Chapter One: Heaven's First Floor

  Leaving the cave and walking to the big road outside, the first thing that catches my eye is the clean and white beach, the azure sea water gently surging, the sky and sea are one color, the sea breeze is blowing, accompanied by seagulls flying in the distance, it's simply a feeling like being in a paradise on earth, people in it, as if they have entered a painting.

  At this moment, many young people have come out of their own caves, either in groups of three or two, or walking silently and looking into the distance. They are all heading towards the road they took yesterday, as for where they are going, it is obvious without asking, everyone is going to the same place.

  Yesterday's Ling Xiao briefly mentioned, also attached a simple map of Qingyu Liu Dao, which simply introduced the location and situation of Qingyu Liu Dao, and highlighted some important places. The Morning Star Temple was naturally among these marked important places, so many young people walked with confidence, knowing where they were going.

  Shen Shi and Sun You walked among the crowd, not having taken a few steps before they saw Zhong Qinglu and Zhong Qingzhu sisters walk past them from a short distance away. Among them, Zhong Qinglu even turned her head to glare at the two of them with great force, only then did she storm off in large strides without saying a word, looking like yesterday's resentment had not dissipated yet.

  Sun You rolled his eyes and said to Shen Shi, "This girl's temper is so big, it's really strange."

  Shen Shi grumbled and said in a bad mood, "Early in the morning, I was inexplicably glared at by someone like this, and I'm still wondering what's going on."

  Sun You hesitated for a moment, gave a dry laugh, and said: "Let's go, let's hurry up and find that Chen Xing Hall."

  According to the records of Ling Xiao Jian and the marks on the Qingyu Island Map, the six islands of Qingyu are directly distinguished by numbers from the fish head to the fish tail. The island where Shen Shi and others currently live is located at the "fish belly" position of Qingyu, which is called Qingyu San Island. However, this island has the largest area among the six islands and also the best location, so many new disciples and seniors who are still stuck in the Refining Qi realm and have not broken through, such as Su Hei yesterday, all live on this third island. Therefore, Qingyu San Island is sometimes also called Qingyu Main Island or simply Qingyu Island, which directly refers to the island where they are currently located.

  The Qingyu San Island is very large, with a small mountain range on each of its three sides, south, north and west. The mountains are undulating, with many forests, looking lush and green all over. Occasionally, you can still hear the sound of apes and birds chirping from deep within the forest on the mountain. As for the eastern part of the island to the central area, the terrain is relatively flat, and most of the buildings built by Ling Xiang Zong are within this range.

  Along the coastal highway, they walked for a while and soon arrived at the place where they had landed on Qingyu Island yesterday. The flat sandy beach was surrounded by that huge boulder still standing quietly in the sea water, making it hard to imagine what kind of power could have lifted such a massive rock into the air yesterday, carrying many young people across the sea to this island.

  From the map of Qingyu Island, it can be seen that this is still the periphery of Qingyu Island. It's a distance from the bustling Qingyu Village where the Morning Star Temple is located on Qingyu Island, so many young people cast a few curious glances at Bai Xian Rock and then walked onto the middle road leading to the center of the island.

  As he walked through the crowd, Shen Shi casually said to Sun You beside him: "Last night I took a look at Ling Xiang's notes and it says that the central area of the island is called Qing Yu Ji, but somehow this name sounds a bit rustic, like some small fishing village by the sea?"

  Sun You smiled and said, "I've heard people say that when our sect first built its foundation on this Green Fish Island, they wanted to give it a name with an ethereal and elegant atmosphere. But the ancestor who was in charge of things back then had a playful personality and said that since the island was dusty and crowded with people like dogs, there was no way it could have any ethereal aura, so he just called it Green Fish Village. Later on, other fellow disciples' ancestors couldn't bear to see this and advised him for half a day, and only then did they reluctantly change one character and use the slightly more refined name of Green Fish Gathering."

  "Ah, hearing you say that, I suddenly feel that this Qingyu Ji is not only without any rustic flavor, but has become elegant and popular at the same time."

  Sun You was taken aback, then burst out laughing and nodded repeatedly, saying: "Exactly, exactly, you're right, it sounded rustic at first, but with a Qingyun Village up ahead, the name Qingyuji suddenly sounds much more pleasant to the ear."

  The two of them looked at each other and smiled, walking shoulder to shoulder, feeling carefree. However, the people passing by couldn't help but glance over, puzzled. A short distance away, the Zhong sisters were walking, and Zhong Qinglu hummed a tune, saying in an ill-tempered tone: "For no reason at all."

  Qing Zhu whispered beside her: "Sister, don't be angry with them anymore, it's not worth it."

  Zhong Qinglu waved her hand and walked forward, seemingly not even noticing what Zhong Qingzhu had said. Zhong Qingzhu sighed and hurried to catch up with her.

  That legendary place sometimes had a rustic atmosphere and sometimes inexplicably transformed into a refined and elegant gathering of Qingyu, was located in the central area of Qingyu Island. Many young people walked along the road, and as they gradually approached, some houses appeared on the roadside. The further they went, the more houses and mansions there were on the road, and at the same time, many pedestrians were walking around, mostly wearing Ling Xiao Sect attire, who seemed to be outer sect disciples.

  According to Ling Xiao's concise words, the Ling Xiao Sect is like most of the Hong Meng Xiu Zhen Men schools, only acknowledging disciples who have cultivated to the Condensed Yuan Realm as qualified to be accepted as direct disciples. If a new disciple is stuck in the Refining Qi Realm for a long time and cannot break through, the Ling Xiao Sect will not be so ruthless. Generally speaking, with five years of recruitment as one cycle, the Ling Xiao Sect will continue to allow those disciples who have not broken through to the Condensed Yuan Realm after five years to stay on Qing Yu Island for further cultivation.

  In fact, there were indeed people who did not reach the Condensed Origin Realm in the first five years but broke through in the next five years. They would also be taken as direct disciples by Ling Xiao Sect and summoned to Jin Hong Mountain. And the number of such people was actually not small. Even if it took ten whole years, from start to finish, without breaking through during the second five-year period, Ling Xiao Sect would give one last chance in the final five years. If there was still no progress, they could only sigh that they had no fate with immortality and reluctantly leave Qing Yu Island.

  To be honest, among the new disciples who joined Ling Xiao Sect, only about 30% to 40% of them can break through the Refining Qi stage and reach the Condensing Yuan stage. Among these people, those who broke through in the first five years and the second five years account for about half of the total number. The young men who broke through in the first five years are naturally all exceptionally talented geniuses, and their chances of reaching a higher realm in the future are much higher than those who break through in the second five years. Therefore, this group of disciples has always been highly valued by Ling Xiao Sect. As for those who broke through in the second five years, there were not many, but occasionally, there would be one or two extremely rare late-blooming geniuses. However, most people would spend their entire lives stuck at the Condensing Yuan stage.

  As for Ling Xiao Sect, it's like charity, giving the last chance to the worst disciple in five years. At this point, it's clear that they are not suitable for the path of cultivation. Therefore, the disciples who have been hiding on Qingyu Island for more than ten years almost have no hope of breaking through, and most of them hold on to a one-in-a-million chance, but ultimately still leave in disappointment.

  Shen Shi thought to himself, for a moment he didn't notice that he also had some anxiety. He was naturally full of hope for the future, after all this was his first official day at Ling Xiao Sect. The future was full of endless possibilities, and he couldn't help but think that it would be best if he could break through within five years. However, deep down he still had some worries, what if... he fell to a second five-year period or...

  Uh!

  Shen Shi hastily shook his head, shaking off these ominous and gloomy thoughts.

  Sun You looked at him strangely and asked: "What are you doing?"

  Shen Shi smiled and made up an excuse to brush it off, then continued on with Sun You. As the number of buildings along the road increased, more and more large temples appeared in sight, and amidst the bustle, it actually looked like a small city market.

  Especially after Shen Shi looked around, he saw many houses on the street that were open to the outside, and from time to time, Ling Xiang Zong disciples would enter and exit. For no reason, he felt a sense of familiarity, but for a while, his heart didn't dare to believe it. He pulled Sun You closer to the roadside to take a closer look at several houses, and suddenly discovered that these street-facing open houses were actually... shops.

  A shop selling all kinds of spiritual materials needed for cultivation!

  This strange and rustic name of Qingyu Ji is indeed well-chosen...

  At the same time, it was found that there were not a few strange young men around, and for a while, the crowd was in an uproar, with murmurs rising and falling, and most people had a look of shock and astonishment. However, Shen Shi's thoughts were more careful, and he soon discovered that young men such as Sun You and Zhong Qinglu from the Ling Xiao Sect's affiliated families often had calm expressions, as if they had known about this situation all along.

  Although they were surprised, it was impossible for the newcomers to make more moves, so after a while, the group of young men continued to move forward slowly. In the crowd, Shen Shi asked Sun You in a low voice, "Why are there shops here? You should know the reason?"

  Sun You smiled slightly and looked around, saying in a low voice: "Didn't that Brother Su tell us a lot about the rules on Qingyu Island yesterday? You didn't forget, did you?"

  Shen Shi nodded slowly, as if in thought, and said: "Is that so? Everyone is almost without a spiritual crystal, let alone other spiritual materials..."

  Sun You smiled and said, "That's right, so in these five years, the high-ranking masters of Ling Xiang Sect have been forcing us new disciples into a desperate situation, making us frantically earn spirit crystals and various spiritual materials. It is said that only under such circumstances can one truly see whether someone has a promising future."

  After he finished speaking, he made a "tsk" sound with his mouth, and Shen Shi turned to look at him, but couldn't see any sign of dissatisfaction on Sun You's face. According to this rule, the one who would be most disadvantaged would be someone like Sun You, who came from a wealthy family background, whereas it would actually benefit Shen Shi, who was a disciple of Ling Xiao Sect and had a humble background.

  "With these thoughts in mind, Shen Shi said: 'I was wondering why the Ling Xiao Jian Lu emphasized the importance of new disciples on Qing Yu Island paying attention to the various tasks arranged by the island. It seems that this might be a way to earn spiritual crystals.'"

  Sun You smiled and nodded, saying: "That's right, apart from that, there is also..."

  The words had barely fallen when a shrill cry suddenly rang out from the edge of the crowd in front, with a few parts of surprise and fear, even the voice sounded sharper than usual, with a few parts of piercing, at the same time a burst of noise suddenly came over, many young people rushed forward at once:

  "What's that monster...!"

  "No, no, that... heavens..."

  "Good heavens, it can't be...the Demon Clan?!"