A Secret Plot

"A Foundation Establishment Pill! Senior Qi Yun really is generous! If only I could become his nominal disciple!"

The moment Qi Yun finished speaking, a youth in the crowd cried out in astonishment.

“Senior Qi Yun really has spared no expense. Even in the Six Great Immortal Sects, Foundation Establishment Pills are extraordinary Spirit Treasures. Only the most central disciples qualify to receive one.” A youth who knew quite a bit about the inner workings of the Six Great Immortal Sects looked utterly incredulous.

"Damn it! If I'd known Senior Qi Yun would be this lavish, I wouldn't have sent our clan's young prodigy to the Spirit Sword Sect." Someone among the spectators on the outskirts wrung his hands in regret.

No one could remain calm, for a Foundation Establishment Pill was a Spirit Treasure beyond their wildest imaginings.

Many cultivators remained stuck at Qi Refining Perfection their entire lives, unable to break through, simply because they lacked a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Moreover, as cultivators grew more numerous and continually harvested the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth, the materials needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills became increasingly scarce. As a result, fewer and fewer pills were produced, and they were rarely seen outside the sects.

Thus, every Foundation Establishment Pill that appeared sparked a struggle among countless cultivators. Those at Qi Refining Perfection who were nearing the end of their lifespans, in particular, would exhaust every means to seize one.

From the crowd's clamor, Xu Yan quickly learned the true value of a Foundation Establishment Pill, and he could not help marveling at Qi Yun's lavish offer.

"Damn! Now I finally know why the Wu siblings passed up the Ascension Gate to enter Senior Qi Yun's tutelage!" Beside him, the plump youth Du Fei muttered a curse, envy spreading across his face.

Qi Yun took in everyone's reactions and was thoroughly satisfied. Seeing that they were still discussing it, he extended a hand and pressed it down in the air before him, signaling for silence.

Only after everyone stopped talking did Qi Yun slowly speak.

"Today is the day I, Qi Yun, take in nominal disciples. Seeing your enthusiasm, young fellow Daoists, reminds me of myself a hundred years ago, equally full of youthful vigor and passion for cultivation. However, my abilities are limited, and I can take only five nominal disciples today. As usual, Spiritual Root aptitude will determine who enters my tutelage."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the crowd, Qi Yun turned, took a transparent sphere from his Storage Bag, and handed it to the short old man beside him. "Qingyun, you will oversee the Spiritual Root testing."

With that, Qi Yun produced a jade chair from somewhere and sat behind the two black-robed elders.

"Yes, Master."

The short old man bowed respectfully, then accepted the transparent sphere from Qi Yun.

At that moment, the plump youth leaned close to Xu Yan's ear and offered a quiet explanation.

“That transparent sphere is a Spirit Treasure used to test Spiritual Roots. They say it was obtained from a Primordial Secret Realm. Any cultivator with Spiritual Roots can make it react.”

Xu Yan merely nodded slightly. His attention had not been on the transparent sphere at all. He had been entirely focused on Qi Yun, and only when he saw that the man had not sensed the Mysterious Green Pearl between his brows did he breathe a sigh of relief.

What puzzled Xu Yan, however, was that Qi Yun looked as serene as drifting clouds in a gentle breeze and did not give him any great sense of pressure.

The short old man who had accepted the transparent sphere now moved. After sweeping his gaze over everyone on the Nine-Leaf Circular Platform, he circulated his magic power and shouted.

"By my master's command, Spiritual Root testing begins now! Anyone aged twenty or above must withdraw immediately. If you are discovered during the testing, you will not be spared!"

Infused with magic power, the short old man's roar boomed like thunder, leaving everyone's eardrums on the verge of bursting.

Once his voice faded, several cultivators did indeed leave the crowd, though they looked like youths.

After this brief interruption, the short old man patted his Storage Bag and took out a stone pedestal made of something that resembled jade but was not.

The pedestal stood about half a person's height, with five recesses on its surface, each engraved with exceptionally intricate runes. The central recess was round, and the short old man placed the transparent sphere into it, then inserted a Spirit Stone into each of the four surrounding recesses.

Once everything was ready, the short old man took a jade token from his Storage Bag and addressed the crowd. "Your names are all recorded in this jade token. When I call your name, answer 'Present,' then come forward and press both hands against this Spirit-Testing Stone. Do not remove your hands until I tell you to stop."

Having finished speaking, the old man called a name.

"Li Erniu!"

"Present!" An honest-looking youth stepped out of the crowd.

The youth first bowed to the short old man, then slowly approached the Spirit-Testing Stone.

Everyone else present was now drawn to the honest-looking youth, their gazes fixed on him.

The youth slowly placed both hands on the Spirit-Testing Stone. About three breaths later, two columns of light, one green and one yellow, rose from it. Both were very short, only about a foot high.

At the sight, the short old man shook his head. "Low-grade dual wood and earth spiritual roots are passable, but they fall far short of what is needed to become my master's nominal disciple. Go back down."

"Yes."

The youth answered and returned to the crowd, regret written across his face.

Seated behind the short old man, Qi Yun withdrew his gaze as soon as the honest-looking youth produced the two columns of light.

The short old man then tested more than twenty boys and girls in succession. The best aptitude among them was merely a Low-Grade Wood Spiritual Root. Most of the others had Low-Grade Spiritual Roots comprising two or three attributes. Only one had a Low-Grade four-attribute Spiritual Root, drawing a wave of mockery from the crowd.

After all, that person was only one step away from having a Trash Spiritual Root with five attributes.

Yet, whether intentionally or not, Qi Yun did glance at that person during the test, and Xu Yan noticed it.

"Next, the mortals from Inkstone City will have their Spiritual Roots tested!"

A stir ran through the crowd. Everyone wanted to see what sort of Spiritual Root aptitude these mortal youths possessed, having been escorted here by two Foundation Establishment experts.

Meanwhile, somewhere outside Inkstone City.

Two black-clad figures hid beneath a dim hillside. One was rather short—the very same short young man Xu Yan had met while buying booklets in Blue Brick Square.

The short young man was now holding a small, silver-white marten on a leash. Its nose kept sniffing toward Separation Valley Market, as though it had caught some scent, and it circled anxiously around his feet.

Facing the short young man stood another young man with a brooding face. His most striking feature was a knife scar that ran from his forehead all the way to the corner of his mouth, making him look deeply unsettling.

"Wang Liu, is this reliable this time? Damn it, it had better not be like last time. I still want to live a few more years!" The scar-faced man looked at the short young man before him, his face full of displeasure.

"Fellow Daoist Qiu, rest assured. Last time was purely an accident. There definitely won't be any problems this time," the short young man hastily assured him.

Seeing that the scar-faced man still looked undecided, the short young man inwardly scoffed, though he showed none of it on his face. Instead, he explained patiently, "Fellow Daoist Qiu, rogue cultivators who buy my booklets are generally greenhorns who've only just entered the Cultivation World through some absurd stroke of dog-shit luck. Not only is their cultivation low, they're also less vigilant. We're both at the fourth layer of qi refining. If we strike together, that will be more than enough."

Scarface looked thoughtful. He had known the scrawny young man before him for over a decade, and together they had carried out more than a dozen such murders and robberies. Aside from one failed attempt, they had succeeded every time. With the cultivation resources they plundered, both had advanced from the Third Layer of Qi Refining to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.

Their success rate was due to the Short Young Man's exceptionally vicious cunning. He used booklets on basic knowledge of the Cultivation World to pick out greenhorns who had only just entered it.

These people were almost all rogue cultivators. Sect disciples and members of cultivation lineages already had access to such inherited knowledge and had no need to buy it.

On that basis, the Short Young Man could conclude that almost everyone who bought his booklets was a rogue cultivator.

After tasting success twice, the Short Young Man began specifically targeting rogue cultivators newly arrived in the Cultivation World. Although they generally carried few resources, the risk was extremely low. It was an utterly insidious scheme.

On Azure Peak Terrace, Spiritual Root testing continued.

There were thirteen mortal youths in total, and ten had already been tested. All had Low-Grade Spiritual Roots.

Now only three remained untested. Seeing this, everyone turned their attention to the remaining three.