Chapter 247: Guest Elder

"In that case, the risk is considerable."

"No, I must think of another method."

On this day.

Qin Ming sat eating in a restaurant named 'Yufeng Tower' within the city, while also gathering some intelligence.

Like the Mirror Snow Pavilion, Yufeng Tower was a large commercial house with business spanning the entire Southern Wild Immortal Realm.

Cultivators capable of spending here possessed some ability more or less, and their channels for information were relatively broad.

In just a single morning, Qin Ming discovered two or three False Dan cultivators with thick magic power auras entering and exiting the restaurant.

"Hey! Have you heard?"

"This selection of disciples by Profound Stream Valley is the most lively one in history."

"It is said that among the candidate disciples this session, there are quite a few young boys and girls with extraordinary talent in the Dao of Alchemy."

"Fang Han of the Fang family in the Northern Foothills, only seven years old, was detected to possess an Innate Spiritual Body for the Dao of Alchemy."

"And then there is Mu Lanxin from Jiangzhou, only eight years old, born with a powerful divine soul and possessing a high-grade spiritual root, most suitable for the path of pill refining."

"These two need no further mention; their results in the Alchemy Tower will certainly not be poor, and they have already been taken a fancy to by the elders of Profound Stream Valley."

"Sigh! Truly enviable, these people fed by the heavens."

"Speaking of which..."

"I heard that in the Wei State Immortal Realm, a cultivator with alchemical attainments reaching beyond the mortal and into the sage has also emerged."

"This person started as a spiritual farmer and step by step advanced to Foundation Establishment; it is quite inspiring."

"Now he is already a second-tier high-grade Alchemy Master, hailed as the only cultivator in the Southern Wild Immortal Realm in the past few hundred years with a chance to break through to become a third-tier Alchemy Grandmaster."

"Once he breaks through, he will be on par with Grandmaster Gongsun Yang of Profound Stream Valley."

"Really or fake?"

"That is a third-tier Alchemy Grandmaster! Could it be that their Wei State is just blowing hot air?"

"Nine times out of ten it is true; I have a fellow daoist who conducts some trade in Canghai Xiancheng, and he brought back this news."

"Then that is truly remarkable!"

"Why am I not blessed with a Saint Body for the Dao of Alchemy?"

"Give it a rest, look at your bear-like appearance and still talk about a Saint Body for the Dao of Alchemy?"

"What? Looking down on people?"

"Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about this; let's chat about something else."

"I heard that this time, besides selecting disciples, Profound Stream Valley also intends to recruit a batch of Guest Elders."

Hearing this, Qin Ming's mind stirred instantly! "That's right, it must be related to the beast tides and the unusual movements of the Six Sects of the Demonic Path in recent years."

"Ah? There is actually such a matter?"

"How come I didn't know?"

"Of course you wouldn't know; this is internal information told to me by a friend inside Profound Stream Valley."

"Then do you think Profound Stream Valley would accept someone like me?"

"Forget it, how could Profound Stream Valley possibly look favorably upon goods of your caliber?"

"Can't you speak a bit more tactfully?"

"For this recruitment of Guest Elders by Profound Stream Valley, one's cultivation must be at least at the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

"If one's cultivation is lower than the late stage of Foundation Establishment, one must possess a second-tier craft among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation."

"Tell me, which of these conditions do you meet?"

"Uh, pretend I didn't say anything; eat, eat!"

At the neighboring table, Qin Ming's eyes suddenly brightened upon hearing this.

He returned to his rented cave dwelling and silently pondered the intelligence he had just gathered.

"It seems I can only change my identity and slip into Profound Stream Valley to serve as a Guest Elder for a while."

"Sigh! No matter how I twist and turn, I still cannot avoid it!"

Half a month later, a thin old man in hemp robes appeared near Moyuan Xiancheng.

This person was exactly Qin Ming transformed using the True Demon Illusion.

This old man in hemp robes was named 'Yu Changqing'; originally a loose cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage in Chuzhou, Liang State, he possessed mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and was a second-tier low-grade Spiritual Planter.

Yu Changqing had also come aiming for the matter of Profound Stream Valley recruiting Guest Elders.

But who could have expected that halfway through he would meet with misfortune, getting killed by a gang of Foundation Establishment bandit cultivators, and happened to be stumbled upon by Qin Ming who was out gathering intelligence.

That gang of bandit cultivators still wanted to target Qin Ming, but he dealt with them in three moves and five sweeps.

Before Yu Changqing died, Qin Ming used a secret method from the 'Yuan Sha Seed Demon True Scripture' to obtain the other party's memories.

Qin Ming could just borrow Yu Changqing's identity to take this opportunity to infiltrate Profound Stream Valley.

"Truly, all effort wasted for nothing!"

Qin Ming gave a wry smile.

Three months later.

The selection of disciples by the Profound Stream Valley Alchemy Tower officially began, and the recruitment of Guest Elders proceeded simultaneously.

The thin old man in hemp robes transformed by Qin Ming arrived before the mountain gate where Profound Stream Valley was located, gazing at the majestic sect before him and filled with emotion.

'This is far more magnificent than Lei Yuanzong; this is the foundation of an Nascent Soul sect backed by the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty!'

At this moment, tens of thousands of cultivators, leading disciples from various families, were queuing in an orderly fashion on the White Jade Plaza, waiting to enter the Alchemy Tower within Profound Stream Valley for the assessment.

Whether these many young heroes could successfully leap over the dragon gate would be decided today.

Yet Qin Ming's path lay elsewhere.

Following the intelligence he had gathered, he traced the mountain trail to a pavilion situated beside the sect gate.

At this moment, quite a few cultivators had already assembled here, all possessing cultivation bases of early Foundation Establishment or higher.

These individuals had all come to apply for positions as Qin Keqing of Profound Stream Valley.

Qin Ming observed them covertly, noting that even among the rogue cultivators present, two had reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Rogue cultivators capable of reaching such a height undoubtedly possessed great fortunes, and their methods and hidden trump cards were far from weak.

Everyone waited within the courtyard before the pavilion, entering one by one to undergo the interview assessment.

"Oh! Isn't this Fellow Daoist Yu?"

"What brings you here as well?"

As the voice arrived, a corpulent old man with a protruding belly appeared behind Qin Ming.

"Muhe Muhe Laogui Di, if you can come, why shouldn't I?" Qin Ming retorted.

According to Yu Changqing's memories, this cultivator surnamed Di was also a spirit planter; in their youth, the two had fought over the inheritance of a second-tier spirit planter, ultimately resulting in Di Shan's defeat by Yu Changqing, and since then, they had rarely gotten along.

"Profound Stream Valley is recruiting Qin Keqing; they certainly won't accept just any oddities or misfits."

"Fellow Daoist Yu obtained a second-tier spirit planter's inheritance, yet decades have passed and you remain merely a low-grade second-tier practitioner; that seems somewhat indefensible, doesn't it?"

"I fear you will hardly pass Profound Stream Valley's assessment; why bother trying?" Di Shan's tone carried a distinct note of mockery.

A year ago, he had broken through to become a mid-grade second-tier spirit planter and felt confident he had a strong chance of being accepted.

Now that he encountered his old rival, naturally he intended to vent some spite.

"Whether I pass or not is not for you, Muhe Muhe Laogui Di, to decide," Qin Ming replied dismissively, too lazy to engage him further.

Just then.

A shout echoed from the pavilion's main hall: "Next!"

Qin Ming saw that it was his turn.

Immediately, he strode forward and entered.

"Hmph! Let's see how hard your mouth remains in a moment!" A trace of disdain crossed Di Shan's fat, aged face.

Yet less than half an incense stick's time had passed before Qin Ming emerged from the main hall.

Seeing Yu Changqing emerge so quickly, Di Shan assumed the other had failed his application.

He was just about to speak and strike a blow against his rival when the corner of his eye inadvertently caught sight of a dark cyan token held in 'Yu Changqing's' hand.

"A Qin Keqing Elder Token!!"

(End of Chapter)