Entering the Medicine King Pavilion

Before Jiang Lu's voice could even fade, she heard two sharp squeals.

Chi Li and Cang Chen stared at each other with wide eyes, their pupils dilated in sheer disbelief. Their strength had recovered a tiny bit!

One had to know that before the contract, they hadn't possessed a single shred of magic power!

Chi Li opened its beak and spat a ball of fire to the side. Cang Chen immediately spat a stream of water to douse it, and then both burst into laughter.

“Hahaha—”

Haven had not abandoned them!

Although they had only recovered Tier One strength, they could easily take on ordinary demon beasts and spirit beasts in this lower realm, even if their opponents were Tier Three!

Just wait until they turned this lower realm upside down!

Seeing their sudden smug expressions, Jiang Lu had a faint, ominous premonition. These two aren't going to be huge troublemakers, are they?

But looking at how well-behaved they seemed right now, they didn't quite look the part.

She hoped she was just overthinking.

Once she realized this tree hollow had been created by these two little things, she knew there naturally wouldn't be any treasure here. She placed one on each of her shoulders and walked out of the cave.

“Do either of you know anything about this place?” Jiang Lu asked as she walked.

“Master, we don't know,” Chi Li replied, awkwardly shrinking its head into its feathers.

Chi Li and Cang Chen exchanged a look, panic rising in their eyes. No, they couldn't just sit around and wait for that to happen. They had to make sure they were the only ones by Master's side!

Quite unaware of the silent storm brewing between the two beasts, Jiang Lu navigated her way out of the dense forest with them.

There seemed to be many presences hiding in the shadows outside the forest. However, the moment she emerged, those presences stiffened for a second.

The cultivators who would normally jump out from the shadows to rob passersby acted as if they hadn't even seen her, keeping their eyes glued to the forest exit instead.

As for why no one bothered to rob Jiang Lu when she had just come out of the forest, it was entirely because she looked poorer than anyone else. She didn't even have a simple cloth bag to hold things, and the two spirit beasts on her shoulders were only at Tier One.

They didn't think for a second that she possessed a storage bag. Dressed in those rags, she wasn't even worth a second glance.

Furthermore, she was only at the first layer of Qi Condensation yet had already contracted two spirit beasts. Only cultivators with limited talent would do such a thing.

To put it bluntly, they looked down on the meager belongings Jiang Lu might have.

Thus, Jiang Lu walked away from the forest in a completely unbothered manner. Suddenly, she noticed a large crowd gathered in front of an announcement board not far away.

She walked over to see what was going on.

It turned out that the Xijiang City branch of the Medicine King Pavilion was recruiting apprentices. The Medicine King Pavilion spanned the entire Jiangwu Domain, and its power was no weaker than that of the Three Great Sects or the Ten Great Clans. Most elixir cultivators and herbalists chose to join them. Because of this, the Medicine King Pavilion's influence grew larger by the day, making it one of the top factions.

However, their requirements for recruiting apprentices were strict: applicants had to be rogue cultivators who had never joined any other faction, must be at least at the first layer of Qi Condensation, and must possess either a fire spiritual root or a wood spiritual root.

The so-called rogue cultivators were those without family backing. If they belonged to a Qi Condensation clan, they could still give it a try. But if they belonged to a Foundation Establishment clan, they were strictly forbidden.

This was to prevent excessive involvement with other factions, as many clans would choose to align themselves with a major power once they became a Foundation Establishment clan.

While others might not qualify, Jiang Lu fit the criteria perfectly. She stood in front of the announcement board, carefully reading the requirements to become an apprentice.

Having just arrived in this foreign world, she was completely in the dark. She needed to systematically study and understand the rules of this world, and the Medicine King Pavilion was exactly what she needed.

Moreover, she desperately needed a place where she could learn and gain a foothold in this world.

The Medicine King Pavilion didn't bind its members forever. As long as one didn't take things they shouldn't when leaving, they would eventually have the chance to move on. Having the name of the Medicine King Pavilion on one's resume meant that if they actually had talent, they would never struggle to make a living.

Following the directions on the announcement, she headed toward the branch pavilion in Xijiang City. Many other cultivators were walking alongside her, all hoping to try their luck.

When Jiang Lu arrived at the Medicine King Pavilion, she saw that it occupied a vast area. The section for selling pills and spiritual herbs alone was three stories tall. If even a branch in such a remote location had such a grand building, those in the larger cities would surely be even more magnificent.

The registration desk was located in the corner to the right of the entrance. When she walked over, she saw two fairly long queues already formed. She immediately stepped forward and joined the back of one of the lines.

Many cultivators walked away with their heads hung in disappointment. Didn't the announcement say anyone who met the basic requirements would be accepted? It seemed there was another unmentioned screening process.

Soon, it was Jiang Lu's turn. The man sitting behind the desk looked up at her, pointed to a piece of crystal on the table, and said casually: “Put your hand on this.”

Not quite understanding, Jiang Lu placed her hand on it. The crystal slowly began to glow green.

“Alright. Take this wooden token and head to the back.” Seeing the crystal turn green, a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes, and he smiled.

What he was testing here was their affinity for plants. Although some cultivators possessed a wood spiritual root, their perception and affinity toward plants were weak, making them useless to recruit.

Furthermore, while many of the disciples who came here possessed fire or wood spiritual roots, very few actually met this requirement. After all, this place was quite remote.

Having finally recruited someone, he was naturally pleased.

Clutching the wooden token, Jiang Lu walked toward the back in a daze. I passed just like that?

Then, she grew excited. Hehe!

“You're the disciple who passed the test, right?” Seeing her approach, a disciple dressed in gray robes looked up at Jiang Lu. Finally, someone's here. She let out a sigh of relief and asked in a gentle tone.

Jiang Lu nodded.

“What is your name? Where are you from?”

The female disciple took the wooden token from Jiang Lu's hand and set it aside.

“Jiang Lu, from the mortal realm.”

Hearing this, the female disciple paused and couldn't help but size Jiang Lu up. This girl was quite young and had come from the mortal realm. To possess her current strength, she must have come across some kind of fortuitous encounter.

Then, seeing the two spirit beasts on her shoulders, a look of understanding dawned on her.

Since she was from the mortal realm, she was undoubtedly a rogue cultivator. They aren't afraid of applicants lying, as the consequences of doing so were not something those people could bear.

Spiritual energy swirled at her fingertips as she carved Jiang Lu's name onto the wooden token. A flash of green light flickered. She then guided Jiang Lu to infuse a trace of her aura into it, and her disciple token was complete. Jiang Lu took the token in her hand.

She then followed Yue Ying toward the back.

“My name is Yue Ying. You can call me Senior Sister Yue or Senior Sister Ying. Just like you, I'm an apprentice.”

“I just arrived a bit earlier than you. This is our lodging. You can choose any room you like; all the daily necessities are already prepared inside. Feel free to look around for the next couple of days. Once the apprentice recruitment is complete tomorrow, we will let you know what you need to do.”

Jiang Lu nodded. This was incredibly fortunate. If she had been even a day later, she would have missed this opportunity.

After asking a few more questions, she chose one of the rooms and settled in.