Lost

Just as Li Qingfeng had expected, the testing lasted four days.

In the end, five people were selected.

They varied in age, the oldest twenty and the youngest nine.

Liu Chuang was among the older ones.

He had also heard that another three people had been deemed unqualified. Including Meng Zhen, that made four in total.

As for who he had heard it from, naturally, it was the last two members of their group of five.

Once the testing ended, the remaining two invited Li Qingfeng to gather again at Music Bureau Tower.

"What a pity you didn't go, Qingfeng. It was truly lively."

"Livelier than passing the imperial examinations."

"All the myriad faces of human life were there—everything you could imagine." Yang Lingu sighed.

Those days at the Training Ground had truly displayed all the myriad faces of human life: some wept with joy, some fainted outright from excitement, some wailed bitterly, some cried until tears and snot streamed down their faces, some cursed the blind heavens, some begged desperately, and some wandered about as though their souls had left them...

There had been everything.

One test examined spirit roots and immortal affinity, yet it was also a portrait of the countless different lives under heaven.

Some changed their fate; some accepted it.

Some refused to believe in fate.

Most, however, had not held much hope to begin with and had not been among the unqualified, so life continued as usual, untouched by it all.

What surprised Li Qingfeng was that Meng Zhen had not come.

He had assumed Meng Zhen was still reeling from the blow of possessing a spirit root yet being unable to cultivate.

The more Li Qingfeng thought about it, the luckier he felt. He too had a Five Spirit Root, and he knew exactly what the immortal masters meant by a False Spirit Root.

A False Spirit Root was beset by hurdles at every step. Without a great opportunity to defy heaven and alter one's fate, one could forget about reaching the later stages of Qi Refining in this lifetime.

If he had not encountered an immortal's corpse, obtained a cultivation technique, and acquired the Soul Banner artifact, he truly would not have seen any hope.

Though Meng Zhen had not come, Li Qingfeng still asked, "Where is Brother Meng?"

He had a cultivation technique in his hands. Whether righteous or demonic, at least Meng Zhen could cultivate with it.

"Meng Zhen has been acting mysteriously lately. I heard him say that the Prefectural Governor's Mansion recruited those with immortal affinity whom the immortal masters had rejected. I don't know what they're doing."

Life had to go on, but with Liu Chuang and Meng Zhen absent, they could no longer hold their literary gatherings.

Usually, Liu Chuang was the one who threaded the needle, making arrangements and organizing everyone.

They had never thought much of it before, but now that he had suddenly gone seeking immortality, they realized they had grown somewhat distant from their other friends.

Without someone in the middle serving as a link, naturally they had far less contact.

Li Qingfeng did not dwell on it. Sometimes, even people who had known each other for a long time could not help but feel estranged, as though they had simply never been naturally suited to familiarity.

When everyone was together, they did not notice it at all. But once that crucial person left, the flaw was laid bare.

Just as well. No one would disturb his pursuit of immortality and the Dao.

If his aptitude was poor, he would simply work harder.

There was no passage of time within the banner.

Without the changing sun and moon, it was no different from prison.

Fortunately, Tu Shan Jun could still practice his boxing every day.

He could also review the knowledge from before his transmigration, recite the Dao De Jing, and chant the Heart Sutra.

Those were the only two he knew.

He had memorized the Dao De Jing to show off, and the Heart Sutra had been for showing off as well.

He had never expected that one day he would come to a world of immortal cultivation. Had he known, he would have memorized more.

Tu Shan Jun found it quite regrettable that he had not properly studied the Daoist scriptures of his former world.

Entering dreams to teach Li Qingfeng counted as one of his few pleasures.

Another two months passed.

Li Qingfeng's cultivation remained at the Qi Refining First Layer.

Only his spiritual power had increased.

His martial arts had grown more refined, and with his sparring against ghosts in dreams, his combat techniques were no longer what they had once been.

Tu Shan Jun required him not to slacken in reality either.

Awake by day, training by night, he drilled his combat techniques until they became muscle memory.

Li Qingfeng gripped the Soul Banner tightly and poured spiritual power into it.

As though looking inward, he saw the scene within the Soul Banner.

Gray mist filled the place, heaven and earth indistinguishable. Only malevolent ghosts could be seen gathered together, like the gate to hell.

The yin souls and ghostly creatures did not look especially fierce, though several among them were comparatively powerful.

The white-faced ghost he sparred with was one of them.

The Main Soul evil ghost sat cross-legged at the center of the ghostly horde.

As spiritual power flowed in, Tu Shan Jun felt that he could move.

He emerged from the Soul Banner and entered the real world.

It was an antique study, the shelves behind them packed with books, both old and new.

Li Qingfeng's face visibly paled. This was an outward sign that his spiritual power was running dry.

Before Tu Shan Jun could inspect his surroundings carefully, his body dispersed into black smoke and returned to the Soul Banner.

"Five breaths."

Li Qingfeng smiled. His spiritual power had grown by a full twofold, yet that was all it took to release the Main Soul from the Soul Banner.

From the initial two breaths to the current five breaths.

There were ten strands of spiritual power in his dantian, each as thick as a hair.

The Qi Refining Second Layer remained a distant prospect.

One strand of spiritual power was the Qi Refining First Layer; ten strands of spiritual power were still the Qi Refining First Layer.

Another two months passed.

Yang Lingu, whom he had not seen for a long time, came looking for him.

He was in a great hurry.

After sitting down, Yang Lingu merely frowned without speaking.

"Brother Yang?"

Li Qingfeng called out to rouse Yang Lingu from his daze.

"Wubao, Brother Yang's tea has gone cold."

Wubao swiftly replaced the tea on the table with hot tea.

Yang Lingu hurriedly apologized. "Brother Qingfeng, please forgive me. It is truly that I do not know... how to begin."

"You are being too formal, Brother Yang. Speak freely."

"Meng Zhen."

"He may already be dead."

His words would not rest until they had shocked the world.

As the words fell, a sharp gleam flashed through Li Qingfeng's eyes.

"Brother Yang, this joke is not funny in the slightest." Li Qingfeng's expression turned solemn. Even if they had grown somewhat distant, Meng Zhen was still a good friend.

A joke like that was terrifying.

Yang Lingu said sorrowfully, "I have absolutely no intention of making sport of you, Brother Qingfeng."

As he spoke, he took a messenger pigeon from his robes. It had white feathers and a red beak. He opened the small message tube strapped to its leg, but it was utterly empty.

"Meng Zhen and I are intimate friends. We spoke of nearly everything."

"Three months ago, Meng Zhen told me that the Prefect had provided them with an Immortal Cultivation Technique. He had also successfully developed Qi Sense and become a Qi Refiner."

"This month, our contact grew less and less frequent. The last time was seven days ago."

"He came to find me in haste and told me there was a problem with the cultivation technique."

"The Prefect had people strictly watching them and would not allow them to leave the Prefectural Governor's Mansion."

"He told me that if the messenger pigeon flew back again without any message at all, then he had most likely already met with harm."

By the time Yang Lingu finished, Li Qingfeng's face had become incomparably grave.

There is a huge problem with the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.

Listening to Yang Lingu's account, the same thought flashed through Tu Shan Jun's mind.

The very fact that they had recruited people with spirit roots who had been rejected as unqualified showed that the Prefectural Governor's Mansion was surely plotting something.

Now that Meng Zhen had vanished, the Prefectural Governor's Mansion was highly suspect.

"Now, I have no way to do anything." Yang Lingu let out a long sigh.

A month ago, Liu Chuang had hosted one last feast for the three of them, but Meng Zhen had not attended.

Liu Chuang had already left with the immortal masters. Among them, Liu Chuang's family had possessed some influence.

Now that Liu Chuang had departed from the group, naturally he could no longer look after anything here.

Yang Lingu had sought out the last member of their group of five, but that person did not think it serious. He even told Yang Lingu to wait a little longer, saying Meng Zhen might simply have entered seclusion.

Yang Lingu did not dare bring this news to Meng Zhen's family either. If he truly went spreading it, would the Meng family not throw him out?

In the end, with no road left to take, he thought of Li Qingfeng.

Although Yang Lingu did not think Li Qingfeng could solve the matter either, he needed more people to know about it.

If only he knew, then should anything unexpected happen to him, the news would be cut off.

Not to mention that bearing such immense psychological pressure alone made every step feel as though he were treading on thin ice.

Thus, Yang Lingu urgently needed someone to discuss countermeasures with him.

He also needed to confirm Meng Zhen's situation as quickly as possible.

"Brother Qingfeng, I truly have nowhere else to turn. Your family runs many shops, so you should be able to make contact with the Prefect's advisor." Yang Lingu looked at Li Qingfeng hopefully.

Just then, Li Qingfeng's gaze swept over him as well.

Yang Lingu had long since lost his usual high spirits.

Beyond his haggard appearance, his brow was filled with deep worry.

"I'll find someone to ask for you."

Though he held little hope, Yang Lingu still thanked him earnestly.

Li Qingfeng clenched the Soul Banner in his hand and watched Yang Lingu's departing back.

Another two months had passed, and he had accumulated another ten strands of spiritual power—enough for the Main Soul evil ghost to appear for ten breaths.

It was also enough to use the Soul Banner's Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts once.

Ordinary people were absolutely no match for him.

Even those so-called first-class or Innate experts of the martial world would be unable to withstand the slaughter of the Main Soul evil ghost.

Tu Shan Jun's expression remained unchanged.

It seemed Li Qingfeng had already made up his mind to visit the Prefectural Governor's Mansion and take a look.

He had nothing to say about it.

Could he tell Li Qingfeng not to keep investigating, not to care whether his friend lived or died?

Tu Shan Jun could not do that.

Some matters had to be faced, even if one was still weak.