Welcome Guest Peak's back mountain.
Across several thousand mu of mountainous terrain, wooden cottages and stone houses stood scattered about.
Immortal Lianshan stood in the air, looking down at the young Wanxiang Daoists below.
"Your batch of cultivators participating in the examination has all gathered. You may now proceed to Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh."
The Wanxiang Daoists looked at one another.
Didn't the Yinglong Guard examination only begin after a hundred people had gathered?
Why were there only a little over sixty people, yet they were saying everyone had assembled...
Those with sharper minds glanced toward the three figures standing in the distance.
It seemed that only after that one man and two women had arrived did the Yinglong Guard's Immortal appear.
"Jiu Lian, Luo Qing."
Xia Manggan frowned as he sent, "It isn't that I'm unwilling to bring you along. It's just that this time, I haven't come merely to take the Yinglong Guard examination. More importantly, I want to venture deep into Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh and kill a batch of Primordial Spirit Great Demons to temper myself."
"Killing Primordial Spirit Great Demons to temper yourself... a whole batch of them?" Luo Qing secretly clicked her tongue.
Even Slovenly Senior Brother probably wouldn't dare say such words so casually, as though he were going to slaughter a batch of pigs and dogs.
"I understand what Young Master Xia Mang means."
Jiu Lian sent, "Qingqing and I may be weak, but each of us has protective treasures. Even if we encounter Demon Immortals of the Monster Race, we are confident of escaping with our lives. Young Master Xia Mang need not worry about our safety. Moreover, I heard from my master that Young Master Xia Mang wishes to comprehend various different Daos. Jiu Lian is not particularly talented, but in the Dao of lotuses, I have achieved quite a bit."
"That's right, Young Master Xia Mang. Sister Jiu Lian's Dongyan Clan is known as the 'Green Lotus Tribe.' In the Dao of lotuses, among the third-generation disciples of our Black-White Academy, I'm afraid no one can compare to Sister Jiu Lian."
Luo Qing also chimed in from the side.
"The Yinglong Guard examination will last three months. Young Master Xia Mang cannot possibly spend all that time fighting and tempering himself. If we travel together, we can watch over one another during battle, and exchange insights on the Dao while resting... Young Master Xia Mang surely wouldn't let two young women like us venture alone into the dangerous Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh, would you?"
Jiu Lian's gaze at Xia Manggan was incomparably resolute.
Since childhood, she had been taught—
Once she identified a goal she wanted, she had to persist.
Although she had yet to decide whether she truly wished to become Dao companions with Xia Manggan,
Xia Manggan gave her a very good impression, and his status and background could also provide tremendous assistance to her tribe...
Thus, she wanted more opportunities to interact with him, to observe and understand him at close range.
What opportunity could be better than venturing together, sharing the trials of Life and Death Dao?
"...Do as you wish. If you feel it is too dangerous, you may leave at any time."
Xia Manggan shook his head and said no more.
They had already put it this way.
They were fellow disciples, and since the two had come, he could hardly pretend not to know them.
Besides, he had to admit that he was indeed somewhat curious about the Dongyan Clan's Green Lotus Secret Canon.
Since it had allowed Ancestor Dongyan to advance from a Heavenly Immortal to a Pure Yang True Immortal, the Green Lotus Secret Canon presumably contained guidance for comprehending the Great Dao.
And lotuses...
Their very existence alone contained endless profundities.
Many great powers of the Three Realms used lotus thrones, lotus treasures, or certain lotus arts...
Even his Wheel of Life and Death of the Heavens, with its revolving disk and transformations between life and death, had aspects that could draw from the Dao of lotuses.
"To join the Yinglong Guard... you must meet the minimum requirements of our Yinglong Guard. If you cannot even meet those minimum requirements, there is no need for you to go to Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh. You may return now."
Immortal Lianshan's voice rang in everyone's ears.
As he spoke, a Bronze Mirror rose into the air and hovered above the crowd.
"Now, one by one, state your origins and strength. If you dare falsify anything, there will be no mercy! You." Immortal Lianshan pointed at a tall, thin young man standing at the edge, and the Bronze Mirror began shining upon him.
The tall, thin youth immediately said, "Jiuchuan Sect. Qi Refining, Middle Wanxiang Stage. Di Jingtao."
"Mm." Immortal Lianshan nodded. "Next."
"Lielong Clan. Body Refining, Middle Wanxiang Stage Myriad Phenomena God-Demon. Qi Refining, Late Wanxiang Stage. Lie Longqi."
One cultivator after another began reporting their origins.
To join the Yinglong Guard, the Yinglong Guard naturally had to know the most basic information about its recruits.
Once they knew a person's origin and name, the Yinglong Guard's intelligence network could naturally obtain detailed information with ease.
Thus, no one dared to speak recklessly.
As Xia Manggan listened to the backgrounds of the various cultivators, his gaze paused on a young man who seemed to habitually keep his eyes narrowed.
It was Lie Longqi, who came from the Lielong Clan.
The Lielong Clan was one of Anchan Commandery's eight top powers, and they often produced formidable divine archers.
Divine archers, especially the top ones, were extremely formidable. In particular, when paired with the Lielong Clan's unique divine abilities tailored specifically for archers, they could shoot from a thousand li away—or even farther—and severely wound or kill an enemy with a single arrow.
Furthermore, Lie Longqi cultivated both Qi Refining and Body Refining, both at the Wanxiang level. Among this batch of Wanxiang cultivators taking the examination, his strength was among the very best.
At this moment, Immortal Lianshan pointed toward four men and women standing together. "You four."
"Heavenly Saint Sect. Qi Refining, Middle Wanxiang Stage. Liu Xiangning."
"Heavenly Saint Sect. Qi Refining, Late Wanxiang Stage. Fang Zhuxin."
"Heavenly Saint Sect. Qi Refining, Late Wanxiang Stage. Shao Lingyun."
"Heavenly Saint Sect. Sheng Xuan. Dual cultivator of Body Refining and Qi Refining. Qi Refining, Perfected Wanxiang Stage. Body Refining... ninth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map."
"All from the Heavenly Saint Sect?" Immortal Lianshan looked at Sheng Xuan in surprise, then at the other three men and women clustered around him.
Even an Immortal was surprised, let alone the other cultivators.
Among Anchan Commandery's eight top powers, the Heavenly Saint Sect was the most mysterious.
Outsiders had no way of knowing where the Lianshan Sect was located.
Ordinarily, it was extremely difficult to even encounter members of the Heavenly Saint Sect.
Yet today, not only had four appeared at once, but one of them cultivated the legendary number one Fiendgod Body Refining method, the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map.
At this moment, Immortal Lianshan's voice suddenly sounded in Xia Manggan's ears:
"Once the examination begins, I can no longer accompany you, Young Master. Please be extremely careful. Especially of those four from the Heavenly Saint Sect. That one called Sheng Xuan bears the surname 'Sheng'; he should be the current Holy Son of the Heavenly Saint Sect, its future sect master..."
Xia Manggan nodded slightly and looked toward Sheng Xuan as well.
The other man wore a magnificent gold robe. Although there was no arrogance on his face, his eyes remained lowered, as though nothing around him was worthy of even a glance.
At last.
The Bronze Mirror shone in their direction.
"Black-White Academy. Qi Refining, Early Wanxiang Stage. Luo Qing."
"Black-White Academy. Qi Refining, Early Wanxiang Stage. Jiu Lian."
"Black-White Academy. Dual cultivator of Body Refining and Qi Refining. Qi Refining, Middle Wanxiang Stage. Body Refining, ninth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map. Xia Manggan."
Whoosh~~~
The cultivators all looked over in immense astonishment.
"The Black-White Academy?"
"The Black-White Academy has disciples here too—three of them, at that."
"This examination is really lively. The Black-White Academy, the Heavenly Saint Sect, the Lielong Clan... three of Anchan Commandery's eight top powers, ranked among the top four, have come."
"Didn't you hear that man's name?"
"Isn't he Xia Mang... a member of the imperial clan?"
"He's more than just imperial clan. He entered the Black-White Academy only last twelfth month, and in the Dao Discussion Hall sparring matches, he defeated..."
The entire hillside instantly erupted into chaos.
Every cultivator's discussion centered on Xia Manggan's imperial status and his feat of claiming first place among the Black-White Academy's third-generation disciples in Dao discussions soon after entering the academy.
Even Sheng Xuan of the Heavenly Saint Sect raised his head and carefully examined Xia Manggan.
"Imperial clan, first among the Black-White Academy's third-generation disciples after joining only a little over three months ago? Interesting."
"Silence."
Immortal Lianshan barked coldly.
His powerful, icy voice directly shook everyone's souls.
After seeing that everyone had quieted down, Immortal Lianshan continued, "Now follow me to the teleportation formation leading to Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh."
"Also, the test to enter the Yinglong Guard depends on your own strength. If any of you have spirit beasts, leave them here. If you can return alive, then come find them again."
I wonder how far Ah Huang has gotten by now.
Xia Manggan secretly sensed the location of his spirit beast.
He only felt that Ah Huang was extremely far away.
Because of the Yinglong Guard examination rules, he could only let Ah Huang fly there on his own.
Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh was over two million li from here.
Even though Ah Huang was a True Dragon of the most noble divine beast bloodline, he was still only at the Wanxiang Realm.
At the very least, it would take four or five hours of flight to arrive.
And that was assuming nothing happened along the way.
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