I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 645 Trial (Seeking monthly votes)

"Let whoever wants to carry this lousy water carry it; I'm not doing it anymore!"

At dusk, Jiang Yi angrily smashed the wooden bucket. She could tolerate cutting bamboo, but carrying water was simply toxic!
She could only carry two buckets per trip. She tried to carry more than two buckets, but there were restrictions on the carrying pole, so she couldn't lift them at all.

Well, two buckets it is. But the higher we went up the steps, the heavier the buckets became.

She endured it, gritting her teeth and picking through it, making ten trips in one afternoon. And guess what? The jar was like a bottomless pit; now there's only one layer at the bottom.

Not only Jiang Yi couldn't take it anymore, but many other people around her also collapsed from exhaustion. Su Wan and Liu Xu, who lived in the same courtyard as Jiang Yi, sat on the ground panting. They had left home earlier than Jiang Yi and started fetching water before dawn, but they hadn't even filled half a vat yet.

With a sob in her voice, Su Wan said to Liu Xu, "Let's go cut bamboo tomorrow too. Carrying water is too hard. We have to finish at least one task a day, otherwise we won't be able to exchange for a single pill by the end of the month, and we'll be punished!"

Liu Xu nodded sullenly, indicating her agreement.

Two points are awarded for completing daily tasks, with a maximum of sixty points per month. Fifty points can be exchanged for a Qi Gathering Pill, saving a year of arduous cultivation. This is why pills are not given to beginners.

Those who don't even score 30 points in a month will be punished by being sent to the cold pool behind the mountain for three days of arduous cultivation. It is said that those who have been there never want to go a second time.

Jiang Yi had originally planned to infiltrate slowly, but now it seems she won't be able to endure the three-year period.

"Does anyone know how to skip the three-year introductory course?"

Jiang Yi rarely took the initiative to speak, asking those present that all the people here were female disciples, and that the male disciples' woodsheds were in the male disciples' courtyard.

Everyone looked at each other, clearly very curious. Finally, Liu Xu spoke up, "I heard that the Sword, Talisman, and Pill Academies all have trial stages. Those who pass can directly become inner disciples of the three academies and formally study the true methods of Xuandu Temple. Although it doesn't say that they can be exempted from the three years of introductory courses, I've never seen inner disciples carrying water and chopping wood."

"Thank you!" Jiang Yi got up and left.

Liu Xu and Su Wan looked at each other in bewilderment. Several female disciples who were also exhausted and slumped on the ground nearby also heard their conversation.

"She...she really went to participate in the Third Academy's assessment?" Su Wan asked incredulously.

Liu Xu gazed in the direction where Jiang Yi had disappeared and murmured, "It should be... But those trials in the Three Academies aren't for us newcomers. I heard they're for senior brothers and sisters who have already formed their inner cores, have been in the inner sect for many years, and want to take the next step to become core disciples."

A slightly older female disciple chimed in, "That's right, those assessments are incredibly difficult. Just the Sword Academy's 'Sword Testing Forest' requires you to defeat a sword puppet of the same level within ten moves, and that sword puppet's swordsmanship is extremely tricky! The Talisman Academy's 'Thousand Talisman Wall' supposedly requires you to instantly identify and copy a hundred ancient talismans, and you can't afford to make a single mistake. Not to mention the Pill Academy, without several years of alchemy training, you can't even pass the first level."

"She's only just established her foundation, this is too much..." Another female disciple shook her head, feeling that Jiang Yi was being a bit arrogant.

"Maybe she really is capable?" Liu Xu whispered, recalling Jiang Yi's clean and efficient skills during the introductory sword test.

"Even if someone is skilled, it depends on what kind of skill they possess." The older female disciple sighed. "Which of the three paths—alchemy, talisman, and swordsmanship—doesn't require years of dedicated practice? How old is she? Even if she started learning from birth, how proficient could she possibly be? Oh well, everyone has their own ambitions. It's getting dark. Let's hurry and do a couple more rounds while there's still some light. We can't let the Qi Gathering Pills for the end of the month go to waste."

The crowd discussed among themselves, all feeling that Jiang Yi's chances of success were slim. Resigned, they picked up the wooden buckets and carrying poles, and in twos and threes, they dragged their heavy steps and continued on their way down the mountain to fetch water.

Jiang Yi left the female disciples' courtyard and went straight to the Third Courtyard.

After some investigation, Jiang Yi discovered that these trials were indeed not something that someone who had just established their foundation could attempt. However, she had a cheat code; she had easily defeated even the Bamboo Swordsman in the past, so the trials of swordsmanship were the easiest for her.

Having controlled the Fu Liu clone over the years, I have gained some understanding of the Dao of Talismans, and the trials of the Talisman Academy are not out of the question.

But Jiang Yi's gaze still fell in the direction of the Pill Academy.

The Azure Emperor is obsessed with alchemy. If he were to take on a disciple, one who has shown amazing talent in alchemy would undoubtedly attract his attention more than one who excels in swordsmanship or talismanic arts.

"The Alchemy Academy it is." Jiang Yi made up her mind and strode towards the area where the Alchemy Academy was located.

This clone of Xibing was created by Hong Li, and it has some of Hong Li's talent for alchemy. Moreover, she also has the Heart-Piercing Mirror hidden on her body, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

The Danyuan Square is more spacious than the Jianyuan and Fuyuan Squares, with nine huge alchemy furnaces neatly arranged in the center of the square.

These nine alchemy furnaces are simple and heavy in shape, and the material is neither gold nor jade. The surface is engraved with complex cloud patterns, auspicious beasts and star patterns, exuding a sense of vicissitude and restraint.

At this moment, several people were sitting around each alchemy furnace, most of them with their eyes closed and brows furrowed, as if they were under tremendous pressure.

The closer to the outermost alchemy furnace, the more people gather around it, while the furnaces closer to the center are sparsely populated.

Nine alchemy furnaces, nine checkpoints, each corresponding to one of the nine core processes of alchemy: identification, purification, fusion, fire control... until the final pill is formed.

It is said that only three people in the three-thousand-year history of Xuandu Temple have been able to pass all nine levels in one go!

Most cultivators try repeatedly. If they fail at a level, they quit to recover and try again after a while. This cycle continues until they pass all the levels and qualify to become a core disciple of the inner academy.

Ignoring the curious or puzzled looks from those around her, Jiang Yi walked straight to the outermost alchemy furnace, which was marked with a huge ancient seal character '辨'.

Without hesitation, she threw her identity token into the alchemy furnace.

The moment the token was inserted, the ancient inscriptions on the surface of the alchemy furnace suddenly lit up with a faint light, and an invisible force instantly enveloped Jiang Yi.

As if her soul had been gently tugged, Jiang Yi felt the scene before her eyes blur, and she found herself in another place.

The damp air, carrying the unique scent of earth and decaying vegetation, rushed towards her, and a vast, ancient forest, dappled with deep light, unfolded before her.

Tall trees block out the sun, gnarled vines coil and hang down like giant pythons, thick moss covers the damp rocks and intertwined tree roots, and sunlight struggles to penetrate the layers of branches and leaves, turning into thin beams of light that illuminate the dust and spores floating in the air.

The forest was unusually quiet, with only the faint sounds of birdsong and the babbling of a stream in the distance.

"Isn't this the forest in the secret realm of Xuandu Temple?"

[Identify the 365 kinds of spiritual herbs in this realm, learning their names, medicinal properties, growth habits, and which elixirs they can be used in... With each herb you recognize, its name will naturally appear in your mind. Once you recognize all 365, you will have passed this test.]

Three hundred and sixty-five kinds!

Jiang Yi was shocked; it started with a high-difficulty level, no wonder everyone couldn't pass it.

"Do you need help?"

The voice of Zhu Xin entered Jiang Yi's mind. When Jiang Yi created the Xi Bing clone, he made Zhu Xin shrink to its smallest size and buried it in the palm of his left hand.

"No rush. I'm not completely useless either. I'll try it myself first, so that I won't be afraid to communicate with you when I meet the Azure Emperor in the future and give myself away."

Jiang Yi composed herself, looked at the clump of grass closest to her, thought for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"Water Shade Grass grows in shady and damp places. It is cold in nature and can neutralize fire poison. It is often used to refine 'Heart-Clearing Pill' and 'Ice Soul Powder'..."

　There will be an extra chapter later!
　　(End of this chapter)