Chapter 398

Another spring.

They say it's like splitting bamboo, but how can it be like this?

Last year.

Li Rui called Ning Zhongtian and the others to cut down a patch of bamboo on Changqing Mountain and made it into furniture.

After a spring rain the following year, they stood tall again.

Li Rui looked at the lush bamboo growing happily in the courtyard, his mood very good.

He stretched.

And then walked into the room.

Then he threw out a talisman and saw the talisman turn into ashes by itself in the air.

The next instant.

A pretty and plump woman appeared in the room, pouring tea for Li Rui as meekly as a kitten.

Li Rui took a sip.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Clone Talisman.

Not bad; after a year of talisman cultivation, he had mastered as many as eight types of talismans, among which this clone talisman belonged to a higher-grade talisman.

It had only one function, which was illusion.

The woman in front of him was transformed by the clone talisman.

It had no combat power.

Its only function was probably to save the money of a maid.

But for Li Rui, human nature is fickle and far less reliable than a clone talisman.

He was just pondering.

When he mastered the talisman path in a few years, he would replace all the servants in the Assistant Regional Commander's mansion.

The woman skillfully kneaded Li Rui's shoulders and beat his legs.

Li Rui began to flip through the book again.

At this time.

A knock sounded outside the door.

When Li Rui went out, he saw that Liu Tiezhu had already brought someone in.

"Lord Li."

The young Qingwei Sect disciple in front of him looked a bit unfamiliar.

Li Rui nodded: "Little friend, is there something?"

The young disciple respectfully handed a post to Li Rui: "Lord Li, three days from now is our sect's inner sect disciple examination trial, and we specially invite Lord Li to attend the ceremony."

"Good, I will go."

Li Rui heard this and took the post from the young disciple's hand.

The young disciple then stepped back and left.

'Inner sect examination'

The Qingwei Sect had just opened the mountain and established the sect not long ago.

So besides the seven disciples of the True Person Daoist Qing Ding who were true transmissions.

There were only outer sect disciples and menial disciples.

Such a situation would naturally not last long; it was inevitable that the Qingwei Sect would upgrade a wave of outer sect disciples to inner sect disciples.

Li Rui naturally had to attend the ceremony.

A sect, besides looking at the top combat power, also had to look at disciples with potential.

As an official sent by the Yu Kingdom imperial court to the Qingwei Sect, he naturally had the responsibility of surveillance.

Although he would not cause trouble because of this.

But at the very least, he had to report the information.

As for how to deal with it, that was a matter for the big shots of the imperial court to think about.

Liu Tiezhu listened from the side.

Blinked his eyes.

"Master, the competition for inner sect disciples is probably not small."

Li Rui: "Not small?"

"It's enormous."

In the Qingwei Sect, it is not easy to become an inner sect disciple; one must look not only at the realm but also at the contribution to the sect.

Otherwise, why would those outer sect disciples rush about all day?

Always remember, the emergence of a sect is the support of thousands of people for one person.

Those menial disciples are like donkeys hanging by vegetable leaves, almost getting nothing.

The treatment of outer sect disciples is better, but not much better.

Only when one becomes an inner sect disciple can one enjoy certain preferential treatment.

If you ask why it is so miserable, why are there still so many people squeezing their heads?

It's not because they want to cultivate immortality, so they have to join an immortal sect, otherwise they will have no chance in this life.

If you want to cultivate immortality, you must first contribute.

Otherwise, why should the immortal sect give you immortal arts?

One is willing to hit, and the other is willing to suffer.

By comparison, Li Rui, this elder, could not be more relaxed.

He knew that there were several Primordial martial artists among the outer sect disciples of the Qingwei Sect, who had been running around for the immortal path for the past few years.

This is leaning against a big tree to enjoy the cool.

With the background of the imperial court, Li Rui can enjoy the resources of the Qingwei Sect without paying the price.

Very comfortable.

Three days later.

The Qingwei Sect inner sect examination began.

The inner sect examination is to select the excellent ones among the outer sect disciples, so naturally, it will not be like the entrance examination to verify spiritual roots, etc.

Very simple.

Just three steps.

First, competition.

Second, trial.

Third, merit evaluation.

Then calculate the final score.

The first step of competition, like the arena in the Jianghu, is to compare combat power; the Qingwei Sect will use the method of drawing lots to compete, with a total of seven rounds of competition.

The more rounds you pass, the higher the score.

The room for cheating in the first step of competition is actually not large.

The big ones are the second step and the third step.

The so-called trial is actually going to the Ten Thousand Mountains to kill demon beasts.

Finally, evaluate based on the strength and quantity of the killed demon beasts.

Li Rui knew that many disciples with rich family backgrounds had already secretly called for helpers from their families.

As for the last item, merit evaluation.

Let's put it this way.

I heard that the female disciples at the door of the peak master who manages the Merit Hall have almost formed a line these past few days.

Think that immortal cultivation is just burying your head in hard work?

Wrong.

It is also about human relationships.

Li Rui knows this clearly.

At this time.

He and Sang Kong stood side by side on a high platform on the side of the huge square of Shenhua Peak.

From here, one can overlook the full view of the square.

The competition of the hundred or so Qingwei Sect disciples below was in full swing.

"There are indeed some good seedlings."

Sang Kong looked at the disciples in the field.

He is now a Tongxuan martial artist, and his momentum is much stronger than before.

However, he did not become arrogant because of this; he still found Li Rui to drink tea as usual, without the slightest change.

This is not just being approachable.

The top three ranks are called the three ranks of Earth Immortals.

This 'immortal' is not casually called; it is not only because the strength is far superior to ordinary martial artists, Li Rui knows, it is because the top three ranks clearly have already walked the immortal path.

In the immortal cultivation world, they are called body cultivators.

Body cultivators have a lower reliance on spiritual energy, which is why they have become the mainstream.

Immortals and mortals are different.

Looking at Chunxuzi, one knows; the reason why Sang Kong's attitude toward Li Rui is so good is because he looks at the Great Shaman's face.

Li Rui: "Indeed."

Due to the abundant spiritual energy of the Qingwei Sect, many of those whose spiritual roots were originally covered in dust began to stand out.

Immortal arts have already achieved success.

On the square, one moment fireballs, the next ice cones, the scene is very exciting.

Very different from the fights between martial artists.

Various spells make people dazzled.

Of course, during this period, one could also see some cultivators with slightly weaker spells being defeated by opponents with higher martial arts.

And there were quite a few.

Sang Kong narrowed his eyes: "Immortal arts are indeed powerful."

You know, those cultivators have only been practicing for a few years, yet they can be on par with old masters; he was secretly shocked to see this.

And like Li Rui, he was also secretly cultivating immortal arts.

Of course.

The progress cannot be compared with Li Rui.

Like Li Rui, besides surveillance, another most important thing for him coming to the Qingwei Sect was to ponder the immortal arts of the Qingwei Sect more.

The two stood on the high platform and watched carefully.

During this period, there was also a small episode.

A total of one hundred people participated in this competition.

It was destined that someone would have a bye.

But coincidentally, the one who had a bye several times was actually one person.

What surprised everyone even more was that this person actually broke into the finals and finally fought a great battle with a woman in white as snow, losing narrowly.

Became the second place.

A proper protagonist template.

Li Rui secretly noted down the young man's name, Zhang Fan.

After the competition was completed.

It was the second round of trials.

Chunxuzi and another middle-aged Daoist sacrificed a large flag, which swelled hundreds of times in the wind, and finally turned into a large ship capable of accommodating more than a hundred people.

The large flag rose with the wind and drifted toward the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Li Rui and Sang Kong, as observers, also sat on the large flag.

Both of them showed envy in their eyes.

Especially Sang Kong; when it comes to fighting, he considers himself not weaker than Chunxuzi, but when it comes to other methods, he is far behind.

No wonder body cultivators are often looked down upon by immortal cultivators.

After all, immortal cultivation is not just about fighting and killing.

The large flag drifted in the air, its speed extremely fast.

But in a moment.

It had already flown a full hundred miles away.

Chunxuzi saw that the distance was about right, so he controlled the large flag to land.

He spoke slowly: "The trial lasts for three days; you must not leave this hundred-mile area, otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences."

Chunxuzi said coldly.

A group of Qingwei Sect disciples then scattered one after another.

Chunxuzi and another Daoist greeted Li Rui and the two.

Then they went their separate ways.

They had to ensure that these outer sect disciples would not suffer too many casualties.

As for Li Rui and Sang Kong.

They were also here to help, but they certainly would not be as dedicated as Chunxuzi and the other.

"Legend has it that in ancient times, this Ten Thousand Mountains was the dojo of a certain great power, which is why both the Purple Chai Jingong and the Qingwei Sect favored this place."

Sang Kong and Li Rui were walking in the forest while talking.

Li Rui's eyes flashed.

He had also heard of this statement.

And before, he had indeed found two immortal cultivator cave dwellings near the Ten Thousand Mountains, which could also support this matter.

Not to mention anything else.

Setting up an array in the Ten Thousand Mountains to gather spiritual energy was indeed easier than elsewhere.

Although the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was a bit more abundant than before.

It also depended on the place.

Some places had more, some had less.

Places with more would be chosen as dojos to open cave dwellings.

The Purple Chai Jingong chose this place for this reason.

Sang Kong looked relaxed, looking east and west: "Yo, they're fighting over there."

He looked like he was watching the fun.

Watching with great interest as several Qingwei Sect disciples besieged a demon beast.

While watching, he said:

"I heard that a few days ago, several disciples of the True Person Daoist Qing Ding joined forces and swept through this area."

"Chunxuzi and that other person indeed have some skills; there won't be any mishaps."

Li Rui nodded.

According to the latest information obtained from the small white dragon, the Purple Chai Jingong had indeed calmed down a lot compared to before.

However, the Qingwei Palace would definitely not postpone the inner sect examination because of the Purple Chai Jingong.

Compromising with a sect that had already been destroyed was a disgrace.

Li Rui had always stayed on Changqing Peak and did not go down the mountain, but now he came out to walk around because his strength had greatly increased.

His current state was very strange.

Although he had not yet taken that final step to Tongxuan.

Because his spirit was complete, his Dao Fetus was half-transformed, and he had cultivated immortal arts, he could have the power to protect himself against Tongxuan experts.

He couldn't always be in seclusion.

Otherwise, if it reached the imperial court, it would be hard to do.

The necessary appearances had to be made.

In the end, it was the confidence given by strength; he had made great progress in the few years he had been in seclusion at the Qingwei Sect.

Somewhere in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu stood on a mountain peak, narrowing his eyes and looking at the forest where human heads faintly appeared.

"How is the preparation?"

He looked at the black-robed person beside him.

"Xueying Laozu, everything is ready."

The black-robed person said in a deep voice.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's mouth lifted slightly: "Very good."

He had long ago let the demon tamer drive the demon beasts to squat near the Qingwei Sect; today he received information that a large number of Qingwei Sect disciples had gone down the mountain, which should be for the trial.

How could he let go of such a great opportunity?

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's eyes grew colder.

He was not stupid.

The Qingwei Sect had already suppressed them several times, and they had suffered heavy losses.

Naturally, he knew that since the Qingwei Sect dared to go down the mountain in such a grand manner, it was not impossible that they had the intention of luring the snake out of the hole.

There must be experts already in ambush.

Rushing up now would be no different from seeking death.

Naturally, he could not do that.

But he had other arrangements.

Just as he was about to leave, the black-robed person bowed again: "By the way, Xueying Laozu, you asked me to watch that Yu Kingdom official named Li Rui; he also went down the mountain this time."

"Very good!"

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's eyes lit up.

He had been spying on Li Rui all along.

It was just that Li Rui was like those bitter cultivators who would be in seclusion for decades, staying in the Qingwei Sect for several years.

Let alone going down the mountain.

Even the number of times he went down his own Changqing Peak was pitifully small.

The Qingwei Sect had the Great True Person Daoist Qing Ding sitting in town.

Naturally, he dared not go.

He could only spy secretly from afar.

Now he had finally found an opportunity.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu narrowed his eyes.

Although the Purple Chai Jingong would not truly take action against the Qingwei Sect today, with his strength, he could sneak in, subdue Li Rui in one move, and leave immediately.

Unless the Great True Person Daoist Qing Ding came in person, it would be impossible to keep him.

This was the confidence that a Heavenly Phenomenon expert should have.

"Good, I know."

A flash of excitement passed through the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's eyes, and then he swept toward the direction of the trial.

Fierce battles occurred frequently in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Teams of Qingwei Sect disciples hunted demon beasts.

Some succeeded, some failed.

A few of those who failed lost their lives directly.

These scenes fell into Chunxuzi's eyes, but he only had endless indifference, as if those dead disciples had nothing to do with him.

"Senior brother, do you think those remnants of the Purple Chai Jingong will really come?"

Chunxuzi floated in the air, looking at a middle-aged Daoist beside him.

The middle-aged Daoist narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Those who wish to be hooked will be hooked."

Chunxuzi did not speak anymore.

The time since the True Person Daoist Qing Ding descended to this world was very long, already a full three hundred years.

In these long years of five sixty-year cycles.

He had accepted a total of seven disciples.

The middle-aged Daoist beside him was the second disciple.

Legend has it that he was once a fisherman and was then enlightened by the True Person Daoist Qing Ding to embark on the path of immortal cultivation.

The spiritual energy of the world was thin.

But it was always there.

The True Person Daoist Qing Ding used great magic power to open a dojo, allowing their seven brothers to cultivate; this practice lasted for a hundred years.

Now the recovery of spiritual energy of heaven and earth was accelerating.

Only then did the True Person Daoist Qing Ding come out of the mountain at the invitation of Gu Changsheng, bringing the Qingwei Sect, which was originally a hidden sect, into the world.

This second senior brother of his had been cultivating for two hundred years, and his cultivation was unfathomable.

Since he was a fisherman, what he was best at was naturally fishing.

Chunxuzi looked at the scene under his feet.

If those outer sect disciples had no ability and were killed by demon beasts, he would not ask at all.

The Daoist gate emphasizes fate; if you die, it's bad fate, and you have no immortal fate.

That's all.

Unless the remnants of the Purple Chai Jingong took action, he would not interfere at all.

"It seems they won't take action."

Chunxuzi looked at the sky.

Two more hours.

The trial would end, and many Qingwei Sect disciples had already begun to return to the assembly point.

"Perhaps."

The middle-aged Daoist laughed.

Just as Chunxuzi was about to land and take those outer sect disciples back to the sect gate.

A sudden change occurred!

The ground first shook slightly, and then skeletons of demon beasts crawled out from underground, some even nearly decayed.

Seeing this scene.

Chunxuzi's pupils shrank violently.

"Soul-Summoning Method!"

The so-called Soul-Summoning Method is a heterodox method that can control corpses.

Chunxuzi was furious, gritting his teeth: "Blood Shadow!"

He saw at a glance.

It was clearly the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu who had secretly set up a grand array in the place where they were having the trial, summoning all the demon beast bones buried deep underground.

What is there the most of in the Ten Thousand Mountains?

Isn't it demon beasts?

In just an instant, more than ten million skeletons were resurrected.

For these experts, these skeletons naturally counted for nothing.

But the outer sect disciples of the Qingwei Sect were not all experts, and among them were many disciples with low realms but high potential.

If too many died.

The Qingwei Sect would become the laughingstock of the whole world.

Naturally, he could not let such a thing happen.

"Senior brother!"

Chunxuzi shouted at the middle-aged Daoist behind him.

The middle-aged Daoist's speed was faster than his.

Golden light surged around his body.

A huge golden fishing rod, a full tens of zhang long, appeared in front of him.

"Go!"

The fishing rod magic treasure was sacrificed.

The fishing line swept across, and large swaths of skeletons turned into powder.

Immortal power was fully displayed!

On the other end.

Li Rui and Sang Kong, who were walking in the forest, changed their expressions.

Almost in an instant.

They were surrounded by skeletons.

Sang Kong snorted coldly, not even drawing the weapon at his waist, and punched forward directly.

Boom!

The terrifying fist wind blasted all the skeletons in front of him into fragments.

It was just that compared to that middle-aged Daoist, it was a bit less relaxed and free.

Li Rui's reaction was also very fast.

He casually slapped the skeletons near him to pieces.

Sang Kong was helpless: "Brother Li, let's move a bit."

The Qingwei Sect was in trouble, and it would not be good for them to ignore it completely.

After all, living on someone else's territory, one shouldn't leave no room for maneuver.

As the saying goes.

Leave a line for others, so we can meet again in the future.

But just as Li Rui and Sang Kong were preparing to support—

The ground suddenly bulged.

A figure rushed out from underground, and a big hand grabbed straight toward Li Rui.

That person was too fast.

Even Sang Kong could not come to the rescue in time.

"Blood Shadow!"

Sang Kong recognized the person's identity and was immediately furious.

But he could only watch helplessly as Li Rui was about to be slapped to death by the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's palm.

Finally.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's fierce palm landed.

Li Rui's body exploded suddenly.

In the end, it turned into a talisman!

(End of chapter)