Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 418 Available for deployment. (First update!)

Bloodstained Tongguan?

The origin of the Shadow Play is in Blood Pass!

Zheng Que was slightly taken aback, not expecting that the examination venue was not a city of the imperial court, but a place like Xue Tong Pass.

The cultivation level of [Evil Shadow Play] is [Iron Tree Prison], and the appearance of such a ghost as [Evil Shadow Play] at Blood Pass means that its danger level is definitely no less than that of Yaotai Mountain!

Furthermore, the ghosts of the Iron Tree Prison may not be limited to the Shadow Play alone at Blood Pass...

Thinking of this, Zheng Li immediately asked, "What is Xue Tong Pass like?"

Xiang Songnian replied, "Xuetong Pass is not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, but rather a place beyond the reach of civilization."

"That place is shrouded in blood mist all year round, and a majestic pass stands at its center. It is said to be a battlefield from long ago. Therefore, the blood mist is filled with a heavy aura of malevolence, which constantly erodes the meridians of living beings."

"However, for this reason, it also contains many mineral veins and other cultivation resources, as well as some local specialties and rare treasures."

"Of course, there are even more high-level ghosts!"

"If a cultivator at the Core Formation stage or above enters, it will easily attract the attention of those high-level ghosts."

"On the contrary, it is relatively safer for cultivators with cultivation levels below Core Formation to enter."

"Therefore, every year many rogue cultivators whose cultivation has stagnated or who want to break through will take a gamble and enter Blood Pass to seek opportunities."

"In reality, although cultivators below the Core Formation stage will not attract the special attention of high-level ghosts, whether they can return alive depends on their individual strength and luck."

"After all, that's not the territory of the imperial court. The yin energy there is vast and heavy, like a boundless ocean, and ghosts are as numerous as hairs on a cow..."

Zheng listened intently. Xiang Songnian's meaning was clear: entering Xue Tong Pass was not about having the lowest cultivation level for safety, but rather about having the strongest possible strength, provided one's cultivation level did not exceed the Core Formation stage.

In addition, Blood Pass is home to a large number of ghosts and produces various resources useful to cultivators...

The imperial court set the location for the immortal examination here, and the examination questions may have been related to slaying ghosts, collecting resources, or gathering rare and precious materials.

I just don't know what form the "rules" and the Dao heart in the Immortal Examination will take.

At this point, Xiang Songnian finished giving a general introduction to the situation at Xue Tong Pass. After thinking for a moment, he added, "This magic boat of mine is a magical treasure, and it is extremely fast."

"But it will still take about half a month to reach Xue Tong Pass."

“Besides our Qingrao Prefecture, cultivators from other parts of the imperial court who are participating in the immortal examination will also arrive at Xuetong Pass within the next half month.”

“Most of the cultivators who participate in the Immortal Examination, without a Heavenly Grade Dao Foundation like yours, will stick together based on their place of origin.”

"Therefore, although they are no match for you individually, their strength should not be underestimated when they come together."

"If you encounter this, be careful."

"Regarding the Immortal Examination, I must remind you that, while ensuring you pass the examination, you must try your best to improve your ranking!"

"This will be of great benefit to you!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que snapped out of his reverie and immediately nodded in agreement. He then asked, "Your Excellency, during the imperial examination, would you be so kind as to offer some assistance to the other candidates from Qingrao Prefecture?"

He asked this question not because he really wanted to help the other cultivators in Qingrao Prefecture, but because he wanted to take the opportunity to do the prefect a favor.

According to his speculation, the "law" that the magistrate was in charge of was related to recruiting talent for the imperial court.

If the number of people who pass the immortal examination in Qingrao Prefecture under the jurisdiction of the Tongpan increases, it will definitely benefit the Tongpan!
However, upon hearing this, Xiang Songnian shook his head without hesitation and said seriously, "Rankings are far more important than quantity!"

"Just focus on improving your own ranking and don't worry about the other candidates."

"As long as your ranking is high enough, even if all the other candidates from Qingrao Prefecture are wiped out and die at Xuetong Pass, it will be a small matter!" Zheng Que was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and immediately replied, "Yes! I will do my best and will never let you down."

Next, he asked a few more questions related to the Immortal Examination. Xiang Songnian answered selectively, but whenever the questions involved the examination, even those from previous years' Immortal Examinations, he remained silent.

After a while, seeing that Zheng Que had no further questions, Xiang Songnian left directly.

Zheng Que sat alone in the quiet room, pondering for a while, then shook his head inwardly.

He had originally planned to summon Ku Lan to accompany him in his cultivation over the course of half a month.

But now, the doors and windows of this quiet room are tightly closed, yet Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi can still come and go freely, making the whole room seem as if it were broad daylight.

If he were to actually cultivate with Kulan, wouldn't those two see everything clearly?
Therefore, Zheng Que did not delay and immediately began cultivating the [Transformation Scripture].

Several hours later, the Dharma boat, which had been flying steadily, suddenly began to shake violently, as if the boat had encountered a large wave on the water.

Zheng Que opened his eyes, stopped cultivating, and was about to go out to check the situation when he heard Xiang Songnian's deep voice: "All candidates, stay in the meditation room and do not go out!"

Boom boom boom...

Immediately afterwards, the sounds of fierce fighting came from outside, accompanied by the shrill sound of spells tearing through the air and the surging and surging of yin energy like a tide.

A moment later, the fighting stopped, the magic boat regained its stability, and continued its journey.

Zheng Que immediately understood that the Dharma Boat must have been attacked by ghosts in the air while it was flying.

Furthermore, the ghost that was able to fight Xiang Songnian and wasn't instantly killed, and that attacked the Dharma Boat, was most likely a [Iron Tree Prison]...

With this in mind, Zheng Que composed himself and continued his cultivation.

Time passed slowly, and in the following days, Fazhou was frequently attacked by ghosts. Each time, Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi would take action and quickly end the battle.

During this time, Zheng Que went to the underworld several times and saw that the number of names on the second page of the Book of Life and Death had increased by dozens, but the number of names on the third page remained unchanged.

It was obvious that although Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi had encountered several ghosts from the Iron Tree Prison in the past few days, they had not killed any of them, but had only driven them away...

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and a second dark line appeared on Zheng Que's body.

After this black mark appeared, he could clearly feel that the power of the divine ability [Golden Cicada Armor] had been greatly enhanced.

Several more days passed, and while Zheng Que was cultivating, he once again entered the dilapidated Guangdian.

The space remained unchanged. He sat alone in the crippled armchair, facing the empty hall, with the Book of Life and Death and the gavel placed before him.

Looking around, Zheng Que, as usual, turned to the third page of the Book of Life and Death, wanting to see if Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi had killed any of the ghosts in the Iron Tree Prison today.

However, when he turned to the third page this time, he immediately noticed that the records for [Shadow Play] had changed...

"Category: Evil."

"Species: Evil Shadow Play."

"Real name: None."

"Native Place: Xuetongguan."

"Lifespan in the underworld: 950 years..."

"Yin Duty: Yin Messenger (dispatched)."

"Term of office: half a decade."

(End of this chapter)