The Long Journey to Immortality

Just then, as the group arrived outside the cave, a rogue cultivator who had just entered the cave to seek opportunities was "thrown" out of the cave by a surge of spiritual energy.

Whether it was the wicked sense of humor of this Senior Xiaoyaozi or not, the Qi Refining stage rogue cultivator who had not found an opportunity fell flat on his face.

The local cultivators of Moyu City were already used to this scene, but it only made the visiting cultivators, including the five of them, burst into laughter.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, the rogue cultivator, his face dark, strode away without lingering for even a second, lest he add to the amusement of others.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Xin joked, "Most likely there's some kind of restriction inside the cave, preventing cultivators who fly out from using their spiritual power for a while."

"If I fail later, you must catch me outside and not let me embarrass myself here and disgrace the Zhengyi Sect."

Long Qian smiled and said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Yuan, I will definitely catch you."

While they were chatting and laughing, another cultivator mustered his courage and entered the cave.

The moment the cultivator entered the cave, a light red barrier appeared at the entrance, isolating the cave from the outside world.

Feng Bailu opened his eyes wide, but he couldn't see through the barrier to see what was happening inside the cave.

"Most likely, even a Golden Core cultivator's divine sense wouldn't be able to penetrate this barrier and perceive the activity inside."

After about half an incense stick's time, the cultivator was also "thrown" out of the cave.

Fortunately, he had companions to help him land safely, thus saving face.

His companion offered a few words of comfort, and the monk was not too discouraged. The two left together.

At this time, among the cultivators near the cave, only Feng Bailu and his group of five remained interested in entering and trying it out.

“We’ve seen enough, it’s our turn. Senior Brother Feng, why don’t you go first?” Yuan Xin suggested.

Feng Bailu's answer was simple: "No, you guys go first, I'll go last."

"You were in such a hurry the whole way, why are you dawdling now that we're here?" Bai Chi said sarcastically.

Long Qian guessed Feng Bailu's thoughts and said directly, "I'm afraid Senior Brother Feng wants us to help him scout out the place first, and then gather information after we fail, so as to increase the chances of success."

Having his inner thoughts guessed, Feng Bailu did not defend himself, nor did his expression change in the slightest.

In Yuan Xin's view, the five of them would most likely end in failure, just like the fifty thousand cultivators. The only difference would be how long they stayed in the cave and how graceful their landing would be.

“Alright, I’ll go first,” Yuan Xin said without hesitation as the leader. “But I want to remind everyone that if anyone is lucky enough to receive the Daoist inheritance of Senior Xiaoyaozi and obtain spirit stones and magic treasures, don’t forget the agreement we made before we came.”

After everyone assured him that they would never forget him, Yuan Xin finally set off.

Yuan Xin entered the cave, and in the blink of an eye, the light red barrier reappeared at the entrance.

The four waited patiently for a while, and sure enough, Yuan Xin, like the previous two cultivators, was "thrown" out of Xiaoyaozi's cave like trash.

Feng Bailu casually released a burst of spiritual energy to catch Yuan Xin.

Before he could speak, Bai Chi asked, "Senior Brother Yuan, what were you doing in the cave just now?"

Yuan Xin straightened his clothes before answering, "Just like it says in the booklet, there's a stone door blocking the way, and in front of the stone door is a small bowl that looks like it's made of jade. The rules for the first level are engraved on the wall, nothing special."

"I dropped a drop of blood, and I was thrown out a short while later."

Upon hearing this, Bai Chi shrugged. "In that case, I'll go second."

Sure enough, half an incense stick later, this time Yuan Xin used his spiritual power to catch Bai Chi.

Long Qian and Yuan Fei followed.

Surprisingly, Long Qian stayed in the cave a little longer than the average cultivator.

This small change prompted Feng Bailu to immediately ask, "Junior Brother Long, why did you stay a little longer than expected?"

Long Qian smiled awkwardly, dusted off her clothes, and revealed the answer.

"I want to try it out, to see what happens if I go into the cave and don't bleed."

"So you were thrown out without even trying?"

"Yes."

This answer greatly disappointed Feng Bailu.

Feng Bailu sighed, then cast a lightness spell and leaped into the cave twenty meters away in a few steps.

[Author's Note] This is a relatively peaceful and friendly cultivation world. Please vote for this book! Thank you all for your donations, favorites, and votes. When this book becomes the first recommended book, I will increase the number of updates.

Chapter Three: Statue, Jade Bowl, Stone Gate

Upon entering the cave, Feng Bailu immediately looked behind him.

The light red barrier reappeared, separating the inside and outside of the cave.

Looking back, Feng Bailu hesitated for a moment, not giving in to his curiosity to try to touch the restriction from the inside, lest he be thrown out by the formation in the cave before even having a blood test.

He walked deeper into the cave along a short, narrow rock passage that allowed only two people to pass side by side.

After walking about ten steps, I finally emerged from the passage and found myself in a bright and open space.

In front of Fengbai Road was a spacious stone chamber, with eight ordinary Buddhist lamps hanging lavishly on the walls for illumination.

The bright stone chamber contained only a stone statue of Xiaoyaozi, and a tightly closed stone door was particularly eye-catching.

There were words carved on the stone wall, and these words were explained in the booklet introducing Xiaoyaozi's cave. Feng Bailu did not linger too long on the not-so-good-looking words on the stone wall.

His attention fell on the small bowl that was fixed in front of the stone gate.

The bowl appeared to be made of jade, making it particularly conspicuous in the cave.

It is about the same size as a regular rice bowl, but the patterns carved on it are much more intricate than those on a rice bowl.

Feng Bailu muttered to himself, guessing, "It should be some kind of magical restriction used for blood testing?"

Instead of rushing to take out his magical sword to test the blood, he turned his attention to the stone door blocking his way.

There were also some carvings on the stone gate, which looked like true spirits and demonic beasts from the cultivation world.

Feng Bailu examined the stone gate very carefully, trying to connect the patterns on it with the strange and supernatural illustrations he had seen before.

Unfortunately, Feng Bailu was not very talented, and Xiaoyaozi's carving skills were only passable. After looking through them, Feng Bailu didn't recognize a single one of the more than thirty kinds of True Spirit Beasts.

Looking at the winged birds that occupied a large part of the sky above the stone gate, Feng Bailu thought to himself, "I don't know their names, but these birds look quite pleasing to the eye. I just don't know which kinds of true spirits from ancient times they are."

Realizing that he couldn't offer any help in inheriting the Daoist tradition from these details, Feng Bailu put aside his thoughts, quickly stood in front of the jade bowl, and prepared to try his luck to see if he would be fortunate enough to accept this opportunity.

Just as he took out his seventh-grade magic weapon, the Xuanhuo Sword, from his storage bag, a story he had read in a supernatural novel surfaced in his mind.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around, took a few steps, and came to the stone sculpture of Xiaoyaozi.

With a try-it-and-see attitude, I solemnly performed three kneeling bows in front of Xiaoyaozi's statue, following the etiquette he used when he became a disciple.

As Feng Bailu rose from the ground for the third time, his eyes were fixed on the statue three steps away, hoping to witness some strange phenomenon.

Unfortunately, the stone statue remained the same unspirited sculpture carved from lifeless rock, neither shedding tears nor smiling, nor conjuring up any phantom image to return the greeting to Feng Bailu.

With a soft sigh, Feng Bailu felt a little disappointed, but upon reflection, it was normal that there were no unusual changes.

"If bowing three times and kowtowing a few times could gain Senior Xiaoyaozi's approval and pass the first test smoothly, then the inheritance in this cave would have been taken by the cultivators who came here before me long ago."

Remembering how Long Qian was thrown out of the cave for wasting time, Feng Bailu didn't waste any more time in front of the statue.

He muttered to himself, "There's no way to get by through crooked means; I'd better stick to the right path."

After saying that, he made a sword incantation with his hand, and the Xuanhuo Sword, which had been quietly staying in its scabbard, flew out of the scabbard.

Immediately afterwards, Feng Bailu raised his idle left hand slightly upwards.

The Xuanhuo Sword, which flew towards him from the air, looked menacing, but under Feng Bailu's exquisite control, the blade just grazed his left index finger.

That was a brilliant move. A slight mistake, and before Feng Bailu could regenerate limbs after advancing to the Golden Core stage, he would have been limited to using only nine fingers to eat and write.

Although the Xuanhuo Sword is a spiritual sword more suitable for using as a medium to cast spells, it is far sharper than ordinary iron.

The sword's edge sliced ​​across Feng Bailu's fingers, and a few drops of blood flowed from the not-so-deep wound.

Having completed its mission, the Xuanhuo Sword was returned to its sheath by Feng Bailu.

Immediately afterwards, Feng Bailu diverted a bit of spiritual energy from his dantian and instantly healed the inconspicuous wound on his finger. The few drops of blood still floating on the surface of his skin were then enveloped in spiritual power using his artifact manipulation technique and sent to the jade bowl.

The spiritual energy dissipated, and the blood droplets fell freely, rolling down the side of the jade bowl to the bottom.

As the blood came into contact with the jade bowl, just as Feng Bailu had predicted, the patterns on the surface of the jade bowl indeed emitted specks of light.

After watching for a while and still not understanding, Feng Bailu got bored and sat cross-legged on the ground, patiently waiting.

After waiting for a while, the light on the jade bowl did not diminish; in fact, it seemed to be getting even stronger.

"The results should be out by now," Feng Bailu thought to himself, wondering which of his fellow disciples would lend a hand when he was thrown out later.

Just as Feng Bailu was lost in thought, the jade bowl underwent a strange change.

A few drops of blood churned in the jade bowl, as if falling into a hot pot, generating steam, and disappeared from the jade bowl in a short while.

The blood disappeared, but the jade bowl showed no sign of stopping its work.

Instead, while emitting light, it also emitted a series of chirps.

This call is not the sound of mechanical friction, but the call of a bird.

The voice was melodious and pleasant to listen to, as if it were the most outstanding songstress in the music hall singing, making Feng Bailu feel his blood boil and his soul tremble.

Feng Bailu stared wide-eyed at the strange phenomenon before him, savoring the unusual sensations in his body. A strange premonition arose in his heart: "Could it be that I can pass the first test?"

After all, when the fellow disciples who entered the cave mentioned the jade bowl for blood testing, they didn't mention what he was experiencing. This gave Feng Bailu, a 43-year-old cultivator who was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, reason to have expectations and fantasies.

But soon, the light on the jade bowl faded, and the bird's cry abruptly stopped.

Feng Bailu glanced at the jade bowl, then at the statue, and finally fixed his gaze on the stone gate.

Everything was exactly the same as when he entered the cave, not even a trace of blood remained in the jade bowl.

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

"That's it?" Feng Bailu's face turned ashen.

Just as he was bracing himself to be thrown out of the cave by spiritual power, a deep, muffled sound, like celestial music, came from the direction of the stone gate and entered his ears.

The stone gate, which had been tightly closed just moments before, slowly rose, clearing the way for Feng Bailu, who had somehow passed the Jade Bowl test.

"Success?"

Feng Bailu found it hard to believe that he, who was regarded as a "failure expert" by his fellow disciples, had actually found an opportunity that others could not obtain this time.