Asking Heaven to Open Its Eye

The old Daoist returned to the sect gates and told the crowd, "Those I named just now may join the Carefree Sect. Anyone else who wishes to join must pass the Carefree Sect's trial."

The twenty-odd people in the crowd who had failed raised their voices in protest.

"Why?"

"Exactly! Why do they get to pass when we don't?"

Li Wuyou took out a horsetail whisk and flicked it. "Because I am the sect master of the Carefree Sect."

Only now did Li Wuyou display the imposing presence of a sect master.

Yang Xiao gave him a long look. He had learned from Butcher that the Carefree Sect had fallen into decline. Those who had just passed all had powerful backgrounds, making them people the sect could not afford to offend. This was a compromise in another guise.

Still, he had not denied those he rejected a chance. He had offered them some kind of trial.

Li Wuyou said, "Those who have passed, follow me up the mountain. Those who haven't may walk up later."

With that, he turned to head uphill. Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from the forest. "Wait!"

Shen Buyu emerged from behind a tree, flew swiftly over to Li Wuyou, and dropped to both knees. "Mountain Master Li, please accept me as your disciple."

The twenty-odd people glared furiously at the old Daoist Shen. They had never expected him to leap out at this crucial moment and ask to join the Carefree Sect himself.

Li Wuyou froze, then stepped back. "The Carefree Sect only accepts disciples under eighteen. You are too old."

He flicked his whisk and turned to leave. Having spent some time with the old Daoist Shen, Yang Xiao knew he must have a plan if he had chosen to show himself.

Sure enough, the next instant, he clung to Li Wuyou's leg and said, "Actually, I only turned eighteen today. When I was little, children my age bullied me over this all the time."

"Master, I've suffered so much! Please take me in."

Li Wuyou paused, then reached out and grasped the old Daoist Shen's hand. After a moment, he said in disbelief, "You really are eighteen."

At Li Wuyou's words, everyone wore the same incredulous expression.

Only one person there reacted differently: Yang Xiao.

He had known the old Daoist Shen for almost a day. If he had to sum him up, he would call him uncanny—utterly uncanny.

Li Wuyou studied the old Daoist Shen for a long while before saying, "Then take the trial with the others."

The old Daoist Shen wiped away his tears and sprang up from the ground in delight. Apart from his appearance, he really did seem like an eighteen-year-old boy.

In the blink of an eye, the old Daoist Shen ran behind the handsome young man and hid. Quite a few people were now cackling menacingly at him.

Mountain Master Li led Dongfang Mingyue and the other two up the mountain, while the crowd at the sect gates watched the handsome young man and his companion.

The handsome young man addressed them. "My name is Lei Jiuchen. Next, I and my companion will explain the rules for joining the Carefree Sect.

"It's very simple. You may not use magical power. Just walk from the foot of the mountain to the summit."

Lei Jiuchen turned and bowed to the sky. "Please, Heaven, open your eye."

The sea of clouds churned overhead, and a purple eye emerged from the void.

Yang Xiao looked up at the purple eye and felt as though it were watching him.

"That's the Heaven's Eye Opening Technique. The Carefree Sect uses it to monitor us. The moment you use magical power, that fellow Lei Jiuchen will know," Shen Buyu said beside him.

"Is this a Celestial Master's art?" Yang Xiao asked. Shen Buyu nodded.

"We'll wait for you at the summit." Lei Jiuchen and the gentle young woman flew up the mountain.

The crowd exchanged glances. Some began walking uphill. Others refused to believe it and leaped into the air toward the summit, but barely after taking flight, they wobbled and fell from the sky.

Lei Jiuchen's voice came down from above. "Disqualified."

The man ran back, his face pale. Yang Xiao approached him and asked, "Brother, what happened just now?"

The man snorted, flicked his sleeve, and left.

Yang Xiao looked at Shen Buyu. The old Daoist knew a great deal; perhaps he knew something about this?

The old Daoist Shen shook his head. "I know about it too."

As they spoke, the two of them became the only people left outside the sect gates.

They set off up the mountain together. After all, Lei Jiuchen had only told them to walk up, not how long they had to take.

After barely a li, Yang Xiao frowned. His body felt slightly heavier. He turned to look at the old Daoist Shen, who shook his head.

After ten li, his body weighed twice as much.

After a hundred li, Yang Xiao wiped away his sweat and looked up at the sun. It was not just the ground that was strange—even the sun overhead had a problem. The farther up the mountain they went, the larger the sun became, and the hotter their surroundings grew.

He glanced at the old Daoist Shen beside him, who looked completely at ease.

Yang Xiao shook his head. Everything about the old Daoist Shen was strange. Perhaps he had a way to resist these two restrictions.

They continued uphill. By the time they were two-thirds of the way up, they had overtaken most of the others. Even Yang Xiao, who had spent years trekking through the desert, was finding it hard to bear.

By contrast, the old Daoist Shen still looked utterly relaxed.

Then the old Daoist Shen suddenly wiped Yang Xiao's face, coating his hand in sweat, before smearing it over his own face and neck to pretend he was drenched in perspiration.

They kept climbing. The farther they went, the stronger the gravity beneath their feet became. Yang Xiao now felt as though he carried an entire mountain on his back. If not for the willpower he had forged in the desert, he would have passed out long ago.

He turned toward the old Daoist Shen, who grinned. "Want this humble monk to give you a hand? I won't ask for much. All you have to do is beg."

Yang Xiao showed Shen Laodao the back of his head and slowly climbed toward the summit. One step, then another...

The summit gradually came into view. He saw a group of people up there, including Mountain Master Li Wuyou, the handsome Lei Jiuchen, and the little girl with the pointed canine teeth, Wang Huhu...

At some point, the old Daoist Shen moved ahead of him, panting for breath. He glanced back with a grin. It was plainly all an act.

Yang Xiao ignored him. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

Whenever that feeling came over him, a voice deep inside told him he could not sleep. He had to keep going.

Yang Xiao let out a low growl and made his way toward the summit step by step. He no longer had enough strength to run.

A breeze brushed past, cool and soothing. Yang Xiao collapsed to the ground. Just before his eyes closed, he saw Little Blue fly past.

Pain!

Agonizing pain!

Yang Xiao opened his eyes and felt soreness throughout his body from sheer exhaustion. He sat cross-legged and circulated the Great Martial Canon. Spiritual energy flowed through his entire body, and the soreness slowly faded.

Coming out of meditation, he surveyed his surroundings: bluestone walls, pink bed curtains, a dressing table, a red sandalwood wardrobe, and a table.

A delicious aroma wafted from the table, where several dishes of meat and vegetables had been laid out.

This seemed to be a woman's room. Its owner had prepared food for him. Well, it was probably meant for him.

He went over to the table and began wolfing down the food. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, but he was starving. Before long, he had polished off everything on the table.

Click!

The door opened, and a gentle young woman entered. She was Li Wuyou's female disciple.

She smiled when she saw him. "You're awake."

Yang Xiao nodded instinctively. The woman had such a pleasant personality that it was impossible to dislike her.

She walked over to the table and sat opposite him. "Congratulations. You passed the trial and are now officially an outer disciple of the Carefree Sect.

"My name is Lei Miaoyan. I'm your second senior sister. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me."

"Thank you," he said.

"Ahem!"

A cough sounded outside the door. Lei Jiuchen walked in and frowned at him. "Since you're awake, why haven't you left?"

Lei Miaoyan turned around. "Brother, he only just woke up. He hasn't fully recovered yet. Let him rest a little."

Lei Jiuchen did not answer Lei Miaoyan. He simply kept staring at Yang Xiao.

Judging from their interaction, they must have been brother and sister. Yang Xiao understood Lei Jiuchen's feelings. Having a man stay in his younger sister's room was hardly ideal.

He stood. "Second senior sister, I feel much better now. I won't trouble you any longer."

He headed for the door but stopped when he reached it. He had been awake for quite some time, yet had not seen Little Blue. Turning back, he asked, "Second senior sister, have you seen Little Blue?"

Lei Miaoyan stood and smiled. "You mean your sparrow? I saw it when you first passed out, but after I went to cook, I didn't see it again."

Yang Xiao frowned. Had Little Blue gone back to find Butcher? It was certainly possible. After all, it had only come to escort him to the Carefree Sect. Now that he had joined, its task was complete.

He stepped outside and looked around. He was on the summit, with four bluestone houses nearby.

His second senior sister, Lei Miaoyan, lived in one. If each person had a house, did that mean the Carefree Sect had only four people? No, that could not be right. Where did the new disciples live? He searched the surroundings but found no one.

Just then, Lei Jiuchen came out of Lei Miaoyan's stone house and said to him, "Stop looking. Everyone has gone to the rock face behind the mountain."

He pointed toward a small path, then turned and entered the bluestone house beside Lei Miaoyan's.

Yang Xiao smiled. This eldest senior brother seemed to have a cold exterior but a warm heart.

The path was paved with pebbles that pressed uncomfortably against his feet. On either side stood trees as thick as a person, more than a hundred years old.

After walking for half an hour, he finally reached the rock face Lei Jiuchen had mentioned.

A deep pool lay before it, with eight people seated around it: the old Daoist Shen, Wang Huhu, Dongfang Mingyue, Luo Kedi, and four others he vaguely remembered. They seemed to have joined the sect alongside him.

He also spotted Little Blue, perched on the old Daoist Shen's shoulder.

They were all studying the rock face, some frowning, others smiling bitterly.

"Old Daoist Shen." He walked over and patted his shoulder.

The old Daoist Shen jumped up in fright, only relaxing when he saw who it was.

Suddenly, he slung an arm around Yang Xiao's shoulders. "You've only just woken up, and you're still weak. Come on, I'll help you replenish your strength."

He pulled Yang Xiao aside and glanced at Little Blue on his shoulder. The sparrow hopped excitedly, then flew into the forest.

Soon, Little Blue returned with a bundle of firewood and dropped it before them.

The old Daoist Shen piled up the wood, took a pot from his Storage Ring, and set it on top. He drew water from the deep pool and tossed out a ball of flame, then went to the pool's edge and took out a Dragon Horse carcass. He slit it open, gutted it, and tossed the meat into the pot. His movements were so practiced that he seemed to have done this countless times.

Half an hour later, the old Daoist Shen lifted the lid, releasing the aroma of meat. Dragon Horses were demonic beasts, and their meat smelled especially delicious when cooked.

The fragrance drifted ten li, rousing everyone beside the pool. They turned around, and five of them glared furiously at the pair.

The Dragon Horse broth was golden. Yang Xiao took a bite, and the meat melted in his mouth. Even his tongue seemed to melt along with it.

"Don't go too far," someone said, standing up.

The old Daoist Shen gave him a disdainful glance, picked up a piece of meat, and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, he said, "So what if this humble monk goes too far? Come hit me if you have the guts.

"Do you dare? Master said that fellow disciples must not fight with magic, or they'll be expelled."

The man pointed at them, his face flushed crimson.

The sound of someone swallowing came from behind them. They looked back to find the little girl named Wang Huhu squatting there, staring at the pot of meat with burning desire.

"Can I have some?" Wang Huhu asked Yang Xiao.

Since they would all be fellow disciples from now on, and she was very cute, Yang Xiao nodded.

She leaped up in excitement, ran to the pot, picked up a piece of Dragon Horse meat, and started eating. Between bites, she said, "So demonic beast meat tastes this good! When I go back, I'm definitely making Dad catch lots more for me."