Chapter 105

Seventh Elder, the third stage tests whether the other party has a mental illness.

The disciple responsible for designing the third stage said solemnly,

As if this were a crucial decision,

"Generally speaking, if a cultivator themselves carries some mental illness, then even if they achieve cultivation in the future, they would likely bring disaster to the world."

Upon hearing these words, Ye Qingping's mouth corner twitched slightly,

He secretly sighed in his heart:

Just who came up with this idea, anyway?

They actually use this method to screen cultivators!

What necessary connection could there possibly be between cultivation and mental illness?

He couldn't help but develop a hint of doubt about this examination segment,

but he still casually waved his hand, indicating that it could begin.

Following his command, a splendid illusionary realm unfolded as quickly as lightning,

In the blink of an eye, it enveloped all the examinees present who had passed the second stage.

And the first person to enter the illusionary realm to undergo the test,

without a doubt, was Ye Xiuxiu.

Ye Xiuxiu stood in the illusionary realm, looking around,

she found that the environment here was completely different from before.

However, compared to her initial panic, she now appeared much calmer.

After all, she had already experienced the tests of the first two stages,

and had some mental preparation for such sudden changes.

She knew well that this was merely another examination,

as long as she remained calm in her response, she would surely pass smoothly.

Ye Xiuxiu stood in the center of the bamboo grove,

the surrounding bamboo was lush and dense,

as if tightly enclosing her within.

Before her lay a huge ceramic bathtub,

the bathtub was filled with water, its surface calm as a mirror.

To Ye Xiuxiu's left was a spoon used for eating,

the spoon was small and delicate, appearing quite ordinary.

and to her right was placed a large ladle for holding water,

the ladle looked somewhat worn, clearly having been used for a period of time.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in Ye Xiuxiu's ear:

"Young person, please now remove all the water from the bathtub as quickly as possible."

This voice came without any warning, leaving Ye Xiuxiu somewhat caught off guard.

Upon hearing the voice, Ye Xiuxiu immediately began to observe her surroundings.

She first looked at the iron spoon on her left,

then she glanced at the ladle on her right,

as if considering how to use these tools to accomplish the task.

After some thought, Ye Xiuxiu finally made a decision.

She slowly took out her own Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron from her storage ring; this cauldron was entirely black,

its surface engraved with ancient runes,

emitting a mysterious aura.

At the moment Ye Xiuxiu took out the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron,

the surrounding disciples and Ye Qingping widened their eyes,

their faces full of astonishment.

They obviously had not expected Ye Xiuxiu to produce such a Magic Treasure to deal with this seemingly simple task.

"What is she going to do!"

Someone couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

However, before the crowd could react,

the disciple who designed this stage hurriedly shouted in the illusionary realm:

"Only the materials within this scene may be used; nothing else may be used!"

His voice hinted at a touch of anxiety,

as if he were quite surprised by Ye Xiuxiu's action.

Ye Xiuxiu shouted loudly:

"Don't worry, I will definitely not use any other materials!"

Upon hearing these words,

the stone in that disciple's heart finally settled,

his face showed an expression of relief.

And Ye Xiuxiu herself also appeared very confident,

she firmly believed her choice would absolutely not be wrong.

However, just as that disciple had just let out a sigh of relief,

Something unexpected happened.

Only to see Ye Xiuxiu, without hesitation, throw both the whistle and the ladle into the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron!

This action left everyone astonished, especially the disciple who had designed the third trial,

He widened his eyes, staring at Ye Xiuxiu with utter disbelief.

Seeing this, Ye Qingping immediately turned his gaze toward that disciple,

His eyes filled with dissatisfaction and questioning: "Is this what you meant by only being allowed to use materials from the scene?"

The disciple's mouth kept twitching, obviously feeling extremely embarrassed and helpless at Ye Qingping's questioning.

He hurriedly explained: "I… I mean, you can't use your own Magic Treasure, but I didn't know she would use things from the scene for forging!"

However, Ye Xiuxiu had no idea about their argument,

She stared intently at the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron.

Only to see the refining speed inside the cauldron was as fast as lightning,

In the blink of an eye, a silver-white treasure gourd shot out of the cauldron.

Ye Xiuxiu, quick-eyed and quick-handed, snatched the treasure gourd and firmly gripped it, then softly chanted: "Collect!"

No sooner said than done—only to see the treasure gourd, as if alive,

Instantly opened its mouth,

A powerful suction surged forth from within.

It was merely the blink of an eye,

All the water in the bathtub seemed to be grabbed by an invisible giant hand,

And was swiftly sucked into the treasure gourd.

Ye Xiuxiu smiled broadly and happily said:

"Isn't my speed fast?"

While saying this, she proudly displayed the thing she had just refined.

That disciple looked at the "whistle and ladle" in Ye Xiuxiu's hand,

His mouth twitched involuntarily.

He silently wondered: "Does this count as passing?"

Yet he dared not lightly deny Ye Xiuxiu's achievement,

After all, the Seventh Elder holds her in high regard,

If he fails to pass her test, he fears being severely punished by the Seventh Elder.

Helpless, the disciple could only grit his teeth and give Ye Xiuxiu a passing mark.

"Quick, first trial—passed!"

His voice revealed a hint of reluctance.

Immediately afterward, it was the second participant's turn for the third trial—Ye Ruyan stepped forward.

Just like Ye Xiuxiu, her surroundings were the same environment,

Dense bamboo groves tightly surrounded her.

Before her lay a huge ceramic bathtub, with a rice‑eating spoon placed on the left,

and on the right a large ladle for holding water.

At that moment, another voice sounded:

"Young person, please now, at the fastest speed, remove all the water from the bathtub."

Ye Ruyan calmly glanced at the spoon before her,

the corners of her mouth slightly lifted, revealing a faint scornful smile.

"Even an idiot knows you definitely can't use this spoon."

She thought to herself.

Ye Ruyan's gaze fell once more on that ladle,

She reached out without hesitation and picked it up,

preparing to use it to hold water.

However, just as her hand was about to touch the ladle,

she suddenly jerked to a halt as if shocked by electricity.

A thought flashed through her mind at lightning speed:

"Using the ladle to hold water is not the correct method!"

Because she noticed a drain pipe at the bottom of the bathtub,

If she pulls out the plug of the drain pipe,

the water will naturally flow out.

Ye Ruyan quickly rolled up her sleeves and cautiously reached her hand into the bathtub,

feeling around, she found the plug.

She gripped the plug tightly and then gave it a hard yank,

With only a "pop," the plug came out easily.

In an instant, the water in the bathtub seemed as if enchanted,

forming a huge whirlpool that happily swirled along the drain outlet, making a "splish‑splash" sound.

In just a moment, all the water flowed cleanly out through the drain,

It seemed as if this bathtub had never been filled with water.

Just as the last drop of water disappeared,

A low, solemn voice sounded in the air:

"Congratulations, young person, you are a normal person and have made the choice a normal person should make!"

Ye Qingping stood to the side, witnessing all this, when suddenly an indescribable feeling welled up in their heart.

He had originally thought that a mentally ill person would choose to use a whistle,

while a normal person would choose to use a ladle to solve the problem.

But he never imagined,

that a truly normal person would actually pull out the stopper so directly!

He stared at the scene in the illusion, silent and speechless,

yet he couldn't help feeling somewhat offended.

He began to doubt whether his judgment was accurate,

and also developed deeper thoughts about this seemingly simple test.

The disciple who designed the third test excitedly went up to Ye Qingping to claim credit,

"Seventh Elder, look—I knew it, my designed test has no problems at all!"

The disciple who designed the second test gave him a sideways glance,

"You're getting happy too early—I was just as happy a moment ago."

"If you don't mess up during the third assessment, then that'll really count as you having skill."

Ye Qingping gave him a faint glance as well,

Just a glance, but he still didn't speak.

The third person to undergo the third test was Chen Gong Dong,

the environment placed around Chen Gong Dong was the same as well,

beside him still was that lush bamboo forest surrounding him completely,

and placed in front of him was a large ceramic bathtub,

to his left was placed a spoon for eating,

to his right was placed a large ladle for holding water,

Another voice sounded,

"Young person, now get rid of the water in the bathtub as quickly as possible."

Chen Gong Dong kept observing,

Just as he entered the illusion,

he silently recited four characters in his mind,

The disciple who designed the third test was full of joy,

excitedly went up to Ye Qingping to claim credit, saying:

"Seventh Elder, look—I said my designed test definitely has no problems!"

His voice revealed uncontainable pride.

However, the disciple who designed the second test, unconvinced, gave him a sideways glance and sneered:

"Don't get too happy too soon—I was just as excited as you a moment ago, and what was the result?"

"If you don't mess up during the third assessment, then that'll really count as you having skill."

The disciple who designed the third test paid no heed to his mockery,

still responded confidently,

"That's just amateurish,"

"If you're amateur, practice more!"

Ye Qingping, seeing this, merely gave the disciple who designed the third test a faint glance and said nothing,

but that glance seemed to contain some deep meaning, making it hard to fathom.

At this moment, the third person undergoing the assessment was precisely Chen Gong Dong.

He stood in the same environment as the previous two,

surrounded tightly by dense bamboo forest on all sides,

as if immersed in a green ocean.

Before him was placed a huge ceramic bathtub,

filled to the brim with water.

And to the left of the bathtub,

was placed a spoon for eating;

to the right, a large ladle for holding water.

As Chen Gong Dong carefully observed all this,

suddenly a voice sounded in his ear:

"Young person, please now get rid of all the water in the bathtub as quickly as possible."

Chen Gong Dong, upon hearing this demand, did not immediately act,

but continued to calmly observe the surrounding environment and objects.

At the moment he stepped into the illusion,

his mind silently recited four characters…

"Win people over with reason!"

"Win people over with reason!"

"Win people over with reason!"

Chen Gong Dong closed his eyes tightly, murmuring words under his breath,

After silently reciting those few lines three times in his heart,

He suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of determination crossing his gaze.

Only saw him suddenly thrust out his fist,

He smashed the ceramic bathtub with all his strength.

Only heard a loud "bang!",

That seemingly indestructible ceramic bathtub, like paper paste, instantly shattered into countless fragments.

Accompanying this loud bang,

The water in the bathtub, like a disturbed swarm of bees, splashed everywhere.

"Splash!"

Water droplets sprayed, falling onto the surrounding ground,

Forming a patch of wet stains.

Such speed, simply leaving people dumbfounded,

As if only Ye Xiuxiu using a Magic Treasure to gather the water could match it.

However, this scene caused the disciples outside, who were watching the illusion effect of the third trial's design, to be greatly shocked.

Their faces instantly turned as pale as paper, obviously not expecting such a situation.

In contrast, the disciples who designed the second trial appeared much more relaxed, a subtle smile appearing on their faces.

Indeed, as he had expected, the second trial's problem had nothing to do with him.

And Ye Qingping, after seeing this scene,

also roughly understood the reason in his heart.

Obviously, this all happened because Xiuxiu and Chen Gong Dong acted unreasonably, leading to this result.

Not long after, the third trial's test finally ended.

However, when the results came out, everyone couldn't help but be astonished.

Among those tested in this trial,

over ninety percent of them were judged to have a mental illness,

and the method they chose to pass was all using a ladle.

Ye Qingping looked at this unbelievable result,

he couldn't help but sigh, the design of this third trial is simply flawed!

How could there be such a method to test whether someone has a mental illness?

This is completely a farce!

Fortunately, only senior internal personnel can see this content; otherwise, if it were to spread out,

it would only deepen the outsiders' impression of Qingyun Sect being improper.

The work of selecting new sect disciples was also proceeding in a tense and orderly manner.

After multiple rounds of screening and strict evaluation,

finally, the list of over a hundred new sect disciples who stood out finally settled.

Among these many new disciples,

Ye Xiuxiu is undoubtedly the most dazzling presence,

she became the undisputed senior sister with absolute advantage.

In the second trial, the amount of bread she obtained was astonishing, far ahead of other disciples;

In the third trial, her speed of releasing water was even faster than lightning, leaving people dumbfounded.

In contrast, Chen Gong Dong, although he obtained the same amount of bread as Ye Xiuxiu in the second trial,

but in the third trial's water-releasing speed he was slightly inferior, ultimately only able to take the position of second junior brother.