82: Chapter 82 Top-Grade Lightning Spirit Root

Yun Ming rubbed his nose, thinking that these Geniuses were truly enviable.

Several Loose Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage successfully passed the test and were admitted into the Inner Sect.

There was also a youth at the Qi Refinement Stage whose Spiritual Root was only Medium Grade, yet he displayed astonishing talent in Formations during the test and was immediately spotted by a Golden Core Elder from the Formation Hall, who took him away on the spot.

What left the deepest impression on Yun Ming was what happened on the afternoon of the second day.

At that time, he was standing on the periphery of the crowd, watching the testing half-heartedly.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd.

He looked toward the source of the sound and saw a raggedly dressed youth being pushed forward.

The youth looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, thin as a rail, with unwashed dirt still on his face.

He stood coweringly before the Spirit Stone stele, at a loss, as if he had never experienced such a scene before.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?" the Disciple responsible for maintaining order urged impatiently.

The youth shuddered in fright and hurriedly pressed his hand onto the stele.

In that instant—

The sky changed.

The originally clear sky suddenly turned gloomy, and layers of dark clouds surged in from all directions, covering the entire firmament in the blink of an eye.

Within the dark clouds, purple thunder rolled and surged, emitting a deafening roar.

A bolt of purple thunder struck down from the Nine Heavens, crashing straight onto the stele the youth was pressing!

Boom—!

The three-zhang-tall Spirit Stone stele trembled violently; what erupted from it was not light, but thunder.

Purple thunder surged wildly from the stele, transforming into a Lightning Dragon that soared into the sky, reflecting the thunder in the firmament.

The Lightning Dragon circled three times, roared at the sky, and the sound shook a hundred miles.

In the plaza, hundreds of thousands of people were silent as the grave.

On the high platform, Yuan Zhenzi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and stood up abruptly.

He took one step forward and appeared directly in front of the youth.

The youth had already been scared limp, trembling all over.

Yuan Zhenzi looked down at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He crouched down, personally helped the youth up, and said gently, "Child, what is your name?"

The youth stammered, "I... I am called Stone... I don't have a proper name..."

Yuan Zhenzi nodded, raised his hand to press on the youth's head, and after a moment, withdrew his hand, the light in his eyes intensifying.

"Top-Grade Lightning Spiritual Root," he said slowly.

His voice was not loud, yet it spread throughout the entire plaza.

"A gift from the Heavens."

The entire venue was in an uproar.

Yuan Zhenzi said no more.

He waved his hand, and a golden light enveloped the youth.

The two instantly disappeared into the horizon.

Only one sentence remained, echoing over the plaza: "I am taking this child away; there is no need to record him."

The crowd was in a frenzy.

"Top-Grade Lightning Spiritual Root! The legendary Top-Grade Lightning Spiritual Root!"

"Good heavens, this is an Aptitude that is one in ten thousand!"

"No wonder Yuan Zhenzi acted personally.

If cultivated well, he will at least be a Nascent Soul in the future!"

"What was that child's name again?

Stone?

That's too casual..."

"Just wait.

It won't be long before this name resounds throughout the East Xuan Region."

Yun Ming stood in the crowd, gazing at the gradually dissipating thunderclouds, silent for a long time.

Top-Grade Lightning Spiritual Root.

A homeless child who couldn't get enough to eat or wear, turning his life around overnight, surpassing the century of hard cultivation of others.

This is destiny.

Whether it is destiny or man conquering heaven.

Everyone has their own path to walk.

After that, the youth named Stone never appeared again.

He just vanished like that, taken by Yuan Zhenzi deep into the Cangxuan Immortal Sect, never to appear in public again.

Some said he was taken as a closed-door Disciple by Yuan Zhenzi and was cultivating hard in some Secret Realm.

Some said his Foundation was too weak and he was using medicinal baths to forcibly improve his Physique.

Others said Yuan Zhenzi took him to see the Sect Head, and the Sect Head personally bestowed a name upon him and admitted him into the core of the Inner Sect.

Opinions varied, but no one knew the truth.

Yun Ming heard an earful of gossip but didn't take it to heart.

On the morning of the third day, he packed up and headed toward the Cangxuan Immortal Sect.

Yun Ming didn't expect the onboarding procedures to go so smoothly.

He had originally thought that even with Yao Chenzi's recommendation, he would have to run to several places, get several stamps, and wait three to five days to get the procedures settled.

After all, it was a major Sect; it was common for rules to be numerous and procedures cumbersome.

As it turned out, Yao Chenzi only took him to three places—the Registration Office to record his identity, the Alchemy Hall to report his position, and the Deacon Hall to collect his token and Immortal Cave.

Everywhere they went, once Yao Chenzi stood there, those originally stern-faced Deacon Disciples would immediately put on smiling faces, their movements becoming unbelievably brisk.

In less than half an hour, it was all done.

When Yun Ming emerged from the Deacon Hall, he already had a cyan token representing an Outer Sect Deacon and a Jade Slip engraved with his Immortal Cave number in his hand.

"Many thanks, Elder."

Yun Ming thanked him sincerely.

Yao Chenzi waved his hand and smiled, "Small matter.

In the future, when you are working in the Alchemy Hall, feel free to come find me if you have any issues."

Yun Ming nodded, sighing inwardly: As expected, having a leader to guide you really makes a difference.

Following the instructions on the Jade Slip, he found his Immortal Cave.

The Immortal Cave was located on a cliff on the east side of the Cangxuan Immortal Sect's Outer Sect.

The location wasn't central, but it had the advantage of being quiet.

There were two stone doors at the entrance, with simple Restriction Formations carved on them, which could be opened using the token.

Yun Ming pushed the door open and entered.

The interior was more spacious than he had imagined—a Quiet Room, an Alchemy Room, a living room, and even a small courtyard, which even had a Spiritual Spring bubbling with Spiritual Qi.

He stood in the courtyard, looked around, and nodded with satisfaction.

This treatment was more than ten times better than the small courtyard he had rented in the market.

Yao Chenzi was still waiting outside the Immortal Cave.

Seeing him come out, he said, "You tidy up first.

This afternoon, I want you to give a trial lecture to see exactly what your level of Alchemy cultivation is."

Yun Ming was startled, "Today?"

"What, is it not possible?"

Yao Chenzi raised an eyebrow.

Yun Ming thought for a moment and nodded, "It is possible."

Yao Chenzi stroked his beard with satisfaction, "Then it is settled.

At the third quarter of the Wei hour, the Outer Sect lecture hall.

No need to prepare too much; just talk about whatever."

He turned and left after speaking, leaving Yun Ming standing alone at the entrance of the Immortal Cave.

Yun Ming watched him walk away before turning back to tidy up.

An hour later, he arrived at the Outer Sect lecture hall.

The hall was not very large, capable of accommodating about a thousand people.

Directly in front was a three-foot-high podium, with a long table on it, and a teapot and teacups on the table.

Below the podium were rows of prayer mats for the listening Disciples to sit cross-legged.

At this moment, there were only a dozen or so people below.

They were sitting sparsely on the prayer mats, some still yawning.

Yun Ming couldn't help but chuckle.

That made sense; the Sect's focus was currently still on the Disciple selection, so there weren't many Disciples with free time anyway.

Moreover, this trial lecture was arranged on short notice and there hadn't been time to promote it at all; it was already good that so many people had come.

He walked to the front of the podium, put down the things in his hand, and glanced at the audience.

Pairs of eyes were looking at him.

Yun Ming's expression was calm; he was not the least bit nervous.

He cleared his throat and began, "Today, I will be speaking on the basics of Alchemy—Pharmacology and Heat Control."

He had read the book, "Introduction to Alchemy Scripture," no less than a hundred times, over and over.

Every page and every line of text in the book was practically engraved in his mind.

From the sovereign, minister, assistant, and courier of medicinal herbs to the gentle and intense, slow and fast heat control; from the application of Alchemy techniques to the timing of opening the furnace; from how to identify conflicting medicinal properties to how to neutralize pill poison when the pill is formed—

He spoke calmly and clearly.

The Disciples below were initially indifferent, but as they listened, they unconsciously sat up straight.

Some took out Jade Slips to start recording, some frowned in thought, and some had eyes that grew brighter and brighter.