I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

"Those who are chosen will receive a substantial reward, and their families will rise to prominence. Several prominent families in the county town have prospered for centuries because someone in their ancestor joined the Xuantian Sect."

Zhang Jing looked at Zhao Zian.

"Brother Zhao, if it is indeed the Xuantian Sect who kidnapped your family... I advise you to think twice."

"That's no longer a battle between mortals. To those immortal masters, we might really be no different from ants."

Think it over?

He doesn't need to think twice.

Thank you.

Zhao Zian withdrew his gaze.

He turned and walked outside.

"Brother Zhao!"

Zhang Jing couldn't help but shout.

"You really want to go? That's a sect of immortals! You'll be going alone..."

Zhao Zian did not stop.

"So what if they're immortal sects?"

"He harmed my people, so I'll take his life."

"If he hides in his sect, I will tear down his sect."

The words were barely out of his mouth before he was gone.

Zhang Jing stood there, stunned.

"A madman...he's a complete madman..."

……

Xuantian Gate.

It is situated atop a towering, solitary peak.

This peak is barren and shrouded in gray-black gales year-round.

A beam of blue light stopped in front of the black stone palace on the mountaintop.

The light faded, revealing the figure of the man in the blue robe.

Upon seeing him appear, the two black-clad disciples standing at the palace gate prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Welcome back to the mountain, Sect Master!"

The man in blue robes is Chang Wanqing, the sect leader of Xuantian Sect.

He stepped straight into the main hall.

Several figures slid out and knelt on the ground.

"metropolitan."

The leader was an old man.

He is Feng Li, the Grand Elder of the Xuantian Sect.

Beside him was a voluptuous woman in red, the Second Elder, Mei San Niang.

Chang Wanqing sat down casually.

"look."

Feng Li and Mei San Niang raised their heads.

"This is……"

Mei San Niang licked her red lips.

"What an adorable little thing. The sect leader actually brought back a spirit pet this time he came down the mountain?"

Chang Wanqing snorted coldly.

"A spirit pet? Mei San Niang, your vision is still so shallow."

Mei San Niang's expression stiffened slightly.

"It is Third Sister's ignorance that is the cause of this matter. Please enlighten me, Sect Master."

"This is a celestial fox."

Chang Wanqing spoke each word carefully.

"A celestial fox cub!"

Feng Li gasped in shock.

Legendary ancient species!

Born with spiritual powers, and upon reaching adulthood, they are even more capable of reversing yin and yang, captivating all beings!

Most importantly, the Celestial Fox possesses a body full of essence, which is the purest and most pristine energy in the world.

For cultivators practicing evil or demonic arts, or those needing to break through bottlenecks, it is a dream come true...

"Furnace and cauldron"

Chang Wanqing said those two words for him.

The little white fox in the cage shuddered in fright and shrank back.

"Look at this, what a perfect embryo!"

Chang Wanqing's eyes turned fanatical.

"My Profound Yin Soul Devouring Technique has reached the ninth level of perfection, but I have been unable to break through to the tenth level because I cannot find enough pure primordial yin to harmonize the supreme yang energy in my body. Ordinary women, even if they are virgins, have too much turbid energy. Using a hundred or a thousand of them would be of no use and would only pollute my foundation."

"I have searched for thirty years, traversing mountains and rivers, and finally... finally I have found it!"

"Once it matures, in just a few years, I will use its pure and flawless primordial yin as a catalyst to break through the shackles and reach the realm of Nascent Soul! At that time, who within a thousand miles will be my match?!"

Feng Li and Mei San Niang exchanged a glance.

The Realm of Divine Transformation!

That's a level they wouldn't even dare to dream of!

"Congratulations, Sect Master! Congratulations, Sect Master!"

Feng Li bowed down in submission.

"With the sect leader's mastery of divine skills, we can also benefit from it!"

Mei San Niang also chimed in.

"Since this little thing is so important, it must be taken good care of. What does the sect leader intend to do with it?"

Chang Wanqing stopped in his tracks.

"Of course we must serve them well."

"From this day forward, it will be the most honored guest of my Xuantian Sect. It may use all the rare and precious materials and elixirs within the sect. It must be raised to be plump and healthy, with abundant spiritual energy."

"If anyone dares to harm a single hair on its head, or makes the slightest mistake in feeding it... I will tear out its tendons, skin it, and burn its soul in an ever-burning lamp day and night, so that it may never be reincarnated!"

Feng Li and Mei San Niang both shivered.

They knew very well that if their sect leader said it, he would do it.

Behind the Xuantian Gate, there is a place called the Feeding Garden.

The name sounds ordinary, but it is the nightmare of all the low-ranking disciples and servants in the sect.

Here, hundreds of ordinary people who were captured from the foot of the mountain are kept in captivity.

They are not slaves, because slaves still have value in their labor.

They are...materials.

It is cultivation material.

A newly initiated disciple practices the newly learned Soul-Extracting Finger technique.

Before him, a man was chained to a stone wall, his body covered in whip marks.

The disciple was a little nervous.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!"

The senior brother standing next to him cursed.

"Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you must extract the first wisp of his soul from his crown chakra! If you miss the deadline, you will take his place, and I, your senior brother, will practice!"

The disciple dared not hesitate any longer.

He put his index and middle fingers together, pointed them at the top of the mortal man's head, and muttered incantations.

"ah."

Screams echoed throughout the animal pens.

The ordinary man convulsed, his eyes rolled back, and he foamed at the mouth.

A wisp of white vapor was forcibly drawn from the top of his head.

This is the Xuantian Gate.

A demonic den disguised as a celestial sect.

Here, besides the sect leader and two elders, there were only a dozen or so inner disciples.

Everyone else is a resource that can be consumed at will.

Their lives are cheaper than grass.

......

Zhao Zian walked out of the county government office.

Should we storm Xuantianmen directly?

That would be like a moth drawn to a flame, courting certain death.

It doesn't matter if he dies, but who will save Xiaobai?

Xuantianmen is located in the Yunwu Mountains, north of Qingzhou.

He's going there.

……

Three days later, in Fenglingdu, a small border town in northern Qingzhou.

This place is a gathering place for merchants, martial artists, and independent cultivators from all over the country.

Inside a teahouse called Tingfenglou.

Zhao Zian chose an inconspicuous corner to sit down.

"Have you heard? In just half a month, it will be the Xuantian Sect's once-in-a-decade opening ceremony for accepting disciples!"

A burly man at the next table.

Zhao Zian paused slightly.

"Of course I've heard! This is an incredible opportunity! Xuantian Sect is the number one immortal sect within a thousand miles. Being selected is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, ascending to heaven in one step!"

The skinny guy sitting next to me had a longing look on his face.

"A meteoric rise to heaven? I'd say it's more like a ladder to heaven!"

The speaker was a young scholar dressed in a blue robe.

"The threshold for Xuantian Sect is frighteningly high. They only accept disciples once every ten years, and each time only a handful of people are accepted. Talent, aptitude, and temperament are all indispensable. I tried three years ago and was eliminated in the first round. It was a terrible experience."

The burly man's face looked rather grim.

"High standards are what make a prestigious sect! If just anyone could get in, what kind of sect would it be?"