"Fellow Daoist, this is a Cangwu Sect Immortal Ascension Order. You can inspect it. If you’re still not at ease, you can find a Cangwu Sect Cultivator to appraise it."

A moment later, after the group had compensated Guanhai Mountain, Qin Susu finally took the Immortal Ascension Order, deactivated the Array, and went to the living room to meet Zhang Chi.

"Alright, this is the Talisman Making legacy. You can check it as well. There’s also this Spirit Contract. I need you and your companions to sign it. Afterward, you won’t be able to leak any information about the exchange for the Immortal Ascension Order."

Zhang Chi took the Immortal Ascension Order and found that there were indeed no issues. He then took out a Scroll.

The Scroll was the Spirit Contract, which he had spent ten spirit stones to purchase from a shop on the ship.

"Okay, wait a moment!"

Qin Susu was startled, but when she saw it was only a contract to keep the exchange confidential, she breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately confirmed it with a drop of blood and even had He Shi and the others sign it.

POOF!

Afterward, the Scroll incinerated without a flame, and a binding constraint settled upon everyone.

Zhang Chi, however, was unaffected thanks to the protection of his Jade Pendant.

Seeing this, Zhang Chi was finally able to relax completely.

’It’s a shame everything from the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower is recorded,’ Zhang Chi thought. ’Otherwise, I could have just had that Shopkeeper sign this Spirit Contract and avoided all this trouble!’

"Right, here are two Spirit Stones."

Then, as they had agreed, Zhang Chi gave her the tickets for the trade meet.

"Thank you."

Seeing this, a smile spread across Qin Susu’s face, and her impression of Zhang Chi improved considerably.

"From now on, you can attend every trade meet, and you won’t need a ticket!" Qin Susu added.

"Great!"

Zhang Chi nodded happily and turned to leave.

’He lives right next door? How have I never run into him before? Did he just board the ship midway? Or is he actually an ascetic Cultivator?’

’Whatever the case, he was able to produce an Immortal Ascension Order and a Talisman Making legacy, and he’s immune to my charms. He’s definitely no ordinary person. In the future, we’ll even be fellow disciples. Befriending him now can’t possibly be a mistake!’

Qin Susu watched Zhang Chi’s retreating back, only looking away after he had entered his residence.

After that, Zhang Chi once again began his Cultivation in Seclusion, but he still attended the private trade meets every few days.

Unfortunately, although he broadened his horizons, he never managed to find a Refining God Technique.

A few Cultivators did offer some leads, however.

But they only mentioned the same White Bone Divine Forging Technique that the Shopkeeper of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower branch had spoken of.

Time flew by. After many stops and starts, the Floating Airship finally came to a halt near the Cangwu Sect.

At this point, it had been exactly ten months since Zhang Chi’s soul had transmigrated.

"Fellow Daoists, the Cangwu Sect is below us. We will only be stopping here for three days. Those who wish to disembark or just get some fresh air, please hurry..."

A booming voice echoed across the Floating Airship.

"Excellent, we’re finally here!"

A great number of Cultivators immediately cheered. Some employed Escape Techniques, while others flew off on magical artifacts, leaving the Floating Airship.

Zhang Chi, however, declined the invitation from Qin Susu and her companions. He stepped onto his Flying Sword and merged into the crowd of people.

’Truly one of the top Immortal Sects. It has its own unique splendors compared to the Cyan Cloud Sect from my memories!’

Zhang Chi could see the appearance of the Cangwu Sect now—an endless range of mountains.

Even from his high vantage point in the sky, he could not see where they ended.

Amidst the mountains, clouds and mist coiled, with vast clusters of pavilions and terraces looming in and out of sight. A pillar of Spiritual Qi soared to the heavens, and a great number of Cultivators could be seen coming and going.

The Cangwu Sect also had a sect gate plaza, which was enormous. It was situated atop a towering peak on the outskirts, said to have been formed when a powerful expert sheared off the mountain’s summit with a single sword strike.

At this moment, the sect gate plaza was a sea of people. Among them were many children around the age of ten; they were all Immortal Seeds who had come to participate in the Cangwu Sect’s entrance test.

’Good, I made it in time!’

Seeing this, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The Ten Great Immortal Sects recruited disciples on a massive scale almost every year, even on the same dates. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This year’s recruitment assembly had already begun a month ago, but thankfully, it would last for three months.

Therefore, Zhang Chi had arrived at just the right time.

After landing, Zhang Chi immediately followed the signs set up by the Cangwu Sect Cultivators and headed to the registration point for the Immortal Ascension Order, casually removing his mask along the way.

Many young Cultivators were already lined up here.

Like Zhang Chi, they planned to use an Immortal Ascension Order to join the Cangwu Sect.

Zhang Chi also spotted Qin Susu and her companions, who were positioned near the front of the line.

’Apparently, she isn’t a Cangwu Sect disciple at all—or at least, not yet.’

Although there were many Cultivators in line, the Cangwu Sect was quite efficient, and it was soon Zhang Chi’s turn.

"Zhang Chi, sixteen years old, orphan, born in the Xia Kingdom. Current Cultivation Technique is Low Grade Fire Element, at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer."

The supervising Cultivator checked and collected the Immortal Ascension Order, registering Zhang Chi on the spot.

As for Zhang Chi, he was using his real name from his previous life, but his origin and birthplace were fabricated.

However, he truly had no relatives in this world, and in his past life, he had been a citizen of the Xia Kingdom on Blue Star, so in a way, it wasn’t a complete lie.

The supervising Cultivator’s brow furrowed slightly upon seeing his orphan status, but he didn’t say anything more.

After that, Zhang Chi received a numbered Jade Token that could record information and proceeded to the next stage.

This was also the first test: the Spirit Root assessment.

In an open space ahead, an arcane pattern flowed with light—this was the testing Spirit Array.

They only needed to stand within the Array, and it would erupt in light, revealing the status of their Spirit Root.

Any special Physiques would also be discovered.

Furthermore, since they were already Cultivators, they didn’t need to expend Spiritual Power to awaken their Spirit Root, so no additional fee was required.

This was unlike the Immortal Seeds, who all had to hand over one hundred Spirit Stones first.

This step alone weeded out many people.

But the Cangwu Sect and other Immortal Sects didn’t care.

The one thing the Immortal Cultivation Realm didn’t lack was people, and the percentage of those who possessed a Spirit Root was also very high.

The problem was that out of a hundred people with a Spirit Root, ninety-nine of them typically had a Pseudo-Spirit Root, or what could be called an Inferior Spirit Root.

And the one remaining was usually just a Low Grade Spirit Root.

Therefore, a Middle Grade was already considered quite good.

As for Upper Grade, Top Grade, or Celestial Grade Spirit Roots, they were even rarer.

According to the rules of the Cangwu Sect, one needed at least a Low Grade Spirit Root to even have a chance at entering the sect as a servant disciple.

And even that wasn’t a sure thing; they still had to pass the two subsequent tests of Comprehension and Heart.

However, those with an Upper Grade Spirit Root or higher could skip the next two tests and directly enter the Inner Sect.

Zhang Chi observed carefully and discovered that the Cultivators ahead of him, who had come with an Immortal Ascension Order, all had at least a Low Grade Spirit Root; some even had a Middle Grade.

Evidently, they all knew their own Spirit Root quality.

If they had an Inferior one, they wouldn’t have come at all, as it would only be a waste of an Immortal Ascension Order.

Zhang Chi also noticed that among Qin Susu and her three companions, a surprising three of them had a Middle Grade Spirit Root.

Only the one named Zhao Yi had a Low Grade.

As for Qin Susu, Zhang Chi had thought she might have a natural Charming Body or something similar, but it wasn’t detected by the test.

’It’s hard to say if she truly doesn’t have one, if the Array is ineffective, or if she’s hiding it on purpose.’

The line moved quickly, and before long, it was Zhang Chi’s turn.

SWOOSH...

Zhang Chi took a deep breath and stepped forward. The Spirit Array instantly erupted in a brilliant flash of light, dominated by the colors red, white, and yellow.

"It’s a Middle Grade Spirit Root!"

Everyone around him was envious, but the result came as no surprise to Zhang Chi.

"Very good. Not only is it a Middle Grade Spirit Root, but his Meridians and Qi Sea are superior to the average person’s. Even among Middle Grade, he’s at the top tier!"

His cultivation of the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique had not been in vain, after all. Zhang Chi immediately caught the attention of the supervising Cultivator for this test.

However, the man had no idea this was the result of Zhang Chi’s Cultivation of a Top Grade Demon Technique.

This was because Zhang Chi had long since converted the Cultivation from his Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique into that of the Red Flame Technique.

After that, the supervising Cultivator recorded some information onto Zhang Chi’s Jade Token before returning it to him. Zhang Chi then smoothly proceeded to the next stage.