All the disciples taking part in the Talisman Investiture test bowed again, then sat cross-legged on the ground in orderly rows.
Zhang Xiao sat down with them.
Wait, why did everyone seem to know exactly what the next test would be?
Was I the only one who didn't?
Fortunately, the senior martial uncle presiding over the test still announced the rules aloud, as customary:
"The first trial of the Talisman Investiture test.
The Golden Light Spell is the fundamental method of Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life on our Dragon-Tiger Mountain!
If your golden light is not strong enough, going down the mountain will only get you killed.
This is a timed trial. Lasting one stick of incense earns a pass, two earns a good, and three earns an excellent."
Senior First Uncle slowly surveyed the disciples below, then lightly tapped the ground with his right foot.
The enormous Yin-Yang Fish beneath the disciples taking the test suddenly began to rotate.
The Bagua diagram lit up with a hazy white glow.
"Golden Light Spell-recite!"
Over a hundred disciples sat cross-legged with their backs straight and chanted in unison:
"Heaven and Earth, Mysterious Ancestor, Root of the Ten Thousand Qi.
Extensively Cultivate Ten Thousand Eons, Prove My Divine Powers.
Within and beyond the three realms, The Dao Alone Is Supreme.
Golden Light Covers the Body, Envelop and Reflect My Form.
..."
Golden radiance rose from those hundreds of disciples at once. Like blazing flames, it lit up the entire area almost instantly.
Zhang Xiao slowly closed his eyes, using his spiritual sense and body instead to perceive everything outside.
Invisible forces seemed to fill the air around him.
Pressure surged in from every direction, gradually forcing the golden light extending from his body back inward.
It was as though a giant