A month later, Xiao Fei attended the Saint Dan Sect's alchemy competition as promised.
The Saint Dan Sect, as the most powerful alchemy sect in the Tian Yuan Realm, boasted disciples who were all outstanding.
It opened Xiao Fei's eyes, truly showing that one should not underestimate the heroes of the world.
The disciples who emerged victorious from the Saint Dan Sect's competition possessed superb alchemy skills, reminiscent of his own youthful demeanor.
Xiao Fei observed them with the perspective of an elder, feeling deeply gratified.
However, the Saint Dan Sect had invited Xiao Fei with a purpose: to seize this opportunity to showcase their strength.
Their intention was to persuade Xiao Fei to join the Saint Dan Sect, becoming an alchemy elder, and they promised him various benefits.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, you might not be aware, but the ten-thousand-year spiritual medicine, a rarity in the Tian Yuan Realm, can be obtained once every ten years if you become our alchemy elder."
Ouyang Yu boasted to Xiao Fei with considerable confidence. Even the Void Refining elders from other major powers would have their eyes gleam green at such treatment.
Ten-thousand-year spiritual medicines were incredibly difficult to cultivate, each requiring the effort of several generations.
For a Nascent Soul cultivator like Xiao Fei, who lacked any background, he might not have even seen the shadow of a ten-thousand-year spiritual medicine.
"My apologies! Junior has always been accustomed to freedom and has no intention of joining any forces for the time being."
Xiao Fei refused Ouyang Yu with the same reason as before.
He had long decided to be a flirtatious woman, exchanging glances with every young man, but never marrying any of them.
He absolutely would not abandon the entire forest for a single tree.
"If that is the case, this old man still wishes to invite Fellow Daoist to become an honored guest elder of the Saint Dan Sect. I hope you will not refuse."
With things having reached this point, it was naturally difficult for Xiao Fei to refuse again. Any further refusal would offend them.
Moreover, being an honored guest elder merely meant having a title; it was essentially a cooperative relationship, and there were benefits to be gained. Why not?
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Ouyang! From now on, if the Saint Dan Sect has any matters, please do not hesitate to command me."
As Xiao Fei departed from the Saint Dan Sect, he held another honored guest token in his hand.
He was now an honored guest of two of the seven major powers in the Tian Yuan Realm.
In fact, while these forces were trying to win him over, they were also indirectly winning over Huang Feifei.
Before deciding to recruit Xiao Fei, they must have conducted investigations and knew about his relationship with Huang Feifei.
When the two were together, Xiao Fei was always the one making decisions, so they naturally chose to approach him first.
Xiao Fei served as an honored guest elder for two major powers, occasionally refining a few batches of pills for them. His life remained unchanged.
However, it wasn't long before another major power proactively sought him out.
This time, it was the Jiang clan, one of the four great families.
These ancient families were different from sects; they were bound by blood ties, united internally, and did not readily accept outsiders.
The only way for cultivators from outside these families to enter was through marriage alliances.
This meant marrying a man from their clan or taking a woman from their family as a wife.
However, Xiao Fei's situation was a bit peculiar and complicated.
If they allowed Xiao Fei to marry a Jiang clan woman, it might offend Huang Feifei.
If they allowed Huang Feifei to marry into the Jiang clan, no man would tolerate it.
This was not recruitment; it was an invitation for animosity.
Therefore, the Jiang clan dispatched a well-connected Void Refining cultivator this time. After getting acquainted and acting chummy with Xiao Fei, they also presented him with an honored guest elder token.
In the following period, other major powers in Tian Yuan City also sent people to offer Xiao Fei honored guest elder tokens.
Even the Ji and Xing clans, with whom Xiao Fei had some past grievances, sent their Void Refining elders to personally invite him.
Xiao Fei did not refuse them either. The people with whom he had grievances were merely the younger generation of Nascent Soul cultivators from those clans.
Now that their Void Refining powerhouses were personally extending invitations, it demonstrated their sincerity.
At the very least, it meant that Xing Wuming and Ji Zhuo, with whom he had past issues, could no longer mobilize their family forces against him, which was sufficient.
Xiao Fei sat behind the counter, arranging the seven honored guest tokens in a line. He then drilled holes in each and strung them together with a rope.
Someone once held the seals of six states; he now bore the tokens of seven honored guest positions, one more than that person.
By simultaneously becoming an honored guest elder of these seven major powers, he could essentially walk sideways through the entire Tian Yuan Realm without much trouble.
The seven powers not only granted him an extraordinary status but also sent him a batch of treasures periodically.
Xiao Fei, not lacking these spiritual items, had them directly converted into spirit stones.
Taking their money naturally meant resolving their troubles; this was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao! Long time no see. This old man bothers you again today."
The visitor was a Void Refining elder from the Xing clan, named Xing Youxian. Xing Youxian had been the one maintaining contact with Xiao Fei for the Xing clan.
Xing Youxian glanced at the string of honored guest tokens in Xiao Fei's hand, his eyes filled with envy.
"Ah, Fellow Daoist Xing, please, have a seat."
After sitting down, Xing Youxian produced a jade slip and a large bag of medicinal herbs.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, you'll have to trouble you again!"
"No trouble at all, it's just a small effort!"
Xiao Fei readily accepted the herbs and the jade slip, then examined the latter.
This was another relatively precious pill. Two of the medicinal herbs were not present in his spatial realm.
These seven major powers did not bother him often; they only sought him out for refining when they encountered particularly rare and difficult materials.
In the process of refining pills for these forces, he often acquired some rare types of spiritual herbs, which was an unexpected bonus.
Xiao Fei put away the herbs and the jade slip, as if suddenly remembering something.
"By the way! Fellow Daoist Xing, I'd like to inquire about someone. They are also a disciple of your Xing clan."
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, please speak."
"It's like this, I have a friend who is a disciple of your Xing clan, named Xing Wuming."
Xing Youxian put on a look of sudden realization, though he had already investigated everything thoroughly.
"So, this disciple of our clan who made a mistake is also a friend of Fellow Daoist Xiao. Truly his good fortune."
"It's just that the crime he committed is too grave; he lost a precious treasure of the clan. The ancestral laws cannot be broken.
The punishment set by the clan cannot be easily waived."
Xing Youxian showed a look of difficulty as he spoke.
In fact, Xiao Fei had already anticipated this. All forces were very wary of outsiders interfering in their internal affairs.
Otherwise, if anyone had a problem and went to seek help from outsiders, the rules would be chaotic, and it would become a mess.
Therefore, he did not directly make any requests. He merely mentioned it casually.
"However, since he is a friend of Fellow Daoist Xiao, although this crime cannot be waived, the period of forced labor can be manipulated to be reduced. That should be possible."
Xing Wuming was now indebted to Xiao Fei.
"Xiao, please wait patiently for a while. This matter is still being closely watched by many within the clan. After some time, I will find a way to reduce Xing Wuming's sentence."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Xing!"
Xiao Fei expressed his thanks and then took the herbs to the back hall to refine the pills for him.