Chapter 65

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The beautiful woman turned around, and it turned out she was identical to the woman depicted in the portrait on the Long family's ancestral altar. She was none other than Long Bingyan, the eldest daughter of the Long family.

However, the woman in the portrait was beautiful, but the woman before her was even more so. Her fragrant skin and jade-like bones were as if crafted from fine jade, with not a single inch that wasn’t fragrant and beautiful. Yet, her expression was cold, and a single glance from her could freeze a person. It made it hard for anyone to feel close to her.

“Speak, what is it?”

Long Bingyan said indifferently, her every move exuding an air of supreme authority.

“We received a report from the outer sect. In this grand recruitment of the Immortal Path, we found the person named Lin Xi that Senior Sister asked us to look out for. He is also part of this recruitment. Here is the register of names for this recruitment.”

“Hmm?”

With a wave of her slender fingers, the register flew up and landed in Long Bingyan’s palm.

“Senior Sister, this boy is on the mountain. Should we take action and kill him directly?”

The disciple who spoke made a slashing gesture, revealing a fierce expression.

“As long as Senior Sister gives the word, we can do it without anyone knowing. With so many martial artists applying for the Immortal Path, the death of one or two won’t attract any attention.”

“Hmph! Without anyone knowing?”

The woman sneered, tapping the register lightly with her thumb, exuding a strong aura of authority.

“What do you think the elders are? I wouldn’t dare to meddle in the grand recruitment of the Immortal Path. You, a mere outer sect disciple, are talking about killing someone inside it. Do you want to die that badly?”

“Does Senior Sister mean to let him go? He has ruined your plans!”

The white-robed disciple said with a look of reluctance.

“Let him go? Of course not. A dike a thousand miles long can be breached by an ant’s hole. If this little ant isn’t crushed, other Holy Sons and Holy Daughters below me will start to stir, causing all sorts of trouble.”

Long Bingyan said with a cold laugh.

“Then what does Senior Sister mean to do...”

The white-robed disciple asked hesitantly.

“A mere tenth-level martial artist, a mere ant, I can’t possibly take action myself. — Arrange for one of our people to enter the Time-Space Gate with him. Kill him during the mission! Be clean and leave no traces.”

Long Bingyan waved her hand, her beautiful face showing a ruthless and decisive expression.

“Senior Sister, rest assured. We will handle this matter perfectly, without troubling you. We will ensure that this boy doesn’t come out of the Time-Space Gate alive.”

The white-robed disciple said and hurriedly left.

…………

Days passed, and it was already three days. Lin Xi stayed in the courtyard every day, seeing a large number of disciples leave the courtyard to participate in the Immortal Path assessment. Whether they passed or not, none of them returned.

During these three days, more and more martial artists entered the Divine Dawn Mountain.

Only then did Lin Xi realize how grand the recruitment of the Immortal Path world was. Perhaps not many people in the world knew about the Immortal Path world, but when they gathered together, the number of people who knew was vast.

“Judging by this, the Immortal Path sects must issue nearly ten thousand Immortal Path tokens each year!”

Lin Xi stood on the mountain, pondering in his heart.

This number seemed large, but when spread across the entire world, it was actually quite small.

During this time, what Lin Xi heard the most was “Time-Space Gate.” It seemed the assessment was related to this Time-Space Gate. Although it was only three days, Lin Xi could feel that the death rate of the Immortal Path assessment was extremely high.

“Lin Xi, it’s your turn.”

An outer sect disciple appeared outside Lin Xi’s courtyard.

“Thank you, Senior Brother, for leading the way.”

Lin Xi followed the outer sect disciple and soon arrived at a peak. At the top of the peak was an arched, ancient stone gate. The words “Assessment” were written on the stone gate in cinnabar.

Below the stone gate, a young Immortal Path disciple in his twenties stood with his eyes closed and his head bowed, exuding a vast, tidal-like aura from his not particularly imposing body. Everyone in front of him felt an unconscious pressure.

This young Immortal Path disciple held his right palm out, and in his palm was a blood-red “Light Gate” about six inches tall, faintly glowing. A closer look revealed layers of temporal and spatial light halos within the Light Gate, as if leading to another world.

“Could that be the Time-Space Gate?”

Lin Xi’s heart stirred.

The young Immortal Path disciple didn’t speak, standing like a statue with his eyes closed, motionless. In front of him, more than thirty martial artists had already gathered for the assessment.

Seeing Lin Xi approach, a young man in his mid-twenties in the crowd, his eyes darted, and he suddenly stepped forward.

“This brother, I am Fan Xuanping from the Ice Soul Sect of the Holy Tree Dynasty. May I ask how you should be addressed?”

The young man smiled warmly, appearing friendly and harmless.

“Lin Xi, from the Five Thunder Sect of the Great Liang Dynasty.”

Lin Xi said indifferently.

“Oh, I have heard much about you.”

The young man said flattering words, but his eyes betrayed disappointment. He didn’t even bother with small talk, found an excuse, and turned to leave.

Lin Xi just smiled inwardly and ignored him.

“Don’t mind him. He’s a small man. He flatters anyone with a distinguished background and ignores those weaker than him. A complete opportunist.”

A clear female voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

“Ha, what he does isn’t wrong. The Immortal Path assessment is naturally dangerous. More friends mean more help. I come from a small sect, so naturally, others look down on me.”

Lin Xi said indifferently, then looked at a young girl walking up behind him.

The girl looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, with black hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a pink dress, and her figure was youthful and graceful, with a very alluring figure.

She arrived a bit later and just happened to hear the conversation between Fan Xuanping and Lin Xi.

“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shangguan Yaoxue.”

Shangguan Yaoxue smiled, and two clear dimples appeared on her cheeks.

She only mentioned her name and said nothing about her background.

“Lin Xi.”

Lin Xi smiled.

At this point, the number of disciples at this assessment site had reached over eighty, making it quite crowded.

The Immortal Path disciple in front of the stone gate, who had been motionless, finally opened his eyes. A wave of overwhelming aura spread out, and the row of young men closest to him immediately felt a pricking sensation on their backs and stepped back.

“This is a disciple of the Divine Dawn Sect, at the second level of the Qi Condensation stage, the冥期 (Ming Period). Don’t underestimate him just because he’s a second-level outer sect disciple. He can draw qi from deep within the earth, making him incredibly powerful. Even if all of us were to attack him together, we wouldn’t be his match.”

Shangguan Yaoxue’s voice sounded in his ear.

“Miss Shangguan seems to know a lot about the Immortal Path sects.”

Lin Xi turned his head and smiled, his eyes hinting at deeper meaning.

Shangguan Yaoxue didn’t deny it, just smiled and said:

“It’s just family knowledge.”

At this moment, the Immortal Path disciple in front of the stone gate spoke:

“Listen up. I am in charge of this assessment point on this mountain. The task for this Immortal Path assessment is very simple. You just need to enter and hunt as many fierce beasts as possible, obtaining their hearts. Those who complete the task will pass this grand recruitment of the Immortal Path world.”

As he spoke, he opened his palm, and a fist-sized heart, with prominent veins and a fiery red color, appeared in his left hand. More strangely, the heart was still beating.

“This is the heart required for the assessment. You have all seen it. Only this type of heart is needed for the Immortal Path assessment. The assessment is dangerous, and by coming here, you have already accepted this danger. Additionally, our Immortal Path sect is not an evil path. We always leave a way out. If you feel you cannot complete the task, you can exit the Time-Space Gate early. However, that will count as a failure.”

The Immortal Path disciple finished speaking and threw his palm. The small Light Gate that Lin Xi had seen before was instantly thrown into the air.

In mid-air, light spread, blinding everyone’s eyes.

Boom!

The mountain peak shook, and the Light Gate landed, immediately turning into a large archway about eight feet tall in front of everyone. Inside the archway, a blood-red flame flickered, and at the center of the flame, a deep, dark crack seemed to lead to an unknown, immeasurable space.

Lin Xi looked at the massive Light Gate, his eyelids twitching. He could feel a sense of desolation and danger coming from the other side of the crack.

“This is a trial gate, the lowest level of the Time-Space Gates. It is created by top-tier experts of the Immortal Path sects, who gather qi from other dimensions and refine it. It can directly transport you to other worlds.”

Shangguan Yaoxue seemed to know Lin Xi’s doubts and explained beside him.

“Miss Shangguan says this is the lowest level of the Time-Space Gates. I wonder what other types of Time-Space Gates there are?”

Lin Xi asked calmly.

He understood that this girl, Shangguan Yaoxue, knew a lot about the Immortal Path world, and her background was definitely not simple.

However, he didn’t point it out. He just followed her lead and asked.

“The Time-Space Gates are divided into Dimensional Gates, Planar Gates, and Spatial Gates. It’s said that some Immortal Path sects even have Cosmic Gates. They are all refined by the great elders of the major Immortal Path sects and then distributed to the sects. These great elders have unfathomable cultivation, surpassing the tenth level of Qi Condensation. They can roam the void with their consciousness and, with a single thought, gather spatial qi from the endless void to refine into Time-Space Gates. — If you join the Divine Dawn Sect in the future, you will know. These are not big deals.”

Shangguan Yaoxue answered without hesitation.

She seemed to have a good impression of Lin Xi and answered all his questions.

c~.<~>-~

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