely sincere.

  Zhao was shocked, although he didn't know what method the other person had used, they had actually seen through his identity, but it seemed like there was no malicious intent.

  There are many masters here, and several of them have already formed elixirs. He naturally didn't want to lose face in front of the old monk here.

  Moreover, these two people found their own identities, without sudden attacks or sneak peeks, but rather actively broke the news, apparently not for the so-called wanted order, but with ulterior motives towards him.

  Upon reflection, Zhao Di Su smiled and said: "Since Master Ding Guang has spoken thus, how could I not follow? And who is this master?"

  "The poor monk is determined, he is one of the guardians of the Suffering Zen Sect and also one of the main managers of Island No. 1 of the Outer Sea Merchant Alliance." The old man in the later stage of his cultivation saw Zhao Di's prompt response without hesitation, and was overjoyed in his heart. With a simple sentence, he clearly explained his origins.

  "It turned out to be Master Dingjue, nice to meet you! Please!" Zhao said with a bow.

  "Please!"

  "Please!"

  Ding Jue and Ding Guang, two old monks, also clasped their hands together in a slight bow, and took Zhao Di to the fourth floor of Xingchen Pavilion.

  "This Starry Pavilion's seal is exceptionally powerful, I'm afraid even a Yuan Ying stage cultivator would find it difficult to break through within a short period of time!" Zhao Di said, glancing at the fourth layer entrance where the mysterious spiritual light was.

  "Hehe, I didn't expect Zhao Shi to be so proficient in Array Formation too! Indeed, since a shape-shifting demon beast invaded this island decades ago, the defensive measures of Xingchen Pavilion have been strengthened. However, the consumption of this array is also astonishingly high!" Master Ding Jue said without hiding anything, implying that this grand array was driven by high-grade spirit stones.

  After saying this, Ding Jue took out a palm-sized array disc, lightly pointed at it with one finger, and a seven-colored Buddhist light unique to the Buddha's Gate shot onto the array disc. The latter emitted a low-pitched Buddhist sound and immediately shot out a seven-colored Buddhist light that struck the spiritual light seal at the entrance.

  The prohibition opened up a huge hole, and two old men made a gesture of invitation, entering first.

  Zhao Di carefully probed with his divine sense for a while, and there were no other restrictive arrays inside the cave entrance. You Ruo also confirmed that this restriction only targeted cultivators entering from the outside, but it was easy for cultivators inside to come out. So he followed into the fourth floor of Xingchen Pavilion afterwards.

  The two old monks warmly invited Zhao Di'an to sit down, and Ding Guang even personally brewed a pot of top-grade spiritual tea. Zhao Di thanked him verbally but didn't drink it.

  The two monks didn't think much of it, and Jing Guang said with a smile: "There are no outsiders here, Master Zhao doesn't need to hide it!"

  Zhao Di heard this and took off his bamboo hat, smiling slightly as he said: "How did the master recognize me? I have been thinking about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, please enlighten me, Master!"

  Ding Guang burst out laughing and pulled out a miniature sable, only three inches long, with a dense layer of purple fur all over its body. The sable had extremely small eyes, but its nose was as big as half an inch, making it look quite strange.

  Ding Guang said: "This is a variant spirit beast, the Purple Cloud Mink. Decades ago, I unintentionally saved a low-ranking cultivator in the Foundation Building stage, and he was grateful to give me this spirit beast as a gift. This Purple Cloud Mink seems to have only the cultivation level of a high-ranking Qi Refining stage cultivator, but it has an incredible divine sense in its sense of smell. No matter how one tries to conceal themselves, it can distinguish the unique aura of each cultivator. Hehe, this mink had accompanied me when I met Zhao Shi Zhu decades ago, so as soon as he appeared on Island Number One, it caught his scent!"

  The old monk spoke while stroking the spiritual beast in his hand, which lifted its big nose and sniffed around non-stop.

  "Ah, I see!" Zhao suddenly realized that the mutated spirit beast often possessed some heaven-defying abilities. This super-strong sense of smell and memory ability was not particularly rare either. He couldn't help but think of his own spirit beast, Bingfengmang, which was still in a state of deep sleep, preparing for its next advancement. Not only was this python a descendant of the Jiaolong clan, but it was also a mutated demon beast with dual heteromorphic roots. Who knew what kind of unimaginable abilities it would have after breaking through to the next level?!

  "Master Zhao, I'll get straight to the point. The reason I've asked you to come here today is that we're considering inviting you to join our Outer Sea Trade Alliance and take on a management role." Dingshen spoke directly after Master Zhao had taken his seat.

  "Join your alliance?" Zhao Di repeated in a low voice, neither affirming nor denying.

  "Not bad!" Seeing Zhao Di didn't immediately refuse, Ding Jue's heart slightly relaxed, and he continued to persuade: "Master, you are being pursued by the Blood Intent Sect, a powerful sect in Xingchen Sea, with a hefty bounty on your head. Yunzhou Immortal Island is definitely not an option for you. And on Penglai Immortal Island, Tian He Cultivator is also pursuing you. Only Fangzhang Immortal Island and the outer reaches of Xingchen Sea can provide a foothold for you. However, Fangzhang Immortal Island also has many forces with ties to the Blood Intent Sect, making it equally perilous for you!"

  "What the master means is that in order to protect ourselves, we can only stay on a foreign planet and rely on the alliance?" Zhao Di said calmly.

  "It's not about relying on our alliance, but rather that our alliance needs to borrow a place from the donor. As long as the donor is willing to take on the role of manager, our alliance can arrange for the donor to have a quiet and secluded reading room in this Starlight Pavilion to cultivate without fear of being disturbed by others. And with our alliance's influence in the outer starry sky, even if the donor's whereabouts are exposed, there won't be any Nascent Soul stage cultivators who dare to come knocking on their door! As for those Yuan Ying stage seniors, considering the thousand-year agreement between our human and demon tribes, they naturally wouldn't set foot in this place either, especially during this sensitive period when the Beast Tide is about to arrive!" Ding Jue said, revealing conditions that made Zhao Di's heart skip a beat.

  Indeed, if a foreign merchant guild is willing to vouch for him, even if he appears openly on Island No. 1, it's unlikely that he will be threatened.

  For a mere tens of millions of spirit stones, to openly collaborate with the Foreign Sea Merchant Alliance and oppose us, and on the First Island of the Foreign Star no less, is an unimaginable foolishness.

  "Thank you for the kind offer, Master! However, I'm afraid I'll be busy with important matters in the next twenty years and won't be able to take on long-term responsibilities or serve your alliance!" Zhao declined politely, furrowing his brow. He still had the task of Thousand Machines Gate to complete, which was extremely beneficial to himself, and this was his top priority at the moment. For this, he needed to spend a considerable amount of time making sufficient preparations, how could he waste this precious time serving the Foreign Sea Trade Alliance?!

  According to Zhao Di's plan, he would naturally fly to a certain uninhabited island, set up a formation, dig a cave, and then focus on quiet cultivation for ten or twenty years, until the day the task begins!

  "Don't be in a hurry to refuse, Master Ding Guang, please go on!" Seeing that Zhao Di had refused rather bluntly, Ding Guang hastily came out to mediate.

  "Heh heh, the important matter you mentioned, Master, is probably referring to the fact that Tongtian Tower will be opened in about twenty years, right?" Ding Jue asked with a deeply meaningful smile.

  "Not bad! Master is indeed wise and guessed the reason in an instant. Since that's the case, I'll make sufficient preparations for my trip to Tongtian Tower and won't have time to serve your alliance!" The matter of Tongtian Tower was widely known among the Star Sea's Golden Elixir stage cultivators, with nearly half of them aware of it. For the two old monks, it wasn't considered a secret at all, so he acknowledged it without any concealment!

  "Don't worry, Master! This alliance won't take up too much of your time. We just want to borrow your expertise in equipment refinement, especially in the crafting of spiritual artifacts, to guide our own equipment refiners in creating mid-grade spiritual artifacts. You don't even need to lift a finger!" Ding Jue smiled and said, "Hehe, Master Ding Guang has discussed equipment refinement with you before, and I still remember his impression of your words on the subject. And who can forget how you unleashed your divine might on Xingxing Island, revealing an upper-grade spiritual artifact that hasn't been seen in the Starry Sea's cultivation world for years? Although that artifact was damaged, it showed off your exceptional skills in crafting spiritual artifacts! That's exactly what our alliance wants to borrow from you - your experience in refining spiritual artifacts!"

  It seems that his actions of killing the mid-term and late-term Condensing Dan masters on Xingzhou Island have already spread among these Condensing Dan masters. Even the detail of Chui Tian Jian being destroyed has been known to them. Zhao thought so in his heart.

  "Doesn't your noble alliance just need to give some guidance on the refinement of spiritual tools, and it won't delay my cultivation?" Zhao Di asked back, his tone relaxing a lot.

  Ding Jue heard the words and smiled, clapping his hands as he said: "Exactly! Our alliance will give you the blueprints for refining the spiritual tools. As long as you use your rich experience to modify and adjust them to better meet our needs, that's considered completing your task. Moreover, we need to refine these spiritual tools on a large scale, and there are only two or three types, so it won't take up too much of your time!"

  "Is it merely guiding the refinement of three medium-grade spiritual artifacts, without having to take on any other miscellaneous tasks, and will your alliance also grant me the identity and authority as a manager in the next Outer Sea Trade Alliance?" Zhao Di asked again.

  The administrator of the Outer Sea Merchant Alliance, this identity is not simple. This is one of the highest-ranking people in the Outer Sea Star Territory, which means that this person is employed and protected by the Outer Sea Merchant Alliance. If someone dares to lay a hand on an administrator of the Outer Sea Merchant Alliance, it would undoubtedly be equivalent to opposing the entire Outer Sea Merchant Alliance.

  "Not a single mistake, I hope the master will consider carefully!" Ding Jue replied decisively.

  "This humble monk was once a manager of the Outer Sea Trade Alliance, and I can vouch for Master Ding Jue's reliability with my Buddhist heart!" said Ding Guang.

  Zhao furrowed his brow and remained silent, clearly weighing the pros and cons. The two old monks also didn't dare to rush him.

  Suddenly, Zhao Di's eyebrows spread out and he smiled, saying: "Since both masters have said so, I'll accept your good intentions! However, please don't reveal my identity to anyone, I don't want to be disturbed by those petty people."

  "This is certain! If I, a poor monk, were to speak of Master Zhao's affair to anyone other than the three of us, may I fall into hell and never be reborn!" Ding Jue made this vow as if to seal the matter.

  What is referred to as falling into hell and never being reborn, is a unique Buddhist term, roughly meaning the heart demon retaliates, the soul loses its consciousness, losing the qualification to enter the cycle of reincarnation. For Buddhist practitioners, this is indeed an extremely ruthless oath.

  "Master, you're being too serious! I'm willing to trust the two of you!" Zhao Di saw that the other party was speaking with utmost sincerity, and he also spoke with a sincere heart.

  "Haha! With Zhao Shi's help, even if this beast tide is a once-in-a-thousand-years encounter, what's there to fear!" Ding Jue laughed loudly, extremely heroic.

  Zhao Di smiled slightly in his heart. These two old monks, Ding Jue and Ding Guang, were indeed straightforward and generous people, but they didn't quite fit the identity of monks who had renounced worldly life!

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