Qi Yun Takes the Stage

The boys and girls were all young, their eyes brimming with excitement as they looked at the Nine-Leaf Circular Platform beneath their feet.

"Huh?"

On the leaf opposite Xu Yan, a young man and woman caught his attention.

They were none other than the arrogant young man and the pretty girl Xu Yan had met while resting along the official road.

Seeing the resemblance between their faces, Xu Yan surmised that they must have come from a cultivation lineage.

The arrogant young man's spiritual perception was keen. He soon noticed Xu Yan watching him, and when he turned around, surprise immediately appeared on his face.

Du Fei noticed Xu Yan's reaction and teased him. "What, Brother Xu? Taken a fancy to that little lass?"

Xu Yan shook his head and immediately looked away. He had no interest in the girl; he had merely happened to encounter the siblings here and given them a few extra looks.

Seeing Xu Yan look away, Du Fei continued.

"These siblings come from quite a background. It's just as well you aren't interested, Brother Xu. Otherwise, you'd only be adding to your troubles. Rogue cultivators like us don't even merit a glance from their lineage."

The plump boy's words piqued Xu Yan's interest. Meeting his questioning gaze, Du Fei lowered his voice and continued.

"They come from the Wu family of Skycloud Valley, a cultivation family with more than five hundred years of history. They still have a Foundation Establishment ancestor presiding over them, and they rank among the foremost cultivation families in Fufeng Commandery. I heard their founding ancestor was a disciple of the Ascension Gate, so the Wu family has a very good relationship with the sect."

At this point, a trace of puzzlement appeared on Du Fei's round face. "I heard these siblings are quite talented. By rights, they should have been able to join the Ascension Gate. I wonder why they came here to become Senior Qi Yun's disciples instead."

While Xu Yan listened intently to the information about the Wu family, startled cries rose around him.

"Look! The demonic bird Senior Qi Yun tamed is here!"

No sooner had the words fallen than Xu Yan felt the sky overhead abruptly darken. A fierce gust then swept out from the center of the Nine-Leaf Circular Platform.

The wind was so powerful that many of the boys and girls staggered helplessly. Xu Yan could not keep his footing either, but fortunately, the plump Du Fei stood beside him and shielded him, allowing him to just barely avoid falling.

By the time everyone regained their footing, an enormous demonic bird had landed on the raised section at the very center of the platform, where five-colored light shone.

Just as Xu Yan had seen at the entrance to the Separation Valley Market that day, two black-robed cultivators stood on the bird's back with more than a dozen boys and girls.

Once the bird steadied itself, the two black-robed cultivators swept their broad sleeves, releasing a surge of magic power that gathered up the youngsters and set them safely onto the platform.

Observing them at close range this time, Xu Yan discovered that both black-robed cultivators escorting the youngsters were elderly men.

Their auras were solid as mountains and deep as abysses. Though neither deliberately unleashed his presence, Xu Yan still felt an indescribable pressure.

"To think Seniors Liu and Zhang personally went to escort these youngsters from the mortal world! They must have found a promising seedling this time!" A cultivator in the crowd recognized the two elderly men and cried out in surprise.

"Indeed. Both seniors are Foundation Establishment experts, Senior Qi Yun's right-hand men. For both of them to go in person, they must have found someone with a good Spiritual Root. I'd wager it's at least a Mid-Grade Spiritual Root!"

"Doesn't that mean there'll be one fewer place among Senior Qi Yun's nominal disciples?"

The cultivators standing on the Nine-Leaf Circular Platform buzzed with discussion.

Xu Yan's attention had already been captured by the enormous demonic bird before him. He had never seen such a terrifying demonic beast.

Its entire body was covered in azure scales, its five spread talons curved like hooks. A metallic sheen suffused its body, as though it had been cast from spiritual iron.

At this distance, Xu Yan could feel intense killing intent rushing straight at him, making even breathing difficult.

"Kree!"

While Xu Yan watched, the Azure-Scaled Dove raised its head and let out a long cry, then beat its wings and soared into the sky, flying toward the endless mountains beyond Separation Valley.

At this sight, envy filled the surrounding cultivators' eyes, and they began discussing it eagerly.

Just then, the two black-robed elders at the center of the platform swept their gazes around, silencing the discussion.

One of them, a short elder, stepped forward and surveyed the cultivators on the leaves before announcing, "I am Liu Qingyun. On my master's orders, I will preside over today's gathering to recruit nominal disciples. My master is currently refining a batch of spiritual pills and has reached a critical stage. Please wait here a little while. Once the pills are finished, he will come in person to make his selection. I ask for your understanding."

Having spoken, the elder cupped his hands toward everyone around him.

The boys and girls standing on the nine leaves had only recently begun cultivating. Seeing the elder treat them so courteously, they immediately bowed in return. After all, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator; his words were merely polite formalities.

None of them would take those courtesies at face value. No cultivator who had come here for the test was a fool.

With that, everyone could only wait quietly.

Xu Yan felt rather nervous. He feared that when Qi Yun arrived, he might discover the Mysterious Green Pearl between his brows. Though Xu Yan thought that unlikely, there was still some risk.

Had he not wanted to learn about his Spiritual Root, he might even have considered fleeing.

They ended up waiting a full four hours, nothing like the brief wait the short elder had promised. Xu Yan grumbled inwardly, but out of consideration for the elder's Foundation Establishment cultivation, he maintained an outward air of breezy composure.

Just as everyone was growing impatient, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out overhead.

Then a resonant voice sounded in everyone's ears.

"Sorry for the wait, young fellow Daoists."

Everyone looked toward the voice and saw an elderly man with the bearing of an immortal approaching on a flying sword.

The elder was tall and wore an azure Daoist robe patterned with clouds. Holding a Purple-Gold Pill Furnace, he arrived before them in the blink of an eye and landed at the center of the Nine-Leaf Circular Platform.

Qi Yun's sudden appearance stirred the crowd. Once everyone recovered, they all bowed to the elder before them.

"This junior, Xu Yan (Du Fei), pays his respects to Senior Qi Yun."

Xu Yan was no exception, bowing with everyone else to the kindly elder before him.

The elder nodded to them with an air of easy composure, then gestured toward the Purple-Gold Pill Furnace in his hands.

"You are all too courteous, young fellow Daoists. The reason I was delayed so long was that the pills in this furnace had reached a critical stage of refinement, and I truly could not leave them. I hope you won't mind."

Seeing everyone's gaze turn toward the pill furnace in his hands, Qi Yun continued.

"I imagine you're all curious about what spiritual pills I've been refining. Very well, I'll tell you. These are Foundation Establishment Pills. This batch yielded six, prepared for the five nominal disciples I will take in today. Any of those five who reaches Qi Refining Perfection will receive one of these Foundation Establishment Pills."

The moment Qi Yun finished speaking, the crowd erupted into an uproar.