Chapter 11-Three Pure Sec (2/2)
Three days had passed, and the carriage had left Cloud Province. On their journey, Xiao Wan'er was the most talkative one. In contrast, Xiao Han basically did not say anything but gaze at the blue sky hour after hour.
They were close to entering the realm of the Serene Province, where green hills lay and clear streams flowed. Numerous towering mountains pierced through the clouds. The most famous one was Lingtai Mountain because the Three Pure Sect was situated there.
A long time ago, the Three Pure Sect was yet to be known to the world. Then, someday, someone on a bridge saw a man flying through the reflection on the river. He was scared as hell and then asked around. It turned out that there was a Cultivators' sect on the mountain. From then on, the Three Pure Sect was known by more and more people.
As a result, countless people entered into that mountain, with the hope to find Immortals and seek Dao. However, the clouds and mist were so thick that people could not find their way. In recent hundreds of years, the Three Pure Sect had started to recruit disciples on a big scale.
At this moment, in a small square pavilion on the mountain, an old man with white beard and hair was looking at the motions on the astrolabe in his hand. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter as the stars moved on the board. At the same time, his hand started to shake.
A woman in white floated to his side like a ghost. Yes, she floated here without touching the ground.
”Senior brother, what are you studying?”
”Who is it?!” The old man was startled as his hand shook and tossed the astrolabe. However, it bounced back against the wall and hit his face. He turned his head and stared at the woman in white, frowning. ”Third Junior Sister? What are you doing here?”
”I'm here to ask you whether the new batch of disciples this year has arrived or not. You don't need to be nervous.”
The woman in white was very beautiful but as cold as frost. She kept looking at the astrolabe when she spoke. Then, she frowned slightly. ”Haven't you sealed this astrolabe 16 years ago? Why do you take it out again?”
The old man turned his head back. He looked at the astrolabe and sighed. ”Third Junior Sister, did you still remember that sudden and bizarre incident in the sky?”
”Do you mean the 9 planets went into a straight line? And then they turned into a strong light and fell into the territory of Cloud Province?”
The old man nodded as his brows furrowed tightly. He said, ”Do you still remember the eight words that were revealed on this astrolabe? 'The Demon God reincarnates, the Annihilation shall come'. Nothing has happened all these years, but three days ago when I was looking at the stars, I found they were aligned in the way the astrolabe has shown! Then I took it out and confirmed that they were the same. Moreover, the ominous star has been moving toward us over the past three days. I'm afraid something bad is about to happen...”
The woman's eyebrows tightened as she said, ”Are you saying that the Skygale Sect is going to annihilate us once and for all? They have the backup in the Violet Manor. I'm afraid that we can't win if we confront them head-on.”
The old man gave her a cold glance and said, ”I've told you to read some books. Do you know anything about The Annihilation Times? The Annihilation Times is the end of the entire cultivation world. All cultivators will go into the Samsara and start all over again. As mighty as the Skygale Sect is, they will be doomed!”
The woman nodded slightly and said, ”I see. Since everybody is going to die, what are you worrying about then?”
”You...” The old man did not know what to say. He gave another long sigh, stroked his beard and went back to the issue, saying, ”The last Annihilation Times should have come 7,000 years ago during the last cultivators' era, but for some unknown reason, the Annihilation was solved. There was no record about that at all. If it did come this time, every creature on this planet would perish. I'm afraid those superior Immortals in the Violet Manor could barely save themselves, not to mention saving us Rogue Immortals in this Human World. It's a shame that we have sent so many excellent disciples there all these years.”
The woman stood with both hands on her back, turned around and looked at the sky, saying, ”It sounds reasonable. That's why we say 'The heaven and earth have no love, and everything on earth is like forging dogs.'”
The old man was so angry upon hearing this and said, ”I'm begging you. Would you please read some books? It's 'forage dogs', not 'forging dogs'!”
The woman nodded slightly again and said, ”It's just one word. Not a big deal. But since you are my senior brother, you make the call.”
”You...” The old man was speechless again. He stroked his beard and sighed. ”The new batch of disciples is almost here. I just hope that there will be some with good talents.”
”Rest assured, senior brother. Those with good talents have already joined the Skygale Sect and Cold-billow Sword Sect. You don't need to bear any hope...”
”You! Third Junior Sister! Can you say something nice?! Don't we have talented disciples?”
The woman said, ”You are the senior brother. You're right about everything...”
”Anyway, no matter what, the entrance test this time must be more difficult. We have to pick elites among elites. Otherwise, in the Nine Provinces Swordsmanship Competition next year, we Three Pure Sect would end up in last place again. At the end of the day, our sect was the only sect that inherited the Immortal King's legacy back in those years...”
The old man sighed incessantly, while the woman smiled coldly and said, ”The Immortal King's legacy. The Three Pure Sect has been an underdog for so many years, but no Immortal King ever comes back here.”
...
It was early April now. In the east of the Lingtai Mountain, there was small town hundreds of kilometers away. It used to be a small village a long time ago, but now it had expanded into a larger-scale town with fiscal support from the Three Pure Sect.
Every three to five years, Lingtai Town would be bustling with an event, which was the Recruiting Ceremony of the Three Pure Sect. Thousands of people came here to take part in this event. Most of them came from noble and aristocracy families, and others from merchant families.
The reason why this Recruiting Ceremony had drawn so many people was not that the Three Pure Sect was the most famous sect; instead, its requirement was low. People could join the sect with only one Spiritual Meridian. Some other sects like the Skygale Sect required people to have at least three Spiritual Meridians.
Many who had three Spiritual Meridians were still rejected, but they would rather wait for a few more years than join the Three Pure Sect. Therefore, even there were many people here to take the entrance test, most of them were mediocre. Even, some people without a Spiritual Meridian came here for fun.
Of course, there were numerous sects for cultivators in this Human World. Only the Three Pure Sect, the Skygale Sect, the Nine-cloud Sect, and the Cold-billow Sword Sect were counted as the four major sects. Why weren't they three major sects? The Three Pure Sect was so weak, and how could it be recognized as a major sect?
Was it because the legends had that its founder was anointed by an Immortal King who descended to the Human World a thousand years ago?
At dusk, Xiao Chen and the others arrived in the town. People were hustling in the bustling streets. Many people were peddling things like Secret Spirit Elixir, 100% Pass Pill, I'll Pay You If You Fail Herb... Anything went.
Xiao Chen shook his head and smiled upon hearing this. He suddenly stopped walking as his split vision noticed something.