Proving one's path through killing—this kind of merit is poisonous!

Chapter 17 First Arrival at Qingyun Sect

The Qingyun Sect's method of selecting disciples is completely different from that of other sects.

Other sects would spread the word, select a location, and those who were willing to go would travel a hundred miles, or even a thousand miles, to that location before taking the test.

The Qingyun Sect, on the other hand, sent its inner disciples with several outer disciples down the mountain to travel to different places, where they would be tested by the local people.

Once the testing was nearly complete, the disciples who had gone down the mountain would bring the selected individuals back to the sect.

Therefore, almost every inner disciple carries a small flying boat to transport these people.

That afternoon, Gu Jinhe sat on the flying boat back to Qingyun Sect, holding her identity token in her hand.

She couldn't figure it out.

These days, you can't even get into a sect through connections?

Although you're assigned to the worst menial job, you'll still receive rewards as long as you complete your daily tasks.

These rewards include spirit stones, elixirs, or books and cultivation techniques.

She even heard that the disciple with the highest cultivation level in the miscellaneous servants' office was at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

If that disciple can break through to the Foundation Establishment stage and pass the test, he can become an outer disciple...

It's pretty good; at least there's room for improvement!

With that thought in mind, she hid her thoughts and made a silent resolution.

Even if she has to work in the menial tasks department, she will become the strongest menial task disciple!

The airship traveled for an hour, during which Gu Jinhe focused on admiring the mountains, rivers, and forests below.

Until it reached a cliff hundreds of feet high, it suddenly stopped...

The boat rocked violently, causing quite a commotion. Several prospective disciples were caught off guard and fell to the ground.

Gu Jinhe was about to use her spiritual power to stabilize herself when she seemed to suddenly remember something.

She then grabbed the wooden frame beside her, and like the other prospective disciples, assumed a posture that made it difficult for her to stand.

That was close! We almost got exposed!
After the airship came to a stop, Cui Qingyuan ran over and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone was alright.

"We've reached the outside of the sect. This ship still needs to fly a little further in, so everyone hold on tight."

After giving these instructions, she got up and walked to the front, continuing to use her spiritual power to maneuver the ship forward.

"Isn't that a cliff ahead?" a prospective disciple asked in a low voice, his face filled with fear.

The woman beside him whispered sternly, "Why are you making such a fuss? That must be a trick set up by the immortals to hide their location."

After saying that, she looked ahead, her eyes filled with longing for the future.

Gu Jinhe looked at the cliff face getting closer and closer, and at the several sect disciples flying in mid-air on their swords.

They were dressed in blue, much like Cui Qingyuan, and wore jade identification badges at their waists, suggesting they were also inner disciples.

She couldn't help but wonder: this might not be a trick, but a formation capable of hiding the entire sect.

No wonder the flying boat stopped briefly here; if it hadn't, they and the boat would probably have been killed by the formation.

The flying boat crashed straight into the cliff, and the other prospective disciples couldn't help but close their eyes.

Although Gu Jinhe knew that the steep cliff was an illusion, she couldn't help but feel her heart race the moment she crashed into it.

Then, she felt darkness all around her, as if she were passing through some kind of passage.

A few breaths later, a bright light suddenly appeared ahead, and the others opened their eyes one after another.

The ship was flying towards the light, and the sound of rushing water could be faintly heard ahead. Then, Gu Jinhe noticed a circular dome, invisible to others, slowly rising and enveloping the entire airship.

At the same time, the airship broke free from the darkness and leaped toward the light, with the sound of a huge rushing water coming from above.

Gu Jinhe looked up and saw that the water was isolated and shimmered under the sunlight.

Only after the flying boat had sailed far away did she look back and realize that the place the flying boat had just passed through was actually a waterfall...

The sect has a special place to dock flying boats, which is a flat area at the foot of the mountain called Dingzhoutai.

After the flying boat stopped here, Gu Jinhe and the other prospective disciples lined up and walked down.

After the disciples holding the roster confirmed the number of people, Cui Qingyuan shrunk the flying boat to the size of a palm and then put it back into his spatial storage.

She instructed the junior disciple holding the roster: "Take the disciples with single spiritual roots to the sect's main hall so that the sect leader and elders can take a look."

After saying that, she pointed to another outer disciple and instructed, "Take the disciple with dual spiritual roots to the Law Hall Peak and hand him over to Elder Qi."

Disciples with a single spiritual root are extremely rare!
She only found three when she went down the mountain this time.

They need to be taken to the sect leader and elders for inspection first. If they approve of them, they might be accepted as disciples; if not, they will be arranged to stay in the inner sect.

Disciples with dual spiritual roots are not so rare.

They must start by learning from the outer sect. Only if they can get into the top three in the outer sect competition held every three years can they go to the inner sect.

The junior disciple and the outer disciple simultaneously cupped their hands and said in unison, "Don't worry, senior sister, we will definitely make the arrangements."

The outer disciple reacted indifferently, but the junior brother couldn't help but smile.

He was naturally happy to have this opportunity to show his face in front of the sect leader and elders.

It would be even better if I could be accepted as their personal disciple.

Without further ado, the two led the prospective disciples toward the path on the right.

Arriving at a teleportation array, the junior brother took off his identity token and said to everyone, "My name is Luo Bei, you can call me senior brother."

"Senior Brother Luo."

A dozen or so people bowed with their hands clasped in a gesture of respect that was uneven in size.

Luo Bei didn't mind, and continued, "Once you reach the first level of Qi Refining, inject spiritual power into your identity tokens, then take them to the formation and silently recite the places you can go. The formation will then teleport you there."

Once disciples reach the Foundation Establishment stage, they all choose to fly on their swords instead of using the teleportation array. Over time, this array has become exclusively used by Qi Refining stage disciples.

After explaining the matter, Luo Bei then channeled spiritual energy into his identity token.

As an inner disciple, there were few places in the sect that he couldn't go. That's why Cui Qingyuan arranged for him to bring the three single-spiritual-root disciples there.

However, as the senior disciple, before leaving, he instructed the outer disciple, "Pingsheng, be careful and don't make any mistakes."

"Don't worry, senior brother." Chen Pingsheng nodded quickly.

He was an outer disciple, so being with these people was just something that happened to be going the same way.

After Luo Bei led the three prospective disciples with single spiritual roots into the formation, he activated it with his spiritual power and silently recited, "Sect Main Hall."

The four of them vanished from the formation in the next instant.

Chen Pingsheng followed the same steps, leading the dozen or so people who were with him to the outer gate...

After everyone had left Dingzhoutai, Cui Qingyuan took out his sword and began to control it with his spiritual power.

Once the sword was suspended above the ground, she reached out her hand to Gu Jinhe and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to the servants' quarters."

　Cui Qingyuan is a girl, a girl! She's not a boy. She's our adorable little angel, the female supporting character! Everyone dropped the book because of her name!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)