After Marrying the 'Long Aotian' in Drag to Counter Bad Luck - Chapter 17

Having stayed in the Xuantian Sword Sect for over a month, Rong Nianfeng had not been entirely idle.

He had heard from his senior brothers and sisters that the puppet manipulation trials in previous years were always exceedingly difficult. Aside from Qiu Nian making things intentionally difficult, it was also because during the focus stage, unlike other peaks, the cultivation method of the Corpse Puppet Pavilion was rather eccentric. A cultivator’s meridians often could not withstand the sheer agony experienced during cultivation, forcing them to give up in the end.

To his surprise, the reality differed entirely from what he had imagined. The remaining dozens of people were simply asked to drop their blood into a large black pot of bubbling, murky water.

It was quite magical.

Rong Nianfeng stood to the side, watching as these cultivators dropped their blood into the massive black pot with a dull splash. There was no change at all.

This continued until Xie Si’an stepped forward, hesitating for a long while before finally cutting his finger.

His blood lingered in the black water for a brief moment. Rong Nianfeng was unsure if it was merely his imagination, but the speed at which the blood vanished was noticeably slower. Even the splashing sound from earlier only resonated after a considerable amount of time had passed.

Then, with another splash, the pot spat the blood back out.

Rong Nianfeng was entirely speechless.

“…”

Heaven only knew how he managed to read an expression of pure disgust from a pot of black water.

Xie Si’an’s face turned pale in an instant. He stared down at his hand, lost in thought, and after a good while, he walked away from the massive black pot, looking utterly dispirited.

Rong Nianfeng looked at the highly abnormal substance before his eyes, falling into a rare silence.

In the original book, there was not much detail regarding the Corpse Puppet Pavilion. The brief mentions felt as though they were shrouded in a layer of obscure, incomprehensible mist.

Well, it was better to get this over with quickly. Once he went to Xuantian Hall, he would choose the Alchemy Peak.

A distinct drop sounded as the blood was dragged into the depths of the black water, making a strange noise. It was not much different from the previous disciples.

Rong Nianfeng breathed a faint sigh of relief, though a sudden chill washed over his entire body. He wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered, wondering why the place always felt so incredibly sinister.

Because he could not smash the jade token to leave, he could only wait until the trial concluded entirely.

For some unknown reason, Xie Si’an also waited until the very end before departing.

Upon exiting the pocket dimension, Rong Nianfeng felt strangely cold. He did not pay it much mind, assuming he had simply caught a cold after being caught in the rain with Ye Xingchen on Wushan Mountain.

A good number of elders sat on the stage. The four mighty cultivators were originally just there to go through the motions, but at this moment, all their eyes were fixed on Xie Si’an.

“The item in my hand can test spiritual roots. Although everyone performed quite well in the pocket dimension, the spiritual root ultimately determines the upper limit of one’s cultivation level.” The cultivator sitting directly in the center wore a loosely draped indigo outer robe, his voice carrying a trace of laziness. “You may step forward for testing. The elders will select their preferred disciples based on a combination of the trials and your spiritual roots.”

The speaker was none other than Immortal Venerable Jiuyang. Rong Nianfeng was momentarily stunned. He had assumed that an ancestor of this caliber would be an intimidating, white-bearded old man with a face as rugged as a mountain range, but the man looked quite youthful instead.

Immortal Venerable Jiuyang was different from the other three mighty cultivators who routinely entered secluded cultivation for centuries. Every three months, he would summon the personal disciples of the various elders to the Tongxing Palace for cultivation, which in simpler terms meant giving them private lessons. It was said that as long as one received even a bit of guidance from him, their cultivation would progress with twice the result for half the effort.

The disciples of the Xuantian Sword Sect had nothing but praise for him.

Rong Nianfeng, however, did not share this view. After Ye Xingchen lost his ability to cultivate, this Immortal Venerable Jiuyang’s attitude immediately took a complete U-turn. It could be said that half of the hardships Ye Xingchen faced in the later stages of the story were allowed by his silent approval.

His own ending did not seem to be any good either; he was tricked by Ye Xingchen during his tribulation transience and died. As for the finer details, they were probably considered unimportant, so that dog of an author did not elaborate.

“Xie Si’an, step forward to test your spiritual root.”

The moment Immortal Venerable Jiuyang spoke, the elders on the stage sat up a bit straighter, with the sole exception of the Corpse Puppet Pavilion.

Rong Nianfeng shook his head lazily, his eyes full of sympathy as he looked toward Jie Yueqiu.

How pitiful. He could not out-compete anyone for Ye Xingchen, and now he could not out-compete anyone for Xie Si’an either. However, this was only normal. To form a stark contrast with the current useless state of Ye Xingchen, the story naturally needed to choose someone with a similar background.

A natural dual spiritual root, destined for the path of the sword.

Instead of choosing Immortal Venerable Wuji, Xie Si’an chose the second elder of Lingyun Peak, Immortal Venerable Xuanyue. Having been ranked second for years, that elder had long been displeased in his heart.

Jie Yueqiu possessed sharp perception. He looked up, noticing that Rong Nianfeng was clicking his tongue from time to time, shaking his head, and looking at him with a face full of sympathy.

Jie Yueqiu was completely pushed over the edge by this behavior.

“…”

From where did this little female immortal come?

He ground his back teeth, fully intending to quietly flick Rong Nianfeng on the forehead, when a sudden exclamation erupted from the crowd: “A water and wood dual spiritual root!”

In the center of Xuantian Hall, a green and blue light radiated from the jade stone. Xie Si’an closed his eyes, his features handsome and his bearing natural and upright.

It was a top-grade dual spiritual root!

The disciples below the stage engaged in animated discussion. Jie Yueqiu raised an eyebrow and spoke hastily, “You possess quite a talent for alchemy, and I am the number one alchemist in the Southern Continent. If you are willing, I shall naturally pass on all my knowledge without reservation.”

The Chenxing Peak was not to be outdone either, shouting, “Master the formation classes, and you can walk anywhere under heaven without fear!”

Immortal Venerable Wuji did not have much interest in Xie Si’an, so he did not contend for him. However, the other elders from Lingyun Peak turned red in the face, each trying to out-talk the other with flowery promises.

Xie Si’an lowered his gaze, considered his options for a moment, and chose the second elder of Lingyun Peak without any suspense.

Rong Nianfeng shook his head even harder, causing Jie Yueqiu’s face to turn a shade paler from anger.

Xie Jingzhi performed decently well, possessing a top-grade water spiritual root, and went to Chenxing Peak. The elder of Chenxing Peak felt much better after this.

Following that, over a dozen more cultivators were tested. Among them, three possessed mid-grade spiritual roots and five possessed low-grade spiritual roots, all of whom went to the outer sect. Those with above-average talents were accepted as inner sect disciples.

Then, it was Rong Nianfeng’s turn.

He felt somewhat nervous. It was not that he feared his lack of talent being discovered, but rather that he feared the mass of black mist from before might truly be recognized as a sign of demonic possession. If that were the case, he would not even survive long enough to serve as a stepping stone for others later on.

After a brief internal struggle, he stepped forward, closed his eyes, exhaled, and decided to go all out, placing both hands onto the stone.

“Is there no spiritual root?”

Jie Yueqiu looked at the completely unresponsive jade stone, feeling somewhat surprised. Although this little female immortal seemed rather provocative, her strength during the trial was not bad at all. He had not expected her to completely lack a spiritual root.

Yet, if she truly lacked a spiritual root, it would have been impossible for her to enter the pocket dimension in the first place.

Immortal Venerable Jiuyang gestured with his hand, and the elder standing to the side spoke hesitantly, stating that it was a low-grade water spiritual root.

Rong Nianfeng wept internally.

“…”

It was exactly as expected. Fortunately, no one noticed that trace of black mist.

Jie Yueqiu cast a gloating look in his direction, causing Rong Nianfeng, who was already in a foul mood, to feel even worse. The remaining elders also felt it was quite a pity; those who had originally wanted to accept him into their ranks now began to stammer and fell silent.

Immortal Venerable Wuji glanced at the drooping head of Rong Nianfeng, who looked exactly like a withered eggplant hit by frost. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Qiu Nian, who had rarely accepted any disciples for decades, say in a raspy voice, “Corpse Puppet Pavilion, inner sect disciple.”

In the next second, the man vanished entirely.

Rong Nianfeng was left at a complete loss. “You could have at least left some contact information!”

It was not just Rong Nianfeng who was utterly bewildered; everyone else was equally stunned. The other elders of the Corpse Puppet Pavilion pulled back their black robes in unison, revealing ghastly white bones, as if trying to discern what hidden talent Rong Nianfeng possessed that they had failed to notice.

The crowd was thoroughly frightened by this bizarre display.

Immortal Venerable Xuanyue had originally thought that since Rong Nianxue was Ye Xingchen’s Dao companion and no one was willing to accept her, he could show some great mercy by taking her as an outer sect disciple. That way, he could keep her under his thumb to prevent her from becoming a bird of a feather with Ye Xingchen. He had not anticipated that the old man Qiu Nian would suddenly pull such a stunt.

Then again, what kind of good place was the Corpse Puppet Pavilion? Within a few days, she would surely be scared into running back to Lingyun Peak with her tail between her legs.

Rong Nianfeng did not think too much about it. It was fine as long as someone wanted him; he was not picky. However, nothing unusual had happened to him during the puppet manipulation trial, had it?

With the conclusion of the trials, the disciple recruitment finally drew to a close.

Seeing that he still did not know how to fly on a sword, Immortal Venerable Wuji said with earnest concern, “Young junior Nianxue, the Corpse Puppet Pavilion is very far from our Lingyun Peak. If you do not know how to fly on a sword, how are you going to be close with Little Eleven in the future?”

As he spoke, he pressed his two thumbs together, wearing an expression that implied they both shared a mutual understanding.

Rong Nianfeng’s face flushed with embarrassment, wishing to clear up that he had no intention of being affectionate with Ye Xingchen.

“Master, I heard from my senior brothers and sisters that every peak provides lodging. I truly cannot seem to learn the art of flying on a sword. After careful consideration, it is better to leave Yuxu Palace for Brother Xingchen to recuperate. In the future, if it really does not work out, I will simply live at the Corpse Puppet Pavilion.” He was now entirely capable of spouting nonsense with ease, making his words sound as though he was acting completely for Ye Xingchen’s well-being.

How could an old fox like Immortal Venerable Wuji fail to see through this? “Flying on a sword is simple! Back in the day, Little Eleven could even drift on his sword. I will drag him out in a moment and have him teach you.”

“Let it be, Master, I cannot bear to trouble Brother Xingchen.” Rong Nianfeng gestured with his hands, but before he could finish speaking, Immortal Venerable Wuji gave him a dark look.

He whispered, “The Corpse Puppet Pavilion is quite terrifying.”

He wrapped his arms around himself and shrugged. “I have been scared several times when visiting that place. I heard that the paths are full of ghosts at night. It is highly possible that when you squat down to pick something up, you will find yourself face-to-face with an upside-down ghost.”

The combination of this eerie atmosphere and the fact that Rong Nianfeng’s limbs felt unusually cold today caused him to fall into a rare moment of silence.

After a long while, he awkwardly interrupted Immortal Venerable Wuji’s terrifying description. “In that case, I think I will fly back on a sword instead.”

Immortal Venerable Wuji smiled with satisfaction, having achieved his goal. He retrieved a large, broad sword from his universe bag to carry Rong Nianfeng back.

“Three days from now, you new disciples must enter the Sword Mound to choose your swords. You will go together with Little Eleven when the time comes.”

Although Rong Nianfeng was reluctant, his established persona could not deviate too far from the script. He could not play the part of a pining lover a few days ago only to show absolutely no affection now, so he could only agree to the arrangement. Fortunately, he and Ye Xingchen now shared a mutual understanding without explicitly stating it, focused entirely on tormenting each other.

After delivering Rong Nianfeng back to the Yuxu Pavilion, Immortal Venerable Wuji found no sign of Ye Xingchen, so he flew on his sword toward the Blood Moon Pavilion.

He leaped down from his sword, removed the storybook covering Ye Xingchen’s face, and yanked his ear, saying crossly, “You are truly going to drive your master to death!”

Ye Xingchen snapped awake instantly, looking completely dazed. “What is it, Master?”

Immortal Venerable Wuji had originally wanted to criticize Ye Xingchen for moving out so quickly, but recalling his own previous words about how matters of love could not be forced, the words caught in his throat. He could only say dryly, “Young junior Nianxue does not know how to fly on a sword. You must teach her before the sword selection in three days.”

Fearing that he would not agree, he added, “She has entered the Corpse Puppet Pavilion. That place is sinister and gloomy. If she stays there and comes back later, I am afraid she will end up like your Uncle Qiu Nian, with nothing left but a skeleton frame.”

“Think about it. When she returns to Lingyun Peak in the future and pulls out a green-faced, sharp-fanged little ghost from her black robes, it will scare you to death.”

Ye Xingchen suddenly felt a series of eerie winds blowing around him, and he hurriedly said, “I will go over right away!”

“Those are the exact words I was waiting to hear.” Immortal Venerable Wuji placed the storybook back onto his face with satisfaction, leaped onto his sword, and departed once more.

Ye Xingchen was left completely bewildered.

“…”

He felt as though absolutely everything was entirely out of place.

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