The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 40 Not What I Wanted

From dusk until midnight, in just three hours, Qinghe opened up her Ren and Du meridians, and her true energy circulated throughout the body, thus successfully establishing her foundation.

Qinghe went into seclusion for two more days to consolidate her cultivation before going to find Master Lu on the third day.

Old Lu was waiting for Qinghe's reply about whether or not he should establish his foundation, but when Qinghe arrived, she was already a foundation-establishing cultivator.

Faced with her master's utterly shocked expression, Qinghe certainly didn't dare to say that she hadn't taken the Foundation Establishment Pill. Instead, she knelt down and said, "Thank you, Master, for bestowing upon me the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

According to the sect's rules, Foundation Establishment cultivators can open their own cave dwellings, or there are some ready-made ones to choose from.

Qinghe said that it wasn't necessary for the time being. There were still three months left, and she wanted to focus on preparing for the sect selection. She would temporarily entrust the medicine garden to Senior Sister Jingxuan and go into seclusion for a while.

Old Lu had no objections; whatever he said was fine. This apprentice had far exceeded his expectations.

To be able to refine third-tier pills at the Qi Refining stage and successfully establish one's foundation in three days is simply genius among geniuses. If the inner sect still refuses, then there would truly be no justice.

"Tianli?"

Jiang Yuan decided to be upfront about the unpleasant truth, "Your husband can predict when you will reach the Foundation Establishment stage, but he can't get you into the inner sect. Even if you get first place in the Foundation Establishment stage in this sect selection, you might not be able to enter the inner sect."

Qinghe was naturally indignant, "If being ranked first in the selection doesn't guarantee entry into the inner sect, then how can one possibly get in?"

"The inner sect already has a system for recruiting disciples. The so-called selection of outer sect disciples to enter the inner sect is just to appease the lower-level outer sect disciples and give them something to look forward to. Otherwise, everyone would lose their motivation to improve."

"If Cui Qinghe comes in first place, they will definitely re-examine your background, including your husband and family. Then they will find excuses, such as you are too old or not qualified enough!"

Qinghe sighed. Her husband rarely made mistakes. "In that case, Master Lu will surely be greatly disappointed!"

“If you are considerate of Master Lu, then don’t take first place in the martial arts competition. With his straightforward personality, if a disciple takes first place but still can’t enter the inner sect, he will definitely make a huge fuss, and in the end, he won’t even be able to keep his position as an outer sect elder.”

There are over three thousand registered outer disciples and as many as five thousand miscellaneous disciples on the Luofu Mountain outer sect. The sect selection is naturally only open to outer disciples, and two thousand people have signed up to participate. This is a grand occasion that Luofu Mountain holds every five years.

Two thousand people competing for five winning spots is truly a brutal ordeal.

The selection process is divided into five categories: combat, talismans, formations, alchemy, and weapon crafting. Each disciple can only choose two, which is to prevent lower-level disciples from trying to do too much at once.

The competition is divided into two levels: Qi Refining Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage. The first round of selection will determine the top ten in each category. Naturally, there will be a few duplicates. For example, if someone gets a top ten in two categories, the remaining fifty people will be added in order.

Thus, a total of one hundred people, from the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, will participate in the next round of selection.

Qinghe passed the first test with ease, ranking among the top ten in both combat and alchemy at the Foundation Establishment stage.

After dozens of matches, Qinghe felt that the killing power of the Foundation Establishment disciples of the outer sect of Luofu Mountain was quite ordinary. She used at most half of her strength and even had to deliberately hold back in a few matches. No wonder her husband said such a boastful thing as "don't take first place".

In alchemy, there's no room for compromise. Success or failure, quality or appearance—there's absolutely no room for deception. If the furnace collapses, all previous efforts will be wasted. Therefore, Qinghe was undoubtedly the best alchemist in the first stage.

After all, he is Elder Lu's direct disciple, so it's no surprise that he's number one in alchemy.

Before the second phase even began, many people were already secretly making deals and forming small groups that respected each other and worked together. Naturally, some people approached Qinghe, hoping to form an alliance.

Qinghe listened to Jiang Yuan, neither explicitly refusing nor offending anyone. The key was not to leave any verifiable evidence. The sect's martial arts arena had recording talismans that recorded the entire process. Once cheating or rigging was discovered, the participant would be immediately disqualified.

By now, even without Jiang Yuan saying it, Qinghe already knew that under this rule, the referees had too much discretion. Each person could only participate in two of the five individual events, leaving a lot of room for manipulation in the overall score.

Old Lu himself was one of the referees, though the head referee was an inner sect elder, and a familiar face at that—the seemingly young Elder Chu. Elder Chu only appeared in the second phase; he naturally disdained the earlier chaotic battle.

Because the second stage of the contest is a cross-competition, it will drag on until the end. The winners of the other individual events were determined earlier, and Qinghe is still the undisputed number one in alchemy.

There are very few people who can refine third-grade pills in the early stages of Foundation Establishment. Qinghe's third-grade pills are already of excellent quality. She has not yet participated in the alchemist qualification assessment in the cultivation world, but she is already an excellent third-grade alchemist.

Fifteen disciples participated in the final round of the duel, including one who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and had already participated in several sect selections. If nothing unexpected happened, he would undoubtedly be the champion in this duel as well.

Everyone knows that Old Deng is already over sixty years old, and there's really no need for him to compete with the younger generation for opportunities. Even if he wins first place in the martial arts competition, the inner sect won't want him.

Qinghe realized that everyone else was weak; at best, they could only stall for a while, but she would eventually win. Facing the mid-Foundation Establishment stage expert, Lao Deng, she knew without a doubt that she would lose. Thus, she achieved her husband's predetermined goal: second place in the martial arts duel.

The decisive stage of the duel is always the most exciting time for the outer sect of Luofu Mountain, which happens once every five years, with seven or eight thousand people watching from the arena.

In the final battle, Cui Qinghe faced off against Chen Ping, both of whom were well-known figures in the outer sect of Luofu Mountain.

Cui Qinghe was Elder Lu's direct disciple. Three years ago, she defeated a sword cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining while only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. The significance of that battle was not just the contest of magic, but also the downfall of the chief elder of the outer sect of Mount Luofu, which led to the expulsion of the entire Zhao family from Mount Luofu.

In the eyes of many people in Luofu Immortal City, Cui Qinghe is the embodiment of justice and an inspirational role model. It is truly incredible that she advanced from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment stage in three years.

Even Elder Chu was a little surprised. How could it be her?

Old Lu also smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Elder Chu, as if to remind him that this was Old Lu's disciple, and that he should at least give him some face.

As for Chen Ping, he had participated in several sect selections, making it to the final battle three times, but ultimately failed to be selected for the inner sect. This guy annoyed many young people, but he just wanted to smooth things over.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see from Chen Ping that the rules for selecting members of the outer sect are riddled with loopholes and cannot be reconciled. If you're going to select, you should choose the best; excluding the winners is simply unreasonable.

In any case, this battle was the final round of the selection held once every five years, and it was the focus of everyone's attention. Qinghe was a little nervous and thought that she could not lose too badly. She started with a move called "Rain of Flowers in the Sky", which included five fire-type red lotuses.

Chen Ping was a metal-type sword cultivator who could control his sword remotely. He didn't take the wood-type magic seriously at all. He simply activated his protective shield and prepared to fly through the sea of ​​flowers on his sword.

Wow, those flowers are so beautiful!

Before the first cheer from the audience had even subsided, "bang, bang, bang," several short, explosive sounds rang out, and the petals that had been flying everywhere were blasted into fragments, filling the entire arena.

Chen Ping, a sword cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, lay unconscious in a corner of the arena without even drawing his sword.

Elder Chu hadn't even swallowed a sip of tea when he almost burst out laughing, but then he realized he'd lost his composure and immediately straightened his face.

Elder Lu was dumbfounded. What kind of magic was this? He had never seen his disciple use it before.
Old Lu's dazed expression naturally did not escape Elder Chu's notice. "Are you really her master?"

In Elder Chu's eyes, even if Old Lu himself went up there, he wouldn't be able to withstand that move. Being able to compress his true energy to this level, causing the five flames to explode on their own, already showed the killing power of a late Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

Qinghe clearly hadn't expected that the killing move she had been hiding would be so powerful. She turned her head to look in the direction of Jiang Yuan, her eyes filled with innocence.

"It was not my wish!"

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(End of this chapter)