Chapter 23: Failure and Testing

  (Thanks for "a heart-warming gift" red envelope reward, becoming the first ally of Xian Nian, thanks to all brothers for their support!)

  "Ah Sheng won't be using your psychic powers to ripen them, will he?" Lin Wan'er said in surprise.

  "Of course not, even Wan'er sister can think of such a thing, other cultivators probably everyone has, the method I said is not that simple!" Shi Sheng wouldn't be arrogant enough to think his IQ is much higher than anyone in this world, but compared to modern knowledge, Shi Sheng believed he should be unmatched.

  Like this, Shi Sheng brought his worries to eat with Lin Wan'er, and then let Lin Wan'er return to her room to rest. He himself was excited to close the doors and windows, holding the mud pot that cultivated the Golden Creation Flower to the bedside, and immediately sat down cross-legged, with an excited smile on his face.

  Shi Sheng hadn't actually planned on using brute force to ripen it, because that was something anyone could think of, and Shi Sheng wouldn't try it. However, he had thought of a brilliant method - fertilizer nutrients!

  After a moment of contemplation, Shi Sheng thought to himself: "There are roughly sixteen kinds of nutrients that plants need for growth. These can be divided into two main categories based on the amount needed by the plant: macronutrients and micronutrients."

  Macronutrients are divided into three categories. One category is carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which plants can directly obtain from the air and water. The second category includes calcium, magnesium and sulfur, also known as secondary macronutrients. Along with micronutrients such as boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc and chlorine, they can be directly absorbed from general soil.

  Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the main macronutrients that plants generally find difficult to obtain from the air and soil, so they are often produced artificially by chemical means as fertilizers.

  "If we can extract and condense these plant nutrients from nature, the effect will be absolutely better than chemical fertilizers. At least this is a product of nature and a key to plant growth. Once the experiment is successful, it will be the way to make a fortune in the future!"

  For a moment of silence, Shi Sheng closed his eyes and sensed the light points transformed from various elements between heaven and earth. With his mind force, he moved some light points slowly towards the Golden Creation Flower to condense them together.

  These ordinary people's eyes can't see the various elements that have been transformed into light points, slowly falling on the branches and leaves of the golden creation flower, being slowly absorbed by it, only Stone frowned.

  There are too many trace elements in the world, just like the various elements that condense into plasma flames, the various elements needed by plants, and countless other elements in this world, which are usually invisible to the naked eye.

  At one time, Shi Sheng's Nen was not strong enough to separate all the light points, and in the end, apart from the various nutrients needed by plants, there were also some other elemental light points that were absorbed by Jin Zuan Hua.

  Just as the stone was thinking of a countermeasure, it suddenly stopped moving with its mouth open and eyes wide. The golden flower that was originally green and dripping wet had turned yellow and wilted, its roots withered, petals fallen off, and was already dead beyond death.

  "This... is too damn frustrating!" Shi Sheng cursed, having not earned the 15 taels of silver and instead losing 5 taels. However, Shi Sheng was not discouraged. This experiment at least proved that his method was feasible. If it weren't for the Golden Creation Flower absorbing too many miscellaneous micro-elements, it would definitely be thriving now instead of withering.

  "Never mind, it seems that my current mental power is not enough to complete this thing. I'll refine the talisman first!" Shi Sheng said, taking out the ancient scroll from Wang Bo and studying it carefully until late at night when he felt a bit tired, Shi Sheng went to sleep.

  ……

  The second day, at noon!

  In front of the Mingzhu Inn in Gǔ Huái Village, a large crowd had gathered, mostly consisting of young people, divided into two rows. At the very front was a wooden table, and behind it sat a middle-aged man wearing a yellow robe, his expression solemn as he sat on a wooden chair.

  "No foundation, next one!"

  The man in yellow robes looked at the young man in front of him and said a sentence with no enthusiasm, then the young man walked away, another young man came nearby, and the man in yellow robes started to examine.

  The crowd finally had two figures, who were Shi Sheng and Bai Ming!

  "What's going on? Why did you bring me here? Is Wugu Mountain recruiting disciples again?" Shi Sheng had just gotten up early in the morning and had barely finished refining over a dozen high-grade talismans when Bai Ming called him out at noon. As soon as he saw the scene before his eyes, Shi Sheng immediately thought of the previous selection test.

  Bai Ming smiled: "Boss, it's true that we're recruiting disciples, but this time it's the Tian Xuan Gate, not Wu Gu Mountain. Most of the people who come here to take the test are those who failed the test at Wu Gu Mountain and want to try their luck again. Only a small portion of them didn't make it in time for the test at Wu Gu Mountain, so they joined this batch."

  "No wonder some familiar faces, but failed tests and still trying their luck, seems like there's little hope." Shi Sheng shrugged.

  "What's there to fear? Even if I fail, I won't lose anything. It's happened before, I failed the test in the previous sect but was chosen by the next one, maybe they just have different requirements?" Bai Ming smiled slightly.

  "Next!"

  On the other hand, the man in yellow robes was somewhat helpless, having checked several people in a row who were all unqualified.

  A young man in white robes beside him frowned: "Master Feng, it seems that everyone has been chosen by Wugu Mountain, we're a step too late."

  The middle-aged man in the yellow robe, called Master Feng, nodded slightly but then smiled: "Although we arrived a step late in Gǔ Huái Village, we have also selected some people in other villages. By the time Wūgǔ Mountain is over, there won't be anyone left to find, heh heh."

  "That's right, recently all the major sects have come out to recruit disciples, but it's unknown which one will be able to select a genius. The appearance of a single genius can make a whole sect prosperous." The white-robed youth smiled and said.

  At this time, Bai Ming walked up excitedly, and the middle-aged man in yellow robe looked at him and shook his head: "No foundation, next one!"

  Bai Ming felt somewhat disappointed, but not too disheartened, after all, it wasn't his first time. Finally, with a hopeful gaze, he looked at Shi Sheng who was preparing to take the test.

  "Hmm? There's actually one with some foundation, although the quality is a bit mixed, but it's not bad. Let's go in and test its wit!" The middle-aged man in yellow robes nodded, at least he didn't return empty-handed.

  After Shi Sheng nodded in gratitude, he arrived at the main hall of Mingzhu Inn. A familiar scene appeared before his eyes. On a green jade stone platform was placed a crystal ball. However, except for an old man wearing a red robe and having a thin build, there wasn't even one person who had passed the test inside the main hall.

  The old man in the red robe seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, without even looking at Shi Sheng. He sat cross-legged near the crystal ball and said: "Get on the stone platform, put your palm on the crystal ball, if you can feel any power entering your body, then feed back that power into the crystal ball, as much as you can feel, can you understand?"

  "Understood!" Shi Sheng nodded and walked up to the stone platform, placing his palm on the crystal ball. Immediately, he felt a pure stream of mental energy entering his body and wandering about indistinctly.

  Shi Sheng's mouth curled up, this time no one will secretly calculate me again, right? Immediately, his heart moved, and he fed back half of his spiritual power into the crystal ball. Shi Sheng didn't want to be too eye-catching, being able to enter was enough.

  Whoosh!

  At this moment, the crystal ball suddenly lit up with a dazzling white light, and slightly shook. The old man in red robes immediately opened his eyes with a flicker, two sharp lights shot out, and stared tightly at Shi Sheng.

  Shi Sheng felt a chill run down his spine, as if he was being locked in by an invisible force. Even moving his fingers seemed to require some effort. When he looked into the old man's eyes again, it seemed like he could see right through him, as if Shi Sheng had no secrets to hide in front of him. This made Shi Sheng break out in a cold sweat on his back, and his breathing became somewhat labored.

  A moment later, the old man in red robes flashed a look of astonishment in his eyes, seemingly somewhat puzzled, and nodded slightly. Shi Sheng felt that kind of invisible power disappear, and at the same time let out a long sigh of relief. He remembered that last time on Wugu Mountain, the person who went through the test selection didn't have this step locked down.

  "What's your name? Where are you from?" The old man in red robes asked calmly.

  "Junior Shi Sheng, a native of Guhuai Village!" Shi Sheng replied cautiously, feeling great pressure in front of the old man, who exuded an aura of cold intimidation even when he did nothing.

  "Is there anyone else at home who can vouch that you are a local?" The old man in the red robe seemed to ask casually.

  "Senior, I have an unmarried wife named Lin Wan'er who can testify for me. There's also our neighbor Wu Shu, and many people in the village know me."

  "Alright, you've been chosen. Go wait over there!" The red-robed elder said thoughtfully, and then gestured to the side of the hall with his hand, indicating for Shi Sheng to go wait there.

  However, just as Shisheng turned around and walked towards the corner, the red-robed old man flashed a hint of cold light in his eyes, revealing a faint killing intent, and looked at Shisheng with narrowed eyes.

  Shi Sheng seemed to have found nothing, but a hint of worry flashed in his eyes. Why didn't he say anything about his own insight points? Moreover, he felt that the old man was not being kind. (This chapter is over, and the next one will be even more exciting!)

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