Starting with warding off evil and disaster, one can ascend to immortality after countless tribulati

I sensed a powerful aura of fire from the furnace.

Jiang Ming immediately realized that it was Zhou Yi who had come, and quickly got up to greet him.

As soon as the door opened, I saw him with a bitter face, looking utterly defeated.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" Jiang Ming couldn't help but laugh when he saw Zhou Yi's expression for the first time.

Frowning, his expression full of apprehension, Zhou Yi sighed softly and angrily pounded the stone door. "Elder Qin is more ruthless than I imagined."

He spent most of his life studying the Gold of the Sea, but in his later years, he surprisingly switched to studying the Fire of the Lamp.

This level of attainment grants the ability to see into the lives of all beings; he overheard our conversation last time!

He casually made up an excuse and withheld six months' salary from me…

"Good lad, mid-stage fifth rank?" Zhou Yi's mood wasn't good to begin with, but after looking Jiang Ming over, the worry in his eyes suddenly disappeared.

A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips, his eyes burning with desire.

He quickly pulled Jiang Ming into the stone chamber and solemnly instructed him, "That's very good. Tomorrow at noon, the gathering of prospective disciples will be held at Cangjin Peak."

At that time, the elites of the five peaks and fifteen rooms of the outer sect will be present. Most of them come from prestigious families and are arrogant.

However, there are definitely some with a peaceful personality. You should try to make friends with them, but don't try to win them over and suffer in vain.

A bunch of disciples from aristocratic branches; they're not worth our flattery or fawning over.

"Don't worry, Grandpa, I know what I'm doing." Jiang Ming nodded solemnly, his face full of curiosity, and asked earnestly.

"Grandpa, according to past practice, how many of the fifteen candidate disciples will ultimately enter the inner sect?"

"It's hard to say. The number of spots is never fixed. Last time, it seems like they accepted ten. This time, it depends on Elder Qin's standards."

"Remember, resources are earned through competition. You must be bold and aggressive, and show your full strength!" he said, offering a few words of guidance.

Zhou Yi stroked his beard, his eyes filled with expectation, "Go for it. Whether you succeed or not, your grandfather will always be on your side."

Nodding and watching Zhou Yi leave, Jiang Ming silently began to prepare.

The next day, at noon.

Zangjin Peak.

Arriving at the meeting place on time, Jiang Ming calmly looked around at the nearly full seats and found a secluded seat at the very end.

To his right was a silent girl, dressed strangely, who was playing cards alone with her head down and not saying a word.

They carefully piled up the tower, then dismantled it, and then continued to arrange it, giving off an air of indifference and aloofness.

After taking a bite of the spiritual fruit, Jiang Ming wisely turned his head away, not wanting to disturb him.

A moment later, a young man in fine clothes sat down on the right. Seemingly noticing Jiang Ming's extraordinary demeanor, he sized him up and then took the initiative to start a conversation.

"My name is Liu Xin, and I come from Qingmu Peak. Which peak are you from, fellow Daoist?"

"Furnace Peak, Jiang Ming."

"Oh, brother, could you perhaps be from the Jiang family of Qinghe County, Tongzhou?" A glint of shrewdness flashed in Liu Xin's eyes, and his interest was instantly piqued.

"It's just a coincidence that we share the same surname. I come from a humble background, how could I dare to try and implicate a family of cultivators?"

"Haha, it's alright. There are countless powerful people in the world without any background. For example..." After thinking for a long time, he couldn't find an example.

Liu Xin's smile froze for a moment, and he quickly changed the subject, "We are all brothers from all corners of the world, and it is fate that we meet. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while and finding out Jiang Ming's background, Liu Xin completely lost the desire to talk and immediately got up to chat with others.

Watching this farce with a faint smile, Jiang Ming didn't take it to heart. He turned his gaze to the crowd and listened calmly to their discussions.

"Miss Xu is so young, yet she has already broken through to the sixth level. We are truly envious..."

"Not at all. There is a sequence to learning. I was just lucky to be ahead for a while. It's nothing special."

If Youwei encounters any problems in her cultivation in the future, she will have to rely on you fellow cultivators for guidance.

Following the sound of the clip, I glanced over and saw the group of disciples with silly smiles on their faces, surrounding the white-robed female cultivator like stars around the moon.

The girl was beautiful, with a slightly delicate appearance. Most importantly, her voice was very sexy, teasing and seductive, making one's heart itch.

Is she Xu Youwei? In this light, it's no wonder Chen Meng was jilted; the two were indeed quite mismatched in terms of circumstances.

However, it's a bit disgusting to accept gifts without explicitly refusing them.

"All fifteen are here. Good, that's energetic, that's what young people should be like."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Ming immediately withdrew his gaze, and the disciples gathered around Xu Youwei also hastily dispersed and sat down on their own.

In stark contrast to his usual laziness, Old Qin was now in high spirits, his eyes sharp and alert.

His swift and graceful steps showed no sign of his impending death.

"I am Qin Hegao. This assessment will be conducted over a three-year period. There is only one standard for determining whether someone can enter the inner sect."

Those who reach the late stage of the Qi Absorption Realm and master a Fruit-Rank Intent, meeting this minimum requirement, can ride a crane to the inner sect!

Stroking his beard, and looking at the astonished expressions of the crowd, Old Qin smiled calmly and said leisurely, "Feel free to ask any questions, and I will try my best to help you answer them."

If there are no further questions, I will proceed with distributing the resources.

"Elder Qin, isn't this standard a bit too harsh?"

"This amount of time is barely enough to improve one's cultivation level, let alone grasp the essence of a fruition. The last assessment wasn't this difficult!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than some stubborn disciples voiced their doubts.

The old man gave the boy a cold glance, then opened his palm and reprimanded him in an unquestionable manner.

"What's the rush? High risk, high reward. The resources I've applied for this time are exceptionally abundant."

If used properly, each of you has the opportunity to achieve your goals.

Without keeping everyone in suspense, Elder Qin explained loudly while holding a stack of talismans.

"This item is the key to unlocking the secret realm of cultivation. After binding it with blood, it can be activated by injecting spiritual energy."

The Refining Realm is a treasure of the Myriad Laws Sect, which not only helps to improve cultivation but also to hone one's techniques.

You can also obtain considerable resources after passing each level.

This treasure has always been exclusively reserved for inner disciples. This time, I've used my connections to forcibly secure fifteen slots each month.

Since this is our first meeting, I'll present it to you all as a gift.

With a gentle wave of his hand, everyone present immediately received a talisman.

In an instant, they couldn't help but express their surprise and discuss among themselves.

He took out several exquisite small porcelain bottles and placed them on the stone table. Old Qin looked around and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He then changed the subject playfully, saying, "There are a total of 60 Eight Treasures Pills here."

Some people may not have heard of this item, so let me explain: this elixir is unique to the inner sect of the Myriad Laws Sect.

One pill contains fifty spirit stones and is extremely effective in enhancing the spiritual power within the body and cleansing one's physical constitution.

The pills are here; I don't care how you distribute them.

From now on, I will distribute resources here on the first day of every month.

However, when the time comes, how much you get, whether it's the key to the refining realm or the pills, will depend entirely on your own abilities. Do you have any further questions?

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

No one spoke for a long time. Old Qin nodded, and then his whole body turned into a candle flame and slowly disappeared from the spot.

At the same time, the atmosphere became tense...