Lin Daozi leaped down from the stands and flew to Shi Xuan's side.
"This disciple suspects that this Dong Jingwei is not the real person. Please ask Master to take a look."
Lin Daozi nodded. He didn't show it on his face, but he was already very impressed with this disciple. He was brave, resourceful, and calm in the face of danger. Coupled with his excellent talent, it was no wonder that others envied him.
Speaking of which, he was actually quite lucky when it came to taking on disciples. His previous eldest disciple was also one of the top figures among his peers. Unfortunately... Lin Daozi only hoped that no other disciple would follow in his eldest brother's footsteps.
The "Dong Jingwei" on the ground was too weak to struggle, but his gaze toward Shi Xuan remained fierce. Only when he saw Lin Daozi reach out to him did he begin to show a hint of fear.
Lin Daozi reached out his hand towards the top of his head, and the man's expression of terror intensified. The instant Lin Daozi's hand touched him, "Dong Jingwei" suddenly struggled, and a grayish-white spirit detached from his body.
The spirit was semi-transparent, and the shape of the human face and features on it was vaguely visible.
"A ghost cultivator?" Lin Daozi asked in surprise.
Seeing this, Shi Mingxiu, who was in the stands, quickly rushed over as well.
Ghost cultivators are extremely rare in the Qian Yuan Continent. Some cultivators may never encounter one in their entire lives. And now, a ghost cultivator has actually infiltrated their sect.
The isolated and helpless ghost cultivator remained calm. He glanced at Shi Xuan again with a sinister look, and his gray figure began to fade until it disappeared without a trace.
Shi Mingxiu's attempt to go on stage was futile. His wind blade and Lin Daozi's golden sword energy, attacking from the front and back, pierced through the ghost cultivator's phantom, but all of them were like empty attacks, striking two open areas outside the sword-meeting platform and immediately creating two large craters.
Ghost cultivators have no physical form and their whereabouts are difficult to trace. They managed to escape even under the noses of two Nascent Soul cultivators.
Lin Daozi stopped, puzzled, and asked, "How many years has it been since I've seen a ghost cultivator? How come they're appearing in the sect?"
"Could it be related to that matter?" Shi Mingxiu asked thoughtfully.
"Hmm?" Lin Daozi turned to him.
Shi Mingxiu exchanged a glance with him, then turned to Shi Xuan and said, "The Chen Shengjun incident you mentioned to me a few days ago, the sect immediately sent people over to check it out, but the place was deserted, as if they already knew their location had been exposed."
"What does that have to do with ghost cultivators?" Shi Xuan asked.
Shi Mingxiu stroked his long beard and frowned, saying, "Traces of ghost cultivators have been found there. Ghost cultivators are quite rare, and I suspect there is some connection between these two incidents."
Lin Daozi nodded thoughtfully. "Shi Xuan told me about Chen Shengjun. Given his circumstances, if he hadn't escaped back then, would he have become a ghost cultivator by now?"
“We cannot rule out this possibility,” Shi Mingxiu said, “but it is too early to draw conclusions now.”
Shi Xuan wondered why the ghost cultivator had chosen Dong Jingwei, and whether it was related to his visit to the black market for rogue cultivators a couple of days ago.
"Uh..." Dong Jingwei, who was lying on the ground, slowly woke up and groaned in pain.
When he opened his eyes, the eyes of Shi Xuan, Peak Master Lin, and the Sect Master on the Sword Meeting Platform were all focused on him. It was clear that he had become the focus of the entire audience.
Dong Jingwei blushed with shame. He knew roughly about being possessed by a ghost cultivator, but he had completely lost control of his body and almost caused a big problem for the sect.
"Do you know when and where he approached you?" Shi Xuan asked first.
Dong Jingwei shook his head blankly and said, "I didn't notice at all."
The ghost cultivator's cultivation level was much higher than his, so it was normal that he couldn't detect it.
Shi Xuan gave him a healing pill and then asked, "What special places have you been to these past few days? What unusual people or things have you encountered?"
“These past two days…” Dong Jingwei thought for a moment and said, “If there’s anything special about it, a friend of mine came to visit me a few days ago, and we strolled around the market down the mountain.”
"Where are you from?" Shi Xuan pressed.
She knew he went to the market and lost spirit stones betting in the black market, so it must have been his friend who took him there.
Dong Jingwei replied, "I knew him before I joined the sect. He was a talisman cultivator in the Luoyin Sect."
The Luoyin Sect is also one of the six sects, mainly focusing on cultivating talisman arrays. Shi Xuan had met their elders and disciples during the last Six Sects Alchemy Competition.
As for what to do next, someone from the sect would ask him. Shi Xuan stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "The pill you just ate is worth one high-grade spirit stone. Remember to return it to me when you're healed."
After saying that, she jumped off the sword-fighting platform and stood with the other disciples who were watching.
Dong Jingwei almost choked on his own blood. She was the one who caused the hole in his stomach, and now she was asking for an exorbitant amount of money to feed him a pill. This was truly... truly, it was all her fault, both sides.
However, given the damage he almost caused Shi Xuan while he was possessed, he didn't dare to say anything.
Seeing that he was alright, Shi Mingxiu and Lin Daozi went downstairs. They weren't in a hurry to ask him any questions.
Before long, several disciples from the council came up and carried Dong Jingwei away, and then cleaned up the area.
Elder Li returned to the stage and announced, "This mini-exam is now over. Due to an unforeseen personal reason, Dong Jingwei's top ten score has been cancelled, and Cheng Rui will take his place. If there are any objections, you may challenge Cheng Rui on the spot."
None of the disciples had any objections. After all, Cheng Rui was recognized as the most powerful sword cultivator disciple besides Shi Xuan, and everyone knew whether they could defeat Cheng Rui or not.
Elder Li waited a few moments, and when no one spoke, he continued, "Then, tomorrow morning, the top ten disciples will gather here again to go to the Sword Tomb and choose their destined natal sword. The other disciples should not be discouraged; they will have another chance to enter the Sword Tomb when they reach Foundation Establishment. Remember, spiritual swords possess spirits. All disciples must cultivate their Dao and their minds. If you wish to obtain your natal sword in the Sword Tomb, you must have a firm Dao heart and not stray from the right path, lest you jeopardize your own opportunity!"
Next, he announced the results of the bottom five students and asked them to start cleaning the house tomorrow.
When the results of the bottom five were announced in front of the sect leader, peak master, elders and all the disciples, Wang Haoyan and the others shrank their necks and lowered their heads, trying to minimize their presence.
Shi Xuan patted Xiang Rong's arm and said softly, "I told you, you wouldn't make it into the top five."
Xiang Rong: Thank you so much!
*
Early the next morning, the ten disciples arrived at the Sword Meeting Platform on time, and together they headed to the sect's Sword Tomb, led by Elder Li and Elder Jia of the Council.
The Sword Tomb is located on the other side of the Cliff of Repentance, facing the forbidden area in the back mountain across the cliff. It contains thousands of swords, including the swords once worn by powerful figures of the sect who have fallen, as well as some other nameless spiritual swords.
Once the disciples enter, they can reach out and pull out any spirit swords they fancy. If they can pull one out, it means they have a connection with the spirit sword and can take it with them.
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