"Hey, have you heard about it? Zhao Tianlei is banned for today's qi refining test, and Chu Xuan, that dark horse, is going to play!"
"The eighth level of qi refinement is perfect. How long has it been? He's not even as fast as a flying boat!"
"TSK, monsters from the mortal world, they hit the face of our second generation of immortals."
Outside the training ground of the outer gate, the morning bell was still ringing, and the disciples had already surrounded them in layers.
In the middle of the high platform was a half-man-tall spirit crystal ball, with a swirling whirlpool at its center like a miniature nebula.
The test rules are simple: reach out - pour in the spirit power - hold for three breaths - count out.
Chu Xuan was in the eighteenth position, and the disciples ahead of him filed up one after another. Most of them stopped at the "middle of the fifth level", "peak of the sixth level", and the occasional "early of the seventh level" elicited exclamations.
Elder Li sat in the main seat, his face colder than snow, and his gaze from time to time swept towards the end of the line like a knife.
Ling Qingxue stood aside with her sword in her arms, her veil slightly veiled, but her voice clearly reached Chu Xuan's ears: "Don't be nervous. Just perform normally."
Chu Xuan turned his head and grinned at her: "Am I nervous? Are you kidding me? I can't wait for my turn."
As he spoke, a faint mark of the fellowship on his wrist shone, and a wisp of cold mist swirled around his fingertips along the cuffs, as if putting on ice silk gloves.
"Seventeen, Wang Tiezhu!"
Tie Zhu trotted forward, took a deep breath, and placed the spirit crystal ball on his palms.
Hum --
A beam of light rose up and stopped at the "Late Stage of the Seventh Layer of Qi Refinement".
The crowd was in an uproar.
"Oh, this iron pillar, the bamboo pole, is also the late seventh layer?"
"With Chu Xuan, one is more sinister than the other!"
Wang Tiezhu came off the stage with a silly smile and lowered his voice as he passed Chu Xuan: "Brother, I've warmed up the scene. Come on!"
"Don't worry, let you see what it's like to take off." Chu Xuan laughed out a mouthful of white teeth.
"Eighteen, Chu Xuan!"
The deacon disciple raised his voice and instantly drew all eyes in a straight line.
On the high platform, Elder Li's back was slightly raised, his eyes cold; In the distance, the keeper of the outer gate stroked his beard, with an interested anticipation in his eyes.
Chu Xuan shook his sleeves and stepped forward, his soles hitting the bluestone slabs with a crisp "dada" sound.
Every step felt like stepping on the tip of everyone's heart.
"Is he the kid from the mortal world? He looks harmless."
"Do you believe in physiognomy? Zhao Tianlei's hand is still bandaged. It was he who did it."
Chu Xuan stood still, with a spirit crystal ball attached to his palm.
The cold touch spread through the skin, and the vortex at the center of the ball, like a hungry beast, suddenly sucked his spiritual energy.
"Three breaths, hold on." The deacon disciple reminded.
The first breath
Chu Xuan's dantian trembled slightly, and the spirit fluid surged along the meridians into the sphere.
The light spot at the center of the sphere lit up instantly, like the first ray of dawn piercing through the clouds.
Second breath --
The light column swelled, the color changed from white to blue, then to ice blue, and the temperature dropped sharply.
The disciples who were close to them all shuddered and retreated in astonishment.
Third breath --
With a "boom", the beam of light broke through the top guard of the crystal ball and reached a height of more than ten feet!
Among the ice-blue light, there were red and fiery threads, like the entanglement of an ice dragon and a fire phoenix, so dazzling that it was impossible to open the eyes.
Numbers appear --
[Nine Levels of Qi Refining · Initial Stage]
The whole place was terrifyingly quiet.
Immediately after, an explosive scream blew off the roof.
"Nine floors? ! I must be seeing things!"
"Just a few days to complete the eighth level of Qi Refinement? He broke the stage again!"
"The purity of this spiritual energy... Ninety-three! Monster, definitely monster!"
On the high platform, the keeper of the outer gate rose to his feet with a whoog, his beard trembling wildly: "Good talent!" There is such a gem in the mortal world!"
The elders beside them whispered to each other, their eyes burning.
Only Elder Li's face was ashen, his knuckles pale as if he had been slapped in public.
Chu Xuan withdrew his hand, and the beam of light dissipated slowly.
He shook his wrist, turned back and waved his hand at the crowd, smiling brightly: "Yielding yielding yielding, normal performance."
Lin Hao jumped very high off the stage: "See? My boss! Nine floors! 99% purity! Just ask who else --"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Asheng covered his mouth and said, "Low-key, low-key!"
"Keep a low profile!" Lin Hao mumbled, "I'm going to walk sideways!"
Ling Qingxue's lips curved slightly beneath her veil, and the ice and snow in her eyes melted. She said to herself softly, "It's only been a few days, and another layer has secretly risen. It's really not easy."
The test went on, but no matter how hard the disciple tried later, the light column never exceeded seven layers again.
Chu Xuan was like a towering peak, towering over everyone's heads, making people sigh at the sight.
...
At the end of the test, the keeper of the Outer Gate announced in public: "Chu Xuan, nine levels of qi refinement, ninety-three purity, set a ten-year record for the Outer Gate! Three hundred spirit stones, a list of 'key disciples', and free access to the first floor of the Inner Gate's Sutra Repository!"
The crowd was once again in an uproar.
Key disciple means resource tilt, elder attention, and a promising future!
Elder Li's lips quivered as he wanted to say something, but in the end he managed to squeeze out one sentence: "It's just a stroke of luck. Only in actual combat can you see the truth."
Chu Xuan smiled and bowed his hands: "The elder is right. The disciple will surely perform well in the actual combat session."
The word "performance", he said with great force, like driving a nail into a plank.
...
As the crowd dispersed, Chu Xuan had just stepped off the stage when a strange disciple in a grey robe passed by.
He lowered his head, his voice so soft that only Chu Xuan could hear: "In the battle arena, someone has set up a killing trap, watch out for the hidden stakes."
As soon as he finished speaking, a very thin sheet of paper was stuffed into his sleeve.
The grey-robed disciple, without looking back, disappeared into the crowd as if he had never appeared.
Chu Xuan's fingertips tightened slightly, but his face remained expressionless.
He unfolded the note, and there were only eight words --
"There's a ghost in the sign tube. No. 3 is bound to die." "
The young man raised his eyes and looked into the distance at the deacon who was arranging the signbox. His pupils narrowed slightly, and the cold light vanished.
"Want to play with Yin? Then let's see who dies first."
"There's a ghost in the sign tube. No. 3 must die."
Chu Xuan rubbed the paper with the pads of his fingers as if he were touching a piece of ice.
He brought the note close to the wick, and the flames sprang up with a "puff", and the ashes were blown away by the cold wind before they could touch the ground.
In the distance, Elder Li was lowering his head to talk to the deacon in a very low voice, but there was a faint sneer at the corner of his mouth.
Ling Qingxue came to Chu Xuan's side at some point, her veil moving slightly: "What did the note say?"
"Someone kindly reminds you that there are hidden stakes in the combat arena." The young man shrugged his shoulders and laughed nonchalantly, "It seems my life is quite valuable."
"How do you plan to deal with it?"
"Eat first." Chu Xuan touched his stomach, looking serious. "Only when you are full will you have the strength to dismantle the stake."
Ling Qingxue was stunned for a moment, shook her head helplessly, but quietly pushed the Cold Moon Sword half an inch towards him --
The scabbard was cold and clear: I'm here.
...
At lunchtime, the outside dining hall was bustling with voices.
As soon as Chu Xuan sat down with the spiritual porridge in his hand, the disciples around him felt a circle empty and looked at each other differently --
Awe, envy, and jealousy are all there.
Lin Hao pushed his way over and whispered gossip, "Extra! Extra! Elder Li just ordered that the actual combat arena be changed to 'new sign-in tubes', saying it's to prevent cheating."
"New signboard?" Chu Xuan raised his eyebrows. "I'm afraid it's to prevent my life."
Wang Tiezhu added, "I also heard that the third pick was sealed separately, and whoever drew it would be unlucky."
Zhang Asheng timidly raised his hand: "Bad luck... Does that mean death?"
"Not dead." Chu Xuan scooped up a mouthful of porridge, his tone relaxed. "At most, it's a mess."
The trio shook at the same time.
At the next table, several conservative disciples were talking loudly --
"So what about the ninth level of Qi Refinement? In real combat, it's not about purity, it's about background!"
"Yeah, some people don't have a backer, the ninth level is useless."
"TSK TSK, what a pity! A genius has fallen --"
Chu Xuan turned his head and gave them a harmless smile: "Senior brothers, there's a lot of salt in the porridge. Speak less and be careful not to get your tongue salty."
The other man's face turned pale from choking, and he dared not speak out on the spot, so he could only sulk and shut up.
...
At the hour of Wei, the real draw.
Three gongs rang on the altar, and the disciples lined up.
The new signboard is a circle larger than in the morning. The inscriptions on the body of the signboard flicker, and the consciousness is faintly isolated.
Chu Xuan was third, and in front of him was Zhao Tianlei --
His hand was still bandaged, but he was in high spirits, with blood vessels in his eyes like a red spider web.
"Brother Chu, when drawing lots later, you must hold it firmly." He turned back, his voice hoarse, "Don't shiver and draw the wrong number."
Chu Xuan said with a smile, "Don't worry, my hand is very steady, but you - dare to draw with your hand hanging, not afraid of pulling the egg?"
The disciples around burst into laughter.
Zhao Tianlei's face twitched and he turned back with a sneer.
The draw began.
The first disciple reaches out his hand, spiritual power is injected, and the sign rolls down - "Twelve".
Second place - Five.
When it was Chu Xuan's turn, with the sign tube on his palm, just as his spiritual energy reached in, an obscure suction suddenly pulled him towards the position of "number three", like a hand sticking out of the darkness.
"Hey, playing Yin with me?"
The young man's mind stirred, the primordial spirit opened, the cold mist and the fire thread entwined, and rushed along the inner wall of the sign tube, precisely hitting that dark force --
Boom!
The dark force is blown to pieces, and the suction dissipates instantly.
The sign tube vibrates lightly, and a jade sign pops out --
"Number Seven."
Chu Xuan held the sign and waved it at Zhao Tianlei: "Look, is it steady?"
Zhao Tianlei's face instantly turned pale - his signature was exactly "No. 8"!
The two were adjacent but not in the same game, and the hidden stakes missed.
On the high platform, Elder Li's eyes darkened and his fingers in his sleeve tightened silently.
...
The draw ended and the crowd left one after another.
Chu Xuan had just stepped down the steps when the grey robe disciple appeared again. In the moment they passed each other, a whisper drifted into his ears: "Seventh arena, West copper pillar, array pattern has been tampered with, little mind power rolls back."
As the words fell, the figure disappeared into the crowd, like a drop of water falling into the sea.
Chu Xuan did not stop his steps, but there was a cold look in his eyes: "There are more than one hidden stake? All right, I'll show you one by one."
...
Night, Ring Seven.
The moonlight was cold, and the young man's figure was stretched long.
He crouched in front of the copper pillar on the west side, his fingertips touching the array pattern, the primordial spirit perception fully opened --
Sure enough, there was a very fine crack inside the copper pillar, embedded with "reverse spirit sand", which could cause the spiritual power of the cultivator to roll back instantly, the meridians to reverse, and at the very least, blood to be vomited; at the worst, work to be wasted.
"Really fierce." Chu Xuan sneered, took out an ice needle with his back hand, the cold light flickering, and turned it gently along the crack --
The reverse spirit sand was frozen by the cold air and turned into powder, scattering with the wind.
Then he attached a "reflection talisman" he had made himself to the base of the copper pillar, which, once stimulated by external force, would return the reverse spirit effect along the original path.
"Here's a big gift for you."
The young man clapped his hands, rose to look at the shadowy mountains in the distance, and said in a low, clear voice, "The real battle, want me to die? Let's see who gets to the knees first."