Refining the Wood Demon Pearl

Although Chen Ganliu did not pay much attention to the examinations of these descendants of the Green Leaf Sect, as time passed, he still heard of several of the most outstanding geniuses.

One was Yue Xuanshu. She was eleven this year and had already reached Qi Refining Layer One. She had been chosen in advance by a True Person of Golden Core from the Sect Master's lineage. That True Person of Golden Core was the Sect Master's disciple-grandchild and had taken many disciples. Yue Xuanshu had been designated as her sixteenth disciple, making her a fifth-generation disciple of the Green Leaf Sect. Her seniority was not low, either.

Another was Cui Yuan. She was twelve this year and had also reached Qi Refining Layer One. She was exceptionally talented in talisman arts and had been chosen by a fourth-generation disciple of the lineage of Heavenly Moon Fairy Qi Qingyao.

There were another three or five people who had yet to achieve Qi Refining, but whose attainments in talisman arts were also outstanding. They had all been claimed by fourth- or fifth-generation disciples of the Green Leaf Sect.

Although these geniuses shone with blazing brilliance, the person truly watched by everyone was Chen Ganliu, who had not taken the examination.

He had been chosen in advance by Yun Susu of Dragon Cloud Cave and had become a third-generation disciple of the sect. He did not even need to take the grand examination, and had instead transformed into an examiner. No one knew how many people were dissatisfied with him.

Chen Ganliu knew perfectly well that he was not that kind of genius. His breakthrough to the Second Layer of Qi Condensation was entirely due to the legacy of his previous life, the Immortal Encounter Sect's direct-transmission Dao Art, several decades of Qi Refining experience, and his senior sister's patient guidance.

The reason Yue Xuanshu, Cui Yuan, and the others were temporarily inferior to him was that they had only received guidance from their elders, without instruction from a true master.

Their elders had all failed to make progress in cultivation and had been forced to descend the mountain and establish branches of their families. Some had even been mediocre talents who failed the discipleship examination. Their guidance was naturally riddled with errors, which also slowed the two girls' cultivation.

Once the two of them gained the guidance of famous masters in the future, and with the Green Leaf Sect's residence brimming with spiritual energy, they would inevitably advance by leaps and bounds.

Chen Ganliu was deeply worried. If his master finished healing and emerged from seclusion to inspect him, only to discover that her newly accepted disciple was a good-for-nothing with merely half a Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein, would she drive him down the mountain?

Even if he were driven down the mountain, he would not lose much. The Green Leaf Sect would not reclaim the introductory cultivation arts it had taught him. Still, it would ultimately be inferior to staying in the Green Leaf Sect, where the mountains were spiritually vibrant and the waters beautiful, making cultivation far more convenient.

For that reason, the urgency in Chen Ganliu's heart was actually even more severe than when he had just been reborn. He worked twice as hard every day. Aside from refining the Wood Demon Pearl, he practiced the Green Leaf Spirit Talisman. Not long after mastering the Scent Sniffing Talisman, he also completed the Anshen, Wood Aspect, and Essence Generation Green Leaf Spirit Talismans.

The only regret was that, apart from his nasal aperture, none of his other apertures had opened. He could not nurture talismans within his apertures or generate true qi.

Chen Ganliu was meditating and refining qi when he heard a bell ring. Knowing that it was time to eat, he stopped cultivating. The Green Leaf Sect delivered food and drinking water once a day.

A short while later, someone brought in a meal box. Inside was a jar of rice, four dishes—two meat and two vegetable—and a bottle of clear water. Since cultivators generally had large appetites, every dish was served in a generous portion.

As an examiner, his meal was somewhat more sumptuous than those of the students taking the entrance examination.

Chen Ganliu had long been hungry. He picked up his chopsticks and began eating. Once he was full, it was time for his patrol, so he took the opportunity to walk off the food.

He made several rounds through Myriad Talisman Tower. When he encountered other examiners, they exchanged greetings before passing each other by.

When he patrolled to the door of a youth named Li Sizhong, he heard many people talking inside.

The Green Leaf Sect's grand examination did not forbid people from calling their friends over. Everyone was young, and they had already become familiar with one another while waiting for the examination. They often visited each other's rooms to chat.

Chen Ganliu had no desire to meddle. He was just about to quietly pass by when he heard someone mention his name inside.

"That Nan Sixing merely has good connections. What ability does he have that he can become a third-generation ancestor?"

Someone said, "Li Sizhong, you're just jealous. He has already reached the Second Layer of Qi Condensation and completed Boiling Liquid into Qi!"

The person who had spoken earlier gave a scornful laugh. "He was recommended by Young Ancestor Yang, so he must belong to the Jinyun Mountain lineage. For all we know, he might even be Yang Shiyilang's illegitimate child. He probably ate who knows how much of the essence-blood of living people from a young age, relying on external forces to reach such a cultivation level."

"Once everyone becomes disciples, we absolutely won't let him run wild in the Green Leaf Sect. If he harms lives and takes lives, our cultivation will certainly catch up to him one after another."

Chen Ganliu thought, How did I become someone who ate the essence-blood of living people and relied on external forces to cultivate?

These people are spouting utter nonsense and ruining my reputation.

He did not argue with them. After finishing his patrol, he returned to his room and looked over the students' records, a trace of surprise crossing his face.

Yue Xuanshu and Cui Yuan had both come from outside the mountain to seek a master, whereas Li Sizhong had grown up on the mountain itself. His parents were both cultivators above the fifth layer of Qi Refining. At such a cultivation level, they would not be sent down the mountain, and they could raise their children on the mountain before they came of age.

Chen Ganliu secretly thought, No wonder this fellow speaks so arrogantly. He actually has such a foundation.

He grew up on Green Leaf Mountain, where the cultivation environment is a hundred times better than outside. His parents are also highly cultivated and can guide him. Yet he still hasn't reached Qi Refining Layer One. He must be a pure-blooded good-for-nothing.

Although Chen Ganliu had no intention of doing anything—after all, Li Sizhong had merely made a few strange remarks—the urgency in his heart deepened further. He secretly circulated the Heavenly Demon Vein Shifting Method and continued refining the Wood Demon Pearl.

This time, however, things were different. Chen Ganliu had not meditated for long when he heard a faint crack. A mass of azure spiritual energy surged into his body and split into twelve or thirteen threads of demonic energy, each seeking out a corner to coil up in.

Each thread of demonic energy wrapped around one of the original owner's spiritual veins.

Chen Ganliu was slightly startled. Why does this Wood Demon Pearl contain such abundant spiritual energy? And why is it not so heavy with turbid corruption? He was immediately overjoyed and exclaimed inwardly, As expected, the spiritual energy on Green Leaf Mountain is abundant, making cultivation twice as effective. I never thought I would refine this Wood Demon Pearl so much earlier than expected. Then he grew dejected again. Even a demon has more than a dozen spiritual veins. Why was I born with only half a Severed Vein?

When Bai Yunniang had sold this Wood Demon Pearl, she had asked for only five Low-grade Spirit Stones. She had actually lowered the price out of consideration for Yang Xuesheng and had not demanded more.

She had even thought that if this boy proved difficult and tried to haggle, she simply would not sell it.

At the time, Chen Ganliu had been intimidated by her. He had not dared say a word and had directly taken out the spirit stones to buy it, unwittingly gaining a tremendous bargain.

Only after refining the Wood Demon Pearl did Chen Ganliu realize that its quality was extraordinary.

The original owner had likely cultivated for at least seven or eight hundred years. Its innate quality was also extraordinary; it might even have been a rootling of some ancient divine tree.

Although Chen Ganliu was delighted, he knew that the true harvest had yet to arrive. Taking the demon core into his body was merely the first step. The second step was to refine the threads of demonic energy, remove their heavy turbid corruption, and transform them into threads of spiritual energy. But the final step—tempering those threads of spiritual energy into spiritual veins—was the most crucial.

Although this Wood Demon Pearl contained very little heavy turbid corruption, he still had to cleanse away the impurities first, leaving behind only the purest spiritual energy.

He hurriedly switched to the Azure Emperor Jia Yi Art, selected a "thread of demonic energy" coiled around his chest, and circulated the technique to purge the turbid energy unnecessary to human cultivation.

The Wood Demon Pearl shattered. With nothing left to restrain it, the demonic energy burst forth, and nearly everyone sensed it.

After all, whether they were the young disciples serving as examiners or the students taking the examination, they possessed at least some cultivation. Their senses were extraordinarily sharp when it came to demonic energy.

Those young people who had heard Li Sizhong's remarks immediately believed the "rumor."