For real?
Li Sanshun gripped the Gold Blade dagger and turned it over and over in his hands, examining it for a long while.
The words "Obeying Heaven and Following Fate" had been carved deep into it, and felt cool to the touch. In the TV dramas of his previous life, emperors were the ones who liked to toss around phrases like that. Could it be that in this life, he really had picked up the identity of a royal descendant?
But he quickly shook his head.
How could a royal descendant end up in a state like his?
Li Sanshun wrapped the Gold Blade back up and tucked it against his body. He continued searching through his belongings and found three more sets of clothes, twenty taels of silver in small pieces, and a map of the northern part of the Qingxuan Continent.
The map marked dozens of cities, with the words "Tai Xuan Sect" circled in cinnabar. Two lines of small writing had been left on the back.
"Take the Primordial Origin Art to the Tai Xuan Sect. Pass the three trials, and you may enter the Immortal Sect."
"Do not show the Gold Blade to others lightly."
Li Sanshun stared at the handwriting for a moment, then folded the map and put it away.
"That old man really kept his cards close to his chest. He didn't even explain the danger. If something happens, where am I supposed to find you and settle the score?"
Gray light was already spreading across the horizon.
Shouts rang out from the village. Zhang Laosan's home had been ransacked, and his wife had called over half the village. The neighbors were searching everywhere with lanterns.
Li Sanshun had no intention of staying.
He took out the Marrow-Cleansing Pill. It was only the size of a longan, its surface wrapped in a dark-gold medicinal coating. The pill's fragrance drifted into his nose, followed by a mechanical notification.
[You have absorbed a wisp of medicinal aura from the Marrow-Cleansing Pill.] [Air quality: Excellent.] [Life energy increased by 2 points.] [Notice: The medicinal aura of the same origin has faded. Further absorption will yield no additional benefits.]
He couldn't keep sniffing the pill to reap benefits over and over.
Li Sanshun didn't waste any more time. He raised his hand and popped the Marrow-Cleansing Pill into his mouth.
The pill entered his stomach and quickly dissolved into a warm current. At first, he felt warmth in his abdomen. After a few breaths, a numb, prickling sensation surged through his meridians and spread across his whole body. His flesh and bones began to itch.
"Hiss..."
Li Sanshun gritted his teeth, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Primordial Origin Art.
The medicinal power surged faster and faster. Before he had even sat for a quarter of an hour, he toppled off the stone platform and grabbed the dead grass beneath him with both hands. Fine crackling sounds came from inside his body as black filth seeped out through his pores. A rank stench soon filled the ruined temple.
This wasn't marrow cleansing. It was like taking a person apart and scrubbing him clean!
With the injuries he'd had the night before, he would have passed out long ago. Now, with plenty of life energy, his body began rapidly healing the moment the medicinal power battered it. Two forces worked against each other, one destroying and the other repairing. They tossed him around for half an hour before finally stopping.
Li Sanshun lay face-down on the ground, his mouth full of bits of grass.
The mechanical voice rang out again.
[Marrow cleansing complete.] [Physique improved.] [Maximum life energy increased by 50 points.] [Maximum lifespan increased by 5 years.] [The circulation efficiency of the Primordial Origin Art has improved.]
Li Sanshun opened his status panel.
[Name: Li Sanshun] [Lifespan: 22/90] [Realm: Qi Refining, first layer, 12/200] [Mind cultivation art: Primordial Origin Art, beginner, 8/100] [Life energy: 250/250] [Immortal art energy: 10/10]
He braced himself against the stone platform and stood, then stepped over the toppled offering table. He misjudged his strength, and his shoulder slammed into the temple door. The entire wooden door tore away from its frame, flew into the courtyard, and smashed into pieces.
Li Sanshun rubbed his shoulder.
His body was fine. The door had come apart first.
The Marrow-Cleansing Pill really was good stuff.
He went to the river to wash off the filth, changed into a clean short shirt, and left Linshui Township before the villagers could gather around.
The Tai Xuan Sect was more than three hundred li away.
He would head north along the official road, pass through Taibai County and Anping County, and then face one more day of mountain roads. Li Sanshun was far faster on foot than an ordinary person. By dusk on the first day, he had already left Taibai County behind.
There were plenty of carriages and horses along the way, most carrying wealthy households escorting teenage boys and girls. Their guards wore swords at their waists, while wooden chests filled with spirit medicines and jade stones were piled in the carriages.
At noon on the second day, Li Sanshun stopped to rest at a roadside teahouse and overheard a few merchants at the next table talking about the Tai Xuan Sect.
The merchant with a goatee lowered his voice. "The Zhao Household has booked three inns in Anping County just to send their legitimate son, Zhao Yuanqing, into the sect. I hear he was already tested and found to have a high-grade fire spiritual root. They even have someone serving as an official in the Tai Xuan Sect."
The red-faced man at the table picked up the conversation. "A high-grade spiritual root is only the first hurdle. After that, he still has to climb the Immortal-Asking Stairs and pass through the Heart-Refining Gate. The Zhao Household has nourished him with medicinal broths for over a decade. Those three trials won't trouble him."
Li Sanshun picked up his teacup and leaned over.
"Brothers, is it better to have more spiritual roots or fewer?"
The goateed merchant sized him up. Seeing his ordinary clothes, he guessed that Li Sanshun was another young man heading to seek a master.
"Spiritual roots are better the purer they are. A single spiritual root is best, and two are pretty good too. You can still cultivate with three elements, but progress is slow with four. If you have all five elements, the Immortal Sects call it a five-element mixed spiritual root. Most of them won't accept you."
Li Sanshun paused with his tea halfway to his mouth.
The Primordial Origin Art just happened to be able to wield the five-element immortal arts.
Could he really be that unlucky?
He didn't dwell on it. After thanking the merchants and paying for his tea, he continued on his way. He would find out what kind of spiritual root he had once he reached the Tai Xuan Sect. There was no point in guessing wildly on the road.
At dawn on the third day, a towering archway appeared at the end of the official road.
The words "Tai Xuan" were carved into the center of the archway. Beyond it, stone steps clung to the mountainside and disappeared into the clouds. White-feathered immortal cranes flew between the peaks, drawing the eyes of the young people who had come to seek entry.
Li Sanshun followed the crowd into the mountain valley and tried taking a breath.
[You have absorbed a breath of air containing a trace of spiritual energy.] [Air quality: Average.] [Life energy increased by 0.2 points.] [Immortal art energy recovered by 0.01 points.] [Notice: Current life energy and immortal art energy have already reached their limits.]
His progress in the realm hadn't increased.
It seemed ordinary spiritual energy could only restore what he had spent. The kind of aura that could truly improve his cultivation wasn't so common.
A sect gate stood halfway up the mountain, where several white-robed disciples were checking referral tokens. When it was Li Sanshun's turn, the leading disciple, Han Zhao, held out his hand.
"Referral token."
Li Sanshun rummaged through his belongings, but all he found was the map left by the Old Rascal.
"I don't have one. An elder in my family told me to come to the Tai Xuan Sect and pass the three trials."
Han Zhao withdrew his hand and pointed to the side.
"Without a referral token, go wait over there. Once everyone with a token has entered, we'll see whether there are any places left."
The well-dressed young man behind him covered his nose and stepped away.
"Senior Brother Han, Xuan Chu Academy has only one priority cultivation spot left this year. How can we waste our time on these country bumpkins? Letting them in will only slow the tests down."
A red jade pendant hung at the young man's waist, with the word "Zhao" carved on the front.
Zhao Yuanqing.
Han Zhao glanced at the Zhao Household steward behind him. While no one was looking, the steward slipped a jade box into Han Zhao's sleeve.
The box contained three Qi-Gathering Pills.
Han Zhao put the box away, took out a temporary identity token, then quietly swapped it for the wooden token hidden in his sleeve, engraved with a Spirit-Suppressing Rune.
He tossed the wooden token to Li Sanshun.
"If you want to wait, then wait. I'll make this clear: if there's no place for you by sundown, you'll still have to go back down the mountain."
Before you continue