Chapter 11

Chu He had no leisure to pity those careless people. It was a rare opportunity to soar in the sky, so he naturally wanted to enjoy the scenery.

The three spaceships formed a pin shape and headed south toward the Qingling Mountain Range.

According to the information in the jade slip, the Qingling Mountain Range harbored a medium-grade spirit vein, with ninety-nine giant peaks and hundreds of smaller mountains, and thousands of disciples under its command.

Looking from afar, the giant peaks in the mountain range soared into the clouds, making it impossible to see their true height. Such mountains far exceeded Chu He's understanding, and even Mount Everest on Earth would pale in comparison.

However, even these giant peaks were inferior to the Yaoyun Mountain Range.

What a vast world this is! Chu He marveled, but Gu Han nudged him from the side, signaling that it was time to disembark.

They were about to arrive at Yingke Mountain.

Yingke Mountain was a small mountain on the outskirts of the Qingling Mountain Range and served as the main gateway to Qingling Mountain. Although it was called a small mountain, it was over a thousand zhang tall, covered in lush greenery.

The spaceships landed on the mountain waist, facing a vast open area about a thousand zhang wide.

The three spaceships brought about a thousand cultivators, almost filling half of the open area. Among them were a few who looked older, likely accompanying elders.

Some were still rushing from behind, hoping to arrive before the deadline. Those with good luck might make it, while those with bad luck would have to find another sect, unless their talent could change the minds of those who blocked them.

With so many people, even if each person only spoke a few words, it created a deafening noise. Chu He felt as if he were in a bustling market, with haggling voices everywhere.

Fortunately, the situation was quickly brought under control by the Qingling Mountain disciples, and the area became silent.

Next came a simple ceremony, praising the leaders and showcasing the sect's strength.

Chu He had no interest in these things he had heard countless times before and instead focused his attention elsewhere.

On a higher spot, there was a white pavilion. Next to the pavilion was a gray staircase extending from the mist, and inside the pavilion sat several cultivators.

Since it was quite far, Chu He couldn't see their faces clearly. They were probably the leaders, enjoying tea in the background without exerting any effort.

After a few moments, the speech ended, and the selection process began, overseen by over thirty green-robed cultivators.

Chu He noticed their uniqueness: the embroidery on their sleeves was different from that of ordinary Qingling Mountain disciples, with a small green mountain surrounded by a golden pattern.

I wonder if they are inner sect disciples or true disciples? Chu He guessed.

First, they separated the candidates into different categories, then conducted a detailed selection.

There were four options: inner sect disciples, outer sect disciples, spirit farmers, and alchemy apprentices.

Chu He chose to be a spirit farmer, while Gu Han chose to be an inner sect disciple.

The first selection began with bone age detection, which took only a few moments to drive out dozens of people trying to slip through.

The Qingling Mountain disciples responsible for driving them away were ruthless, using heavy hands, almost beating the culprits into pig heads.

The cultivators responsible for selecting inner sect disciples each held a strange mirror-shaped magical artifact. They used the mirror to emit a clear magical light, which illuminated the bodies of the young candidates, determining their spirit bodies based on the color changes of the light.

Generally, lower-grade spirit bodies did not change color under the magical light, while medium-grade spirit bodies turned yellow.

However, to the delight of the Qingling Mountain disciples, two of the candidates turned the magical light golden.

Upper-grade spirit bodies! It was rare to see upper-grade spirit bodies, and two appeared at this sect opening ceremony.

The two disciples, unable to contain their excitement, quickly led the two young cultivators to the white pavilion.

The number of people in each category was vastly different, with the ratio of inner sect, outer sect, spirit farmers, and alchemy apprentices roughly 1:3:2:2.

To qualify, one had to be under eighteen years old, reach the fourth level of the Qi Condensation realm, and have a medium-grade or higher spirit body. Meeting all three conditions was rare among these lower-level cultivators. Perhaps only the major families, with their resources and efforts, could cultivate a few, making this ratio unsurprising.

However, there was a third selection based on cultivation level.

Those with a medium-grade spirit body and cultivation at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation realm were guided to climb the gray staircase and proceed upward.

After eliminating those who did not meet the minimum requirements, there were still over a hundred candidates for spirit farmers, while the alchemy apprentices had fewer than a hundred.

The next elimination tested their proficiency in minor spells.

For spirit farmers, a water spirit body was a must, and the test was a common water spell: the Rain Spell. For alchemy apprentices, it was the Minor Fire Control Spell.

The Rain Spell was a ninth-grade spell, which could be easily mastered by cultivators at the third level of the Qi Condensation realm, but it was most effective when used by a water spirit body. This spell was often used to nourish spirit plants and was essential for spirit farmers.

If one couldn't pass this test, they wouldn't be qualified to be a spirit farmer.

Soon, it was Chu He's turn. He walked to the designated area, extended his hands in front of him, and began to trace various patterns with his fingers, forming simple seals. These seals produced slight ripples that surged forward.

In half a moment, the surrounding spiritual energy changed, and a faint white light appeared on Chu He's fingers. A faintly visible spiritual energy vortex formed a few feet in front of him.

The spiritual energy in this area was somewhat thin, but under the influence of the vortex, the spiritual energy within three to four zhang was gathered, forming a swirling mist.

Chu He had practiced the Rain Spell to the second level, which was why he was qualified to take care of the Chu family's spirit fields.

The Rain Spell had four levels. If one could cultivate it to the fourth level, they could manipulate the spiritual energy within nearly twenty zhang.

As the mist layers rotated, the cloud of spiritual energy gradually grew, stopping when it reached a few feet in diameter.

At this moment, Chu He let out a low shout, pressed his hands together, and released a white magical light onto the cloud of spiritual energy.

"Swish, swish." The cloud of spiritual energy, struck by the magical light, immediately produced the sound of flowing water, and the rolling mist became even more intense.

Fine raindrops, as thin as hair, began to fall from the cloud.

Chu He found it easy to perform the Rain Spell. If he had to move the cloud to water a larger area, it would be more challenging.

The Qingling Mountain disciples evaluating the performance immediately showed approval and, as soon as Chu He finished, announced his success without hesitation.

Out of these two hundred people, about half were eliminated at this stage, leaving only about seventy to eighty.

Like the outer sect disciples, Chu He and the others were taken into Qingling Mountain by the spaceships.

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