Chaos Spirit Field

Zhao Shanhe's second roasted whole lamb was finally finished. He noticed something was happening with his sister and Tan Tai Mingzhu, so he walked over.

As soon as Tan Tai Ming Zhu saw Zhao Shanhe approaching, the confusion in his heart immediately disappeared, and he hurriedly asked, "Brother-in-law, I saw Sister Shanhu practicing the Vajra Fist without feeling any pain, but why do I feel excruciating pain when I practice it?"

Zhao Shanhe understood the meaning behind Tantai Mingzhu's words and frowned slightly, but soon regained his composure and said earnestly, "Brother Mingzhu, only those who endure the most hardships can become the best! What Shanhu has practiced is no different from what I am teaching you."

Tan Tai Ming Zhu was in disbelief. He pressed on, "But brother-in-law, if that's the case, why didn't she feel any pain at all, while I was tortured to death?"

Zhao Shanhe pondered for a moment and slowly replied, "Maybe this has something to do with spiritual roots."

Tan Tai Ming Zhu possesses a four-attribute spiritual root, lacking earth in the Five Elements, making his primary attribute gold. The Vajra Fist technique is a fragmentary scroll, requiring cultivation in the Primal Chaos Spiritual Field, using cow dung as fertilizer. The Green Ox Sect leader's mount, the Green Ox, is an earth-attributed demonic beast. This was inspired by Tan Tai Ming Yue's words, suggesting that secret manuals also have attributes.

"Brother-in-law, it's better to have five spiritual roots. You can practice any secret book."

"Brother Mingzhu, this is the first time I've heard someone say that someone with good five-element spiritual roots is said to have a strong spiritual root. If Heaven wants to give a person a great responsibility, it must first make his heart suffer, his muscles and bones toil, and his body hungry. You are indeed too fat. You should lose weight and eat less."

“Brother-in-law, wait until I’m full today and lose weight tomorrow.”

Zhao Shanhe was speechless and decided to develop a weight loss meal to help his good brother.

All good things must come to an end. After Zhao Shanhu had his fill, he and Xiao Hei reluctantly followed Xiao Meir back to the inner gate. Tan Tai Mingzhu also left after unexpectedly breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Deacon Song must have been very happy as he had finally gotten rid of the trouble.

It was late at night and Zhao Shanhe felt a little uncomfortable. He climbed onto the roof and looked up at the starry sky. He was worried about his aunt's safety and whether his sister could adapt to the unfamiliar environment.

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning shone on Zhao Shanhe's face. He climbed up from the roof. He didn't know when he fell asleep last night. It was useless to blame others. Only strong strength could control destiny.

With Yang Xiaochan's departure, Zhao Shanhe was greatly affected. It would be difficult for him to leave the mountain gate in the future, and he would also have less supply of Qi-refining pills. He would have to rely on himself in the future. He planned to enter the inner gate to facilitate entry and exit of the mountain gate, and also have the opportunity to take advantage of Tan Tai Mingzhu. It was really killing two birds with one stone.

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel. He learned from Deacon Song that the inner sect examination had a fixed time and would only be conducted within a month after the disciple selection ceremony. Now it would be nearly two years before the next examination began.

Zhao Shanhe returned to Qilin Pavilion in depression. After much thought, he gave up the idea of taking the back door. If only his aunt were here, it would only take a word. As for Xiao Meir, he didn't want to bother her from the bottom of his heart.

Spring passed, autumn arrived, and two years flew by. Zhao Shanhe's cultivation remained at the fifth level of Qi Refining. It wasn't because he wasn't diligent, but rather, the further one advanced in cultivating the Five Elements, the more obvious the drawbacks of the Five Elements Secret Art became. For other spiritual roots, one cultivates the primary root first, then advances to the next level. This is like using the fifth level of cultivation to make up for the fourth level's deficit, naturally making it much faster. The Five Elements Secret Art, however, requires all five elements to advance simultaneously, making cultivation much more difficult.

A Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation level is definitely the best among the outer sect disciples, but only average in the inner sect. Tan Tai Ming Yue is already at the Qi Refining Level 7, while Ouyang Shao Gong and Ouyang Bu Fan are both at the Qi Refining Level 6. One is in the late stage, while the other has just broken through. The difference is quite obvious. Zhao Shan Hu and Tan Tai Ming Zhu have both just broken through to the Qi Refining Level 5.

The disciple selection ceremony began. Zhao Shanhe was very low-key this time, and the disciples of this session were also very low-key. They only had two earth spiritual roots, and the growth of their spiritual roots was not yet at full value, which was far behind the disciples of the previous session.

New disciples joined the sect, and old disciples made room. Outer disciples who didn't meet the requirements were sent out to do odd jobs, some to the market, and some to work as miners. The sect didn't want to keep idle people.

If you want to stay in the sect and practice, you must become an inner disciple. Zhao Shanhe came to the inner disciple examination site and saw an unexpected person, so he asked: "Tianshuang, why are you here to take the inner disciple examination?"

Luo Tianshuang felt mixed emotions upon seeing Zhao Shanhe again. Her talent was just average, neither good nor bad. She had originally entered the inner sect thanks to Yang Xiaochan's connections, but then something happened and she was implicated and demoted to the outer sect.

"Brother Shanhe, I miss you so much." Luo Tianshuang rushed over and hugged Zhao Shanhe and started crying.

Zhao Shanhe had been a love novice in his previous life. In this life, he was only thirteen years old. This was his first time encountering such a situation, and he felt somewhat bewildered. He said, "Sister Tianshuang, don't cry. You're not a registered disciple, so how could you take the Inner Disciple Assessment?"

Luo Tianshuang said aggrievedly, "Brother Shanhe, after my aunt left, Ouyang Bufan gave me a secret manual of Xuanyin Gong and asked me to practice it. I didn't want to, and a few days later, Deacon Liu said that I didn't complete the inner sect mission for that month, so he demoted me to the outer sect."

Zhao Shanhe pondered for a moment and said, "Sister Tianshuang, it's better to rely on yourself than on others. As long as you practice hard, you will eventually succeed. The assessment will begin soon. Cheer up, I'll wait for you in the inner gate."

Luo Tianshuang gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said softly, "Brother Shanhe, as long as I can be by your side, I am willing to be your mistress."

Zhao Shanhe did not answer. Although Luo Tianshuang was young, her appearance already had the potential to be a stunning beauty. Such a proposal was really exciting, but he didn't know whether Tan Tai Mingyue would agree.

Suddenly, a chilling murderous aura washed over him. Zhao Shanhe was startled to discover that his father-in-law, Tan Tai Fengdu, had quietly appeared. His face was as gloomy as a pool of stagnant water, a scowl thick with anger that threatened to devour him. Zhao Shanhe, feeling a sense of unease, quickly pushed Luo Tianshuang aside and put on a dignified, gentlemanly demeanor.

Tan Taifeng had come to preside over the inner sect examination. He had always disliked Zhao Shanhe, his cheap son-in-law, and now, seeing him being so intimate with another woman, his anger was burning even more fiercely.

Zhao Shanhe, however, acted as if nothing had happened, knowing full well that attempting to defend himself would only make matters worse. So, he feigned composure, pretending to be calm and composed. But in reality, he was terrified. To offend the examiner during an exam was like committing suicide by hanging.