"Brother Lu, ask away! I promise to tell you everything I know!" Bai Li Jianqing nodded earnestly.
"Your grandfather practiced at the Heavenly Sword Sect for many years, so you must know a lot about the sect's affairs."
"I want to ask, after joining the sect, can disciples have their own Spiritual Fields to freely cultivate Spiritual Plants?"
"Of course! Once you join, the sect will assign Foundation Establishment and even Core Formation cultivators to teach you about cultivation methods, alchemy, talismans, and other skills. Occasionally, there will also be sect tasks that must be completed."
"Besides that, outer disciples can arrange their time freely. As long as you don't break the sect rules, there won't be any issues."
"As for the Spiritual Fields... the Heavenly Sword Sect covers over a thousand miles, with countless strange peaks. Disciples can open their own caves within designated areas, and even after advancing to inner disciples, they can have their own Spiritual Vein."
Lu Xuan nodded to show he understood.
"Brother Lu, with all these questions, you must be..."
Bai Li Jianqing looked like he wanted to ask but hesitated.
"That's right. After joining the sect, my first priority is to cultivate Spiritual Plants and raise Spiritual Beasts."
"Brother Lu, you're only a little older than me. If you can reach your current level as a loose cultivator, it shows you have great talent. Why wouldn't you want to grow Spiritual Plants?"
"Everyone has their own aspirations. Just like you're obsessed with the sword path, I'm equally passionate about watching the Spiritual Plants and Spiritual Beasts I cultivate grow and mature."
"Besides, while Spiritual Plants might not compare to alchemy or talismans, they're still part of cultivation skills. Without Spiritual Plant Cultivators, how would you get the Spirit Grass you've been thinking about?"
Lu Xuan countered.
"That's true! I absolutely support you, Brother Lu."
As soon as Bai Li Jianqing heard he could grow the Spirit Grass he wanted, he leaned in with a shy smile, his narrow eyes almost closing into slits.
Lu Xuan took this opportunity to solidify his image as someone focused on cultivating Spiritual Plants.
A few days later, under a massive stone sword, there was a wide square.
At one end of the square, two white jade tables were set up, with two Heavenly Sword Sect cultivators in blue robes sitting at them. Around them, seven or eight outer disciples maintained order.
Lu Xuan and Bai Li Jianqing arrived early, with only a few people at one table, all wearing robes and exuding spiritual energy, their eyes bright.
At the other table, a long line of people stretched out, and Lu Xuan estimated there were already over a hundred.
He stood patiently at the back of the line and turned to see Bai Li Jianqing had somehow moved to the shorter line.
"That's not how you cut in line..."
Just as Lu Xuan was about to call him over, he saw Bai Li Jianqing pull out a green token and wink at him.
"Green Cloud Token? Does that mean you get to use the VIP lane?"
Lu Xuan recognized the token in Bai Li Jianqing's hand; he had one too.
Looking at the long line still waiting, he quietly moved behind Bai Li Jianqing and took out his own Green Cloud Token from his storage bag.
"Brother Lu, you really keep a low profile, getting a Green Cloud Token as a loose cultivator."
Lu Xuan smiled.
"Just a lucky coincidence."
The Heavenly Sword Sect cultivators at the two white jade tables needed to conduct a preliminary screening of the many cultivators present, testing their bone age, cultivation level, and aura.
Except for a few specially recruited low and mid-level Qi Refining cultivators, those over thirty with low cultivation or questionable backgrounds would be eliminated in the first round.
At first, Lu Xuan worried that his talent might not be enough to pass, but after asking Bai Li Jianqing, he learned that talent was just one important aspect; what mattered more was the cultivator's own level.
After all, on the path of cultivation, if a cultivator wants to keep improving, they need talent, fortune, mindset, and resources—everything is important. Being able to reach high-level Qi Refining before thirty at least shows they have some unique advantages.
With the Green Cloud Token as a guarantee, the first round of screening was just a formality. Soon, a Heavenly Sword Sect outer disciple approached the crowd.
"Hello, future junior brothers and sisters! I'll lead you all to the Heavenly Sword Sect."
After saying this, he patted his storage bag, and a shuttle-shaped flying boat appeared on the ground. The boat shimmered with spiritual light, covered in many runes, clearly a second-grade flying artifact.
Lu Xuan clasped his hands in greeting and followed everyone onto the boat.
The boat was incredibly fast, soaring through the sky, with the mountains below turning into fleeting shadows.
Along the way, the young Heavenly Sword Sect cultivator, who had a handsome appearance and good demeanor, was very enthusiastic, chatting with everyone on the boat.
He didn't show any disdain towards Lu Xuan, who was dressed simply. He understood that anyone with a Green Cloud Token either had an extraordinary background or unique talents. Although Lu Xuan had joined the sect early, he would soon be surpassed by others.
After a moment, the flying boat arrived in front of a massive formation that blocked out the sun.
The formation stretched for miles, with countless stars twinkling in the sky, and occasionally, shooting stars would fall, landing on the formation's surface and stirring up sword energy like swimming fish.
Lu Xuan focused closely and saw endless sword intent surge from the stars.
"This is the Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation, the protective formation of the Heavenly Sword Sect. It is also a notorious killing formation in the cultivation world. Even a Nascent Soul expert could perish within this sword formation."
The well-mannered Heavenly Sword Sect outer disciple proudly introduced it to the group.
After the flying boat landed, he led Lu Xuan and the others to a giant stone turtle.
The stone turtle was massive, its shell mottled, lying motionless outside the sword formation for who knows how long.
The Heavenly Sword Sect cultivator flicked his fingers, and a deep purple pill flew into the stone turtle's mouth. The turtle slowly raised its head, a vague spiritual power flashing by, making Lu Xuan feel as if he was completely exposed before the stone turtle.
"This is the mountain-protecting Spiritual Beast, the Guardian Turtle. Its age is so ancient that it can't be traced. It can speak and identify evil spirits. In the future, when you enter or leave the mountain gate, you can feed it a special beast pill to make it open the way for you."
Feeding a protective spiritual beast? Just thinking about it felt thrilling to Lu Xuan.
Seeing the old stone turtle nod slightly, the Heavenly Sword Sect cultivator approached the spiritual energy barrier, took out a black token, and with a flash of spiritual energy, a small door appeared in the barrier for two people to pass through.
Lu Xuan followed him inside the sword formation.
As soon as he entered, he felt a rich and pure spiritual energy rush towards him, making his internal spiritual energy become much more active, far better than in his small courtyard in the market town.
He even had the illusion that he could progress rapidly in his cultivation in this environment.
"This truly is the sect. With such abundant and pure spiritual energy, Spiritual Plants should grow faster and have a better chance of being high quality, right?" Lu Xuan thought to himself.
Inside the sect, mountains and lakes were filled with misty spiritual energy, clouds and mist swirling, with all sorts of strange spiritual birds and beasts freely moving about, showcasing the grandeur of the sect.
(End of Chapter)