Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 617 Examination Situation. (Second Update!)

At the border of Xuetong Pass, atop a high cliff, a fierce wind howls.

Below the cliff, blood mist churned, resembling a sea of ​​blood, stretching endlessly to the horizon, its malevolent aura soaring into the sky.

Ning Jiushan, his official robes ablaze with fire, stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the swirling, billowing blood mist in the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

At this moment, she was all alone here. The other examiners had all gone into Xue Tong Pass in pairs to investigate the cheating.

After all, the great changes at Xue Tong Pass greatly disrupted the imperial court's control over the Immortal Examination. Those families wanted to send Core Formation cultivators to infiltrate the examination hall to help their own disciples, and the examiners could also guess that, so they naturally had to take precautions.

clack clack...

A faint clicking sound came from an old-fashioned compass.

This compass, as large as a silver basin, was marked with extremely intricate patterns and emitted a faint spiritual aura. It was held above Ning Jiushan's left hand, and the pointer rotated very slowly.

Several points on the compass were illuminated by clusters of flames, some as small as ants, which moved occasionally.

Each cluster of flames represents an examiner entering the Blood Pass, and their movement signifies a change in the examiner's location.

In the void before her, specially made sound transmission jade talismans floated and sank, arranged in a fan shape, with talismans occasionally flashing with a faint light.

At this moment, one of the communication jade talismans lit up on its own, and a slightly hurried voice of an examiner came out: "Lord Ning, traces of a Core Formation stage cultivator have been discovered a hundred miles northwest of the 'Strange' Seven Locust Manor."

"The other party's aura is refined, unlike that of a rogue cultivator."

"I am currently tracking it, but its speed is extremely fast; it may be in the late stage of Core Formation..."

Ning Jiushan did not hesitate and immediately said calmly, "Continue the tracking. I will send Gu Zaichang to assist you..."

As soon as he finished speaking, another communication jade talisman lit up, and the voice of another examiner came through: "Reporting to Your Excellency, the progress of the candidates on my side in clearing the wasteland is a bit abnormal."

"Not only have they built a market town, but they have also occupied seven or eight resource points in the surrounding area."

"Even the ghosts surrounding their stronghold were wiped out..."

"The problem is that this candidate's cultivation level is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and it's not even a Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment, so it's impossible for him to do this!"

"However, I have been monitoring him for a long time, but I have never been able to find any flaws."

"I suspect that the Core Formation cultivator who helped this examinee cheat has already discovered me..."

Ning Jiushan calmly replied, "Secretly summon a ghost from the [Iron Tree Prison] to test that examinee."

"If there is indeed a problem, the Core Formation cultivator behind it will definitely take action."

"If no Core Formation cultivator appears, then you should take action yourself and lure that [Iron Tree Prison] ghost away."

Soon, a communication jade talisman not far away also lit up, and a deep voice came out: "My lord, I am with Yin Congyi."

"It seems that Yin Congyi has also reached the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment stage."

"He doesn't have any Core Formation cultivators from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion assisting him, but he does have a female Core Formation cultivator by his side now..."

"May I ask, sir, does this count as cheating?"

Yin Congyi of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion...

Ning Jiushan frowned slightly and quickly replied, "I know Yin Congyi's temperament very well."

"Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for him to cheat."

"Moreover, since he has already reached the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment, he would be even less inclined to engage in such petty tricks." "It's most likely that Yin Congyi reached some kind of deal with that Core Formation rogue cultivator, and the two of them need to cooperate on some matter."

"However, this is only my personal opinion."

"The imperial examinations for immortals emphasize fairness and rely on evidence."

"Continue to observe from the shadows."

"If it is discovered that the Core Formation cultivator was sent by the Duke of Dingguo's mansion to protect Yin Congyi, then even if Yin Congyi is already a Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment cultivator, his qualification for the Immortal Examination will be revoked, and he will be considered to have cheated!"

The voice from the communication jade talisman immediately replied, "Yes!"

As Ning Jiushan continued to deal with the various situations and unexpected events in the examination room, she suddenly noticed something and turned her head to look in a certain direction to the side.

The next moment, the blood mist below the cliff surged like ocean waves, and a figure silently emerged, landing on the cliff top in a few leaps. He bowed and said, "Lord Ning!"

The newcomer was one of the two examiners who had been secretly monitoring Zheng Que.

After bowing, the examiner quickly added before Ning Jiushan could speak, "I have already brought the jade slip containing the image."

As he spoke, he took out a specially made jade slip and handed it to Ning Jiushan with both hands.

One person was enough to deliver the jade slip containing the image; the other examiner who accompanied him remained in Xue Tong Pass to carry out the previous mission.

Ning Jiushan nodded slightly, raised his hand, and took the image jade slip in his hand, examining it immediately.

As she looked at him, a distinct look of surprise suddenly appeared on her previously calm face.

However, Ning Jiushan held a high position and had seen real genius cultivators before. After a brief moment of surprise, she quickly regained her composure, casually put away the image jade slip, looked at her subordinates, and asked, "This Zheng Que's true form has not shown itself from beginning to end?"

Upon hearing this, the examiner replied without the slightest hesitation, "No!"

"At first, my colleagues and I thought that Zheng Que, the first one to appear, was the other party's true form."

"But as we got to the end, we discovered that the ones fighting against that 'strange' Iron Tree Prison were all Zheng Que's ghost servants."

"I suspect that Zheng Que doesn't take the 'weirdness' of the Iron Tree Prison seriously at all. Even the ghost servants he sends to deal with the 'weirdness' each time are only three, with no intention of increasing the number."

"Moreover, this Zheng Que also has several powerful female ghost servants, but none of these female ghost servants appeared during the entire battle."

"With the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment, without using full strength, one can reverse the 'unpredictable' nature of the [Iron Tree Prison]..."

"Those rogue cultivators at the Core Formation stage who have entered Blood Pass now are probably no match for Zheng Que!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Jiushan shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, "The true form is hidden in the distance, commanding thousands of ghosts from afar... This is how the art of 'ghost control' should be."

"Zheng Que did the right thing."

"Furthermore, you are wrong. It's not that Zheng Que didn't take the 'strangeness' of the Iron Tree Prison seriously, but rather that he wanted to forge his own 'path' and therefore couldn't rely on external forces."

"This little fellow is even more outstanding than I expected..."

At this point, Ning Jiushan thought for a moment and then suddenly added, "After Zheng Que resolves the 'unpredictable' nature of that [Iron Tree Prison], his strength will definitely improve even further."

"Among all the candidates, Zheng Que is the only one who could not possibly cheat, nor would he need to cheat at all."

"Now, there's no need to waste time watching him; go and monitor the other candidates!"

(End of this chapter)