fairy family

Chapter 186 The Hidden Soldiers, Nine Dragon Waterfalls in the Immortal Garden

The cloud ship was enormous, not much smaller than the magnificent altar.

The nearly 10,000 candidates who passed the written exam boarded the cloud ship one by one. Instead of dispersing into the various cabins, they could all gather on the deck.

Moreover, the group did not feel crowded at all; on the contrary, they could walk around and observe the surroundings from the edge of the cloud ship.

"The Immortal City truly lives up to its reputation as a city inhabited by immortals. Having seen it now, it is indeed worthy of its name."

Young-looking candidates, taking the exam for the first time, leaned against the railing, looking down at the half-immortal city below the ship.

A middle-aged examinee nearby overheard this and scoffed, "What's so special about a mere Immortal City? Only outer disciples live in Immortal Cities, but inner disciples build their own cave dwellings on Mount Huang. I've heard that true disciples can even occupy an entire peak by themselves."

Upon hearing this, the young examinee's eyes lit up, and he immediately spoke up:

"Since you know so much about this place, you must be from the Immortal City."

The middle-aged examinee heard this, but gave an awkward smile. Just as he was about to answer, a richly dressed young man passed by and sneered:
"If it weren't for the examination, you wouldn't even be qualified to set foot in the Immortal City. How dare the toads down the mountain mock the Immortal City as worthless?"

Being mocked like this, the middle-aged candidate dared not utter another sound, and slunk away into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Yu Que stood aside. Upon hearing this, he glanced at the richly dressed youth. Judging from the other's demeanor, this person was clearly a true native of the Immortal City, and might even be one of the nine families on the mountain mentioned in the rumors.

However, this person's cultivation level was so-so, probably only recently reaching the upper level of the ninth rank, and his aura was very chaotic.

The noisy discussions continued atop the cloud boat.

Yu Que looked around. Unlike previous examinations, he didn't see a single familiar face in this palace examination, and there was no one to talk to.

This made him sigh inwardly.

However, Yu Que was already mentally prepared for this, since he had come to take the exam two years in advance. Apart from Xie Qingjie, all of his classmates were still studying hard in the county school.

As for the veteran examinees in the Alchemist Guild, he was not very familiar with them.

Suddenly, the buzzing discussion on the cloud boat abruptly stopped.

The entire cloud ship suddenly moved, then floated up and left the city's ferry crossing.

Some candidates immediately looked down at the cloud ship and found that the remaining candidates in the huge examination hall had all stood up and were looking at the cloud ship with disappointed expressions.

Clearly, this marks the end of the first round of written exams. All the candidates who passed have boarded the cloud ship, which is now ready to set sail for the next exam location.

After a few moments of silence, an even louder buzz of discussion arose above the cloud ship.

Even though the successful candidates were not familiar with each other, they chatted enthusiastically about the upcoming exam.

Just then, a fiery red light rolled down into the sky above the cloud ship, its momentum astonishing, hovering above nearly ten thousand examinees, like the sun.

"quiet!"

A shout rang out from the red light, and a divine sense swept across the deck of the cloud ship, causing all the examinees to tremble.

Yu Que was no exception. He stared at the "great sun" in the sky and felt a sense of awe and reverence for it. He couldn't help but want to worship it.

"I am the chief examiner for this year's palace examination. My surname is Yuan and my given name is Wu. Next, I will introduce the examination location and the precautions for this year's examination."

After the other party finished speaking, the oppressive aura that had been pressing down on everyone gradually subsided, and much of the crimson light around the other party also dissipated.

However, when the candidates looked up, they could only see a glowing human figure, and could not make out the other person's face.

As everyone regained their composure, the buzzing of discussion resumed.

The examiner, Yuan Wu, did not order everyone to be quiet again, but instead began to explain the relevant matters word by word.

Many of the things the other party mentioned were things the test takers had already known beforehand.

After listening for a few moments, Yu Que shifted his attention and began to listen quietly to the conversations of the people around him.

For example, that young man in fancy clothes from earlier.

The boy was whispering with several of his attendants:

"I never expected that this year, the examiner would be this 'Martial Arts Immortal'."

The young man in fine clothes spoke with a hint of excitement, and his companions also spoke excitedly:
"In this way, if we successfully enter the palace, our master will be the 'Martial Immortal'!"

Yu Que was quite unfamiliar with the Huangshan Dao Palace, far less so than the natives of the Immortal City. He pondered to himself, "Wu Zhexian, is that the nickname of that examiner Yuan Wu? To dare to use the name of a banished immortal, what is so extraordinary about this person..."

He wasn't the only one curious; the young examinee next to him was also curious.

After hesitating for a few moments, the other person brazenly approached the group of richly dressed youths, addressing them as "brother" and "elder brother" before asking:

"Brothers, why is this examiner called 'Martial Immortal'?"

The group of richly dressed youths were initially impatient, but since they had nothing else to do, they arrogantly chimed in, one after another:

"Senior Yuan Wu is a Heavenly Temple disciple and a true disciple of the palace. He has already reached the cultivation level of a sixth-rank evil god immortal in less than ten years since entering the palace. How can he not be worthy of the title of banished immortal?"

"Not only that, although you are only at the sixth rank, you are proficient in martial arts. Without relying on magic weapons or treasures, you can withstand a fifth-rank immortal with just your fists and feet. Your blood and qi are as rich as the sun."

A high-ranking official in the palace commented, "Even a reincarnated immortal couldn't surpass this."

Amidst the sounds of admiring the examiners, the group of elegantly dressed youths praised them as rare in heaven and unparalleled in the human world.

Yu Que listened carefully and gleaned another piece of information: this martial arts examiner actually possessed true fire!
"I've heard that Senior Wu Zhexian constantly tempers his body with true fire, which is why he has a body like a god or demon, and can even withstand the spells of a fifth-rank immortal without being defeated. If we could also obtain a bit of true fire, we might not be able to catch up with him, but we would definitely be on track to reach the sixth rank."

When Yu Que looked up at the sky again, he indeed discovered something from the opponent's dense, sun-like spiritual energy.

The opponent was constantly emanating a fiery aura, which was in no way inferior to the crow fire within him, and was even slightly of a higher quality.

Yu Que was shocked: "As expected of the Dao Palace, even a sixth-rank immortal who came to take the exam is already so capable. Their foundation is truly profound!"

I wonder how many old monsters those high-ranking officials in the palace must be.”

Upon closer observation, he suddenly noticed that Wu Zhexian Yuan Wu's blurry face abruptly turned and swept towards his direction.

Yu Que was startled and the thought arose in his mind, "Is the other party going to look at me?" Although he found the thought absurd, he quickly lowered his head and blended into the nearly 10,000 examinees.

Yuan Wu paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the thousands of examinees. He looked slightly puzzled, but finding nothing amiss, he looked away and continued explaining the precautions for the martial arts exam.

Just now, the true fire within this person stirred slightly, but only for a moment before returning to calm.

However, Yuan Wu's senses were sharp, and he immediately followed his intuition and looked towards where Yu Que was.

Fortunately, there were many candidates present, and the remaining Ravenfire was still weak. Moreover, it had already been melted into his Yin Spirit and incorporated into his supernatural powers.

Therefore, when Yu Que intentionally restrained himself, even if he stood directly in front of Yuan Wu, he would find it difficult to trigger the resonance of the true fire within the latter.

at the same time.

Among the buildings atop the cloud ship, some people were also observing Yuan Wu outside.

"Hey, what a Martial Immortal, quite the reputation."

An elderly man with a bulbous nose muttered to himself. He turned to look beside him and noticed that the wine in his gourd was almost gone, drunk by another elderly man with a thin beard. So the man quickly drank some more.

"You old dog, why are you drinking so much?"

"A gourd is for drinking, why be so stingy?" the other person retorted.

If Yu Que were here, he would recognize the person drinking as the former leader of the association. After bringing him to the examination hall, the leader did not leave but instead boarded the cloud ship.

The old man smacked his lips and muttered, "If you ask me, you need to infuse this wine with something else; the flavor is too bland."

The man with the red nose said irritably, "Want some more tiger penis, deer penis, and bull penis?"

"Yes, absolutely!"

Upon hearing this, the elderly man with the bulbous nose retorted sarcastically, "You talk as if it's something that has nothing to do with you."

Upon hearing this, the old leader wasn't angry. Instead, he rolled his eyes and mocked the other party:
"What? You're the one who fought this sixth-rank martial arts immortal and still couldn't defeat him, a fifth-rank immortal? No wonder you look down on him so much."

The man with the red nose blushed instantly and quickly tried to cover it up, saying:
"It's all empty fame. It's just that the palace had to make this boy famous, and I had no choice but to make a sacrifice."

He argued vehemently, "Besides, this kid has only survived my attacks, not defeated me. If it were a true life-or-death struggle, I could sacrifice these old bones and still kill him!"

The old leader gulped down a few more mouthfuls of wine, remaining noncommittal to the words of the man with the red nose.

However, as if to prove his innocence, the old man with the rosacea began to mutter incessantly in the old leader's ear.

The old leader was only interested in drinking and didn't bother with the other party.

Seeing this, the man with the red nose, bored, suddenly pointed a finger at the nail and said:

"Old dog, is this the Heavenly Temple Dao Seed that you specially sent over?"

Upon hearing this, the old leader finally acknowledged the other party and nodded.

The old leader put down his wine gourd, gathered his thoughts, and sighed:
"This little guy is quite pitiful. He was a pure and innocent disciple of the Heavenly Temple, but he offended the senior members of the palace and fell into their scheme. They didn't want him to participate in the palace examination, so as to cut off his path to true inheritance."

Later, he incurred the wrath of the snake family several more times.

The old leader looked at his old friend with a serious expression and said:

"If he is accepted into the palace, you should take good care of him."

This child is of decent character and knows how to handle temperature changes; it wouldn't be a bad thing to cultivate a good relationship with him.

Upon hearing this, the man with the red nose snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Upon seeing this, the old leader was furious. He angrily shoved the wine gourd back at the other party and sneered:
"The reason this child is forced to take the palace exam today is because of your master-disciple lineage. You are also a master-disciple lineage in Huangshan Dao Palace. Indeed, you are all snakes and rats in the same den."

Seeing his old friend start cursing right away, the man with the red nose looked helpless and said:

"Very well, I've got it. Don't be angry."

Seeing that his old friend was about to argue with him again, the man with the red nose squinted at the spot where Yu Que was, and suddenly spoke:
"Taoist soldiers, huh... Heh, if one really becomes a Taoist soldier, it's not a bad way to live, and one can gain favor in the palace."

The other person's mutterings reached the ears of the old leader, causing him to pause in surprise.

“Soldiers, is that really so?” The old leader chewed on his words, his expression shifting with complex emotions as he considered what Yu Que had previously revealed.

He looked at his old friend with the bulbous nose in front of him, composed himself, and said in a deep voice:

"This is utterly absurd!"
"These impoverished youths with impeccable backgrounds, how dare you, master and disciple, use them as laborers? Aren't you afraid of losing your lineage, yourselves, and your entire clan being wiped out?"

When Yu Que sought his help before, he had explained it using the excuse of "spiritual energy revival." But even so, the old leader still found this approach hard to believe.

When confronted by his old friend's questioning, the man with rosacea squinted even more.

The man did not answer directly, but instead spoke vaguely:

“The loss of the temple may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Since he himself wanted to enter my Huangshan Taoist Temple, this matter should be his test.”

Upon hearing his old friend's words, the old leader's expression turned suspicious, sensing that there was more to the story.

"Could it be that severing the immortal path of the Heavenly Temple's Dao Seed was truly tacitly approved by your entire lineage, master and disciples?"

The old leader probed, and he felt even more absurd.

No matter how much he asked, the man with the red nose remained silent, and even closed his eyes.

Annoyed by the questions, the other party replied curtly:

"This matter concerns my Huangshan Taoist Palace. You old dog from the Jun family should not interfere. Otherwise, even if I consider personal feelings, I will not let you off the hook."

The old leader's brows furrowed into a tight knot, but he really couldn't press for any more questions.

He was a guy with one foot in the ground, and even if the spiritual energy were to recover tomorrow, he would have no future.

But his old friend beside him was different; there was still a glimmer of hope.

If the matter of the "Taoist soldiers" is truly of great importance, then he really shouldn't be curious anymore.

"Never mind. Just as this old fellow said, you came up the mountain on your own."

The old leader gazed at Yu Que from afar, muttering to himself, "I've already swallowed my pride and pulled some strings for you, so I've done right by you and your master."

The old man with the bulbous nose closed his eyes. He heard his old friend talking so bluntly to himself, but he didn't react. However, his ears twitched helplessly.

........................

The cloud boat sped along and soon arrived at a fairyland-like mountain range, where it hovered motionless.

Chief examiner Yuan Wu suddenly opened his eyes and shouted at the nearly ten thousand candidates on the cloud ship:

"We have arrived at the martial arts exam location, Jiulong Waterfall."

"All students, quickly enter the Immortal Garden!"

(End of this chapter)