Cai chose the Sky Heron as a reward but she didn't take it for herself. Rather, she handed the Sky Heron to Jing Sui. It is a gift to prove her sincerity to befriend Jing Sui. She is the first person Cai trusted after Shen Mo.
Those with the weakest aptitude are required to go first. Chen Aiwei convinced them that Tao Supreme Sect is not playing VIP and assured the participants that no spirit beasts are in the second level. She headed in, leading the thousands of inferior talents. When Shen Mo established the sect, he specified some rules regarding mockery of those with inferior spiritual roots. He made an example that all are equal because even an inferior talent became an immortal stronger than others. The example he mentioned is one of his sworn brothers that has ascended to the Heavens.
"Ladies, can we form a team forward?" A young man asked and approached the two girls. It was one of those talents and he have a higher score than Jing Sui.
"You're Young Master Leng Mansheng, right?" Jing Sui asked with amazement from her gaze. She recognized the young man in the instant. "I'm Jing Sui, Chancellor Jing Yang's eldest di! We've met in a banquet before!"
"It surprises me you still remember." Leng Mansheng chuckled.
It was years ago, they were introduced to one another and their elderlies wanted to arrange a marriage for them but the emperor intervened and proposed Leng Mansheng to another young miss. After that incident, Leng Mansheng maintained a friendly relationship with Jing Sui. They rarely saw each other since he began his studies in the imperial academy.
"How can I forget? My friends are all talking about you! They admire you for many reasons, ah." Jing Sui chattered on. She pulled Cai forward and brought her up, "This is Junior Cai from Zhou. She is with me and she is in the sixth level of Qi Refining. Junior Cai, would you like for us to join hands with Young Master Leng? Trust me, I know him and he is a friend!"
"Sixth level? Impressive." He was astonished to hear Cai's level. Though he is fifteen, his level is the same as Jing Sui. "I am Leng Mansheng, the only child of Great Han's Xia Primordial General."
Cai glanced at him for a second. She was informed by Shen Mo that there are dynasties and clans in the Central Continent. Some of them are strong and independent. An example is the Great Han, also famous for its Primordial Generals. They are all strong loyal guards of the emperor and they have great talents controlling wood, fire, water, and ice. The Primordial Generals represent the four seasons. Each has its own strength and the second to the strongest one is Xia Primordial General belonging to the Leng Family.
"Excellent, rare, and heavenly spiritual root talents, proceed!"
"Let's go." Cai didn't bother continuing the chat. She let Leng Mansheng lead the way. Her haze drifted on the other side where she found the fourth heavenly talent.
He is very detached, seemingly used to being a lone wolf considering his young age. Cai heard from the other participants he is the young master of the White Tiger Mansion. Aside from the Great Han and Zhou, four more super forces guard the four main directions referred to as the Four Constellations. White Tiger Mansion is one of them, not even Zhou or the Great Han have the guts to offend the Four Constellations.
What a luck Tao Supreme Sect has. The children of Xia Primordial General and Imperial Advisor of the Great Han are here, adding on the greatest talent of the White Tiger Mansion. Tao Supreme Sect is in a new golden era.
The portal brought them to a wide plane and ahead them stood a mountain. The third gateway can be seen from the peak and Chen Aiwei's Sky Heron flew in that direction.
They observed their surrounding since something feels amiss with this seemingly normal place.
"It's impossible the sect designed this level by simply picking up leaves and racing to the top." Jing Sui voiced out.
"I agree. The tricky thing is that those trees are poisonous and the grass beneath us are common herbs." Leng Mansheng plucked a leaf that exuded a strange sweet fragrance. "If I am right, this is Fairy's Scent, commonly used as a fragrance for mortal women. In our realm, Fairy's Scent is sought after if a person needs to counter poisoned air."
"Cai, do you know something else?" Jing Sui asked and turned to her side but she was confused Cai is not next to her.
"What is she doing?" Leng Mansheng spotted Cai kowtowing to an old monument. He finds it very kind of her and followed after. "Junior Jing, let's pay respect to the dead."
"Oh, alright."
Jing Sui and Leng Mansheng kowtowed to the monument just like Cai. The youngest girl looked up to the forest and stood up. Soon enough, sounds of painful screaming came from the forest. Jing Sui was taken aback by the sudden shout.
"Elder Chen Aiwei said there are no spirit beasts here..." Jing Sui frowned. Why is it someone screamed? It sounds like they are being tormented by fierce beasts.
"Poison." Cai asserted. She went on top of a tree and picked a leaf. "Elder Chen Aiwei mentioned two things we should take note of. One, respect. Two, knowledge. This level is not a race or who has the most leaves collected. Tao Supreme Sect doesn't tolerate disrespectful people. A participant with a kind heart will perform kowtow to a tomb, which we just did. I am sure the elders of this sect are monitoring us to see if we fit their criteria. Next, knowledge. You can skip being formal with a corpse and gather the grasses beneath your feet because they are all the same kind of herb. It is what the fourth prodigy did. Look over there."
Cai pointed to the same indifferent boy. He raised his arm and a scythe made of ice materialized on air. The boy swung his arm down and the scythe followed his gesture. It disappeared after cutting hundreds of grasses. He collected a few and rubbed the grasses on his clothes.
"The poison is this tree too." Cai continued, "What Senior Leng said is right. Fairy's Scent contradicts with poisonous fragrances. For example, this tree exudes impure oxygen that causes severe hallucinations of terrible death scenes. The only way to reach the peak is that we use the Fairy's Scent to get rid of the impure air in the mountain. It is our only protection."
"I knew it, this test won't be so simple." Leng Mansheng's lips raised to a charming smile. He is impressed, not only with the difficulty of the test but also with Cai's knowledge.
Few of the participants have kind hearts to bow down towards the tomb. Those who knew the herb and the poisonous tree are far fewer too. A lot of participants are lost in the forest, frightened by something in their minds.
Cai and the rest reached the top in no time. They are not the first ones to arrive but the young master of White Tiger Mansion instead. Chen Aiwei turned the leaves he collected into a liquid. She locked it in a porcelain bottle and gave it to him.
"Keep this liquid. It will be very helpful in the final stage. The next level will require your strength, wisdom, and speed." Chen Aiwei placed her hand on a tablet again and the gateway formed a portal. She watched the boy leave. Chen Aiwei thought to herself, "White Tiger Mansion is a tough place. No wonder they sent this young boy by himself. A pity he is a bit inferior to Xia Primordial General's son. He must be the offering for the Founder. After all, Wu Patriarch changed White Tiger Mansion."
Hidden from the outsiders of Tao Supreme Sect was the deal Shen Mo agreed on with the White Tiger Mansion. It was because Shen Mo have a difficult past with its leaders and he wished to repent by aiding them. He doesn't want to be biased and kept their alliance a secret. A few decades after, he was forgiven after he saved White Tiger Mansion from an invasion. Not only that, he revived the madame of White Tiger Mansion and the child she is pregnant with. The method is priceless because the new generations of White Tiger Mansion became powerful than the other Constellations. Due to this, Shen Mo wanted to quell an upcoming war by demanding for White Tiger Mansion to send their best talent in every generation to Tao Supreme Sect.
"Oh, another batch is here." Chen Aiwei stopped reminiscing. She motioned for the three to show what they gathered.
The qiankun bag they have was emptied and a huge pile of leaves filled the ground. Chen Aiwei refined the leaves that are equivalent to three bottles. She gave it to them and instructed them with the same words.
"In this level, you are required to use your wit, strength, and speed. Catch as many spirit beasts as you can find, be careful if you encounter a Fierce Beast. The more merit you have, the higher your rank is in this exam. The top ten of this exam will receive gifts from the Founder personally. Reminder, the Fierce Beast living in the next area is attracted to a bright flash."
Chen Aiwei opened the portal again. She stared at Cai and reckoned, "This girl has quite the luck."
"Eh? This place, it's so dark." Jing Sui muttered. She can barely see anything and a few dim lanterns are hanging on crooked black trees. It was like a haunted place for her. "How can we hunt if we can't see?"
"Look over there." Leng Mansheng pointed at the clusters of glowing white orchids. He recognized the flower after studying at the Imperial Academy. "Isn't this the Moon Orchids? This plant blossoms after accumulating enough moonlight and its glow fade if it withers or got plucked off its stem."
"What's the use of it?" Cai asked curiously. She didn't learn anything about a Moon Orchid.
"Bait. Spirit Beast Hunters use this to bait Night Terrors because this is their main food. Night Terrors live in dark places. They have better eyesight in the darkness and the clusters of light from this Moon Orchid are enough to blind them for a while. If we take a flower, its light will dim. The low radiance can't blind a Night Terror and be attracted to eat it. For example." Leng Mansheng took a pause. He plucked a Moon Orchid and its light became faint.
Not even a minute passed, something dark jumped over his hand and snatched the Moon Orchid. Jing Sui and Cai are sure they saw a black spirit-like being.
"Night Terrors are the most difficult spirit beast to capture though it is harmless. They like to hide in dark places and no one can catch them proficiently. However, Night Terrors are regarded rare because of this difficulty. They are useful for guiding a cultivator at night or used to bait another spirit beast called Faceless Nightmare. Night Terrors are its food and a Faceless Nightmare can copy the most terrible being in your dream. Faceless Nightmares often cause anxiety or worse, disorientation. Most warlock wants Faceless Nightmares to be their spirit beast, even demonic practitioners that is why the righteous forces are hunting them down so evil won't spread another misery."
"The gateway is not far from us." Jing Sui said after a moment of silence. They all knew this final stage is three times harder than the previous ones. "Even if we use the Moon Orchids to bait Night Terrors, it is still difficult to catch one."
"Don't you know its weakness?" Cai spoke up but she can tell they are hesitant to try her scheme. "We use blinding light to stun them. Don't forget the elder gave us poisons. She said we can use it."