Absorbing Spiritual Energy

The spiritual energy in Hundred Herb Valley is thin, so he needs cultivation resources more than the other disciples.

The effects of his cultivation technique and Daoist arts have been truly immense since they were awakened.

In just over two months, without any resources and while staying in a place as spiritually barren as Hundred Herb Valley, his cultivation has already reached the third level of Qi Gathering.

If he were to switch to a place with dense spiritual energy and be provided with some resources, his cultivation would surely surpass that of the Spirit Body disciples by now.

Looking at it this way, there is nothing to envy about a Spirit Body.

Three days later.

Chen Xuan woke up early and took out his White Cloud Artifact.

The White Cloud Artifact grew in size automatically, then carried Chen Xuan as he flew out of the valley.

Before long, Chen Xuan arrived at the plaza outside the Sect Main Hall.

At this moment, over a thousand people had already gathered in the plaza, most of them being new disciples who had joined this year.

[Your cultivation technique "Flowing Cloud Technique" is shocked and begins to question you.]

[The spiritual energy here is actually this dense? What kind of hellhole were you staying in before?]

[It's one thing for you to be incompetent, but must you also hold me back?]

It's not that I don't want to go to a place with denser spiritual energy; it's just that I was assigned to Hundred Herb Valley, Chen Xuan thought helplessly.

[Can't you come over here every day to leech off the spiritual energy?]

[All you do is drink tea and read books in that dump every day—you're nothing but a drag!]

Chen Xuan fell silent. He wasn't angry; he just realized that, damn it... it actually made sense!

Why hadn't he thought of that before?

Chen Xuan sighed inwardly, "I am still too young! Big Brother is truly worthy of being Big Brother!"

[Your cultivation technique "Flowing Cloud Technique" hums with satisfaction and begins to cultivate frantically.]

A smile appeared on Chen Xuan's face.

Over the past three months, he had mastered some ways to motivate his cultivation techniques and Daoist arts, just like he did now.

As the light screen descended, Chen Xuan sensed the spiritual power within his body growing at an unprecedented speed.

It is truly the location of the Sect Main Hall; the spiritual energy here is like heaven and earth compared to Hundred Herb Valley.

It seems he really should come out to leech off the spiritual energy more often in the future.

However... if he could take first place in this Floating Cloud Trial, or even just make it into the top hundred, the sect would likely transfer him out of Hundred Herb Valley. It would be impossible for them to keep him there any longer.

He is not afraid of revealing his talent; the bit of talent he has shown so far is nothing much in the Cloud Sea Sect.

Not to mention the Saint Body, which is far beyond his reach, even the King Body, which is superior to the Spirit Body, is said to allow one to reach the Spirit Sea Realm in just three months.

The Cloud Sea Sect does possess a few cultivators with the King Body.

Time flew by until the hour of the snake.

Three thousand new disciples had gathered in the plaza outside the main hall, along with many senior brothers and sisters who had come to watch the spectacle.

Three streaks of light flew out from the main hall and landed at the entrance of the hall above the plaza.

"Greetings, Elders."

Chen Xuan and the others cupped their hands and shouted.

The three were all elders of the Cloud Sea Sect. As the Cloud Sea Sect is a top-tier sect in the Azure Cloud Realm, its elders are all fourth-realm Purple Mansion cultivators.

The sect even has several fifth-realm Nascent Soul Supreme Elders.

The three elders nodded slightly.

The middle-aged man in the lead spoke, "I presume you all already know about the Floating Cloud Trial.

I will open the secret realm in a moment. I won't repeat what has already been said; remember, this trial lasts for only ten days."

After the middle-aged elder finished speaking, he waved his hand.

Three thousand Teleportation Talismans flew out of his Storage Bag, landing precisely in the hands of every new disciple.

As Chen Xuan watched the Teleportation Talisman land in his hand, he felt a connection form between himself and the talisman.

The other disciples were no exception.

This talisman is not simple; it can even automatically bind itself to them, the disciples.

"Take a close look at this object; this is the token you must find a way to obtain once you enter the secret realm."

The middle-aged elder tossed a token into the air, allowing everyone to see its appearance clearly.

Finally.

The middle-aged elder took out a small seal and channeled his spiritual power, directly opening dozens of gateways to the Floating Cloud Secret Realm around the plaza.

That's right, this Floating Cloud Secret Realm was located right at the Sect Main Hall.

After all, this secret realm was created from the very beginning to host trials for new disciples.

Once the secret realm opened.

Three thousand disciples stepped into the realm one after another.

As the disciples entered, three thousand light screens slowly manifested in the air above the plaza.

The scene within each light screen displayed a single new disciple.

The Floating Cloud Trial did not look only at the final results.

Naturally, the sect also wanted to observe their performance during the trial process.

Many senior brothers and sisters from the sect had come to watch the spectacle; this was exactly what they were here for.

Every year during the Floating Cloud Trial, one could always find some amusement among these three thousand light screens.

In the middle of a forest.

Chen Xuan's figure appeared abruptly.

When the three thousand disciples entered the Floating Cloud Secret Realm, they were randomly distributed to various locations.

This ensured that no two disciples would be placed together.

However... this pure randomness sometimes led to bad luck, where one might be teleported directly in front of a demonic beast, or even worse, directly into a beast's lair.

No sooner had Chen Xuan taken in his surroundings than he saw a Black Iron Bear staring straight at him from across the way.

"Roar!"

The Black Iron Bear had a coat of black fur and paws like black iron; with a thunderous roar, it swiped a palm down toward Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan immediately executed Flowing Cloud Moon-Stepping, his figure retreating three zhang like a phantom.

He had originally intended to leave immediately, as he had come to the secret realm to find tokens for the Floating Cloud Trial.

However... in the three months since he began his cultivation, he had never once fought.

He would take this opportunity to test his current strength.

Chen Xuan utilized Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms.

Cloud energy condensed around him, forming several cloud arrows.

Whoosh!

A piercing sound rang out as the cloud arrows shot straight toward the Black Iron Bear's face.

The speed of the cloud arrows was extremely fast, and even as the Black Iron Bear swung its paws, it failed to block them all.

Two cloud arrows struck the Black Iron Bear directly in the eyes, inflicting significant damage.

"Roar!"

The Black Iron Bear let out another roar.

Unlike the previous one, this roar was one of pain, filled with undisguised fury.

Chen Xuan pressed his advantage, condensing cloud energy into several long swords and firing them at the Black Iron Bear.

Although its eyes were injured, the Black Iron Bear relied on its hearing and sense of smell to perceive the threats around it.

The Black Iron Bear raised its iron-like paws and swung them frantically, attempting to swat away the long swords.

But because the long swords were formed from cloud energy, even when they were struck or dispersed by the wind of its paws, they simply re-condensed nearby and rejoined the assault.

Chen Xuan focused his mind, continuously manipulating the cloud energy swords.

His proficiency in Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms had reached the mastery level, and he discovered that his Dao techniques helped him control them, lowering the difficulty of casting.

This allowed him to maneuver the swords with agility, weaving and thrusting to specifically target the gaps in the Black Iron Bear's attacks and its defensive weak points.

Finally, the moment the Black Iron Bear swung its paw with great force, leaving its chest wide open, Chen Xuan seized the opportunity.

One cloud energy sword moved as fast as lightning; before the beast could retract its paws to defend, the blade struck like a bolt of light, precisely piercing the Black Iron Bear's throat.

The Black Iron Bear's massive body stiffened abruptly, then crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.