Female Cultivators Just Won't Do!
The woman in the water mirror had a face that seemed to be sculpted from ice and snow, but her overall demeanor was quite similar to that of Jimo Zanxing.
This immediately caught Elder Xiao's attention, and he even moved her water mirror closer to himself.
Elder Xiao's actions were not deliberately concealed from others, which naturally aroused the curiosity of the other elders.
One of the male cultivators, who resembled Maitreya Buddha with his belly exposed, immediately asked, "What, Senior Brother, have you taken a fancy to this young lady?"
He glanced at Sang Ying, who was battling the wooden figures in the water mirror, and shook his head. "A female cultivator with such outstanding looks is clearly not the type to focus on cultivating immortality. Look how much she's struggling to deal with just a few wooden figures; she probably won't even pass the first trial..."
After speaking, the male cultivator moved another water mirror in front of Elder Xiao.
He pointed to the young man inside, who was fiercely fighting the vine demon, and said to Elder Xiao, "Senior Brother, why don't you take a look at this person? He seems to be a member of the Jing Household in Yao Zhou, and he's already at the Golden Core Late Stage. Judging from his calm and steady aura, it's clear that he's earned his skills through hard work. Isn't that much better than those female cultivators who are only interested in women?"
Before Elder Xiao could even respond, the Hongyi male cultivator, who had been lounging in his chair, immediately straightened up. "Senior Brother Chen is being rather unfair. Didn't you see that the female cultivator is already at the Golden Core Late Stage? Besides, her swordplay is so exquisite; one couldn't wield such a skillful sword without decades of arduous practice."
"And look at that young man from the Jing Household. He attacked so ruthlessly and without restraint. He must be a petty and vindictive person. Such a person is not suitable for our Ten Thousand Daos Born!"
The Hongyi male cultivator's words were also quite harsh, pointing out many flaws in Jing He.
Elder Chen was furious, but he couldn't argue with the man in Hongyi in front of everyone, so he waved his hand and said, "I won't talk to you. You're never reasonable. I was just asking my senior brother."
The man in Hongyi chuckled, his eyebrows and eyes widening in arrogance. "Are you trying to avoid arguing with me, or are you simply trying to change the subject because you can't win an argument with me?"
Elder Chen moved his lips, but remembering the other party's extremely eloquent tongue, he remained silent.
He hadn't forgotten that ever since that man became an elder, whenever Ten Thousand Daos Born had a dispute with another sect, it was always that man who stepped in to resolve it. And as long as the man in Hongyi intervened, whether he was right or wrong, Ten Thousand Daos Born had never suffered a loss.
As the acting sect leader in charge of sect affairs during the sect leader's seclusion, Elder Xiao naturally couldn't watch the two continue arguing, so he stepped in to smooth things over. "The grand formation has only just been activated, so it's better to observe the selection of disciples more closely. In any case, regardless of cultivation level, only those who pass through the three formations are qualified to become my disciple Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciple."
Once Elder Xiao spoke, the two could not say anything more, and obediently replied "Yes," before falling silent and turning their gaze back to the water mirror.
At this moment, the formation where the woman in the blue dress was located had entered a critical stage. All the wooden figures in the formation seemed to obey some command in that instant, rushing towards the woman one after another.
In the blink of an eye, the wooden figures had firmly pinned Sang Ying down, the overwhelming brown wood completely obscuring her blue dress.
Seeing the wooden figures gradually quieting down in the water mirror, Elder Chen, who had also been secretly observing Sang Ying, immediately laughed smugly, "I told you female cultivators wouldn't do! Jiulian, look at this, the disciple you've chosen is probably about to be teleported out of the formation!"
The Hongyi man named Jiulian glanced at him lightly, without saying a word, but remained completely calm and composed.
Sure enough, as soon as Elder Chen finished speaking, the situation in the water mirror instantly reversed.
A white sword light flashed, and the wooden figures piled up like a small mountain were instantly sliced into pieces and scattered all over the ground.
Elder Chen's breath hitched, and he couldn't exhale a single breath. A terrifying chill emanated from the female cultivator's body, instantly freezing the struggling wooden figures into ice blocks, rendering them incapable of movement.
All the onlookers could see was the female cultivator with the sword in the water mirror patting her skirt, stepping over the ice lumps on the ground, and easily walking through the great formation.
"Pfft!" This was the laughter that Jiulian had been holding back for a long time but could no longer suppress.
To avoid embarrassing Elder Chen, he deliberately unfolded the fan beside him to cover the lower half of his face, revealing only a pair of smiling eyes.
But his constantly trembling shoulders betrayed his true thoughts at that moment.
Elder Chen, who hadn't thought much of it at first, was provoked by Jiulian's laughter, his face turning red. He angrily retorted, "What are you so smug about? Just because she passed this test doesn't mean she can pass the next one! Besides, that young master from the Jing Household also successfully passed the first test; he was the first one to pass!"
Elder Chen is right, Jing He was indeed the first to pass the first test. His speed was only half that of Sang Ying, and even Lan Fusheng, the Spirit Prefecture music cultivator whom the elders highly regarded, was half a moment behind Jing He.
Such a brilliant performance stirred something within the hall among the people present.
While others were unaware, Jiulian knew that her senior brother from the Jing Household had never visited them.
They came uninvited, and they're from the Aristocratic Clan of cultivators in Yao Zhou. He simply doesn't believe there's nothing strange about this.
However, he believed that no matter what the Jing Household's plans were, they would only end up disappointed!
Suppressing the ruthlessness in his eyes, he continued to look at the female sword cultivator in the water mirror. But as soon as he saw Jiulian, he smiled. Her luck seemed to be really bad. The previous Wooden Man Formation was already a difficult formation, and now she had run into the Jiaoren Illusion Formation, which was even more difficult than the previous one.
However, Sang Ying herself realized this, because she clearly understood that the Jiaoren in front of her was not a magical illusion, but a real Jiaoren!
The enormous golden tail sank into the water, its shimmering color almost dreamlike. But looking up, the creature's long, sharp nails and protruding fangs proclaimed its danger to everyone.
The Jiaoren tossed a strand of long hair behind her ear and cast a captivating glance at Sang Ying: "Oh, that old man's sect actually attracts such a beautiful girl. Little girl, you should think it over. Ten Thousand Daos Born isn't a good sect, especially not suitable for a beautiful female cultivator like you."
She swam to Sang Ying's feet. "Why don't you look at me? If you want to become my student, I can teach you too."
Sang Ying couldn't discern the other person's cultivation level, but judging from her use of the term "old man," she was probably referring to Ten Thousand Daos Born's founding ancestor.
Being able to know the founder of a sect, this Jiaoren's cultivation level must be quite high, and he would certainly be more than capable of teaching me.
However, before Sang Ying could decide whether to agree, Elder Chen spoke up again, "See, I'm not the only one who thinks that female cultivator is not suitable for our Ten Thousand Daos Born."
A smug look returned to his face, but he failed to notice the solemnity on Elder Xiao's face.
Elder Chen didn't notice that ever since the Jiaoren appeared, Elder Xiao, who knew a lot about the sect's secrets, had been silently raising his hand to rub his temples.
Tsk, how did I end up running into her?!