I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Spirit Beast Mountain is a major sect of immortal cultivation in Heng Kingdom, and its main headquarters is located in the vast Dragon Ridge Mountains.

The Longling Mountains span several prefectures in Heng State, and Yannan Prefecture is located in the southeast of this mountain range.

After flying over a thousand miles on eagles, Zhou Tai and his party arrived at the Dragon Ridge Mountains. They then flew for several hundred miles in the mountains before entering the gate of the Spirit Beast Mountain.

Three vultures landed on a mountain peak with many houses. After exchanging a few words with a female cultivator in white who came to greet them, the old man in blue turned his attention to Zhou Tai and his companions.

"These past few days have been the time for our sect to select and recruit new members. New disciples from various spiritual testing conferences will be sent to this Eagle Peak. Please stay here and wait for further arrangements from the sect."

After leaving these words, without waiting for Zhou Tai and the others to respond, the three vultures, urged on by the cultivators on their backs, took off and flew away from Young Eagle Peak.

The white-robed female cultivator glanced at Zhou Tai with curiosity, then smiled and nodded to the group, saying, "Junior brothers and sisters, please follow me. I'll arrange accommodations for you and teach you some basic knowledge about living in the mountains."

Upon first entering the Immortal Sect, even Zhou Tai was somewhat reserved and dared not freely express any opinions.

Therefore, they all followed the white-robed female cultivator's instructions and acted accordingly, each one of them being very obedient.

Time flew by, and Zhou Tai soon spent three days on Young Eagle Peak.

Just as the old man in blue said, during the first two days of the three-day period, giant birds brought newly initiated disciples to Eagle Peak from time to time, probably more than a dozen groups of people came in total.

When he didn't see any newcomers on the third day, he guessed that the arrangements for him and the others should be coming out soon.

Sure enough, early on the fourth day, Zhou Tai received his arrangements.

In a courtyard, Zhou Tai, 37 years old, and over a hundred children and teenagers under the age of fourteen were gathered, waiting for the Spirit Beast Mountain to make arrangements for them.

The person who came to announce their destination was not the old man in blue who had brought them here, but a dignified-looking man in yellow robes who appeared to be about forty or fifty years old.

This person claimed to be surnamed Zheng and was an outer sect steward of Spirit Beast Mountain, holding a prestigious position.

He first announced the selection of outer disciples, a total of five, one of whom was Hu Qianqian. The other four also had the same three-attribute spiritual root aptitude as Hu Qianqian.

After the announcement, someone led Hu Qianqian and the others away from the courtyard.

Then the man in the yellow robe turned his gaze and looked directly at Zhou Tai, who stood out from the crowd.

A strange light flashed in his eyes, and he asked in a deep voice, "You're the disciple with the lightning-attribute unique spiritual root?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai immediately bowed and said, "Disciple Zhou Tai is the disciple with the Thunder Spirit Root that you mentioned, Deacon."

Zheng Jun looked at the respectful middle-aged man before him and said leisurely, "According to the rules of our sect, disciples with different spiritual roots can directly enter the outer sect, and even have a great chance of being accepted into the inner sect by a Grand Master of the Purple Mansion!"

At this point, he shook his head with a look of regret and said, "It's a pity you were born at the wrong time. You only took the spiritual root test at the age of thirty-seven. If you start cultivating at this age, without the help of a benefactor, you will almost certainly never have the chance to establish your foundation!"

This wasn't the first time Zhou Tai had heard this claim. During his stay on Eagle Peak these past few days, the other Spirit Beast Mountain disciples working on the mountain all said the same thing after learning about his spiritual root aptitude.

Upon hearing this again, he simply stood there calmly, showing no sign of frustration, nor did he attempt to argue.

Seeing Zhou Tai's calm reaction, Zheng Jun was taken aback at first, then as if he understood something, he shook his head and suddenly lost interest in saying anything more.

He quickly said, "After all, you have a rare lightning-attribute spiritual root. Although you are seriously over the age limit, you can still stay in the sect as a menial disciple. If you really perform well in the future, you will have the opportunity to be promoted to the outer sect."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai's expression finally changed, and with joy in his eyes, he sincerely replied, "Disciple Zhou Tai thanks the sect for its grace!"

Although he was just a lowly servant disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain, he was still a sect disciple, and his starting point was much higher than that of a rogue cultivator.

Moreover, according to the information he had gathered in the past few days, he could only obtain a suitable lightning-attribute cultivation technique if he stayed in the Spirit Beast Mountain.

Otherwise, if he went outside and had no one to help him, he, an ordinary person, would never have been able to find such a rare method.

Now that his joining the Spirit Beast Mountain has been settled, how could he not be overjoyed?

Soon, the other children and teenagers after Zhou Tai were also announced as servant disciples.

After announcing the appointments of all the handyman disciples, Zheng Jun's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "As newly initiated handyman disciples, you will have six months to receive immortal teachings on Eagle Peak, to learn about the cultivation world and common knowledge of cultivation. After you have completed your studies, you can enter the library to choose a cultivation method that suits you."

"Your disciple obeys."

Zhou Tai and the others responded in unison, and then watched as Zheng Jun rode away from Young Eagle Peak on a black eagle.

After that day, Zhou Tai lived on Eagle Peak, going to class every day to listen to the cultivators who taught about the cultivation world and common knowledge about cultivation.

There is also a small library on Eagle Peak, which contains a large number of books recording the situation and common knowledge of the cultivation world, which Zhou Tai and others can read at will.

So Zhou Tai spent most of his time in that library.

He was a 37-year-old adult, and his learning ability was naturally far superior to that of children and teenagers.

In just three months, he mastered everything that others would take six months to learn, and even far surpassed it.

The more he learned and understood, the more he felt the urgency of time and the sense that time was of the essence.

At this moment, he finally understood where the "pity" that Zheng Jun and others had mentioned came from.

According to the records in the book, there are six major realms in the cultivation of immortals: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation. Each realm represents a completely new world.

Taking the Qi Refining stage as an example, this realm is divided into nine levels, with each three levels representing a minor realm, distinguished by initial, intermediate, and final stages, until the nine levels of Qi Refining are perfected.

If a mortal possesses spiritual roots and a cultivation technique suitable for their spiritual roots, they can cultivate magical power through the technique and officially become a Qi Refining stage cultivator.

The fewer spiritual root attributes one has, the faster one can cultivate. Therefore, three spiritual roots are far better than four spiritual roots, two spiritual roots are better than three spiritual roots, and different spiritual roots are slightly better than two spiritual roots.

Generally speaking, in places like Spirit Beast Mountain where spiritual energy is abundant, cultivators with unique spiritual roots can break through to the next level every few years.

If a cultivator with a unique spiritual root starts cultivating at the age of eight, even without taking any elixirs or miraculous medicines, they can still reach the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage before the age of fifty. The same applies to cultivators with dual spiritual roots.

Once one has cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Refining, one can prepare for Foundation Establishment. If successful, one can become a Foundation Establishment cultivator with the ability to fly and escape into the earth, and live for more than two hundred years.

However, according to the experience of predecessors in the cultivation world, the success rate of Qi Refining cultivators in attracting evil spirits to establish their foundation is greatly related to their age.

Generally, the age limit is sixty. After sixty, the physical body and blood decline more rapidly, and the success rate will be greatly reduced. Very few people can successfully establish a foundation after the age of sixty.

There is another rule in Spirit Beast Mountain: cultivators over sixty years of age in the Qi Refining stage are not allowed to exchange any items that can assist in Foundation Establishment from the sect.

Zhou Tai is already thirty-seven years old this year. He has only just begun to engage in cultivation and has no elders to help him. This means that it is almost impossible for him to reach the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage before the age of sixty. He also has no time to earn and exchange spiritual items to assist in Foundation Establishment, so there is almost no chance of him successfully establishing his foundation.

If one cannot establish a foundation, then whether one has a lightning-attribute unique spiritual root aptitude or a mixed spiritual root aptitude of four attributes doesn't really make much difference.

Therefore, the fact that Spirit Beast Mountain only accepted him as a menial disciple was not because they intended to bury his talent.

Under these circumstances, Zhou Tai naturally hoped to make the most of one day and begin his cultivation as soon as possible.

On this day, after making thorough preparations, he found Wang Fengying, an outer disciple who was in charge of managing the miscellaneous disciples of Young Eagle Peak.

This senior sister Wang Fengying is an elderly woman in her seventies, who is said to have been promoted from a menial disciple.

After Zhou Tai arrived, before the other party could even ask his purpose, he bowed respectfully and said, "Senior Sister Wang, I have been a disciple for three months, studying diligently every day, and have already mastered the knowledge for new disciples ahead of schedule. I humbly request Senior Sister Wang's permission to graduate early and choose a cultivation method in advance!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Fengying smiled kindly at him and said, "Junior Brother Zhou's diligence has been seen by all my fellow disciples on Eagle Peak, so I naturally believe that you are not lying."

He immediately frowned, his face showing difficulty, and said, "However, the six-month period is a rule of the sect. Even if I were willing to help you, it wouldn't be easy for me!"

It's not that I can't help, but that it's not that I can't help; Zhou Tai certainly understood the difference.

He immediately said sincerely, "The sect's rules cannot be broken, but the sect only stipulates that we newly entered disciples must study on Eagle Peak for half a year. It did not say that we cannot choose cultivation methods during this period. Moreover, Steward Zheng also said that day that we can go to the library to choose cultivation methods after we have completed our studies."

At this point, he clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "If Senior Sister Wang can offer her assistance, it will be a great kindness in helping me on my path to enlightenment. I will surely repay this kindness in the future!"

Upon hearing his words, Wang Fengying finally showed a look of emotion. After giving him a deep look, she nodded and said, "Alright, since Junior Brother Zhou is so sincere in his pursuit of the Dao, I will make an exception for you this time. I only hope that Junior Brother Zhou will not forget what he said today!"

Seeing that she agreed to help, Zhou Tai was overjoyed and immediately solemnly declared, "Senior Sister Wang, rest assured, I will never forget this kindness."

Wang Fengying was satisfied with his repeated assurances, so she said, "It's late today. After the morning classes tomorrow, I will personally escort Junior Brother Zhou to the library."

"Junior brother understands, then junior brother will take his leave now."

Zhou Tai responded and left Wang Fengying's residence with satisfaction.

Just after he left, a woman in green suddenly emerged from behind the screen behind Wang Fengying.

After the woman came out, she immediately looked puzzled and asked Wang Fengying, "Why didn't Aunt take this opportunity to bring up that matter?"

Wang Fengying immediately shook her head gently and said, "It's not the right time yet. At his age, he is still devoted to the Dao, which shows that he is a person of firm will. If we don't let him personally experience the difficulties of cultivation, how can he easily agree to our clan's conditions!"

Upon hearing this, the woman in green looked worried and said, "What my aunt says is indeed reasonable, but it's probably not just our Wang family that's eyeing this boy. Once he leaves Eagle Peak, we won't have any advantage!"

"So before he leaves Eagle Peak, I will find an opportunity to talk to him about this matter."

After Wang Fengying finished speaking, she picked up the teacup on the table next to her and took a sip.

Seeing this, the woman in green wisely kept quiet.