The Iron Tail Scorpion crawled out of the Spirit Control Pool. Shen Long took out the Spirit Beast Egg and placed it into the pool.
He did not know where this Spirit Beast Egg had come from, so he could only try them one by one. In any case, it definitely was not a Spirit Insect.
When he poured mana into the pattern of a Strange Beast, the pattern's eyes lit up, and the mana within Shen Long's body surged uncontrollably toward it.
The Spirit Control Pool immediately flared with dazzling blue light. Amid a resounding beast roar, Shen Long withdrew his palm, his face slightly pale.
He looked up and saw that this Strange Beast pattern had a goat's head, wolf's hooves, scales covering its body, and a pair of horns on its head.
He walked to the side of the Spirit Control Pool and saw a red Strange Beast. Rather than a Spirit Beast, it looked more like a massive boulder pieced together from many red rocks. If not for its pair of red eyes, it would have been hard for him to believe it was a Spirit Beast.
"Fire Rock Beast!"
Shen Long recognized the creature's origins.
Travels of Master Azure Cloud had recorded this type of Spirit Beast. Fire Rock Beasts usually lived within volcanoes, were skilled in fire-element spells, and had thick hides and sturdy flesh.
The Fire Rock Beast saw Shen Long and immediately opened its mouth, spitting out a Crimson Flame as thick as a baby's arm that shot straight at him.
With a thought from Shen Long, a Blue Water Screen appeared close against his body, protecting him completely.
The Crimson Flame struck the Blue Water Screen, immediately raising a plume of blue smoke.
The Iron Tail Scorpion charged over, about to attack the Fire Rock Beast, but Shen Long stopped it.
The Fire Rock Beast had just hatched and was rather weak. After spewing several bursts of blazing fire, it stopped attacking.
Shen Long placed a restriction on the Fire Rock Beast on the spot. It did not resist much.
Shen Long fed the Fire Rock Beast some food, put the Iron Tail Scorpion back into the Spirit Beast Bag, and left the Spirit Control Tower.
He put away the Spirit Control Tower, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began cultivating.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Shen Long never stepped out of his room. Seeming to sense something, he hurriedly stopped cultivating, took out a Communication Disk flashing with blue light, and cast a spell into it. Ye Yutang's voice rang out. "Junior Brother Shen, we're preparing to follow Grandmaster Lin back to the General Headquarters. Gather at the Martial Arts Arena. Hurry over!"
"Understood, Senior Sister Ye."
Shen Long agreed, put away the Communication Disk, and rose to leave.
He arrived at the Martial Arts Arena and saw quite a few Qi Refining Cultivators. The Mystic Yang Sect cultivators were the most numerous. He walked over to Ye Yuqing and Ye Yutang, chatting idly with them.
This time, the Spirit Control Sect had accepted more than eighty disciples at the Immortal Ascension Assembly. Most came from cultivation lineages, while Rogue Cultivators made up only a small portion.
There were not many Rogue Cultivators who could reach the Qi Refining Eighth Layer before the age of forty, and even fewer Qi Refining Cultivators who could pass the assessment.
The Mystic Yang Sect had accepted more than a hundred and fifty disciples, most of them Rogue Cultivators. The name of Qin Kingdom's foremost faction still held great appeal.
A quarter hour later, True Man Ganyang, Fairy Hanyue, Master Azure Python, Master Jinxia, and True Man Ziyang arrived.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, Fairy Xu, Fellow Daoist Jin, Fellow Daoist Yang, this old man will be taking his leave first."
True Man Ganyang offered a greeting and brought out a flying boat gleaming with golden light. The Golden Flying Boat was over a hundred zhang long, with a golden sun pattern carved onto its hull, hovering two feet above the ground.
"A flying Dharma Treasure."
The Qi Refining Cultivators present stirred in commotion. Most of them had never seen a flying Dharma Treasure before.
True Man Ganyang stepped aboard, followed closely by the Mystic Yang Sect disciples.
"Go!"
At True Man Ganyang's command, the Golden Flying Boat lit up with blinding golden light and flew toward the sky, soon vanishing from sight.
Master Azure Python patted a Cyan Spirit Beast Bag at his waist. A streak of cyan light flew out and landed on the ground, revealing an Azure Python over thirty zhang long. Its fangs protruded from its mouth, its eyes were also cyan, and cyan scales covered its entire body.
"All of you, get on!"
Master Azure Python ordered as he leaped onto the Azure Python's head.
Liu Ye formed a hand seal, and a white cloud billowed beneath his feet, carrying the many Spirit Control Sect disciples into the air before settling them onto the Azure Python's back.
Whether Spirit Beasts or Spirit Insects, once they advanced to Third Rank, they could fly through the air. Only their speeds differed.
The Azure Python let out a strange hiss, rose into the air, and flew toward the heavens.
True Man Ziyang and the other two each took their newly accepted disciples and departed Yunmeng Mountain.
Thus ended this Immortal Ascension Assembly. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the sect would not open its gates widely again until twenty years later.
The Thousand Spirit Mountain Range lay in the southwestern part of Qin Kingdom. Its mountains vied in splendor, ancient trees towered into the sky, strange rocks rose in jagged ranks, and spiritual energy abounded. This was the Spirit Control Sect's General Headquarters, patrolled year-round by Spirit Control Sect disciples under strict guard.
A streak of cyan light appeared on the distant horizon. With a flicker, it stopped above the Thousand Spirit Mountain Range. As the Escape Light faded, it revealed a massive Azure Python, with Shen Long and the others standing on its back.
"So this is the Spirit Control Sect's General Headquarters!"
Shen Long's face was filled with curiosity.
He could clearly sense that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was twice as dense as outside. This was only the outskirts; once they entered the Spirit Control Sect's mountain gate, the spiritual energy would surely be even more abundant.
The Azure Python flew deeper into the Thousand Spirit Mountain Range at considerable speed.
Before long, the Azure Python stopped above a Cyan Bamboo Forest. Below lay peaks of varying heights, but not a single person or building could be seen.
"We've reached the General Headquarters? Why can't we see any buildings?"
A new disciple asked curiously.
On the way here, Huang Hua and the other senior disciples had briefly introduced the Spirit Control Sect's General Headquarters to the new disciples, describing it as something out of an immortal realm. Yet what lay before them did not resemble an immortal realm at all!
"We are only outside the Sect Protection Array, so naturally we cannot see the General Headquarters' true appearance."
Huang Hua explained.
Master Azure Python took out a square cyan token, its front engraved with patterns of birds, beasts, fish, and insects.
The token glowed with cyan light, and the birds, beasts, fish, and insects seemed to come alive. A streak of cyan light shot from the token and vanished into a patch of empty air. Ripples spread through the void, and a pale cyan light screen emerged, covering nearly half of the Thousand Spirit Mountain Range.
Within the Cyan Light Screen, emerald mountains rose and fell, streams and ravines wound and rushed, heavenly pools and lakes lay scattered like stars, towering ancient trees flourished in lush profusion, and strange birds and beasts could be seen everywhere.
Deer with long lifespans and Spirit Foxes roamed the forest, Spirit Birds and black cranes perched in the trees, and spiritual bees and butterflies fluttered among seas of flowers.
Amid the encircling colored clouds, pavilions and towers could faintly be seen. Within stood majestic halls, resplendent in gold and jade, with soaring pavilions and lofty buildings—some hanging alone from high mountain cliffs, some built amid valleys and gullies, and others standing in the middle of lakes. It was truly a scene befitting an immortal realm.
Shen Long and the other new disciples had never seen such a sight. For a moment, they were utterly transfixed.
The Azure Python descended onto a vast Bluestone Square. Not far away stood a golden palace more than thirty zhang high, with upturned eaves, interlocking brackets, carved beams, and painted rafters. Upon its plaque, the three large golden characters "Founder's Hall" danced like dragons and flew like phoenixes.
A burly gold-robed man emerged from the Founder's Hall. His features were upright, his skin fair, and he wore a golden-yellow robe embroidered with pythons. His eyes shone brightly, and he gave off an imposing pressure. At a glance, he was clearly someone long accustomed to a position of authority.
A group of cultivators followed behind him, their expressions respectful.
Shen Long and the others landed on the ground one after another, following Master Azure Python toward the Founder's Hall.
"Senior Brother Sect Master, I have returned. This time, we recruited eighty-seven disciples. Here are the roster of the new disciples and their details."
Master Azure Python took out a blue booklet and handed it to the gold-robed man.
I revised the previous two chapters. For now, the Spirit Control Token will not be sold.
Before you continue