Chapter 535

Chapter 535: This Is Simply Turning Heaven and Earth Upside Down
Lu Jiu Yuan did not understand what was going on, so he did not dare to act on his own. He stood there quietly and waited for the old man’s instructions.

The old man thought for a moment, then suddenly let out a creepy chuckle.

The sound of that laugh made Lu Jiu Yuan’s hair stand on end.

Then he watched as the old man took out a big cauldron from his sleeve, pointed at the mountain path behind him, and said: “Carry this cauldron on your back and climb to the top. That will count as passing the first test.”

Lu Jiu Yuan stared blankly and thought: [What?]

The old man urged him: “Hurry up, there are still others behind you.”

Lu Jiu Yuan did not understand, but he had no choice. He reached out and took the black cauldron.

The moment the cauldron landed in his hands, his whole body sank down. His feet sank half an inch into the ground.

He could not help starting: “Senior…”

The old man waved his hand and said: “All right, hurry up and climb. Do not waste time. Be careful, or the ones behind you might catch up.”

Lu Jiu Yuan shut his mouth at once. He lifted the cauldron onto his back and walked toward the mountain path.

He raised his head and at a glance saw Yu Zhao up ahead, panting as she climbed.

But Yu Zhao did not have a matching black cauldron on her back.

Lu Jiu Yuan’s thoughts exploded: [What is this! Why is there even gender discrimination!]

He felt very unwilling.

He took a deep breath and called out: “Senior!”

The old man narrowed his eyes and said: “Hm?”

Lu Jiu Yuan instantly gave in.

He accepted his fate and stepped onto the first step. He almost fell to his knees on that first step.

But when he saw Yu Zhao getting farther and farther away, he gritted his teeth. Blue light flashed around his body as he took big steps to chase after her.

When Zi Zai entered the Daqian Alliance, the first thing he saw was Lu Jiu Yuan on the mountain path, with a black cauldron on his back.

Zi Zai’s brows moved slightly. He smiled and bowed to the old man.

The old man looked at him and muttered: “A Buddhist cultivator, huh.”

He rummaged in his sleeve for a long time and finally pulled out a ginseng root.

Then he blew a breath onto the ginseng.

The whiskers on the ginseng quickly turned into tiny arms and legs. In the blink of an eye, the ginseng became a chubby baby.

The old man pointed at the mountain path and said: “Climb while holding him.”

Zi Zai was stunned for a brief moment. Then, very obediently, he took the child from the old man’s arms. He softly chanted a Buddha’s name and stepped onto the mountain path.

His speed was very slow, but every step was solid and steady. Only when his foot fully touched the stone step would he take the next step.

The old man watched and nodded in great satisfaction.

Outside the Daqian Alliance,

The cultivators watching all this had mixed reactions. Some cursed the old man for bullying his juniors on purpose. Some felt that this was just part of the test.

A few more cultivators soon entered the selection. Only then did the crowd realize that the old man did not give everyone extra burdens. It seemed he only acted on his mood, with no pattern at all.

Because of this, the curses that had calmed down started up again.

However, no matter how fierce the discussion outside became, it did not affect what was happening inside.

All of Yu Zhao’s attention was on the stone steps in front of her.

From the old man’s words, she had already learned that the first test was about each cultivator’s understanding of Dao intent.

Only with a firm Dao heart could one block the invasion of other Dao intents.

Yu Zhao had suffered on the first step only because she did not know what was happening. After she understood the rule, her Fourfold Dao Will came into play. With it protecting her, the other Dao intents could barely affect her.

At first, Yu Zhao planned to rush straight to the top in one go.

But after she climbed more than a hundred steps, she suddenly realized that she had thought about this matter in too simple a way.

Could it be that the Path of All Beings existed only for the sake of a test?

Yu Zhao slowed her steps. A moment later, she withdrew the other three Dao intents and left only the Ruthless Dao to guard her heart.

Without the support of the other three Dao intents, Yu Zhao clearly felt a new Dao intent crashing against her Sea of Consciousness.

This Dao intent was the Dao of Sound.

Sound waves like a raging storm pounded against her soul. Yu Zhao felt like a tiny boat on a vast sea, rising and falling with the waves.

But slowly, she seemed to sense a special pattern inside that messy, chaotic sound.

She tried to stop resisting and instead used her soul to gently sort through it. The harsh noise slowly calmed, turning into a moving rhythm.

Her soul merged with the sound waves, and a feeling like an electric current ran through her body.

[So the best way to climb this mountain is not to resist, but to accept it.]

Yu Zhao suddenly understood. She lowered her head and looked at the Stone Mother in her hand.

Thinking about it this way, it seemed she had wronged the Senior a little.

“Yu… Yu Zhao.”

A breathless voice came from below.

Yu Zhao turned and looked back. She saw Lu Jiu Yuan carrying the huge cauldron, staring at her with a bitter expression. His ice-blue eyes were full of resentment.

Yu Zhao’s gaze paused on the cauldron for a moment. The corners of her lips curved slightly as she said: “Lu Jiu Yuan, haste makes waste. Do not be so anxious.”

After she finished speaking, she turned back around and ignored his calls.

“Haste makes waste? Yu Zhao, what do you mean?”

Lu Jiu Yuan shouted several times, but Yu Zhao did not answer. Suspicious, he started to think it over.

He was not a stupid person. Now that he had calmed down, he soon noticed something.

The cauldron on his back was very heavy, but after carrying it, he felt his mind and Dao intent were more focused than usual, and even his senses seemed sharper.

Thinking of this, he suddenly understood what role the cauldron played in this selection. The Senior was not making things hard for him on purpose. He was giving him a double-edged sword.

If he used it well, it would become a great help to him.

His spirit rose. He stopped paying attention to Yu Zhao and moved at his own pace.

When all the cultivators taking part in the selection had stepped onto the mountain path, the old man’s figure vanished from where he had been and reappeared among the clouds.

He smiled with narrowed eyes and asked: “Well? Do any of them catch your eye?”

A young woman with long flowing hair and beautiful brows let out a soft snort. She said: “You old rascal. No wonder you insisted on hosting the first test. So you were just using public matters for your own gain.”

The old man everyone called Old Rascal pretended not to understand and said: “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

The young woman rolled her eyes and said: “Stop pretending. Your Supreme Purity Palace really went all out this time. You even gave away something as good as the Stone Mother. Did you really think we would not see what you are planning?”

Cultivators who passed the Great Thousand Alliance Selection could choose any power from any Great World to join.

For good seedlings with ability and talent, all the great powers naturally welcomed them.

This also meant that after the cultivators passed the selection, the positions of both sides would change.

Winning over fresh blood had become a very important task.

The gifts the old man gave were the best way to knock on that door.

He spread his hands and said with pride: “I give them gifts, and you can give them too. Or are you just too stingy to part with anything?”

Old Rascal did not feel ashamed at all. In fact, he felt proud.

[If you are not willing to part with the child, you will never catch the wolf.]

He was not like those other old fellows who were so stingy they could not bear to offer even a little benefit.

Another cultivator with a broad back and a thick waist spoke in a deep, booming voice. He said: “Old Rascal, you do not need to provoke us. These people may have decent talent, but in the Great World they are nothing special.

We are willing to accept them, and that is their honor. To ask us to lower ourselves to flatter them is simply turning heaven and earth upside down!”