I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 21 Examination

Summer has passed silently.

In the blink of an eye, autumn has deepened.

In the 26th courtyard of the Jia character, Brother Tree also followed the seasons and shook off some yellow leaves.

In the morning, Li Xuanying took a broom and swept up the few fallen leaves. He noticed that the gate was open and Ying Chan was not in the courtyard, so he went out and approached Xiaxi.

Sure enough, a young Taoist priest sat facing the lake by the lake, carving.

The wood in his hand looked like it had just been picked up casually in the mountains, and its quality was obviously poor. Moreover, he was using a wood-chopping knife for all his chiseling, shaving, carving, and engraving, which did not look like he was seriously carving.

However, the finished product is completely different. Anyone who sees it will praise it as a masterpiece of craftsmanship. With such tools and wood, a divine general holding an arrow and drawing a bow has been vividly depicted.

Even more strangely, on the surface of Xiaqi Lake, there was a fist-sized stream of water that was drifting and changing with the wind, gradually revealing armor, a divine bow... exactly the same as the divine general in his hand.

Suddenly, the water-transformed divine general seemed to come to life. He leaped onto the lake and ran at full speed, while simultaneously drawing his divine bow, as if he were on guard against something.

The next moment, with a splash, a water dragon suddenly broke through the lake's surface, leaped into the air, and pounced on the divine general.

The god dodged and weaved through the water dragon's claws, teeth, and body strikes, narrowly avoiding all attacks, and then unleashed a barrage of arrows...

A dragon and a general, locked in endless battle.

Although it is only the size of a fist and a few feet long, it is just right for the 'vast ocean' of Xiaqi.

Not so lively!

"Senior brother's magic has improved again."

Li Xuanying approached the lakeside and said, "The exquisite control of qi and the ingenious shaping are both astonishing."

He wasn't exaggerating; he was genuinely surprised.

The cultivation of magic is said to progress from simple to complex, and then from complex to simple.

Taking wind magic as an example, what does it mean to progress from simple to complex? It means that only by mastering the art of controlling wind and qi can one advance further and cultivate more profound wind magic.

As for simplifying the complex, abandoning all profound magic, and ultimately controlling the divine winds of the world with a single thought...

That's the legendary realm.

In conclusion, while the ability to control wind and qi is extremely basic, it is by no means a rudimentary spell. Countless cultivators have worked tirelessly but have yet to master it.

To have mastered magic to this level in such a short time demonstrates one's natural talent for it.

Moreover, Ying Chan cultivates the "One Yuan Refining Qi Scripture," which allows him to control his powerful magical energy with exquisite precision. The strength of his soul and the refinement of his thoughts must also be extraordinary.

Ying Chan was unaware of Li Xuanying's thoughts and simply smiled upon hearing this.

He wasn't overly modest, replying, "I have indeed made quite a few gains recently."

He then asked in return, "How is Xuan Ying's progress?"

Li Xuanying was also quite pleased and said, "Today I have opened another mysterious aperture, and I am not far from perfecting my Qi cultivation."

Ying Chan was also surprised to hear this.

The reason why Li Xuanying did not emerge from meditation for a long time when he was gathering qi at the summit that day was because he suddenly gained something while refining the purple qi and opened up a new mysterious aperture.

Only seventy or eighty days later, another breakthrough was achieved.

Although he has made great progress during this period, the opening of the mysterious aperture is easy at first and difficult later, and cannot be generalized.

It shouldn't be long before Xuan Ying is able to cultivate Xuan Guang and join our sect.

When the time comes to part, Ying Chan will not feel sad, because he believes that he will not stop.

After chatting for a while, Li Xuanying asked again, "When does Senior Brother plan to go to the Capital Examination Academy?"

"I'll go this afternoon."

"This afternoon?" Li Xuanying was surprised to hear this. "Can't we wait a few more days?"

Ying Chan said, "I only just opened the ninth profound aperture the other day, so it will be difficult to make any further progress in a short period of time."

The Dukaoyuan is the academy within a Taoist temple responsible for examining and evaluating practitioners' cultivation. Because the disciples entered the temple at different times, the Dukaoyuan did not have a unified examination. Instead, each disciple was given an opportunity each year to go to the Dukaoyuan for examination.

If one can pass the exam or achieve excellent results, one will receive a reward for one's merit.

Ying Chan has been in the Taoist academy for less than half a year, so there is no need to rush to examine him.

However, he felt that his progress was good and he also wanted to acquire some Taoist skills. So he went to the Cloud Pavilion to borrow his favorite Taoist books, and that's how he came up with this idea.

Li Xuanying nodded slightly upon hearing this, then cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I wish you success in the examination, Senior Brother."

Ying Chan smiled.

……

The morning light fades quickly.

After finishing his Dharma talk by the lake, Ying Chan returned inside to read for a while, and before he knew it, it was already afternoon.

So he stuffed the book he was reading, "Ten Essentials of the Way of Instruments," into his bosom and went out.

The Examination Institute and the Education Institute are adjacent to each other, and Ying Chan has long been familiar with the route of going there every month to copy the class schedule.

Soon, the solemn outline of the Capital Examination Hall came into view.

Ying Chan stepped through the door and saw a spacious hall, quiet and still, with only a few people in it.

Upon realizing that Ying Chan had entered, a young Taoist boy stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother. Have you come to ask for my guidance...?"

After saying that, the young Taoist was clearly taken aback. He looked at Ying Chan's face and thought for a moment: "Ying Chan, Senior Brother Ying?"

It turns out that this young Taoist was the same boy who had sent word that Ying Chan should come to Songfeng Altar to listen to the lecture that day.

Ying Chan was not surprised. He knew that the duties of the Capital Examination Academy and the Capital Teaching Academy were similar and relatively leisurely, so the assistant Taoist priests and Taoist boys in the academies were mostly the same.

"I have met the young boy."

He returned the greeting and said, "I have come to ask for the examination, but I don't know which one I should seek out?"

The young Taoist priest hurriedly led him into the hall: "Senior brother, please come here first, and then we will go to see the academy master."

Ying Chan nodded and followed him to a Taoist priest who was in charge of assisting him. He handed over the wooden talisman as a token, and his name was written down. The young Taoist priest then took the register and led him into the back hall.

Before long, the two stopped outside a small hall, and the young Taoist asked Ying Chan to wait a moment.

Ying Chan readily agreed and waited quietly for a moment before the young Taoist priest summoned him: "Senior Brother Ying, Master Yu requests your presence."

He straightened his robes and calmly walked into the small hall. Seeing a Taoist priest sitting there, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Abbot."

Professor Yu was middle-aged, with a refined and scholarly appearance. He did not resemble a Taoist priest but rather a scholar.

He nodded and said, "Ying Chan, has he been in the Taoist academy for one hundred and eighteen days?"

After briefly recalling the details and confirming that there was no mistake, he replied, "Yes."

"Many disciples in the academy, at your age, have not yet entered the gate."

Master Yu asked, "Did you study Taoism before entering the Taoist academy?"

Ying Chan honestly replied, "When I was in the secular world, I studied a lot of the Daoist canon. Although it is not as good as the true scriptures, there are still many similarities."

"Oh?"

Master Yu gave him a deep look, then said without asking any further questions, “You have been in the academy for less than a year, yet you have already mastered the basics of Qi cultivation and opened the nine orifices. You are qualified to take the exam.”

"Moreover, with such cultivation, one should not be insecure in one's foundation."

"But I still want to test him."

"Yes." Ying Chan's expression turned solemn: "I request the academy teacher to examine me."

Master Yu nodded slightly, but said, "If, while practicing Qi, one suddenly hears celestial music and sees golden flowers falling, and a celestial maiden summons one to the heavenly palace... what should one do?"

(End of this chapter)