novelraw Chapter 57 : He Won’t Pass the Screening
Chapter 57 : He Won’t Pass the Screening
Chapter 57: He Won’t Pass the Screening
The three-thousand jade steps appeared in an instant before their eyes.
Clouds and mist drifted, immortal aura awe-inspiring.
Zhong Ling watched Fang Chang disappear atop the jade steps, her brows slightly furrowed, revealing a look of astonishment.
The unwillingness in her eyes gradually settled.
She leaned against the coffin behind her, and the gloom in her gaze deepened more and more.
Sinister Yin Energy rose, matching her filthy appearance, enveloping her whole body in shadow.
The surrounding temperature dropped noticeably.
Fortunately, the crowd’s attention was all drawn to that jade stairway piercing the heavens, so no one noticed her eerie state.
“Zhong Ling.”
A voice transmission sounded by her ear.
Zhong Ling paused coldly, then pinched a black, grimy jade slip from her waist.
“What.”
“Who was that person?”
The voice carried a trace of questioning, instantly igniting Zhong Ling’s temper. Her tone turned irritable at once.
“How would I know!”
The other side didn’t yield either: “If you don’t know, why were you chatting with him so much!”
“You lot cultivate like corpses! I was bored out of my mind waiting here! Going out to find some fun and chat with someone—is that not allowed?!”
“You go find someone to chat with, and you just happen to find someone who can directly ascend the Heavenly Steps?”
“What the hell do you mean! Say it clearly if you dare!”
“If that person is a disciple of Canglan Mountain, just see how much trouble you’ve caused!”
“That person is of the Corpse Refinement Path! How could he possibly be from Canglan Mountain? You idiot bird!”
The two clashed head-on.
The confrontation in their words escalated further and further.
At this moment, another voice came through the jade slip:
“Stop arguing.”
This voice sounded aged, kind, like an old neighbor trying to mediate a quarrel.
Both of them paused at once, unwillingly falling silent.
The old man continued:
“Now that things have come to this, since that person has gone up the mountain, we must not take risks.”
Zhong Ling added, “Canglan Mountain’s screening won’t easily accept a demonic path cultivator. We can wait for him to come down.”
“No need.”
The old man replied, “That person is of the Corpse Refinement Path, and merely a Qi Absorption cultivator. He is insignificant.”
“If anything goes wrong again and ruins the plan, then all our efforts will truly come to nothing…”
...
...
Canglan Mountain.
Suhua Courtyard.
Cheng Hua saw her master suddenly jerk, sitting upright from the rattan chair with a thump.
She looked half-asleep, with traces of wine at the corner of her mouth, appearing somewhat dull.
Her loosely worn dress had slipped down to her elbows, exposing large patches of snow-white shoulders and collarbones. The halter top at her chest was filled to the brim, stained with wine, clinging to her full curves in an enticing outline.
Cheng Hua practiced the sword technique Fang Chang had taught her in the courtyard.
She sheathed her sword and stood still.
“Are you going to relieve yourself? Don’t do it in the courtyard.”
Her master wiped her face, her eyes becoming clearer.
“Your master here is an immortal expert—experts don’t need to pee.”
Cheng Hua spoke bluntly: “If you drink too much, you will. And it smells like alcohol.”
If one absorbed wind and dew or consumed fasting pills, then naturally not.
The body would circulate on its own.
But if one didn’t expel it and let it circulate internally, excess fluids would still have to go somewhere.
The little junior sister happened to pass by holding a branch, looking at their master in astonishment.
“Master’s pee smells like alcohol?”
“Junior Sister, don’t learn from Master to drink. It smells bad.”
“Smelly~”
Her master clicked her tongue, unconcerned, and openly took another gulp.
“You’re still young—too young to understand the benefits of alcohol. When you reach your master’s age… hmm… you’ll be just as smelly… Also, you should be heading to class.”
As she spoke,
she gathered her clothes while curiously looking at Cheng Hua.
“These past few days, your mood seems much better. You’ve even learned to tease your master.”
Cheng Hua’s expression remained cool. “I met an acquaintance. We chatted a little.”
“You actually have acquaintances? Did Cui Wenxi finally agree to see you?”
Cheng Hua fell silent.
Her master chuckled and skipped the topic.
“How are your aftereffects?”
Cheng Hua resumed practicing her sword, her expression calm. “They’ve been frequent at night these past few days.”
“Oh?”
“But they’re not as bothersome anymore.”
“Aftereffects are aftereffects—how could there be such a thing as liking them?”
“I wouldn’t say I like them.”
Cheng Hua answered calmly. “After meeting that acquaintance a few days ago, I felt as though a stone in my heart had fallen away, so I don’t mind them as much.”
Her master’s hand holding the wine jug paused, a strange look flashing in her enchanting fox-like eyes.
“What kind of logic is that?”
She suspected her disciple might have fallen into deviation, mistaking illusions of Inner Demons for an “acquaintance.”
But Cheng Hua’s Dao Heart was clear and pure, inner demons did not arise within her. To her, Inner Demons were the weakest of obstacles—something that could shatter with a single strike.
Cheng Hua shook her head.
She did not answer.
Suddenly, she changed the subject: “I want to participate in the Direct Disciple Trial.”
“Hm?”
“I want to participate—”
“I heard you. I’m asking why?”
“If nothing unexpected happens, I was supposed to participate anyway.”
“But something unexpected already happened.”
Her master frowned. “Last time, another elder recommended you. This time, what’s the reason?”
Cheng Hua glanced at the sword in her hand, its frosty light reflecting upon her pale face.
Suddenly—
before her eyes appeared the scene of Fang Chang on the terrace of the Ascension Inn, striking out with that sword—Ice Dissolution—freezing and shattering in an instant.
“Because I learned a new sword.”
“……”
Her master waved her hand. “Do as you wish.”
After a pause, she seemed to recall something.
“Just now, the mountain gate sent word—someone successfully passed the Waiting for the Heavenly Steps, and it was even a demonic path cultivator. He probably won’t pass the disciple screening. Do you want to take a look? It might be that Corpse Refinement Path acquaintance of yours.”
“No need.”
“Then why were you asking about him every day before? What, you’re not thinking about him anymore?”
“I was never thinking about him to begin with.”
The mountain wind brushed past. Cheng Hua looked into the distance, her picturesque beauty framed by flowing hair at her temples, appearing even more ethereal and detached.
Yet within her expression, there was unexpectedly a trace of longing.
Her master, watching from the side, was stunned.
“Once the Direct Disciple Trial is over, he will naturally enter the sect.”
...
...
A vast sea of clouds stretched for thousands of miles, surging with golden radiance.
Fang Chang, dressed in green robes, carried a gloomy temperament.
He rubbed a jade token in his hand—the symbol of an outer sect disciple of Canglan Mountain.
His expression was calm.
Watching the backs of the three guiding disciples ahead, who were excitedly hurrying away.
Before him lay a white jade plaza, so vast it seemed endless.
Within the plaza stood nine colossal pillars piercing the clouds.
Beyond them, layers upon layers of halls and pavilions extended up the mountain, green tiles and white walls, eaves like cranes, hidden within the mist.
Canglan Mountain.
Fang Chang had seen this scene in the game.
But through the neural link of the game helmet, everything always seemed veiled behind a layer of hazy clouds.
Now seeing it in person—
it was truly an indescribable shock.
“So this counts as success?”
Zhao Yuntong’s voice transmission came from within the Black Tortoise Square Cauldron.
Her voice carried a strange mix of astonishment and disdain.
Fang Chang said, “What else would it be?”
“Five pieces of Tai Sui Green Flesh per person, and that’s enough?”
“The most important thing is the guiding jade token Cheng Hua gave me—it functions like a guarantor.”
“But they didn’t even question your identity as a Corpse Refinement Path cultivator.”
“Money makes even ghosts turn the mill… I’ve said it many times, it’s not as strict as you imagine.”
Zhao Yuntong still found it hard to believe.
During this time, she didn’t even dare to link to the corpse body or speak to Fang Chang, for fear of ruining things.
“You look like someone who has joined Canglan Mountain before.”
“Not really.”
Fang Chang chuckled lightly. “But I’ve had many friends who joined—they know the rules well.”
From the forums.