Chapter 347: Chapter 346 Qingzhou Grand Ceremony_1
Fairy Eternity was flicked away by Eldest Senior Sister, hanging upside down on a nearby tree bough, her body swaying back and forth.
“Lu Yang, you disrespect Immortals!” Fairy Eternity rebuked angrily, having been struck by an unforeseen disaster for no apparent reason — the epitome of an innocent victim.
When she was ruling supreme in ancient times, who would dare treat her like this?
With a respectful attitude, Lu Yang said, “It’s not that I disrespect the Fairy, rather, I just conceived invincible elixir and am not yet familiar with it. Earlier, I was hoping the Fairy could show me how to use it.”
“Thanks to the Fairy’s demonstration just now, I already know how to use this Invincible Elixir.”
“Really?” Fairy Eternity looked suspiciously at Lu Yang, feeling that something was wrong.
“I’m just a mortal, how could I dare to deceive a Fairy?”
“I see.”
Fairy Eternity, thinking herself magnanimous, decided not to probe any further.
The puppet hopped up and picked Lu Yang, who was hanging from the tree bough, by the collar. It was as if she’s carrying a mischievous cat.
Eldest Senior Sister laid two fingers on Lu Yang’s wrist, diagnosing like a physician. With an almost imperceptible nod of her head, she said: “I see. I have considered prematurely. When designing the technique, I forgot the side effect of Invincible Elixir which could make you overconfident. The training method made you extra confident, causing you to lose the ability for normal thought and physical control.”
She stooped to pick up the ritual that had fallen on the ground. The ritual automatically ignited, leaving no trace behind. It was as if it had never existed.
“I’ll modify it. Wait a moment.”
Eldest Senior Sister sat beside the stone table, tore through the space, and took out a book without any words from the space.
After a moment of thought, she knew how to modify it. Her pen moved swiftly.
It did not take long before a new version of “Mind Seeing Method” – Golden Core Chapter was complete.
“Here, try again.”
Lu Yang took the ritual. Just a few words had changed compared to the previous one.
Can that suppress the impulse of the Invincible Elixir?
Lu Yang circulated one complete cycle as before, and then sneakily glanced at his meditating Eldest Senior Sister, and breathed a sigh of relief.
This time, there’s no impulse to strike Eldest Senior Sister.
Lu Yang began meditating, feeling the changes brought by the ritual.
The biggest change was a clear mind. The ritual had pointed out his advancement path; all he needed to do was follow the course of the ritual.
His previous training was purely about accumulating mana without any advancement in realm. Now, with the new ritual, the mana accumulated previously came in use, enhancing him from the initial stage of Golden Core to the beginning of Golden Core.
This sounded like a standstill, but there was no substantial change.
The second change dealt with his Spiritual Sense and Spiritual Space – with the range of his Spiritual Sense expanding slightly, and his Spiritual Space also becoming a bit larger. Originally, the bed of Fairy Eternity was against the wall, i.e., the boundary of the Spiritual Space. Now, the bed of the Fairy was about two steps away from the boundary of the Spiritual Space.
Fairy Eternity also realized this. She pushed her bed back against the boundary of the Spiritual Space.
She enjoyed lying on the bed with her back against the wall and her little feet kicking the wall. She found it very comfortable.
“Is Lu Yang there?” Meng Jingzhou called softly from uphill.
Given his carefree nature, he usually shouted when looking for someone.
But this was Sky Gate Mountain, home not only to Lu Yang but also the terrifying Eldest Senior Sister. Even if Meng Jingzhou had eight times the courage, he wouldn’t dare to raise his voice on Sky Gate Mountain.
“Eldest Senior Sister, are you here?” When Meng Jingzhou saw Eldest Senior Sister with her eyes closed, leaning against a tree, he bowed slightly.
Eldest Senior Sister uttered a soft “mmm”, she had known since the moment Meng Jingzhou set foot on Sky Gate Mountain.
“What do you need me for?”
Meng Jingzhou spoke, holding an air of mystery, “Of course, something nice! Have you heard about the Qingzhou Grand Festival? It’s about to begin.”
Lacking extensive knowledge about frequent events in the Great Xia Dynasty, Lu Yang wasn’t too informed about this: “What’s the Qingzhou Grand Festival?”
“It’s a festival held for cultivators. Under the lead of Qingzhou government office and several first class sects, it is held annually at the beginning of August. It has various events such as competitions, auctions; it’s quite lively. The main purpose is to attract young cultivators to stay in Qingzhou. Therefore, many participants are around our age.”
Lu Yang’s eyes lit up. He rarely interacted with peers; this was a great opportunity.
“I’m in! By the way, is this the same Qingzhou where, two thousand years ago, the Qingzhou provincial governor moved a neighboring city over there by claiming it was a magical duel, just like what the Fifth Elder mentioned?”
“Yes, that’s the Qingzhou.”
Eldest Senior Sister, who had been meditating all this time, slowly opened her eyes, revealing a hint of curiosity: “The Fifth Elder told you about the Qingzhou provincial governor?”
“Eldest Senior Sister, you know about this too?”
“Of course, I do. After all, that Qingzhou provincial governor was our Grandmaster.”
Lu Yang: “…”
Meng Jingzhou: “…”
For some reason, neither of them was surprised by this fact.
Indeed, it was in line with the Seek Dao Sect’s style – logical but outrageous.
“Since you know about the Qingzhou provincial governor, it’s fine. But don’t spread it outside. It’ll ruin the reputation of our Seek Dao Sect,” warned the Eldest Senior Sister; she deeply cherished the sect’s reputation.
However, she did not know what the outside world thought of the Seek Dao Sect.
Meng Jingzhou curiously asked, “Eldest Senior Sister, what happened to that provincial governor later on?”
“Later on, he proceeded to develop Qingzhou systematically. The Qingzhou Grand Festival is his idea; the festival attracts many talented cultivators, and the result is outstanding, thus other provincial governors followed suit. Under his governance, Qingzhou became more and more prosperous. Once his great deeds were accomplished, he retired and returned to the sect.”
Lu Yang realized a problem: “Wait a minute, are the people of our Five Great Immortal Sects allowed to become government officials?”
He had assumed that due to the high positions and power of the Five Great Immortal Sects, the Great Xia Kingdom, out of fear, suspicion, etc., would not allow the members of the Five Great Immortal Sects to hold official positions.
“Naturally.”
Meng Jingzhou gave Lu Yang an example: “The court is so thirsty for talent. Where are the most talented people? Of course, it’s from the Five Great Immortal Sects. The court has even invited Suspension Temple to preside as the government office. As long as the latter agrees, they would be appointed as prime minister, but they simply refuse.”
“The court has also invited the Sect Master of the Prison Suppressing Sect, but they refused as well.”
“For young talents like us to serve in the government, the court would be more than accepting. But unlike the head of Suspension Temple, if we want to hold a government office, we need to pass the Imperial Examination.”
Eldest Senior Sister reminded, “Lu Yang, you are forbidden from participating in the Imperial Examination or hold any public office.”
Lu Yang was taken aback: “Why?”
He didn’t have the intention to become a government official, but he should at least have the opportunity, right?
“Because of our Master.”
Lu Yang instantly understood, given his intelligence, he grasped the connection once it was hinted. The Seek Dao Sect was not considered one of the Five Great Immortal Sects twenty thousand years ago. The sect has evolved today, undoubtedly crowned as the number one Immortal Sect.
The court was apprehensive of Seek Dao Sect becoming overly powerful and did not permit the pupils of Seek Dao Sect, or particularly, direct pupils of the Sect Leader, to hold an official position. This was done in fear of links being formed between court and land, that could shake the rule of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Eldest Senior Sister continued, “Our Master has committed crimes many times, so his students, our Grandmaster, are also not allowed to hold office.”