The existence of the Yama Banner must never be leaked.
His own aptitude was inhumanly poor, yet with the help of the Yama Banner, his cultivation speed was by no means inferior to that of a True Spirit Root; the Yama Banner was undoubtedly an extraordinary treasure.
Qin Sang’s mind raced, and he realized his only option was to talk nonsense. "Reporting to Senior, when I was a child, I consumed a fruit. Afterward, my entire body burned with fever, and it took three days of high fever before it subsided, nearly costing me my life. When I began cultivating later, I realized my meridians were far wider and more resilient than others, and my speed of absorbing spiritual qi was extremely fast. I wonder if it was due to that fruit..."
Liang Yan's eyes lit up. "What kind of fruit?"
"Blue... it seemed to be some kind of berry..."
Qin Sang did his best to bluff. He described it using the color of a copper sulfate solution and added patterns resembling iron oxide; in short, it was very strange. He didn't believe any spiritual fruit would actually look like that.
"Blue? And it can expand meridians..."
Liang Yan thought for a moment. "Could it be the God-Drunken Fruit? Does the skin have white speckles, and does it carry the mellow aroma of fine wine?"
"It didn't seem to have a wine scent."
Qin Sang struggled to recall. He had no idea what the medicinal properties of the God-Drunken Fruit were; if Liang Yan was testing him, he absolutely could not admit it.
After a series of fruitless questioning, Liang Yan felt somewhat discouraged.
"Enough!"
The old man in black interrupted Liang Yan. "Liang Yan, go write Qin Sang's name on the roster. From now on, he is your junior brother."
Liang Yan let out an "Ah?" "Uncle Yue, Junior Brother Qin has a Five Elements Spirit Root. Doesn't that go against the sect rules?"
The old man in black snorted. "What rules? It is merely a custom. Throughout history, there have been exceptions. To have the providence to consume a spiritual fruit and find a sect token proves he possesses deep luck. You possess True Spirit Roots, which is also a matter of providence in the end. As long as Nephew Qin can... can meet the sect's requirements, there is no need to turn him away. Just go and record it."
Liang Yan nodded hurriedly, recorded Qin Sang's name, and arranged for Qin Sang to wait patiently on a prayer mat. Once the auction ended at night, they could return to the sect.
From Liang Yan, he learned that their sect was called the Kuiyin Sect.
Sitting on the prayer mat, Qin Sang felt somewhat dazed. Had he really been recruited as a disciple of a cultivation sect just like that?
"Congratulations, Brother Qin. From now on, we are fellow disciples."
Tan Jie's voice suddenly reached his ears via divine sense transmission. Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he transmitted back, self-mockingly, "Senior Brother Tan, from now on, you should follow the sect rules and call me Junior Brother. To be honest, it still doesn't feel real. Do you all have Jade Plate tokens as well?"
Senior and junior brothers were ranked according to their order on the roster. Although Qin Sang was older than Tan Jie, he had to obediently call him Senior Brother. Unless he reached the Foundation Establishment stage first, allowing the Tan brothers to call him "Uncle."
"Of course. Without a token, it would be impossible to gain the recognition of the Divine Artifact Pavilion. You must know, the chances for us rogue cultivators to join a cultivation sect are extremely rare. Not just near the Ghost Mountains, but even many rogue cultivators from far away are searching for Divine Artifact Pavilion tokens. The competition is fierce. My elder brother and I went through immense hardship and only obtained these two tokens through a stroke of luck."
It seemed that obtaining the token from that youth surnamed Han was indeed a stroke of good luck.
As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. With his aptitude, he originally could only have been an outer disciple of the Han family, but now he had joined a cultivation sect. He didn't know whether to hate or thank Zhen Ming.
Qin Sang didn't know whether to laugh or cry and sighed softly, "Senior Brother Tan, do you know where our sect's mountain gate is located? And how strong is it?"
"I had heard the name of our sect before. It is said to be a famous cultivation sect of the North, located in the Far North Cold Region. I didn't expect them to open a Divine Artifact Pavilion so far away. Don't worry, Brother Qin. Just by looking at the Divine Artifact Pavilion, one can tell our sect's strength is not weak. With the sect's protection, there will finally be something to look forward to in the future." Tan Jie's tone was somewhat excited.
The two exchanged a few more words via transmission.
Joining a cultivation sect was always a good thing. The cultivation resources for sect disciples were incomparable to those of rogue cultivators. Once joined, whether it was for cultivation or searching for Yin-煞 (Yin-煞) Qi, it would certainly be more convenient than groping around on his own.
But when he thought of his Five Elements Spirit Root, Qin Sang could not bring himself to be happy.
He waited until nightfall. During this time, Uncle Yue had brought in several more rogue cultivators, but in the end, he only accepted one girl. The Divine Artifact Pavilion operated flawlessly; those rejected were compensated with a mid-grade magical tool.
One person had a cultivation level higher than Liang Yan, at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, but was rejected due to being somewhat older. That person was naturally unwilling, but dared not act out in front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so they could only take the magical tool and leave in resentment.
In the end, only seven people were admitted into the Kuiyin Sect: five males and two females, all around twenty years old. Not even one exceeded the sixth level of Qi Refinement. Qin Sang could not figure out what criteria the Kuiyin Sect used for recruitment.
When night fell and the clamor subsided, Uncle Yue and two other black-robed elders walked in.
Qin Sang and the others hurriedly stood up in salute, following Liang Yan's lead. "Juniors greet Uncle Dong, Uncle Yue, and Uncle Wu."
The elder in the middle with the hooked nose was indeed Uncle Dong. His gaze was like a blade, making their eyes ache; they all lowered their heads, not daring to make eye contact.
Uncle Dong suddenly let out a sinister laugh, and the powerful aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator abruptly erupted. Qin Sang was terrified, feeling as if Mount Tai were pressing down upon him. He had to exert all his strength just to avoid collapsing to the ground. Looking at the others, their faces were flushed red as they struggled to endure.
"That you were chosen by my Kuiyin Sect means your talent is decent. After joining the Kuiyin Sect, you must devote yourselves entirely to cultivation and sever all worldly ties! Before breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, unless on a sect mission, you are strictly forbidden from descending the mountain without permission. Otherwise, you will be treated as a traitor. When that time comes, do not blame this old man for not warning you!"
A commotion broke out among the group.
Qin Sang's heart tightened. Pursuing longevity naturally required focused cultivation, and he wouldn't be distracted even without sect restrictions. But if he couldn't descend the mountain, where would he find Yin-煞 Qi?
After the Divine Artifact Pavilion closed, Qin Sang and the others followed the three uncles and quietly left the market town.
Once the group left the market, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Kuiyin Sect produced a milky-white jade flying shuttle. The shuttle flashed with light, enveloped everyone, and sped toward the horizon.
Unexpectedly, they had not flown far when a fiery red sword light suddenly shot out from the depths of the Ghost Mountains, striking the flying shuttle like a comet.
An unexpected scene unfolded: the flying shuttle was easily pierced by the sword light, and the shattering fragments of light fell like rain—it was actually an illusion.
A series of startled cries rang out from the depths of the Ghost Mountains. Then, several figures shot out from the darkness, fleeing in all directions, only to discover in despair that they had been surrounded by eerie black mist at some unknown point.
The black mist surged unpredictably, seemingly filled with the howls of countless evil ghosts. It instantly swallowed the attackers; there wasn't even a single scream. When the black mist passed, only skeletal remains were left behind.
Having witnessed the entire battle, Qin Sang was drenched in cold sweat.