A daily divination, from family tortoise shells to immortal clans.

"Please speak, Manager Jia."

Chen Qingmo made a gesture of listening attentively.

"Only fifty people can qualify for this first round of testing, and those who pass will receive a reward."

"The rewards for those outside the top ten are all quite ordinary; I estimate that only the items for the top three will interest Fellow Daoist Chen."

"Third place: one bottle of Qingling Pill; Second place: one bottle of Xisui Pill; First place: one top-grade magic weapon, the Fire Dragon Flag."

Jia Buliao became somewhat excited as he spoke. Top-grade magic artifacts are extremely precious to most cultivators who have just entered the Foundation Establishment stage, yet they are now being used as prizes for the disciple recruitment ceremony.

"Moreover, in the past, the grand prize was usually a high-grade magic weapon. Only this year is the first time that the Great Desert Tower has offered such a prize. Many people at the ninth level of Qi Refining or even the Great Perfection of Qi Refining are after this item."

"This year's test will assess the purity of the spiritual energy within the body, and everyone has a chance regardless of their Qi Refining level."

"Participating in the test only requires a fee of five spirit stones. Fellow Daoist Chen, would you be willing to give it a try?"

Chen Qingmo understood. In the end, the matter of accepting disciples at this disciple-acceptance ceremony was just a side effect. Black Mountain City's purpose in doing this was to earn spirit stones.

This method is surprisingly effective; for just five spirit stones, one has the chance to obtain a high-grade or even top-grade magic weapon. Basically, any cultivator who comes to Black Mountain City is not short of such wealth.

Since the news of the Fire Dragon Flag came out, Chen Qingmo has already seen hundreds of people.

Moreover, the first test lasted for three whole days, so the Black Mountain City Lord should be able to get tens of thousands of spirit stones, while a few prizes are insignificant.

Chen Qingmo even suspected that Jia Buliao had given his brother the idea.

"What Manager Jia said is very tempting. Then I, Chen, will wait in line outside the Desert Tower."

Jia Buliao waved his hand and smiled, "Well, since I've said that, I'll definitely do Fellow Daoist Chen a favor. Just come with me."

"If you do not wish to participate in any other activities after everyone has finished their tests, you may leave directly."

Jia Buliao led Chen Qingmo into the Desert Tower, walked to a testing monument, and whispered a few words in the ear of a steward.

He approached Chen Qingmo and said, "I'll have Deacon Liu take Fellow Daoist Chen for the test later. I have some other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

Chen Qingmo cupped his hands in greeting and stood to one side, looking at the person in front of the test monument.

The cultivator, at the seventh level of Qi Refining, had his palm pressed firmly against the stone tablet.

His expression was solemn as he poured spiritual energy into it. A white light rose up and eventually stopped at a height of exactly four inches.

"The pillar of light is four inches tall and ranks one hundred and four."

A deacon in charge of taking notes shouted loudly.

The cultivator walked out of the Desert Tower with a disappointed look on his face.

The highest point that the light pillar of the test monument could reach was one foot. Chen Qingmo saw on the record list that the person with the highest light pillar was a Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, whose pillar was 6.6 inches long.

Several more people took the test, but only one person made it into the top fifty, with a beam of light 4.7 inches high.

"Fellow Daoist Chen Bai, it's your turn to be tested."

Chen Qingmo was slightly taken aback, then realized that it must have been Jia Buliao who told this Steward Liu his alias.

He nodded, stepped forward, touched the stone tablet with his palm, and infused it with spiritual power.

The beam of light moved slowly at first, then suddenly climbed up after a few breaths, exceeding six inches before slowing down again.

The surrounding cultivators widened their eyes, somewhat unable to believe that someone at the eighth level of Qi Refining could possess such pure spiritual energy.

Chen Qingmo continued to inject spiritual power, and although the beam of light slowed down, it was still rising.

After a dozen or so breaths, the pillar of light finally stopped. He removed his palm and waited for the deacon to speak.

"The pillar of light... is seven and a half inches tall, ranking first!"

The deacon in charge of recording trembled slightly in his voice.

Chen Qingmo's lips curled up slightly. He cultivated the Spirit Tempering Secret Technique, so his spiritual power was already purer than others, but this level was still somewhat beyond his expectations.

"How is that possible!?"

A commotion arose around them, and some people raised questions.

"Silence! Anyone who makes another disturbance will be disqualified from the test!"

Deacon Liu shouted, silencing everyone.

"You can't stand seeing others succeed? If you're not convinced, come and test yourself!"

Jia Buliao was the deputy head of the Great Desert Tower, so Deacon Liu naturally dared not doubt the people he brought.

Moreover, Steward Liu had heard about Jia Buliao's affairs. Although he dared not draw any conclusions, it would be unreasonable for someone at the seventh level of Qi Refining to become the deputy head of the Desert Tower without some connections.

"Fellow Daoist Chen Bai, you should go and rest first. We will send someone to notify you after everyone has finished their tests."

Deacon Liu instructed his colleagues to continue arranging the tests, while he led Chen Qingmo to a private room.

The first test lasts three days, during which the top fifty cultivators in the Desert Tower will reside within the tower.

"We won't restrict cultivators from coming and going, but we're worried we won't be able to find anyone when we distribute the rewards. I'm sure Fellow Daoist Chen can hold out for a few days."

Chen Qingmo nodded slightly; he didn't have anything to say either.

Two days later, the test ended.

Chen Qingmo followed the messenger to the main hall, where only a little over a hundred cultivators remained.

"Those ranked 50th to 11th will receive three mid-grade first-level Qi Refining Powder pills. Please collect them yourselves."

"Tenth place, Gu Lin, one bottle of Rejuvenation Pills."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingmo looked over and discovered that it was the person outside the wind-eroded forest.

"Ninth place..."

……

"Third place, Chen Bai, one bottle of Qingling Pills."

"Second place, Li Mang, one bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pills."

"First place: Liangqiu Shehu, the top-grade magic weapon Fire Dragon Banner."

Chen Qingmo was moved; Li Mang's beam of light was seven inches and six-tenths inches long, just exceeding his height.

The cultivator named Liangqiu Shehu had a beam of light eight inches and two inches high, indicating he was at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

"Truly, hidden talents abound!"

Chen Qingmo secretly praised it and accepted the Qingling Pill.

He had heard of this elixir; it was said to help clear impurities from the body and was considered a superior elixir for those in the Qi Refining stage.

"The first test is over. The top fifty cultivators can come to the Desert Tower to continue the remaining tests in two days."

Deacon Liu loudly announced to everyone present.

Chen Qingmo had lost interest in the follow-up matters and immediately walked outside.

On his way back to his rented house, Li Mang caught up with him from behind and invited him to a restaurant for a chat.

Chen Qingmo was somewhat puzzled, wondering what this burly man wanted from him.

Upon entering the restaurant, he saw several familiar figures, some of whom were among the top ten in the Desert Tower test.

Gu Lin, Liangqiu Shehu, and two other late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

After they were seated, Li Mang greeted him warmly, saying, "I didn't expect that Fellow Daoist Chen Bai would have reached the eighth level of Qi Refining after only a few months. Congratulations!"

Gu Lin, who was sitting next to him, heard this and his pupils contracted. He had already realized what these words meant.

Chen Bai, standing before me, was at the seventh level of Qi Refining a few months ago, and he had only recently broken through.

When Chen Bai was seen outside the wind-eroded forest, he was already at the eighth level of Qi Refining, which means that he must have obtained the white jade marrow.

However, he had special methods to quickly stabilize his cultivation, which is why he didn't notice it.

Gu Lin lowered his head slightly, a fleeting, almost imperceptible chill flashing in his eyes.

Chen Qingmo kept an eye on Gu Lin's reaction while Li Mang was speaking, but the other man lowered his head, making it impossible for Chen Qingmo to see clearly.

Li Mang, unaware of what had transpired between the two, continued:

"The reason I invited you fellow cultivators is to inquire how long you will be staying in Black Mountain City, and whether it will exceed two years?"

They all nodded.

"That's good. I'm sure you've all explored the treasure trove within 500 miles of Black Mountain City."

"I'll be frank from the start: I'd like to invite a few fellow cultivators to join me on a treasure hunt."

"Afterwards, the treasures will be distributed according to the amount of effort each person made. Since our cultivation levels are roughly the same, there shouldn't be any uneven distribution."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.