darknovel Chapter 1111 Assessment
Chapter 1111 Assessment
Ding Yu walked briskly out of the cave. Tongtian Island was just waking up from its slumber in the early morning. The rising sun cast a pale golden glow, dispelling the thin mist that shrouded the mountains. The dewdrops that had condensed on the grass and leaves trembled gently, crystal clear.
Although Tongtian Island is high in the sky, the grand formation set up by the Nine Palaces blocks out the biting cold winds. The island is spring-like all year round, with picturesque scenery and rare wonders everywhere.
Ding Yu had no interest in observing the surrounding scenery. He raised his hand and formed a hand seal, his true essence slowly circulating in his meridians. A faint light appeared around his body, and suddenly his body felt light, his feet left the ground, and he flew into the sky.
Ding Yu grinned, carefully controlling the circulation of his true energy.
A refreshing breeze blew in, ruffling Ding Yu's hair and clothes. He slowly rose, gazing at the mountains and rivers below that were gradually shrinking, feeling as ethereal as a fairy.
So this is what it feels like to fly. For the first time in his life, Ding Yu roamed freely in the world and truly experienced what it means to be carefree and at ease.
He had a strong urge to break free from the constraints of this world and see what lay beyond, to see what the legendary immortal realm looked like.
But he still stopped. A nearly transparent, thick array above his head rippled gently, blocking the fierce winds and Ding Yu's desire to break through the sky.
He was just a low-level cultivator who had just established his foundation. If he were exposed to the gale, he would be immediately cut into pieces by the sharp, knife-like gale and suffer the torture of being sliced into a thousand pieces.
Ding Yu suppressed his impulse, circulated his true essence, and slowly descended.
Although he could not attain complete freedom and ease, his Dao heart had already sprouted, and his desire to break through to a higher realm could no longer be erased.
From that moment on, he became a true cultivator.
Foundation building is never just about building the foundation for cultivation, but also about building the foundation for one's Dao heart.
Only by personally experiencing the feeling of traveling the world without relying on magical artifacts can one relinquish the yearning for all the glory and enjoyment of the mortal realm, and have only one pursuit in this life: to live a carefree and immortal life.
Ding Yu landed at the edge of the Tongtian Island formation, exhaled a long breath, his gaze became more determined, and he determined his direction, flying towards the Tianyuan Palace.
At first he was a little clumsy, but he quickly mastered the knack of flying and his speed gradually increased.
But he didn't dare to go too fast, as the Tai Xuan Sect was a Mahayana sect with countless high-level cultivators.
As an inner disciple who had just stabilized his Foundation Establishment realm, Ding Yu's status was only slightly higher than that of a few disciples in the Qi Refining stage. When he encountered other inner disciples or even true disciples with higher cultivation levels, he had to take the initiative to give way and not offend them.
Ding Yu was lucky; after his cultivation level stabilized, he couldn't wait to emerge from seclusion. It happened to be early morning, when there weren't many cultivators out.
He traveled unimpeded all the way to the Tianyuan Palace and descended into the light of his escape.
Tianyuan Hall is the most magnificent hall on Tongtian Island. Perched atop a high mountain, it resembles a crouching primordial beast. Its doors are wide open, resembling a giant mouth, and even in the early morning, many disciples come and go.
It is said that only the Wanxing Hall at the top of Tongtian Peak can rival the Tianyuan Hall, but that is the secluded place of the sect leader, and even ordinary people like the Refining Void Protector are not allowed to enter.
Ding Yu, a disciple with three spiritual roots, dared not approach within a hundred miles of Tongtian Peak, let alone witness the Myriad Stars Palace firsthand.
Ding Yu once heard a senior brother who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage say that more than eighty years ago, the sect leader appeared at the ceremony where Elder Chen of Lingyun Peak was promoted to elder. This senior brother personally witnessed the sect leader's honor and felt the aura of a Mahayana cultivator.
The pressure of the Mahayana aura was as vast as the starry sky and as heavy as the earth. At that time, this senior brother was only a nominal disciple in the late stage of Qi Refining. It was only after experiencing the pressure of the sect leader that he was able to successfully establish his foundation.
Ding Yu envied his senior brother. More than eighty years ago, he was only seven years old and had not yet joined the sect. If he had missed that opportunity, he probably would never have seen the sect leader in his life.
Ding Yu was very lucky. His parents were ordinary people, but when he was thirteen years old, he was found to have three spiritual roots and was accepted into a sect as a disciple.
Ding Yu's ability to join a Mahayana sect surpassed countless rogue cultivators, but this was not entirely due to his three spiritual roots; his tenacious character also played a crucial role.
Ding Yu's parents were just ordinary farmers who had never been to school and worked hard in the fields all day long.
Fortunately, the village where the Ding family lived was only tens of thousands of miles away from Donghua City, and was within the jurisdiction of Tai Xuan Sect.
The immortal masters of the Tai Xuan Sect frequently used their magic to bring rain, drive away floods, exterminate locusts, and eliminate demons. The government did not dare to exploit the people too much. Although the Ding family was not wealthy, they had no problem with food and clothing.
From a young age, Ding Yu had to help his parents work in the fields, enduring wind, sun, scorching heat, and freezing rain. Through this arduous labor, his will became more resilient.
He should have spent his whole life working in the fields, married a virtuous woman from the same or a neighboring village when he grew up, built his own thatched hut, had several children, raised them with care, and continued the Ding family line. That would have been a perfect life.
But when Ding Yu was thirteen, the Tai Xuan Sect tested spiritual roots, and all thirteen-year-old boys had to participate. This was the first time Ding Yu had stepped into a bustling county town.
He had no hope. Cultivators were not that far removed from mortals. He had heard from the village schoolteacher that the proportion of mortals with spiritual roots was not low, about one in a hundred.
But these boys with spiritual roots were different from others from a young age; they were either exceptionally intelligent or strong and powerful.
Ding Yu had always been very ordinary, dark-skinned and thin, with a very plain appearance, and was not particularly noticeable among the boys in the same village.
Cultivating immortality was too far away for him, as far away as the setting sun on the horizon.
But it was precisely this ordinary rural boy who was found to have three spiritual roots, surpassing all the other boys in the county who participated in the spiritual root testing.
He still remembers the looks those rich kids gave him, filled with shock, resentment, and envy. But no one dared to act recklessly in front of the immortal, so they could only bury their resentment deep inside.
Even those with three spiritual roots are not guaranteed entry into the Tai Xuan Sect. Even mortals know that the Tai Xuan Sect is a Mahayana sect with Mahayana cultivators who can live for hundreds of thousands of years, and its requirements for recruiting disciples are extremely strict.
Ding Yu was still in shock when the immortal led him to a quiet room, lit an incense stick, and a rich fragrance filled the room.
In a daze, Ding Yu found himself on a narrow path that could only accommodate one person at a time. To his left was a mountain wall as sharp as a knife, and to his right was a cliff hundreds of feet high. Below the cliff was a rushing river, filled with ferocious crocodiles. The crocodiles looked up, their eyes gleaming with savage light.
A grand voice came from the horizon: as long as Ding Yu traversed this treacherous mountain path, he would be able to join the Tai Xuan Sect and become a cultivator.
Ding Yu was trembling all over as he slowly took his first step.
The mountain path was too narrow and dangerous. If he walked too fast, he would fall into the air. He could only move forward step by step. The giant crocodiles below were looking up expectantly, but Ding Yu never stopped.
He was an ignorant country boy, but he also longed to cultivate immortality and didn't want to work hard for food and clothing anymore.
The arduous life of facing the loess soil with his back to the sky instilled in him a tenacious will, enabling him to overcome immense fear and persevere step by step through the narrow mountain path.
Ding Yu didn't know how long it took him, but when he reached the flat mountaintop, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up again, he saw the immortal's satisfied smile.
He successfully passed the entrance test and joined the Tai Xuan Sect, becoming a nominal disciple.
Within the vast Tai Xuan Sect, Ding Yu was merely one of tens of thousands of ordinary nominal disciples.
However, he cherished this opportunity immensely, diligently learning to read and write. After receiving the basic techniques, he never slacked off, practicing tirelessly and taking on all the sect missions he could.
Finally, his parents no longer had to farm. Ding Yu was nothing special in the Tai Xuan Sect, but he only took out a few low-grade spirit stones and bought his parents a three-courtyard mansion in the county town, where they lived a more comfortable life than even the gentry.
Eighty years later, Ding Yu finally reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage and accumulated enough sect contributions to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
He honed his magical power to its limit, adjusted his state to its peak, calmed his mind, and went into seclusion to attempt the Foundation Establishment stage.
For a disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect, taking eighty years to reach the peak of Qi Refining can only be described as average, or even somewhat slow.
Ding Yu paid special attention to his foundation. While his fellow disciples were eagerly trying to advance to the next level, he patiently honed his magical power, even if it was only slightly more refined than others.
This is the lesson his parents taught him: there's no room for laziness in farming. It involves tilling the land, leveling it, fertilizing, drying the seeds, soaking them, digging ditches, sowing, covering with soil, weeding, watering…
To get a good harvest, no step can be omitted, and you have to be anxious and hope that the weather will be kind, with no floods or droughts, and no pests. It's extremely hard work.
Ding Yu believes that cultivating immortality and farming are the same; one must never be lazy.
He strictly followed the basic techniques, refining his magical power when necessary, meticulously building a solid foundation, even though his progress was much slower than that of other cultivators of the same level.
Ding Yu knew that many of the other disciples who had entered the sect at the same time were secretly mocking him, but he didn't care and just continued his cultivation step by step.
The sect would definitely not harm him. He would cultivate according to the basic techniques passed down to him. As for the fact that others' cultivation progressed faster, what did that have to do with him?
Perhaps it was the foundation that had been carefully built over eighty years that made a difference, as Ding Yu was able to successfully establish his foundation with just one Foundation Establishment Pill.
He spent half a year stabilizing his cultivation level, and another half a year refining his slightly weak true essence before emerging from seclusion and rushing to the Tianyuan Palace.
The Qi Refining cultivators who join the Tai Xuan Sect are all nominal disciples, just like the Qi Refining cultivators with four or five spiritual roots in Donghua City.
The only difference is that you can go to Tongtian Island, absorb the pure spiritual energy on Tongtian Island to cultivate, and receive more sect missions than the nominal disciples in Donghua City.
Only those who successfully establish their foundation can become inner disciples, leave their natal lamp in the Yuan Deng Hall, and join the various peaks to become true members of the Tai Xuan Sect.
This is true not only for the Tai Xuan Sect, but also for the entire Spirit Realm.
Foundation Establishment cultivators are the true immortal cultivators, while Qi Refining cultivators cannot even fly and can only be considered half immortal cultivators; in essence, they are still mortals.
Now that Ding Yu has finally transcended the realm of mortals, he couldn't wait to go to the Tianyuan Hall to receive his new disciple token, then to the Yuandeng Hall to leave his natal Yuandeng, and finally to the Jiugong Palace to receive the basic formation.
Foundation Establishment cultivators can now create their own cave dwellings, which require formations to protect them and isolate their divine senses. This is a benefit for every inner disciple.
In addition, there are annual allowances for inner disciples. The amount of spirit stones an inner disciple receives each year varies depending on their cultivation level. Ding Yu, with his early Foundation Establishment cultivation, can receive one mid-grade spirit stone. It may not seem like much, but he receives it every year, which adds up to ten spirit stones over ten years, enough to make any rogue cultivator envious.
After finishing off numerous miscellaneous matters, it was already dusk. Ding Yu did not rush back to his cave dwelling, but instead hurried back to Tianyuan Palace.
Next comes the most important part: he must become a disciple of a mountain peak to be considered a true inner disciple.
The Tai Xuan Sect has twelve elders, each of whom runs their own peak. Only by becoming a disciple of an elder can one receive more annual stipends and unique sect missions, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.
If one can gain recognition and cultivate this unique lineage of techniques, there is a possibility of forming a core, or even a nascent soul and a deity in the future.
Like other registered disciples, Ding Yu began inquiring about the recruitment of disciples by each peak before he even reached the Foundation Establishment stage. The twelve peaks varied in strength and the disciples they recruited were also different.
Among them, Luosong Peak and Yanheng Peak are managed by the direct disciples of the sect leader, and they control behemoths such as Xixin Hall and Duobao Pavilion. They enjoy the best treatment, and inner disciples are eager to join these two peaks.
However, the requirements for these two peaks are also the highest. They require either exceptional talent, possessing earth or even heaven spiritual roots, special physique, or extraordinary strength. Ordinary inner disciples find it extremely difficult to pass the assessment.
Ding Yu was self-aware; at most, his true essence was a bit more abundant than that of other cultivators of the same level, his aptitude was mediocre, and his magic weapon was ordinary. He dared not hope to be able to join one of the two peaks.
The assessments for the other peaks varied in difficulty, but were all much simpler than those for the two peaks. After careful consideration, Ding Yu selected Huayu Peak, Lanyue Peak, and Chengying Peak.
Inner disciples only have three chances to take the test. If they fail even once, they can only apply again after fifty years.
For fifty years, he could only receive the most basic annual allowance and complete sect tasks that the disciples of each peak did not want, which was equivalent to wasting fifty years of cultivation time.
This is to make inner disciples choose carefully. If a cultivator does not even have self-awareness and does not have a clear understanding of his own strength, these fifty years will be his punishment.
After careful planning, Ding Yu chose these three mountain peaks.
Among them, Lanyue Peak is the strongest, the most difficult to pass, and has the slimmest chance of success.
But if he passes the test, Ding Yu will not hesitate to join Lan Yue Peak.
Huayu Peak is second in strength, but it has been rising steadily in recent years and is showing signs of resurgence. The difficulty of the assessment is moderate, and Ding Yu feels that he is 50% confident of passing Huayu Peak's assessment.
Cheng Yingfeng is the weakest of the three peaks, so the assessment is the easiest and passing it is not difficult.
If he is unlucky and fails the assessments at Lanyue Peak and Huayu Peak, he will go to Chengying Peak.
Fifty years is too long. Ding Yu doesn't have the support of any cultivation family. Let him cultivate as an ordinary inner disciple for fifty years, and when he becomes strong enough, he can then pass the assessment and join the most powerful peak.
He must quickly join a mountain peak to obtain sufficient cultivation resources, steadily improve his cultivation level, and retain a sliver of hope for forming his core in the future.
Ding Yu's mind was filled with complicated thoughts as he arrived at the Tianyuan Hall, the place where he received the sect's mission.
The Tianyuan Hall appears magnificent from the outside, and its interior is even more imposing, utilizing spatial magic to expand its area several times over and divide it into many different zones.
These areas are separated by arrays of different colors, with the area where sect missions are issued being the largest.
Jade slips of various colors float in the air. With a touch of divine sense, one can see their contents. If one finds something they like, they can accept it, and a ray of spiritual light will fly into their identity token.
The assessments for recruiting disciples at each peak are also issued in the form of sect missions. The jade slips are light blue, which indicates that inner disciples can receive them.
Above the jade slips floated the names of the various peaks: Lanyue, Huayu, Yujian, Chengying, Lingyun... The twelve jade slips floated up and down, extremely eye-catching.
Wait, Lingyun Peak?
Ding Yu paused for a moment, looking at the light blue jade slip marked with the words "Ling Yun". A number of inner disciples had already gathered around, examining the contents of the jade slip.
Their expressions were quite strange, their brows were furrowed, and many inner disciples gradually gathered around them.
If it weren't for the fact that one could simply use their divine sense to view the contents of the jade slip, these disciples would probably have already started vying for positions.
Their faces were filled with curiosity and surprise. Ding Yu was just as surprised as they were. Lingyun Peak had actually started recruiting disciples?
The twelve elders of the Tai Xuan Sect are all renowned within the sect, but the most famous among them is not Elder Bai or Elder Ling, the direct disciples of the sect leader, nor Elder Hong, who has reached the perfected Integration Realm, nor Elder Mei, the only woman, but rather the mysterious and unpredictable Elder Chen.
The other elders had joined the sect at its inception, but Elder Chen emerged out of nowhere, having joined the sect only eighty years ago. He possessed only the cultivation level of the Perfected Void Refinement stage, yet he held the position of elder and established his own peak.
After establishing Lingyun Peak, Elder Chen disappeared without a trace and stopped recruiting disciples. However, as the only Void Refinement stage elder, he remained extremely prominent and had a great reputation within the sect.
There are rumors that he once caused Elder Su of Lanyue Peak a great loss. There are also rumors that he was only a Nascent Soul cultivator three hundred years ago, but he crossed a whole major realm in two hundred years. There are even rumors that he obtained a treasure left behind by a true dragon and offered it to the sect leader in exchange for the position of elder.
These rumors, some true and some false, captivated the inner disciples, leaving them in awe and wonder. They quickly spread, making Elder Chen a legend.
Ding Yu had also considered joining Lingyun Peak. He wasn't attracted by the rumors about Elder Chen, but rather felt that Lingyun Peak was newly established and had few disciples. If he could join the peak, he might be able to get more spirit stones and pills.
However, Lingyun Peak never recruited any disciples, so Ding Yu had no choice but to give up on the idea. Unexpectedly, just as he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he saw Lingyun Peak's assessment jade slip.
Ding Yu stepped forward, wanting to see what kind of test the mysterious Elder Chen would set.
Ding Yu spread his divine sense, touched the jade slip, and was stunned when he saw its contents.
No wonder the inner disciples who were examining the jade slips had such strange expressions. The assessments for recruiting disciples in the other peaks were similar. First, they would look at the spiritual root aptitude, then test the Dao heart through formations, magic treasures, and other items, just like when Ding Yu walked through the dangerous mountain path. Finally, they would fight against a cultivator of the same level to test their strength.
However, Lingyun Peak's assessment is completely different. It does not consider spiritual root aptitude or test strength. There is only one thing: "tempering the body with mixed poison".
Lingyun Peak only accepts body cultivators. As long as one can endure in a mixed poisonous liquid for half an hour, one can pass the test and be accepted into the peak.
If that were all, these inner disciples would have already dispersed.
The Tai Xuan Sect also has body cultivators, but their numbers are extremely small, and they are not known for their body cultivation lineage. Body cultivators are only a tiny minority in the entire Spirit Realm. Who would choose to pursue the path of body refinement for no reason?
Not to mention that the jade slip clearly states that this Mixed Poison Spirit Liquid is extremely toxic, and only one in ten thousand people can pass the test. Moreover, soaking in the Mixed Poison Spirit Liquid will have aftereffects, and only those who pass the test will be given an antidote.
If one fails the test, one's body will be extremely weak for the next twenty years, unable to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and one's cultivation will not progress.
However, the jade slip also states that as long as one passes the assessment and becomes a disciple of Lingyun Peak, Elder Chen will pass on the body cultivation technique and bestow a large number of body-tempering spiritual medicines. Within a hundred years, one may be able to form a core, and within three hundred years, one may be able to form a nascent soul!
Cultivation is always more difficult to advance the higher the realm. Even in Mahayana sects, disciples must have at least three spiritual roots, and only one in ten can form a core.
Among the ten thousand inner disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect, at most only a thousand have reached the Core Formation stage, and those who have reached the Nascent Soul stage are even rarer, with only one in a hundred reaching it. Among the thousand Core Formation disciples, at most only ten have reached the Nascent Soul stage.
It becomes even more difficult to advance further. Among the thousands of disciples in a lineage, there are only a hundred or so Nascent Soul disciples. The number may seem large, but it is the result of the accumulation of tens of thousands of low-level disciples over several generations. Many of them are Nascent Soul cultivators who have lived for three or four thousand years. It took a long time to accumulate so many.
Ding Yu only dared to dream of forming the Core Formation, not to hope for forming the Nascent Soul Formation. But if he joined Lingyun Peak, he could form the Core Formation within a hundred years and the Nascent Soul Formation within three hundred years. Wouldn't that make it possible to break through to the Divine Transformation Realm?
However, the aftereffects of the mixed poisonous liquid troubled Ding Yu greatly. He had never cultivated the path of body refinement, but only used the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish his physical body when meditating. Compared with ordinary people, he was invulnerable to weapons, but he was nothing compared to body cultivators.
What if I fail the assessment? Wouldn't that mean wasting twenty years of my life?
Furthermore, other peaks will examine the physical body and soul when accepting disciples, so they will not accept those who have been poisoned.
The aftereffects of this poisonous liquid last for a full twenty years, meaning that during these twenty years, one cannot enter other mountains.
Twenty years is not a long time for a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a lifespan of four hundred years, but it is not short either.
For many inner disciples, the inability to improve their cultivation even slightly after twenty years is hard to accept.
Ding Yu was caught in a dilemma. He was reluctant to give up Lingyun Peak's generous offer, but he also didn't want to take the risk of being soaked in the mixed poison liquid.
The inner disciples around him were probably struggling just like him.
Finally, Ding Yu made up his mind, took out his identity token, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and drew down a ray of spiritual light from the jade slip, which merged into the identity token.
He decided to take Lingyunfeng's assessment; twenty years it was, he could afford to gamble.
He has mediocre talent and no background. Even if he passes the tests of other peaks, he has little confidence in forming a Core Formation or Nascent Soul Formation.
However, if one chooses the path of body refinement, with Elder Chen's guidance, the path to enlightenment is very promising.
Fortune favors the bold, and this might be the greatest opportunity on his path to immortality. If he doesn't seize it now, when will he?
Ding Yu gripped his identity token tightly and turned to walk out of the Tianyuan Hall.
Several inner disciples emerged from the crowd, their eyes as resolute as his.
Ding Yu walked out of Tianyuan Hall, his escape light flashed, and he flew towards Lingyun Peak, followed by the inner disciples behind him.
The group exchanged glances, each seeing a resolute look in the other's eyes.
They were just insignificant members among the tens of thousands of inner disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect, but few were as willing as they were to risk wasting twenty years of their lives for a slim chance. (End of Chapter)