Chapter 2: Lay Low, Don't Get Reckless

High above the sky, the five masters of Luoxian formed hand seals.

Following this, everyone felt a flash of white light before their eyes.

Everyone was teleported to a desolate wilderness.

Just as the crowd was clamoring and exclaiming at the magical display of power

"Uh..."

In a corner of the crowd, a few people stared in astonishment at the guy in front of them.

This person was holding a gleaming kitchen knife in each hand, a string of explosive spirit talismans hung from his waist, and two wind-chasing spirit talismans were stuck to his thighs. His feet were positioned in a staggered stance, looking like he was ready to run at any moment.

Time froze in that instant.

"Ahem..."

Zheng Tuo coughed awkwardly, then returned to normal.

Without even looking at them, he quietly disappeared into the crowd.

"Your destination is the distant Sunset Mountain. The only thing you must do is reach the summit of Sunset Mountain alive."

The booming voice of Yun Yangzi echoed through the void.

"Sunset Mountain, that should be the direction where the divine sun sets."

Someone whispered, revealing the mystery behind the words.

"Such a simple assessment. The Luoxian Sect is nothing special."

The guy who spoke was muscular and looked like a tough guy.

"Simple?"

The person who replied sounded sarcastic.

"Never mind how far the destination is, look at where this place is."

Hearing this, everyone looked around.

The surroundings were a primeval forest. Ancient trees as thick as a dozen people could embrace were everywhere, and waist-high weeds covered the ground.

Mixed in with the weeds were footprints of unknown beasts the size of washbasins.

Everything indicated that they were in great danger.

"What are you afraid of? Since it's an assessment, the immortals of the Luoxian Sect must be protecting us from the shadows. Even if there is danger, what can it do?"

Someone said this, looking full of confidence.

"Naive. Don't say I didn't warn you. Every Luoxian Sect assessment has a death quota, and it's not one or two, but countless. In other words, even if everyone here dies during the assessment, the Luoxian Sect won't send any immortals to save you."

"Impossible. The Luoxian Sect is an immortal sect, not the Demon Clan. How could they let us die?"

"Pfft! Believe it or not."

The guy who spoke seemed very familiar with the Luoxian Sect's assessments, and after saying this, he left with a few others.

The remaining people looked at each other, and finally decided to form teams to move forward.

The road ahead was lost, and having companions was better than nothing.

Soon, everyone set off, heading in the direction of the setting sun.

"Sounds very dangerous!"

Zheng Tuo licked his lips, feeling that the road ahead was full of thorns.

Because of his personality.

He was a person who really disliked taking risks.

His plan was to join the Luoxian Sect and not come down until he became an immortal.

As for now!

What to do?

As more and more people left, only a few remained in the area.

"Um... big brother, I'm alone, can I team up with you?"

The little girl looked about ten years old, wearing a pink princess dress with twin tails, twisting her small hands together in a tangle.

Her large eyes looked at Zheng Tuo with anticipation, longing for the big brother in front of her to team up with her.

Zheng Tuo's expression was serious.

His eyes scanned the little loli's entire body wantonly.

It made the little loli tighten her collar, her large eyes showing a fearful expression.

Her arms and legs were very thin, with no sense of strength.

She spoke weakly, like a woman.

The test talisman showed that there was no spiritual energy on her; she was not a cultivator.

And judging from her simple words, she was a naive "silly sweet" who hadn't seen much of the world.

Such a burden would definitely bring him trouble.

But...

In this godforsaken place, such a little loli probably wouldn't survive a minute.

Even without beast attacks, she would probably starve to death.

Sigh...

No choice.

Who told me to be a good person.

Zheng Tuo revealed a smile as bright as the sun.

Likewise, a hopeful smile appeared on the little loli's face.

Suddenly!

Zheng Tuo raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

"Look, Transformers!"

The little loli instinctively turned her head, only to find that there was nothing in the sky.

When she turned back, she found that the big brother had already disappeared.

Little loli:...

Behind an ancient tree not far from the little loli.

Zheng Tuo took out a breath-concealing talisman and stuck it on himself.

He held his breath and pricked up his ears, terrified of being discovered by the little loli.

Are you kidding me?

I've never been hit on by pretty girls since I was a kid.

Suddenly having a girl hit on me, and such a cute little loli at that, it was clearly a curse, not a blessing.

Good thing I ran fast, otherwise I would definitely have been pestered.

Hmph!

Trying to draft me as a laborer, dream on.

Zheng Tuo felt lucky for his quick wit.

It made him even more certain of his path: keep a low profile, must keep a low profile.

Watching the little loli find someone else to team up with and leave, Zheng Tuo was in no hurry to set off.

Anyway, there was no time limit; being cautious was never wrong.

Seeing that it was getting late, he decided to find a hiding place to rest first.

Only by recharging his energy could he face any danger that might come.

——

Luoxian Sect, above the Luoxian Main Hall.

The masters of the five peaks were all present.

Including the Vice Sect Master, Yun Yangzi, there were six people in total.

In the center of the hall was a huge ancient bronze mirror.

On the ancient bronze mirror, the images of all the contestants this year were displayed.

"There are indeed a few good seedlings this year. My Immortal Cauldron Peak will accept them."

The master of Immortal Cauldron Peak, Yun Ding, Golden Core early stage.

"They're passable. Li Jun, Chi Xiao, Shen Xian'er... all good seedlings. If cultivated well, my Thousand Blade Peak will have successors."

The master of Thousand Blade Peak, Yun Qianli, Golden Core early stage.

"Hey, hey, hey... the test isn't over yet, and you two are already fighting over people. That's not very kind."

The master of Luoxian Peak, Lei Xing, Golden Core middle stage.

Immortal Cauldron Peak, Thousand Blade Peak, and Luoxian Peak were the strongest forces among the five peaks.

Therefore, the recruitment every ten years was exceptionally fierce.

On the contrary, the masters of Enlightenment Peak and Ethereal Peak didn't say a word.

The master of Ethereal Peak, Hong Niang, only recruited female disciples.

In most cases, the other masters wouldn't compete with her.

As for Enlightenment Peak, it was the most special existence among the five peaks.

The master, Wu Dao, had an unpredictable and very strange temperament.

He had been in the Luoxian Sect for a hundred years, but he only had three disciples under his tutelage.

Compared to the thousands of disciples in other peaks, the difference was huge.

Coming today was just a formality.

And what came was only a clone.

His main body was likely in seclusion, striving for a higher realm.

Therefore, the others didn't consider him a competitor.

It was rare for the masters to gather, so while observing the contestants, they exchanged cultivation insights and bickered along the way.

The second day.

A watershed had appeared in the assessment.

Those with talent and intelligence were already far ahead of the others.

Most of the rest encountered difficulties and casualties appeared.

Of course, they wouldn't really die.

Before this, the colorful spiritual energy that entered their bodies was not just a gift, but a special positioning method.

Therefore, when they encountered danger and it was determined they could not continue the assessment, an immortal would activate a teleportation, silently sending them out of the assessment area.

The assessment was ongoing...

But no one noticed that there was still one person at the starting point of the assessment who hadn't set off.

Even the immortal in charge of monitoring seemed to have forgotten the existence of this person.

In the safe house.

Zheng Tuo had ten breath-concealing talismans stuck to his body.

From head to toe, he completely hid his own aura.

Two days had passed.

Zheng Tuo felt it was about time and walked out of the safe house.

He stretched his muscles, went to the bathroom, and had breakfast by the way.

After adjusting his spirit and energy to the best state.

Fully prepared, he set off.

(End of chapter)