"Look, someone else has perfectly passed the first stage of the Illusory Realm!"
Amidst the bustling discussions in Falling Cloud Valley, someone suddenly exclaimed.
"It's Lin Zhen!"
"He also realized there was something wrong with the beauty in front of him!"
In the next moment, a voice filled with extreme astonishment rang out again.
"And Wang Luchuan, he did it too!"
With these words, everyone turned to the image within the water mirror.
In the image, Wang Luchuan, contrary to his usual demeanor, righteously rescued the distressed beauty and quickly noticed something amiss, decisively ending her with a single strike, his performance was nothing short of perfect.
Seeing this scene, many people showed skeptical expressions, casting subtle glances at Yin Qingyuan standing below the water mirror.
It was understandable for Qi Da and Lin Zhen, but Wang Luchuan was the nephew of an elder from the Dao Entry Pavilion, and this recruitment assessment for new disciples was almost entirely organized by Yin Qingyuan, which made things interesting...
If Yin Qingyuan had leaked the questions from the Illusion Formation to Wang Luchuan in advance, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?
Although participants in the assessment would have their recent memories erased upon entering the Illusion Formation, forgetting they were in an assessment, there were still loopholes.
If Wang Luchuan had known the specifics of the Mental State Assessment months in advance, the Memory Seal would be rendered ineffective.
Of course, the cultivators present were all shrewd individuals; suspicion was one thing, but no one would be foolish enough to publicly raise it without concrete evidence.
Yin Qingyuan naturally noticed the strange gazes from around him, and his brows furrowed tightly, a hint of gloom flashing across his face.
According to the rules of Falling Cloud Valley, all new disciples had to serve as servants in the outer sect for a period to temper their bodies and minds.
However, if Wang Luchuan, with his Dual Spiritual Roots and outstanding performance in the Mental State Assessment, could make the sect break the rules, he could skip this step, saving at least a year.
So, he did leak the questions to Wang Luchuan in advance, hoping his nephew could shine in the assessment and seize the opportunity to enter the inner sect directly.
Unexpectedly, things didn't go as planned, and two other newcomers with excellent mental states emerged, causing Wang Luchuan to be less dazzling than expected.
After all, being one of three is vastly different from standing out alone...
While Yin Qingyuan's mind was racing, Bai Xirou glanced at him thoughtfully, a trace of imperceptible dissatisfaction in her eyes.
...
Inside the Illusion Formation.
Qi Yuan walked along the path, feeling quite relaxed. As he progressed, he had basically figured out the pattern of this Illusion Formation, no longer as constrained as he was initially.
In the next moment, he saw a bundle on the ground ahead. The colorful silk-wrapped bundle was placed conspicuously on the path, so obvious that anyone with eyes could spot it from afar.
Another test.
Thinking of this, a slight smile appeared on his lips as he quickly approached the bundle and picked it up. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Upon opening it, he found a large bag full of glowing lower-grade spirit stones, roughly fifty to sixty pieces.
As the saying goes, wealth moves the heart. This pile of shining spirit stones was visually striking, especially tempting for those new to the Immortal Path.
But for Qi Yuan, such lower-grade spirit stones with thin spiritual energy scattered on the road weren't worth bending down for.
As the Dao Child of the Supreme Profound Sacred Land, Qi Yuan received a monthly tribute of a thousand upper-grade spirit stones, with each upper-grade stone exchangeable for a hundred mid-grade stones, and each mid-grade stone exchangeable for a hundred lower-grade stones.
"It seems this test is about greed, but trying to tempt me with a mere fifty lower-grade spirit stones is rather stingy."
Qi Yuan muttered casually, yet he still put the bundle on his back.
Though the lower-grade spirit stones in the bundle were like dirt to him, the atmosphere had been set, and the play had to go on.
Soon, an elderly man with white hair, looking frail and shaky, approached from the other side of the road, appearing as if he had one foot in the grave.
Upon closer inspection, the old man's eyes were cloudy, revealing he was blind.
Hearing Qi Yuan's footsteps, the old man quickly stopped and asked urgently:
"Young man, have you seen a bundle?"
Qi Yuan smiled slightly, responding with a question:
"Old sir, if you can't see anything, how do you know I'm a young man?"
The old man was momentarily stunned, then smiled faintly and said:
"Though I can't see, my ears are sharp. The footsteps of a young man are light and strong, easily recognizable."
Qi Yuan didn't waste words, directly stating:
"I did pick up a bundle earlier, but you'll need to tell me what's inside to confirm it's yours."
Without hesitation, the old man replied:
"There are fifty-five lower-grade spirit stones in the bundle!"
Qi Yuan shook his head, "Oh, sorry, it seems this bundle isn't yours."
The old man became anxious:
"Young man, how can you be dishonest? In this desolate place, who else could have lost a bundle besides me? Please return it, and I will reward you handsomely."
Qi Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he said:
"I just counted, and there are clearly fifty lower-grade spirit stones in the bundle, yet you claim there are fifty-five. Are you trying to swindle five more from me?"
Hearing this, the old man looked enlightened and quickly said:
"Right, right, fifty is fine too. Consider the other five as your reward."
"Who do you take me for?" Qi Yuan said angrily, "I, Qi Da, have always been upright and honest. Do you think I would covet a few spirit stones from you?" You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
"Check for yourself how many spirit stones are inside."
As he spoke, he handed the bundle to the old man, indicating for him to open it and check.
The old man hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened the silk cloth and began counting the spirit stones one by one.
Soon, the old man put down the spirit stones, his face flushed with excitement.
"Young man, see, you counted wrong. There are indeed fifty-five spirit stones. Can you return it to me now?"
Qi Yuan rubbed his nose, chuckling:
"Seems I did count wrong, but I already know this bundle isn't yours. You should just go back to where you came from."
Then, he easily snatched the bundle back.
The old man's joyful expression froze, and he shouted angrily:
"How can you lie with your eyes open? This bundle is clearly mine!"
Qi Yuan shrugged, speaking indifferently:
"Do you know there's something called palm prints, and everyone's are unique?"
"The bundle originally had a pair of fresh mud prints, clearly left by the owner. Your hand is obviously smaller than the print, which is very suspicious."
"To confirm, I sprinkled fine dust on the cloth. When you counted the spirit stones, you naturally left clearer prints."
"Comparing the two, the patterns are completely different, proving the bundle isn't yours!"
With that, he ignored the old man standing there with a stiff face, turned around with the bundle on his back, and went to find the real owner.
Soon, Qi Yuan found the NPC, er, the bundle's owner, in a corner away from the path.
"So that's it, I didn't expect my casual remark while searching for the bundle to be used by someone with ill intentions. That old fool is truly despicable."
The speaker was a middle-aged man in a steward's outfit, looking at Qi Yuan with gratitude.
"When he asked what I lost, I said a bundle with fifty-five spirit stones, hoping for help in finding it, not expecting him to remember it and impersonate the owner."
"Fortunately, you saw through it and retrieved the bundle for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to explain it to the residence."
"My young master is cultivating in a nearby Immortal Sect, struggling to break through. This bag of spirit stones was painstakingly gathered by the master for his cultivation..."
After a lengthy formal conversation, the middle-aged man took his leave.
Before leaving, he reminded Qi Yuan to seek him out if he needed help.