Grand Rite Heavenly Trial, Four-Aspect Divination Herb

The so-called Grand Rite, also known as the Ritual Examination or Heavenly Trial, was a ceremony that had to be performed when breaking through to a major realm.

After all, humans were flesh and blood. How could they absorb qi? How could they draw mighty power into their bodies?

Only through Heaven's bestowal.

To receive Heaven's bestowal, one had to complete the Grand Rite. Only then could one inherit the Dao and obtain great power.

In the Embryonic Breath Realm, one refined essence and qi until the fleshly body was perfect and without flaw. One could fight fierce tigers barehanded, chase down elk barefoot, and live to the human lifespan limit of one hundred and twenty years.

But one was still, in the end, a mortal.

Blades and swords could wound them; they possessed no divine wonders.

Qi Refining, however, was the first threshold of cultivation.

Once Qi Refining was achieved, one was no longer mortal. One could wield Daoist arts and spells, ride clouds and mist, and possess divine wonders.

And to refine qi, one had to initiate the Qi-Refining Grand Rite.

There were only two chances at the Grand Rite for each realm.

Failure on the first attempt caused no harm, and the cultivator's life would not be endangered.

But if the second attempt failed, a tremendous calamity would follow, and the calamity differed in every realm.

This was what was known as No Second Heavenly Grace.

The reason Lu Xuan faced his present predicament was that his former self had failed during the first Qi-Refining Grand Rite. He had failed to absorb qi and would lose his status as a Hibernation Academy disciple in seven days.

The Hibernation Academy was where the Heaven-Gazing Sect recruited prospective disciples.

All Hibernation Academy disciples could cultivate in the Heaven-Gazing Sect for nine years: the first three years studying literature, the next three reading scriptures, and only the final three beginning cultivation.

Though there were only three years for cultivation, that was enough for Lu Xuan and the others to reach the Embyronic Breath Perfected Realm.

There was no other reason—the Hibernation Academy's benefits were simply too good.

The Heaven-Gazing Sect's residences were simplified versions of cave abodes, situated atop a sixth-grade Si Earthly Branch spirit vein, surpassing even the spirit-vein residences of inner disciples from many small sects.

In the outside world, they could not be traded for a thousand gold.

The Heaven-Gazing Sect's Culinary Hall provided meals infused with spiritual energy, with all three daily meals consisting of spiritual fare.

Lu Xuan's ability to refine his essence and reach the Embryonic Breath Perfected Realm within three years was inseparable from this Culinary Hall.

Every day, he ate spirit rice, spirit meat, spirit vegetables, and spirit soup brimming with essence and qi, all of which could be refined with the slightest breath circulation.

This one benefit alone, the Culinary Hall, made countless cultivators from rogue factions and small sects green with envy.

Not to mention the Daoist robes for all four seasons, the Spirit Stones issued punctually every month, and the spirit clouds within the mountain gate that they could command as they pleased.

It could only be called extravagance.

When Lu Xuan had first absorbed the original owner's memories, he had secretly clicked his tongue in amazement as well.

In his previous life, this would have been a private one-bedroom, one-living-room dormitory in the capital, a free cafeteria serving nutritious meals three times a day, custom-made clothes that never cost a penny, and a "private car" he could drive however he wished without paying a cent for gas...

Unrivaled benefits.

But now... if he failed to enter the sect, all of it would become a dream bubble.

If he failed to absorb qi, every benefit would be reclaimed.

Yet Lu Xuan and the others could not utter a single word of protest.

The Heaven-Gazing Sect was a great Immortal Cult sect. Having raised them for nine years, it had already done all it could.

If they themselves failed to absorb qi, they could not blame anyone else.

The sect even provided the Golden Armor Jade Body Method, allowing them to enjoy a lifespan of two hundred and sixty years.

Thus, despite the enormous gap, after calming down, many disciples who had failed to absorb qi still accepted reality. They prepared to switch to the Golden Armor Jade Body Method, seek Dao companions, and begin paving the way for the next generation.

But Lu Xuan was unwilling to accept it.

He wanted to absorb qi a second time and seek the proper path of immortality.

This world was exceedingly unstable. Without the protection of a great sect, one could easily lose one's life.

It was just that... the second Qi-Absorption Grand Rite was extremely risky, and as far as the Heaven-Gazing Sect was concerned, those who failed to absorb qi the first time had already been abandoned.

This was the "selection mechanism" that had stood for many years.

There would always be people who had to cultivate the Golden Armor Jade Body Method and serve the Immortal Cult.

Therefore, the Immortal Cult would not prepare a second Qi-Refining Grand Rite for any Hibernation Academy disciple.

If he wanted to successfully absorb qi within seven days, he could only prepare the Grand Rite ceremony and the required spiritual materials himself.

Ordinary spiritual materials were manageable. Lu Xuan had saved some Spirit Stones over the years in the Heaven-Gazing Sect, and he could buy them either at the Immortal House Platform directly operated by the Immortal Cult or at privately run markets.

But the main material needed for the Grand Rite, the Four-Aspect Divination Herb, was a controlled spiritual material of the Heaven-Gazing Sect.

It could not be bought from ordinary shops at all.

Moreover, the qi gathered by the Heaven-Gazing Sect was True Qi, mysterious beyond measure and requiring Qi Sensitivity. If the first attempt failed, the possibility of succeeding the second time was minuscule.

Thus, once they failed, almost no one considered absorbing qi a second time.

After all, a lifespan of two hundred and sixty years and an appointment serving the Immortal Cult already amounted to an excellent future for many Hibernation Academy disciples who had originally been mortals.

It was equivalent to the secure government posts many people in Lu Xuan's previous life pursued.

But Lu Xuan had already decided to give it another try.

"Just this Four-Aspect Divination Herb..."

Lu Xuan lowered his head and pondered quietly.

Setting aside the mysterious matter of Qi Sensitivity, without the Four-Aspect Divination Herb, initiating the Grand Rite would make everything a moon reflected in the water.

Where could he find such a thing?

"I can only cast aside my pride..."

After agonizing over it for a long while, Lu Xuan finally sighed softly. He then went inside to wash and groom himself, changing into a new Daoist robe with broad sleeves trailing like clouds.

He fastened a jade talisman at his waist, secured his hair with a jade hairpin, and only after confirming in the mirror that nothing was amiss did he rise and leave the residence.

Lu Xuan's residence stood amid the mountain cliffs. Before it lay a broad slab of stone several zhang wide, jutting out over the precipice like a courtyard.

Beyond that broad stone lay the flowing clouds of the mountains.

Looking up, he saw rolling peaks rising and falling like waves born upon a jade-green sea. Amid the vast misty clouds, ten thousand ravines floated in emerald splendor.

This was the Heaven-Gazing Sect's Azure Dormant Mountain, a branch range of Jade Court Mountain.

It was also where the Hibernation Academy disciples resided.

Countless mountain residences were scattered about, some suspended amid broken clouds, others perched upon perilous cliffs, half-hidden among the peaks.

Lu Xuan walked to the edge of the broad stone and gazed at the boundless chasm. He was in no hurry, merely gently rubbing the jade talisman at his waist.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, among the rows of Cloud Sea above the cliffs—swept by mountain winds yet remaining immovable—a white cloud more than a zhang wide seemed to come alive. It tore through the sky and abruptly descended onto the broad stone.

The Little Azure Rainbow Cloud, one of the many benefits afforded to Hibernation Academy disciples.

The Heaven-Gazing Sect's mountain gate was vast. Though Lu Xuan had already reached the Embryonic Breath Perfected Realm and could run as swiftly as a deer or leopard on foot, traversing the boundless mountain ranges normally was still far too difficult.

He had to possess a means of flight.

But those in the Embryonic Breath Realm could not wield spells, so the Heaven-Gazing Sect granted them the Little Azure Rainbow Cloud. So long as they remained within Jade Court Mountain's gates, they could use the Dormant Academy Jade Talisman to command it without limit, traveling among the peaks and crossing the Cloud Sea.

"Riding clouds and mist... this truly is my first time..."

Lu Xuan sighed inwardly, but his feet did not slow. With a light step, he landed atop the white cloud.

The cloud was soft beneath his feet, like several layers of woolen mats piled together, yet it did not feel hollow or unstable, as though solid ground lay beneath him.

Moreover, a faint intention seemed to rise within his mind.

With a thought from Lu Xuan, the entire white cloud instantly turned azure. A faint halo then rose and enveloped it, blocking the mountain winds and steadying the body of the person upon it.

The azure cloud slowly climbed, soaring into the heavens and merging with the streams of clouds overhead. Then it transformed into an azure streak of light, speeding westward at tremendous velocity.

Several hours later, the azure streak descended and halted before a boundary stele.

Upon the stele were three great characters, sharp as silver hooks and iron strokes.

Red Pine Fief!