Another night, in the hermitage.
【Hun Yuan Zhuang - Reaching the Pinnacle】
Bai Cang slowly walked through the Hunyuan Stake, and suddenly felt a surge of profound insights.
A message from an unknown source subtly weaves together many words and patterns.
"Promotion to first-class status has brought such an unexpected bonus?"
Bai Cang was secretly delighted. He saw the words and patterns suddenly transform into a strange force, slowly seeping into his limbs and bones, turning into countless strange patterns.
The meridians, which were originally slightly damaged, were healed without treatment at this moment and returned to their best condition.
[Transformation of Hunyuan Stance: Copper Armor Skill (Introduction)]
[Copper Armor Skill: An improved version of the power cultivation technique "Taiyin Refining Form Technique: Basic Chapter". When practiced to its highest level and combined with the Three Yin Refining Form Ritual, one can transform into a copper armor corpse, equivalent to entering the Dao and refining Qi. It can also be transformed into Silver Armor Skill, Golden Armor Skill, Flying Skill, etc.]
"You call this an improvement? And you're saying you're not refining corpses?"
Bai Cang was horrified and jumped up in fright. "I'll lead you to fight! I knew the Three Yin Temple wouldn't be so kind."
"So you guys are really lusting after my body, huh?"
In an instant, Bai Cang's clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
"No wonder the temple is so kind; even ordinary servants can receive the Hunyuan Stance, a simplified version of the immortal cultivation method."
"So this is where the pit was waiting for? This Hunyuan stance is absolutely impossible to practice anymore!"
Bai Cang felt a wave of fear wash over him. "No! The matter of promotion to a higher rank must be expedited."
"Hopefully, after the promotion, the new blessing will wash away the foundation of the Hunyuan Stance."
"Otherwise, sooner or later, I'll end up as brothers in the corpse-refining pit with my fellow disciples!"
For the next two weeks, Bai Cang simply stopped practicing the "Great Vajra Pestle" and devoted himself to studying the "Qing Nang Medicine Classic".
They attempted to wash away the foundation of "Copper Armor Kung Fu" through methods such as medicinal baths.
Unfortunately, despite investing several thousand taels of silver, the results were minimal.
He tried every possible method, but could only conceal the patterns imprinted all over his body.
On the contrary, during this process, he honed his true qi and made remarkable progress in breaking through the Yin Qiao meridian.
Bai Cang estimated that in two months at most, he would be able to open up another one of the eight extraordinary meridians and reach the level of "first-class early stage peak".
But this is not what he wanted!
With the assessment time fast approaching, Bai Cang had no choice but to use the medicinal herbs he had prepared to concoct a large batch of various poisons, poisonous waters, poisonous powders, and poisonous fumes.
If he were to be exposed by accident, he was already mentally prepared to fight to the death and force his way out of the encirclement.
Even if he were to die on the spot, he would never accept the tragic end of "being brothers in a corpse pit".
And just like that, the time for the inner court assessment arrived in the blink of an eye.
On this day, just as dawn was breaking, the Sanyin Temple became lively.
Bai Cang got up early and went to the dining hall for a hearty meal.
Then he returned to his secluded dwelling, put on a specially made snake-scale inner armor, and used a special leather bag to hang various poisons, poisonous water, poisonous powder, and poisonous smoke in easily accessible places such as his cuffs.
Bai Cang has been spending money like water on these "assets" lately.
If you include all the medicinal herbs, he spent a total of 25,000 taels of silver, almost going bankrupt, and armed himself to the teeth.
But Bai Cang didn't even blink, showing no sign of heartache.
If a person dies before all the money is spent, that's a true human tragedy.
"Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate!"
"Hopefully, it won't come to a point where both sides are doomed!"
Bai Cang checked it carefully three more times before carrying the gilded bronze vajra on his back and walking firmly toward the training ground.
This is the venue for large-scale rituals held in the Sanyin Temple, and it is also the place where the various outer courtyards practice martial arts.
As a "noble" test subject, and having risen directly from the servants' quarters to the pharmacy.
This was Bai Cang's first time stepping into the Great Parade Ground!
When he arrived, the parade ground was already bustling with people.
Most of them, Bai Cang didn't even recognize, let alone know.
"Why don't I usually notice how many people are in the temple?"
Bai Cang looked around and couldn't help but sigh.
Just then, Jiao Fei walked out from the crowd.
Wherever it went, it parted the waves, creating a passage for three people to walk side by side in the crowd.
"Brother Bai, are you wondering why you haven't noticed so many people in the temple before?"
Upon meeting, Jiao Fei jokingly teased, "You usually stay in the inner courtyard, never seeing the world around you. Now you're dumbfounded, aren't you?"
“There are three capitals, five masters, and eighteen heads in the temple. Apart from the three capitals and five masters, almost every branch has outer courtyard disciples serving, which is a total of eighteen outer courtyards.”
"Even if fewer than eleven people are qualified to participate in the inner court examination, the sheer number of people coming to join in the fun will be enough to pack the main training ground to the brim!"
What you said makes so much sense, I'm speechless.
Bai Cang could be described as having a wide circle of friends, but he was also a complete homebody who rarely left his house.
Among the people he came into contact with, the lowest class was Jiao Fei, a "scion of a powerful family" with a deep background, who was indeed somewhat "out of touch with the masses".
Seeing that Bai Cang remained silent, Jiao Fei seemed to have finally rediscovered a long-lost sense of "superiority".
He immediately added, "Those who follow the Way will find many helpers, while those who stray from the Way will find few. I have quite a few connections in this temple. How about I introduce you to a few friends, Brother Bai?"
As they were talking, a murmur of whispers drifted over on the wind.
"Those are the medicine-testing children from the pharmacy?"
"How about we get to know each other? Maybe we can look out for each other once we're in the inner courtyard."
"One got in through connections, the other sells drugs, what's there to know about them?"
"That's right. They ignored us today, but tomorrow, once we enter the inner courtyard, they'll be begging for our attention..."
Before anyone knew it, all eyes seemed to be focused on Bai Cang and Jiao Fei.
After all, everyone else in the room was a "blue-robed disciple," and the two of them wearing green robes were the only ones who could avoid attracting attention.
"Quite well-connected? Has a wide circle of friends?"
Bai Cang looked at Jiao Fei with a half-smile, his face carrying an indescribable mockery.
"Cough cough, a bunch of worthless bastards, why bother with them?"
Jiao Fei's tender face flushed red, then turned black, and what followed was some incomprehensible speech.
Phrases like "We're destined to be in the inner circle, why bother arguing with these busybodies?", "I'm not afraid of incurring public wrath", "Face is nothing, substance is what matters", and "If you're going through the back door, you have to keep a low profile".
This caused Bai Cang to chuckle, easing his tension somewhat, and filling the entire drill ground with a joyful atmosphere.
"Goodness."
"The three chiefs, five masters, and eighteen stewards—all the high-ranking members of the temple, except for the abbot, are here, right?"
Suddenly, Jiao Fei pointed to the high platform ahead, "The assessment is about to begin."
Bai Cang looked up and saw a large group of high-ranking members of the temple, dressed in luxurious clothes and exuding an imposing aura, arriving in unison.
Sun Hongbo, the person in charge of the pharmacy, was also among them!
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