Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 420 Exam Questions. (Third Update!)

That's Xiang Songnian's voice!

Zheng Que did not hesitate. He immediately got up, opened the door of the quiet room, and walked outside.

clack clack...

Along the spacious corridor, the doors to the other quiet rooms were also opening one after another, and candidates walked out and hurried toward the deck.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Zheng Que spotted Feng Guangchang and his three companions. Seeing the expectant glint in their eyes, he gave a slight nod. The four men visibly relaxed, their steps becoming much lighter.

Soon, the crowd came to the deck and saw Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi standing at the bow of the ship, waiting for them.

Beyond the railings stood a majestic snow-capped mountain, its entire peak covered in thick snow. At this moment, numerous similar-looking Dharma boats, all shaped like multi-story ships, were already resting on the snow. Their sizes, specifications, and details were not much different, except for the flags planted on their tops, which indicated that they came from different regions.

In the distance, rows of Dharma boats sped by, leaving white trails in their wake among the clouds.

Looking down, beneath the snow-capped mountains lay a vast sea of ​​blood—or more accurately, a swirling blood mist, thick as porridge, churning and surging, seemingly never ceasing, mixed with intense malevolent energy, soaring into the sky!

Even though Zheng Que was still within the protective range of the magic boat's formation, he could still feel the intense killing intent and resentment.

Deep within the blood mist, a colossal creature seemed to be crouching amidst the indistinct shadows.

However, upon closer inspection, there was nothing there. It seemed to be some kind of illusion, yet it was crystal clear.

Zheng Que frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

At this moment, Xiang Songnian flicked his sleeves, and a gust of wind immediately swept up the boat full of examinees, landing them on the pure white snow.

The examiners on the other Dharma boats also used similar methods to remove the candidates from their boats.

Soon, Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi stepped off the magic boat. The former made a hand seal to put the magic boat away, and then took out a flag marked "Qingrao Prefecture, Tuzhou" and called to the crowd, and walked in one direction.

The other magic boats were in the same situation. After docking on this snow mountain, the cultivators participating in the immortal examination began to abandon their boats and walk, led by the examiners.

Creak, creak, creak...

After being trampled, the soft snow gradually formed a cold, hard, and slippery path.

Zheng Que followed the crowd for a while, and suddenly a high platform appeared in front of him.

The sudden appearance of this high platform seemed to have been previously obscured by an array or a light and shadow illusion, and could only be seen upon closer inspection.

The area below the platform was empty; there was nothing there.

On the platform were several futons, upon which sat several cultivators dressed in various styles. These cultivators included men, women, and children, and their auras were either as restrained as ordinary people, as dissipated as nothingness, or as deep as the abyss... causing many examinees to steal glances and feel a sudden, inexplicable unease, and they dared not look any longer.

Zheng Que also withdrew his gaze and looked around. Before they arrived, many cultivators had already arrived.

At this moment, these cultivators were all guided by two or three Core Formation stage examiners and stood in a line on the open ground.

Xiang Songnian and Cen Fuyi also directed the candidates from Qingrao Prefecture to find an open space to stand.

"The entrance to Blood Pass is ahead! This year's Immortal Trial will be held at Blood Pass?!"

"I've heard that ghosts roam freely in Blood Pass, but there are also many cultivation resources. I wonder if this year's test will be about slaying ghosts or collecting resources?"

"It's not that simple. Slaying ghosts and gathering resources can be achieved by overwhelming numbers. The imperial court's immortal examination can't be that easy!"

"That's right! If the questions for the Immortal Examination were so easy to guess, then there wouldn't be so few people passing each time..."

The surrounding cultivators exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, all of their conversation revolving around the upcoming immortal examination.

Zheng Que listened quietly while observing subtly.

Most of the cultivators from other prefectures of the Great Li Dynasty were at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Like Qingrao Prefecture, the proportion of cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage was not large, but the number of participants in the Immortal Examination was quite significant. Zheng Que only needed to glance at them to see dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Most of them were in the early stage of Foundation Establishment like him, less than a third were in the middle stage, and only two were in the late stage.

Standing in the group whose banner read "Hengzhou Yinshan Prefecture" was a young male cultivator. He wore a dark blue brocade robe embroidered with a qilin holding a lingzhi pattern, and a wide belt with white jade and gold trim. He had thick eyebrows and bright eyes, carried a long sword on his back, and wore a mutton-fat jade pendant with auspicious clouds, pine trees, and three sheep at his waist. Several other examinees in similar brocade robes surrounded him, creating a scene reminiscent of stars surrounding the moon.

The other was a female cultivator in the "Qinzhou City" banner. She had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, fair and delicate skin, wore a lychee-red short jacket and a butterfly-yellow long skirt, and had a jade-carved gourd and bat necklace hanging on her chest. At the bottom was an exquisite longevity lock. She held an ivory fan in her hand, like a noble lady from a noble family chasing butterflies in a spring courtyard.

This female cultivator also had many admirers, who vaguely centered around her.

Zheng Que's gaze fell on the two of them, and he was immediately somewhat surprised.

The true essence on these two people was extremely pure, with very little yin energy visible, making them no less powerful than Dai Nanji from Qingyue Cliff back then!

It is the foundation of earth quality!
Moreover, the cultivation techniques these two practice should be no worse than those of Dai Nanji of Qingyue Cliff!
Just then, a familiar voice rang in his ears: "That boy in the blue brocade robe is the son of the prefect of Yinshan Prefecture in Hengzhou. He is exceptionally talented, having reached the Earth Rank Foundation Establishment stage, and possesses many magical artifacts."

"The elder of Delu Temple once made a special trip to accept a disciple, but he was too young at the time and claimed that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and serve the imperial court, so he refused the elder of Delu Temple..."

"The female cultivator holding the fan is the grandniece of the governor of Qinzhou, and she is equally outstanding."

"However, when he reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, he received a very special opportunity. The foundation he used for Foundation Establishment was not a Foundation Establishment Pill..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que was slightly taken aback. He turned his head and saw that under the banner of "Tuzhou Qingrao Prefecture", Cen Fuyi was also looking at him intently.

He immediately understood that Cen Fuyi was introducing him to the situation of cultivators in other places.

In a flash, Zheng Que immediately replied telepathically, "Thank you, senior."

Whoosh...

At this moment, many more teams arrived from behind.

Zheng Que continued to observe the new examinees and discovered that several of them were figures whose cultivation levels he could not see through with his [Spiritual Eye Technique], clearly indicating that they had used a rather sophisticated technique to conceal their aura.

After waiting for about half an hour, the open space below the platform was almost completely filled with people.

Zheng Que secretly counted the flags and estimated that all the prefectures under the rule of the Great Li Dynasty had arrived. At this moment, the figures on the high platform opened their eyes at the same time.

An elderly woman, who was leading the group, suddenly spoke up: "Quiet!"

Her voice was low and hoarse, not loud, but it exploded in everyone's ears like thunder. The crowd below the platform fell silent in an instant, and the snow-capped mountain was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and even the wind seemed to stop for a moment.

The old woman glanced at the audience below, nodded slightly, and said, "I am Ning Jiushan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and I am here by order of the Regent Princess to preside over this examination of immortals."

"This time, the examination venue will be Xue Tong Pass."

"It is now the 21st day of the 10th month of the 145th year of Xuan Shu, at the third quarter of the hour of Si (9-11 AM). All the candidates from the 15 prefectures and 64 counties under the jurisdiction of Da Li have arrived."

"If there are any special circumstances, please raise them here."

After he finished speaking, there was still silence below the platform.

Ning Jiushan waited a moment before continuing, "Since there's nothing else, let's announce the exam questions now."

As she spoke, she took out a gilded long box from her storage bag at her waist. It was quite similar in size to the [Treasure Box of Worship], but the one in front of her was inlaid with pearls and jade, and was extremely gorgeous. Several talismans and seals were also affixed to it.

Ning Jiushan did not open it immediately, but handed the gilded box to several cultivators on the high platform. After these cultivators finished inspecting it, he gestured for Xiang Songnian, Cen Fuyi and other examiners who had accompanied him to the exam to come forward.

After the entire team of examiners confirmed that the seals were intact and the talismans showed no signs of being tampered with, Ning Jiushan retrieved the box, removed all the talismans and seals in front of everyone, opened the box, took out a bright yellow scroll, unfurled it, glanced at it, and read aloud: "The Immortal Examination of the 145th year of Xuan Shu, the exam question is: Reclaiming the Wasteland!"

(End of this chapter)