Chapter 3 (2/2)

As they journeyed together, Jiang Xiaofan’s “ignorance” almost led Ye Yuanxue to cry with laughter. The result of that was Jiang Xiaofan having several episodes of nosebleed.

While passing through a small town, Ye Yuanxue eyed him as she continued to giggle. She then brought him into a small shop. Not long after, Jiang Xiaofan had received a fresh new look. With his pristine, white robe, he looked more charming. It was a huge difference than before. He was now a handsome young man.

“Xiao Xue, thank you. This is the first time that someone has treated me so kindly.” Indeed, this was the first time that someone had bought clothes for him, and she was an extremely beautiful girl to boot. Jiang Xiaofan was slightly overwhelmed.

“Hehe, really? How do you plan to thank me then?”

“I have nothing on me. Um, how about I offer my body to you?”

“Pft, who wants you?!” muttered Xiao Xue. She then bought him several more items of clothing and few more necessities before leaving the town and continuing their journey.

The place they trekked through was an ancient, tranquil mountain forest. Along the way, Ye Yuanxue explained the makings of this world, clarifying any befuddlement that he had. At the very least, he was able to memorize the basic principles.

“Ungh, I’m hungry. Xiao Fan, do you have anything to eat?” She didn’t know how long it had been. She raised her head and looked at him piteously with her eyes shining like bright, obsidian orbs.

“Ah, I do but….”

He was at a loss for words. He indeed did have food. They were the stalks of grass which he had picked in the cave from before. The taste was alright. He hadn’t thrown them away when he changed his into his new clothes.

However, was he really going to give stalks of grass to Ye Yuanxue as food?

“But what? Hurry and bring it out! I’m starving,” replied Ye Yuanxue while gritting her teeth.

She really did sound hungry. Feeling helpless, he unwillingly took out the six stalks of green grass and presented it to her.

“Uh, it may not look too appetizing, but the taste is not bad.” Jiang Xiaofan sheepishly explained after noticing Ye Yuanxue stare blankly at it.

“My gods! Immortal Spirit Roots! They’re Immortal Spirit Roots!”

To his great disbelief, Ye Yuanxue grabbed the so-called grass from his hand. Her cheeks were flushed red as if she was exhilarated.

“Immortal Spirit Root? What’s that? You mean this green grass here?” He was baffled.

Ye Yuanxue rolled her eyes and answered, “What green grass? This is an Immortal spirit Root! Immortal Spirit Root, don’t you know?! This is the king of all herbs! The rarest of the rare! It’s priceless!”

As she mentioned, the Immortal Spirit Root was a prized herb since primordial times, containing an immense amount of spiritual energy inside it. If a mortal ate one strand of it, he or she could live for another one hundred years. For a cultivator though, the effects were more astonishing. Because of its rarity, countless of cultivators have warred over this invaluable treasure.

Ye Yuanxue was beyond astounded. She had never imagined that Jiang Xiaofan would possess the king of all herbs. The fact that one stalk even appeared in front of her was already in defiance of nature, let alone six stalks.

Jiang Xiaofan was slightly speechless as he looked at Ye Yuanxue’s expression. If Ye Yuanxue knew that he used seven stalks of these rare Immortal Spirit Roots to satiate his hunger, she would probably choke him to death.

Nevertheless, he was happy after seeing her get so excited. Now that he knew about the treasure in his hands, he unselfishly gave half of the six to Ye Yuanxue. Overwhelmed with jubilation, she soon forgot about her hunger and even gave Jiang Xiaofan an intimate hug.

“Awesome! Let’s get going. We need to reach the Emperor’s Heaven Sect’s base before we miss this time’s chance. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait ten years later.”

Feeling cheery, she didn’t give him any time to ponder. She grabbed the nose-bleeding Jiang Xiaofan and flew into the distance.

Two days later, they arrived at a spiritual mountain range. Tall mountainous peaks loomed over each other. This was home of the Emperor’s Heaven Sect.

Of the many mountains here, there were seven that were the most magnificent. Cranes soared around the dense spiritual aura. The scene was very serene. The two of them mingled among the crowd who were preparing to be initiated into the Sect. No incident occurred as they passed through the gate.

“Why are there so many people? Isn’t this a bit too exaggerated?”

Before them were seas of people. Startled, he couldn’t see beyond what was right in front of him. With this number of people, it was even more crowded than Tiananmen Square’s flag raising ceremony.

Ye Yuanxue rolled her eyes at him again and responded, “How is it exaggerated? Not one bit! The Emperor’s Heaven Sect’s reputation is beyond prestigious. There isn’t a single cultivator in the world who doesn’t want to become its inner disciple.”

Just then, seven figures appeared, flying in the sky. They were aged with white hair flowing past their shoulders; however, they looked sprightly like elderly immortals.

The seven landed on a platform and peered down at the crowd. One of them spoke. His voice was soft but was audible enough that everyone from each corner of the crowd could hear him.

“Let the trial commence. Anyone who can walk beyond three steps passes.”

Jiang Xiaofan was really speechless this time. Why this stupid stairway again?! It was the exact one back at the village. He almost thought that he was at Ziyang Sect instead. Just when he was thinking, a queue was already forming.

Although there were many people who took the trial, more than ninety percent couldn’t make it past the third step. They were deemed to have no fate with immortality. Naturally, they were discontent, with many of them having a prominent background, but none dared to cause trouble at the highly renowned Emperor’s Heaven Sect. They could only leave in despair.

When it came to their turn, Jiang Xiaofan and Yue Yuanxue showed no signs of nervousness. Ye Yuanxue breezed through the trial, gracefully making her way to the ninth step, made her way past the dumbfounded elders, and stood to the side. Because Jiang Xiaofan had briefly cultivated the Buddhist Sutra in addition to eating a few stalks of the Immortal Spirit Root, his body already contained a small amount of spiritual energy. He managed to climb up to the fifth step and consequently passed the test, successfully becoming an outer disciple of the Emperor’s Heaven Sect.

Editor: Vis

Footnotes