One flying boat arrived after another.
The disciples of Thunder Left Manor stood at the very front, followed by the disciples of the subordinate sects. Qin Sang and the others stood outside the ranks.
Qin Sang glanced around. There were only a dozen or so people beside him, all external sect disciples like himself.
Over a thousand disciples had come to receive registers this time, yet only this handful of spots had been granted to outsiders, which went to show just how precious the High Shenxiao Register was.
The final flying boat touched down.
At that moment, the handsome youth who had brought Qin Sang here walked over, clouds rising beneath his feet. He addressed Qin Sang and the others, "Follow me to the Register Conferment Academy first."
A youth beside Qin Sang could not hold back his curiosity. Pointing at the massive line ahead, he asked, "Aren't they going?"
Qin Sang was also puzzled.
During the days he had spent waiting, Thunder Left Manor had already organized all the disciples who had come to receive registers and tested their natural talent.
Because he held a thunder talisman, he had been exempt from the test.
Could there be several more hurdles?
The handsome youth glanced sidelong at them. "They are disciples of our main sect and subordinate sects. Before receiving their registers, they must undergo another trial. Although not many are kicked out under normal circumstances, if anyone thinks they can rest easy just because they got this far, heh heh..."
The youth smiled meaningfully. "However, you are not disciples of our sect, so you don't need to undergo the trial. Just wait three days at the Register Conferment Academy."
Hearing this, the other youths visibly breathed sighs of relief. Qin Sang came to an understanding; the trial was likely meant to observe the disciples' disposition, comprehension, and the like.
The handsome youth led the group into the air.
Seeing them pierce through the thunderclouds, the Thunder Left Manor disciples wore complex expressions, many of them uneasy.
The waters surrounding this island were enveloped in thick thunderclouds.
Upon entering the thunderclouds, pitch blackness enveloped them first. Then came deafening crashes of thunder right beside their ears, silver serpents darting all around them.
Having only just stepped onto the path of cultivation, how could these youths have ever witnessed such a spectacle? Their faces turned pale, eyes filled with panic.
*Crack!*
A bolt of lightning shot straight toward them, immediately drawing a chorus of cries.
"Don't be afraid."
Unhurried, the handsome youth raised his hand and reached forward. Miraculously, he caught the lightning in his grasp and toyed with it, the violent bolt turning completely docile in his hand.
Seeing this, the other youths looked on with envy and anticipation mingled with their fear. Once they received the High Shenxiao Register, they too would possess divine abilities like this.
Qin Sang saw it clearly.
The instant the handsome youth caught the lightning, he had cast some kind of thunder talisman. Yet he had not produced a talisman, nor had he summoned a register altar or drawn talismans in midair. With a mere stir of his mind, the talisman had formed.
As they spoke, the handsome youth flew higher and higher, countless booming thunders blasting wildly all around them.
Soon, an immense dark silhouette emerged from the depths of the thunderclouds. Only when they drew near did they realize it was a magnificent palace.
The hall was suspended in the thunderclouds, surrounded by lightning. An invisible barrier seemed to protect its perimeter, keeping the lightning from penetrating.
Above the palace hung an inscription with three characters: 'Register Conferment Academy.' In the square before the hall, a flight of jade steps stretched downward into the distance, with no end in sight.
"We're here. Wait here and don't wander off."
The handsome youth set them down, turned his escape light, and flew back.
The youths exchanged glances and found places to settle down. Qin Sang inconspicuously scanned their surroundings, then sat down cross-legged in silence.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
Starting from noon on the second day, people began climbing up the jade steps one after another, their numbers steadily growing. Just as the handsome youth had said, over ninety percent of the disciples passed the trial.
*Dong!*
The sound of bells and drums resonated through the heavens.
The main gates of the Register Conferment Academy swung open, and a Daoist wearing a tall crown walked out.
Next, Qin Sang witnessed cumbersome rituals unlike anything at the Sanyang Sect. It took the crowned Daoist half an hour just to read through the ritual regulations before permitting everyone to enter the academy.
Two lines of Thunder Left Manor disciples filed out holding pennants, banners, and streamers, guiding the crowd into the Register Conferment Academy.
The interior layout was similar to that of the Sanyang Sect.
On the spacious plaza stood a tall censer, faint curls of smoke rising from it.
The moment the smoke drifted from the censer, it dispersed into nothingness. The disciples merely felt their minds become clearer than ever before; clearly, some kind of spiritual incense was burning inside.
What was different was the inscription on the horizontal plaque of the main ancestral altar hall.
"Thunder Ancestor Hall!"
Seeing those three vigorous, archaic characters, Qin Sang's pupils contracted slightly, and he looked inside.
The main doors of the Thunder Ancestor Hall were already open, revealing the scene within.
A ritual altar stood erect in the hall. Behind the altar was no statue, but a hanging divine portrait.
Depicted on the portrait was a true deity, exuding a lofty, solemn, and awe-inspiring aura—clearly the work of a master.
Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation of the Sound of Thunder of the Nine Heavens!
Qin Sang sensed that this divine portrait was likely not a magic treasure, but merely an ordinary painting. Yet for some reason, gazing upon this deity, he unconsciously cast aside all slighting thoughts, his expression turning solemn.
*Dang, dang...*
The chime of a sounding stone rang out, and silence fell over the courtyard to respectfully welcome the Three Grand Masters: the Transmission Master, the Supervision Master, and the Recommendation Master.
There were also six protective masters: the Master of Register Protection, Master of Law Protection, Master of Scripture Protection, Master of Altar Protection, Master of Precept Protection, and Master of Dao Protection.
Offering incense, paying respects, worshiping the deities, paying homage to the patriarchs, performing rites, opening the altar...
Though not quite as meticulous as the Daoist sects, the entire procedure took a full three hours.
The disciples receiving their registers had only just entered the Dao and possessed not a shred of magic power. Their waists and backs ached, yet none dared show the slightest negligence.
Before the final register conferment, there was even a confession ritual.
The so-called confession ritual involved delivering a memorial to the deities to admit guilt and repent.
Led by the Grand Masters, the crowd chanted the *Baochan of Facing Heaven*. The others repented with genuine sincerity, but Qin Sang sneered inwardly. In all his years of cultivation, his hands had been stained with blood; if things were truly as the repentance text claimed, how could the deities tolerate him?
Finally, the ritual reached its most crucial step—the conferment of the registers!
The Recommendation Master stood before the Thunder Ancestor Hall, reading out the disciples' names. Those called entered the hall to receive their registers.
Naturally, the external sect disciples were placed last. By the time it was Qin Sang's turn, very few disciples remained in the courtyard.
Qin Sang stepped forward briskly, bowed, and entered the hall.
The Transmission Master was a white-bearded elder at the early Nascent Soul stage. He glanced at Qin Sang, then withdrew his gaze.
Qin Sang was not a disciple of Thunder Left Manor, so the Transmission Master naturally offered him no guidance. Without a word, he directly activated the ritual altar.
Above the altar, a golden seal hung high.
A blank register manifested before Qin Sang. As his essence blood and divine sense merged into it, the seal of endorsement was stamped, and the register split into two.
One streak sank into the space between Qin Sang's brows, while the other flew back to the altar under the guidance of the Transmission Master's hand, spontaneously bursting into flames.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, the register burned to ashes and the flame extinguished, presenting the memorial to the deities.
Among cultivators, some vividly described this step as establishing a contract talisman, after which one's name was recorded in the Heavenly Court.
Qin Sang knelt on the prayer mat, eyes closed, motionless, seemingly savoring the sensation.
Had he been a disciple of Thunder Left Manor's main sect, he would have been conferred the Daoist Three Refuges and Nine Precepts after receiving the register. Disciples of Thunder Left Manor usually chose three of the Nine Precepts, strictly observing them at least while in the Orthodox Unity status.
This was the initial voyage into the faith and the ladder to ascend the Dao, requiring utmost caution.
Qin Sang was not a sect disciple, so he did not need to observe such formalities.
The Transmission Master flicked his horsetail whisk, and outside the hall, the Recommendation Master called out the next name in a loud voice.
As if jolted awake, Qin Sang lowered his head, rose, and backed out of the hall. As he exited, someone approached carrying a wooden tray.
Disciples of Thunder Left Manor were all bestowed robes, caps, magic tools, and other items, but when his turn came, there was only a bare jade slip.
Qin Sang offered his thanks, took the jade slip, and walked out of the Register Conferment Academy under another person's guidance.
Once all the conferment rituals were completed, someone escorted Qin Sang and the other external disciples back to Guest-Welcoming Island.
Qin Sang had no intention of lingering and immediately boarded a treasure ship to leave Thunder Left Manor.
Standing at the stern, Qin Sang watched Thunder Left Manor recede into the distance, a thoughtful look on his face.
The conferment process had gone even smoother than expected. Thunder Left Manor had not suspected him in the slightest, nor had the ritual altar produced any unexpected anomalies on account of his cultivation realm.
Shortly after leaving Thunder Left Manor, Qin Sang disembarked at a small island, rented an immortal's cave, and could hardly wait to examine his talismanic register!
"The High Shenxiao Register!"
Inside the cave, Qin Sang sat cross-legged, sinking his consciousness into his purple palace.
At that moment, a golden talisman shone within his purple palace. Whenever he sensed it, an innate connection welled up within him; it had already completely fused with him!
This was precisely the register he had received—the Supreme Orthodox Unity Lad Spiritual Official General Register.
The register was not physical, but illusory, composed of talismans of obscure meaning, resembling a transparent talisman.
Next, what Qin Sang needed to do was cast the altar.
Once the register altar was completed, the talismanic register would manifest within it as a seal.
Yet even without having cast the altar, Qin Sang could already feel the difference.
A few faint strands of true essence had returned to his empty qi ocean. Without suppressing them with divine sense, he experienced the long-lost sensation of stable true essence.
Moreover, this true essence had been refined from the worldly yuanqi. Without any tedious procedures, he could directly draw worldly yuanqi into his body within a certain limit. When it entered, it felt as though it were filtered, returning to normal.
Flipping his palm, he produced a spirit stone from this realm and found he could directly absorb spiritual energy from it as well.
Qin Sang focused on experiencing the register. In the unseen depths, a mysterious force seemed to protect him, isolating him from the chaotic influences of heaven and earth, keeping his true essence unaffected by the outside world.
Where this mysterious force originated, Qin Sang had no idea. When his consciousness sank into the register, he felt only a vast, distant expanse, as if high in the nine heavens, yet profoundly deep and heavy. The contradictory sensation was impossible for him to fathom.
For now, he could only credit the Daoist legends.
Of course, the protective effect of the register had its limits. When the true essence in his body exceeded the Foundation Establishment stage, surpassing the limit of this register, the chaotic influences of heaven and earth would once again affect his true essence.
Generally speaking, cultivators in this realm who cultivated to the perfection of the Moral Status—the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage—would seek a second-rank register before attempting a breakthrough.
Otherwise, without the protection of a register, external influences would cause their true essence to lose control. Even if they managed to break through, they would have to suppress their cultivation to the Foundation Establishment stage.
After carefully savoring the sensations, Qin Sang did not rush to cast the altar. Instead, he took out the jade slip he had received from Thunder Left Manor and began reading it.
The contents of the jade slip consisted mainly of three parts.
The first covered the key points of casting an altar.
It listed spiritual materials suitable for casting a Golden Seal Altar, virtually all of which were thunder-attribute spiritual items, barely touching upon the Troop Altar.
After all, outside Daoist sects, the vast majority of cultivators lacked the ability to maintain spirit troops. Even among the true disciples of Thunder Left Manor, very few cultivated a Troop Altar.
The second part was the *Myriad Gods Thunder Office Immortal Guide*.
The immortal guide depicted the sacred images and divine names of various thunder department deities to be used for deity visualization.
Casting an altar and inviting deities were both essential tasks after receiving a register.
The Banner-Holding Jade Maiden, the Jade Light Lad, the Thunder Light Jade Maiden, the Thunder Master Lad, the Hail Master Lad, the West Terrace Wind and Rain Officer, the Wind-Chasing Cloud-Spreading Officer, the Lightning-Wielding Thunder-Roaring Cloud-Rushing Envoy, the Flying Cloud Envoy, the Hail-Subduing Strongman, the Evil-Crushing Strongman...
One sacred image after another flowed through Qin Sang's sea of consciousness.
After reviewing them all, Qin Sang discovered that Thunder Left Manor mostly worshiped deities of the thunder department, and the deities in the guide were all of the caliber of jade maidens, lads, envoys, and strongmen.
This was only normal. Each rank of register required visualizing deities of the corresponding status; exceeding that status made it impossible to invite a protective altar general.
Even if one truly succeeded in visualizing such a deity, the register altar would likely be unable to bear it and explode.
In the *Myriad Gods Thunder Office Immortal Guide*, the vast majority of the sacred images were grayed out. Only three were lit: the Purple Light Jade Maiden, the Wind-Chasing Cloud-Spreading Officer, and the Water-Thunder Lightning General.
This indicated that these three deities were the easiest to visualize.
Visualizing other deities would likely consume vast amounts of time and energy, only to end in failure to invite a protective altar general.
Even visualizing deities was not guaranteed to succeed. It required long periods of meditating on the sacred images to resonate with the heart of heaven, and the higher a deity's status, the more difficult it became.
In the entire immortal guide, only three deities were marked. He wondered whether Thunder Left Manor was holding something back.
Qin Sang felt that Thunder Left Manor had no need to hide anything. It was more likely that outsiders, not cultivating Thunder Left Manor's techniques, did not align well with the register and could only visualize these three deities.
Reading further, the third part was an incantation called the *Chaozhen Jade Talisman Incantation*.
When visualizing a protective altar general, one had to practice this incantation.
*Should I visualize a deity?*
Seeing that most of the jade slip's contents pertained to deity visualization, Qin Sang held the slip and sank into thought.
He was curious whether deities truly existed.
Was a protective altar general truly the descent of a deity's will, or merely a projection of the mind formed when meditating on the sacred image?
If it was a mental projection, why could some deities be visualized while others failed?
Yet Qin Sang could not shake an uneasy feeling about actively inviting a deity.
Ultimately, it was because of the jade Buddha. The so-called deities were of unknown origin, and to protect the secret of the jade Buddha, Qin Sang instinctively resisted letting outside deities enter his body.
In truth, visualizing a deity was not strictly necessary. Back when he had seen demon registers on snake demons, Qin Sang had learned that one could also visualize one's inner truth as a protective altar general, also known as an inner deity.
From what he knew, demon registers all visualized inner truths. This was one of the biggest differences between demon registers and Daoist registers.
Such cases also existed among cultivators in the Jushan Region.
Due to various reasons, the registers of certain sects received no response from either their own department's deities or other deities. Unable to summon divine generals, they could only visualize inner truths.
However, it was said that inner truths were not as stable as heavenly deities. Cultivators who practiced such registers walked a perilous, trembling path, forced into it only by necessity.
With the jade Buddha, he did not need a protective altar general anyway. What he wanted, however, was to use the register altar to shelter the Heavenly Eye Butterfly and the Fire Jade Centipede.
After weighing his options, Qin Sang felt it was better to visualize an inner truth.
Perhaps, thanks to the jade Buddha, the inner truth he visualized would be more stable than those of others.
With that thought, Qin Sang skipped the *Myriad Gods Thunder Office Immortal Guide* entirely, committed the *Chaozhen Jade Talisman Incantation* to memory, withdrew his divine sense, and prepared to cast the altar.
Before casting the altar, the most important task was to comprehend the register.
Recalling the various methods he had gathered, Qin Sang once again sank his mind into the register.
Gradually, the shape of a talisman surfaced within his heart.
Chapter 1776