The Long Journey to Immortality

"Because I thought that the Zhengyi Sect was the largest sect in our Southern Dynasty, I declined the invitation from the Moyu Sect to come here."

The boy spoke very quickly, and his voice, though not loud, was loud enough for all ten people in the courtyard to hear.

He carefully explained the entrance test of the Zhengyi Sect, which was no different from other sects, and made a point of mentioning his spiritual root attribute, showing off to the two girls of the same age for a while.

Compared to the general entry requirements of most sects, which only require spiritual roots to join, the Zhengyi Sect and Xuanyang Valley have much higher entry requirements.

In the view of the two major sects, only young men and women who have the opportunity to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage through arduous cultivation are qualified to join the sect.

Upon hearing the young girl reveal her spiritual root attribute, all the other young men and women with some knowledge of cultivation, except for Han Lu, cast unusual glances at her.

This satisfied the boy who had been "looking for trouble," and a smile spread across his face.

So he gave a brief self-introduction, symbolically asked Han Lu and the other girl for their names, boasted a few more times, and continued to show off his "Qi Refining Level 1" cultivation.

Just then, the door that had been tightly closed suddenly opened.

A handsome young man with his hair tied up, dressed in a white shirt, walked out of the door, followed by a servant of about the same age dressed as a servant.

This young man was the distinguished guest who had asked the ten people to wait a little longer in the courtyard.

His appearance silenced the chattering boy named Xue Ding.

"Hey? Xue Ding, what are you doing here?" The distinguished guest who had just finished the test was familiar with Xue Ding and took the initiative to greet him. "I didn't see you before. I thought you had passed the test and gone home early. I didn't expect you couldn't cut in line."

How long did you sunbathe?

Xue Ding clearly had a bad relationship with this young man. The young man's words were barbed, and his servant even laughed along with him, which made Xue Ding, who had just been so confident and seemed to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator, look embarrassed.

With everyone around watching, Xue Ding had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer, "Getting more sun is good for your health."

“But you, Li Yiran,” Xue Ding retorted, trying to find a way to get back at him, “why did you come out this way?”

"Didn't it fail the test?"

Li Yiran chuckled, "Of course it's approved, I just want to go home and stay with my family for a few more days."

Once they pass the test and are considered members of the Zhengyi Sect, the young people are not allowed to leave without permission.

Li Yiran was subtly showing off his family background.

When it comes to showing off and finding ways to make oneself feel good, Li Yiran is far superior to Xue Ding.

Seeing Xue Ding's increasingly pale face, Li Yiran felt satisfied and concluded, "What's wrong? You don't look well. Are you sick?"

"I'm leaving now. You need to stay calm and collected later, or you might fail the spiritual root test and be eliminated."

Xue Ding was panting heavily, unable to think of any words to retaliate and save face. He could only watch Li Yiran and his servants leave the courtyard of the Zhengyi Gate post.

After this little incident, Xue Ding shut his mouth, mentally replaying the verbal exchange and considering how he could outwit his rival Li Yiran in a verbal battle next time.

Meanwhile, the tests on Han Lu and nine others officially began.

One by one, the teenagers entered the room, but after lingering for a moment, they all returned the way they came.

Whether it was because he had figured out how to argue in that "fight" earlier, or because he saw that his talent was still worth showing off, Xue Ding's expression improved considerably, and he walked into the house with light steps.

At this point, only Han Lu and another girl remained in the courtyard, waiting for the test.

"Sister Han, do you think you can pass?"

Seeing so many of her peers leave in disappointment, the girl named Mu Banxiang became increasingly anxious, fearing that she would disappoint her parents.

Even though she had a storage bag hanging from her waist, she was still asked this question, which made Han Lu feel a little helpless.

"It should be fine." Han Lu's answer was as modest as ever.

"Sigh, I hope I can pass too." Mu Banxiang prayed softly, recalling the test-taking tips Xue Ding had casually mentioned when he was showing off, trying to increase her chances of passing the test.

However, this was ultimately a futile effort.

After Xue Ding passed the test and left through another gate as a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect, Mu Banxiang entered the room to undergo the test.

A moment later, Han Lu and Mu Banxiang met again.

Mu Banxiang had tear stains on her face and was holding a handkerchief, wiping her eyes repeatedly.

Han Lu's goal is a cultivation path that lasts for a thousand years or even her later years. She has no intention of comforting this girl who is destined to marry and live a mediocre life in the mountains.

Passing by Mu Banxiang, Han Lu went into the room on her own and took the familiar introductory test once again.

[Author's Note] An extra chapter! Thank you all for your support. I recommend a book by a fellow writer in the same group, "To Become King, I Had to Debut in Women's Clothing"—the cover alone makes you want to read it!

Chapter Twenty-One: The Mirror, Talent, Twenty-Two People

The so-called introductory test is actually very simple and unremarkable.

The test subject only needs to touch a magical tool that can help absorb spiritual energy. By observing the various shapes and colors of the tool, others can determine whether the subject possesses a spiritual root, the attributes and quality of that root, and the quality of the energy they can sense.

However, in order to reflect the "distinction between immortals and mortals" and show the difference between cultivation sects and ordinary cultivation families and secular families.

Almost all cultivation sects make the process of accepting disciples complicated and formal.

Even the Zhengyi Sect, the largest sect in the Southern Dynasties, was no exception.

This is how test takers who come to learn from the master wait in line.

This is how special treatment is given to disciples of cultivation families.

This is also why the ceremony is performed only twice a year, and each session lasts for several hours.

If you really want to recruit more disciples, you can arrange for every boy and girl who is fifteen years old to undergo a spiritual root test on their birthday, which would save a lot of trouble.

But without that sense of superiority, cultivators inevitably experience less fun in their already dull cultivation life.

That's why this rigid and inefficient method of taking on apprentices has been able to continue.

Only a few small sects, forced by the need to make a living, will make some changes, slightly diminishing the sense of superiority that cultivators have over mortals.

Upon entering the room where the ritual implements for testing spiritual roots were placed, the furnishings were not significantly different from those used when Feng Bailu underwent the introductory test.

The environment was similar to the study of a typical wealthy family, except that a calligraphy scroll with the three characters "Zhengyi Men" was hung on one wall, and a ritual implement that looked like a mirror was placed in the center of the room.

Inside the room were two middle-aged cultivators dressed in white robes from the Zhengyi Sect. One was responsible for operating the magical implements, while the other was responsible for simple recording and guidance.

In such formal external occasions, the Zhengyi Sect requires its disciples at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages to wear uniforms.

The white uniforms they wore indicated that both cultivators were at the Qi Refining stage.

Since it wasn't her first time being tested, Han Lu wasn't as flustered as some of the previous test takers when she entered the room.

She immediately stood in front of the "mirror," waiting for the cultivator in charge of operating the magical artifact to activate it and begin the test.

Although this magical implement resembles a mirror and has a mirror surface, it can only barely reflect Han Lu's image, forming a dark human figure on the mirror surface.

This proactive approach left the monk responsible for explaining, guiding, and recording speechless for a moment.

He paused for a moment, assuming that Han Lu was from a prominent family and already knew how to use the magical artifact. So he skipped the explanation and simply reminded her to "relax her mind" before announcing the start of the test.

The Zhengyi Sect cultivator in charge of controlling the magical artifact placed his hand on the back of the "mirror" and slowly infused it with spiritual power.

One of the eyes on the "mirror," which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened after sensing the magical power injected into the artifact, and looked at Han Lu, who was standing right in front of the mirror.

At first, Feng Bailu was startled by the sudden opening of his eyes, but this time, Han Lu was prepared for it.

When eyes looked at her, she took a step forward and gently placed her left hand on the surface of the "mirror".

The "mirror" sensed Han Lu's touch, and then its eye emitted a faint light, and the magical artifact officially began to function.

The principle behind this "mirror" tool for testing spiritual roots, energy perception, and other talents is quite simple.

It can assist the test subject in performing a simple breathing exercise of spiritual energy, monitor the entire process of the exercise, collect information, and reflect it on the human figure in the mirror.

This "mirror" has the effect of assisting cultivation and increasing the speed of cultivation.

However, due to its "poor durability" and its effectiveness only for Qi Refining stage cultivators, it did not become an aid in the cultivation process of cultivators like the "cheap and durable" Dharma seat.

When the cultivator saw that the eyes above the "mirror" did not close immediately after Han Lu touched the mirror, he quickly picked up a pen, fixed his gaze on the mirror, and slowly calculated the time in his mind.

Han Lu's sense of qi was excellent, unlike Xue Ding who had entered the room to participate in the test before, who made the cultivator wait for too long.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the black phantom on the mirror changed, and pure blue stained the black figure from top to bottom.

"Three breaths? Excellent Qi sensation. As for the spiritual root, it contains water..."

The monk made a note on the paper and then continued to observe. After all, the test had only just begun, and drawing conclusions too early would only cause trouble for himself.

Seeing the changes in the reflection in the mirror in front of her, Han Lu, who had long ago decided to slightly conceal her talent, began to play tricks.

Originally, a large amount of spiritual energy was transformed into spiritual power, and with the help of the "mirror," this spiritual power circulated rapidly within Han Lu's body.

As Han Lu actively controlled and suppressed her spiritual energy, the circulation speed slowed down considerably. This meant that the data collected by the "mirror" was not real data, but rather fabricated data that had been hidden.

Even so, the colors on the figure in the mirror were enough to make the monk in charge of recording the data beam with joy.

As the figure in the mirror gradually became a bright, pure blue, the monk who was recording the data took out several "color cards" and compared them one by one with the colors in the image.

Holding two pieces of paper, both seemingly painted blue, and comparing them to the color on the mirror, the monk hesitated for a long time before finally making his judgment and announcing the end of the test.

As Han Lu withdrew her hand, the cultivator behind the mirror also stopped channeling spiritual energy.

"Name? Age?"

The monk, who was holding a brush and preparing to take notes, asked.

"Han Lu... sixteen years old." Han Lu waved her hand, and several streaks of water appeared out of thin air, forming her name.

This sudden display of skill made the older Qi Refining cultivator, who had been relegated to an outer sect stronghold and wasting his cultivation life, look at her with even greater respect.

He quickly wrote on the paper with a pen in his hand, and at the end, he read out the test results on the paper.

"Han Lu has excellent Qi perception, a single water spiritual root, and a top-quality spiritual root."

"How many acupoints have you opened up now?" the cultivator asked again.

"Six."

There's nothing to hide. If that cultivator asked Han Lu how many years she had cultivated and how many acupoints she had opened, she would definitely have to tell a lie.

But simply asking how many acupoints have been opened is insufficient. At the age of sixteen, having only opened six acupoints is worse than being a mediocre talent at the bottom of a slightly larger cultivation family.

This answer caused the monk's joy to fade slightly.

Even so, helping the sect recruit a "genius" will ultimately add a lot of points to the station's rating.

After passing the talent test, the next test seemed like a simple formality.