The Xuandan Sect is said to have a hundred thousand External Peak Disciples, dispersed amongst a hundred External Peaks. On average, each peak should have at least a thousand.
Though the numbers might be a bit exaggerated, it is roughly correct.
Little Lingxu Peak, being one of the External Peaks, only ranks somewhere in the middle in terms of strength.
The master of such an External Peak is usually a cultivator at the peak of the 9th level of Qi Cultivation Stage, not a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Only the top twenty peaks of the External Peaks are led by Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.
And the rank of an External Peak is measured by a single standard.
Spirit Veins.
Even though they are all second-stage Spirit Veins, the concentration of Spirit Energy between one barely meeting the second-stage standard and one almost reaching the third stage can vary, by up to threefold.
Though it's just threefold, the difference in cultivation could be enormous.
This is about Spirit Veins, one of the most important resources in the Cultivation World.
At this moment, Han Yi found himself standing at the major node of such an essential resource in cultivation.
Although it's only second-stage, the density of its Spirit Energy is the highest since Han Yi crossed over.
However.
Han Yi did not attempt to break through in the cultivation room.
Firstly, he only had ten days. After ten days, the examination would start. He didn't want to compromise the sect return examination just because he was caught up in the breakthrough, not even a moment's delay.
Secondly, even if he could break through in ten days, his control over the power of his cultivation would not be high immediately after the breakthrough. This would not only be unhelpful to his Alchemy Skill, it might even result in errors in power output during alchemy, cause the alchemy to go wrong, and ruin everything.
Moreover, he didn't immerse himself in improving his proficiency.
In the sect's cultivation room, he felt an unprecedented sense of security.
In these ten days, he was simply polishing the power of his body, adjusting his condition, and tuning his state to the best.
If someone figured out that he spent ten spirit stones on renting a cultivation room for ten days just to hone his state, they would probably curse him for being a spendthrift.
But Han Yi didn't care. What he was concerned about was getting back to the sect steadily and safely.
Only by returning to the safely guaranteed sect, could he execute his following plans.
...
After ten days, Han Yi finished his seclusion. His eyes were filled with sparkling lights, his spirit was high, and his body was filled with Immortal Qi.
After leaving the cultivation room, Han Yi went to the place where Little Lingxu Peak provides disciples with spiritual medicine and herbs. He bought thirty sets of Nurturing Qi Pill ingredients and twenty sets of exorcise evil spirits pill ingredients with spirit stones.
Next, he went straight towards the Great Hall of Vermilion Bird Peak where the sect was managed.
When he arrived at the Great Hall, he tried to find Guan Sheng to see if he was on duty that day. But, realizing that he wasn't present, Han Yi had to give up. He found another on-duty brother instead and handed over his sect identity token.
"Brother, I, Han Yi, was sent down the mountain due to insufficient points a year ago. Today marks the end of the one-year term, and I am here to apply for the sect return examination. Could you please assist me with it."
The on-duty brother took Han Yi's identity token with no expression on his face. He checked the data. After confirming that the provided information matched the recorded data, he nodded his head.
Every year, a lot of disciples who were sent to work outside the sect would apply for the sect return examination after one year.
But very few of them could actually pass the exam. Most just tried their luck.
Therefore, he didn't pay much attention to Han Yi. He simply recorded the information, then passed back a temporary examination token and Han Yi's sect token.
"Take this token and go to the backyard of Alchemy Hall on Black Tortoise Peak. There, people in charge are assigned to review sect return examinations. They will conduct your examination. Go now."
Han Yi kept the Examination token carefully, thanked the on-duty brother.
...
Black Tortoise Peak is one of the nine Inner Peaks of Xuandan Sect.
Han Yi wasn't here for the first time and had already learned about the process for disciples who had been sent out to return to the sect.
The procedure was to find the duty officers in the Alchemy Hall on Black Tortoise Peak, perform alchemy on the spot, and the officers would assess the disciple's pill-making skills.
This sort of assessment was conducted by the officers who had reached the eighth or ninth level of Qi Cultivation Stage, hence the requirements were generally stricter than the yearly requirement of one hundred points for disciples in the Outer Peaks.
As such, it was said that the difficulty increases if a dispatched disciple wishes to return to the sect.
However, Han Yi was undeterred this time.
His strength was evident, and he was fully confident in his alchemy skills. He was determined to succeed in his purpose.
If he could not make it, he believed no dispatched disciple could return to the sect.
When he arrived at Black Tortoise Peak, he headed straight to the backyard of the Alchemy Hall located there.
The backyard.
There were already seven people lined up in front of Han Yi.
Like Han Yi, these seven were dispatched disciples applying for the return to sect examination.
Han Yi did not know them and had no intention to strike up a conversation.
However, one of the youngsters, who seemed to be very sociable, tried to probe for information about Han Yi. He was deterred by Han Yi's straightforward responses and reluctance to chat and left feeling uninterested.
The queue moved quickly. Each entering disciple came out looking dejected. Even the sociable young man had deeply furrowed brows, agonizing over his mistakes, his face filled with unwillingness to accept his failure.
He gave Han Yi a glance, let out a huff, and left, his thoughts reading 'It's your turn next, we're all the same'.
When Han Yi's turn came, he stepped in.
The officers on duty that day included three people.
An old man over sixty, a young man in his early thirties with a red face, and a voluptuous woman around forty.
The old man took Han Yi's assessment token expressionlessly, checked the information on it, finally looked at Han Yi properly, and nodded.
"One year in the mountains, and you've gone from the second stage of Qi Cultivation to the third stage. And judging by the energy you radiate, you're only one step away from the fourth stage."
"And your mental state seems quite good."
"You seem very confident."
"That's good."
The old man finished saying these few sentences, threw Han Yi's assessment token back to him, and asked straightforwardly, "What kind of pill are you good at refining?"
"Master, I have been refining Nurturing Qi Pills for many years, and I have some insights into their refinement," Han Yi respectfully replied.
In the Xuandan Sect, there was no strict hierarchy in terms of address.
But generally, if they hold the same realm, such as both being in Qi Cultivation Stage, they will address each other as brothers.
If they are in two different realms, for instance, a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator and a Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator, the latter would call the former Master Uncle or Master Uncle.
Of course.
In general, lower and middle level Qi Cultivators would also call the late-stage Qi Cultivators in important positions Master Uncle out of respect.
So, in a show of deference, Han Yi addressed this late-stage Qi Cultivation officer as Uncle Master.
The old gentleman nodded, "Well, then go with the Nurturing Qi Pill."
The other two officers, the young man and the woman, did not show any reaction to the decision of the old man.
Every day there were disciples applying to return to the sect, and the procedure was indeed set.
Han Yi took a deep breath upon hearing the old man's instruction. He retreated a few steps, took out his hexagonal bronze pill furnace from his storage bag, and laid out the materials for the Nurturing Qi Pill, which he had just bought.
After that, he prepared the Spirit Sand, Spirit Coal, and various auxiliary materials one by one.
And then, he started to refine the pill on the spot.
This was the return to sect examination procedure, simple and direct.