The existence of the Yan Luo Banner must never be revealed.

Despite his pitiful aptitude, Qin Sang's cultivation speed had never been inferior to those with true spiritual roots, thanks to the help of the Yan Luo Banner. It was undoubtedly a rare and extraordinary treasure.

Qin Sang quickly thought on his feet and spouted nonsense, "Senior, when I was young, I once consumed a fruit. Afterward, my whole body burned with heat for three days before the fever subsided. I almost died. Later, when I started cultivating, I realized that my meridians were much wider and sturdier than others, and I could absorb spiritual qi at an extremely fast rate. I’m not sure if it had something to do with the fruit..."

Liang Yan's eyes lit up. "What kind of fruit was it?"

"It was blue... it seemed like some kind of berry..."

Qin Sang made up as much as he could, describing it based on the color of copper sulfate solution, adding patterns like iron oxide. Overall, it sounded strange, and even he didn’t believe there could be a spiritual fruit like that.

"A blue one? It can expand the meridians..."

Liang Yan pondered for a moment. "Could it be a Drunken Divine Fruit? Did its skin have tiny white specks, with a rich fragrance of fine wine?"

"I don't remember it having a wine scent."

Qin Sang tried his best to recall. How would he know the properties of a Drunken Divine Fruit? If Liang Yan was trying to deceive him, he definitely couldn't admit to anything.

After a round of questioning led to no results, Liang Yan looked somewhat disappointed.

"Enough!"

The old man in black interrupted Liang Yan. "Liang Yan, go write Qin Sang’s name in the registry. From now on, he will be your junior brother."

Liang Yan was stunned and said, "Senior Uncle Yue, but Junior Brother Qin has a five-element spiritual root. That doesn't seem to align with our sect's rules, does it?"

The black-robed elder snorted. "What rules? It’s merely a tradition. From ancient times to now, it's not unheard of to break this rule. Being fortunate enough to consume a spiritual fruit and find a sect's token shows he has deep fate. You, with your true spiritual roots, also owe much to fate. As long as Junior Nephew Qin can meet the sect's standards, there's no need to keep him out. Just record his name."

Liang Yan hurriedly nodded and wrote Qin Sang’s name down, then arranged a meditation cushion for him, telling him to wait patiently. By nightfall, after the auction concluded, they would return to the sect.

From Liang Yan’s mouth, Qin Sang learned that their sect was called the Kuiyin Sect.

Sitting on the cushion, Qin Sang was still in a daze. Had he just been accepted as a disciple of an immortal cultivation sect?

"Congratulations, Brother Qin! From now on, we’re senior and junior brothers."

Suddenly, Qin Sang heard Tan Jie’s voice transmission and, after a moment of thought, he transmitted back with self-mockery, "Senior Brother Tan, you should follow sect rules and call me Junior Brother from now on. To be honest, it still feels a bit unreal for me. Do you all also have jade disk tokens?"

The title of senior brother and junior brother followed the order in the registry. Although Qin Sang was older than Tan Jie, he still had to obediently call him Senior Brother. Unless he reached the Foundation Building stage first, making the Tan brothers call him Senior Uncle instead.

"Of course! Without a token, there's no way the Divine Artifact Pavilion would recognize us. You should know that it’s extremely rare for rogue cultivators like us to join an immortal sect. Not only those near You Mountain, but even many faraway rogue cultivators search for the tokens of the Divine Artifact Pavilion, and the competition is fierce. My brother and I were only able to obtain these two tokens through great effort and a stroke of luck."

It seemed that his fortune in obtaining a token from the young man with the surname Han had been quite fortunate.

As the saying goes, "Fortune and disaster come hand in hand." Given his poor aptitude, he would have only been able to enter the outer sect of the Han Family, but now he had joined an immortal cultivation sect. He wasn’t sure whether to curse or thank Zhen Ming. Ŕ

Qin Sang smiled bitterly and sighed lightly. "Senior Brother Tan, do you know where our sect’s mountain gate is located? And how strong is the sect?"

"I’ve heard of the sect’s name before. It's said to be a renowned immortal cultivation sect in the northern region, located in the extreme northern cold region. I never expected them to set up a Divine Artifact Pavilion this far south. Don’t worry, Brother Qin. Just from seeing the Divine Artifact Pavilion, you can tell that our sect isn’t weak. Now that we’re under the protection of the sect, we finally have hope for the future." Tan Jie’s tone was filled with excitement.

The two exchanged a few more words through voice transmission.

Joining an immortal sect was undoubtedly a good thing. The resources available to sect disciples were vastly superior to those of rogue cultivators. Whether for cultivation or searching for malevolent yin qi, being part of a sect was far more convenient than wandering around aimlessly.

But when he thought about his five-element spiritual root, Qin Sang couldn't bring himself to feel too happy.

Night fell, and during this time, Uncle Yue brought in several more rogue cultivators, but in the end, only one girl was accepted. The Divine Artifact Pavilion was thorough in their work. Those rogue cultivators who were rejected were compensated with a middle-grade artifact.

There was one cultivator whose cultivation was even higher than Liang Yan’s, having reached the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, but he was rejected due to being slightly older. Naturally, this person was unhappy, but in the presence of a Foundation Building cultivator, he didn’t dare cause any trouble. He accepted his artifact begrudgingly and left, full of resentment.

In the end, only seven people were accepted into the Kuiyin Sect—five men and two women, all around twenty years old. None of them had exceeded the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, and Qin Sang couldn’t understand what criteria the sect used to select disciples.

By nightfall, the bustle had quieted down, and Uncle Yue, along with two other black-robed elders, entered the room.

Qin Sang and the others quickly stood up and respectfully followed Liang Yan in greeting. "Greetings, Senior Uncle Dong, Senior Uncle Yue, and Senior Uncle Wu."

The elder in the middle, who had a hooked nose, was Senior Uncle Dong. His gaze was as sharp as a blade, making their eyes sting. None of them dared to meet his eyes, so they lowered their heads in fear.

Suddenly, Senior Uncle Dong let out a sinister laugh. The overwhelming aura of a Foundation Building cultivator erupted from him. Qin Sang was terrified and felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him. He had to exert all his strength just to avoid collapsing to the ground. Looking around, he saw that the others were also flushed and struggling to hold on.

"You’ve been chosen by my Kuiyin Sect, which shows you have good talent. After joining, you must devote yourselves fully to cultivation and sever all worldly ties! Before breaking through to the Foundation Building stage, you are not allowed to leave the mountain without permission, except for sect tasks. Otherwise, you will be treated as traitors. Don’t blame me for not warning you!"

A murmur of unrest swept through the crowd.

Qin Sang felt a chill in his heart. The pursuit of immortality naturally required undivided focus, and he wouldn’t be distracted even without the sect’s restrictions. But not being allowed to leave the mountain—how would he find malevolent yin qi?

After closing the Divine Artifact Pavilion, Qin Sang and the others followed the three senior uncles as they quietly left the market.

Once outside, the three Foundation Building cultivators from the Kuiyin Sect brought out a milky-white jade flying shuttle[1]. The shuttle emitted a glowing light, enveloping the group as they shot toward the sky.

However, just as they had flown a short distance, a fiery red sword light suddenly shot out from deep within You Mountain, colliding with the flying shuttle like a comet.

An unexpected scene unfolded—the sword light easily pierced through the shuttle, shattering it into fragments of light that scattered like rain. It turned out to be an illusion.

Shouts of surprise echoed from deep within You Mountain, followed by several figures bursting out of the darkness, fleeing in all directions. But to their despair, they realized that they had been surrounded by strange black qi without knowing when.

The black qi roiled ominously, and it seemed as though countless evil spirits were howling within it. In an instant, the attackers were swallowed by the black qi, not even managing a single scream. When the qi passed, all that remained were skeletons.

Qin Sang, who had witnessed the entire battle, was drenched in cold sweat.

1. The flying shuttle is a type of weaving shuttle. It was a pivotal advancement in the mechanization of weaving during the initial stages of the Industrial Revolution, and facilitated the weaving of considerably broader fabrics, enabling the production of wider textiles. ☜