Fairy, don't go! I have a mod.

His voice carried a weakness born of hardship.

"I'm just a rogue cultivator, with mediocre spiritual roots, mediocre cultivation, and no Buddhist nature whatsoever..."

"You are too modest, benefactor!"

Yuantong's eyes lit up.

"Anyone who survives in a secret realm must have had a great opportunity. Besides, who says you have to have Buddha-nature to enter Buddhism?"

"We don't see that at Nanshan Temple... Oh, right, we can drink alcohol and eat meat at Nanshan Temple!"

He spoke those last words with particular volume, drawing the attention of several other representatives from surrounding tables.

The rogue cultivator was taken aback by his words, and his struggling movements stopped for a moment.

He glared at Yuantong, his face full of resistance.

"Drinking alcohol and eating meat? Aren't you supposed to be a true Buddhist sect?"

"Yes."

Yuantong nodded confidently and pointed towards the viewing area of ​​Nanshan Temple.

“Look at our Master Huiming, he was a high monk in the Nascent Soul stage. Last year during the New Year, he drank three jars of spiritual wine and ate half a spiritual lamb leg by himself, and he still went to his morning prayers the next day.”

"Which of my fellow disciples doesn't say that the Master's Buddhist teachings are profound?"

The two golden Arhat statues from Nanshan Temple next door turned their heads away expressionlessly, pretending not to hear.

The rogue cultivator's expression revealed an extremely complex mix of emotions.

Half of it was hesitation, and half of it was vigilance.

“Wait a minute,” the rogue cultivator squinted.

"When you talk about drinking alcohol and eating meat, are you referring to someone like you, or someone like Master Huiming?"

"Yes, we have both."

Yuantong patted his chest and guaranteed.

"...You're quite honest."

"Monks don't lie."

A subtle commotion spread from the entrance of Yingke Peak.

The person who had been traversing thousands of mountains has arrived.

Leading the way was Chu Cheng, the master of the towering mountains.

Clad in black, wielding a long sword, with a cold and stern face, he didn't linger on the viewing platform, but walked straight towards the highest pavilion.

Those were the viewing spots prepared for the leaders of each sect.

Several disciples lined up behind him, and he climbed the steps alone, his black-clad figure disappearing behind the beaded curtain.

What really caused the commotion was the person he left on the viewing platform.

Ye Jianling.

The number one on the Eight Desolations Golden Core Ranking, and the chief disciple of Ten Thousand Mountains.

She was dressed in a black outfit, with a long sword with cloud patterns at her waist. She stood tall and had a cold look in her eyes.

Her long hair was tied up high, revealing a section of her fair neck.

If you don't look closely, it's easy to mistake her for an overly handsome male cultivator.

But she was indeed a woman.

She stood in the center of the viewing platform, glanced around, and then stopped a disciple from the Immortal Shadow Sect who was there to greet her.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice clear and crisp.

Where is your sect's young sect leader at this moment?

Nangong Yue and Yun Qingyao put down their teacups and narrowed their eyes slightly...

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Second on the Golden Core Ranking? Me?

Looking at the endless dragon in front of him, Mu Tianmiao suddenly felt that this job wasn't so good after all.

He has been sitting here since early morning, registering no fewer than two hundred names and looking at no fewer than two hundred faces, some nervous, some excited, and some infatuated.

At first, he could joke around with Tang Ruoyin and chat with the female cultivators who came for testing.

Occasionally, you might encounter someone who has read his stories and receive a few words of admiration, which is quite pleasing.

But even the most interesting thing will become boring if repeated two hundred times.

He tossed the jade slip onto the table, leaned back in his chair, and couldn't even be bothered to maintain a basic smile.

The next female cultivator to have her spiritual root tested placed her hand on the stone tablet, her fingertips trembling with nervousness.

He merely raised his eyelids and weakly uttered a single sentence.

"Passed, next round..."

I almost forgot to register my name.

Tang Ruoyin watched from the side, a slight smile curving her lips.

"What, you can't hold on any longer?"

She turned her head to the side, her tone clearly sarcastic.

"My stamina isn't good enough."

That drawn-out syllable, coupled with the ambiguous smile on her aloof face, was infuriating no matter how you looked at it.

Mu Tianmiao glanced at her sideways: "What are you saying? Want to try it in bed?"

Tang Ruoyin was not annoyed.

Over the past three years, she had developed a complete immunity to Mu Tianmiao's words. She didn't even blink, but instead slowly took a sip of her tea before speaking.

"Guess why there are so many female cultivators here today?"

"Young master is handsome and charming, loved by all."

"Um……"

Tang Ruoyin, unusually, did not refute him, but instead went along with what he said.

"That's one reason, but there's another one. Haven't you noticed that many people come here because of the title of the young sect master of the Immortal Shadow Sect?"

Mu Tianmiao waved his hand.

"I know, it's about storybooks."

"It's not a storybook."

Tang Ruoyin put down her teacup, took out a thin booklet from her sleeve, and casually tossed it in front of him.

"It's your current ranking on the Golden Core Ranking."

Mu Tianmiao was taken aback.

Golden Elixir Ranking?

He reached out and picked up the booklet, its cover bearing several large, gold-embossed characters.

There is also a line of small text in the bottom right corner.

Fengxin Hall of Wanjie Library.

He turned to the first page and saw his own name.

No, not the first page.

It's right in the middle of the first page.

Second place: Mu Tianmiao.

Affiliation: Immortal Shadow Sect.

Identity: Second disciple personally taught by Sect Master Li Xizhao, Young Sect Master.

Cultivation level: Golden Core Great Perfection.

The resume section reads:

In the first-generation secret realm, he faced off against the Soul-Stealing Fragrant Flower, which had been corrupted by the starry sky, and with his Golden Core Perfection, he fought against the Nascent Soul-level corrupted demon.

They dealt a severe blow to the great demon at the critical moment of its advancement, forcing it to interrupt its progress.

He provided cover for fellow cultivators on several occasions during the battle.

Evaluation: Combat power far exceeds that of others of the same level.

With excellent character and temperament, he is a rising star in the Eight Desolate Golden Core Realm that cannot be ignored.

Mu Tianmiao stared at those lines of text, her expression somewhat unnatural.

Head-on confrontation? Severe damage? Prevent advancement?

That's ridiculous... How come I didn't know that... Covering up for someone of the same level?

When did this happen?

Furthermore, that was clearly the Divine Transformation Sword Intent left by Master in the Flowing Shadow Sword... a Celestial Immortal descending from the heavens.

He merely drew his sword and swung it once.

Anyone could have wielded that sword and unleashed that strike; it had nothing to do with his own combat strength or the amount of spirit stones he possessed.

And it says "cover" here...

I survived only because of the system's "fight to the death" principle.

If this gets out, people will only think he's brave and fearless.

But he knew in his heart that without the system's resurrection ability and his master's sword intent, he would never have been able to leave that underground palace so easily.

"What, you're unhappy to see yourself on the list?"

Tang Ruoyin's voice pulled him back to reality.

Mu Tianmiao coughed lightly and continued scrolling down.

Third place: Nangong Yue.

Affiliation: Imperial Court. Status: Third Prince of Imperial Court.

Cultivation level: Late Golden Core stage.

Resume: The number one martial arts talent among the younger generation of the Imperial Hao Royal Court, he once fought three demonic cultivators of the same level without defeat when he was in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Nangong Yue fought alongside Mu Tianmiao in the first-generation secret realm, working together to resist the corrupted demon, and performed exceptionally well.

Evaluation: Well-rounded in both offense and defense, with a solid foundation in martial arts and rich practical experience.

Mu Tianmiao paused slightly as he looked at Nangong Yue's name.

He recalled the image of Nangong Yue wielding her sword to block him in the secret realm, and the indomitable spirit she displayed when she got up from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

He randomly flipped to another page and saw Ye Jianling again…

First place: Ye Jianling.

Affiliation: Ten Thousand Mountains.

Identity: Personal disciple and chief disciple of Chu Cheng, the mountain lord.

Cultivation level: Golden Core Perfection.

Resume: Undefeated in the Eight Desolations Golden Core Realm, his swordsmanship talent is unparalleled in his time, and he is hailed as the number one swordsman in the Eight Desolations for the next three hundred years.

He once broke through the protective spiritual barrier of a Nascent Soul cultivator with a single sword strike, making him famous throughout the world.

He deliberately suppressed his cultivation to prevent a breakthrough, intending to refine the most perfect Nascent Soul Dao Foundation.

Evaluation: Undisputed number one in the Golden Core stage, with a clear advantage over other Golden Core cultivators.

Mu Tianmiao closed the booklet and remained silent for a long while.