The aptitude awakening ceremony had concluded a while ago and the results were quite intriguing to say the least.
The Immortal from the Desolate Harmony Sect had granted Wei Wushang and the girl half an hour to bid farewell to their families before their departure.
'Need to hurry!' Breathing heavily, Wei Wushang soon arrived at the village's cemetery.
Before him lay the resting place of his late parents, for Wei Wushang had nothing else worth saying goodbye to except his two deceased parents.
Wei Wushang respectfully approached the graves of his parents and in silence knelt beside them. He placed his hands on the rough makeshift stones that marked their resting place, quietly paying his respects.
"Father, mother, your son now carries a dream. A dream that burns deeply within my heart."
"I.. I know I've been more a curse than a son to you both, and you deserved so much better. But worry not, for this may be our last meeting. So, I just wanted to say thank you."
"Thank you for giving birth to me. Thank you for raising me. And thank you for suffering with me. Though it may be very selfish of me, I still hope that if there is a next life, I will still be born as your child..... I'm sorry." Wei Wushang shed tears of both sadness and gratitude as he kowtowed repeatedly facing the tomb of his late parents.
Various scenes from the past replayed over and over in his mind, reminding him of the kind of life he had lived.
It had been over five years since his last cry. And with tears streaming down his face now, Wei Wushang's heart felt unrestrained.
"Mother, father, your son is going to walk his own path from now. Farewell..." Wei Wushang sighed emotionally as he slowly stood up and wiped away his tears.
He cast one last gaze at his parents graves and bowed deeply before waking away.
Wei Wushang understood that he was no longer a mortal and had already set foot on the path of cultivation.
Whether this journey would be arduous or smooth sailing, he did not know.
Whether it led to immortality or destruction, he did not know.
But he was determined to walk down this road regardless.
It was his, Wei Wushang's choice!
....
At the village square.
"Li Zhihua even though you have become an cultivator now, you mustn't forget your roots. You must not let that evil scoundrel Wei Wushang live or else it would spell disaster for our village, your home!"
"That little bastard will surely seek vengeance on us, and if that were to happen, it would not only be his fault but also yours for letting him do so. The entire village will blame you for being an ingrate and your ancestors will not rest easily on the other side," The village chief immediately gave a passionate speech while also sending subtle signals towards Li Zhihua's parents.
'Wei Wushang has already been selected to join the sect, and if I or any other person from the village were to harm him now, that would be downright idiocy. I can only persuade Li Zhihua to deal with this issue before it escalates.' The village chief's eyes gleamed with dangerous intent.
This old man was doing everything he could to prevent the future that utterly terrified him.
Even with his eyes wide open, he could imagine the scene of Wei Wushang coming for his head with a sinister smirk on his face. Just imagining it made his innards do backflips. If it turned into reality, the old man might simply die from a heart attack.
Asking for forgiveness was too late. Only by eradicating this threat in its infancy can the village chief find his peace of mind. After all, this issue not only jeopardized his life but also the lives of all the villagers, including his family.
Now, it all hinged on the girl's response.
After carefully listening to her parents, Li Zhihua looked the village chief in the eye and patted her chest, declaring with confidence, "Grandpa Ye, mother, father, and everyone, there's no need to worry. How can I allow that evildoer to harm our village? When he returns, I'll make sure he thinks twice about his actions. If that fails, I'll reach out to the seniors in the sect that were previously chosen from our village for assistance. I'm sure they won't let us down."
"Haha, good, very good. Li'er, the village is proud of you. We have not raised an ingrate!" the village chief laughed heartily, fully satisfied with the young girl's response.
As congratulations poured in from the villagers, Li Zhihua's parents were full smiles. They could feel the change in their status rising rapidly, but most importantly the change in the attitude of their beloved daughter. She had once been as timid as a tortoise, but now she stood proudly like a phoenix with its wings unfurled.
At this moment, a ray of crimson light appeared in the sky and landed above the village square. As the light diminished, the middle-aged Immortal known as Xu Jiulong stood there holding a large net filled with at least 30-40 animal corpses in his hand.
"I have cleared all the threats within the five-kilometer radius. Here, take this," Xu Jiulong tossed the net aside indifferently.
The villagers quickly came forward, expressing their gratitude to the immortal and the sect for their generosity and righteousness.
It seemed like everyone here had forgotten that a while earlier, this man before them had murdered an innocent family in cold blood.
But to be completely honest, mentioning it would do them no good either.
In a world where might made right, only a suicidal person would adhere to notions of good and bad. Most people simply wanted to survive another day, so they would either keep their heads down and continue walking or embrace ruthlessness, forcing others to bow before them.
It might sound unpleasant, but like many other things it held its own unique charm.
"Little girl, have you finished saying your goodbyes? It's time to leave." Xu Jiulong waved his hand as red mist wafted from his sleeves and a huge cloud of smoke gathered beneath him, lifting him up.
Li Zhihua hugged her parents before rushing toward Xu Jiulong's side. She hesitated for a moment before stepping onto the red smoke, which felt like walking on a mountain of feathers.
"Kya!" In her excitement, Li Zhihua stumbled and fell forward, but upon landing there was no pain at all. However to conceal her embarrassment she quickly added, "Senior, Wei Wushang has yet to arrive. It's clear he's showing you disrespect by not following your orders. He treated your words like a smelly fart, how dare he? I don't want to sound presumptuous, but senior should.."
"No need to provoke me. Little girl, that boy is not my concern. Keep your issues to yourself, understood?" Xu Jiulong calmly stated word by word.
"Ah! I, no..." Li Zhihua's face froze. She wanted to refuse, but could only manage to force out an awkward smile before closing her mouth. Her attitude had quickly reverted from a proud phoenix to an obedient duck.
Seeing this, Xu Jiulong smiled faintly.
He had long sensed that something was amiss between Wei Wushang and the other villagers.
Whether it was the villagers reactions or their whispered conversations upon learning of Wei Wushang's talent, Xu Jiulong had noticed everything.
And naturally, he had no intention of getting entangled in their problems.
Well, if Li Zhihua were a mid-grade talent then he might have assisted her in dealing with Wei Wushang. But she wasn't so fortunate, was she? On the contrary, he found Wei Wushang to be more intriguing.
"Look, he's already here," Xu Jiulong said, pointing toward the back of the crowd. Li Zhihua quickly shifted her gaze to see a figure slowly approaching, but just then she heard Xu Jiulong say, "Can't see him? it's just these monkeys blocking his way. Let me clear it for him."
He immediately waved his hand, summoning a powerful gust of wind that sent the villagers flying like duckweed. In the blink of an eye, everyone except Wei Wushang and Li Zhihua's parents were rolling on the ground.
"Haiyaa, my old back!" The village chief clutched his lower back and growled in misery.
Li Zhihua's expression was equally unsightly looking at the scene.
Wei Wushang raised an eyebrow as he glanced at all the people staring at him.
Some glared at him angrily like he owed them money, while others had eyes that pleaded for mercy, and a few people even flashed flattering smiles.
"Must say, this is quite the warm goodbye. Hehe, you've truly outdone yourselves in repulsiveness, you pieces of trash." Wei Wushang laughed disdainfully before pressing on with a cold, steely gaze.
Arriving in front of Xu Jiulong, Wei Wushang cupped his fists and delivered an apology, "Lord Immortal, I hopes you can forgive me for being late."
"It's a small matter. But now that you're here, let's get going. I don't want to waste too much time here," Xu Jiulong said casually. The red mist beneath his feet spread out even more and carried Wei Wushang along with it.
The moment Wei Wushang set foot on the crimson mist, his entire body felt weightless. However, after just a short while, the strong wind hitting his face began to cause him discomfort and his eyes turned red.
Wei Wushang hastily twisted his body, angling his back to endure the brunt of the wind. As his eyes regained clarity, he could see that the village had already shrunk to a distant dot on the landscape.
Then his gaze shifted downward to see his feet submerged in the blood-colored mist, which was the sole reason he didn't get blown off by the wind.
'Who would have thought the view from the top would appear so painfully beautiful,' Wei Wushang mused as a free and unfettered smile appeared on his face.
Wei Wushang had dreamt about this moment countless times. And now that it had come true, he felt genuine happiness.
However, being who he was, he felt that the joy was incomplete.
His dream was to soar through the clouds alone, not to be carried around as a mere passenger in someone else's journey.
Wei Wushang wasn't content with being a mere side character. He yearned to rise above the ordinary and seize his place as the main character in this world.
To fulfill his dreams, he was prepared to traverse scorching flames and icy chasms. But for now, those grand ambitions were confined to his heart. The reality was he was nothing more than a minor figure, not even worthy of being a side character in this ever-changing world cultivators.
Lost in thought, Wei Wushang suddenly felt the pain from the wind vanish. He then heard a voice saying, "Both of you can turn around now."
Wei Wushang calmly turned around and saw Xu Jiulong holding a pair of jade slips in his hand. As Wei Wushang focused on the jade, he could see the words "Desolate Harmony" inscribed on them.
Xu Jiulong handed a jade slip to the both of them and explained, "This is a multipurpose sect token called the jade harmony slip. From now on it will serve as proof that you're a member of the Desolate Harmony Sect. Always carry it with you from now on. To mark ownership, both of you should inject a drop of your blood onto it."
Wei Wushang nodded lightly as he brought the jade slip close to his eyes, inspecting it carefully. He thought, 'It doesn't really look special, but it has a cool and soothing feeling when touched. Meh, whatever.'
Wei Wushang bit the tip of his tongue and spat on the jade slip. As his blood came into contact with the jade slip, it began to intricately etch Wei Wushang's face onto it.
Once the process was complete, the jade slip split in half, with each side bearing half of Wei Wushang's visage.
On the other side, Li Zhihua struggled slightly, but eventually she made up her mind. Taking out a pin from her clothing, she lightly pricked her fingertip and let a drop of scarlet blood fall onto the jade slip. The same process occurred with her jade slip as well.
"Mm, hand over a piece each to me," Xu Jiulong spoke, extending his arm. Both of them complied with his words.
"Aren't both of you curious about the concept of cultivation?" Xu Jiulong questioned with a smile.
"Very much!" Wei Wushang replied almost immediately, while Li Zhihua nodded vigorously in agreement.
Xu Jiulong's smile widened, "Well then, use your divine sense to scan the information from the jade slip."
"Divine Sense..? Senior what's that?" Both Wei Wushang and Li Zhihua were equally ignorant, looking at Xu Jiulong with sparkling eyes.
"Well, I'm not really that good with explanations, but here it goes. Divine sense, you see is essentially an extension of our consciousness, where what is extended is a part of one's soul force. This enables cultivators to extend their senses both outward and inward. Also, remember that you need a powerful soul to have a powerful divine sense with a higher range and greater sensitivity." Xu Jiulong said after carefully considering his words.
'Beh, what kind of lousy explanation is that? And why do you look so proud of it?' Wei Wushang thought, wanting to roll his eyes at the middle-aged cultivator who was nodding to himself with great satisfaction as if he had truly outdone himself.
'Hmm, an extension of consciousness. Heh, now that i give it another thought, it dosen't sound that lousy.' Wei Wushang stroked his chin as he silently contemplated.
"So... How does one use it?" Li Zhihua asked, rubbing her temples. Wei Wushang's eyes lit up, he too wanted know.
Xu Jiulong had anticipated this question, so he responded straightforwardly, "For now, both of you should concentrate on the jade slips, clear your minds of any distractions and focus solely on it. I'd advise holding the jade slip to your forehead and closing your eyes. It'll help you focus."
"In the beginning, it may be a bit challenging to utilize your divine sense. But as you progress and achieve some experience, using your divine sense will become as effortless as breathing."
"Now, enough chit-chat. All your questions about the fundamental understandings of the immortal way are recorded in the jade slip, so don't pester me with more inquiries."