My bathroom leads to the celestial realm.

15. White jade pillars in front of Lingque Hall

thump—

The gentle sound of the morning bell echoed throughout the Immortal Pavilion. Outside the film studio, a few reluctant souls lingered, yet had no choice but to leave, much like the restless, overworked laborers of the modern world.

On the other side of the studio, Xu Yan had changed into a different outfit, wearing a wide robe and sleeves, exuding an ancient charm. However, his hair was a bit too short, which made him look somewhat out of place.

Luo Jiuxiao handed Xu Yan a small animal skin bag, no bigger than half a palm, saying, "Brother, this is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it!"

Xu Yan waved his hands repeatedly: "Brother Luo's kindness is appreciated, but we agreed to split it 50/50, how could I take more than my share?"

That was no ordinary bag, but a "sleeve charm".

It's a small spatial artifact hidden in the sleeve. Although its capacity is only the size of a drawer, it's quite valuable to a low-level cultivator, and its value is probably even higher than the spirit pearl in the bag.

"Hey, you're mistaken!" Luo Jiuxiao grabbed Xu Yan's arm and slapped the animal skin bag into his hand. "It's just a small amount of money, what's the big deal? You'll have plenty of other expenses in the future!"

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment, then stuffed the leather bag into his sleeve: "In that case, it would be impolite of me to refuse!"

"That's right!" Luo Jiuxiao laughed heartily. "Brother Xu, don't worry, you won't be short even half a bead. You can come and collect it anytime!"

"Brother Luo, your kindness is truly admirable! I will remember it!" Xu Yan bowed respectfully. "It's getting late, I must take my leave now!"

"Brother Xu, may your journey be successful, may you soar to the heavens, and enter the realm of immortals!"

"Thank you, Brother Luo. Farewell!" Xu Yan turned and strode away.

Watching Xu Yan leave, Luo Jiuxiao was filled with emotion: Youth is truly wonderful!

Back in the day, he was one of the most outstanding talents in the surrounding area, proud and arrogant, considering himself extraordinary.

After finally entering the Immortal Pavilion, I realized that I wasn't even qualified to join the Immortal Sect. I also learned what it meant to be outmatched and to be in a world beyond our understanding.

Luo Jiuxiao was ashamed to face his hometown elders, so he could only stay in the Immortal Market, trying every means to accumulate money, and managed to find a second-rate cultivation technique and develop a little bit of cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years have passed.

In this vast Immortal City, there are countless residents like him, but only one in a hundred successfully joins a sect.

Young people still have the ambition to strive for success, but he has already given up and is acting as if he were already dead.

But last night's large sum of money reignited a hidden ambition in Luo Jiuxiao's heart.

Perhaps it's time to make some changes!

Xu Yan bid farewell to Luo Jiuxiao and headed towards Lingque Hall, having chosen the right direction.

The Lingque Palace is located in the center of the lower city and is the only official office in the entire Immortal City located on the ground floor.

The Lower District was a name Xu Yan chose himself; there was no such name for Xianfang, it was called Difang instead.

At first, there were only a few people on the road, but as they walked halfway, more and more people appeared around them. By the time they reached the vicinity of Lingque Palace, there was a constant stream of people, shoulder to shoulder.

At a glance, there must be at least ten thousand or eight thousand.

Xu Yan couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

Fortunately, the Lingque Palace was not a single main hall, but rather a long street with a main hall in the middle and secondary halls on both sides, gradually extending to both sides.

Although it was crowded with tens of thousands of people scattered on the street, it was not so crowded that it was impossible to move an inch.

Many of the attendees were quite old, with a significant number having white hair. They were clearly not prepared to join the immortal sect, but rather were accompanying relatives and teachers, while others were simply there to watch the spectacle.

Are they treating Lingque Hall as a tourist attraction?

Thank goodness there's no entrance fee!

Xu Yan didn't rush into the hall. Instead, he walked along the street, listened to some casual conversation, and made a special inquiry. He then learned that the main hall in the middle was not easily opened. The side halls on the left and right were used for testing one's aptitude, another's comprehension, and yet another's intellect. They were even marked with a specific order, which seemed very professional.

Aside from Wuji Mountain, the host, there are several other sects that are on good terms with Yuanji Mountain. Each of them has made their presence known, offering generous terms and openly recruiting disciples to the entire community.

They recruit both disciples and cultivators.

It had a bit of a job fair vibe from another world, which made Xu Yan feel a sense of familiarity.

But are cultivation sects really this strict about accepting disciples?

At this moment, some people could no longer contain themselves and took the lead towards the Lingque Hall... On the left side of the side hall, the disciple on duty led him to the white jade pillar standing in front of the hall and gestured for the seeker to place his hand on the pillar.

The man did as instructed, and after a short while, the base of the jade pillar slowly turned dark blue, then gradually rose and turned sky blue.

After waiting a while longer, the jade pillar showed no further change.

The disciple on duty shook his head and said something.

The man was struck dumb, and came out dejectedly, slinking into the crowd and disappearing from sight.

Among the onlookers, some empathized, some were dismissive, and some gloated.

Xu Yan then realized that the vast majority of people were just here to have fun, or to watch other people's failures and find balance in their own setbacks. The number of people who actually came to become his disciples was probably less than one percent.

Several other people then tried, and all got the same result.

It wasn't until a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy that the jade pillar revealed a rich green radiance on top of its blue color.

The disciple on duty finally nodded: "Not bad, you can be a menial disciple, are you willing?"

The boy was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I'm willing, I'm willing!"

The family and friends outside the venue suddenly erupted in enthusiastic cheers, some even weeping with joy.

The boy successfully inspired others to try, and one by one they failed.

Those who had given up on seeking immortality all left on the spot; others, unwilling to accept defeat, went to other side halls to test their comprehension and intelligence.

But if you can't overcome the hurdle of innate talent, no matter how good your comprehension and mental strength are, it's useless.

Xu Yan counted, and out of the seventy or eighty people, only that boy successfully entered the immortal sect, and he was just a menial disciple who had only taken one step in.

In contrast, recruitment by other forces was incredibly popular, especially by a group called Su Xian Sect, which openly advertised for recruiting furnace cauldrons, offering extremely generous benefits such as spirit pearls, cultivation techniques, and elixirs. However, the requirements were also high, with Qi Refining Stage 7 being the minimum requirement.

Xu Yan didn't know what level the seventh level of Qi Refining was, but from the cultivators he had met, most of them were at the second or third level of Qi Refining, so even if the seventh level wasn't extraordinary, it was still one in a hundred.

With such high cultivation level, there are so many good things to do, why would anyone want to be a furnace or cauldron?

The result was far beyond expectations. Before long, a large group of beautiful girls gathered, allowing the male cultivators of the Suxian Sect to pick and choose and touch them all over.

Those who were selected were overjoyed, while those who were not selected were devastated.

Xu Yan was filled with grief and indignation: Shameless, depraved, lawless... all of you get out of my way and let me have a turn!

It's not surprising, really. You don't have to brave the wind or the rain. All you have to do is lie down and cooperate. You can exchange a little bit of cultivation for plenty of cultivation resources... Holy crap!

Xu Yan felt an inexplicable urge to sacrifice himself to feed the tiger, and he really wanted to rush up and ask the female cultivators of the Su Xian Sect if they were looking for a furnace cauldron.