Five Great Immortal Mountains

Dong! Dong! Dong!

It was an ordinary morning, yet peals of melodious bells roused everyone.

"Those who received three or more Grade A Ratings on the Golden Ranking, remain behind and gather at the plaza within half an hour. The rest of the disciples may leave on their own!"

A majestic voice suddenly rang out, spreading throughout the entire outpost.

Whoosh!

The moment those words fell, the entire outpost erupted.

"It's over! The assessment is finally over!"

Disciples emerged from their respective rooms one after another.

Some wore excited expressions, unable to wait any longer.

Most, however, looked bitter. They had failed to complete this trial.

Especially some disciples who had been just one Grade A Rating short.

Yet that one small difference could mean worlds apart in the future.

"Without being able to go to Shangqing Mountain, I'll probably only become a Rogue Cultivator in the future, or leave the Southern Territory and seek out another immortal sect." Some disciples sighed mournfully, their eyes filled with reluctance and confusion.

Creak!

The doors of a pavilion opened, and Chen Ping stepped out. He watched the sea of people divide and head in two directions: one toward the inner district plaza, the other toward the true exit!

"Two directions, yet two utterly different lives of cultivation from here on."

He murmured softly, then headed toward the inner district plaza.

"Brother Chen!"

A familiar voice called out from behind him. Chen Ping's brows furrowed slightly, but his pace only quickened.

Before long.

Many assessment disciples had gathered at the inner district plaza. Compared to before, there were far fewer this time—only around three thousand.

"You're something else, brother. Once we enter Shangqing Mountain, you and I should look out for each other."

"Of course."

Voices of discussion rose and fell throughout the plaza, and every disciple wore a smile.

A year of trials had all been for this day!

"Brother Bai, not bad at all. Five Grade A Ratings—not the worst, a middling result!" Xu Shan found Bai Jing's name on the Golden Ranking and could not help praising him.

Then he looked through the crowd, but Bai Jing had yet to arrive.

"That guy isn't secretly absorbing the Morning Glow Spiritual Tide this morning, is he? No matter how diligent he is, there's no need to push himself today. Once he reaches Shangqing Mountain, he'll switch to stronger immortal arts. Why keep butting his head against a low-grade supreme art?"

He shook his head, unable to understand.

Elsewhere, before a thatched hut in District Eight.

The simply dressed youth sat cross-legged. The Minor Formless Technique circulated as the Morning Glow Spiritual Tide was drawn into the Scorched Earth within his sea of consciousness.

Buzz!

The Talent Tree swayed its bare branches. Its glow flickered in and out as it greedily absorbed the Spiritual Tide's nourishment.

By now, the divine tree had grown to more than a person's height.

His gaze settled on one of its talent branches: Azure Cauldron (183/200)

He had used the spare time squeezed out during missions to raise the quality of his Dao foundation. Now, the Azure Cauldron needed only a little more to advance into a Purple Cauldron!

Bai Jing was not overly delighted. He remained calm.

This was only part of the process. The Dao foundation's ultimate goal was the Purple Gold Immortal Cauldron!

Then he withdrew his gaze and focused on absorbing the Morning Glow Spiritual Tide.

Buzz, buzz!

Just as his morning cultivation came to an end, the Talent Tree stirred with considerable movement.

Then, before his delighted eyes, the fifth talent branch grew out!

The branch radiated a light that alternated between dim and bright. Though not a single leaf had grown upon it, it brimmed with vigorous life.

I'm about to enter Shangqing Mountain, and another talent branch has grown out. Bai Jing secretly rejoiced.

But he quickly calmed down. Once inside Shangqing Mountain, he would need to learn all kinds of arts and techniques. One blank talent branch alone would likely be far from enough.

Bai Jing then rose, tidied up a little, and left his hut, heading toward the inner district.

"Are they leaving?" Along the way, Bai Jing watched a group of people walking in the opposite direction. Their faces were filled with dejection and despair.

There was no need to think about it. They had failed to pass the assessment and were leaving!

He continued onward and soon entered the plaza.

"Brother Bai!"

An exceptionally excited call came from nearby.

Bai Jing looked up, only to feel countless gazes upon him.

His feat of crushing a Purple Cauldron Genius was like a scarlet halo hanging over his head.

As he approached, many people instinctively made way for him.

This had been Li Huai'an's exclusive treatment, yet Bai Jing had carved out such a path for himself by sheer force.

"Brother Bai, once we enter Shangqing Mountain, you'll have to look after your brother here." Xu Shan walked over to meet Bai Jing, his face full of smiles.

Long ago, he had worried that the other man might fail to pass the assessment. Now, that worry was gone.

"What are you saying? You're an Azure Cauldron Genius. In the future, I may need to borrow your name to get things done." Bai Jing smiled.

As the two spoke, more and more people gathered.

No one organized them, yet the several thousand people vaguely formed several groups, each clearly distinct from the others.

Bai Jing and Xu Shan remained apart from them.

"See that group over there?" Xu Shan pointed at the young disciples on the far left and said,

"They all cultivate the Array Dao. I heard that when you used an array to crush Zhang Yunhai, that bunch wasn't too happy about it. After all, you're a Spiritual Cultivator, yet you made your name through arrays, while none of them did anything particularly dazzling during the assessment."

Bai Jing looked over and immediately sensed several unfriendly gazes turning toward him. He promptly withdrew his eyes.

"That's the alchemy faction. Most of them are either wealthy or noble." Xu Shan pointed again at a group of disciples on the right.

Bai Jing spotted Ling Qinghe among them. She stood out like a crane among chickens, the center of the crowd's attention.

"As for the group in the very middle, I probably don't need to explain." Xu Shan pointed toward the group directly beneath the Golden Ranking.

"Spiritual Cultivators, and all of them geniuses at the Azure Cauldron level or above."

Bai Jing saw Li Huai'an standing at the forefront. The man had no intention of forming cliques or ranks, yet those Spiritual Cultivation Geniuses had gathered behind him without prior agreement, faintly treating Li Huai'an as their leader.

As the two spoke.

Dong!

A flash of Golden Light suddenly burst forth, followed by the familiar Dao-robed cultivator appearing in midair once more.

"First, congratulations to all of you for becoming official disciples of Shangqing Mountain!" A voice like a Dao melody spread through the plaza, and the previously noisy square instantly fell silent.

He continued,

"You have endured a year of trials and reached this day. That is fate among you all. I hope that from this day onward, you will hold fast to your original intentions and abide by the rules of Shangqing Mountain."

"Go back and make your preparations. You will enter Shangqing Mountain in three days."

Having said that, the Dao-robed cultivator turned into Golden Light and vanished from the area.

"What does that mean? Why wait three days?"

The crowd watched the great cultivator leave, utterly confused.

Soon after, discussions rose one after another.

As the voices of the disciples gradually swelled around him, Xu Shan said, "Brother Bai, when I said I wanted you to look after me in the future, I was only joking. Once we enter Shangqing Mountain, we may not have many chances to meet."

"What do you mean?" Bai Jing was somewhat puzzled.

Xu Shan explained in a low voice,

"Actually, I've already looked into it during this time. Once we reach Shangqing Mountain, friends and brothers may not necessarily cultivate on the same path. Everything still depends on talent. You and I may not end up in the same place."

Without waiting for Bai Jing to ask further, he continued,

"Shangqing Mountain has countless spirit veins and abundant resources, but overall, there are thirteen spiritual mountains where disciples like us can cultivate. Among them, the five strongest are Array Dao Mountain, Pill King Valley, Fire Spirit Peak, Water Moon Peak, and Wind Star Valley."