Chapter 17

As they descended, it was evident that the platform had landed on a lush green meadow. Not far from the meadow was a sparse forest, where neat rows of stone houses could be faintly seen.

Liu Ming glanced at the stone houses a few times before his gaze swept to the other side of the meadow. He saw that about a hundred paces away, there was another identical platform, from which many young men and women were also emerging.

"Go down. How long are you going to stay here?" An impatient voice came from behind Liu Ming. Turning back, he saw the man in black robes, his face slightly stern, urging him on.

By this time, most of the people on the platform had already left, and his lingering there was indeed drawing attention. Liu Ming bowed his head slightly in apology and followed the crowd down. Only then did he raise his head to take a look at the nearby towering peak.

The mountain was incredibly tall, with the lower half densely populated with various types of buildings. A wide mountain path, like a coiled python, wound its way up to the peak. The upper part of the mountain soared straight into the clouds, obscured by a white mist, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

More gray clouds rushed down from the upper part of the mountain, each carrying one or several people dressed in various attire, both old and young, male and female. However, they flew quite high, making it difficult to see their faces clearly.

These people were clearly Ling Disciples of the Man-Ghost Sect, like the man in black robes. As they passed over the meadow, some looked down curiously, while others flew past without a glance, causing excitement among the young men and women below, who began to discuss animatedly.

Some even couldn't help but fantasize about their future life as Ling Disciples.

At this moment, the man in black robes also walked off the stone platform. Seeing the chaotic scene below, he scolded them harshly:

"This is the Man-Ghost Sect, not your home. Everyone, shut up and form a line to follow me."

After saying this, the reception envoy strode towards a small path leading to the cluster of stone houses. After a brief chaos, the hundreds of young men and women reluctantly formed several lines and followed him.

On the other stone platform, a woman in a white cloak also flew out, leading another group of young men and women along a different path into the forest.

A short while later, the two groups met at a crossroads in the forest. Without any prompting, the two groups merged naturally and quickly walked out of the forest to an open area in front of a row of stone houses.

By this time, more than a dozen men and women in uniform green attire were already standing there, waiting respectfully.

"The people and my junior sister Xun have both been brought here. Please arrange them accordingly. The Spirit Opening Ceremony is still half a month away. During this period, they can wander around the Green Meadow Slope, but they must not leave the area. Those who violate this rule will immediately lose their eligibility to participate in the ceremony." The man in black robes looked at the dozen or so men and women and coldly instructed.

"Yes, Senior Brother Zhang, Junior Sister Xun, rest assured. We will handle this matter properly." A fierce-looking man stepped forward and respectfully replied.

"Hmm, I trust you, Junior Brother Fang Xiong. I and my junior sister will now go to the Affairs Hall to report." The man in black robes nodded, his expression slightly easing.

Then, he and the woman in the white cloak chanted incantations, and a gray cloud appeared under each of their feet, lifting them up and flying towards the mountain peak.

"Alright, you little brats, you've heard it. You will be staying here for half a month. During this time, you must not leave the forest. If I find anyone disobeying and running away, the first time will result in ten lashes with a python whip, the second time thirty, and the third time, you will be disqualified from the Spirit Opening Ceremony." As soon as the man in black robes left, the fierce-looking man straightened his bent body and sternly addressed the hundreds of young men and women.

"What? Didn't the envoy just say we could wander around nearby? How did it become not leaving the forest? We came here to participate in the Spirit Opening Ceremony, not to be imprisoned." Someone immediately protested upon hearing this.

"Boy, what did you say!"

The man's face darkened, and he reached out with one hand, grabbing the air. Instantly, a seemingly strong young man at the front was pulled out of the crowd by an invisible force, stumbling and falling face down, bruised and battered.

When the young man stood up again, he held a short knife in his hand, his eyes blazing with anger as he glared at the man. However, he knew the vast difference in strength and did not dare to charge forward.

"Let me tell you the truth. We were also disciples participating in the Spirit Opening Ceremony a dozen years ago, but we failed and were left here to serve. Out of the seven or eight hundred of you, only ten or so will become Ling Disciples. And during the ceremony, at least two-thirds will die from the backlash. The rest will become outer disciples like us. So, all of you, put away your arrogant attitudes. If you dare to disobey, we will not show mercy. What Senior Brother Zhang said before was just a formality. The Green Meadow Slope is vast, and we can't let so many people wander around. We only have so many people to watch over you. Also, the lowest among us is a high-level Qi Practitioner, and I am a top-level Qi Practitioner. If anyone is不服 (unconvinced), feel free to challenge me. As long as you can beat me, you can do whatever you want, and I won't say a word against it." Fang Xiong looked at the young men and women, his face twisted with a menacing expression.

Upon hearing this, the excitement of the young men and women vanished instantly. Some of the more timid ones even showed signs of fear.

The man being a top-level Qi Practitioner was enough to make the young men and women, who were mostly low-level Qi Practitioners, dare not argue further.

Liu Ming's face remained expressionless as he listened to the man's threats, but when he heard the term "top-level Qi Practitioner," he was slightly startled.

Fang Xiong, who was only in his thirties, could have such astonishing strength. It seemed that even if he couldn't become a Ling Disciple, as long as he could survive in the Man-Ghost Sect, he still had a chance to gain the strength he needed.

He must survive this Spirit Opening Ceremony.

"Now, listen up. We are about to assign rooms. Those whose names are called out, step forward." Fang Xiong, seeing that his few words had intimidated the young men and women, looked satisfied.

Of course, there were still some with powerful backgrounds who remained indifferent.

But this didn't matter to the man.

As long as the majority obeyed his rules, it was fine.

These special young men and women, he wouldn't really provoke.

After all, even without considering their backgrounds, their chances of passing the Spirit Opening Ceremony were much higher than others.

At this moment, a woman in her thirties stepped out from among the outer disciples, flipped through a light yellow book, and began to call out names slowly.

In no time, over a hundred people were called out and led away by the woman towards the cluster of stone houses.

In this way, each outer disciple called out a group of young men and women and led them away. Soon, only the last group, about seventy or eighty people, remained.

Liu Ming, Gao Chong, Mu Mingzhu, Lei Zhen, and others were all among them.

"There's no need to call out more names. All of you, follow me. I will personally arrange your accommodations." Fang Xiong glanced at the remaining people, waved his hand, and said decisively.

The other outer disciples, seeing this, all looked indifferent and dispersed.

The remaining young men and women, upon hearing that the fierce-looking man would personally arrange their accommodations, turned pale.

Fang Xiong, however, ignored their reactions and turned to walk towards a cluster of stone houses.

"Heh," a cold laugh sounded, and a young man suddenly stepped out of the crowd and followed him.

It was Lei Zhen, the disciple of the Lei family.

Seeing this, the others hesitantly followed.

Liu Ming walked calmly among them, not drawing any attention.

As the young men and women walked away, a faint ripple appeared behind a nearby tree, and two figures materialized side by side.

One had a slightly yellow complexion, wore a scholar's robe, and had a yellow wooden hairpin in his hair, his hands behind his back. The other had disheveled hair, bare feet, and a bare chest, with a large red gourd hanging from his waist.

"Junior Brother, what do you think? Are there any good prospects among these young men and women from noble families?" The man in the scholar's robe looked at the distant young men and women and asked his companion.

"Hmph, Senior Brother Gui, aren't you just asking for the sake of it? Without the Spirit Opening Ceremony, how can we tell now? In previous years, the various branches only started selecting people after the ceremony. Why are you looking at these young men and women from noble families so early this time? If you want to select early, you should choose from the disciples with spirit veins cultivated by our sect." The man with disheveled hair had a round, smiling face and grumbled in response.

"You know the situation of our branch. Those disciples judged to have nine or more spirit veins have already been reserved by other branches. How can we compete with them? To truly select some good prospects, we can only look among these young men and women from noble families. Also, I heard that there are also independent cultivators participating this time. We should observe them carefully; we might find some good prospects." The scholar spoke slowly.

"Even if what you say makes sense, how much can we really tell in such a short time? Once the results of the Spirit Opening Ceremony are out, the various branches will likely fight over the good prospects again." The man with disheveled hair frowned and said.