Early the next morning, Wei Yuan finished washing up bright and early and headed to the square by the mountain gate.
The Palace of Grand Beginning's immortal boat was moored dead center in the square. Twenty zhang long and pale azure throughout, it had several folded masts along its flanks. This vessel would take all the new disciples gathered here back to the sect's mountain gate.
Wei Yuan followed Zhang Sheng aboard. The immortal boat was divided into three levels: the lower deck held cargo and luggage, the middle deck accommodated servants and attendants, and the upper deck had six tables laid out.
Zhang Sheng casually chose a seat on the upper deck and sat down. Moments later, Sun Yu and Daoist Fufeng boarded as well, taking seats at Wei Yuan's table.
With departure drawing near, people boarded in steady succession. First came two youths, each accompanied by an elder. Each pair occupied a table, while several attendants headed down to the level below. Wei Yuan vaguely recalled these two boys; they had stood beside Li Zhi and Bao Yun respectively during the gathering.
Next aboard was a group in bizarre attire, lavishly ornate yet leaving vast stretches of skin bare. Their skin was dark, with broad patches of scales across their necks and wrists, and all of them shared amber eyes. Among the four was a youth—none other than the young master from the Eastern Sea's Yan clan who had arrived for the exam riding a nine-colored stag.
The Yan contingent chose seats at the very back—the only spot not beside a window. For the notoriously ostentatious Yan clan to keep such a low profile struck Zhang Sheng as rather odd.
Just then, two more groups boarded, each clustering around a boy and a girl. Seeing those two, Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat. He slowly turned his head toward the window, pretending to admire the scenery.
Wei Yuan recognized both. The girl was Bao Yun, and the boy was Xiaoyu—who had slashed hundreds of sword strikes at Wei Yuan and nearly managed to wound him.
During the martial test, Wei Yuan had Outlaw of Heaven and Earth active, possessed of an overbearing arrogance that looked down upon the world without sweating the small stuff. Now back to his ordinary self, Wei Yuan felt that his strikes back then had indeed been somewhat brutal. Delivering that extra thrust to Bao Yun, in particular, made him feel rather embarrassed in hindsight.
By now, all six tables on the upper deck were occupied; everyone had arrived. Screens immediately rose from the floor, dividing the cabin into six private booths. A faint luminescence shimmered across the screens, cutting off not only sound but divine sense as well.
Once the screens were in place, Zhang Sheng finally asked, "How did we end up admitting six people this year? I thought there'd be at most four."
Sun Yu said, "Enrolling disciples this time was a bit complicated..."
Sun Yu glanced at Daoist Fufeng and explained, "It went like this. Originally, the Eastern Sea's Yan clan went to great lengths and paid a hefty price to ask Senior Brother Fufeng to guarantee third place. Daoist Brother Fufeng did his best, and after the Daoist and literary tests, the young master of the Yan clan really was third. But then, in the martial test, Yuan'er swept through everyone and rightfully seized first place. That wasn't in the plan, and it bumped the Yan boy out."
Zhang Sheng asked in puzzlement, "Then why is he still on the boat?"
"Neither the Eastern Sea's Yan clan nor the Lu clan of Xuzhou, who was originally fourth, were willing to let it go. After the exams, both searched for connections and found ways to secure an extra quota each, which is why the palace granted five spots in total for this unified examination. But last night another complication arose. The young miss of the Bao family was originally destined for the Great Treasure Radiance Pure Land, where a ready-made dharma idol was waiting for her to inherit. Yet for reasons unknown, she suddenly came to our Palace of Grand Beginning instead, bumping the Eastern Sea's Yan clan out once again."
Listening to this, Wei Yuan was somewhat puzzled. If it went by ranking, the one squeezed out should have been the Lu clan. Zhang Sheng voiced the same question.
Sun Yu continued explaining, "The margin of error for this unified exam was set at five points, and the Yan kid only beat the young master of the Lu clan by two. Meanwhile, the pull the Lu clan exerted to grease the wheels for their spot far exceeded the Yan clan's. So in the end, it was still the Yan clan that got pushed out. As for why the Yan clan can still be on this boat, it's because they pulled some strings again. However, the palace truly couldn't provide a sixth spot, so it ended up like this: Yan Ming is technically entering an affiliated grotto-heaven below, but he will audit classes and study at the Palace of Grand Beginning."
Zhang Sheng was shocked. "You can even do that?"
Sun Yu lowered his voice and said, "I heard that from now on, the Yan clan will be making sizable annual offerings to the palace."
"This... this is absurd! Doesn't that mean anyone with money can get in?"
Sun Yu said with deep meaning, "Not just anyone with money. You can only get in if you have lots and lots of money."
Zhang Sheng fell silent.
The hour arrived. The immortal boat trembled faintly and slowly rose into the sky. Below, the square and mountain gate shrank rapidly. Then the vessel passed through an invisible boundary, and the landscape below shifted abruptly. The immortal mountains and lush green trees vanished; down below lay only a small green hill, embedded within an endless expanse of yellow earth.
The immortal boat kept climbing until it broke through the clouds, floating atop an ocean of mist. Only then did it unfold the masts along its flanks and unfurl sails shaped like fish fins.
Sunlight poured down, dyeing the entire sea of clouds gold. Wherever the immortal boat passed, misty vapors parted to both sides, as though cutting through waves upon a golden ocean—a spectacle of unspeakable majesty and magnificence.
The vessel gradually gathered speed and climbed higher still, breaking free of the golden cloud sea. Outside the windows, the view blurred until the clouds stretched into streaks of golden light. Despite such blistering speed, the immortal boat remained exceedingly steady; without looking out the window, one wouldn't feel any motion at all.
Seeing such immortal wonders for the first time, Wei Yuan was naturally awestruck, gazing fixedly out the window.
Sunset, then sunrise.
A day later, an immortal mountain suddenly loomed within the sea of clouds ahead. From afar, it appeared to be merely a steep, precipitous peak, but as they drew near, the mountain abruptly shifted, revealing an imposing, towering immortal gate.
The vessel sailed through the gate, and the world around them instantly transformed.
The immortal boat touched down upon a circular plaza paved with white jade. Ahead ran a broad avenue of green flagstones, leading straight to a majestic complex of palaces in the distance. Flanking both sides of the avenue were gentle, lush green lawns stretching far into the distance, dotted here and there with wild flowers of every hue.
Most of the white jade plaza hung suspended in midair; looking down from its edge revealed only a vast sea of clouds with no bottom in sight. Measuring several hundred zhang across, this plaza resembled a gigantic jade plate resting half-perched on the mountainside, devoid of any visible suspension or support.
Looking out from the plaza past the palaces, one saw rolling mountain terrain in the distance. Several verdant peaks pierced into the clouds, with pavilions and towers flickering in and out of view amidst cascading waterfalls and pine groves. Farther out, a few peaks actually floated above the sea of clouds.
From time to time, one or two unnamable colossal beasts or immortal birds burst from the cloud sea. Some flew toward a mountain peak, while others soared straight into the firmament, vanishing past the edge of the sky above.
Wei Yuan stepped out of the cabin and stood on the deck, gazing into the far distance. The sights before his eyes were beyond anything he had ever seen, even in dreams. Even the most ordinary grassland looked like a soft, vibrant thick carpet stretching a hundred li away. A closer look revealed that even the tiny flowers dotting the grass were out of the ordinary—each flower was distinct, constantly exhaling and inhaling dense, fragrant mist.
Coming from peasant stock, one look told Wei Yuan that this grassland was fertile soil unlike anything he had ever seen. If planted with grain, wouldn't each mu easily yield a thousand jin? But having already witnessed the splendor of the immortal sects, Wei Yuan figured he was probably underestimating things. With immortal methods, perhaps getting twelve hundred jin per mu wouldn't be out of the question either.
Wei Yuan let his gaze wander farther and farther across the grass. Merely looking upon this vibrant, life-filled expanse made his mind and spirit feel increasingly revitalized. As he looked on, his field of vision drew near the edge of the grassland when suddenly his vision went dark, and he nearly tumbled over.
Zhang Sheng clapped a hand onto his back. Wei Yuan's body was instantly rejuvenated, all the sudden hollowness and exhaustion vanishing in a flash.
Zhang Sheng said, "Don't look that far before you've started cultivating. You have no Dao power right now, so everything you're burning through is your primordial spirit."
Sun Yu's eyes, on the other hand, shone with excitement. "To burn through his primordial spirit in one go like that... I'm actually starting to envy this disciple of yours."
Zhang Sheng ignored Sun Yu, pointed forward, and said to Wei Yuan, "This is Hanging Azure of the Empty Valley, one of our Palace of Grand Beginning's three mountain gates. What do you think?"
Wei Yuan looked at the white jade plaza used merely for docking immortal boats, looked at the mirror-smooth avenue of green flagstones, looked at the majestic palaces in the distance, and looked at the emerald peaks towering tens of thousands of zhang high with an unmistakable immortal grandeur. In the end, his gaze settled once more on that jade-green expanse of grass.
He suddenly said, "If the immortal path is so wondrous, why are there still so many people in the mortal world starving to death?"
Both Sun Yu and Zhang Sheng froze.
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice rang out from behind them: "Well asked!"
Chapter 26