Chapter 191: Servants

Chapter 191: Servants

With a flick of his wrist, a round, palm-sized golden badge appeared in Fang Zhuan's grasp amid a flash of golden light.

The badge was riddled with runes, and it was made from the exact same material as the metal grids.

He chanted a brief incantation while making a hand seal with his other hand, and all of the spirit patterns on the golden badge instantly lit up, following which it released a beam of golden light straight onto one of the metal grids on the wall.

The layer of spiritual light enshrouding the grid rippled like water momentarily, following which a small metal box flew out of the wall before landing in Fang Zhuan's grasp.

He pressed his golden badge onto the box, and the latter immediately began to glow with bright golden light, forming a spherical light barrier that enveloped the entire box within.

Han Li could see golden runes constantly flashing over the light barrier like a series of miniature golden dragons, giving off an extremely peculiar aura in the process.

Moments later, the spherical light barrier abruptly faded, as did the golden light radiating from the box.

Immediately thereafter, the box slowly flew back into the grid on the wall, where it was sealed once again amid a flash of spiritual light, leaving only the golden badge continuing to hover in mid-air.

The box wasn't opened at all throughout this entire process.

It seemed that even though Fang Zhuan was serving as the attendant elder overseeing this place, even he was unable to open the boxes that contained the scriptures. Instead, it appeared that the most that he could do was replicate the contents of the scriptures.

Fang Zhuan picked up Han Li's elder badge and placed it against his round metal badge, then chanted an incantation.

Both of the badges flashed in unison, then quickly returned to normal.

"Alright, the merit points in the badge have already been deducted, and your blood essence aura has also been recorded by this spirit note badge. You will be the only one who can access the cultivation art recorded inside. Do not attempt to replicate the contents inside under any circumstances, or you'll have to bear the consequences," Fang Zhuan cautioned as he handed both badges to Han Li.

"Thank you, Elder Fang," Han Li replied with a nod as he accepted the pair of badges.

Right at this moment, someone else made his way into the palace as he yelled, "Senior Martial Brother Fang!"

Fang Zhuan was clearly very familiar with this newcomer, and he smiled as he greeted, "Ah, Junior Martial Brother Gu. It's been a while since I last saw you. What can I help you with today?"

Han Li was rather taken aback to see this.

This appeared to have been a normal occurrence, but it was very perplexing in his eyes as the man with the Gu surname was a True Immortal cultivator, so why was it that he was referring to a Grand Ascension cultivator like Fang Zhuan as his senior martial brother?

Fang Zhuan seemed to have noticed the perplexed look in Han Li's eyes, and a hint of dejection flashed across his face.

"It appears you have a guest, so I won't take up any more of your time, Elder Fang," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a parting salute.

"Farewell, Elder Li. If you need anything else, you can come back at any time," Fang Zhuan replied with a nod.

Han Li was still rather perplexed as he stroked his own chin, then gave the two men a slight nod before departing.

After leaving the Merit Conveyance Palace, he had originally planned to return straight to his cave abode on the Crimson Dawn Peak, but a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he made his way to the nearby teleportation hall instead.

......

The Cattail Spirit Valley was situated in the westernmost region of the Bell Toll Mountain Range, and it was a massive horn-shaped valley that was stuck between a pair of side branch mountain ranges that extended toward the south.

There was a type of plant by the name of the Cattail Spirit Herb growing here, which was capable of gathering the world's origin qi in small amounts, hence the name of the valley.

Due to the special properties of the Cattail Spirit Herb, it was often used to weave futons, and for a low-grade cultivator, having access to such a futon would significantly enhance their rate of cultivation.

Of course, all of the Cattail Spirit Herbs in the valley were considered to be the property of the sect, and disciples were strictly prohibited from picking them without permission.

This valley was a rather special place in the Blaze Dragon Dao as the outer sect disciples participating in the decennial inner sect trials would generally gather here, then be taken by an attendant elder to trial areas such as the Snowmelt Forest.

Only a tiny number of people were able to pass each trial to become inner sect disciples, while the rest either perished during the cruel trials, or emerged riddled with injuries to continue serving as ordinary outer sect disciples.

Each outer sect disciple only had one opportunity to participate in the trial in their lifetime, so if they were to fail, then that would mean that the status of inner sect disciple was forever out of reach.

The majority of these outer sect disciples that had come from all parts of the Ancient Cloud Continent actually possessed decent aptitude, considered to be prodigies in their own clans. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even been selected to become outer sect disciples of the Blaze Dragon Dao.

After failing the inner sect trials, these outer sect disciples naturally weren't willing to just give up cultivation altogether, so the vast majority of them would choose to sign contracts in the Cattail Spirit Palace, hoping that they would catch the eye of one of the Blaze Dragon Dao's True Immortals and be fortunate enough to become their servant.

In their eyes, being able to become the servant of a True Immortal was an enormous opportunity that would elevate them to completely new heights.

If they were to be granted some cultivation resources by the True Immortal that they served, then it was entirely possible for exceptions to be made for them to be accepted as inner sect disciples at some point in the future.

However, the vast majority of True Immortals already had their own servants, and most of them liked to choose people from their own clans. Hence, very few of them came to visit the Cattail Spirit Valley. Of course, female cultivators with exceptional looks stood a better chance of being chosen then others.

Even so, whenever it became known that a True Immortal was about to arrive in the valley, countless disciples would still flock to the valley to try their luck.

At this moment, there were already thousands of people gathered in the valley, and there were still more people arriving by the second.

Not long ago, an attendant elder of the Cattail Spirit Palace had just announced that a True Immortal was going to be arriving to pick out some servants soon, and that was the reason why so many outer sect disciples were present.

The valley was lined with thickets of Cattail Spirit Herbs that were situated at least 1,000 feet away from one another. These herbs had thick and strong stems and leaves that resembled swords, and there were dozens or even over 100 gray-robed cultivators standing or sitting on each thicket.

It seemed that each thicket of Cattail Spirit Herbs was a circle of its own that was clearly separated from all others.

The vast majority of these people were at the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation Stage, but of course, there were quite a few Nascent Soul Stage disciples as well. Even as they were awaiting the arrival of the True Immortal, they were still meditating, not willing to waste any time that could be used for cultivation.

At the entrance of the valley, a gray-robed, honest-looking young man who appeared to have been in his twenties with a crescent-shaped jade pendant hanging from his waist made his way into the crowd, accompanied by three companions.

A round-faced fatso among the trio of companions turned to the honest-looking young man as he suggested, "Yungui, we should find a spot where it'll be easier for us to be seen. That way, there's a higher chance that we'll be chosen."

The best locations at the entrance of the valley had already been taken over by groups that were led by Nascent Soul Stage disciples, and there were only some vacant spots available deeper in the valley.

The honest-looking young man nodded in response, then pointed at a nearby thicket that was over 100 feet in size as he said, "It looks like there's some space there."

However, as soon as he stepped onto the thicket, he was met with a forceful shoulder barge that sent him stumbling to the side, and he turned around to discover a burly young man who was built like a brick house.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Young Master Yungui. Have you come to try and fight over spots with us again?" the burly young man sneered.

The honest-looking young man's hands instantly balled up into tight fists, but he ultimately chose not to retaliate.

The burly young man before him was called Sun Buzheng, and they had come from the same rural nation, namely the Late Age Nation.

The Meng Clan that Meng Yungui belonged to was once the cultivating clan that was controlling the nation from behind the scenes, while Sun Buzheng was a member of the Late Age Nation's imperial family. Back when they were both children, they had been very close friends.

However, the Sun Clan was later overthrown during a revolution, and the Meng Clan was also attacked by a foreign cultivating power at around the same time, falling into decline as a result.

Sun Buzheng's birth name was Sun Hao, and he had always thought that his nation had fallen due to the lack of action taken by the Meng Clan, so he had developed an extremely deep grudge against the Meng Clan. As a result, after he was reunited with Meng Yungui in the Blaze Dragon Dao, he regarded his former friend as a bitter enemy.

In the beginning, Meng Yungui tried to explain what had happened to Sun Buzheng, but the latter refused to listen, so Meng Yungui eventually gave up.

Whenever he was faced with Sun Buzheng's provocation, he would always choose to deescalate the altercation, but this only made Sun Buzheng even more furious.

"Let's go somewhere else," Meng Yungui said to his entourage, then began to make his way toward another nearby thicket.

"Meng Yungui, are you a man or not? You're always cowering like a turtle every single time, and it pisses me off!" Sun Buzheng roared.

He made no effort to keep his voice down, and all of the nearby disciples immediately had their attention drawn to the altercation. Among them was an ordinary-looking young man who was quite tall in stature.

He was standing on a large thicket with some other outer sect disciples seated in small groups nearby, while he was the only one that was on his own.

This person was naturally none other than Han Li, who had just arrived from the Merit Conveyance Palace.

As opposed to going straight to the attendant elder of the Cattail Spirit Palace to pick out some servants from the list of names, he decided to enter the valley and take a look for himself.

Even though selecting servants was only a trivial matter, he still didn't want to run the risk of having others plant spies beside him.

He had suppressed his own aura to the Core Formation Stage, so no one paid any heed to him, merely regarding him as another outer sect disciple who had come to try his luck.

He took a glance at the approaching Meng Yungui, then quickly withdrew his gaze.

Right at this moment, a cold voice rang out up ahead. "Everyone, piss off! I'm taking this spot!"

The voice belonged to a menacing middle-aged man who appeared to have been around 40 years of age, and he was followed by a pair of cultivators, one male and one female, both of whom clearly regarded him as their leader.

The man was a late-Core Formation cultivator, so his cultivation base definitely stood out among the many nearby Core Formation cultivators.

The thicket that Han Li was situated on was occupied mostly by early-Core Formation cultivators, so despite their reluctance to comply, they had no choice but to leave with sour expressions.

It didn't take long before Han Li was the only one left, and Meng Yungui stopped in his tracks as his brows furrowed slightly at the sight of Han Li.

"I don't recall ever seeing you before. You must be a newbie, right?" the middle-aged man asked in a cold voice.

"Indeed, I only joined the sect not too long ago, and I heard that a True Immortal was coming to select some servants soon, so I decided to come here and try my luck," Han Li replied in an indifferent voice.

"Ha! So you're another idiot with an inflated sense of self-worth!"

"He must think of himself as some type of young prodigy!"

A burst of raucous laughter instantly rang out at Han Li's expense.