Chapter 20 Trial 2 Something good will happen when I meet him? ...
Having borrowed the kitchen of the Immortal Academy's dining hall, Xu Xing used the ingredients brought by Zuo Qiuxu to cook a feast. Not only did he receive high praise from Zuo Qiuxu, but Wen Yao, who was also there to freeload, buried her head in her food and ate heartily. "Xu Xu, I never expected you to cook so well! You're amazing!"
Xu Xing smiled silently, recalling the jumbled mess of dishes in the [Cooking] skill.
This meal was made entirely with spirit rice, spirit vegetables, and spirit beast meat. With such high-quality ingredients, it would be difficult for her, with her cooking level of 28, to make it taste bad.
Zuo Qiuxu left satisfied after eating and drinking his fill, and thoughtfully left all the unused items for Xu Xing.
Back in his cave, Xu Xingcai carefully asked Wen Yao, "Has the poison been completely eradicated? Are there any potential problems?"
Wen Yao stood in front of her and twirled around lightly. "Don't worry! I'm completely healed! Those leaves of the Ganoderma lucidum are in excellent condition, just like they were freshly picked, and the medicinal properties haven't been lost at all."
This is naturally thanks to the game's inventory; the items stored inside remain unchanged, making it even more powerful than the storage bags used by cultivators.
Unfortunately, it can only hold items that Xu Xing obtains through life skills.
"Oh right, this is what my mother asked me to give you." Wen Yao took out a storage bag containing spirit stones and handed it to Xu Xing.
Xu Xing opened it and found it completely filled with spirit stones, and...
"This is a mid-grade spirit stone?" Xu Xing exclaimed in surprise, sensing that the spiritual power contained within it was completely different from that of a low-grade spirit stone.
Wen Yao nodded with a smile, "The antidote pill only used three leaves. The senior who refined the pill for me wanted the remaining leaf, so my mother sold it to him."
"Can a single leaf really sell for so many spirit stones?" Xu Xing, who had already learned to project his divine sense, took a quick look and found that there were at least several hundred spirit stones.
“Alchemists are all very rich, but…” Wen Yao smiled shyly, “My mother said she was very familiar with a senior alchemist and extorted a sum of money from him.”
"Mother also added a little, making a total of two hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Although it's a bit little, you can take it and use it first."
One mid-grade spirit stone is equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Is twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones really that little?
Xu Xing, who was still working hard to refine pills to earn a few low-grade spirit stones, was stunned by the sudden windfall. How much food could he buy with all this...?
However, she quickly snapped out of her fantasy of being surrounded by a pile of delicious food. "Ayao, I can't accept it. I didn't give you the Seven-Leaf Lingzhi to earn spirit stones."
"Of course I know!" Wen Yao said anxiously. "We are friends, but if you don't accept it, it means you don't consider me a friend, and Mother will be sad too."
Seeing that Xu Xing remained unmoved, Wen Yao grabbed her arm and shook it, saying pitifully, "If you don't accept it, won't I have to worry about this every day?"
"I'll lose interest in cultivation, I won't be able to participate in the Xuan Shuo Trial, I won't be able to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining, and then I'll be expelled from the Immortal Academy. My mother will abandon me because she sees how useless I am..."
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Xu Xing was both amused and exasperated. What had this all gotten into?
Wen Yao was much taller than Xu Xing. She hunched over with difficulty to rest her head on Xu Xing's shoulder and rub against him. "Okay, Xu Xu, now that Mother doesn't need to worry about my health, she will naturally have the energy to fight for resources. There's no shortage of spirit stones, so don't refuse. Besides, isn't my life worth more than a few spirit stones?"
In fact, Xu Xing just didn't want Wen Yao to treat the fact that she gave her the Seven-Leaf Lingzhi leaf as a transaction; she genuinely wanted to be friends with Wen Yao.
Seeing that Wen Yao had said so, Xu Xing stopped being coy and admitted that she was indeed short of spirit stones.
With the spirit stones, Xu Xing's first thought was to buy an alchemy furnace, but the Xuan Shuo Trial was about to begin, so she planned to wait until the trial was over before buying one.
Xu Xing was very much looking forward to the prospect of soon being able to refine pills using a proper alchemy furnace.
The Five Elements Trials, including the Xuan Shuo Trial, are all conducted in all the Five Spirit Secret Realms of the Yu Xiao Sect. All 24 disciples of the Tian Shu Academy participated in this trial, 95 disciples of the Yu Heng Academy participated, and the Yao Guang Academy, which originally had the largest number of disciples, had 113 disciples.
Although there are instructors supervising the entire trial process, several disciples still die unexpectedly during the trials each year, and most of them are disciples of the Yao Guang Academy with lower cultivation levels. Therefore, many new disciples who have just entered the Yao Guang Academy choose to give up the first year of trials.
"The Xuan Shuo Trial will begin in three days. You will only know the trial tasks the moment you enter the secret realm. Morning classes are cancelled starting today, so you can go back and prepare properly."
After Wen Lu left, Jia Xinhong took over Yaoguang Academy. Seeing that many disciples had given up, he did not try to persuade them. The path of cultivation is fraught with difficulties, and the mere fact of being timid is enough to weed out many people.
After Jia Xinhong left the dojo, most of the disciples of Yaoguang Academy stayed behind to discuss the trial.
Zhao Jia approached Wang Lianhua and Xu Xing. "Xu Xing, I heard you're going this time too? With such low cultivation, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"
"And Aunt Wang, not to be blunt, but you're not young anymore, why bother coming here to join in the fun?"
Wang Lianhua just smiled good-naturedly, but Xu Xing tilted his head and asked in confusion, "How is thirty years old not young? You won't live to be thirty?"
"Besides, aren't you just like us, at the first level of Qi Refining?"
Her words were so offensive they could kill someone, yet Xu Xing's expression remained completely natural, leaving people wondering whether she was deliberately trying to annoy them or something else entirely.
Zhao Jia pretended not to hear the first sentence, his expression revealing his smugness. "Brother Li promised to take care of me during the trial. He has invited a Foundation Establishment cultivator to accompany him this time, so this kind of trial is nothing to him."
Not long after entering Yaoguang Academy, Zhao Jia took the initiative to get to know Li Yuan and gradually distanced himself from Xu Xing and the others. Although he still intended to maintain a relationship with Zhao Linglan, they were not in the same academy and rarely had contact.
"Oh? You're really amazing."
With one hand supporting her chin, Xu Xing looked at him expectantly. "I understand. You came all the way here to tell us, so did you also ask 'Brother Li' to look after us?"
Looking at Xu Xing's smiling face, Zhao Jia blushed, her eyes darted around, and she stammered, unable to speak. She thought to herself that Xu Xing, this silly girl, was quite cute when she was being obedient.
Since they were from the same village, Zhao Jia wouldn't mind helping Xu Xing if he could, but he didn't have that much influence with Li Yuan...
Wen Yao winked at Xu Xing, a sly smile on her face. She suddenly turned and waved to Li Yuan, who was not far away, "Fellow Daoist Li is the most powerful disciple in our Yao Guang Academy. He will definitely protect us in this trial! Don't you all agree?"
Soon, many people reacted and shouted, "Fellow Daoist Li is so righteous! As fellow disciples of Yaoguang Academy, we should help each other. Why don't we elect Fellow Daoist Li Yuan as the leader of this trial!"
"Indeed! Fellow Daoist Li Yuan should be the senior disciple of Yaoguang Academy!"
"..."
Li Yuan had always been arrogant and looked down on everyone at Yaoguang Academy. Apart from his underlings who followed him because of his father's reputation, most of the other disciples kept their distance from him. He was a little stunned when he heard so many people praising him.
Zhao Jia never expected that simply showing off to Xu Xing would cause such a commotion. He was so frightened that his face turned pale, worried that Li Yuan would cause him trouble.
Who can't see that these people are just taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble and try to gain something for themselves?
"Brother Li, it's all that poor kid Zhao Jia's fault. I'm going right now..."
Li Yuan waved his hand to stop his underlings, and snorted, "It should have been done long ago! They're smart to know what's good for them!"
He cleared his throat and said arrogantly, "As long as you obey, it's fine. This time I've hired the disciple with the highest cultivation level in the Foundation Establishment stage within the sect. It's just a mere trial; there's nothing to worry about."
Xu Xing, who was watching the commotion, was taken aback. The one with the highest cultivation level in the Foundation Establishment stage?
Isn't that Senior Brother Chen Du?
It turns out that the person Hua Lingshi invited Senior Brother Shen to accompany her was none other than Li Yuan from Yaoguang Academy. What a coincidence!
Thinking of Shen Du's effortless subjugation of the Azure Flame Beast that day, Xu Xing couldn't help but feel a little envious of Li Yuan. It would be wonderful to have such a powerful senior brother accompany him during the trial. He just wondered how many spirit stones Li Yuan had spent.
Xu Xing quietly touched her storage bag. Come to think of it, she was actually quite well-off now, perhaps…
With the intentional or unintentional encouragement of the disciples of Yaoguang Academy, on the day of Xuanshuo's trial, the disciples of the other two academies stood in twos and threes, their expressions distant and distinct from one another, while the Yaoguang Academy group, with all the disciples neatly clustered behind one person, stood out conspicuously.
"I didn't expect the disciples of Yaoguang Academy to be so united. They must have put in a lot of effort."
This year's trial is different from previous years, as it involves teamwork. Seeing the state of the disciples of Yaoguang Academy, Xie Qianyan, the instructor of Yuheng Academy, turned her gaze to Jia Xinhong.
The latter waved his hands repeatedly in denial, saying he hadn't done anything. It was strange, though, when did Li Yuan become so popular?
"Senior brother, is this the junior brother who hired you? He seems to be quite popular."
Looking at Li Yuan, who seemed to be taking the lead, Zuo Qiuxu, standing with Shen Du, spoke with curiosity.
There were dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators around them, all of whom were invited by the disciples of the Immortal Dao Academy through their own abilities.
Watching the little girl, almost swallowed up by the crowd, still trying to wave to Zhao Linglan in the Yuheng Courtyard next door, Chen Du slowly curved a slight smile onto his lips.
She's only a teenager, but she always acts like she's mature beyond her years. It's rare to see her so lively...
Zuo Qiuxu didn't hear a response from Shen Du for a long time. Following his gaze, he only saw a large group of new disciples.
He could only raise his hand and wave it in front of Shen Du's eyes, "Senior brother? Did you hear me? What are you looking at?"
"nothing."
Shen Du withdrew his gaze and created some distance between himself. "You should stay away from me."
Hearing this, Zuo Qiuxu felt a pang of unease and muttered under his breath, "At worst, I'll just have Master lock me up for a few more months. I'm not afraid..."
Soon, Zhai Yuzhi, the dean of the Immortal Academy, arrived riding a celestial deer and announced the rules for this Xuan Shuo Trial.
The 232 disciples were divided into 33 teams. Except for one team with eight members, the rest of the teams each had seven members. The tasks for each team were randomized. All disciples were scattered and teleported to different locations. They would only find out who their teammates were after entering the secret realm.
There are hidden teleportation arrays scattered throughout this secret realm. Even teammates may trigger a teleportation array and be transported to another location, making it highly unpredictable.
Upon learning that the nine-day trial might be with fellow disciples they didn't know at all, the disciples couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.
A disciple of Tian Shu Academy immediately asked, "What is the basis for the allocation of team members? If a team is full of people with low cultivation levels of Qi Refining Level 1, or if a team is full of people with Qi Refining Level 3 or Level 2, wouldn't that be unfair?"
Zhai Yuzhi smiled slightly, "Whether you have good or bad luck is also part of the reason whether you can go far on the path of cultivation."
"This is terrible!" Zuo Qiuxu slammed his fist in frustration. "The rules have changed this year? Now I won't be able to take care of Xu Xu anymore."
These Foundation Establishment cultivators who accompanied the participants were naturally permitted by the Immortal Dao Academy and had special markings that bound them to the Immortal Dao Academy disciples. Therefore, even if the disciples participating in the trial were scattered, they would not be separated from the people they were supposed to protect after entering the secret realm.
Zuo Qiuxu regretted it somewhat, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have persuaded her to participate. She's only at the first level of Qi Refining, what am I going to do now..."
Shen Du shook his head and said softly, "Even if you don't say anything, she will still choose to participate."
Zhai Yuzhi took out a perfectly round spiritual pearl and infused it with spiritual power. The pearl slowly grew larger, and its spiritual light enveloped all the disciples.
"Remember, no matter who your teammates are, you are all one team. You share the same fate, and you share the same fate."
As soon as the words were spoken, the light dissipated, and all the disciples of the Immortal Academy were teleported into the secret realm.
The originally pure white spirit pearl projected beams of light, and various scenes began to appear on the beams, showing the scene where the disciples were after being teleported into the secret realm.
A student from the Tian Shu Academy asked in confusion, "Dean Zhai, the trial mission..."
This year's trial was decided by Dean Zhai himself, and even they, the teaching cultivators, still don't know what the mission is.
Zhai Yuzhi stroked the immortal deer, then dismounted and sat down with the group of instructors and cultivators in front of the spirit pearl to watch the light screen. "You'll know at a glance."
Xu Xing closed her eyes, startled by the white light, and felt a wave of dizziness. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself on a barren sand dune.
Are you feeling unwell?
Hearing the familiar voice, Xu Xing looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Brother Shen!"
Xu Xing was worried that he would be separated from some familiar friends, but he didn't expect to end up with Shen Du.
As expected, Chen Du was her lucky star; ever since she met him, good things always seemed to happen to her…
"Run! This is a monster's lair!"
Shen Du cleaved the sand scorpion that pounced from behind with a single sword strike.
Xu Xing, still dazed and confused, hadn't even processed what was happening when his body instinctively took off running. He could still hear the familiar shout from a great distance away.
"How did I end up in a place like this?!"
Who else could this be but Li Yuan?
"Is there a mistake? Shouldn't everyone be in a safe area when they first enter the secret realm?!"
"Never mind that! Let's run first!"
Several more unfamiliar voices, panting heavily, came through.
Xu Xing glanced back briefly and saw someone like her frantically fleeing for their life...
There are six more.
A note from the author:
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- I highly recommend my next novel, "After Mistakenly Signing a Marriage Contract with the World-Destroying Demon Dragon" -
After Yun Shu died suddenly from overwork, she transmigrated to the world of cultivation. She desperately cultivated in order to live a retired life, but unexpectedly lost all her cultivation and was stranded in the desolate mountains.
In order to survive, he signed a master-servant contract with the Dragon Lord. He thought he would become a corporate slave again, but his boss was sealed and could not supervise the work. It was a good opportunity to slack off with a salary!
She will regain her complete freedom once the Dragon Lord breaks free from the seal a hundred years from now and the contract is dissolved.
But isn't there something wrong with this master-servant contract?
The Dragon Lord, sealed away for a thousand years and brimming with resentment, changed the subject: "Go and kill the leader of the immortal sects."
Yun Shu, who's taking a paid break: Okay, okay! Huh? Me?
(Whatever! There's no set time for killing him anyway. I'll just say it was me when he dies of old age!)
Clearing barren mountains, taming ferocious beasts, and picking up a little dragon as a pet, Yun Shu travels around the country under the guise of doing things for the Dragon Lord, watching the drama unfold and offering advice on the love problems of young people.
The junior sister who caught the Demon Lord's eye: Senior Yun, you're right, feelings will only affect my sword practice!
Daozi who ran away with the vixen: Thank you, senior. I used your method of male virtue, and she never looks at other men again!
...
Seeing Yun Shu's success in slacking off, which was becoming a legend in the cultivation world and attracting the attention of countless talents, he was able to achieve great things.
The Dragon Lord, who was originally determined to destroy the world, broke the seal: "My lady, I actually enjoy watching the drama unfold too."
What should I do if I accidentally mixed up a master-servant contract with a marriage contract?
He had no choice but to accept his wife's hand with a smile. (∩_∩)
(You better really have been careless!)
After the cataclysmic disaster was averted, the cultivators of all the immortal sects had tears in their eyes: Thank you, fellow Daoist, for subduing the evil dragon!
He got a free dragon (a metaphor for a powerful, efficient cultivation method) and even saved Yun Shu (a powerful figure in the cultivation world) in the process: I really just came here to slack off...
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