“Qingyan, are you alright!”

Xiao Yu rushed forward, her eyes red, and quickly helped Qingyan. She had just used a secret technique, and her body was weak.

“I’m fine. This time, we were lucky that a senior passed by, otherwise we would have been in trouble.” Qingyan had a smile on her pale face. Although she didn't see what kind of existence it was, anyone with such methods must be a strong cultivator.

“Senior? Where are they?”

Xiao Yu looked around. The saber light had come and gone quickly, and their minds were focused on Qingyan, so they hadn't noticed anything. Of course, even if they had searched with all their hearts, they wouldn't have been able to find anything. It wasn't something beings of their level could perceive.

“Silly girl, someone who can easily kill a Vientiane-level (Ten Thousand Manifestations) demon beast can't be an ordinary person. If we can't see them, it means we don't have the fate.” Qingyan tapped Xiao Yu's forehead and said with a smile.

“Qingyan, we…”

Just then, three other people walked over, two men and one woman. They were older than Qingyan and Xiao Yu, and seemed more mature. One of them felt guilty because he had been cowardly before, and had let a woman cover their retreat. He felt ashamed now that he thought about it.

“Yu-ge (Brother Yu), you don't need to blame yourselves. Even if I risked my life, I couldn't have done anything about a Vientiane demon beast. I should thank that passing expert.” Qingyan said understandingly.

“Qingyan, what are you going to do now? You used a forbidden technique and damaged your foundation. I'm afraid those sects…” another woman said, her tone not as polite as the young man's had been.

“Aqing!”

Another young man scolded her. He knew that Aqing was jealous of Qingyan because she was one of the most outstanding geniuses in their tribe, with excellent looks and character.

Moreover, although the few of them seemed to have deep feelings for each other, the only one who truly treated Qingyan as family was the girl named Xiao Yu, who was also a genius of their tribe in this generation. She had reached the Zifu (Purple Palace) Realm at only fourteen years old.

Qingyan was two years older than Xiao Yu, but she was also one of the best. As for the three of them, they were much worse. They were already over twenty years old, and had no chance with the best sects.

This was the real reason why Aqing was jealous of Qingyan. But now that Qingyan had used a forbidden technique and damaged her foundation, no sect would want her. Driven by jealousy, she had said those words.

“Lin-ge (Brother Lin), it's okay. I'll just take it as an opportunity to see the world. I'll be happy watching you join the sects.” Qingyan said with a smile, but she felt pain in her heart. Her promising future had been ruined, and she could only lament her bad luck.

Xiao Yu looked at Qingyan worriedly. Only she knew how obsessed her sister was with cultivation. To deprive her of the path forward was tantamount to killing her.

“Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. It's not safe here. Let's head to Yanshan City first.” Qingyan had a smile on her pale face. She clearly looked weak, but she gave people a sense of security.

Just after they left, a warship appeared in the void. Jiang Xuan stood at the bow, watching Qingyan and her group leave, and nodded with satisfaction: “Her temperament is quite good, let's see how strong her heart for seeking the Dao is…”

“Ao Yu, let's go to this Yanshan City for a while.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Hearing Jiang Xuan's order, Ao Yu immediately drove the warship towards Yanshan City.

…

Yanshan City was the largest city within a million miles. Although it wasn't a county city, it had many powerful forces, and some of the strongest forces had Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals guarding them.

This time was when the various forces in Yanshan City were recruiting disciples. Cultivators from all directions gathered here at this time, wanting to join those major forces.

However, those major forces usually only accepted cultivators in the early Zifu stage, because the early Zifu stage was more malleable, and it was easier to change cultivation methods and secret techniques.

“Your foundation is damaged, and your origin is injured. You don't meet the requirements of our sect.”

“You want to join my Jianfu (Sword Talisman) Sect with a damaged foundation? Leave quickly!”

“Although my Qifeng (Strange Peak) Sect isn't a major force, it's impossible for us to accept a disciple with a damaged foundation. You should leave.”

“Don't be delusional. With a damaged origin, you might be stuck here for the rest of your life. Don't waste our time here!”

“It's questionable whether you can continue to cultivate at all, and you still want to join my sect? How laughable!”

…

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl shuttled between various sects, but the only answer she received was that they would not accept her into the sect.

“Qingyan-jiejie (Sister Qingyan)…” Xiao Yu's eyes were a little red. She knew her sister's personality, and how important cultivation was to her. But this time, she had injured her foundation to save them, and her path might end here. How could she be willing?

“I'm fine.”

Qingyan had a smile on her face, but it looked pale and weak. The words of those immortal sects were like sharp knives, piercing into her heart. No matter how calm she seemed, how could she not feel anything?

“Qingyan, why don't we try again? Maybe you'll get lucky and some force won't check carefully, and you can enter an immortal sect, right?”

The woman named Aqing seemed to be comforting her, but even the youngest Xiao Yu's expression changed. She looked at her with anger: “Are you even human? Qingyan-jiejie clearly did it for us…”

“Xiao Yu.” Qingyan stopped Xiao Yu and shook her head, “Alright, it's not anyone's fault. I'll go look at other sects.”

As she spoke, she continued to walk towards other forces in Yanshan City. Xiao Yu looked at her back and felt heartache. She glared at Aqing angrily and quickly followed.

“Lin-ge, look at her, I was clearly…”

“Enough, say a little less!”

The one called Lin-ge interrupted what Aqing wanted to say. They had already successfully joined the immortal sect. Qingyan had ended up in this state for their sake. It was one thing to not be able to help her, but it would be too despicable to kick her while she was down.

On the other side, Qingyan was still trying one place after another, but the results were the same: rejected!

She understood in her heart that although a damaged foundation wasn't irreparable, which immortal sect would spend resources and treasures for a newly entered disciple?

She wasn't some monstrous genius, and no one would pity her. She didn't want that kind of pity either.

“Tai Xuan (Grand Mystery) Sect…” She didn't know how long she had been walking, but she came to a corner of Yanshan City. There were very few people here. Those Zifu cultivators seemed to completely ignore the sect in front of them, as if it didn't exist at all.

“Qingyan-jiejie, do you want to try this sect too?” Xiao Yu had been following Qingyan, watching her try at various immortal sects like a madwoman. She felt heartache in her heart, but she couldn't help Qingyan, so she could only stay by her side.

However, this sect in front of them hadn't appeared in the information they had collected. It was very likely that it was a newly established sect, and no one knew what it was like inside.

That was why those cultivators ignored it. A sect with no information available would be hard to recruit disciples without extraordinary strength. But if there was an extraordinary existence in this immortal sect, it wouldn't be in such a corner.

“Yeah, this is the last one. If I still can't succeed, I'll go back to the tribe.” Qingyan smiled, her body and mind extremely tired, but there was still a trace of fire in her eyes, not wanting to give up.

“Senior, this junior is Yun Qingyan, and I want to join the Tai Xuan Sect.”

The Yun tribe was considered powerful, but they all came from a branch. The strongest in the tribe was only a Vientiane True Person, and it was already not easy to cultivate them. As for the stronger Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) Daoists, they had never seen them.

At this moment, she walked to the gate of the Tai Xuan Sect and said with a bow. In front of her was a young man, holding a feather fan and lying on a rocking chair, very leisurely.

However, Yun Qingyan didn't sense much strength from him. He didn't seem much stronger than her. For such a person to be responsible for recruiting disciples showed that this sect was indeed not very good.

But Yun Qingyan had no other choice. She didn't want to give up any hope, even if this sect didn't seem strong.

“Yeah, go in.” The young man still had his eyes closed. “Go forward step by step. If you can reach the top of the mountain, you will be a member of my Tai Xuan Sect.”

Yanshan City was very large, but many sects were outside the city. Only today, when recruiting disciples, would some people enter the city to assess the Zifu cultivators who wanted to join a sect in various ways.

However, this Tai Xuan Sect was different. It was completely a small immortal sect in the city, and only occupied a mountain. From this, it could be seen that this immortal sect wasn't very good.

“Senior, I once used a secret technique…” Yun Qingyan didn't want to hide it, but before she could finish her words, the young man shook his feather fan, signaling her to enter the mountain gate and begin the assessment.

Yun Qingyan looked at the young man's casual appearance and didn't know what to say. But since she had already reached this point, she naturally had to try. Looking at the top of the mountain, she resolutely stepped onto the stone steps built around the mountain.

“Perhaps, this isn't bad either. Although it's a small sect, that senior doesn't seem like an evil person.”

Looking at the top of the mountain, she walked at a moderate pace. At her current speed, it would take her at most half an hour to reach the top of the mountain.

Soon, half an hour passed, but the distance between her and the top of the mountain seemed to have not decreased at all. Clearly, she had already walked past countless stone steps behind her, and was far away from the mountain gate, but the stone steps in front of her seemed to be endless.

“What kind of method is this?”

Yun Qingyan looked at the figure in front of the mountain gate, her heart shocked. The Tai Xuan Sect's test didn't seem as simple as she had thought.

“Walking step by step to the top of the mountain, it turns out, is so difficult…”

However, Yun Qingyan didn't give up. She still walked up step by step. Under her feet, there seemed to be an endless ladder, never ending. The top of the mountain was clearly close in front of her, but it seemed to be in the Nine Heavens outside the sky, only able to be seen, but never able to be touched.

Time passed little by little. Yun Qingyan climbed on this endless ladder. She didn't know how far she had walked, nor did she know how long she had been walking. Every step she took, she would think about whether it would end, and even think about whether to give up.

But she always gritted her teeth and persisted. Walking on this ladder, she could feel the extraordinary nature of this immortal sect. This kind of method was incredible. There must be an extremely powerful existence in this Tai Xuan Sect.

She wanted to join an immortal sect, and she wanted to go further, to see a wider world, and to see more powerful cultivators. So she kept telling herself that she couldn't stop, and she couldn't give up!

…

*Peng!*

In front of the Tai Xuan Sect, a figure fell down. It was Yun Qingyan, who was now unconscious, her face pale to the extreme, without a trace of blood. If her aura wasn't still there, she would have been mistaken for a corpse.

“What did you do?!” Xiao Yu hurried forward. Yun Qingyan had just stepped into the mountain gate a moment ago, but the next moment, she fell directly, without a trace of blood on her body. How could she not be worried?

“Seventeen years!” Jiang Xuan didn't stop her. Instead, his gaze was very gentle. “At the Zifu Realm, only sixteen years old, and with a damaged origin, to be able to walk on that ladder for seventeen years, such a Dao heart is as firm as a rock, very remarkable.”

Jiang Xuan also praised. This time, he only used illusions, which were somewhat similar to the One Dream Millennium used by the Bodhi Patriarch on him.

However, everything in it was very real. Even when he was in the Zifu Realm, he might not have been able to do this. Of course, after constantly sharing memories in the Chaos Space, his state of mind had long been transformed, especially after the Heart Demon Tribulation, and he had even reached the Dominator Realm, and his Dao heart was also extraordinary.

“However, perhaps I should also experience the mortal world more…”

Although there was the Chaos Space, it wasn't intuitive enough, and it wasn't the first-hand experience. Directly walking in the mortal world could have a better effect.

Looking at the girl in front of him, Jiang Xuan had a smile on his face. To be able to reach this step at this realm and age showed how firm her Dao heart was. Because of this, Jiang Xuan was also very satisfied with this disciple.

With a wave of his feather fan, a breeze brushed over, like spring rain falling, covering Yun Qingyan's body. Visibly, her haggard and pale face began to become rosy, and the fatigue on her body disappeared in the blink of an eye. She, who had been unconscious, slowly opened her eyes.

“Xiao Yu…” What she saw was her sister from the same tribe, Xiao Yu, and on the other side, Jiang Xuan, who had been lying on the rocking chair, also slowly stood up.

At the same time, she only felt that with the young man's actions, the entire world had changed. It was an indescribable situation. The young man's figure seemed to be able to support the world. Standing there, he seemed to be the center of the entire world.

The Dao and principles of the world intertwined on his body. He was completely different from before. At this moment, he seemed to be the embodiment of the Dao, and even more like an immortal descending to the world. His eyes opened and closed, and they seemed to have endless divine light that could illuminate the world.

Xiao Yu, who was still wanting to reprimand Jiang Xuan, was also stunned at this moment. Even the people in the entire Yanshan City were stunned at this time. It was a kind of power of heaven and earth. In this world, only those who had transcended the tribulation could possess that kind of divine power.

“A Heavenly Immortal Ancestor?! A Heavenly Immortal Ancestor has appeared in my Yanshan City!”

“Where is it? I must go and pay my respects immediately!”

“It's in the south, go quickly!”

In Yanshan City, the powerhouses of many major forces didn't care about recruiting disciples anymore. After all, this wasn't a county city, and Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were the strongest. Not to mention a Heavenly Immortal Ancestor, now that one had appeared, how could they not go and pay their respects?

Everyone rushed towards that direction, but when they approached, everyone landed on the ground, carefully approaching, standing in the distance, and bowing to Jiang Xuan.

“Are you willing to take me as your teacher?”

However, Jiang Xuan ignored them. He just stood in front of the Tai Xuan Sect, looked down at Yun Qingyan, and asked in a gentle tone.

Yun Qingyan was stunned at this moment. The young man who didn't seem much stronger than her before, now made countless powerhouses in Yanshan City bow and pay their respects. Such a powerhouse had appeared in front of her and asked her if she was willing to take him as her teacher?!

“Disciple is willing!”

Yun Qingyan wasn't stupid. She had understood something in the illusion before, so she tried her best to fight for this chance of survival. She didn't want to stop at the Zifu Realm, so she had to fight for this opportunity. Fortunately, she succeeded!

“Good.”

Jiang Xuan smiled lightly. At the same time, some kind of restriction on Yun Qingyan's body was also released. The beings above the Yuanshen Realm in the distance also discovered the abnormality and were shocked when they explored with their divine senses.

“Great merit is added to her body, and the golden light of merit is over a hundred zhang! No wonder…”

They all understood. Yun Qingyan was originally a person with great merit, but Jiang Xuan had taken action to cover up the golden light of merit, so that their divine senses couldn't detect the real situation.

From beginning to end, Jiang Xuan was testing Yun Qingyan, testing her heart for the Dao.

Of course, even if Yun Qingyan didn't pass his test, or was unwilling to become Jiang Xuan's disciple, Jiang Xuan would also release this restriction. With the golden light of merit over a hundred zhang, even if her origin was damaged, those major forces would be fighting to get her.

This was exactly the reason why Jiang Xuan released his aura to attract the powerhouses of Yanshan City. With him present, these major forces wouldn't dare to act rashly, and Yun Qingyan could smoothly join an immortal sect.

However, now that Yun Qingyan had passed the test and was willing to become his disciple, then these people were naturally out of luck with Yun Qingyan.