After Leng Changdao left, Leng Zhuxin entered the dimension once again.
Perhaps due to the cleansing of her marrow, upon re-entering the dimension, Leng Zhuxin immediately felt herself automatically absorbing spiritual Qi, with an even stronger affinity for it than before.
The changes in her body delighted Leng Zhuxin; she knew this meant her cultivation speed would surpass that of others.
Qi Guidance cultivation manuals were inside the house, but Leng Zhuxin had no desire to learn them just yet.
Tomorrow was the day the major sects accepted disciples. The cultivation resources of the Xuanling Continent were largely controlled by these major sects, with the Qingxuan Sect, as the premier sect of this realm, naturally holding the lion's share, followed by the other four major sects. Lesser sects beneath the four major sects could only make do with the scraps left over by the major ones.
Since Leng Zhuxin had resolved to walk the path of immortal cultivation, she was determined to fight tooth and nail for resources. Being a disciple of a major sect came with abundant benefits; she had no reason to forsake the Qingxuan Sect to toil away in some lesser sect.
The Qingxuan Sect was not Immortal Lord Changheng's personal property; it belonged to everyone.
Furthermore, Leng Zhuxin would not be intimidated by those few individuals. If she dared to kill the female protagonist, what was there to fear about Immortal Lord Changheng?
Growing stronger using the Qingxuan Sect's resources and then killing the sect's guardian elder—the mere thought filled Leng Zhuxin with exhilaration.
However, no one in the Qingxuan Sect dared to contest Immortal Lord Changheng for disciples, so Leng Zhuxin planned to play the pig to eat the tiger, keeping a low profile and settling for being a direct disciple.
The original host had managed to become Immortal Lord Changheng's disciple back then due to her Heavenly Water Spiritual Root and taking first place in the Heaven-Ascending Steps entrance trial.
Leng Zhuxin could not hide her spiritual root, but the Heaven-Ascending Steps were entirely within her control. Her legs grew on her own body, and she could take whatever place she wanted.
Precisely because she did not want to attract Immortal Lord Changheng's attention prematurely through Qi Guidance, Leng Zhuxin decided to begin her cultivation only after becoming an apprentice.
Her entry into the dimension this time was solely to forge a master-servant bond with the sinking bamboo brush on the table.
The sinking bamboo was that cyan bamboo writing brush on the table, a talisman brush carved by Leng Hua from sinking-water jade. It was also the first talisman brush Leng Hua had refined before ascending. Although it was only an Earth-grade magical artifact, it was more than enough for talisman cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage.
The master who had guided Leng Zhuxin's cultivation in her past life had once said that she possessed considerable talent in the Dao of Talismans, which held true even in an alien world. Since Leng Hua was also a talisman master, the left-behind cultivation manuals undoubtedly included the Dao of Talismans. Therefore, Leng Zhuxin intended to follow in Leng Hua's footsteps and specialize in both talismans and swords.
...
After a night of sparse rain and sudden gusts that dispersed the lingering overcast clouds of yesterday, today was a bright, sunny day.
Leng Changdao arrived at Leng Zhuxin's door early, personally carrying a food box. There was not the slightest trace of a father who had just lost a daughter; he acted as though everything in the Leng family was as usual.
The two leisurely ate breakfast, and after Leng Changdao offered a few lukewarm words of admonition, he took Leng Zhuxin to the Myriad Beasts Plaza.
The Myriad Beasts Plaza was the largest plaza in the city, used exclusively by the major sects for their centennial disciple recruitment.
The plaza was bustling and packed with people. At the shout of "The immortals have arrived!", the entire plaza instantly quieted down, and everyone raised their heads to look at the sky.
Beneath the clouds, a dozen or so figures came flying on swords. After circling above the plaza, they landed on the circular platform at its very center.
Lesser sects stood on the outer ring, major sects on the inner ring, and the people of the Qingxuan Sect stood upon the elevated stage directly in the center of the circular platform, towering above all the other sects.
Because the Leng family was the premier prestigious clan in Myriad Beasts City, Leng Zhuxin was assigned a spot at the very front. Directly behind her were members of the Dong family, who enjoyed friendly ties with the Leng clan.
Once the formations were arranged, the spiritual root testing commenced. Leng Zhuxin placed her hand on the spirit-testing stone without hesitation.
The blue beam of light representing the Heavenly Water Spiritual Root that she had anticipated did not appear. In its place was a beam of pure white light.
The white light soared straight into the sky, so dazzling that people could not keep their eyes open. The elders of the various sects who had been seated on the high platform stood up one after another, and the disciple in charge of the testing drew a sharp breath, shouting: "Heaven-grade Ice Spiritual Root!"
Following that cry, Chen Xiong, an elder of the Qingxuan Sect, walked to the edge of the high platform, looked down condescendingly at Leng Zhuxin, and asked, "Would you be willing to enter our Qingxuan Sect?"
Though puzzled as to why her tested spiritual root differed from the original host's—surmising it must be due to soaking in the Cold Abyss's spiritual water yesterday—Leng Zhuxin kept her expression calm, nodded, and replied that she was willing.
Seeing her neither arrogant nor impetuous, Chen Xiong developed an even greater favorable impression of her and motioned for her to stand behind him.
The spiritual root testing continued. With Leng Zhuxin's heavenly ice spiritual root setting the precedent, the major sects grew spirited. They no longer dared hope to encounter a mutated spiritual root like Leng Zhuxin's, but having a few more single spiritual roots would certainly be welcome.
Even though any single spiritual root discovered would be scooped up by the five major sects, adding fresh blood to the Immortal Cultivation World was always a good thing.
Having not come to the Mortal Realm to recruit disciples for a century, even with the age limit restricted to six to thirty years old, long queues still formed, and the testing did not conclude until afternoon.
Aside from Leng Zhuxin, who possessed the mutated ice spiritual root, only eleven others were measured to have spiritual roots.
This was already considered a considerable number for a small mortal city. The majority of them possessed mixed spiritual roots, with only three having triple spiritual roots and one having a metal-wood dual spiritual root.
The Qingxuan Sect had already secured Leng Zhuxin, the mutated ice spiritual root. Triple spiritual roots were not uncommon in the cultivation world, and while dual spiritual roots were better, they were not enough to make Chen Xiong compete with the four major sects, so he let the elders of the four major sects draw lots to determine the allegiance of those four individuals.
As for the remaining lesser sects, they could only divide up the remaining mixed spiritual roots among themselves.
After determining the affiliations of those with spiritual roots, the major sects distributed silver according to their respective customs—mostly two hundred taels of white silver, with only the Qingxuan Sect awarding two hundred taels of gold.
Since all the major sects were returning to their sects the next day, those who passed the test still had half a day to bid farewell to their families.
Leng Zhuxin also returned to the Leng family. From the moment her ice spiritual root was tested and she was accepted as a disciple by the Qingxuan Sect, the corners of Leng Changdao's mouth had not dropped once. His tone when speaking to Leng Zhuxin grew even more affable, and he even declared that he would host a three-day banquet open to the entire city.
When evening came, he brought over a Storage Bag: "Xin'er, these are items your father went through untold hardships to acquire for you, and some were left behind by our ancestors. Take them all with you, as you will find them useful in your cultivation.
Your elder sister is unfilial, and her whereabouts are still unknown. You must cultivate diligently and not forget to come back often to see your father."
Leng Zhuxin offered a perfunctory response. Watching Leng Changdao pull items out of the Storage Bag—two lowest-tier Yellow-grade magical artifacts, a small vial of Inedia Pills, and the remainder being a few dozen spirit stones—she knew the score.
These must have been left behind by Ning Mi, yet the things Ning Mi left behind surely amounted to more than just this.
Leng Zhuxin lifted her eyelids, looked at Leng Changdao who was putting on the facade of a benevolent father, curled the corners of her lips, and smiled: "Rest assured, Father, I will definitely come back to see you."