Chapter 40: Spiritual Artifact
Qin Shi Meng was starting to get nervous and gently bit her lips. She was afraid that the mirror would expose her abnormally high cultivation.
Feeling someone’s gaze on her, Qin Shi Meng turned her head and saw Ye Yong looking at her. He smiled lightly and gently nodded his head.
Right, there’s the necklace that he gave me. Qin Shi Meng instantly felt less nervous and straightened herself, slowly walking towards the platform.
The mirror there was a Saint Grade Spiritual Artifact. As the best applicant among the prospective disciples, Qin Shi Meng was the first to undergo the test.
The mirror glowed as Qin Shi Meng stood in front of it, and soon afterward an ethereal voice was heard. “Extreme rank ice type spiritual root, 5-color foundation, Foundation Establishment Realm 10th layer peak stage, solid foundation, boundless future.”
As the voice dissipated, various voices from the crowd burst out.
“Amazing! A solid foundation at the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm! Peak stage! And a 5-color foundation on top of that!”
“Fairy Qin is Fairy Qin after all!” The male cultivators all acted as if they were the ones who had gotten the fame and honor.
“Oh Heavens, why do the good things all happen to Qin Shi Meng?”
“Why are the Heavens so unjust?” Unlike the male cultivators, the female cultivators weren’t happy.
“Phew.” Qin Shi Meng breathed a sigh of relief but was soon doubtful again. The mirror is a Saint Grade Spiritual Artifact and had never failed before, so how come Ye Yong’s tiny necklace able to fool it? The necklace looks like it can’t even be considered a Yellow Grade Artifact!
Ye Yong left way too many questions for her, but since Ye Yong treated her well, Qin Shi Meng didn’t dwell on it. Asking too much would make it seem as if she didn’t trust him.
After Qin Shi Meng was done, the rest of the Foundation Establishment Realm 10th layer cultivators went forward to take the test.
Many of the cultivators were aiming for the secret realm, so a lot of the cultivators at the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm had been suppressing their cultivation, and none of them had unstable foundations. However, because of how old they were, and with Qin Shi Meng’s showcase in the beginning, they appeared to be quite ordinary and average.
Because Ye Yong had revealed himself to be at the 7th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he was in the line for cultivators at the 7th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He was the youngest cultivator in that line. After all, he was a genius of the Great Zhou Dynasty- that title wasn’t just for show.
When it Ye Yong’s turn, no one really expected anything. After all, Ye Yong had broken through to the 7th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm half a year ago, and normally, there was no way he could have broken through again in such a short time, so he should still be in the 7th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The mirror was silent as Ye Yong stood in front of it. Rather than announcing the results immediately like it had been doing for the cultivators, it hesitated a bit, before announcing, “Foundation- Foundation Establishment Realm… 10th layer, peak stage, 7-color foundation, stable foundation, boundless future.”
The words spoken by the mirror was like a stone dropped in a calm pond, sending thousands of ripples through the calm water.
“Did I hear that right!?”
“Foundation Establishment Realm 10th layer peak stage!? 7-color foundation!?”
“Didn’t he have a 5-color foundation!? Why did it become a 7-color foundation!?”
“Is the mirror broken?”
“Idiot! The mirror is a Saint Grade Spiritual Artifact! It won’t break even if your whole family is broken!”
It wouldn’t be so shocking if Ye Yong was at the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm since Qin Shi Meng was also at the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. At most, it would have been a small and unexpected surprise for everyone since they had already seen one young cultivator at that cultivation. However, the 7-color foundation was different- it was something nobody would have imagined.
Let alone being a genius of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he could easily be called a genius of the East Forest Continent and could even be on par with geniuses of the Center State Continent!
7-color foundations were extremely rare. There was not a single case where a cultivator with a 7-color foundation didn’t break through to the Great Ascension Realm (provided that they didn’t get killed), so Ye Yong was basically a future Great Ascension Realm cultivator- at the near peak of this world.
Well, he is still growing, so maybe he would die along the way? Some people thought maliciously.
Ye Yong felt amazing as he felt all the gazes of shock, admiration, worship, jealousy, and envy from the crowd. This is what it really means to show off. So much better than the male lead, who can only show off to the enemies he killed.
Contrary to what everyone believed, the mirror was actually sentient, and it could sense whether or not a cultivator was suppressing their cultivation. If they were, it was willing to help the cultivator cover it up.
This was because most cultivators that appeared in front of it wouldn’t bother to hid anything, and only a small amount of cautious cultivators that didn’t want to stand out would attempt to hide anything.
It actually knew that Qin Shi Meng was in the Crystallization Realm.
Any powerful cultivator would be able to find the spirit crystals, a sign of a crystallization realm cultivator, inside Qin Shi Meng’s dantian if they probed with their spiritual energy.
The mirror was special and could sense them even without any spiritual energy. It knew that Qin Shi Meng was concealing her real cultivation, so it chose to help her. Besides, the Foundation Establishment Realm 10th layer peak stage was considered half-step Crystallization Realm, so even if someone found out that Qin Shi Meng was actually in the Crystallization Realm at a later time, it could easily be said that Qin Shi Meng had broken through after the assessment.
The mirror had seen countless cultivators, but it had never seen someone like Ye Yong before. It could feel that Ye Yong was above the 10th layer of the Foundation Realm, which was supposed to be the limit. However, it could also tell that Ye Yong wasn’t in the Crystallization Realm. So was Ye Yong in the 11th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm? The mirror thought that was ridiculous, so after hesitating for a while, it revealed Ye Yong to be in the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
After all, it was known to never be wrong, so if it said that Ye Yong was in the 11th layer and made a fool of itself, it would ruin its reputation.
As for Ye Yong, he underestimated the mirror’s perception ability. He was using intermediate-level concealment, which could obstruct the perception of those below the Saint Realm, but the mirror was a Saint Grade spiritual artifact- its perception ability was even stronger than that of a saint. To obstruct that perception, Ye Yong had to use advanced-level concealment.
Ye Yong had set his cultivation to be at the Foundation Establishment Realm 10th layer with a 7-color foundation, and since the mirror had said that, everything had gone according to how he had planned it. After all, he would be foolish to reveal everything- the limit for everyone else was 10 layers and 7-color foundations- and if he had shown his 11 layers of cultivation and 8-color foundation, he wouldn’t be showing off anymore; rather, he would basically be asking for his death.
As for why the mirror didn’t sense Ye Yong’s 8-color foundation, well, that was simply because the 8th spirit vein was black and didn’t draw any attention with the other 7 bright and colorful spirit veins.
All in all, while the details may have been off, most things went as all according to Ye Yong’s prediction.
…
Long Tian was looking at Ye Yong with a fiery gaze.
“10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm! 7-color foundation! What amazing talent!”
Even the Fallen Immortal Elder praised Ye Yong. ‘I didn’t expect there to be a cultivator with a natural 7-color foundation. Although his cultivation speed is a bit slow, someone like him is still very hard to find.’
‘Can I also become a 7-color foundation cultivator in the future?’ Long Tian asked. He was eager to become as good as Ye Yong.
‘Of course. But you’ll need special materials to do so. You don’t have to compare yourself to him. Just make him your target. With me, all you need is time to surpass him.’
‘En.’ Long Tian was also confident in himself. He wasn’t afraid of powerful people because he was one- and he aimed to surpass them!
‘But it feels like he has something like a Chaos Physique.’
‘Didn’t you say that Chaos Physiques are extremely rare?’
‘I’m not sure either. He gives me a weird feeling.’
‘If he really has a Chaos Physique, could that be the reason that he had noticed me earlier?
‘That’s possible. There’s a layer of mist on his body that even I can’t see through. It’s either because the qi occlusion art he is cultivating is of a really high level or he is carrying a Saint Grade Artifact. It could also be because my cultivation had dropped a lot. If I’m able to open my immortal eye, I can definitely see right through him. That Qin Shi Meng is also a bit weird; her cultivation seems to be higher than the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Plus, she has a rare Frozen Heart Physique, and if she cultivates properly, she can evolve it into Frozen Heart Jade Physique, which is an Immortal Grade Physique.’
Long Tian was shocked. He had always thought that his Chaos Physique was amazing, but just a simple assessment from the Tian Luo Sect revealed 2 geniuses that even the Fallen Immortal Elder thought highly of.