The final sect was the Drifting Cloud Sect. Instead of being renowned for its weapon refinement like the Hundred Possibilities Sect, the Drifting Cloud Sect was famed for its pill concoction.
The legendary Spirit Tempering Pill was something that only a few of the sect’s elders were capable of concocting. So despite the sect’s inferior strength in comparison to the other two, it managed to acquire the east portion of the mountain’s spirit vein. Additionally, the Drifting Cloud Sect recruited the most disciples and possessed the least demanding requirements.
On a whole, the sect only had two conditions for accepting disciples: Primarily, it required that that one possessed decent spiritual roots and a capacity to be nurtured. Lacking that, they were also more than willing to accept any disciples that had poor aptitudes so long as their cultivation had already reached a high enough layer.
After all, the Drifting Cloud Sect pursued a disorganized assortment of various disciplines outside of its renowned pill concoction technique. These fledgling disciplines required large quantities of low level cultivators in order to progress.
As for vagrant Qi Condensation cultivators with poor aptitudes, they clearly understood that they had no future prospects after joining the sect and would eternally be low grade disciples. Regardless, they joined with thoughts similar to Han Li’s; It was quite convenient to take shelter in the great power of the Drifting Cloud Sect. It was for this reason that vagrant cultivators flocked to the sect in large numbers.
With the lax acceptance policies and the enticement of the legendary Spirit Tempering Pill, the sect seemed to be the optimal choice for Han Li to infiltrate.
With some lingering uncertainty, Han Li made a few additional inquiries and learned that the sect would soon be taking in more disciples, immediately dispelling any of his reservations. Without revealing any of his plans, he immediately took off and parted with the two women after making a few preparations.
As recruitment day drew near, many Qi Condensation cultivators began to gather on the road. When Han Li saw this from the top of his mountain, he calmly joined them.
On his walk along the path, he unhurriedly walked for about two hours without reaching the end. This wasn’t because the mountain was large but because the stone roads were being affected by a few shallow illusion techniques. They probably wished to use this to grind down the number of cultivators that wished to enter the sect.
Given the lax entrance conditions of the Drifting Cloud Sect, they may as well cull the cultivators that were too impatient to walk along the path.
The several cultivators that walked in front of Han Li had discovered something amiss, and immediately gathered together and started whispering to each other. They seemed to have guessed what was going on and continued to walk forward without hesitation.
The group of cultivators seemed to be acquaintances. Despite having been ignored, Han Li continued on his way without paying them any heed.
After yet another hour walking along the stone path, they eventually reached some blue stairs. The group of cultivators happily quickened their pace as they climbed up the stairs. Still indifferent, Han Li calmy climbed the steps and examined the scene at the top.
There was a huge, pure white platform that was over four hundred meters wide, and the only other structure present was a small unremarkable pavilion on the other side. There were several tens of different groups of variously clothed cultivators around it, but no one dared to step inside the pavilion. As for Han Li and the group in front of him, they wordlessly joined groups already there and sat down among them.
Han Li inwardly sneered at the scene in front of him. While Qi Condensation vagrant cultivators were unable to see anything, Han Li was able to see through the illusion formation with his spiritual sense.
The small stone pavilion before them was actually a huge white jade tower. A sign hung from the tower had three large golden words, “Illusory Cloud Hall”. Three people stood underneath the huge sign and were looking down at the unknowing Qi Condensation cultivators below, talking amongst themselves as they gestured.
They relied solely on the spell formation for concealment and made no other effort to hide themselves.
Of the three, two were early Foundation Establishment cultivators while one was a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator. It seemed the three of them were in charge of receiving the newcomers.
Han Li wordlessly walked amongst the nearby crowd and sat down at the edge with his head down. Although he closed his eyes, his spiritual sense completely enveloped the three Foundation Establishment cultivators and he easily eavesdropped on their conversation.
A pale faced youth that appeared to be in his late twenties pointed down at the crowd and spoke with a tone of dissatisfaction, “Senior Martial Brother Qiu! Although the deadline hasn’t yet been reached, there aren’t many vagrant cultivators that have caught our eye. Most of the cultivators here wouldn’t even pass the qualifications, and are clearly only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. Do they think that the Drifting Cloud Sect takes everyone?”
“There is nothing we can do. Three years ago, our sect accepted a large batch of disciples because they were suitable. And because Senior Martial Uncle Jin was short on manpower, there was an exception made to accept two eighth layer Qi Condensation cultivators at the time. This produced a misconception that it is easier to enter our sect, which is why there are so many vagrant cultivators that have come to try their luck.” The man called Senior Martial Brother Qiu was a white-robed mid Foundation Establishment cultivator in his forties with a stern, squarish face and bright eyes.
A vigorous youth with a heroic air chuckled and added, “Of course, we aren’t going to be so lenient this time around. After all, the recently accepted low grade disciples have been on the shoddier side with regards to their spiritual roots and cultivation. It seems an elder took notice of this and has already warned the sect master. As such, we will follow the sect master's word to accept nothing but quality.”
The pale-faced youth glanced down at the vagrant cultivators and disdainfully said, “Accept nothing but quality! If that’s the case, then it would be fine if we choose ten disciples and have the rest of them leave.”
Senior Martial Brother Qiu glanced at the pale-faced youth and calmly said, “Junior Martial Brother Liu shouldn’t underestimate these vagrant cultivators. There may truly be a few unfounded geniuses among them. Junior Martial Brother Sun Huo was once a vagrant cultivator too, but he managed to reach Foundation Establishment with a mere five years of hard work. Although he was given a suitable cultivation technique and a Foundation Establishment Pill for his quickly acquired merits, this can also be considered part of his aptitude.”
When the pale-faced youth heard him, he quickly thought of something and dryly coughed. He then quickly smiled as if he felt some fear towards Senior Martial Brother Qiu and said, “Senior Martial Brother is correct. I’ve spoken wrongly!”
Senior Martial Brother Qiu was about to say more to the youth, but Han Li wasn’t interest, so he recalled his spiritual sense and began to meditate.
As of current, he had restrained his Qi to the point where other cultivators only perceived him to be a tenth layer Qi Condensation cultivator. He should have no trouble entering the sect!
About half a day later, there were many more cultivators in the crowd that had climbed up the stone steps. By the time the sun set, there were nearly a hundred Qi Condensation cultivators sitting on the stage. A majority of the cultivators there were youths, but there was also a middle-aged man with a particularly profound cultivation.
At that moment, an expanse of red light suddenly burst forth from the stone pavilion and it disappeared to reveal a hundred meter tall tower along with the three silhouettes standing above.
Senior Martial Brother Qiu swept his gaze across the crowd with a stern expression and calmly said, “We welcome all of you Fellow Daoists to our Drifting Cloud Sect. My Martial Brothers and I will be in charge of evaluati
ng you disciples. I hope you Fellow Daoists will clearly listen to what I will say next. Don’t miss it.”
Chapter 600: Entering the Sect (2)
Upon seeing the sudden changes of their surroundings and hearing Senior Martial Brother Qiu's words, the cultivators on the platform were momentarily shocked and then hurriedly stood up, wearing respectful and attentive expressions. All of the cultivators there knew that if they were to enter the great Drifting Cloud Sect, they absolutely couldn't afford to leave a bad impression with the three men standing on the tower.
Senior Martial Brother Qiu revealed a satisfied expression upon seeing the vagrant cultivators being so tactful.
Senior Martial Brother Qiu slowly said with a solemn expression, "You Fellow Daoists should all know the criteria by which we accept disciples. That being the case, I won't go into detail. Let's have our Fellow Daoists who possess tri-attribute, dual-attribute, or special spiritual roots walk forward.”
The crowd stirred at this and after a short moment, only four people walked forward, three men and a woman.
Senior Martial Brother Qiu swept his gaze over those four and calmly said, “You four will follow Junior Martial Brother Liu who will be in charge of evaluating your cultivation aptitudes.”
At that moment, the pale faced youth stepped forward and wordlessly waved his arm. A white streak of light then flew out from his sleeve and circled in the air before turning into a huge embroidered scarf that gently floated about a meter off the ground.
The pale-faced youth appeared atop the scarf magic tool in a blur and expressionlessly said, "Climb on. I'll bring you four to another place and examine your aptitudes there. Those that are unsuitable will naturally be sent back."
When the four heard this, they glanced at each other with slight hesitation before climbing onto the scarf. The pale-faced youth then clutched his hands in an incantation gesture and caused the scarf to glow with white light before it set off through the sky in a streak of white light.
After sending off the pale-faced youth, Senior Martial Brother Qiu glanced down at those who remained and continued, "Those with cultivations at the tenth layer and higher, step forward and follow Junior Martial Brother Yu. So long as anyone doesn't have too much a problem with their identities, they will be able to enter the sect. As for you remaining Fellow Daoists, if you wish to enter the sect, then you are required to pass a test before you will be taken in. If you fail, I can only ask you all to diligently cultivate for several more years and come back once you've improved.” Once that was said, an uproar occurred amongst the crowd. Apart from a few peculiar individuals, a majority of them revealed a disappointed expression.
It seemed the standards of this selection would be far more strict and caused a few cultivators hoping for a fluke to grow greatly dispirited. Although he did say they could participate in a test to still join the sect, everyone knew that they were words spoken out of politeness.
After all, with the number of people present there would be no way for the Drifting Cloud Sect to give all of them a chance.
Needless to say, these tests would be extremely difficult to pass if one's cultivation was beneath the tenth layer. Only cultivators at the ninth layer of Qi condensation would have even the slightest chance of success. In the past, only a sparse few cultivators at the ninth layer were able to pass these tests.
Although those people all had poor aptitudes, they were able to succeed through a show of exceptional perseverance. As a result, despite their lacking future prospects, the Drifting Cloud Sect would be willing to accept them as they would be able to contribute towards their various fledgling disciplines.
Underneath the envious gazes of the rest of the crowd, Han Li and six other cultivators walked forward.
Senior Martial Brother Qiu swept his gaze across them and nodded his head.
When the valiant youth surnamed Yu saw this, he released a flying magic tool without any delay. A huge bronze alms bowl appeared before them.
Without needing any words from the youth, Han Li and the group of cultivators obediently climbed onto the magic tool. The copper alms bowl then flew off deep into the Dreamcloud Mountains in a streak of light.
As for the remaining vagrant cultivators that didn't qualify, Han Li was completely ignorant as to whether any of them would enter the sect, nor did he care enough to find out.
At that moment, he was absorbed in examining the six others that were enveloped in the alms bowl's yellow light alongside him. There were four men and two women. Apart from a refined yellow-clothed woman that appeared about twenty years old, the others all appeared to be in their thirties.
There was even a fifty year old cultivator. Although he possessed the deepest cultivation of the group at the twelfth layer of the Qi Condensation, Han Li could only shake his head and inwardly sigh.
If they didn't have much luck, cultivators with poor aptitudes had to spend an immense amount of time cultivating if they wished to reach the tenth layer or higher, resulting in Han Li and the yellow-clothed woman to have the youngest appearances in the group.
If it weren't for the mysterious bottle that Han Li had encountered, he feared he would've spent most of his life cultivating like the twelfth layer cultivator only to reach the sixth layer. Entering a large cultivation sect would've been out of the question.
When Han Li began to ponder about the past, he entered a rare state of absent-mindedness.
Soon after, he regained clarity of mind and looked at the others. While they didn't appear to be particularly notable, they had faces full of excitement.
But when Han Li's gaze fell onto large fully-bearded man, he narrowed his eyes for a moment, but soon his expression returned to normal.
This wasn't because of anything unusual about the man's appearance, but because there was a trace of indescribable cold Yin Qi in him. This Yin Qi was very well hidden and if it weren't for Han Li's extraordinary spiritual sense, he would've completely missed it This definitely wasn't a cultivation art that belonged to the five elements. From the fluctuations of his spiritual Qi, he clearly possessed some unusual magic techniques.
However, the large man's tenth layer cultivation wasn't even the slightest bit false, causing Han Li to ponder over it with great curiosity.
As Han Li was lost in thought, a huge expanse of endless fog appeared before the huge alms bowl. This white fog was extremely dense and roiled as sounds of thunder faintly echoed out.
Han Li's heart stirred and he sent out his spiritual sense. However, something blocked it when he attempted to reach about thirty meters into the mist.
Han Li inwardly trembled, knowing that the white mist was an uncommon restriction. It was likely one of the Drifting Cloud Sect's formidable sect protecting restrictions. He didn't dare to further rashly test it and hastily recalled his spiritual sense.
The group of vagrant cultivators all revealed an expression of awe when they saw the endless mist. Although they'd never come across a spell formation before, the astonishing restriction before them had greatly broadened their perspectives.
At that moment, the youth surnamed Yu formed a hand incantation and had his flying magic tool slowly come a stop. Then he grasped his storage pouch and took out an azure formation flag.
After muttering something, the flag in his hand began to glow with a piercing radiance that gradually grew.
"Open!" After the youth finished his incantation, he glared at the fog and pointed the formation flag at it. A bowl-thick azure beam of light shot out from the tip of the flag straight into the mist, leading to an astonishing scene.
The other areas of the fog roiled as before, but the portion of the fog in front of them became extremely calm. Then following a series of clear chimes, the white Qi parted before them, revealing a ten-meter-wide passage.
After this occured, the youth surnamed Yu carried the group through the passage without delay. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from sight.
Not long after, the passage closed and waves
of thunder sounded out once more.
After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, the group eventually passed through the mist and emerged before within a hidden land.
Before they could even clearly see past the fog, they felt dense spiritual Qi rush against them. Han Li couldn't help but take in a deep breath and feel a trace of joy well up inside him as he looked forward.
There was a huge expanse of earth with verdant greenery, fragrant aromas, birdsong, and several mountains that spanned over three kilometers tall reaching out as far as the eye could see. Surrounding these mountains were buildings of various sizes including palace halls and pavilions of countless number along with many variously clothed cultivators rushing about in a hurry.
After seeing their surprise and excitement, the youth surnamed Yu silently smiled. He then pointed to the nearest mountain peak and said, "Take a good look. These are the Six Marvelous Peaks of the Drifting Cloud Sect's monastery. If you truly enter our sect, this will be your home. But first, we will head to Dayspring Mountain's Initiation Residence. You'll explain a bit about your past and then we will test your cultivation."
Chapter 601: Entering the Sect (3)
Han Li and the other Qi Condensation cultivators weren't surprised by the information regarding the tests, and were brought to Dayspring mountain by the valiant youth surnamed Yu.
They met many cultivators along the way with most of them being at Qi Condensation. When they saw their guide, they respectfully saluted him. It appeared the youth had quite the reputation in the Drifting Cloud Sect.
They only came across one other Foundation Establishment cultivator, a yellow-robed man with a thin face and sharp ears. He flew up from Dayspring Mountain, but when he caught sight of the youth surnamed Yu, he smiled and called out to him, "Junior Martial Brother Yu, are these six newly arrived disciples? It seems there weren't that many this time around!" While he acted quite familiar with the youth, the others were able to see that he held hidden motives.
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