"This whole business of using solar energy to emit light and heat sounds familiar. This immortal did that in the past too." On the way back, the Immortal Fairy giggled as she stretched lazily and comfortably.
She cultivated and restored her power in bed through sleeping. Having now woken up, it signified that this stage of her cultivation had drawn to a temporary close.
"Thank you for your hard work sleeping, Fairy. You used solar energy in ancient times as well?"
"Well, I haven't heard of 'solar energy,' but the application should be pretty much the same."
"How did you use it?"
"There was a time when I really liked reading books. I'd read during the day and read during the night. Even though this immortal's eyesight is superb and I can see crystal clear even where there's no light, doing that lacked ambiance.
"So, this immortal invited a Golden Crow over. During the day, I had it conserve its strength and avoid glowing, and once night fell, I let it shine to illuminate the room for me. I tell you, it was as bright as day.
"Sometimes when cooking, the fire wasn't hot enough, so this immortal would invite a Golden Crow over to help stoke the flame and heat things up. Naturally, this immortal wouldn't make it help for free—every time, I'd have it stay for a meal."
"......I don't think what we mean by using the power of the sun to emit light and heat is the same thing."
"Is that so? This immortal thinks it's about the same. Look, didn't this immortal store the power of the sun first?"
"Yes."
"And after storing it, didn't I release the power of the sun?"
"Yes."
The Immortal Fairy clapped her hands. "There you have it! Exactly the same!"
Lu Yang patiently explained the difference to the Immortal Fairy. "The solar energy I'm talking about can't just be used for light and heat; it can also heat water, replace horses, and make carriages run."
"This immortal's power of the sun can do that too! I can have a Golden Crow boil water, or pull this immortal around flying through the air."
Lu Yang was speechless.
After bamboozling the two cult masters according to plan, the Heavenly Court Cult members set off on their return journey to the Dao Seeking Sect.
Lu Yang was busy trying to explain to the Immortal Fairy that solar energy was not what she thought it was.
Meng Jingzhou, on the other hand, was browsing through the cultivation manual presented with respect by the Shining Sun Cult, learning how to absorb the power of the sun to the maximum extent.
In the manual, a stark naked man faced the sun with open arms, letting the sunlight touch every inch of his skin. The artwork was vivid, lifelike, and easy to understand.
In the blank space along the margins, the Shining Sun Cult had also noted: *One must strip completely naked, without a single thread of cloth left—especially around the crotch; there is no place for shame in cultivation.*
The reasoning provided was also very solid: *If other places are being cultivated, does the crotch not need to be cultivated as well?*
Aside from that, various sunbathing postures were enumerated.
The Shining Sun Cult was quite thorough; besides the male edition, the technique also had a female edition.
Meng Jingzhou stared at the two books in his hands, falling into silence.
On the cover of the second book was a stark naked woman in a seductive pose, looking as if she were aroused by sunbathing. He was contemplating whether or not to open it.
*No wonder no one cultivates your cult's techniques. Is this even a proper manual?*
The four Protector Heavenly Kings dropped Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou off at the sect entrance and returned to their respective peaks.
"Do you feel like there are fewer people in our sect?" Lu Yang asked. Whether on the path here or around the Mission Hall, there were noticeably fewer disciples than usual.
"Now that you mention it, that really seems to be the case."
The two went to the Mission Hall to report on their operation to Dai Bufan.
"Senior Brother Dai, that's the overall situation regarding our contact with the two cults... Senior Brother Dai?"
After finishing their report, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou noticed that Dai Bufan was somewhat absentminded, as though his thoughts were elsewhere.
Dai Bufan snapped back to reality. "Ah, good. You two did well. The money those two cults bribed you with was conned by your own ability, so there's no need to hand it over to the sect."
Then Dai Bufan looked at them with a conflicted expression, as if an intense battle were raging within his mind. He hesitated, but ultimately gritted his teeth and made a momentous decision. "You arrived just in time. I happen to have a mission here that requires your completion."
"A mission?"
Dai Bufan pushed a booklet in front of them. Recorded inside was information on several mortals, none of whom were very old.
"These people are..."
"These are candidates for the sect's upcoming recruitment. The plan is to observe their character beforehand to see if they can cultivate and whether they meet our sect's criteria. If they do, they will be invited to take our sect's entrance exam on the second day of the second month next year."
Aside from disciples who were at critical cultivation bottlenecks, carrying out other missions, staying behind to keep sect operations running, or currently at the Void Refining stage, most Dao Seeking Sect disciples had been dispatched by Dai Bufan to observe candidates' character.
Observing a person's character wasn't something that yielded results in a day or two. At the shortest, it took a month; at the longest, it could take half a year. Therefore, disciples sent out wouldn't necessarily have time for a second observation mission.
Faced with a genuine manpower shortage, Dai Bufan had no choice but to send Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to observe candidates as well.
This was precisely why he had been agonizing over it.
If he weren't tied down, he would rather do the mission himself than ask Lu Yang's duo to go.
Who knew what kind of chaotic mischief they might stir up?
"So that's how it is." Lu Yang flashed a confident smile and patted his chest in assurance. "Rest easy, Senior Brother Dai. Don't you know us well by now? We will definitely complete the mission!"
Dai Bufan sighed, routinely reminding them before their departure, "If you discover anyone outside the list who also meets our sect's criteria, you may recommend them to me as well."
"No problem."
"By the way, do you know our sect's character requirements for admitting recruits?" Dai Bufan was still somewhat uneasy.
"Live honestly and dutifully."
"Cultivate down-to-earth."
Dai Bufan nodded, slightly reassured. "Good, as long as you know. Go on."
In the carriage, the two looked through the booklet's information. There were three mortals in total, all around fifteen years of age.
"Let's head to Nine Dragon City in Youzhou first. It's the closest to us," Meng Jingzhou said, pointing to the mortal on the first page.
The mortal on the first page was a youth named Xie An, who had been discovered by a senior brother while carrying out a mission in Nine Dragon City.
That had been a mission to eradicate a red-clothed vengeful ghost that had committed countless atrocities. After conducting a thorough search, the senior brother finally tracked it down. Seeing it was no match for the senior brother and noticing he hesitated to unleash his full might in a populated area, the ghost concluded that the senior brother cared about mortals' lives. Thus, it took a mortal hostage to barter for a way out.
The person taken hostage was Xie An.
At the crucial moment, Xie An demonstrated extraordinary mental composure. Even with a red-clothed vengeful ghost holding him hostage, he didn't panic in the slightest. Instead, he used his words to provoke the ghost, causing it to reveal a flaw in its fury, which allowed the senior brother to strike it down.
At the time, Xie An was still young and hadn't reached the age for testing spiritual roots, so his root bone remained unknown.
"Looking at it this way, this kid named Xie An seems to be good cultivation material," Lu Yang said with a smile. Remaining calm in the face of danger was something many cultivators couldn't even pull off. Only with that kind of psychological composure when facing peril was there a chance of survival.
Both he and Old Meng possessed precisely that psychological quality.
Chapter 695