txolops Chapter 107 The Leader of the Joyous Union Sect
Chapter 107 The Leader of the Joyous Union Sect
Tiannan Continent, Hehuan Sect
The Hehuan Sect's mountain gate stands majestically, shrouded in spiritual mist. Today is the day the sect opens its gates wide to welcome new members.
Several streaks of light descended from the sky, transforming into several outer sect stewards, each leading a dozen or so rogue cultivators with different expressions as they landed on the Welcoming Immortals Square.
These cultivators were mostly dressed in rags or covered in dust, but their eyes were full of awe and longing for the great immortal sects.
"Old Zhao, the seedlings you brought back this time aren't up to par," a deacon in a purple robe dusted off his robe, glanced at the disciples behind his companion, and complained in a low voice, "In previous years, we selected handsome men and beautiful women with single or double spiritual roots. This year, however, a decree has been issued from above, insisting on recruiting those with mixed spiritual roots of all five elements. Isn't that strange? Our Hehuan Sect has always valued the harmony of Yin and Yang and exceptional talent. What's the point of taking back a bunch of useless people with five spiritual roots?"
"Shh! Watch your words!" The deacon, referred to as Old Zhao, straightened up, glanced around, and then whispered, "Haven't you heard? This time, it was that 'little ancestor' who personally requested it. Who cares what kind of spiritual root she's looking for? As long as she's here, we'll comply. But this request... it's truly perplexing. Is she trying to find gold in the sand?"
As the two were whispering to each other, a clear laugh suddenly came from the center of the square.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful young girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old sitting undignifiedly on the white marble steps, playing with a jade butterfly in her hand. A yellow spirit pet was lying at her feet.
Two beautiful maids stood respectfully behind her, like stars surrounding the moon.
"Are these the new recruits we've taken in this year? Is everyone here?" Han Baibai's eyes sparkled as she scanned the dozens of rogue cultivators, her face full of anticipation.
The novice cultivators looked at each other, their hearts filled with doubt.
Someone couldn't help but mutter under their breath, "Who is this? How dare they sit like this in the sect leader's office?"
"She looks even younger than us, could she be the granddaughter of some elder?"
"I don't know, but judging from the cultivation levels of those two maids, this girl's identity is definitely not simple..."
The purple-robed steward clearly knew the girl's identity, and quickly stepped forward, bowing respectfully, his tone almost obsequious: "Greetings, Miss Han. These are the first batch of disciples to arrive; there are several more batches that have traveled further, and they should all be back by evening."
"Alright!" Han Baibai stood up, patted her skirt, cleared her throat, and shouted to the group of rogue cultivators, "Listen up! Those with single-attribute spiritual roots, five-attribute spiritual roots, and those with special physiques, all of you step forward!"
These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.
"Five spiritual roots? Aren't those the slowest, useless spiritual roots for cultivation?"
"A special physique? How would we, as independent cultivators, know what kind of physique we have?"
"What's this girl up to? Picking up good-for-nothings instead of geniuses?"
A cacophony of voices rose and fell, threatening to descend into chaos. The purple-robed steward's expression changed, and he shouted sternly, "Silence! How dare you make such a ruckus in this important sect grounds!"
Once the crowd quieted down, he turned to Han Baibai and earnestly advised, "Miss, according to the rules, newcomers must first be taken to the sect leader for registration and verification. If you find it boring, why not go back to your cave and have some fun? Tomorrow I will compile all the disciples who meet your requirements and send them to your residence, how about that?"
Han Baibai had been waiting for months, how could she possibly agree?
She pouted and put her hands on her hips, saying, "No way! I want to choose myself! Are there any suitable people among the ones you brought? If not, let them go and do what they need to do. Don't delay me from finding an apprentice!"
The purple-robed steward sighed helplessly, exchanged a glance with Old Zhao beside him, and could only reply in a low voice, "There is only one cultivator with five spiritual roots in this batch. As for those with special physiques... we will only know after the sect leader uses the spirit-testing stone to find out."
"Alright, call them out. They'll follow me for now." Han Baibai nodded in satisfaction, his gaze fixed intently on the crowd, as if he could already see his future beloved disciple.
The steward turned and pointed to the back of the crowd: "Tu You, step forward! From now on, you will follow Miss Han."
From the back of the crowd, a small, thin figure timidly squeezed out.
She was a girl of seven or eight years old, dressed in a faded coarse cloth dress, with dry, yellow hair. She kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone, like a frightened little quail.
Han Baibai looked her up and down, frowned slightly, and then waved his hand, saying, "She's too dirty. Take her to wash up first, change her into some decent clothes, and then bring her over."
A maid immediately stepped forward and pulled the girl named Tu You away from the square.
An hour later, the maid led a little girl who looked brand new back to the square.
The girl changed into a delicate pink and white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her clean face was fair and lovely, but she was still very reserved.
She knelt down with a thud, about to kowtow and become his disciple, but Han Baibai stopped her with a gesture.
"Let's wait until everyone's here." Han Baibai waved his hand, his gaze still fixed on the direction of the mountain gate.
Not long after, another streak of light descended, and the second batch of disciples arrived.
Han Baibai enthusiastically went forward and "scourd" around, and sure enough, he found two more rogue cultivators with five spiritual roots. He happily made them stand behind him.
As the sun rises and sets, the evening glow paints the mountain gate of the Hehuan Sect in a golden-red hue.
As the last group of disciples returned under the cover of night, Han Baibai finally reaped his "greatest reward" of the day.
She pulled a cold-faced young man from the crowd and turned to the deacon to confirm, "This guy named Xiao Lang, does he have an earth-attribute heavenly spiritual root?"
"Yes, Miss." The steward nodded hurriedly. "This young man comes from the Xiao family, a family of cultivators. There are Foundation Establishment cultivators in the family serving in the sect. His talent is beyond question."
Han Baibai clapped his hands in satisfaction, looking at the row of "oddballs" and one "heavenly spirit root" standing behind him, a smug smile playing on his lips: "Not bad, not bad, today's wait wasn't in vain!"
Just as Han Baibai was about to reach out and take the young man with the earth-attribute heavenly spiritual root under his command, a sharp gust of wind suddenly rose in mid-air.
"Wait a minute!"
With a deep shout, a streak of light crashed down onto the plaza like a meteor, kicking up a visible cloud of dust.
The light faded, revealing an old man with a sinister face, dressed in a sallow-yellow robe.
He strode forward, pulling the boy named Xiao Lang behind him protectively. His gaze fixed on Han Baibai, he said in a deep voice, "Please forgive me, Miss, but this child is a long-time friend of the Xiao family. I have already designated him as my last disciple. Today, no matter what, I will take him away!"
Having said that, the old man gave no one a chance to react, grabbed the boy's wrist, and tried to forcibly leave.
He had it all figured out: although this girl was of noble birth, she was ultimately just a playful junior. It was certainly inappropriate to offend her for the sake of a disciple, but he could make amends with generous gifts afterward. He was determined to get this exceptional talent today!
However, as soon as he took half a step, a suffocating pressure descended upon him like Mount Tai pressing down.
"Why don't you give it a try?"
Han Baibai not only did not back down, but instead laughed in anger.
With a flick of her wrist, a sharp whooshing sound echoed through the air as a jet-black iron whip, like a serpent emerging from its hole, landed precisely in her palm.
With a slight flick of her wrist, the iron whip lashed the bluestone slab with a crisp "snap," instantly creating a spiderweb-like crack and sending fragments of stone flying.
"Since we both intend to take on disciples, let's follow the rules of our Joyful Union Sect!" Han Baibai raised her head slightly, her eyes revealing undisguised sharpness and arrogance. "Let's have a fight, and whoever wins gets to keep the person!"
"you--!"
The elderly man surnamed Jiao suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He was a dignified Core Formation stage cultivator, and this ignorant little girl actually dared to fight him and steal his disciple?!
He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and coldly rebuked, "Although I am old, I am still a Core Formation cultivator! Miss Han, are you really going to publicly break ties with me just for the sake of taking on a disciple for fun?"
"Stop talking nonsense! Are you going to fight or not?!"
Before he finished speaking, Han Baibai's spiritual energy was already circulating without reservation.
In an instant, blinding lightning bolts streaked wildly along the black iron whip, crackling and popping sounds echoing across the square. Violent arcs of electricity crisscrossed in the air, casting flickering light and shadow on her delicate face.
At the same time, a powerful aura belonging to a high-level cultivator suddenly erupted from her body, rising steadily and even compressing the surrounding air, causing it to hum!
Feeling this real and terrifying pressure, the old man surnamed Jiao's pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes filled with horror.
His lips trembled uncontrollably, his voice dry and hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed: "Creating... Core Formation stage? How could you possibly have already reached Core Formation? How old are you!"
He couldn't help but swallow hard, his consciousness involuntarily reaching out to repeatedly confirm.
That's right. Although his aura was still fluctuating slightly, indicating that he had just broken through not long ago, this was indeed the spiritual energy fluctuation that only occurs at the Core Formation stage!
Absolutely no exaggeration!
The tense atmosphere from before vanished instantly in the face of such absolute power.
The old man surnamed Jiao's expression changed several times before finally settling into a long sigh.
"Sigh... I'm getting old, really old! I just can't understand young people these days."
He loosened his grip on the boy's hand, turned and walked away, his back view showing a hint of loneliness.
He originally thought she was just a spoiled young lady in the Foundation Establishment stage. Who would have thought that this seemingly innocent and carefree girl had already stepped onto the path of Core Formation!
Thinking of the unfathomable arrangements made by the high-ranking elder, Master Yunlu, in recent years, the old man felt a surge of shock and thought to himself: the future leader of the Hehuan Sect is probably none other than this little girl named Han Baibai!