Jiang Tian's heart stirred slightly, and he followed Mu Sining up the steps.
According to Mu Sining, anyone who had reached Transformation Energy, was the right age, and met the talent requirements could enter the inner sect directly if an inner-sect disciple introduced them.
But Jiang Tian naturally couldn't leave Yuan Manzhi alone in the outer sect.
Mu Sining didn't hesitate at all when he made the request. She agreed at once.
However, joining the inner sect still required a test with a magic treasure.
Before long, the group arrived at the inner sect.
Unlike the outer sect, the inner sect seemed much quieter. Few people came and went, and almost everyone was hurrying along.
Most of them had purple entries above their heads: two purples, one red, one red and one purple. There were all sorts of combinations.
Jiang Tian's eyes lit up, and he extracted them one by one.
With a thought, he summoned the panel.
[Entry Points: 47823]
He was still more than forty thousand points short of upgrading one of his entries to gold.
Once he officially joined the inner sect, it looked like he'd have to wander around there a few more times.
As Mu Sining walked ahead, she said, "In the Heavenly Fire Sect, you can only use contribution points to buy Qi Gathering Methods, magic treasures, pills, and True Qi. Mortal silver is useless here."
"You can earn contribution points by completing tasks issued by the sect. The harder the task, the more points you'll receive upon completion."
She paused, then glanced back at Jiang Tian. "You can exchange silver for contribution points, though. The rate is two to one. Ten thousand taels of silver will get you five thousand contribution points."
Jiang Tian's eyes flickered.
He had seventy thousand taels' worth of silver notes on him. There was no point keeping so much, so he might as well exchange it for contribution points.
As they spoke, the group arrived in front of a great hall.
A plaque hung above the crossbeam, bearing three large characters: Reception Hall.
"This is the Reception Hall." Mu Sining stopped and turned to Jiang Tian. "Whether you're entering the inner sect from the outer sect or joining the inner sect directly, you need to have your talent tested here."
The hall was rather quiet.
At a glance, the only person there was a thin old man by the entrance, reclining in a chair with his eyes half closed as he basked in the sun.
He wore a plain black robe with no adornments. Not the slightest hint of aura emanated from him. He looked like an ordinary old man from the neighborhood, dozing in the afternoon.
But there was no entry above his head.
He was above the Qi Gathering Realm.
"Senior Sister Mu," Jiang Tian asked quietly, "what realm comes after the Qi Gathering Realm?"
"Gathering True Qi, building an Immortal Foundation, establishing a Purple Mansion, and condensing a Golden Core."
"Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core?"
"Mm." Mu Sining nodded slightly. "After Foundation Establishment, one can be called an 'immortal' and live for five hundred years. Those with a Purple Mansion are 'True Persons' and live for eight hundred years. Those with a Golden Core are 'True Lords' and live for two thousand years."
"Those with a Purple Mansion can take a two-character honorific title, while True Lords take four-character titles."
Jiang Tian pressed his lips together, his eyes shining.
Just as he'd suspected.
The group walked up to the old man. Mu Sining bowed and clasped her hands in greeting, her voice respectful. "True Person Qingchen, we have a new disciple joining the sect. Please activate the magic treasure."
The old man breathed slowly, his chest rising and falling slightly, as if he were still asleep.
Mu Sining held her pose without moving.
After quite a while, the old man finally opened his eyes. He sat up, stretched, and yawned. First he looked at Mu Sining, then his gaze swept over Jiang Tian, and finally settled on Yuan Manzhi. After pausing for two seconds, he stood and said hoarsely, "Follow me."
The group followed him into the hall. Twelve thick stone pillars stood at the very front, each as broad as a thigh and gray all over.
True Person Qingchen walked up to the pillars and made a hand seal. In an instant, the pillar lit up from bottom to top, glowing a faint milky white.
True Person Qingchen spoke. "Mu girl, this young lady you brought here has only reached Manifest Energy. Why didn't you let her join the outer sect? What did you bring her to the inner sect for?"
Mu Sining lowered her head and clasped her hands, her posture deferential. "Please forgive me, True Person. The two of them are a couple, and, as you can see, this young woman has a Mystic Ice Body. Leaving her alone in the outer sect..."
She didn't finish, but her meaning was clear.
"Enough." True Person Qingchen waved his hand. "But you know the rules. If she can't achieve Qi Gathering within three months, she'll have to leave the sect on her own."
Though he was speaking to Mu Sining, it sounded more like he was saying it for Jiang Tian and Yuan Manzhi to hear.
Yuan Manzhi's face paled. Her red lips pressed together, and her eyes flickered as if she were making some kind of decision.
"All right, let's test her." True Person Qingchen beckoned, motioning for Yuan Manzhi to step among the pillars.
Yuan Manzhi took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Once she stood in place, True Person Qingchen made a hand seal, and an invisible wave instantly spread from him.
The faint golden light of one stone pillar came on.
Then a second.
A third.
The fourth lit only halfway, then stopped.
At some point, a jade token had appeared in True Person Qingchen's hand. He tossed it to Yuan Manzhi and said indifferently, "Three and a half pillars. That's three thousand five hundred contribution points. But since you haven't reached Transformation Energy, half will be deducted."
Yuan Manzhi nodded, gripped the jade token tightly, and stepped out from among the pillars.
It was Jiang Tian's turn.
He stepped inside.
This thing seemed to be used to test talent, but he had a feeling it did more than that.
True Person Qingchen made a hand seal.
The pillars lit up.
Jiang Tian's body suddenly sank, as if someone had pushed him off a cliff.
His eyes closed of their own accord. When he opened them again, everything around him was pitch-black. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face, and all his senses had ceased to function. It was as if he'd been cast into an endless void.
"Bzzz—"
Suddenly, a pair of golden eyes appeared before him.
Vast beyond measure.
Like two golden suns hanging over his head, looking down at him from on high.
The eyes had no pupils or whites, only pure gold.
Their gaze slowly settled on Jiang Tian.
Under that gaze, Jiang Tian felt as if he'd been stripped bare, every part of him seen through—his bones, meridians, dantian... Even his memories seemed on the verge of being exposed!
At that moment, a strange fluctuation emanated from him.
The panel appeared out of thin air. It shuddered all over, its image twisting and flickering as if it had short-circuited, blocking the golden eyes' gaze.
A humanlike emotion appeared in those golden eyes.
Confusion.
Jiang Tian braced himself for the worst, his heart in his throat.
Just as he was at a loss, the golden eyes closed again.
The darkness dissipated.
Jiang Tian opened his eyes and found himself still standing among the stone pillars.
Cold sweat had soaked through his back, and his wet clothes clung to his body.
The Heavenly Fire Sect.
Heavenly Fire Peak towered into the clouds, its entire upper half rising above a sea of clouds.
At its summit stood a palace built of golden bricks and jade tiles.
In the very center of the palace, a young-looking man in white sat cross-legged on a cushion.
A red-and-blue mark, resembling flowing fire and a drop of water, sat between his brows.
"Hmm?"
He opened his eyes, his gaze piercing the clouds as he looked toward the foot of the mountain.
"Someone with a junior avatar whose origins even I can't discern?"
He gave a soft laugh, as if he'd come across something interesting.
Then he began forming hand seals, invisible ripples spreading from his fingertips.
As he continued, the composure and serenity on his face vanished, replaced by utter solemnity.
His fingers stopped moving.
"Is this a variable in the approaching Hundred Thousand Year Calamity...?"
Before you continue