" True Disciple Candidate?" Zhou Wuji was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected there to be a candidate, True Person Zhihua had never mentioned it before.
"The status of True Disciple is extremely important, so naturally we need to find a few candidates and observe them for several years to confirm that their talent and character are both first-rate before they can be officially recognized as True Disciple."
True Person Zhihua said, " Jingyang has several powerful geniuses, including Leng Wuyou, Yue Wuying, and Xinru and Xinkong from Dragon Elephant Temple."
"Especially Xinru, who is said to have grasped some of the wonders of Prajna, and is not far from the Third Rank."
"I thought it would be difficult for you to Jingyang Dharma Assembly, but you were able to kill two Fourth Rank martial arts Devil Cultivator, which shows that you are really powerful in actual combat."
"In arena battles, although real swords cannot be used, sword cultivators still have a real advantage."
"If you can cultivate to the Fifth Rank Perfection in the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven, your five internal organs will be fully formed and divine beings will naturally arise. You should then have a chance to overpower all the geniuses..."
True Person Zhihua initially valued Zhou Wuji because Zhou Wuji was shrewd, alert, and pragmatic, and especially talented in combat.
That's why, with Zhou Wuji's cultivation level of only the Fifth Rank, he was able to kill two Fourth Rank martial arts Devil Cultivator, which surprised True Person Zhihua.
That's Fourth Rank martial artist. Even if their martial arts training isn't pure, they're still extremely powerful!
This gave True Person Zhihua a glimmer of hope, feeling that Zhou Wuji had the potential to win the Jingyang Dharma Assembly.
If that were truly the case, she would be able to recommend Zhou Wuji to enter the academy and become True Disciple Candidate.
If this step is taken successfully, the status of True Disciple will not be far off.
Zhou Wuji asked, " True Person, are Lu Wuyuan and Yan Wudong really that bad?"
"Among a group of geniuses, they are only of average talent. One is arrogant and conceited, and the other is cold and stubborn; ultimately, they will achieve nothing."
True Person Zhihua shook his head, for it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature.
Even with less talent, one can still defy fate and change their fortuitous opportunity through hard work and a bit of luck.
If your nature isn't right, then it's too difficult.
Of course, people change.
It's not impossible that these two might have a sudden realization and repent, making rapid progress in their spiritual practice.
But she really didn't like either of them; Zhou Wuji was much better—talented, capable, and of good character.
Most importantly, she had a feeling that Zhou Wuji was special.
This isn't to say that Zhou Wuji is handsome, or that he's eloquent or capable; rather, there's something about him that's hard to define...
Even after reaching the Third Rank, True Person Zhihua still believed in these mysterious and esoteric things.
As it turned out, Zhou Wuji did not disappoint her.
True Person Zhihua reminded Zhou Wuji, "These two from Jingyang aren't good enough, but we have several formidable geniuses in Yuyang Upper Court and our own academy. It's too early to talk about that now; you should focus on preparing for the Jingyang Dharma Assembly."
"This disciple will now go to the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven to cultivate."
Zhou Wuji hesitated for a moment. He had originally wanted to ask True Person Zhihua to take care of Daoist Yizhen, but then felt it would be too presumptuous.
He had a very good personal relationship with True Person Zhihua, but it was very inconvenient to involve Daoist Yizhen.
With Elder Zhixing here, there shouldn't be any trouble.
Although there are various open and covert struggles in the Upper Court, they are ultimately all intellectual battles. Even if there are troubles, they are nothing more than minor matters, and there is no need to ask True Person Zhihua for help, as his favors are extremely valuable!
After a hundred days of cultivation in the grotto-heaven, Zhou Wuji needed to make some arrangements first.
The first step is to Wuming the situation clearly to Yizhen and Wuming to prevent Wuming overthinking.
Secondly, make arrangements for your apprentice Yang Tie Ying, and tell him not to go out to exorcise demons and cause any accidents when he is not around.
He took Green Edge Sword, Wuming n't use it, so he gave it to Yang Tie Ying.
Yang Tie Ying, after all, was Seventh Rank Transforming Force cultivator, so wielding the Green Edge Sword was more than enough for him.
As for the Seven Star Sword, Zhou Wuji took it back. It's fine for his master to leave it as a memento...
Zhou Wuji went to see Zhiyuan again and brought him some local specialties from Yunyang.
The old man had lived in Yunyang for decades. When he saw Zhou Wuji bringing Yunyang specialties to see him, the old man was speechless.
"If you don't have anything to give, you don't have to send anything..."
Zhou Wuji laughed and said, "The important thing is the sentiment behind it; you can take it if you don't want it."
"What do you need?" Zhiyuan asked, putting away the several packages of gifts and placing them beside her.
"My Yizhen master Yizhen has come to the Upper Court. Please take good care of him." Zhou Wuji politely cupped his hands in greeting.
" Yizhen is quite good; I'll try my best to help him out."
Zhiyuan then added, "Actually, there's not much I can do to help. Things aren't peaceful outside right now, Yizhen I should try to stay in the Upper Court. There's no need for me to go out and preside over the Lower Court..."
Zhou Wuji largely agreed with this; while controlling the Lower Court was prestigious, it was also equally dangerous.
The earth's veins shifted, Devil Cultivator became particularly active, and even barbarians emerged to cause trouble.
Times have changed; it is indeed better to practice in the Upper Court now.
After leaving Flying Profound Hall, Zhou Wuji went straight to the Upright Heart Hall to pay his respects to Zhiyun.
The fact that Yunyang had gathered so many Devil Cultivator was no small matter; for both public and private reasons, he had to explain the situation to Zhiyun.
However, he was unsure whether Zhiyun knew about the Lingming Peak cave abode. True Person Zhihua had only ever referred to himself as the sect leader and never the abbot, so he was careful with his words.
Zhiyun took this matter very seriously and inquired about some details.
Upon hearing that Zhou Wuji had killed two Fourth Rank Devil Cultivator, a hint of surprise appeared on his aged face.
Martial artists possess strong Qi and Blood, which greatly counters the Law Technique of cultivators. Zhou Wuji was only Fifth Rank, yet he was able to kill two Fourth Rank Devil Cultivator, a feat that True Person Zhiyun Zhou Wuji n't fathom.
Through the incident with the barbarians, True Person Zhiyun had great trust in Zhou Wuji's abilities and believed that Zhou Wuji's wisdom would prevent him from doing anything foolish like deceiving him.
True Person Zhiyun flipping through the tattered notebook, he sighed softly, "The notebook of Fu Tianji will likely attract countless Devil Cultivator. Yunyang is in trouble..."
Yunyang's location is very important, connecting Chubei internally and Yunze externally. If something happens to Yunyang, it is easy for other sects to take advantage of the situation and invade, and then the Upper Court will lose control of Yunyang.
True Person Zhiyun said to Zhou Wuji, "You just go to Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven for seclusion; I will handle this matter."
The old Daoist priest took out a token and handed it to Zhou Wuji: "Go."
Zhou Wuji bowed and accepted the token to enter the cave from Zhiyun's hand.
The entrance to Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven is located in the rear hall of the Upright Heart Hall, with a star map of the night sky depicting countless stars painted on the side wall.
He Law Power to activate the token, and hundreds of stars shone on the star chart on the wall. An invisible spatial barrier opened, forming a portal of light composed of condensed stars.
Zhou Wuji stepped inside, and billions of stars rushed past him at high speed. When he came to his senses, he had already arrived at the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven.
A massive, azure beam of light greeted them, piercing the earth and reaching the heavens.
Within the pillar of light, billions of stars twinkled and shimmered, as if the night sky had been rolled into a cylindrical shape.
Standing beneath the pillar of light, Zhou Wuji felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.
Surrounding the pillar of light were vast, misty mountains, appearing both real and illusory.
The pure and abundant starlight, almost tangible, permeated every part of the cave. Being inside, Zhou Wuji felt that taking a single breath was equivalent to cultivating outside for a whole day.
In reality, it wouldn't be that exaggerated. It's just that the stellar energy here is exceptionally dense. Even with Zhou Wuji's cultivation level, he's not quite used to the drastic changes in the stellar energy level, and he's even somewhat "drunk" on the spiritual energy.
Zhou Wuji, after all, possessed a powerful Divine Sense and an incredibly solid foundation. He quickly adapted to the rich star energy of the cave and regained consciousness from his somewhat dizzy state.
After circling the enormous pillar of light, Zhou Wuji discovered that it was several miles in diameter, its majestic and sacred appearance surpassing all mortal objects in the world.
The pillar of light was entirely formed from the condensed stellar energy falling from the heavens; it was not a physical substance.
Standing anywhere within the grotto, one's silhouette will be illuminated by the pillar of light. The immense and vast stellar power condensed on the pillar of light is beyond description.
Zhou Wuji was quite knowledgeable, but he had never seen such a scene before, which greatly shocked him both physically and mentally.
He couldn't help but marvel at the power of nature, which is far beyond human capability.
After the initial shock, Zhou Wuji discovered that the cave was actually very small; a radius of a thousand steps centered on the pillar of light was the true space of the cave.
A thousand paces away, though there are vast mountains and boundless clouds, they are like projections, visible but untouchable.
On his first day in the Heavenly Pillar Treasure Light Grotto-Heaven, Zhou Wuji didn't rush to cultivate, but instead explored the entire cave.
This kind of independent, secluded space is vastly different from the material world in many ways.
Zhou Wuji confirmed that the cave was safe enough before he began his cultivation.
This trip to Yunyang yielded a huge harvest, with the deaths of two Fourth Rank, two Fifth Rank, and a host of Sixth Rank Devil Cultivator.
Compared to that 6.5-tael Fourth Rank- rank barbarian, the two Fourth Rank Devil Cultivator were still a bit weaker.
Their birth charts are 6.1 taels and 6.3 taels respectively.
Even so, it is still extremely precious.
Zhou Wuji originally didn't want to use the 6.5 tael destiny, but now that he had money, he immediately put the 6.1 tael destiny into the Tianshu Sword.
When the purple light dissipated, the Tianshu Sword had reached its perfect state.
He had mastered the seven basic variations of Swordsmanship, including the various changes in the circulation of True Qi in the Tianshu Sword, to perfection.
The Tianshu Sword is the central element of the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword, used to control and connect the other six Swordsmanship.
Zhou Wuji had previously learned four styles of the Big Dipper Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword, and he had mastered each Swordsmanship to perfection, but he could not integrate the four Swordsmanship because he lacked the Tianshu Sword as the central element.
Now that the Tianshu Sword is perfected and the five Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword have been integrated into one, Zhou Wuji feels that he has made great progress in terms of Swordsmanship.
The kidney orifice corresponding to the Tianshu Sword also opened along with the completion of the Tianshu Sword.
Zhou Wuji also sensed the presence of Heavenly Pivot Star Lord. If he wished, he could immediately transform his kidney orifice into a spiritual temple and condense it into the Dharma image of Heavenly Pivot Star Lord.
However, he still has plenty of time and there is no need to rush to condense the Star Lord's Dharma Form.
Like the Army-Breaking Sword, the Tianshu Sword also targets the cultivator's foundation and deserves repeated tempering and polishing.
Taking advantage of this precious opportunity, he wanted to integrate the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture, the Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder Method, the Army-Breaking Sword, and the Tianshu Sword into a whole, and solidify the foundation of his middle Dantian.
With nothing to do in the grotto, Zhou Wuji spent his days calculating and analyzing with the Tianquan Sword, focusing on his cultivation.
In less than fifty days, Zhou Wuji had already opened the spleen and liver orifices, thus completing the opening of all five internal organs and orifices. All that remained was to condense the Star God Dharma Image and create a powerful Five Viscera Spirit Temples the five internal organs...
On this day, Zhou Wuji was cultivating when he suddenly sensed something. He opened his eyes and saw his own projection on the pillar of light twisting and changing, as if something was trying to emerge from his reflection.
He was immediately startled. A demon in his heart?!