Myriad Manifestations Daoists Taking the Assessment! (12) Please Bookmark, Please Vote!

Welcome Guest Peak's rear mountain.

Across several thousand mu of mountainous terrain, wooden houses 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 assessment has gathered. You may now head to Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh."

The Wanxiang Daoists all looked at one another.

Didn't Yinglong Guard assessments only begin after a hundred people had gathered?

Why were there only sixty-odd people now, yet they were saying everyone had assembled...

Those with quick minds glanced toward the three figures standing in the distance.

It seemed that after that one man and two women arrived, the Yinglong Guard Immortal had appeared.

"Jiu Lian, Luo Qing."

Xia Manggan frowned as he sent them a message. "It isn't that I don't want to bring you along. It's just that I came this time not only to participate in the Yinglong Guard assessment. More importantly, I want to venture deep into Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh and kill a batch of Primordial Spirit great monsters to temper myself."

"Kill Primordial Spirit great monsters for tempering... and a whole batch?" Luo Qing secretly clicked her tongue.

Even Slovenly Senior Brother probably wouldn't dare say that so casually, as though he were simply going to slaughter a batch of pigs and dogs.

"I understand what Young Master Xia Mang means."

Jiu Lian sent back, "Qingqing and I may be weak, but we each have protective treasures. Even if we encounter Monster Race Immortals, we are confident we can escape with our lives. Young Master Xia Mang need not worry about our safety. Besides, I heard from Master that Young Master Xia Mang wishes to comprehend many different Daos. Jiu Lian may be untalented, but I have achieved quite a bit in the Dao of lotuses."

"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, I'm afraid none of the third-generation disciples of our Black-White Academy can compare to Sister Jiu Lian."

Luo Qing also chimed in from the side.

"The Yinglong Guard assessment will last three months. Young Master Xia Mang cannot possibly spend all that time fighting and tempering himself. If we travel together, we can look after 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 he?"

Jiu Lian's gaze at Xia Manggan was incomparably resolute.

Ever since she was young, she had been taught—

Once she decided upon a goal she wanted, she had to persist.

Although she had not yet decided whether she truly wanted to become Dao companions with Xia Manggan.

Xia Manggan gave her a good feeling, and his status and background could also bring enormous help to her tribe...

So she wanted more opportunities to interact with him, to observe and understand him from up close.

What opportunity could be better than adventuring together and undergoing life-and-death tempering side by side?

"...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 that way.

They were fellow disciples, and both had come. He could hardly pretend not to know them.

Besides, he had to admit that he was rather 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 regarding comprehension of the Great Dao.

And lotuses...

Their very existence contained endless mysteries.

Many great powers in the Three Realms used lotus thrones, lotus treasures, or some kind of lotus spell...

Even his Wheel of Life and Death of the Heavens, with its revolving disc and transformations between life and death, had aspects that could draw inspiration from the Dao of lotuses.

"To join Yinglong Guard... you must meet the minimum requirements of Yinglong Guard. If you cannot even meet the 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 at the edge, and the Bronze Mirror began shining upon him.

The tall, thin young man immediately said, "Jiuchuan Sect, Qi Refining, Middle Wanxiang Stage, Di Jingtao."

"Mm." Immortal Lianshan nodded. "Next."

"Lielong Clan, Middle Wanxiang Stage Fiendgod Body Refining, Late Wanxiang Stage Qi Refining, Lie Longqi."

One cultivator after another began reporting their origins.

To join Yinglong Guard, Yinglong Guard naturally had to know the most basic information about its recruits.

Once they knew someone's origins and name, Yinglong Guard could easily obtain detailed information through its intelligence network.

Therefore, no one dared to speak falsely.

As Xia Manggan listened to the origins of the cultivators one by one, his gaze paused on a young man who seemed to habitually keep his eyes narrowed.

It was Lie Longqi of the Lielong Clan.

The Lielong Clan was one of Anchan Commandery's eight great top-tier powers, and it often produced formidable master archers.

Master archers, especially top-tier ones, were extremely formidable. In particular, when paired with the Lielong Clan's unique divine abilities specially suited for archers, they could fire an arrow from a thousand kilometers away—or even farther—and severely wound or kill an enemy.

Lie Longqi cultivated both Qi Refining and Body Refining, and both had reached the Wanxiang Realm. Among this batch of Wanxiang cultivators participating in the assessment, his strength was also among the very best.

At this moment, Immortal Lianshan pointed at 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. Perfected Wanxiang Stage Qi Refining. Body Refining... ninth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map."

"They're all from the Heavenly Saint Sect?" Immortal Lianshan looked at Sheng Xuan and the three men and women surrounding him in surprise.

Even an Immortal was surprised, let alone the other cultivators.

Of Anchan Commandery's eight great top-tier powers, the Heavenly Saint Sect was the most mysterious.

Outsiders did not even know where the Lianshan Sect was located.

Usually, it was extremely difficult to encounter anyone from the Heavenly Saint Sect.

Yet today, four had appeared at once, and 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 beside Xia Manggan's ear:

"Once the assessment begins, I will no longer be able to accompany you, Young Master. Please be especially careful. In particular, beware the four from the Heavenly Saint Sect. That Sheng Xuan bears the surname 'Sheng'; he should be the Heavenly Saint Sect's current Holy Son and its future Sect Master..."

Xia Manggan nodded slightly and also looked toward Sheng Xuan.

The other man wore magnificent golden robes. Though his face showed no arrogance, his eyes remained lowered, as if nothing around him was worth even a glance.

Finally.

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. Middle Wanxiang Stage Qi Refining. Body Refining, ninth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map. Xia Manggan."

Whoosh~~~

All the cultivators looked over in immense surprise.

"The Black-White Academy?"

"The Black-White Academy has disciples here too, and three of them at that."

"This assessment is really lively. The Black-White Academy, Heavenly Saint Sect, and Lielong Clan—three of Anchan Commandery's four greatest top-tier powers have come."

"Didn't you hear that man's name?"

"Isn't it Xia Mang... He's from the imperial clan?"

"He's not merely from the imperial clan. He entered just last December, and during the Black-White Academy's Dao Discussion Hall sparring matches, he defeated..."

The entire hillside instantly descended into chaos.

The center of every cultivator's discussion was Xia Manggan's imperial status, as well as his achievement of taking first place among the Black-White Academy's third-generation disciples in Dao sparring matches shortly after entering.

Even Sheng Xuan of the Heavenly Saint Sect raised his head and carefully examined Xia Manggan.

"Imperial clan, and first among the Black-White Academy's third-generation disciples only three months after entering? Interesting."

"Silence."

Immortal Lianshan shouted coldly.

His deep, 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 Yinglong Guard requires your own strength. If any of you have spirit beasts, leave them here. If you can return alive, then come find them."

I wonder how far Ah Huang has gotten by now.

Xia Manggan secretly sensed the location of his spirit beast.

He only felt that they were extremely far apart.

Because of the Yinglong Guard assessment rules, he could only let Ah Huang fly there on his own.

Yushan Great Wilderness Marsh was more than two million kilometers from here.

Even though Ah Huang was a True Dragon, a divine beast with the noblest bloodline, he was still only at the Wanxiang Realm.

He would need at least four or five hours of flight to arrive.

That was only if nothing happened along the way.

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