This Venerable One Really Didn’t Abandon My Familiar

 03 – If You Want To Stay, Go to the Outside Door and Sweep the Floor

It is true that Feng Ci never kept a spiritual familiar.

The technique of spiritualism is to make a blood contract with a spirit familiar and then use the power of the soul to enforce its will.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know it, but that he couldn’t practice it.

For a thousand years he had yet to find a spiritual familiar that could withstand the pressure of his divine soul.

This was a sad thing for Feng Ci’s heart.

Although he had never had a spiritual familiar, he was reminded that he had actually had a small snake in the past.

That was three thousand years ago, shortly after he had pacified the world.
At that time, the world of cultivation was full of holes, and bigwigs who could make decisions were either dead or badly injured.

After a few days of this kind of life, Feng could not go on, so he left the chaos behind and fled to earth.

At the foot of a snowy mountain, he picked up the small black snake.

It had been born not so long ago, thin, and small, black, but with beautiful golden eyes.
It was frozen to the bone, but when it saw Feng Ci approaching, it even stretched up its tail and hooked itself into the hem of his coat.

With a thought, he gave the little snake a drop of blood and saved its life.

From then on, he was haunted.

He didn’t think a little snake could bother him for long, so he let it go.
But who knew it would haunt him for six months, until he found a mountain of spiritual mist suitable for the storage of his body, until he was ready to leave his soul and leave this world.

Before he left, he placed the small black snake in the Spiritual Mist Mountain along with his magical weapon.

The mountain was protected by its magical formations and there were no worries about food or water in the mountain, so he thought it would be enough for the little black snake to be free and live its life without worries.

After so many years, he thought that the little black snake had already died, but he never expected it to take human form.

How can I put it? It’s like having been away for many years and suddenly coming back to find that the little one has grown up and become a man.

Somehow relieved.

“…… And why exactly do you suddenly want to stay again?”

Asking this question, Meng Changqing and Feng Ci followed the disciple from Langfeng City who was leading the way up the mountain path to the main peak.

It was cold and windy on the mountain, but the path was extremely narrow, and a thick layer of snow had accumulated, lifted by the hem of their clothes and rolling down into the bottomless valley.

Feng Ci was up far too early today and so sleepy he couldn’t even open his eyes, but Meng Changqing looked like he was full of energy, “Didn’t you want to get out of here earlier?”

Feng Ci looked at him and said vaguely, “I changed my mind, didn’t I?”

This was no lie.

After so many years of absence from this world, Feng Ci was surprised to learn that there was still a Little Black Snake who could hardly be called an old friend, so he could not help but meet his old friend to comfort him.

Besides, his Little Black Snake had attained the Dao in the Spiritual Mist Mountain and was now the head of the Immortal Alliance.
In public, he had clues about the current situation in the world of cultivation, and the destruction of the Immortal Sect, so it was worth Feng Ci’s while to look around.
In private, the whereabouts of Feng Rui’s flesh are still unknown, and his flesh was guarded by the Little Black Snake.

He should stay and meet with Pei Qianyue no matter what he thinks.

As for the offense that night ……

It was just a child who was wary, nothing bad, nothing bad, perfectly understandable.

“After crossing this tendril bridge, the main summit lies ahead.” The student leading the way stopped at the vine bridge.

This disciple was in his early twenties, still very young, and his hands and feet were as soft as jade, with an unmistakable radiance: “The city of Langfeng is in the Kunlun Mountains, and within a hundred miles it is not allowed to take to the air.
Even if the elders of the Immortal Alliance or the heads of the six sects come in person, they can only go up the mountain on foot or take a flying boat.”

“But don’t worry, since you are both interested in entering Langfeng City, you will receive a passage token once you have officially entered the city.”

“With the passage token in hand, you can enter the front mountain through the passage spell formation at the bottom of the mountain, and also …… Saves you a lot of trouble.”

As he said this, the disciple paused for a moment.

Feng Ci did not concern him, and he was about to move on when suddenly a whistling wind was heard from ahead.

The snow on the vine-bridge was whirled up by the fierce wind, which quickly condensed into a small tornado in the air, enveloped in sharp air and coming at them head-on.

Feng Ci grabbed Meng Changqing by the collar and dragged him behind him.

The wind and snow came straight at their faces.
But the disciple leading the way pressed a sword trick into his sleeve, and raised his hand, shattering the wind and snow with a wave.

Only when the snow fell on them did the other student turn and calmly explain, “There are some prohibitions on the trail, a test for outsiders, and some kind of shelter for the division.”

It was only when they entered the front mountain of Langfeng City that Feng came to terms with the fact that the “forbidden system” mentioned by the man was already a very subtle statement.
It was only a half-hour walk from the outer courtyard, where they lived to the square on the front mountain, but he couldn’t remember how many times they had encountered traps.

After all, this was the world’s first immortal sect, but there were dangers everywhere, and traps at every turn.

Those who didn’t know thought they were defending themselves from someone.

****

The square at the front of the mountain was already crowded by this time.

Feng Ci had heard Meng Changqing talk about the rules for selecting the Immortal Alliance.

The Immortal Alliance was formed by the six oldest sects in the current cultivation world, and so far the Alliance already had twenty-eight Immortal Sects.
However, selection for the Immortal Alliance was only made for the ancient six sects.

At a time when one can pay to enter an Immortal school and learn the Way, the rules of the Alliance are among the strictest in the entire world of cultivation.

The selection process usually takes place in Langfeng City, with one elder from each of the six ancient sects participating.

The elders from each of the six sects were given a level based on their sect’s proficiency in the arts, and only when they had successfully passed the six levels were they considered to have passed the main examination.

When Feng Ci and Meng Changqing were brought back to Langfeng City, the six sects were already halfway through the examination.

The reason given by Langfeng City was that they had broken through the Spiritual Mist Mountain labyrinth and come back unscathed, so the city lord had exceptionally allowed them to skip the first test and enter the second level directly.

This second level test is now taking place.

Feng Ci raised his eyes and looked ahead.

On the square at the front mountain was a high platform of white jade where the disciples were being tested for their roots and bones.
In front of the white jade platform, at the top of the long steps, were the positions of the six sect elders.

But now there were only five of them sitting.

Feng Ci frowned, “Isn’t Pei Qianyue coming?”

“Shh, why are you calling the Lord of the City by his name again?” Meng Changqing lowered his voice and admonished him before saying, “I’ve heard that the city lord never attends these events, even if you go in, it’s hard to tell if you can see him or not.”

After he finished, he wondered, “Another elder should have been sent to the venue.
Why has he not come yet?

As he spoke, two disciples from Langfeng City came on stage carrying a half-human-height instrument onto the stage

Meng Changqing exclaimed, “This is the ninth generation of the latest root and bone tester from Wan Fa Pavilion, isn’t it?”

Feng Ci, “Wan Fa Pavilion?”

Meng Changqing was already surprised by Feng Qu’s ignorance and explained, “Wan Fa Pavilion is one of the six ancient sects that specialises in the art of back armour.
It was their masterpiece.”

Feng Ci had seen something similar in other worlds.
This kind of thing, machine-made and powered by a new kind of energy, could allow mortals to rise into the sky and move a thousand miles instantly.

It was much more comfortable than flying with a sword.

After three thousand years of absence, technology had developed so far in this world.

Meng Changqing said, “Unfortunately, the items from the Manifestation Pavilion are too expensive and costs an unknown amount of high-grade spirit stones to use once, so ordinary people cannot afford to use them.
In our sect, there is a second generation examiner that the patriarch bought second hand from an immortal sect and it cost the whole sect a large amount of their savings.”

Feng Ci asked, “So this thing can really detect the root bone?”

Meng Changqing: “Of course.”

“If someone deliberately hides their strength, can they detect it?”

“Hide it? Why would you hide it?” Meng Changqing was puzzled and added, “I heard that in the last selection for the Immortal League, someone took a drug to strengthen his root bones for a short time and cheated on the test.
So yes, the tester from the fifth generation onwards has deliberately put in a lie detector function, so whether it’s deliberately strengthened or hidden, it shouldn’t be able to be hidden.”

“You may be able to deceive people, but certainly not the instrument,” said the master of the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Dharma, Yuchi Chu.”

Feng Ci gave an “Oh” and nodded in agreement, “Very interesting.”

****

Above the root bone tester was a hemispherical device where spiritual energy was injected to test the root bone potential.

Once the root bone reached the required standard, the elders would decide whether to accept the disciple.

On the white jade platform, the disciple conducting the test briefly explained the rules and then began to call out the names.
The elders in charge of the Langfeng City examination had still not appeared when the number of examiners had passed the halfway mark.

”Langfeng City isn’t really accepting any new students this time, is it?

“What am I supposed to do.
I’m only here for Langfeng City!”

“Ancestor Qianqiu bless me, don’t let yourself be chosen to go to the valley of witch doctors.
I don’t want to go to the southern border to feed the worms.”

“Ancestor Qianqiu is above, not Zizhuwu, not Zizhuwu ……”

Feng Ci listened to the whispered prayers around him, and his heart felt only a sense of disconnectedness.

Your ancestor Qianqiu himself is standing beside you.
He himself does not even know where to be divided.

A few moments later ……

“Next, Lu Jingming!”

Feng Ci paid almost no reaction, but it was only when Meng Changqing gave him a shove that he remembered that this was the name of his current body.

When this name was announced, another heated exchange ensued on stage.

The six-goal examination, with its six hurdles, had always been the way to weed out most new students, and the hardships and dangers involved could be imagined.
But for Lu Jingming and Meng Changqing, City Master had made an exception and allowed the two to pass through the six gates without announcing the reason, so naturally some people were not convinced.

But they dared not question the city master’s decision, so they could only vent their displeasure on him.

In the middle of this questioning, Feng Ci entered the stage.

The deacon’s disciples greeted him.

He had long been curious about what kind of person this Lu Jingming was.
But when he saw him today, he was a little disappointed.

His appearance wasn’t bad, but no matter how he …… looked at him, he was just a normal teenager.

When he came on stage, he even yawned.

This laziness, just what could the city lord see in him?

“…… Senior Brother Lu, please.”

The deacon disciple dodged to the side, and Feng Ci was about to take a step forward when he suddenly heard a loud shout.

“The City Master is here!”

The chatter around him died down, and Pei Qianyue slowly approached from the crowd.

Pei Qianyue had never come accompanied by anyone, just like that night on Spiritual Mist Mountain.
He had come alone, with a cold and overwhelming aura that made people subconsciously avoid him.

When Feng Ci’s ci fell on this figure.
He seemed to sense the gaze and slightly raised his head.

Pei Qianyue was indeed very beautiful, and his features looked deeper and clearer in the morning sunlight.
It was said that the elves and monsters of the world could best charm people with their beauty.
but Feng Chieh had seen countless of them over the years, but few were as good as the one standing before him.

Even the cold aura surrounding him added to that beauty.

Pei Qian Yue walked closer and then turned to climb the stone steps.

His eyes were still covered with black silk, and he wore a robe of basalt with golden ornaments, the hem of which swung over the stone steps as he walked.

He walked slowly but steadily.

It was as if the blockage in his eyes did not affect his vision.

The conversations on stage continued, everyone discussing why the Lord of the City had come in person and whether there was a student he liked on stage.

Feng Ci was thinking of something else.

-What happened to his eyes?

His little black snake naturally had a pair of beautiful eyes.

“Senior Brother Lu, Senior Brother Lu?” The deacon disciple beside him called out to him, “It’s time to begin.”

Pei Qianyue had already taken his seat on the high platform, and only then did Feng come to his senses.

He walked over to the instrument.

After Meng Changqing’s introduction, Feng Ci was now very interested in the instrument, looking left and right, pointing to the red mark on the dashboard and asking, “Is it true that you can enter the Immortal League when you reach that red line?”

The deacon disciple was so drained of his loafing that he had little patience and said, “That’s right, you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Feng Ci gently placed his hand on the instrument.

Spiritual energy poured in.

The needle on the panel shook and began to swing wildly back and forth.

The deacon disciple’s facial expression changed instantly.

Looking up at Feng Ci, he noticed that the young man, who was still lazy, now looked more serious than ever.

After a long time, the needle finally came to a slow stop.

It was right in the middle of the red mark.

Feng Ci let go of his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t as hard as he thought.

What was the point of bragging?

“This …… You ……”

People are born with a root potential, the auditor merely converts that potential into an intuitive value, what it ought to be is what it ought to be, there is no point in wavering from one side to the other.

This situation was unusual, and the deacon disciple did not know what to do.

“He’s cheating!”

Suddenly a voice rang out from the stage, raising a thousand ripples with a stone.

“I’ve never seen an examiner behave like that before.
He must have manipulated something!”

“Right, I just thought it was wrong for him to look so long!”

“He must have cheated!”

……

There was much discussion on stage, but Feng Ci didn’t care and met the deacon students’ gazes with an innocent hand, “I didn’t cheat, didn’t you say that this device has a lie detector function?”

“That’s ……”

The deacon disciple was about to say something, but couldn’t make up his mind when someone tapped him on the shoulder, “Let me see.”

The visitor was a small old man, not much different in stature from the youthful figure of Feng Ci, with white thinning hair tied, tangled at the back of his head.
But the right hand he extended from his sleeve was clearly made of wood.

The man’s face was covered with half-glazed glasses, and behind the thick glass was a bright eye.

-which was also obviously a fake.

The deacon’s pupil bowed to him: “Yes, master of the pavilion”.

Oh, so that was the tester.

The disciple pulled Feng Ci back, and only then did Feng Ci notice that there was also a pair of wooden fake legs under the hem of the man’s clothes.

But walking steadily, and with a breeze in his step, he could not tell the slightest difference.

Yuchi Chu circled the tester twice, tapping the east side and touching the west side, and couldn’t stop muttering, “Huh, it doesn’t work badly ……”

“Court Master Yuchi, what, this wooden lump of yours just broke after being used once?” At the seat of the elders of the sixth sect, someone teased him.

Yuchi Chu shouted, “Shut up! It’s not broken, it’s ……”

The testing device was completely intact.
There was no fault, but the anomalies just now were not fake, unless …… Someone had tampered with his device.

Yuchi Chu raised his head and his gaze fell on Feng Ci.

But there was no evidence.

The fact is that the testing device was not defective and no fraud was found, proving that Feng Ci’s results were correct and valid.

Yuchi Chu took a big step forward, and grabbed Feng Ci’s arm, “You, come back to Wan Fa Pavilion with me.”

Feng Ci: “……”

Not only was he confused, but there was a commotion on stage.

Didn’t I cheat? Why are they suddenly accepting disciples again?

This is the very Wanfa Pavilion that failed to accept suitable new disciples during several Immortal League selections and even prescribed the sect’s elders to diligently practice the Longevity Technique because of the lack of successors!

When Feng Ci didn’t reply for a long time, Yuchi Chu frowned, “What, Do you already have an immortal sect to go to? Where else in the entire cultivation world can you compare to the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Dharmas?”

His words were arrogant, but not without reason.

Regarding cultivation abilities, the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Dharmas may not have been the best.
But it had the most advanced technology in the current cultivation world.
That alone was enough to make the Manifestation Pavilion soar in the cultivation world.

However, Feng Ci looked forward and saw the figure in the basalt-colored robe reflected in his eyes, “I wish to enter Langfeng City.”

At the top of the high platform, Pei Qianyue sat in his seat, his expression cold, and calm, “Why?”

Feng Ci opened his mouth, “I have admired the City Master for many years, and all I want to do in life is to accompany the City Master, so I hope the City Master will give me permission.”

“Can admiration ever become a meal?” He said, “What’s so great about Langfeng City? All they do is teach their students how to practise with swords.
Come to our Wan Fa Pavilion, I will teach you the machine arts, teach you to build back armour, fly in the sky and sea, isn’t that better than your imperial swordsmanship?”

“Besides, your bones are barely usable.
He doesn’t even want you, so why would you make a fool of yourself?”

Pei Qianyue said softly, “Fine.”

The words stuck in his throat as he opened his mouth.

Feng Ci was also a little surprised.

With Feng Ci’s skills, it was not difficult for him to meet with Pei Qianyue.
He had only come to participate in the Immortal League selection because he wanted to find a more logical reason to annoy those juniors.

Even if he didn’t end up staying, it wouldn’t hurt.

I didn’t expect Pei Qianyue to be such a good talker.

They say that the head of the Immortal Alliance is very aloof, but it seems that this is not the case now.

He is so good that he was raised for nothing.

While Feng Ci was thinking this, he heard Pei Qianyue indifferently finish the rest of his sentence, “The outer sect is still lacking a servant, your bones are mediocre, so if you want to stay, you can go to the outer sect and sweep the floor.”

Feng Ci: “What?”

…… Sweep the floor.