Bodhisattva

The artifact was shaped like a gold-ingot gourd. He reached out and removed the jeweled cap, and in the next instant, a fierce gust bored straight out of the gourd.

"Ahhh! Are you fucking the Golden-Horned King?!" Bian Chunchou staggered back in fright, but the wind was coming directly for him. After all, at this very moment, he was unquestionably the soft persimmon among the three.

As he fled in panic, another gust came from behind his right side. Bian Chunchou could even feel the winds colliding behind him, wreaking havoc.

Wuwuwu, Wen Xuxu, save this dog's life! Having narrowly escaped death, Bian Chunchou immediately ran behind his friend and hid.

"Zheng Jin!!! Look what you've done!!!"

The young martial uncle immediately covered his ears. "Can't hear it, can't hear it! I told you not to call my name—it sounds way too serious!"

Zhao Qi: ...Was that really the point?!

The point was that this guy had treated Yonglu Mountain's Mountain Examination as a complete joke!

After this, if he, Zhao Qi, couldn't throw Zheng Jin into the Discipline Hall and lock him up for two days, then he might as well stop being an elder of the Discipline Hall.

"Take a look yourself. What exactly is this artifact?"

Young Martial Uncle Zheng said, "Isn't it... pretty good? This Wind-Treasure Gourd was specially made for blowing fire into my pill furnace. It's got plenty of force, and I personally set every single gem into that jeweled cap. I was even wondering why I hadn't seen it these past two days." So he had accidentally tossed it into the Mountain Examination.

Forget Zhao Qi—even Sect Master Gu Wufang's forehead began to tighten. "So that makes not fifteen, but sixteen artifacts?"

Zheng Jin shook his head. "How does this count as one? This gourd is just something I use to start fires, for storing wind power. Even the Yonglu Mountain mark on its bottom has worn blurry. Besides—"

That kid really has rotten luck. If anyone else had gotten the Wind-Treasure Gourd, it might have offered some assistance. But that little blind boy had happened to get the Calming Storm Fan. The fan could release Wind Blades, but it could also absorb wind power. Against it, the Wind-Treasure Gourd was simply—sending a gift from a thousand miles away, the gift weighty but the affection thin.

"That boy surnamed Li is probably fated to have no connection with our Yonglu Mountain."

Zheng Jin did everything as his heart pleased, with no sense of measure whatsoever. Yet Yonglu Mountain had always protected its own. Zhao Qi could drag him into the Discipline Hall afterward and lock him in a little dark room, but he would not interfere with the Mountain Examination merely because the artifacts had changed.

Of course, this was not because they did not take the Mountain Examination seriously. Rather, this small change would not affect its overall progression. The disciples Yonglu Mountain sought had never been people who did not know how to adapt, who clung rigidly to old rules.

Li Zishen's cultivation was decent, and his background was good as well. But there were countless people like him in the cultivation world. Yonglu Mountain did not lack this one.

Returning to what had just happened, when Wen Xu saw Bian Chunchou in danger, he had hastily swung out a Wind Blade to block it and buy his friend time to escape. He had not expected it to truly stop the attack!

Because he was pretending to be blind, he could not see what artifact Li Zishen held. But at the instant he sent out the Wind Blade, he sensed the folding fan in his hand trembling faintly. At the same time, an emotion of "delight" was transmitted from the fan.

Delight? Why would it be delighted?

Wen Xu was puzzled, but then Bian Chunchou cried out, "Wen Xuxu, hurry, hurry, hurry! The wind vortex is coming again! That guy surnamed Li has a Golden-Horned King gourd that can release wind vortices!"

What kind of nonsense was that?!

Wen Xu decided that once they entered the sect, he would properly teach his friend what proper verbal expression meant. Otherwise, they would not be so lucky next time.

Yet this time, Wen Xu strangely understood at once—and discovered why the folding fan had been "delighted."

Well, well—Lord Li Bodhisattva has arrived.

Wen Xu could not help curling his lips. The next instant, the folding fan flew from his hand. He had not formed a contract with it, so once it left his hand, it rapidly began relying on "instinct" to absorb all the wind around it, including the little hurricane released from the Wind-Treasure Gourd.

Li Zishen was dumbfounded. He had not expected that broken fan to be used like this! Was this really a low-grade artifact? Had Yonglu Mountain's definition of low-grade artifacts completely diverged from the outside world?!

While Li Zishen was inwardly greeting Yonglu Mountain's second granduncle with wild curses, Chen Zui had already quietly approached with his saber. By the time Li Zishen noticed, it was far too late.

Chen Zui's saber chopped down on the hand holding Li Zishen's gourd artifact.

"Ah—"

Li Zishen fell in response, and the Wind-Treasure Gourd dropped into Chen Zui's hand with him.

Chen Zui drove a blade into Li Zishen, leaving him unable to strike back. With his other hand, he capped the gourd and even weighed it casually. "A planting Lineage—nothing more than this. We'll take this gourd artifact. You three still want to fight me? If you do, I'll accompany you to the bitter end!"

In Li Zishen's group, one was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer and two were at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. All had received, to varying degrees, favors from the Li Family. Their participation in Yonglu Mountain's examination this time had been meant to escort the crown prince to the throne. Yet unexpectedly—Crown Prince Li's grand undertaking had perished halfway before it was complete. Things had developed to this point, and it was no longer as simple as sacrificing themselves to let Li Zishen pass the Mountain Examination.

But Li Zishen's mind had already been consumed by rage. From childhood to adulthood, everything had gone smoothly for him. His Lineage had poured all its resources into nurturing him, while his parents and elders had indulged his every wish. He was only nineteen this year, yet already possessed the cultivation of the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. At his age, how many people in the cultivation world could have higher cultivation than him?!

He had also tested his spiritual roots long ago. Though he did not possess a Single Wood Spiritual Root, he had an exceptionally fine Dual Water-Wood Spiritual Root, with only a small proportion of water spiritual root. Once he entered a sect, if he could obtain pills or treasures that cleansed spiritual roots and wash away that water spiritual root, he would become a genius with a Single Wood Spiritual Root.

In truth, Li Zishen had wanted more to join the Hehe Sect. But the Hehe Sect was vast and powerful, with geniuses everywhere, so he had followed his Lineage's arrangements and come to seek entry into Yonglu Mountain.

Yet he had not expected that, during the first trial, a penniless mortal would steal his thunder—and now he had even been—

Li Zishen's reason completely shattered. "Kill them! Move! Go seize the fan!"