The existence of the Yanluo Banner could never be revealed.
His aptitude was abysmal, yet with the help of the Yanluo Banner, his cultivation speed was not the slightest bit inferior to someone with a true spiritual root. The Yanluo Banner was bound to be an extraordinary treasure.
Qin Sang's mind raced, and he could only resort to spouting nonsense. "Reporting to Senior, when Junior was young, I once ate a fruit. Afterward, my entire body burned with fever, and it only subsided after three days. I nearly lost my life. Later, when I began cultivating, I discovered that my meridians were far broader and tougher than an ordinary person's, and the speed at which I absorbed spiritual energy was also exceptionally fast. I wonder if it was because of that fruit..."
Liang Yan's eyes lit up. "What kind of fruit?"
"Blue... It looked like some sort of berry..."
Qin Sang spun as tall a tale as he could, describing the color of copper sulfate solution and adding patterns like iron oxide—thoroughly bizarre, to the point that even he did not believe any spirit fruit could possibly look like that.
"Blue? And able to widen meridians..." Liang Yan pondered. "Could it be a Drunken God Fruit? Did the skin have white speckles and a mellow, intoxicating fragrance like fine wine?"
"It didn't seem to have a wine aroma." Qin Sang pretended to rack his memory. How could he know what medicinal properties a Drunken God Fruit possessed? In case Liang Yan was testing him, he absolutely could not admit to it.
After pressing for details to no avail, Liang Yan felt somewhat deflated.
"Enough!" The black-robed elder cut Liang Yan off. "Liang Yan, go and write Qin Sang's name down in the register. From now on, he is your junior martial brother."
Liang Yan gave an "Ah?" and said, "Martial Uncle Yue, Junior Brother Qin has a five-element spiritual root. Doesn't that go against sect rules?"
The black-robed elder snorted. "What rules? It's merely a custom. Throughout history, it is not as though it has never been broken before. That he had the fortune to consume a spirit fruit and could also find our sect's token proves his fortune is deep. You lot possessing true spiritual roots is, in the end, also a matter of karmic fortune. As long as Martial Nephew Qin can... can meet the sect's requirements, there is no need to turn him away. Just go and record his name."
Liang Yan nodded hastily, recorded Qin Sang's name, and settled Qin Sang onto a prayer mat, telling him to wait patiently. Come nightfall, when the auction concluded, they would return to the sect.
From Liang Yan's mouth, he learned that their sect was called the Kuiyin Sect.
Sitting on the prayer mat, Qin Sang still felt somewhat in a daze. Was he truly accepted as a disciple by an immortal cultivation sect just like that?
"Congratulations, Brother Qin! From now on, we are fellow disciples."
Tan Jie's voice transmission suddenly rang in his ears. Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he replied via voice transmission with a self-deprecating remark, "Senior Brother Tan, from now on, you should follow the sect rules and address me as Junior Brother. To tell the truth, this still feels surreal to me. Do all of you have a jade plate token as well?"
Senior and junior brothers were ranked by the order of their entry in the register. Even though Qin Sang was older than Tan Jie, he still had to obediently address him as Senior Brother—unless he managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage first, which would allow him to make the Tan brothers turn around and call him Martial Uncle.
"Naturally. Without a token, one would never gain Shenqi Pavilion's recognition. You must know that opportunities for rogue cultivators like us to join an immortal cultivation sect are exceedingly rare. Not only cultivators around Mount Youshan, but many rogue cultivators from far away are searching for Shenqi Pavilion's tokens. The struggle for them was extraordinarily brutal. Big Brother and I also went through untold hardships, and only by a stroke of luck did we obtain these two tokens."
It seemed that getting the token from the young man surnamed Han really had been good luck.
As the saying went, fortune and misfortune walked hand in hand. With his aptitude, he would originally have only been able to stay in the Han family's outer sect, but now he had joined an immortal cultivation sect. He did not even know whether he should hate or thank Zhen Ming.
Caught between tears and laughter, Qin Sang let out a quiet sigh. "Senior Brother Tan, do you know where our sect's mountain gate is located? How strong is our sect?"
"I've heard the sect's name in passing before. Rumor has it that it's a renowned sect of the northern lands, located in the Extreme Northern Cold Region. Who would have thought they would open Shenqi Pavilion in a place so far away? Rest easy, Brother Qin. Just looking at Shenqi Pavilion, one can tell our sect's strength is anything but weak. Under the sect's protection, there's finally hope for the future." Tan Jie's tone carried a hint of excitement.
The two exchanged a few more sentences via voice transmission.
Joining an immortal cultivation sect was always a good thing. The cultivation resources available to sect disciples were beyond comparison to those of rogue cultivators. After joining a sect, whether in terms of cultivation or searching for yin baleful qi, it would definitely be far more convenient than fumbling about on his own.
Yet the moment he thought of his five-element spiritual root, Qin Sang could not bring himself to be happy no matter what.
They waited all the way until dark. During this time, Martial Uncle Yue led several more rogue cultivators in, but in the end, only one young girl was accepted. Shenqi Pavilion did handle matters impeccably; the rejected rogue cultivators were each compensated with a medium-grade magic tool.
One of the rogue cultivators was only at the second layer of the Qi Refinement stage; although he possessed a three-element spiritual root, he was still turned away.
Another had higher cultivation than Liang Yan, being at the eighth layer of the Qi Refinement stage, but was rejected because of being somewhat older. That person naturally felt indignant, but dared not make trouble in front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had no choice but to take the magic tool and leave in grievance.
In the end, only seven people were accepted into the Kuiyin Sect: five men and two women. All were around twenty years old, and not a single one exceeded the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement stage. Qin Sang could not fathom what criteria the Kuiyin Sect was using to accept disciples.
When night fell and the clamor outside faded away, Martial Uncle Yue and two other black-robed elders walked in.
Qin Sang and the others hastily rose and stood solemnly, following behind Liang Yan to bow in greeting. "Junior greets Martial Uncle Dong, Martial Uncle Yue, and Martial Uncle Wu."
The hook-nosed elder in the middle was none other than Martial Uncle Dong. His gaze was sharp as a blade, cutting into their eyes until they stung, causing them all to lower their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
Martial Uncle Dong suddenly let out a sinister chuckle, and the formidable aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator erupted without warning. Qin Sang was terrified, feeling as though Mount Tai were pressing down on him. It took every ounce of his strength to keep from collapsing to the floor. Looking at the others, they too were flushed red in the face, struggling desperately to stay upright.
"That you were selected by our Kuiyin Sect shows your talent is decent. After joining the Kuiyin Sect, you must devote yourselves entirely to cultivation and sever all mortal ties! Before breaking through to Foundation Establishment, unless on a sect mission, none of you are permitted to leave the mountain without authorization; otherwise, it will be treated as treason. When that time comes, do not blame this old man for not warning you!"
Hearing this, the crowd stirred with unease.
Qin Sang's heart tightened. Pursuing immortality naturally required undistracted cultivation; even without sect restrictions, Qin Sang would not let himself become distracted. But if he could not leave the mountain, where could he find yin baleful qi?
After closing Shenqi Pavilion, Qin Sang and the others followed behind the three martial uncles and quietly departed the cultivation market.
Once the group had left the market, the Kuiyin Sect's three Foundation Establishment cultivators brought out a milky-white jade shuttle. The shuttle gleamed with light, enveloping everyone, and shot off toward the horizon.
Unexpectedly, they had not flown far when a fiery-red sword light suddenly shot out from the depths of Mount Youshan, slamming into the shuttle like a comet.
A shocking scene played out: the shuttle was easily pierced by the sword light, dissolving into a shower of shattered specks of light—it was actually an illusion!
A wave of exclamations rang out from the depths of Mount Youshan. Then, several figures burst out from the darkness, fleeing in all directions, only to discover in despair that they had been surrounded by an eerie black mist at some unknown moment.
The black mist roiled and surged, as if countless sinister ghosts were shrieking within it. In an instant, it swallowed the ambushers whole. Not a single scream sounded; when the black mist swept past, only skeletal frames remained.
Having witnessed the entire battle, Qin Sang broke out in a cold sweat.
Chapter 60