The magnificent ship that would attract attention in Linhai City turned out to be quite ordinary in Juxian City. The air was filled with flying magical artifacts and magic weapons, and there were also some cultivators flying on swords. Their arrival did not cause any disturbance.
However, they were blocked by a large protective barrier in front of the city gate, which forced them to stop at the city gate.
When they saw about a thousand people disembarking from the ship, quite a few people were still whispering among themselves.
"The ship looked quite impressive to me, but I never expected it to be crammed with a thousand people!"
"Yeah, you must be from the countryside, your clothes are so shabby."
"The clothes don't look very good either; they must be from the countryside."
"What! You look down on people from the countryside? I challenge you to a duel!"
"Stop talking nonsense! I think you're after the Flying Grass I got recently. You've made it sound so nice, but I've never seen you speak up for any poor relatives from the countryside before! You just want to find an excuse to snatch the Flying Grass from me!"
"Enough talk, let's have a showdown!"
...
Watching the two Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting at the gate of the city, Qi Zhiheng and his group felt somewhat complicated. These people could start a fight over any excuse, which left them speechless for a moment.
Qi Zhiheng observed the cultivators queuing to enter. It seemed that each one had to hand over a spirit stone. Qi Zhiheng noticed that each cultivator had to hand over a mid-grade spirit stone.
After seeing this, Qi Zhiheng told everyone about it and asked them to prepare spirit stones.
This caused another round of groans to erupt from the group. They had already been exploited enough by Qi Zhiheng on their journey here, and now they had to pay such a high entrance fee just to get in.
There were quite a few people at the entrance. From their conversation, it was clear they were there for the selections of various sects. However, most of them were adults with children aged five to sixteen. Unlike Qi Zhiheng's group, which consisted of only two children among a group of about a thousand people.
Qi Zhiheng led the people to queue up; the speed of entering the city here was not slow.
After Qi Zhiheng handed over a mid-grade spirit stone, the guard at the city gate gave him an identity plaque, which he then imprinted with his divine sense.
The two twin brothers dripped a drop of blood onto their identity plaques, because children who haven't started cultivating don't have any divine consciousness.
Qi Zhiheng, holding a little boy's hand in one hand, stepped into the city gate.
Upon entering the city gate, Qi Zhiheng felt as if he had stepped into an ancient and elegant painting.
The surrounding area features magnificent and exquisite houses, as well as numerous floating islands. These islands must have been created by cultivators using certain methods, methods that are unthinkable in a small town.
The city of Juxian is rich in spiritual energy, and if I'm not mistaken, there should be quite a few spiritual veins here.
Aside from Qi Zhiheng, the group of "country bumpkins" from Xuanling Continent were also stunned. If Qi Zhiheng hadn't gathered them together in time, they probably would have all left with the crowd.
Everyone came to their senses. When had they ever seen such a scene before, or absorbed such rich spiritual energy? For a moment, everyone was filled with great anticipation for the sect they were about to enroll in.
After a large group of people entered the city, some people noticed them.
"Gentlemen, are you interested in buying or selling information?" A young man stepped forward and inquired about their situation.
"News? Which news are you referring to?" Qi Zhiheng did not rush to refuse.
"I have plenty of information here, such as accommodations and meals, information on participating in sect selections, business deals, and so on. In short, everything about Juxian City can be sold. However, I think what you seniors probably need most right now is information on finding a place to stay. What do you think?" The young man spoke calmly about his strengths.
Qi Zhiheng did need a place to stay, so he asked, "How much do you sell this information for?"
The young man's eyes shone brightly, and he quickly said, "We have two ways to buy and sell information. First, we sell individually, where you pay one spirit stone for each question you write. The second way is to book a whole day, where all the questions you write within that day are included in the price you pay. However, although we have most of the information, we cannot guarantee that we have all of it."
Qi Zhiheng laughed and said, "Then if we hire you, but you don't know the answers to our questions, wouldn't we be losing money?"
"In business, there are always gains and losses, and luck plays a part. However, I see that you all seem to have great fortune. I should be able to answer any questions you seniors may have. In this area, we generally share information." The young man said, glancing around. Many others were also watching the cultivators entering, hoping to make a quick move next time.
The reason Qi Zhiheng and his group were noticed so quickly was because their country bumpkin appearance was too obvious. As soon as they entered the city, they looked around in a daze, as if they had never seen the world before, which inevitably attracted attention.
However, it turned out that Qi Zhiheng and his group really needed a guide-like task to help them.
Qi Zhiheng asked, "How many spirit stones would it cost to book you for a day?"
"Not much! Ten mid-grade spirit stones will do!" The young man was afraid that Qi Zhiheng would think it was too expensive, so he quickly added, "Senior, you can't buy even one mid-grade spirit stone if you go to a place that specializes in buying and selling information."
Qi Zhiheng smiled faintly and said, "I won't bargain with you, but you'd better not hide anything you know from me."
"Senior is too kind, how could I dare!" The young man's smile became much more sincere, it seemed that this deal could be made.
Qi Zhiheng said, "Then take us to find a place that can accommodate a thousand people first."
The young man's surname was Zhang, and his given name was Zhang Shuo.
Seeing so many people, Zhang Shuo had them board the ship.
Living near the city gate is clearly not a good choice; the real gathering areas for cultivators are naturally farther away from the city gate.
Led by Zhang Shuo, they headed towards the city center.
Zhang Shuo explained on the ship, "The selection of disciples by various sects will be held in the city center. Since your goal is to have people participate in the selection, it's better to be closer to the city center so that you won't miss it due to time constraints. To be honest, it takes at least four hours to get from the city gate to the city center. Just think about it, how early do you have to get in line to participate in the selection? Moreover, a lot of real-time news is spread in the city center."
"If there are so many gathering places in the city center, can there still be enough people for all of us to live here?" Qi Zhiheng asked.
“Of course it’s enough. There are places for rent in the city center. Some big families send their children here. With children come parents. So even if there are only five hundred children, there might be three or four hundred adults watching over them. The city center is naturally prepared for so many people,” Zhang Shuo said.
Qi Zhiheng said, "Tell me where we can stay, and what the advantages and disadvantages are."
“Locations in the city center are generally not cheap. Some large cave dwellings are rich in spiritual energy, making them the most suitable places to cultivate, and they also offer a high degree of safety. There are also some cheaper residences. These residences do not have the blessing of spiritual veins. They have both large and small courtyards. With so many people in your group, a large courtyard would be enough to accommodate them. Such large courtyards are cheaper, but they do not provide any enhancement to cultivation, and you will have to rely on yourself to maintain your safety.” Zhang Shuo explained.
Qi Zhiheng pondered for a moment and asked, "How many spirit stones would a large courtyard cost per month?" Looking at the others on Xuanling Continent, he realized they had already been drained dry by them, so where would they find spirit stones to rent a cave dwelling rich in spiritual energy? Giving them a large courtyard to live in would be enough.
Zhang Shuo explained, "It's hard to say. The price of a large courtyard depends on the location. A courtyard that can accommodate a thousand people would cost around five hundred to nine hundred mid-grade spirit stones per month. Even if there are some price differences, it would only fluctuate around that. If you rent a cave dwelling, the price would be about ten times that."
Qi Zhiheng nodded and turned to the Dean of the Yuansheng Academy and the others. He went over and discussed the matter with them.
Finally, they agreed to rent an ordinary courtyard.
Under Zhang Shuo's guidance, they quickly settled in, and Qi Zhiheng took the opportunity to inquire about the sect's selection of disciples.
Zhang Shuo has quite a bit of information.
"The first to select disciples are the ten major sects. Based on the strength of the sects, five sects come first. After the selection is completed, those who fail can participate in the selection of the next five sects. If they fail in all of them, they will participate in the selection of the last sect."
In short, the major sects select the best candidates first. Only when the major sects have leftover candidates can the lower-level sects take their turn. Of course, some people who feel they have no chance with the major sects will skip the selection process and wait for their preferred sect to select them.
Even major sects divide the selection of disciples into two batches. The order of selection is determined internally, roughly based on the disciples' performance in later competitions.
Finally, and this is important, the selection process usually targets children and teenagers.
They are usually between four and twenty years old!
This statement left Qi Zhiheng dumbfounded. It makes sense; generally, people would choose promising young talents who haven't been cultivating for long, as those who are too old have much less potential.
Fortunately, older people aren't necessarily unwanted, but the selection process is inevitably more complicated, and not every sect conducts a selection process.
Upon receiving this news, Qi Zhiheng immediately summoned the leaders of various factions and explained the matter to them.
A silence fell over the crowd. They were so eager to join the sect, only to find out that the other party might not even want them...
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