: A Mixed Bag

The Chaotic Star Sea is rich in monster resources, with abundant spiritual essences of heaven and earth, and its waters are boundless.

Using a special secret method to refine "water pills" to aid cultivation, the speed of progress should be able to surpass that of Han Li, who has a pseudo-spiritual root due to drug use.

After all, Lu Jianghe's cultivation aptitude was not bad, although it could not compare with some prodigies.

But a great sword immortal who attained the Immortal Realm in just five hundred years is no ordinary person.

After being disciplined by Lu Jianghe, the boy in blue became completely obedient, curling up in the corner with his head drooping, not daring to utter a sound.

Several more hours passed.

It wasn't until the sunset painted the sky like brocade, dyeing the rolling mountains red, that the carriage finally arrived at the location of the Seven Mysteries Gate.

At this time, seven or eight carriages were already parked on the open ground at the foot of the mountain, obviously having arrived one after another.

A group of teenagers got off the bus, and many of them were immediately drawn to the beautiful sunset.

Lu Jianghe glanced at the sky casually before looking away.

There's definitely not enough time to conduct the entry-level assessment today.

Sure enough, a middle-aged man surnamed Wang soon appeared and directed them to a nearby low peak, where there was a cluster of simple mud-brick houses.

"You'll stay here tonight and settle in. The entrance exam will be tomorrow morning!"

After he finished speaking, he prepared dinner for everyone.

Dozens of hungry boys gathered outside the kitchen, each receiving a bowl of thin porridge and two coarse cornbreads.

For Han Li, Zhang Tie, and Li Feiyu, who had been starving for several days, this was a rare treat.

The blue-clad youth seemed familiar to Protector Wang, who called out "Wu Yan."

It turns out this guy is taking the Seven Mysteries Sect's assessment for the third time.

After licking the bowl clean, Zhang Tie looked around and asked, "Where's Brother Lu?"

Ever since Lu Jianghe subdued Wu Yan with one hand, he voluntarily acknowledged him as his brother.

Li Feiyu and Han Li looked around, but couldn't see each other among the diners.

The three searched and finally found Lu Jianghe in an earthen house.

The interior was extremely simple, with only some dry grass and tattered mats laid out.

He was sitting cross-legged to one side, resting with his eyes closed.

As soon as Zhang Tie walked in, he said in a simple and honest voice, "Brother Lu, why didn't you go to eat? The cornbread smelled so good, I secretly saved one for you!"

As he spoke, he took it out of his pocket and handed it over.

Lu Jianghe slowly opened his eyes. "You eat, I'm not hungry."

Zhang Tie was honest, so he asked the two people next to him if they wanted to eat, but they both shook their heads.

He stuffed it directly into his mouth, swallowed it in a few bites, and then smacked his lips, still wanting more.

We can barely be considered half full now.

Li Feiyu rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "Look at your pathetic self!"

Zhang Tie chuckled and said, "Hehe, it's better than starving."

Seeing that Lu Jianghe had no intention of continuing the conversation, the three of them remained silent.

After several days of bumpy travel, and with tomorrow's crucial entrance exam set to determine my fate, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.

Each of them found a relatively comfortable spot on a tattered straw mat in a corner, and almost as soon as their heads touched the ground, they all fell into a deep sleep.

The snoring soon began, rising and falling in waves.

Only Han Li, before closing his eyes, couldn't help but glance at Lu Jianghe again.

He was still sitting cross-legged, his back straight, his eyes slightly closed, and his breathing long and deep.

Han Li had never seen this posture before.

It didn't feel like sleeping, nor did it feel like simply resting.

It looks more like... those clay statues of gods in a temple meditating?

An unknown amount of time passed.

Lu Jianghe slowly opened his eyes.

As it turned out, his worst fears were confirmed.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the human realm is so scarce that it cannot be described as lacking; it can be described as barren.

Even worse, the quality of spiritual energy itself is extremely chaotic.

It is important to know that the essence of cultivation for cultivators is to absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth to temper their bodies.

If I really want to give an example...

Cultivating at the Great Wall of Sword Qi is like immersing yourself in a water tank; there's even a risk of spiritual energy flowing back into your body and causing you to "drown."

In the human world, it's like a light drizzle on a cloudy day, barely enough to wet your clothes.

No wonder Han Li, after embarking on the path of cultivation, would leave everything in his wake as if scraping the grass.

All the conflicts in the human realm ultimately stem from the struggle for cultivation resources.

Lu Jianghe had anticipated this, but the reality was clearly much worse.

Just now, he focused his mind on examining his own inner world, and his cultivation level was just below the Golden Core Realm, falling to the Dragon Gate Realm.

Not only did the objects within reach vanish without a trace, but even the defensive robe "Morning Dew," which had taken nearly three hundred years of painstaking effort to refine into a Celestial Weapon, had now fallen to the rank of a Half-Celestial Weapon.

He's heartbroken!

Because of the special nature of his natal flying sword, it cannot be refined using ordinary materials.

So, most of the resources used to kill demons for money were fed to "Morning Dew".

Based on these various signs, we can infer...

Lu Jianghe was almost certain that he had fallen into the reverse flow of the river of time.

This resulted in the fact that both external magical treasures and internal cultivation levels seemed to have been forcibly erased, as if hundreds of years of accumulated experience had been forcibly erased.

As for why the memory was preserved unchanged.

Lu Jianghe guessed that he might be at a critical point.

Perhaps if we linger even a little longer, we'll just waste our time.

Lu Jianghe slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, which formed a thin white line in the air and disappeared in an instant.

Besides that, there is one more important matter.

My natal flying sword is still intact.

Sword Qi Great Wall cultivators typically begin nurturing their natal flying sword at the Cave Abode Realm.

At this level, the body's acupoints open to absorb Qi. Male cultivators need to open nine acupoints, while female cultivators need to open fifteen. These acupoints may give birth to one's natal flying sword.

If his cultivation level were to drop further, Lu Jianghe truly didn't know if this world could nurture a natal flying sword that shared the same origin as the Great Dao.

If not...

Upon realizing this, a chilling glint flashed in Lu Jianghe's eyes.

They had no choice but to resort to any means necessary to seize the small green bottle from Han Li.

Waiting for confirmation.

I won't stay at the Seven Mysteries Sect for long.

He wanted to see what the cultivation system of this world was like.

Is someone at the Dragon Gate Realm comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Or can it still rival... a Core Formation stage cultivator?

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

The group of teenagers were then awakened and began to participate in the entrance examination.

Lu Jianghe's performance far exceeded that of ordinary people, and he was the first to pass the assessment.

Li Feiyu suffered chest pain while climbing a cliff due to yesterday's competition and was ultimately eliminated.

Han Li and Zhang Tie climbed up with their tenacious will, but by the time they reached the finish line, the sun was already setting and it was past noon.

He was taken in by Mo Juren as a herb-gathering boy and a medicine-refining boy.

Originally, because Lu Jianghe's origins were unclear, several elders strongly opposed accepting him into their ranks.

However, witnessing his amazing performance in the assessment, Headmaster Wang overruled all objections and insisted on accepting him as a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

Facing criticism.

He silenced the public with just one sentence.

"If this person is truly a spy, displaying such extraordinary talent, the Wild Wolf Gang must be out of their mind to send him here!"

This sentence hits the nail on the head.

Therefore, even if Lu Jianghe's identity is questionable, he can still join the Seven Mysteries Sect.