The grouping went very smoothly.
When Su Zhan and the others approached the stone stele, the disciples assisting nearby had mostly recognized Tang Zhi’s identity as the Young Sect Master of Tongwen Sect.
Their originally lazy attitudes instantly became serious.
Xu Yanrou had transmitted that the Immortal Alliance in North County was actually controlled by eight major sects.
Tongwen Sect was in charge of internal affairs.
All reception and handover work fell under their jurisdiction.
That was why these slack disciples looked like mice seeing a cat the moment they saw Tang Zhi.
The results would only be announced in the evening.
The time after registration was free for activities.
The members of Qingyun Sect intentionally gave Su Zhan and Tang Zhi a chance to spend time alone.
They each found an excuse to leave, saying they wanted to wander around.
Su Zhan did not grow suspicious.
She only felt somewhat confused when she saw Xu Yanrou winking mischievously at her while dragging Ning Yao away.
The pagoda known as the Immortal Alliance Pavilion had been built with the help of many immortal craftsmen cultivators when it was first constructed.
It had taken several decades to complete.
From several hundred meters away, one could still casually say that this pagoda was nothing compared to the heavenly mountains on either side of it.
But once one was inside and truly experienced its vastness, only heartfelt amazement remained.
Dozens of towering bronze pillars supported the structure.
Then there were nine enormous hollow spaces in different directions, allowing even the very bottom to glimpse the light from the top floor.
Dozens of vertical and horizontal pathways ran through the centers of these hollow spaces.
These pathways changed direction slightly on each floor, forming a spiral shape.
The towering staircases appeared and disappeared within this seemingly endless spiral.
It made one even wonder whether the top floor might have a passage leading to the legendary celestial court.
Unfortunately, even when one tilted their head back and looked as far as possible, they could only see the brilliant light falling from the dome above.
It could be said that this place perfectly recreated anyone’s imagination of what a celestial palace looked like.
From time to time, one could see girls with flowing long sleeves gently descending from the upper floors.
When they hurried past the crowd, their long sleeves fluttered, as if ink blooming across a painting.
Su Zhan’s gaze was drawn to them.
These girls’ clothes seemed specially made and were very eye-catching among the crowd.
“Sister Su, do you like their outfits?” Tang Zhi asked with a hint of jealousy.
This was already the third time they had seen such girls while wandering around.
Each time, Su Zhan would stare at them for a long while.
“I am only curious.”
Su Zhan gently shook her head and withdrew her gaze.
She asked curiously, “What do those disciples do?”
She was wondering how those girls managed not to trip over their extremely long sleeves, and what purpose the sleeves served besides looking pretty.
“These disciples are responsible for delivering paper documents and urgent files that are inconvenient to transmit via sound transmission to the supervisors on each floor.”
“If Sister Su likes this kind of attire, I can help request one for you.”
Tang Zhi spoke after carefully considering her words.
This kind of outfit was indeed eye-catching.
It was normal for people to like it.
After all, when the clothes were first designed, the purpose had been to make people notice the message-delivering disciples immediately so that important information would not be missed.
The designers were high-ranking members of Tongwen Sect.
Because it concerned face, the final effect of this outfit was undoubtedly impressive.
However, Tang Zhi had never understood what the point of doing this actually was.
She believed that delivering information only needed to be fast and accurate.
All these complicated outer appearances were completely meaningless.
If one encountered someone with ill intentions, it would be no different from delivering meat straight into a tiger’s mouth.
“That would be too eye-catching. I still prefer simpler clothes.”
Su Zhan shook her head.
“I also like Sister Su wearing these simple clothes.”
Tang Zhi said.
After speaking these words, she felt somewhat guilty and turned her eyes away.
She added, “The clothes Sister Su is wearing right now look very nice as well.”
“Is that so? These were given to me by Xia Junior Sister during our last training trip. I felt they suited me, so I have been wearing them ever since.” Su Zhan nodded.
Tang Zhi gave a soft hum and licked her lips.
Su Zhan had not noticed the deeper meaning behind what she had just said.
This feeling of being bold yet mixing in private words made her feel as if she had secretly obtained a little sweetness.
This was good.
There was no need to worry about being rejected for being too straightforward, nor was there any need to worry about receiving no response.
Moreover, even if one were to seriously examine the deeper meaning, it would not matter.
After all, what she said was exactly what was in her heart.
They continued wandering and chatting from time to time.
News in the cultivation world did not circulate very quickly.
Therefore, one topic could be discussed for a long time.
One moment they were still talking about the prodigies of certain sects in recent years.
The next moment they had already begun chatting about gossip from various sects and factions.
However, what Tang Zhi and Su Zhan talked about was not these things.
Tang Zhi did not know what Su Zhan liked to hear, so she steered the topic toward herself and began telling stories about her experiences over the past few years.
There was nothing thrilling or full of ups and downs.
In her telling, these past few years had been very ordinary for her.
Inside the sect, she cultivated and did coursework.
When she left the sect, she took on commissions from the immortal pavilion and went out on missions.
She did not mention that most of those commissions had been in the area where Qingyun Sect was located.
She also did not mention that after every mission she would make a trip to Qingyun Sect, only to miss Su Zhan every single time.
At this moment of finally seeing her, all those previous near-misses no longer mattered.
She simply recited place names that Su Zhan had either heard of or was unfamiliar with, and spoke about her experiences on each commission.
After saying each one, she would secretly glance at Su Zhan, afraid that her words would make the other person unhappy, and also afraid that she was talking too much and would become annoying.
However, Su Zhan maintained an attentive listening posture the entire time.
From time to time she would even respond with a few words.
Watching Su Zhan sometimes frown in thought and sometimes smile gently, Tang Zhi could not help but feel a slight stir in her heart.
She felt that the way the two of them were interacting was exactly the same as before.
But after the happiness came worry again.
She was actually not unaware of the stakes.
She also knew that since both of them cultivated the Ruthless Dao, there would ultimately be no good outcome.
She could see that Su Zhan had always maintained a faint sense of distance toward her, as if facing a familiar stranger.
Finally, Tang Zhi gathered her courage and asked softly.
“Sister Su… Do you find me annoying?”
Knowing that both of them cultivated the Ruthless Dao yet still forcing herself to approach, she was indeed somewhat ignorant of what was good for her.
If it were anyone else, unless it was for her current prominent status, they would probably avoid her like the plague.
But if she were asked to cut off these past memories, she could not bear to, nor could she let go.
“Why would you think that?” Su Zhan was startled, then asked in return.
“Because…”
Tang Zhi pressed her lips together and lost her nerve again.
She did not say what she had just wanted to say.
She only took a deep breath and said, “Because I just rambled on for so long, and most of those things were terribly boring. I suppose it must be annoying.”
“Is that all?” Su Zhan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
She had not expected that a girl as unrestrained as Tang Zhi would actually have such thoughts.
She suddenly thought of her previous life, when she had almost no interpersonal relationships and not even many friends.
She thought of the games and novels she had immersed herself in.
Unconsciously, she spoke in a somewhat absent-minded voice.
“I think it is a very fortunate thing to be able to listen to someone ramble on about their own matters for so long. After hearing these things, I feel as if I have also seen what you were like in those stories. It is as if I participated in that part of your life.”
Su Zhan laughed softly again.
“Let alone finding it annoying, I am actually very happy that Tang Zhi is willing to let me understand you a little more.”
“Then does Sister Su still want to understand me even more?”
The girl’s breathing suddenly quickened a little.
After hearing Su Zhan’s words, she blurted out without thinking.
“If Tang Zhi is willing, then of course I am willing.” Su Zhan gently tilted her head and joked, “If you feel thirsty, we can first find a place to rest. I will brew a pot of tea for you and we can talk more.”
Tang Zhi was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled faintly.
“Then it is agreed. Sister Su must not go back on your word. From now on, you are not allowed to find me annoying.”
It is agreed… that you will participate in more of my life from now on.
Even if later, because of a tribulation, our bond is severed and our fate ends, at least I will have a few more memories to hold on to.
The two of them once again picked up their conversation as they walked among the wide crowd.
Their casual chat quickly blended into the noise of the people around them.
It was not until the sunlight outside the pagoda gradually faded that everything slowly returned to calm.