Du Yan ignored everyone’s looks that plainly said they wanted to freeload off the rich and asked Xia Yunzhao, “What happened just now?”
Xia Yunzhao told him about Yunjiangguan, then asked, “Brother Du, wasn’t Yunjiangguan the former Yufa Sect? Wasn’t Yufa Sect Qianyuan Sect’s mortal enemy? Then how are there people inside Qianyuan Sect colluding with Yunjiangguan? Aren’t they afraid anyone else will find out?”
Du Yan said, “That is why they must be communicating in private. Even if they intend to make a move, they will not make too much of a commotion.”
Xiang Moyue suddenly opened his eyes. “Forgive me for speaking frankly, Fellow Daoist Du, but I’m afraid you’ve guessed wrong.”
Everyone looked at him. Xiang Moyue spread his hands helplessly. “Xianke Residence has already been surrounded. People from Qianyuan Sect’s Method-Appraisal Office arrived, claiming they detected demonic qi and intend to search the entire inn.”
Everyone froze. After a long moment, Zhong Yundu said with a laugh, “Demonic qi sure makes a convenient excuse. They trot it out whenever it suits them.”
Fortunately, they had left quickly. Otherwise, they would be the ones surrounded right now. These two crooked buddies really did move fast!
Xia Yunzhao nodded. “Looks like the Method-Appraisal Office is the one colluding with Yunjiangguan.”
Du Yan was speechless too. He had never expected the Method-Appraisal Office to have fallen this far after a hundred years.
Su Meng raised a hand. “I still don’t get it. Why exactly does Yunjiangguan want to kill us?”
He was not the only one who did not understand. None of the others did either. And Yunjiangguan had not wanted to kill them from the very beginning. Clearly, their original goal had merely been to stop the group from coming to Duxu City. It was only after seeing them in Duxu City that they developed killing intent.
So what exactly were these people planning to do in Duxu City that they were so afraid of being seen?
After turning it over and over without reaching an answer, Xia Yunzhao simply changed the subject. “Brother Du, did you finish visiting your friends and teachers? Is everyone doing well?”
Du Yan nodded. “They’re all well. I also asked around about the process for this Qianyuan Grand Competition.” As he spoke, he took out a jade slip.
The blood on the jade slip had already been wiped clean. Everyone examined it in turn, and Xia Yunzhao let out an impressed sound. “They’re making this Qianyuan Grand Competition that big of an event?”
Du Yan had already read it and naturally knew what he meant. “Using the reappearance of demonic qi as the reason, Qianyuan Sect sent invitations to all the major powers. They intend to use the Qianyuan Grand Competition as an opportunity to discuss how to eradicate the demonic qi and restore peace to the world.”
“That’s not good.” Zhong Yundu scratched his head. “Even if they only send people for appearances’ sake, these powers will still have to field competitors, right? Winning first place won’t be easy.”
At that, several people looked toward Xia Yunzhao. The very reason they had come to Duxu City was that Xia Yunzhao wanted to find the Qian-Kun Qi-Control Treatise, which had been lost in Qianyuan Sect’s Scripture Pavilion. Only the champion of the Grand Competition was qualified to enter the Scripture Pavilion.
Xia Yunzhao looked perfectly calm and took it in stride. “We’ll try first. If it doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else!”
Shang Shuangze, on the other hand, frowned slightly. He was clearly more concerned about it than Xia Yunzhao himself.
Xiang Moyue suddenly suggested, “City Lord Xia, why not try entering Qianyuan Sect as a disciple? Recruitment happens before the Grand Competition. With two chances, surely one will work.”
The jade slip stated it clearly. In five days, Qianyuan Sect would open its gates and recruit disciples. At that time, Qianyuan Sect would place a Spirit-Root Testing Stone on the Tongxuan Platform in Qingjing Ward. Candidates would first have their aptitude tested, then climb the Ascension Stairway. Only after that would they truly enter Qianyuan Sect.
Truthfully, given Xia Yunzhao’s aptitude and age, if he wanted to enter Qianyuan Sect, his chances of success were not merely nine out of ten but closer to ninety-nine out of a hundred.
However… Xia Yunzhao waved a hand. “I’m not going.”
Never mind whether he could succeed. If something went wrong, he could slap his backside and run away, but what about Qingxi City? The two places might be far apart, yet for Qianyuan Sect, flattening Qingxi City would be no more troublesome than swatting a fly.
It was better to be cautious.
Over the next few days, the Method-Appraisal Office carried out several more large-scale searches throughout the city. Publicly, they were still hunting demonic cultivators. In reality, everyone knew who they were looking for.
Fortunately, the group was hidden inside Du Yan’s Level-Four cave dwelling and was never found. Du Yan did not want them to remain hidden there forever and considered returning to Qianyuan Sect to look for a solution, but Xia Yunzhao refused.
Xia Yunzhao said, “Brother Du, don’t worry. At worst, once the Grand Competition begins and all the major powers gather here, the Method-Appraisal Office definitely won’t dare act recklessly. We’ll naturally be able to move around freely then.”
He was right. In fact, they did not even need to wait for the Grand Competition. On the fifth day, when Qianyuan Sect’s disciple-recruitment ceremony began, the Method-Appraisal Office withdrew its people and finally quieted down.
Only then did everyone leave the cave dwelling.
Qingjing Ward was no longer quiet either. There were clearly far more people than before.
Xia Yunzhao looked left and right. “Are all these people trying to enter Qianyuan Sect?”
“It is the second-greatest sect in the world, after all. Once you enter, even if you cannot say the immortal path is guaranteed, your future is at least secure. Never mind mortals and unaffiliated cultivators. Even many disciples from smaller sects secretly come and try their luck.” As usual, it was Xiang Moyue speaking.
While everyone else had been inside the cave dwelling, only he had been able to see what was happening outside through his Information-Gathering Bees.
Du Yan led the way and brought everyone to the Tongxuan Platform.
Xia Yunzhao curiously looked toward the platform and saw an enormous stone. One side was smooth as a mirror, while the other was covered in irregular holes and spots. He could sense countless strands of spiritual energy of different attributes moving in and out of those spots and holes without actually leaving the stone. It was extremely strange.
The Tongxuan Platform itself was enormous too, almost like a plaza. The surroundings were already packed with people waiting for the ceremony to begin.
After an unknown amount of time, a gong finally rang. A Qianyuan Sect disciple stepped forward and read out the rules for the spirit-root test. “Anyone with a bone age under thirty, whether mortal or cultivator, may come onto the platform for testing. Only those with a Mystic-grade spirit root or higher may proceed to the next stage…”
Xia Yunzhao suddenly realized he still did not know what kind of spirit root he had. He quietly asked Shang Shuangze, “What kind of spirit root are you?”
Shang Shuangze lowered his head and leaned close to his ear. “When I was little, the moment I touched a Spirit-Root Testing Stone, it broke. So even now, I still don’t know what kind of spirit root I have. Master guessed Earth-grade or Heaven-grade.”
Xia Yunzhao imagined a tiny, three-heads-tall Shang Shuangze touching the Spirit-Root Testing Stone, only for it to go pfft and start smoking before dying on the spot… Kind of cute. “What a coincidence. I don’t know what kind of spirit root I have either. We’re a perfect match!”
Shang Shuangze laughed and humored him. “Mm. A perfect match.”
The spirit-root testing had already begun. One person after another walked up, and the Spirit-Root Testing Stone lit with varying degrees of brightness while the Qianyuan Sect disciple beside it announced each grade.
Those with Mystic-grade spirit roots or higher were naturally overjoyed, while those below Mystic grade were naturally disappointed.
There were also some people born as mortals whose spirit roots failed to reach Mystic grade and were only Yellow-grade or Human-grade, yet that alone was enough to delight them. To people like them, simply having a spirit root was enough. Having a spirit root meant they were no longer ordinary mortals. Even if they could not enter Qianyuan Sect, they could still join another smaller sect.
Watching them, Xia Yunzhao suddenly asked, “Are Spirit-Root Testing Stones expensive? Where can I buy one?”
Shang Shuangze immediately understood what he was thinking. “You want to buy one for Qingxi City?”
Xia Yunzhao nodded. “Qingxi City has so many people. We can test them one by one, and anyone with a spirit root can cultivate! Cultivators who come from elsewhere leave the moment something displeases them. I’d feel much safer with cultivators born and raised in Qingxi City itself.”
The others heard his idea and did a quick calculation. Zhong Yundu said speechlessly, “If you really test tens of thousands of people with spirit roots, how are you going to teach them? Build a school?”
Xia Yunzhao thought about it. “That’s actually a great idea! We can build a cultivation school, divide everyone into first year, second year, third year, and so on. The cultivators working for the City Lord Residence can all teach classes, and I’ll give them subsidies!”
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded. “Then everyone in Qingxi City will be a soldier. Let’s see who still dares bully us!”
Something like Yunjiangguan forcing the entire city to swallow those Demon-Warding Spirit Pills would never happen again!
Seeing him grow more excited by the second, Du Yan could only give a light cough and remind him, “Spirit-Root Testing Stones aren’t sold.”
Xia Yunzhao stared. “They aren’t?”
Xiang Moyue also laughed. “Only the major sects possess Spirit-Root Testing Stones. They’re difficult to make, so naturally they aren’t sold…”
Xia Yunzhao understood. They could talk all they wanted about how difficult the stones were to refine, but in truth, they had monopolized the method for screening talent. The people they were afraid of were precisely people like Xia Yunzhao. If everyone could test for spirit roots, mortals could no longer really be called mortals. They could only be called “cultivators-in-waiting.” Even mortals who truly had no spirit root might give birth to children who did. If that happened, what mortal would willingly endure humiliation?
He clicked his tongue. “These people sure have plenty of nasty little schemes.”
He stared at the Spirit-Root Testing Stone flashing incessantly on the platform. No, he was still jealous. He had to find some way to get one and bring it back!
At that moment, a burst of brilliant light suddenly erupted from the platform, as though a luminous pearl had abruptly transformed into the sun. The radiance was so dazzling that no one could keep their eyes open.
Xia Yunzhao only felt his eyelids grow heavy as a cool palm covered his eyes. He blinked, his lashes brushing Shang Shuangze’s palm. “What happened? What happened? Did they find some kind of genius?”
Perhaps Xia Yunzhao’s words amused him, or perhaps the lashes sweeping his palm tickled. Either way, a trace of laughter entered Shang Shuangze’s voice. “Mm. The previous person had a Yellow-grade spirit root. This one is shining so brightly that their grade should be much higher.”
Xia Yunzhao calculated it out. Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow, Human. Yellow grade was not even the lowest. With such an enormous difference in brightness, had they found an Earth-grade spirit root? Or perhaps a Heaven-grade one?
The brilliance slowly faded, and Shang Shuangze removed his hand. Xia Yunzhao blinked and looked toward the platform. “…Huh? Was that the one who just got tested?”
Shang Shuangze nodded.
Why was Xia Yunzhao so surprised? Because the person in front of the Spirit-Root Testing Stone was not alone at all. It was a family of three: a young husband and wife holding a child around three years old.
At that moment, the plump little child’s soft white hand was resting on the Spirit-Root Testing Stone. So the genius they had just discovered was this tiny child!
The Qianyuan Sect disciple beside him suddenly looked as though he were facing a great enemy. He carefully examined the Spirit-Root Testing Stone, then took the child’s hand and checked him for a while before finally showing a trace of joy. “Heaven-grade spirit root! Quickly notify an elder!”
The instant those words were spoken, the entire crowd erupted. A Heaven-grade spirit root! This little child actually had a Heaven-grade spirit root?!
Xia Yunzhao asked curiously, “Are Heaven-grade spirit roots really rare?”
Zhong Yundu glanced at him with a strange expression.
Xia Yunzhao immediately became wary. “What’s that look supposed to mean? Are you secretly insulting me in your head?!”
Zhong Yundu was speechless and muttered, “Heaven-grade spirit roots are rare, but there are things rarer still. A Heaven-grade spirit root paired with a special constitution, for example. The Myriad-Spirit Body, the Spirit-Severed Body, things like that…”
Xia Yunzhao grew even more suspicious. “What do you mean, Myriad-Spirit Body? You really are secretly insulting me, aren’t you?”
Du Yan sighed, took Xia Yunzhao by the shoulders, and turned him back toward the platform. “Heaven-grade spirit roots are rare, but every time Qianyuan Sect opens its gates to recruit disciples, they usually find one or two. They aren’t that extraordinary. Something is wrong this time. That disciple is far too excited.” As he spoke, Du Yan frowned. What exactly had happened inside Qianyuan Sect?
The next moment, a thin, hunchbacked old man appeared on the platform. No one saw how he arrived. It was as though he had materialized from thin air, yet also as though he had been standing there all along and everyone had only just noticed him.
Xia Yunzhao’s heart tightened. He took one glance and immediately lowered his head. Soul Transformation stage. As expected of the second-greatest sect in the world. A mere aptitude test before disciple recruitment had actually drawn out a Soul Transformation cultivator.
Du Yan’s low voice sounded beside his ear. “Outer-Sect Elder Zhou Fentian. All newly admitted disciples are under his management.”
Xia Yunzhao gave an almost imperceptible nod. An Outer-Sect Elder? What had brought this Outer-Sect Elder here at a time like this?
He quietly looked up again. The old man wore a faded dark-red Daoist robe, its hem marked by scorch stains. It did not seem to be a magical robe at all, merely an ordinary piece of clothing. His half-long gray-white hair hung loose, while both eyelids drooped so low they covered half his pupils.
The disciple beside him eagerly hurried forward. “Elder…” He leaned close and whispered for a while.
The eye beneath Zhou Fentian’s drooping lid shifted toward the family of three.
The young couple’s legs went weak. They dropped to their knees with the child in their arms and bowed. “I-Immortal Master…”
Zhou Fentian did not even look at them. He stretched out one withered hand, and the plump white child flew into the air and landed in his arms. The little boy knew nothing about what was happening. Faced with Zhou Fentian’s rather frightening appearance, he immediately burst into loud sobs.
The woman heard her child crying and could not stop herself from lunging forward. “Xiaobao!”
Her husband hurriedly held her back. “I-Immortal Master, he’s still little. Please be gentle with him…”
Zhou Fentian ignored them completely. His aged, shriveled-root appearance formed a stark contrast with the soft, tender child in his arms. After examining the boy carefully, a trace of satisfaction appeared on his wrinkled face. “Not bad. It really is a Heaven-grade spirit root.”
With a lift of his hand, a cloth bundle flew into the young couple’s arms. It landed with a clatter and spilled several gold ingots onto the ground.
Zhou Fentian said indifferently, “This child has fate with the immortal sect, so I will take him with me. From now on, he will have no further ties to the mundane world. For the sake of his future, I hope you will not entangle yourselves with him again.”
With that, he turned to leave. The three-year-old was already old enough to understand a little. Seeing that Zhou Fentian intended to carry him away, he immediately struggled, stretching his small hands desperately backward. “Mama! Mama! Waaaa… Xiaobao wants Mama!”
The woman broke free of her husband as well and wailed, “Xiaobao… my Xiaobao…”
Her husband’s eyes filled with tears. He knelt and kowtowed. “Please, Immortal Master, take good care of my son…”
What should have been a joyous occasion, the discovery of a Heaven-grade spirit root, had instantly turned into the tragedy of a mother and child being torn apart.
Xia Yunzhao felt stifled inside and could not help asking, “Why does entering a sect mean cutting away all worldly ties? He’s so little. Can he really manage without his parents taking care of him?”
Du Yan was silent for a moment. “To people like them, once you enter the sect, naturally you cannot have too much contact with mortals. Not even your own birth parents.”
Xia Yunzhao frowned even harder. What kind of nonsense was that? They cleaved immortals and mortals apart with a single stroke and even cast aside blood ties. No wonder so many cultivators were cold.
The couple were persuaded down from the Tongxuan Platform, and the spirit-root testing continued. Xia Yunzhao listened to the conversations around him. Nobody cared how the child would live after being separated from his parents. Instead, people envied his Heaven-grade spirit root. Some even started betting on whether another Heaven-grade spirit root would appear later.
The sheer matter-of-factness of it nearly made him feel as though he were the strange one. It was utterly bizarre.
Shang Shuangze naturally sensed his mood. His fingers slipped between Xia Yunzhao’s, interlacing with them. The cool touch of his palm gradually soothed the agitation in Xia Yunzhao’s heart.
Perhaps that Heaven-grade spirit root had used up all the day’s luck. The next dozen or so people tested only Human-grade or Yellow-grade, and several did not have spirit roots at all. Those people were undoubtedly ordinary mortals. When the Spirit-Root Testing Stone failed to produce even the faintest glimmer, despair spread across their faces as though the sky had collapsed.
That, at least, was something the people waiting behind them could empathize with. The crowd gradually fell quiet.
Two more people stepped onto the platform. Everyone’s vision blurred for a moment… These two people looked exactly alike?
They were twin sisters. Both wore matching water-red dresses and had curved sabers tucked at their waists. They did not look old, perhaps eighteen or nineteen, yet their cultivation was already at mid Foundation Establishment.
After watching for a while, Xia Yunzhao understood. “If these two want to enter Qianyuan Sect, that means they aren’t from a major sect or powerful clan. If they can still reach such a high cultivation level at this age, their talent must be excellent.”
Shang Shuangze looked amused. Whether it was “at this age” or “excellent talent,” everything Xia Yunzhao said sounded suspiciously like he was describing himself.
Xia Yunzhao jabbed an elbow into his waist in displeasure. “What are you laughing at?”
Shang Shuangze immediately became solemn. “You make sense. Their talent is excellent.”
Xia Yunzhao: “…” This man had changed. He used to be an icy-faced iceberg!
Fortunately, Xia Yunzhao had guessed correctly. After the little child with the Heaven-grade spirit root, the Spirit-Root Testing Stone finally erupted with dazzling light again. This time the brightness was somewhat lower than before. It was an Earth-grade spirit root, and both sisters had one.
The Qianyuan Sect disciple looked delighted again, though this time he did not notify an elder. Instead, he told the twin sisters, “With talent as high as yours, Junior Sisters, the Ascension Stairway surely won’t pose much difficulty. Allow me to congratulate you in advance.”
The sisters hurriedly replied, “Many thanks, Senior Brother.” Only after stepping down from the Tongxuan Platform did they look at each other and finally allow themselves to smile.
Time passed little by little. The Spirit-Root Testing Stone continued flashing rapidly, while the number of people waiting below grew smaller and smaller.
Xia Yunzhao counted roughly five Earth-grade spirit roots. There was still only one Heaven-grade.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. He lowered his voice. “Look over there. That man.”
Everyone immediately followed his gaze. Near the back of the queue stood a tall man wearing a rough black robe and a bamboo hat.
They did not know the man, but the bamboo hat looked familiar… Even Su Meng recognized it. “Isn’t that the boat owner who sold the Cold-Jade Mystic-Water Clams?”
Xia Yunzhao nodded. He possessed the Di-Ting Art and was extremely sensitive to people’s auras, so he had recognized the man at a glance. This was the very boat owner who had sold Cold-Jade Mystic-Water Clams and Sea-Moon Stone at the Drifting-Boat Market.
The man had concealed his cultivation back then, but he was not doing so now. Everyone immediately discovered that he was a Golden Core cultivator!
Qianyuan Sect had already said it recruited only those with a bone age under thirty. In other words, this man was not even thirty years old and had already reached Golden Core… His talent was anything but poor.
Despite that talent, he was remarkably low-key. He stood near the very back of the line, with only two or three people behind him.
Xia Yunzhao kept watching him. When the man finally stepped onto the platform and reached the Spirit-Root Testing Stone, sure enough, he tested as Earth-grade.
Not long after his test, the entire spirit-root examination ended. Everyone who had passed was called onto the Tongxuan Platform.
At least several thousand people had been tested that day, yet fewer than a hundred ultimately passed. Among them were only six Earth-grade spirit roots, while the rest were Mystic-grade.
Xia Yunzhao looked toward those who had passed, then suddenly asked Du Yan, “Brother Du, what grade is your spirit root?”
Du Yan said, “Merely Earth-grade.”
Xia Yunzhao clicked his tongue. “Even you only have an Earth-grade spirit root. Heaven-grade really is rare. Brother Du, are the heads of all nine offices in Qianyuan Sect Heaven-grade?”
Du Yan shook his head. “Among the nine office heads, only two possess Heaven-grade spirit roots. The rest are all Earth-grade.”
Xia Yunzhao was confused. “But doesn’t Qianyuan Sect find one or two Heaven-grade spirit roots every time it recruits disciples? Over a thousand years, that should be at least a dozen. How come they don’t even make up all nine office heads?”
Xiang Moyue answered him. “Because cultivation resources inside a sect are limited too. Heaven-grade spirit roots consume enormous amounts of resources. If one person takes more, the others naturally receive less. Before a Heaven-grade spirit root has truly grown strong, having talent does not mean they are already a genius.”
Xia Yunzhao understood at once. A good spirit root benefited the sect as a whole, but to the individuals competing for the same resources, it could be a threat.
His thoughts returned to the little child who had just been taken away. The boy came from a mortal family and had no one inside the sect to protect him. Xia Yunzhao could only hope he would meet a good master.
A bell rang from the direction of Qianyuan Sect’s mountain gate. Clouds and mist churned, and a vast voice spread over the crowd. “The Ascension Stairway is open. Those who reach the summit within six hours will enter the inner sect. Those who arrive within twelve hours will enter the outer sect.”
White-jade steps rose from the foot of the mountain toward the peak, more than ten thousand steps in all.
Zhou Fentian swept his sleeve and transported all the successful candidates to the first step of the Ascension Stairway. The surrounding crowd immediately followed to watch.
Xia Yunzhao studied the stairway carefully. Formation light flickered across it, with several formations layered together.
He could make out an illusion formation and a rockfall formation among them. Xia Yunzhao frowned. “Can ordinary mortals really get through this?”
Du Yan said, “There are five formations on the Ascension Stairway: the Illusion Formation, Rockfall Formation, Stone-Spike Formation, and Soul-Capturing Formation. The fifth has never been disclosed.”
Zhong Yundu clicked his tongue. “Forget ordinary mortals. Even Qi Refining cultivators would have trouble.”
Xia Yunzhao looked toward the people who had passed the test. There were roughly a dozen mortals among them, all eager and excited. They had no idea that what awaited them was still an uncrossable chasm.
The bell rang again. The trial began, and everyone immediately stepped onto the white-jade stairs.
One person, whether out of impatience or carelessness, shot ahead in only a few strides. Standing more than ten steps above everyone else, he turned back smugly. The next instant, a boulder rolling down from above smashed him off the staircase.
Bottomless cliffs yawned on both sides. Falling meant becoming a meat pancake. This was actually a trial where failing to pass meant death.
Xia Yunzhao frowned and simply focused his attention on the man in the bamboo hat. With the man’s cultivation, the Rockfall Formation posed no danger. Yet he remained at the very back, with only two or three people trailing behind him. He was not quite last, and he attracted no attention at all.
Some inexplicable intuition told Xia Yunzhao that there was definitely something wrong with this man. But what exactly was it…?
The next moment, an enormous boulder appeared from nowhere and hurtled toward the people at the very back. The sides of the staircase were open, so dodging the boulder itself was easy, but falling off the cliff would be just as bad. Those few people froze in terror.
A flash of blue light appeared around the man in the bamboo hat. A folding fan materialized in his hand, and gentle water-attributed spiritual power formed a barrier above his head, knocking the boulder aside.
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
He stared at the familiar fan, then silently looked up at the sky… Wasn’t that the water-attributed treasure fan he had refined? So the spirit pearls he had spent had gone around in a circle and somehow returned to his own pocket.