The old Daoist circled Wang Yi twice, sizing him up from head to toe as he stroked his beard. "What is your name?"
"This student is Wang Yi." Wang Yi cupped his hands and replied.
"Are you willing to follow me into the Tai Hao Sword Sect and cultivate immortal arts?" the old Daoist asked.
At the same time, he reached toward a palm-sized cloth pouch at his waist. A small sword radiating brilliant light flew out from within. It was just over a foot long, but once it rose into the air, it expanded with the wind. In moments, it had grown to over a zhang long and several feet wide.
The old man pointed at a massive rock in the distance, and the giant sword shot toward it like a bolt of lightning.
Boom!
The boulder, as large as a small hill, instantly shattered into pieces.
The sword wheeled through the air once, then shrank back to just over a foot long and landed in the old man's hand.
Wang Yi's mind had been blasted into chaos by the information and spectacle before him. It was too sudden, too powerful. He was so shaken that he could not react at all. The old man seemed quite pleased by how stunned Wang Yi was. He was in no hurry, merely standing to one side and stroking his beard as he waited. Everyone else had fallen into a daze as well.
"An immortal! We'd only ever heard the legends before. Who would have thought we'd get the chance to see an immortal with our own eyes? We can brag about this for the rest of our lives!"
"If I can seize this chance and become an immortal's disciple, I'll become an immortal master myself someday."
"Why isn't that kid agreeing already? I'm getting anxious for him."
After a moment, Wang Yi finally came back to his senses. He turned to look at Wang Hong, then said to the immortal master, "May I ask if you can take my elder brother along as well?"
Following Wang Yi's gaze, the old Daoist found Wang Hong. Wang Hong was deeply conflicted. He hoped he too might enter an Immortal Sect, yet he feared that he would drag down his younger brother because of it.
The old Daoist shook his head. "This is your elder brother, then? His aptitude is too poor. He has a four-element spiritual root, and I have no authority to admit him into an Immortal Sect. Only Golden Core elders within the sect possess that authority. Unless you can persuade a Golden Core elder in the future, or you yourself cultivate to the Golden Core realm. Of course, with your single spiritual root aptitude, reaching Golden Core should not be much of a problem."
Still unwilling to give up, Wang Yi asked, "Is there truly no other way?"
Afraid that Wang Yi would continue entangling the immortal master over his affairs, angering him and causing him to leave in a huff, thus ruining Wang Yi's future, Wang Hong hurriedly said, "Little Brother, go with the immortal elder without worry. Don't fret over me. Once you have attained the immortal path, just come see me again."
The old Daoist glanced at Wang Hong. He did not mind much. So long as there was no conflict of interest, he was quite willing to befriend such a heavenly talent.
He said, "Other than that, there is the path of a Rogue Cultivator. But the road of a Rogue Cultivator is truly far too difficult." The old Daoist shook his head as he spoke, then told Wang Hong, "Once you grow stronger, you may travel on your own to Qingxu Mountain, west of Chu State. There is a Qingxu Immortal City within Qingxu Mountain. But that road is far too perilous for mortals."
The Wang brothers thanked the immortal master for his guidance. Wang Yi turned to Wang Hong and said, "Brother! Wait for me. Once I have achieved success in cultivation, I'll come back for you. I'll find a way for you to enter an Immortal Sect too."
The brothers stood to one side and spoke for a while, reluctant to part. Meanwhile, the old Daoist tested the spiritual roots of the remaining several dozen people, but no other outstanding spiritual roots appeared. Still, he was quite satisfied. As long as he brought Wang Yi back, he would receive a great many rewards.
By then, a vast crowd both on and below the platform had already fallen to their knees. Some begged to become disciples, some begged for Immortal Elixirs to cure illness and grant eternal life, some begged the immortal master to bless them with wealth and victory in every gamble, and one instructor even begged the immortal household to bless his wife with a son. And there were others begging for...
The old Daoist had no way to deal with them. His face turned slightly green. He was not from the demonic path, and he could not possibly start slaughtering people over such trivial matters.
He could only release the pressure of Foundation Establishment. The crowd was so frightened that they kowtowed like pounding garlic. Some even thought the immortal master was agreeing to their requests, and knocked their heads against the ground with loud thuds.
The old Daoist tossed the small sword into the air again. Once it grew to over a zhang long, he leaped onto the flying sword. Then he reached out, grabbed Wang Yi, and pulled him onto the sword as well. After that, he threw out two porcelain bottles, which landed in Wang Hong's and the old headmaster's hands.
"These are two pills that strengthen the body and improve one's health. They are gifts for you." With that, he turned into a streak of light and vanished beyond the horizon in an instant. The two hurriedly bowed in thanks. Wang Hong looked at the pill in his hand, feeling lost and desolate.
The hundred-plus people who had been brought onto the stage knew they might have missed their chance at the immortal path, and wails rose everywhere. Having just witnessed Immortal Arts, who would not yearn for them? And the opportunity had been so close at hand.
The news that an immortal had visited Qingyang Academy quickly spread to Qingyang City, throwing the entire city into an uproar. The next day, the county magistrate personally came to the academy to inquire about it. Once he learned that it was true and that the immortal had even bestowed Immortal Elixirs, he was filled with envy. The magistrate personally received Wang Hong, the immortal's elder brother, and presented him with fifty taels of silver.
The news sprouted wings and soon flew beyond Qingyang, reaching the provincial capital and several neighboring prefectures. By the time it had been embellished and processed by those spreading it, it had become badly distorted.
In the end, it became a tale of demons appearing at Qingyang Academy and drawing an immortal master there to subdue demons and vanquish evil. The immortal master was said to be as tall as a mountain, with eyes like bronze bells and a mouth large enough to swallow several oxen in one bite. He had three heads and six arms, with a pair of wings on his back. Only after battling the demon for three days did he finally destroy it.
Afterward, the immortal elder had selected more than ten academy students as his disciples and gifted the academy dozens of bottles of Immortal Elixirs. It was said that merely smelling these elixirs would keep all illnesses at bay, while eating one would grant a martial artist fifty additional years of cultivation overnight. The entire martial world erupted. Though the rumors were somewhat exaggerated, there was no smoke without a fire three feet high. Besides, there were always fools who believed rumors with unwavering conviction.
Since outsiders were not permitted to enter the academy at will, all sorts of people had been lingering at the valley entrance these past few days, fishing for news.
On the second day, Wang Hong swallowed the Immortal Elixir. As long as he kept it in his possession, people always found excuses to ask what it looked like. After looking at it, they wanted to smell it. Every one of them seemed to wish they could swallow Wang Hong along with it.
Fortunately, Wang Hong still bore the title of an immortal's elder brother, so for the time being, no one dared to rob him by force. No one was willing to bear an immortal's wrath.
In front of several people, Wang Hong popped the Immortal Elixir into his mouth in one gulp. His face immediately flushed red, and he staggered back to his room like a drunkard to sit in meditation and refine the medicinal power.
The moment the pill entered his stomach, Wang Hong felt it transform into a warm energy that flowed throughout his entire body. He felt as though he were soaking in hot water, warm from head to toe.
Wang Hong quickly sat in meditation and circulated his internal cultivation method, guiding the warm current within his body into his dantian. More and more Internal Energy accumulated there, and he felt his dantian gradually swell as though it were about to burst.
Suddenly, there was a bang inside his body. The airflow within his dantian seemed to have found an outlet. It descended from the dantian through the perineum, emerged from the Changqiang acupoint at the coccyx, then traveled up the spine through the Gate of Life. It paused only for an instant before bursting through Zhiyang and rushing straight to Fengfu behind his head. Wang Hong calmly guided the Internal Energy upward. After only a few breaths, with a buzz, the Internal Energy broke through Fengfu and entered the upper dantian within his head.
The Internal Energy did not linger long in the upper dantian. Wang Hong guided it downward through the Conception Vessel and back to the lower dantian. When Internal Energy completed one circuit along the Governing and Conception Vessels, it was called a Lesser Celestial Circuit. This also meant that Wang Hong had officially become a Houtian Stage martial artist.
Wang Hong had only begun cultivating internal energy a few days ago, yet a single pill had turned him into a Houtian Realm Martial Artist. Immortal Arts were indeed beyond compare. This one pill was worth at least five years of cultivation.
Wang Hong paced lightly around his room, feeling clear-eyed, sharp-eared, and utterly refreshed. He clenched his fist and felt power filling his entire body. When ordinary martial artists entered the Houtian Realm, their strength could reach six hundred jin.
Just as Wang Hong was thinking of finding somewhere to test his strength, a knock! Knock knock! sounded at the door.
When he opened it, a youth in academy robes stood outside. "Wang Hong, the headmaster wants to see you."
Wang Hong asked in some confusion, "Do you know what it's about?"
"I don't know either. You'll find out when you get there."
"Alright, thanks! I'll go right away."
Before you continue