Faced with these three stereotypical dharma artifacts, Chen Xu flatly refused. He couldn't use them anyway, and carrying them would only ruin his image. What era was this? The current trend was the path of the low-key cultivator. Wearing ordinary Daoist robes and catching people off guard was the true way to go.
Seeing Chen Xu refuse, Wu Xiqiu didn't want to force the issue. After all, this was a matter for the cultivation faction, and for Chen Xu, this year's top talent, to be willing to help was already a great favor.
After changing into the Daoist robes in the adjacent lounge, Chen Xu looked at himself in the mirror.
"Something feels off. What's missing?" Looking at his reflection, he felt as if a certain element was absent.
"Got it!" Chen Xu snapped his fingers and cast a lifestyle magic spell—Hair Growth. Looking at his thick, jet-black long hair, Chen Xu nodded. "Yes, this is more like it."
Returning to the operations room, he bowed to the still-seated Wu Xiqiu. "Senior Wu, Chen Xu, the current Successor of the Bone Path, pays his respects."
...
Immortal Island world, Peach Blossom Island.
Chen Xu followed Wu Xiqiu to this location, where Daxia maintained an outpost.
In this world, most islands belonged to specific sects, while a small portion of islands not included in sect territories were ruled by dynasties and nations.
In the past, Senior Ye Bufan had also visited the Immortal Island world. During his travels, he happened to become acquainted with the current lord of Peach Blossom Island. It was because of this connection that Daxia was able to secure a small area within this sect's territory.
While it was called a small area, it was actually about the size of a city in Daxia.
"I didn't realize the islands here were so large," Chen Xu marveled as he flew through the air, looking down at the land that stretched beyond the horizon.
"The name Immortal Island comes from the sheer number of islands and the teachings of the Daoist Tianxin. However, the actual surface area of these islands is quite substantial," Wu Xiqiu explained from the side.
Chen Xu was assigned a small wooden hut by Wu Xiqiu to take a temporary rest.
Shen Mengqi was still over at the Peach Blossom Sect, trying to see if she could gain any assistance from them. The Tianxin successor had never set a limit on the number of people in a Tianxin Assessment team. However, the world generally accepted nine people as the upper limit. Otherwise, if people were sent endlessly to the point where even ordinary mortals who hadn't cultivated were participating, it would be a major loss of face.
Currently, the Daxia cultivation faction had found five people. Including Chen Xu and Shen Mengqi, they had seven, leaving them two short of a full team.
However, these weren't things Chen Xu needed to worry about. Rather than dwelling on it, he felt his time was better spent wandering around or continuing his reading. After all, Chen Xu had agreed to come to the Immortal Island world partly because of Daxia's official request and partly because he wanted to see more of these different worlds.
In his past life, he had been busy and tired, confined to a small rental room every day. Now that he had the chance in this life, he intended to make up for it. He set a small goal: to start with the five special worlds.
After confirming the schedule with Wu Xiqiu, Chen Xu left the hut, intending to stroll through this small city managed by Daxia.
He didn't even bother to close the door behind him as he departed.
This city also housed a Fuxi sub-unit. Chen Xu pulled up the navigation system and pinned a commercial street, planning to see what was for sale. To understand a place, one either looked at its landmarks or its local specialties.
Following the navigation, he soon arrived at the commercial street. However, the scene before him was far from what he had expected.
Chen Xu had thought this place would sell specialties from the Immortal Island world or Peach Blossom Island, and he had hoped to find some interesting items. Instead, the street was crowded with signs reading things like "Daxia Specialty," "Daxia Secret Recipe," and "Daxia Century-Old Heritage Restaurant." The customers coming and going all appeared to be locals of Immortal Island.
Chen Xu walked straight into a snack shop featuring Daxia specialties and asked the owner at the counter, "Boss, is this whole street selling Daxia goods? Are there any local specialties from Immortal Island?"
The shop owner looked Chen Xu up and down, remaining silent for a long time. Chen Xu was confused and asked again. This time, he was flatly ignored.
In frustration, Chen Xu pulled out his Soul-Inducing Token. Upon seeing the Soul-Inducing Token, the shop owner immediately spoke up. "Oh, you're one of us! Haha, I saw a fresh face and thought you were one of those enforcement teams from the Peach Blossom Sect coming for some entrapment!"
As he spoke, he handed Chen Xu a few snacks as an apology.
"Enforcement team?" Chen Xu couldn't understand why a sect's enforcement team would come here.
"The Peach Blossom Sect has its own markets. The commission they take on trades is incredibly high. After this city was built, Daxia also thought about setting up a market to attract traveling merchants and rogue cultivators to sell items, making things convenient for Daxia's cultivators.
Back then, to attract merchants, Daxia set a purely symbolic commission fee. This caused merchants to flock here like crazy."
"Isn't that a good thing? They make money, and Daxia's cultivators get convenience."
"It was good for Daxia and the merchants, but not for the Peach Blossom Sect." The shop owner tilted his head toward the direction of the Peach Blossom Sect. "If all the merchants and customers come to us, how can their markets make money? Cultivation is a massive expense. Wealth, companions, methods, and land—you're touching their very foundation. How could they not be upset? So they intervened and said Daxia couldn't run a market anymore."
Chen Xu nodded and asked, "Then what are these shops now?"
"They negotiated later. After all, the space was already set up, and it would be a waste to leave it empty. So Daxia and the Peach Blossom Sect made a rule: Daxia can only sell its own specialties here and cannot touch anything from the Immortal Island world. Enforcement teams come to check from time to time, and they've even done entrapment before."
"So you ignored me at first because you thought I was with the Peach Blossom Sect enforcement team," Chen Xu realized.
Having understood the situation, Chen Xu lost interest. He had wanted to experience an exotic culture, but it turned out this place still had a Daxia flavor.
Thus, he returned the way he came, waiting for Shen Mengqi and the others to return.
...
That night, Shen Mengqi returned alone. The Peach Blossom Sect had stated that the difficulty of the Tianxin Assessment was not something a small sect like theirs could consider. They admired Shen Mengqi's courage and said that while they couldn't help with the assessment itself, they would provide all the ships and supplies needed to reach Tianxin Island for free.
"Mengqi, how about I go find Senior Ye and ask him to step in and help?" Wu Xiqiu suggested. Seeing Shen Mengqi return alone with the team still two people short, and with no other options besides the Peach Blossom Sect at this point, she couldn't help but feel anxious.
"There's no need, Senior Wu," Shen Mengqi flatly refused. "Senior Ye has already helped so much, even finding an expert like Chen Xu. I should handle the rest myself."
Looking at Shen Mengqi's determined eyes, which showed not a single trace of discouragement, Wu Xiqiu felt as if she were the one who had been rejected by the Peach Blossom Sect. She lowered her head and said no more.
"Chen Xu, let me introduce you to these senior brothers and sisters," Shen Mengqi said, looking at Chen Xu.
"Don't call me an expert. You're the captain now. If you don't mind, just call me Chen Xu," Chen Xu joked, sensing the heavy atmosphere.
At his words, Shen Mengqi let out a small laugh and shook her head. "I'll just call you Brother Chen."
"This is Senior Brother Wang Sen. He specializes in the Dao of the sword." Shen Mengqi pointed to a man in a green robe holding a long sword.
"This is Senior Brother Shi Jing. He practices earth-element cultivation methods." Shi Jing's clothing was somewhat ordinary; unlike the elegant robes of the others, he wore coarse cloth like a farmer.
"This is Senior Brother Zhao Yifang. He is also a sword cultivator." Zhao Yifang was dressed similarly to Wang Sen, likely in a uniform from the Heavenly Crafts Academy.
"This is Senior Brother Ma Ku. He has a fire spirit root and was last year's Dragon Seed. Due to issues with his cultivation method, he is still at the Qi Refining stage." Ma Ku wore plain robes like Chen Xu.
"Fellow Daoist Chen Xu, I look forward to your guidance." Ma Ku was the first to actively greet Chen Xu, his eyes narrowing into slits as he smiled. He seemed like a capable individual.
"Finally, this is Senior Sister Zheng Hong. She has a mutated wind spirit root." Zheng Hong had unusually short hair, and a long spear was propped up behind her chair.
"And I am Shen Mengqi, with a five-element spirit root of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."
Chen Xu was very surprised. He hadn't expected Shen Mengqi to have a five-element spirit root. Based on what he knew of spirit roots in this world, having more roots meant more paths to choose from, but it also increased the difficulty of cultivation. For a genius, it raised the ceiling, but for an ordinary person, it lowered the floor.
The other team members had finished their introductions, leaving only Chen Xu.
Seeing them all look at him, Chen Xu sat cross-legged and pressed his hands together in a prayer-like gesture. "Chen Xu of the Bone Path, greetings to everyone."
Skeletal arms extended from behind Chen Xu, and a lotus throne made of skeletal palms appeared beneath his seat. He looked exactly like a Bone Buddha.
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