As the saying goes, being early is not as good as being timely.
Chen Yan looked at the bustling crowd in the town before him and thought as much.
Xiluo Town was a small town located to the west of Jincheng, the capital of Jin'an Country.
And Xiluo Mountain, located twelve miles south of Xiluo Town, was where the Setting Sun Sword Manor's mountain gate was situated.
Although the Setting Sun Sword Manor very much wanted to rename Xiluo Mountain to Setting Sun Mountain, Manor Lord Zhao Zheng of the Sword Manor had only been rooted here for ten years. Even though the current Setting Sun Sword Manor was already the largest immortal cultivation sect in Jin'an Country, it still lacked deep heritage.
Within Jin'an Country, there were also several immortal cultivation sects that, while not openly showing any opposition on the surface, still harbored some degree of dissatisfaction with Zhao Zheng, this outsider swordsman.
Xiluo Town was not large, with a total population of less than two thousand in the entire town.
Yet today, the bustling crowd on the town's streets numbered at least five to six thousand.
Because today was the day the Setting Sun Sword Manor opened its mountain gate to accept disciples.
However, the conditions for accepting disciples were quite stringent, several times stricter than the former Biqiu Sect.
Therefore, the Setting Sun Sword Manor could only recruit a little over ten disciples into its gates each year.
To this day, the total number of inner sect and outer court disciples of the entire Setting Sun Sword Manor still numbered less than two hundred.
"What a coincidence, brother, we meet again this year."
Nearby, two young men who had come seeking immortality and inquiring about the Dao greeted each other like this.
"Indeed, this is already my fourth time coming to participate in the Setting Sun Sword Manor's Disciple Acceptance Ceremony."
"Brother, you are truly persistent."
"Who made it so that I was eliminated in the third round of assessment the previous three times? I'm really unwilling... But this year should be the last time. If I still fail to pass the Setting Sun Sword Manor's assessment, then I'll go and join the Strange Wood Sect."
"The Strange Wood Sect isn't bad either. I heard the current sect leader of the Strange Wood Sect has now reached the Half-Step Qi Sea Realm... Ah, I really envy your natural talent, brother."
"Your talent isn't bad either, brother. Last year, weren't you just a little short of entering the third round of assessment?"
"Actually, there was still a certain element of luck involved."
"Luck is also a form of strength."
...
The matter of immortal cultivation itself, for these mortal youths, could only be described with four words:
Utterly unreachable.
Not to mention a top-tier immortal cultivation sect like the Setting Sun Sword Manor within Jin'an Country.
Even joining some small sect hidden in a corner, whose sect leader had just reached the late or peak stage of the Qi Circulation Realm, was a dream-come-opportunity for the vast majority of the mortal youths present here.
After all, on ordinary days in the city, if they happened to see a Qi Circulation Realm cultivator, many people would be eager to kneel down, kowtow three times and bow nine times, shouting "Upper Immortal."
Those who came to participate in the Setting Sun Sword Manor's Mountain Opening and Disciple Acceptance Ceremony were naturally not just these mortal youths, but also many rogue cultivators.
However, compared to these bustling, high-spirited mortal youths, those rogue cultivators dressed in daoist robes were much more composed.
Chen Yan's gaze swept roughly over those rogue cultivators. Now a genuine Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator, Chen Yan could easily discern the cultivation levels of those rogue cultivators.
Over eighty percent of the rogue cultivators were at the Body Forging Realm.
Only a minority of rogue cultivators had reached the Qi Circulation Realm.
And then—
Chen Yan's gaze fell upon two elderly men dressed as servants and the young girl sitting in front of them.
Two Qi Sea Realm and one Martial Spring Realm?
Interesting.
However, with just a few glances, Chen Yan judged from the demeanor of these few people that these three came from the Western Region of the Chenping Continent.
When he was the sect leader of the North Pass Sect, Chen Yan had frequently interacted with cultivators from various regions, which allowed him to fairly easily judge others' origins.
If it's the Western Region of the Chenping Continent...
Chen Yan was certainly aware of the rumors regarding the Setting Sun Sword Manor.
Namely, that Manor Lord Zhao Zheng of the Setting Sun Sword Manor was originally a Sword Pavilion protector of a certain top-tier sect in the Western Region of the Chenping Continent. Due to some internal conflicts within the sect, he was forced to flee to the Southern Region of the Chenping Continent.
In Chen Yan's eyes at this moment, such disputes were akin to child's play.
Although the enmity between this Setting Sun Sword Manor and that Western Region sect had absolutely nothing to do with Chen Yan, he would not allow those two peak Qi Sea Realm old-timers and the youngster to act recklessly before he finished inquiring for information from the Setting Sun Sword Manor.
Chen Yan's sole purpose was to find the Dao Basis of Realman Sun and Moon.
...
He Qingling sat at a tea stall in the town, looking at the bustling crowd not far away, all of whom were young men and women who had come here seeking immortality and inquiring about the Dao.
"My uncle's mountain gate is indeed run in a proper manner."
The young woman said calmly.
"A pity, it has run its course."
An elder behind the young woman said.
In truth, He Qingling had no real impression of this uncle of hers.
When Wei Tai defected from the Xuan Sheng Sect, He Qingling was just three years old.
"Father said we must bring my uncle back alive."
He Qingling said.
"This old servant remembers, Young Lady."
The elder behind her said again.
These two peak Qi Sea Realm elders were not ordinary Xuan Sheng Sect disciples, but were orphans brought back by the Xuan Sheng Sect leader He Chengjie over one hundred and fifty years ago.
They were servants loyal only to He Chengjie.
They had already inquired and learned that Wei Tai's cultivation had not progressed much over the past dozen or so years, still remaining at the mid-stage Qi Sea Realm.
For these two peak Qi Sea Realm elders, killing a mid-stage Qi Sea Realm cultivator would be an easy matter.
However, capturing one alive would be considerably more difficult.
They could not alert the enemy, so these two elders and He Qingling had long since formulated a strategy.
"Fellow Daoist, I presume you are also here to participate in the Setting Sun Sword Manor's Disciple Acceptance Ceremony?"
A young man who appeared quite clear and bright in demeanor stood before He Qingling, asking with a smile.
"Yes."
He Qingling replied with a somewhat indifferent attitude.
"This humble one's surname is Shi, given name Mingxu, hailing from Jincheng."
The clear and bright young man introduced himself, emphasizing the two words "Jincheng" in his tone.
He was emphasizing his origins.
The Shi Family of Jincheng could be said to be the most powerful immortal cultivation family within Jin'an Country, possessing two Martial Spring Realm cultivators. Their strength even rivaled many immortal cultivation sects within Jin'an Country that had considerable heritage.
"He Xiyao."
He Qingling introduced herself thus.
Of course, it was a pseudonym.
Deeply fascinated by the Kongshan Sect since childhood, the immortal cultivator He Qingling had most admired since she was little was none other than Chu Xiyao, the current Scripture Hall Elder of Kongshan Qingchan.
And her alias was naturally taken from the name of the immortal cultivator she most admired.
"So it's Fellow Daoist He."
Shi Mingxu slightly raised his head, inadvertently glancing at the two elders behind He Qingling.
Although he couldn't tell their exact cultivation realm, he could see that both were cultivators.
The young woman before him certainly had some background, perhaps a visitor from outside Jin'an Country.
This was also the reason Shi Mingxu wanted to get acquainted with He Qingling.
"Fellow Daoist He, I've heard that the first trial of the Setting Sun Sword Manor's Mountain Opening and Disciple Acceptance Ceremony each year is always conducted in teams of three. It's said that the better one's performance in the first trial, the greater the help for subsequent assessments. Therefore, the selection of teammates should also be a very important matter."
Shi Mingxu said:
"This Shi is nineteen years old this year, having broken through to the Qi Circulation Realm three years ago. I consider my talent to be fairly decent. I wonder if Fellow Daoist would honor me by forming a team together?"
Qi Circulation Realm at sixteen?
He Qingling remained expressionless.
But she also understood that, given Shi Mingxu's background, his talent was indeed enough for him to feel a small sense of pride.
"Acceptable."
He Qingling said indifferently:
"If you don't mind my mediocre cultivation."
"Of course not."
Shi Mingxu laughed.
For Shi Mingxu, being able to join the Setting Sun Sword Manor would naturally be excellent. But if he wasn't selected by the Setting Sun Sword Manor, getting acquainted with a young lady from a prominent family like He Xiyao, who clearly had background and status, would also count as a gain.
"You two."
Suddenly, a young man's voice came from the side.
A young cultivator dressed in gray daoist robes stood there, smiling as he bowed towards He Qingling and Shi Mingxu:
"If you two don't mind this humble one's mediocre cultivation, could you allow me to join your team?"