Finally Entering the Gate

The Iron Tail Scorpion crawled out of the Spirit Control Pool, and Shen Long took out the spirit beast egg, placing it into the pool.

He did not know the origin of this spirit beast egg, so he could only test them one by one; in any case, it was certainly not a spirit insect.

When he injected his mana into one of the strange beast patterns, the eyes of the pattern lit up, and the mana within Shen Long's body surged uncontrollably toward it.

The Spirit Control Pool suddenly shone with a dazzling blue light, accompanied by a loud roar of a beast. Shen Long withdrew his palm, his face looking slightly pale.

He looked up and saw that this strange beast pattern had a sheep's head, wolf's hooves, scales covering its body, and a pair of sharp horns on its head.

He walked to the side of the Spirit Control Pool and saw a red creature. Rather than calling it a spirit beast, it would be more accurate to describe it as a giant rock pieced together from many red stones; if not for a pair of red eyes, it would be hard for him to consider it a spirit beast.

"Fire Rock Beast!"

Shen Long recognized the origin of this beast.

The Travels of Master Azure Cloud recorded this type of spirit beast. Fire Rock Beasts usually lived in volcanoes, were proficient in fire-type spells, and had thick skin and flesh.

Upon seeing Shen Long, the Fire Rock Beast immediately opened its mouth and spat out a stream of crimson flame as thick as an infant's arm, heading straight for him.

With a thought, Shen Long manifested a Blue Water Screen that clung to his body, protecting him entirely.

The crimson flame struck the Blue Water Screen, and a burst of blue smoke immediately rose up.

The Iron Tail Scorpion rushed over, intending to attack the Fire Rock Beast, but was stopped by Shen Long.

The Fire Rock Beast had just hatched and was relatively weak; after spitting out a few flames, it stopped its attack.

Shen Long planted a restriction on the Fire Rock Beast on the spot, and it did not put up much resistance.

Shen Long fed the Fire Rock Beast a little food, recalled the Iron Tail Scorpion into his Spirit Beast Bag, and exited the Spirit Control Tower.

He put away the Spirit Control Tower, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began to practice his cultivation.

Five days passed quickly. Shen Long had not stepped out of his room once. Sensing something, he hurriedly finished his cultivation and took out a glowing blue Communication Disk. After casting a spell, the voice of Ye Yutang rang out: "Junior Brother Shen, we are preparing to follow Grandmaster Lin back to the main altar. We are gathering at the Martial Arts Arena; hurry over!"

"Understood, Senior Sister Ye."

Shen Long agreed, put away the Communication Disk, got up, and walked out.

He arrived at the Martial Arts Arena and saw many Qi Refining Cultivators, with the Mystic Yang Sect disciples being the most numerous. He walked over to Ye Yuqing and Ye Yutang to chat.

During this Immortal Ascension Assembly, the Spirit Control Sect had recruited over eighty disciples, most of whom came from cultivation families; the proportion of rogue cultivators was not high.

There were not many rogue cultivators who could reach the eighth level of Qi Refining before the age of forty, and even fewer who could pass the assessment.

The Mystic Yang Sect had recruited over one hundred and fifty disciples, most of whom were rogue cultivators; the reputation of being the greatest power in the Qin Kingdom was still very attractive.

A quarter of an 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, I shall take my leave first."

True Man Ganyang offered a greeting and summoned a golden, shimmering flying boat. The golden boat was over a hundred feet long, with a golden sun pattern carved onto its hull, hovering two feet off the ground.

"A flying magic treasure."

A stir ran through the Qi Refining Cultivators present; most of them had never seen a flying magic treasure before.

True Man Ganyang stepped onto it, followed closely by the Mystic Yang Sect disciples.

"Let's go!"

Following True Man Ganyang's command, the golden flying boat shone with a blinding golden light and flew toward the high sky, disappearing from sight shortly after.

Master Azure Python patted a green Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, and a green light flew out, landing on the ground to reveal a green giant python over thirty feet long. Its fangs were exposed, its eyes were also green, and its entire body was covered in green scales.

"Everyone, come up!"

Master Azure Python ordered, jumping onto the head of the green giant python.

Liu Ye pinched a spell, and a white cloud emerged beneath his feet, lifting the many Spirit Control Sect disciples into the air and landing them on the back of the green giant python.

Whether it was a spirit beast or a spirit insect, as long as it reached the third rank, it could fly through the air, though the speed varied.

The green giant python let out a strange hiss, soared into the sky, and flew toward the high clouds.

True Man Ziyang and the others each took their newly recruited disciples and left Yunmeng Mountain.

This Immortal Ascension Assembly had thus come to an end. Barring any accidents, the sect would not open its gates again for another twenty years.

The Thousand Spirit Mountain Range was located in the southwestern part of the Qin Kingdom. With its competing peaks, towering ancient trees, jagged rocks, and abundant spiritual energy, this was the main altar of the Spirit Control Sect. It was patrolled by Spirit Control Sect disciples year-round and was heavily guarded.

A green light appeared on the distant horizon, flashing once before stopping above the Thousand Spirit Mountain Range. The light faded to reveal a massive green python, with Shen Long and the others standing on its back.

"So this is the main altar of the Spirit Control Sect!"

Shen Long was full of curiosity.

He could clearly feel that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was twice as dense as in the outside world. And this was just the periphery; once they entered the mountain gates of the Spirit Control Sect, the spiritual energy would surely be even more abundant.

The green giant python flew toward the depths of the Thousand Spirit Mountain Range at a relatively fast speed.

Not long after, the green giant python stopped above a bamboo forest. Below were several peaks of varying heights, but no people or buildings could be seen.

"We've arrived at the main altar? Why can't I 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 headquarters to the new disciples, describing it as a fairyland, but what lay before their eyes did not look like a fairyland at all!

"We are only at the periphery of the sect-protecting grand formation, so naturally, we cannot see the true appearance of the headquarters."

Huang Hua explained.

Master Azure Python took out a cyan square token, with patterns of birds, beasts, fish, and insects carved on the front.

The token lit up with a cyan glow, and the birds, beasts, fish, and insects seemed to come alive. A beam of cyan light shot out from the token and vanished into the void, causing the void to ripple. A pale Cyan Light Screen appeared, shrouding a small half of the Thousand Spirit Mountain Range within it.

Inside the Cyan Light Screen, emerald green mountains rose and fell, streams and mountain brooks wound their way through, heavenly ponds and lakes were scattered like stars, towering ancient trees grew lush and verdant, and exotic birds and strange beasts could be seen everywhere.

Spiritual energy was thick and hazy, clouds and mist swirled and permeated the air, deer and spirit foxes roamed the forests, spirit birds and black cranes perched in the trees, and spirit bees and butterflies danced in the sea of flowers.

Amidst the colorful clouds, pavilions and towers faintly appeared, with majestic and magnificent halls inside. Some were perched on high mountain cliffs, some were built in mountain valleys and ravines, and others were located in the center of lakes—what a scene of an immortal dwelling.

Shen Long and the other new disciples had never seen such a sight before, and for a moment, they were stunned.

The giant cyan python landed on a vast Bluestone Square. Not far away stood a golden palace over thirty zhang tall with flying eaves and arched brackets, carved beams and painted rafters. On the plaque, the three golden characters "Founder's Hall" were written in a bold, sweeping calligraphy.

A burly man in a golden robe walked out of the Founder's Hall. The man in the golden robe had regular features, fair skin, and wore a golden python robe. His eyes were bright and piercing, giving off a powerful sense of oppression; one could tell at a glance that he was someone who had held a high position for a long time.

A team of cultivators followed behind him with respectful expressions.

Shen Long and the others landed on the ground one after another and followed Master Azure Python toward the Founder's Hall.

"Junior Brother Sect Master, I have returned. This time, I have recruited eighty-seven disciples. This is the roster of the new disciples and their situations."

Master Azure Python took out a blue book and handed it to the man in the golden robe.

I modified the first two chapters; I am not selling the Spirit Control Token for now.