Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 416 The Examiner. (Second Update!)

Thinking of this, Zheng Que couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

He is about to take the immortal examination and has no time to take the other party back to Shujiabao.

Moreover, the former site of Shujiabao is now just ruins, so going there might not be of any use.

We could try to find an opportunity to drag the other party into the Shu family's hell of tongue-pulling...

In a flash, Zheng Que replied briefly, "No problem!"

Next, he carefully put away the yin robe and then tried to teach Shu Yunying the few spells he had mastered.

Shu Yunying's innate talent is "Illumination," which allows her to learn the methods of living people.

However, the effect she achieves after learning it will be somewhat distorted.

The robes that the other party forged this time were just like that.

Several hours later, Zheng Que taught Shu Yunying both the Soul Searching Technique and the Concealing Qi Technique.

Among them, the [Soul Searching Technique], once mastered by Shu Yunying, has a distortion effect that erodes the target's memory, causing the target to perceive themselves as a member of the Shu Family Fortress.

The [Concealment Technique] can disguise one as a living person, but it cannot fool cultivators with high cultivation levels.

These two techniques have now become Shu Yunying's newly mastered ghost skills and Yin arts.

Besides these, for some reason, Shu Yunying just couldn't learn the techniques [Heavenly Wheel Mystic Fire Technique], [Delusion-Breaking Technique], [Flowing Cloud Guiding Technique], and [Yin-Trapping Curse].

As for the Soul Explosion Technique, Zheng Que was worried that Shu Yunying might not be able to control it properly and might self-destruct during practice, so he did not include it in the techniques he taught.

Other Qi Refining stage techniques, including the [Blood Skull Technique], did not enhance Shu Yunying's overall strength without strengthening her Dao foundation, so he did not waste time teaching them.

"It seems that Shu Yunying's [Illumination of Life] technique is not something she can master in every way."

"And the techniques you learn will be directly converted into ghost techniques and yin arts."

"If I'm not mistaken, at least some of the ghost techniques and Yin arts she now possesses are spells she knew in her previous life..."

Thinking of this, Zheng Que inquired about the magic techniques of the Shu Family Fortress from Shu Yunying.

Perhaps because she had "bestowed" a surname upon him, Shu Yunying readily imparted all the techniques of the Shu Family Fortress to him.

Just like when Shu Yunying learned the magic of cultivators, Zheng Que only learned one of the Shu Family Fort magic techniques that Shu Yunying taught him.

That was the opponent's [Netherworld Finger].

Other techniques from the Shu Family Fortress are more like ghostly skills and underhanded arts than true magic.

No matter how hard Zheng Que studied, he could not learn it.

After some thought, he suddenly had a guess.

What Shu Yunying passed on to him was mostly ghost techniques and underhanded arts!
The other person's memory may have been distorted from the start!

The effect of that shroud might not have caused Shu Yunying's perception to become confused, but rather amplified her already confused perception...

After completing all the tests, Zheng Que escorted Shu Yunying out of the spell testing room, and then practiced spells alone in the room...

Time passed slowly, and two days quickly went by.

Zheng Que slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes. His eyes were like lightning, instantly reflecting light throughout the entire hall.

After two days of arduous training, his cultivation level had not changed much, but his mastery of his own techniques had become very proficient.

Calculating that the time was almost right, Zheng Que put his four ghost servants into his soul-nurturing bag, then left the Spirit Sea Cave and headed straight for the government office. The wide alleyway where the government office was located had already been sealed off with checkpoints.

In brightly dressed yamen runners stood solemnly at the entrance of the alley, their hands on their long swords. All cultivators entering were required to prove their identity as participants in the immortal examination.

As for those who came to see the examinees off, or those who came to watch the spectacle, they were all stopped outside the alley.

These yamen runners were stern and unsmiling. Even if someone approached them in a friendly tone, they were all resolutely refused entry and forbidden from doing so.

However, upon seeing Zheng Que, the constables instantly beamed with joy and eagerly gestured for the guest: "Fellow Daoist Zheng, please! Please!"

One of the constables whispered, "May you have a smooth journey on your path and become the champion!"

Zheng Que nodded slightly and replied, "Thank you."

He walked into the alley and saw a crowd of about a hundred people standing under the shade of the trees.

These people gathered in groups of three or five, or in groups of eight or nine, with clear distinctions between them. Only a few stood alone, quietly in an inconspicuous corner.

Among the crowd, the most eye-catching were Feng Guangchang, Mao Yanxin, Yuan Zhonghao, and Jing Zhengjie, who occupied the open space in front of the closed government office as if no one else was there.

Each of the first three was accompanied by seven or eight cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining, like stars surrounding the moon, drawing the attention of the other cultivators around them.

Zheng Que's gaze swept over the crowd. Most of these cultivators were at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

There were very few people above the Foundation Establishment level, but there were still more than a dozen.

Judging from the large number of people gathered, there were more than one cultivator from the major county town participating in the immortal examination.

Upon noticing someone else entering, Feng Guangchang and the other three instinctively looked over. The moment their eyes met Zheng Que's face, their pupils dilated, and their facial muscles twitched. They then turned their heads away in unison, avoiding eye contact with Zheng Que, and moved aside as if afraid of being stared at by him.

Zheng Que ignored the four people and found a quiet corner where there were few people, where he waited quietly.

A moment later, several more cultivators entered.

Shang Zhaozu from Hengshui County was among them. He was bruised and swollen, one eye was black and purple, and he was walking with a limp, as if he had been beaten up. Fortunately, his breathing was still relatively stable and he was not seriously injured, otherwise he would have missed the immortal examination.

Upon seeing Zheng Que, Shang Zhaozu quickly walked a few steps to a short distance away from him.

"Fellow Daoist Zheng, you must be careful of Feng Guangchang, Mao Yanxin, Yuan Zhonghao, and Jing Zhengjie." Shang Zhaozu lowered his head and looked at the blue bricks on the ground, but secretly transmitted his voice to Zheng Que, reminding him, "They want to harm you!"

Zheng Que glanced at Shang Zhaozu, offered no explanation, and calmly replied, "Alright, thank you, fellow Daoist."

A moment later, the tightly closed vermilion gate suddenly opened, and two powerful figures strode out.

The two figures were a man and a woman. The man was a familiar face to everyone; he was Xiang Songnian, the prefect of Qingrao Prefecture. The woman, however, was a complete stranger to everyone. She wore a high bun with three red-gold phoenix-tail hairpins adorned with pearls, a light green crepe gauze robe with wide sleeves, and a skirt embroidered with reeds, mandarin ducks, and irises. She also wore a moon-colored skirt and a smoky pink shawl draped over her arm. Her graceful figure was captivating, with a beauty that could shame even peaches and plums.

The female cultivator walked beside Xiang Songnian, casually glancing at the cultivators from Qingrao Prefecture who were participating in the Immortal Examination. A hint of impatience flashed in her eyes, filled with boredom at the sight of such mediocre talents.

However, when his gaze fell upon Zheng Que, he paused slightly.

This young man's true essence was pure and vibrant, quite extraordinary, and not inferior even to the core disciples of the six major sects.

Are these rogue cultivators who have come to participate in the immortal examination?

Are you sure they're not disciples from a sect who came to join the fun?
At this moment, Xiang Songnian also saw Zheng Que. He nodded slightly to Zheng Que, then looked away, scanned the crowd, and said loudly, "I am Xiang Songnian, the prefectural judge of Qingrao Prefecture."

"The person next to me is Cen Fuyi, the Military Advisor of Tuzhou. Like me, she is one of the examiners for this Immortal Examination."

"Next, I and Military Advisor Cen will escort everyone into the examination hall to participate in the Immortal Examination!"

(End of this chapter)