Chapter 9 years old was admitted

  Chapter Nine Exams

  "Brother Mingyun, this time you must help me!"

  Under the crystal lamp, Ming Yun sat in front of a low table, holding a white handkerchief to wipe the long sword with a green edge. Although it was just an ordinary steel sword, he looked as if he was wiping a rare treasure.

  Until he had completely wiped down the Qingfeng treasure sword in his hand, Mingyun raised his head and asked, "Is it about Ji Ruochen again?"

  Right in front of him stood Ming Xin, who said with indignation: "Who else could it be besides him?"

  Ming Yun let out a soft sigh, put down the long sword in his hand, and looked at Ming Xin: "You just finished thinking in the quiet room, why are you thinking of making trouble again? I don't think that Ji Ruochen is as reckless and arrogant as you said. Why do you have to bother him repeatedly? Last time he told Ziqing True Person about the sword comparison, although he broke his promise, but after all, we forced him to try the sword, and we were at fault first. It's actually better for this matter to end here."

  "Brother, Ji Ruochen's mouth is full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, but in reality he is a despicable person! Don't be deceived by him! In the past we bullied him, but this time it was really his slander against me!"

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  "I was originally in quiet contemplation, and the 49th day was just around the corner. But then Ji Ruochen suddenly told everyone that many magical artifacts were missing from his room, and mentioned the date they went missing. Coincidentally, I had gone to Tai Chang Palace that night to ask him about his broken promise, but didn't find anyone in his quarters. The Daoist priest of Tai Chang Palace reported back to everyone that only I had entered Ji Ruochen's residence that day, and then the Daoist priest from Xiu Luo Temple came to ask me where I had hidden the stolen magical artifacts!"

  Ming Yun furrowed his brow and said, "Then did you take anything from him?"

  "Ming Xin shouted: 'If I took any of his things, may I never attain the Great Way in a thousand lifetimes! Eldest Brother, I only went to his place once, and coincidentally he lost many things that day. Are there such coincidences in the world? Moreover, if I had taken those many treasures, how could I have left the Tai Chang Palace? I haven't even reached the level of flying with my qi yet.'"

  Ming Xin laughed and said: "Don't mention you, even I am still far from reaching that state. If you told the Daozhangs of Xiulou Hall what you just said, wouldn't it be fine?"

  "Nothing's wrong? That long-faced, evil-looking man asked me where I hid the things, then asked if I threw them all into the deep chasm under Taichang Peak. Of course, I said no! He kept asking but couldn't get anything out of me, so he left on his own. I thought it was over, but in a short while, he came back and said my repentance wasn't sincere, wanting to lock me up in the quiet room for another half year! And he also said that Ziqing True Man has already agreed to this!"

  "Thinking for half a year?!" Mingyun was also shocked.

  Ming Xin nodded, after all, he was just a child. This time, he had suffered a great injustice, his eyes turned red, and tears were about to flow out. He sobbed: "For this year's imperial examination, I was specially released for seven days, but after the examination is over, I will be locked up again!"

  Ming Yun had always liked this younger brother of his, so he comforted him for a while before asking, "Have you told Master Jing Xiang about this?"

  Ming Xin nodded and cried even harder: "Shi Zong scolded me severely, then said that if I can win the Taichu Ling Sheng exam this year, he will reduce my three-month reflection. But Shi Zong doesn't allow any disciples to help me, I really have no choice, so I secretly came to ask for your help, Brother."

  Ming Yun comforted Ming Xin a few more words, saying that his natural temperament was impulsive and that quiet contemplation would actually be beneficial for his cultivation. He told him not to worry so much about it, then pondered and said: "You've almost completed the Taiching Sacred Technique, and winning the annual exam shouldn't be too difficult either. Here's what I'll do - I have some Xuan Huang sand here; take it and draw three Wind Sand Talismans, which should guarantee you three victories."

  "This time it was Ming Xin's turn to be shocked, saying: 'Xuan Huang Sha? Brother, this won't do!'"

  Xuan Huang Sand is a very rare spiritual object, only produced in the southern barbarian lands. With it, one can assist in cultivating the Tai Xuan Peak's Big Five Elements Sword Technique to achieve twice the effect with half the effort. However, if one wants to draw a Wind Sand Talisman, they must at least have the cultivation of the Tai Qing True Saint Realm, which is two levels higher than the Ming Xin Current Dao Lineage. Only by dissolving Xuan Huang Sand into the talisman water can Ming Xin possibly draw out the Wind Sand Talisman.

  In the annual age examination, various sects compete with each other, and what they are after is nothing more than a virtual name, rather than any practical benefit. These young disciples have low moral character, and their victories or defeats often depend on the quality of the magic weapons and spells they use. However, in the age examination, all magic weapons and spells must be made by the disciples themselves. Therefore, the competition among primary disciples often becomes a matter of how much money is spent, and how much battle effectiveness is achieved. Just to win in the trial of the second stage of the Taiqing Ling Sheng realm, which is only the entrance to the sect, they would squander their family's wealth, which can be said to be a loss of their life savings.

  But Mingyun just smiled slightly and said, "This kind of spiritual material is precious and hard to find, but it's still an external object and can't be used as a substitute for one's own cultivation. Ji Bingxian has already entered the Taiqing Xuan Sheng realm yesterday, we entered the sect at the same time, now her cultivation is already higher than mine by a whole level, there's no comparison to be made. With the Xuanyu Sand, I might have won against Li Xuanzhen and Shang Qiushui, but without the Xuanyu Sand, I'm not necessarily going to lose. I've decided that this year's annual exam will not use any magic treasures, just this three-foot Qingfeng sword will meet with fellow sect members, so you can go ahead and use the Xuanyu Sand."

  Ming Xinyan's eyes lit up again and he said in a low voice: "Thank you, Master Mingyun!"

  Ming Yun smiled and said, "You and I are fellow disciples, what's there to thank? By the way, I heard that Yan Yan Shifu had recently obtained a Thousand-Year Iron Wood Sword. Why don't you go borrow it quietly and use it? Anyway, she won't be able to win many matches, so having this spirit sword is useless for her. And even if Jing Xiao Shizu finds out about this matter, he can't do anything to her."

  "Brother! I came here after borrowing a sword from Sister Yin, but as soon as she heard the words 'thousand-year iron wood sword', she suddenly got angry and directly kicked me out!"

  Ming Yun was also shocked and said: "Is there such a thing? Never mind, don't worry, I'll go borrow the sword from her tomorrow and ask what's going on."

  Before leaving, Mingyun suddenly remembered something and reminded him: "Junior brother, I heard that Ji Ruochen has also entered the Taiqing Spiritual Saint Realm. If you encounter him in the annual exam, don't recklessly use the Big Five Elements Sword Technique, you still can't control the five elements sword energy!"

  With a clear mind, he quietly and slowly left.

  At this moment, Zhang Yin was in the study room having a big temper tantrum, slamming things around. The maids were dodging everywhere but didn't dare to leave the room, and were so scared that they were trembling all over.

  Zhang Yin-yin vented her anger and then pointed at several maidservants, shouting: "You all listen up! From now on, no matter who it is, if anyone dares to mention the words 'Thousand Year Iron Wood Sword' in my presence, I'll have them beaten out of here with sticks! Now you're all staying right here, and without my orders, no one is allowed into the backyard!"

  Having said that, Zhang Yin kicked open the back door of the study with a flick of her sleeve and went straight to the bedroom in the backyard. Until she entered the house, her anger had not subsided at all, and she strode to the dresser and sat down heavily. But as soon as her buttocks touched the velvet stool, she let out a cry of pain and jumped up again.

  This time she was more careful, her left hand supporting the mahogany dresser as she slowly sat down. The face in the mirror, normally as lovely as a flower, was now gritting its teeth, somewhat spoiling the view. But Zhang Yin had no time to worry about that, she made a fierce sword gesture at the mirror and gritted her teeth, saying: "A great revenge must be repaid tenfold, Ji Ruochen, you just wait for me!"

  It was already a severe winter, and the Taishang Dao De Palace was shrouded in a thin layer of cloud and mist all day long. These clouds were formed by the accumulation of array methods, which could absorb spiritual energy, dispel cold air, and were not ordinary clouds or dust.

  As the night curtain began to fall, the auspicious clouds and mist that filled the Tai Shang Dao De Palace suddenly stirred slightly. A woman with smoke rising from her every step emerged from within. She strolled along the jade path, then turned left and stepped onto the stone path leading to the Dan Yuan Palace.

  However, in front of the clouds and fog dispersed, a young Taoist's figure gradually appeared, standing right in her way. The Taoist was tall and handsome, looking to be in his early twenties, with his hands behind his back, exuding an air of natural majesty. His face was as white as jade, with a subtle glow emanating from beneath his skin, indicating that his cultivation was not low. Cultivators who had reached a certain level often had the ability to retain their youthful appearance and did not show signs of aging, so it was impossible to determine their true age based solely on their looks.

  She stood still, calmly looking at the young Taoist priest without saying a word, waiting for him to give way.

  The young Taoist priest and Hanyan locked eyes for a long time, seemingly smiling wryly, before finally speaking up: "Hanyan, there have been rumors circulating that you've been getting close to Ji Ruochen, a new disciple from the Tai Chang Palace. Is there any truth to this?"

  "Rumors are just rumors, and they shouldn't be trusted."

  The young Daoist's face was calm, but he immediately furrowed his brow and said: "However, Yu Xuan Zhenren has given you two simultaneous lessons in the Taishang Daode Palace several times. Your and Ji Ruochen's cultivation paths are far apart, what kind of lesson requires you to cultivate together? I think Yu Xuan Zhenren may have other intentions, has she told you anything?"

  Hanyan said: "Although it's hard to disobey the master's orders, Hanyan has her own ideas. As for what Master Yuexuan did to you in the past, I'm afraid I won't tell."

  The young Taoist's face changed, and he showed a hint of anger, but still spoke in a gentle tone: "Hanyan, you've been different lately. I've looked for you many times during this period, but you refused to see me. This time, I waited for half a day on the road back to the palace before finally meeting you. What's going on? Is it because of Yu Xuan True Person's orders or is it really because of that Ji Ruochen?"

  Later on, he was obviously agitated and strode towards Hanyan. Hanyan waved her slender hand, and three water arrows suddenly appeared out of thin air, shooting one after another onto the stone path in front of him. The young Taoist priest stopped in his tracks, staring at Hanyan in astonishment.

  Surrounded by a faint mist of smoke, her face was still pale and had a chilling aura that seemed to keep people at bay. She slowly withdrew her slender hand and said, "Apart from the Great Way, there is nothing else in my heart, please do not disturb me again."

  Young Daoist stared at Hanyan, saying word by word: "Hanyan, are you really so heartless?"

  Hanyan still said in a floating and drifting voice: "The Great Way is originally without emotions, why is there a saying of being absolutely heartless? You have a bright future ahead, why would you mistakenly cultivate yourself on the word 'love' and ruin your future? The time is not early, Master Yu Xuanshu still has something to find me, Hanyan must return to Dan Yuan Palace. Master Shu also please return to the peak to rest, forgive Hanyan for not sending you off."

  Upon hearing the two words "Shi Shu", the young Daoist's face finally changed greatly, his hands trembling as he pointed at Hanyan, but was unable to say anything, only managing to stammer: "Good... good..."

  He suddenly leaped up and rushed into the thick smoke clouds outside Moganshan.

  With a faint scent of smoke, she stepped out slowly, carrying heavy mist and cloud vapor, walking towards the suspension bridge leading to Dan Yuan Palace. Her face was as calm as water, as if nothing had happened at all.

  At this time, Yu Xuan Zhenren was not in Dan Yuan Palace, but was discussing matters with the various Zhenren in Xi Yi Hall of Tai Shang Dao De Palace.

  In the Xi Yi Temple, a faint aura of immortals wafted about, with misty clouds hiding and revealing themselves. It was unclear whether this was due to the gathering of the eight true persons. At this time, the Purple Cloud True Person stroked his beard and said: "Yu Chen's injury is not serious, he has almost recovered in these few days. However, there is one unclear matter that I have been unable to fathom."

  Zi Yun Zhen Ren is skilled in alchemy, so medicine and pharmacology are just trivial matters to him. Something that can stump even Zi Yun Zhen Ren is truly extremely rare.

  Zi Yun Zhen Ren first glanced at Jing Xiao Zhen Ren, then said calmly: "If Chen's right chest was pierced by the Thousand-Year Iron Wood Sword, it's just a flesh wound and there's no major problem. According to If Chen's words and what all of you Zhen Ren have seen when investigating the sword-forging platform, the person who made the move seems to have used the Taiji Tiangang Arrow Technique of the Chong Lou Sect. However, If Chen's meridians are all injured, but his true yuan is instead strengthened, this is what I find puzzling. The Taiji Tiangang arrow is indeed fierce and overbearing, but it's still too crude and not enough to injure all the meridians in the body."

  Several real people discussed it back and forth, but since even the Purple Cloud Real Person didn't know where Ji Ruocheng's meridian injury came from, they usually rarely studied alchemy, so their discussion was naturally in vain.

  Ziyang Zhenren coughed and stroked his beard, saying: "The Taiji Heaven-piercing Arrow Technique is just a technique for mobilizing the true yuan of the heart. With our sect's Sanqing True Classic cultivation driving this arrow technique, it's not a difficult task. We've searched extensively but to no avail, clearly this person is a demonic spy who has been planted in our Dao De Sect since childhood. In recent years, our sect has taken on too many disciples, often only asking about their heavenly talent and not investigating their character or background, which indeed poses a big problem."

  Everyone looked at each other, all silent. The implication of Ziyang's words was very clear: if one accepts many disciples without careful examination, it is natural that the good and the bad are not equal, and it is easy to let a few villains in. However, the root cause of accepting disciples without careful examination lies in the struggle between different sects, all wanting to compete for young disciples with great talent.

  At this time, the Northern Palace's Tai Yin Zhen Ren suddenly hummed and said: "You're fighting over it, how can you take in disciples? It's better not to mention this matter, mentioning it is useless."

  As soon as he spoke, the faces of several real people were somewhat embarrassed, because the North Pole Palace had never been too competitive with other factions before. This time, Tai Yin's true person touched their sore spot, and they had nothing to say.

  Ziyang Zhenren nodded and asked Ziqing Zhenren again: "Is there any progress on the spy's matter?"

  At that time, after Ji Rufeng was seriously injured and fell to the ground, he was immediately discovered by the patrolling Taoist priests and reported to the Seven True Persons. The eight true persons were so divine that they already knew the situation of that day after walking around the sword-forging platform for a circle. They immediately arranged for trusted disciples to investigate secretly throughout the sect. At dawn, they found a female disciple who possessed the Taiji Heaven-Defying Arrow Technique. She was extremely cautious and immediately took poison to kill herself as soon as she sensed something was wrong. By the time the true persons arrived, her soul had already dissipated.

  She didn't have the cultivation to suddenly release such a powerful Taiji Tianxia Arrow, so the real traitor must be someone else. Therefore, Ziqing True Person immediately brought her corpse back to Xiulou Hall, personally set up an altar and performed a ritual to retrieve her scattered soul from the nine abysses and ten earths, in order to interrogate her.

  At this time, Ziyang True Person asked, and Ziqing True Person just shook his head. Since the soul of that female disciple couldn't be captured, all clues to this matter were completely cut off.

  All the true men were silent, their faces as cold as frost. The power of the Taoist sect was strong and powerful, all the true men were people of the Tai Shan North Dipper class, at this moment they had eaten such a dumb loss, their hearts were extremely displeased.

  Yu Xujian coldly said: "Since the person who made the move used the Taiji Tianfa of the Chonglou Sect, then let the Chonglou Sect hand over the murderer. If they dare not hand over the person, humph, my sect's flying sword, can it only behead demons and monsters?"

  Yu Xū True Person's words had just come out when several other True Persons echoed in agreement.

  Ziyang True Man nodded and stroked his beard, saying: "My Taoist sect has always used virtue to persuade people, but we also need to use thunderous methods to eliminate evil spirits. What Yuxu True Man said is right, so here's what we'll do - tomorrow I'll send someone to the Chonglou Sect and give them a deadline of one month to hand over the person. If not, then we'll go pay our respects at the mountain gate of the Chonglou Sect."

  This matter has already been settled, and all the immortals have dispersed one by one. It's just that since Taiji Heaven can be driven by the Three Pure Ones' true scripture, it's naturally possible to use other sects' true yuan to achieve this. This layer of complexity was glossed over and not mentioned.