Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

As the first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the window, Xue Lan finished writing the last character on a sheet of Xuan paper that was over ten meters long, and glanced at the young girl who was working diligently over there.

"Qinghe will be here soon, hurry up!"

Xue Tong, who was tossing the Dream Demon Fruits into her storage bag one by one, turned around and yelled at her: "If you're so good, then you do it!"

Xue Lan looked at the resentment emanating from that person, which made the back of Xuanling Peak look like a mass grave.

Xue Tong looked at the dream fruits growing from various places in front of her, densely covering the entire room, with a small head with layers of teeth peeking out from the files.

Xue Lan said that the Dream Demon can not only make others enter dreams, but it is also more likely to fall into dreams itself. Even a little bit of magic power will frighten it into a dream from which it cannot escape, so Xue Lan cannot use the Dream Demon Fruit.

In short, this thing must be picked by hand.

Xue Tong turned her head, stiffened her neck, and shouted:

I can't finish! Can't you lend a hand?

Not only could she not finish her work, but she also felt nauseous.

Xue Tong finally understood why low-level office workers had so much resentment.

A job that's always the same will eventually kill you; it's mentally nauseating and physically disgusting.

Xue Lan immediately took action after hearing her words.

The girl walked up to her and took out a brand-new storage bag from her sleeve: "Come on, I've come to help you."

The two transformed into emotionless harvesting machines, grabbing the red fruit and pulling it off without caring that it might be the head of the plant.

One in each hand, snapping them in two with a satisfying crunch.

Xue Lan put a handful of red fruits into her storage bag and listened intently to the sounds outside.

Xue Tong saw Xue Lan's eyes crinkle into crescents: "Qinghe is here."

Xue Tong: !

On the corridor outside the window, Xu Qinghe, dressed in a light purple dress, walked slowly, a hint of sorrow on her face.

The first trial ended, and only half of the participants passed. The headmaster and the other sect leaders all looked rather grim.

In the great battle against the demon race, these Golden Core stage cultivators were the main force and the backbone of the fight.

But the character of this group of disciples right now...

The woman walked forward thoughtfully, and just as she reached the wooden door, she heard a sound of something falling to the ground coming from inside the room.

A rare look of anger crossed the woman's beautiful face as she stepped forward to push open the wooden door.

"Xue Lan, you're here again..."

Who knew that the half-open wooden door would only be pushed open a crack before stopping.

Xu Qinghe saw a round almond-shaped eye through the slit.

Those eyes were smiling, and she looked innocent and cute. Who else could it be but Xue Lan?

Xu Qinghe wasn't buying it and used her magic to push the door in front of her.

"The door opens."

Xue Lan quickly blocked the door: "No... Qinghe, Sister Xu, please be kind. Wait for half an incense stick to burn."

Xu Qinghe had a premonition that if she listened to Xue Lan and waited for half an incense stick, it would be a disaster.

Tomorrow, she might be an accomplice in Xue Lan's bombing of Xuanling Peak.

Xu Qinghe took a step back and stood still, looking at Xue Lan, whose eyes were only visible.

While keeping an eye on Xu Qinghe, Xue Lan also received Xue Tong's verbal abuse.

The little girl is now kneeling on the last bookshelf that was torn over in the heat of the moment, desperately trying to pull the last bit of Dream Demon Fruit into her storage bag.

"Will you die if you plant less?"

Xu Qinghe looked at Xue Lan's arm that was bracing against the wooden door. Right at the crack in the door was a section of snow-white wrist with protruding wrist bones, looking extremely fragile.

Her eyes lit up, and a plan came to her.

Xue Lan watched as the woman outside the door rushed forward, instinctively blocking the door with her foot. She also added a layer of protective magic light to herself.

As Xue Lan watched Xu Qinghe approach, the woman smiled and took the purple jade flute that was tucked into her waistband.

Xue Lan knew something was wrong, but by the time she realized it, it was too late.

A purple jade flute slipped through the crack in the door and tapped on her wrist.

"Ouch!" Xue Lan winced in pain and stepped back, clutching her wrist in surprise. "You're a sound engineer!"

"So what if the sound is fixed?" Xu Qinghe took the opportunity to push open the door in front of her. Everything inside was normal, except that the last row of bookshelves had fallen over.

Hiding in the corner, Xue Tong took the last Dream Demon Fruit off her finger and threw it into her storage bag.

The little girl gave a relieved smile.

Xu Qinghe looked around and found nothing amiss, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What were you doing, running up to the bookshelf?" Xu Qinghe patted Xue Lan on the head.

"The Heavenly Ladder Illusionary Realm Trial has ended. The sect leaders are already planning to select their first batch of disciples. My martial uncle asked me to take you back."

Xue Lan nodded and straightened her somewhat disheveled clothes.

The girl's voice was a little hoarse: "The results of the first batch of trials are not optimistic, are they?"

Xu Qinghe sighed, "You'll know when you get there."

The woman cast a spell to right the fallen bookshelf, and the two walked out of the room together.

Xu Qinghe led the way, unaware that a soft white light flew out from behind the bookshelf and was tucked into Xue Lan's sleeve.

The wooden door closed, and a red fruit peeked out from the corner where the bookshelf had been tilted. Its black leaves swayed slightly, looking quite happy.

But before it could be happy for long, a burst of intense heat came from behind it.

The red fruit stiffly turned its stem and saw a ball of three-colored strange fire rise from the character "归" (return) on the ground.

Before it could even let out a scream, it was swallowed up by the Naruto.

A few breaths later, everything returned to calm. The strange fire disappeared, taking with it the various "return" characters on the ground and a surviving dream demon.

Xue Lan followed Xu Qinghe to the plaza in front of Xuanling Peak. A new platform had been added below the plaza, where those who had passed the first trial stood.

Xue Lan made a rough estimate, and her expression changed slightly.

Xu Qinghe looked at her and said, "The first trial is a bit too difficult."

Xue Lan adjusted her expression.

“We don’t have time to teach them anymore,” Xue Lan said, her words hitting the nail on the head.

New disciples in a sect are usually taught by their senior brothers and sisters for a period of time.

But now they don't have time to teach these new junior students.

The Ascension Ceremony will last no more than half a month, and including the subsequent Foundation Establishment Disciples Competition, it will last at most a month.

A month later, except for those who must remain in the sect, all disciples will go to the Luoxia Mountain battlefield.

Xu Qinghe looked at Xue Lan and said, "I know, let's teach for as long as we can."

The two stood in front of the children who had passed the trial. Xue Lan automatically took a step back, allowing Xu Qinghe to step forward and speak.

Xu Qinghe has a gentle and aloof temperament, and her voice is also pleasant to hear. She immediately captured the attention of the children in the audience when she appeared.

The female cultivator slowly spoke: "According to the rules of the Ascension Conference in previous years, once you have passed the first trial, you have embarked on the path to immortality."

The woman's soothing voice, amplified by the magic, resonated throughout the entire Xuanhuang Cave Heaven. Those below Xuanling Peak who hadn't passed through the Heavenly Ladder Illusion began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"That's right, it's always been like this, it's just this year..."

"That's so unfair..."

Those who cultivate immortality have exceptional hearing, and Xu Qinghe heard every word of these people's discussions and complaints.

The woman slowly bowed deeply to the crowd before her: "Perhaps you all have some misunderstanding about us cultivators. The pronouncements made during the sacrificial ceremony are not empty words."

The originally gentle voice took on a chill, like the mild breeze of early summer turning into the icy rain of late autumn.

"Being a disciple of a celestial sect does not mean being carefree or worry-free."

"To eradicate the demons and protect the Yuanming Realm is our mission."

The woman took a step to the side, and a section of white jade ladder slowly appeared behind her.

"Gentlemen, those who have no ambition to save the world may stop here."

"Those who wish to protect their homeland, carry on the legacy of their ancestors, and continue the lineage of their sect, shall ascend this ladder to immortality."

Whispers arose from the crowd below.

Some people have already stepped onto the ladder to immortality, while others are still hesitating.

Xue Lan, standing in the background, spotted Lu Feng in the crowd.

Because Xue Lan had interfered with his illusion, he had inadvertently passed the first trial as well.

Lu Feng stood on the platform, the boy dressed in tattered clothes. His gaze remained fixed on Xue Lan.

The boy's eyes were full of joyful smiles, bright and undisguised.

"He seems to really like you! Is that normal?" Xue Tong asked Xue Lan.

Xue Lan saw the deep hatred hidden in the boy's eyes.

"This might not be called liking," the girl said softly. "He still thinks I've been possessed by that so-called Old Master Mo."

"Go check your storyline; this kid probably discovered he was tricked by a remnant soul."