Chapter 750 400: A Close Call (Part 2)

It would be easy to leave, but not without alerting the powerful Cultivators within the Emei Mansion.

"Place of origin."

The Cultivator in the black robe tapped the slate he cradled in his arms. Under any other circumstances, Yang An would have suspected he was holding a tablet computer.

"A native of Zhuti in the Southern Province."

Yang An answered truthfully again. Everything he said about his life and origin was real; he hadn't fabricated anything.

"The neighboring province?"

But upon hearing Yang An state his place of origin, the black-robed Cultivator and the two Immortal Mansion Disciples all frowned, though none of them said anything.

Generally, when someone died in a given province, their soul was guided to the Land of Reincarnation belonging to that province's Immortal Mansion. It was rare for a soul to cross regional boundaries.

However, the Southern Province was Chuan's neighboring province, and Yang An was from Zhuti, which was extremely close to Chuan. It wasn't impossible that he had accidentally stumbled into the Emei Mansion's jurisdiction.

The black-robed Cultivator didn't ask Yang An any more questions. He just waited silently for a couple of seconds, his gaze falling to the slate in his hands. He frowned again, then looked toward the two Immortal Mansion Disciples who had brought Yang An here.

"Did he come here on his own? Or did you guide him here?"

"He was guided here on his own and we discovered him."

The two Immortal Mansion Disciples replied.

Yang An could tell something was amiss from their behavior. It wasn't that he was nervous, necessarily; he just didn't want his mission to fail before it had even begun.

"They've seen through it? Get ready!"

The Bow Lady, on the other hand, was always vigilant on Yang An's behalf, but Yang An didn't make a single move.

"There's something unusual about this person,"

the black-robed Cultivator continued. The two Immortal Mansion Disciples exchanged a look, not quite understanding.

"This person's life records show that he died four years and seven months ago in a car accident."

"What? He's been dead for almost five years?"

Hearing this, both Immortal Mansion Disciples stared at Yang An, their gazes turning hostile.

Generally, those who failed the assessment either had a legitimate reason or were a Demon or a resentful soul in disguise. It was usually the latter.

If they had brought a Demon or resentful soul into the Immortal Mansion, they wouldn't get credit for introducing a new disciple, but they *would* get credit for eliminating it.

"Let me finish."

But the black-robed Cultivator interrupted them.

"His life records show that although he has been dead for nearly five years, his soul has lingered within his deceased body the entire time. Such cases are not without precedent.

"He is a native of Zhuti in the Southern Province. Although he's from the Southern Province, he's quite far from the Jade Dragon Mansion and, conversely, closer to our Emei Mansion. I suspect that when he died, his soul left his body but was simultaneously pulled by both mansions. Thus, it struggled for a long time before finally ending up here."

"This happens occasionally in the borderlands between provinces. No need to be overly suspicious."

The black-robed Cultivator seemed to have experience with such matters. In truth, it was mainly because the life record in his hands couldn't be faked. One glance at a soul's history was enough to tell if it was human or Demon; impersonation was impossible.

Hearing the black-robed Cultivator's explanation, the two Immortal Mansion Disciples breathed a sigh of relief, and their gazes softened.

"In that case, we'll take him to the next stage. Thank you, Senior Brother."

The black-robed Cultivator's words meant that Yang An had passed this stage.

Yang An had already prepared himself, even coming up with several excuses he thought were foolproof. He never expected that before he even had a chance to speak, the black-robed Cultivator would announce that he had passed.

"He passed, just like that?"

Now, it was the Bow Lady's turn to be surprised.

She had completely absorbed the City God's memories and knew that one's life story couldn't be faked at this stage. But Yang An was clearly from the Origin Realm, so how had he passed so easily?

"You little punk, did you prepare something before you woke me up? What trick did you use?"

the Bow Lady asked doubtfully as the Immortal Mansion Disciples led Yang An out of the hall.

If Yang An hadn't made preparations beforehand, the Bow Lady couldn't think of any other explanation. In that case, she would have to warn him even more strongly that this might be a trap set by the Emei Mansion.

"I did, but they were just contingencies. I didn't expect to actually need them."

Yang An answered evasively.

Seeing that Yang An had indeed made prior arrangements, the Bow Lady breathed a sigh of relief and didn't press the issue. She wasn't the type to pester someone relentlessly.

But at that moment, Yang An was pondering another question.

'Was everything that Cultivator said true?'

He hadn't made any special preparations; he was calm simply because he was originally a native of this world.

But to his surprise, he hadn't even needed the excuses he'd prepared. He'd just passed. And that Cultivator had sounded so certain of his explanation.

'If his soul really had lingered in his dead body for all those years, how could he have gone to the Origin Realm and experienced so much?'

'Unless... the Celestial Dao had intervened to help him hide the truth.'

The more Yang An thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. If so, it meant his desire to purge the Cultivators tainted by turbid qi was in alignment with the Celestial Dao. It was something the Celestial Dao *wanted* him to do.

This thought gave Yang An a surge of confidence.

After that, Yang An was taken to the third and final stage.

This stage required Yang An to find one hidden Demon and one resentful soul from among a crowd of souls. With the Bow Lady's help, he passed with ease.

Having passed all three stages, the Immortal Mansion Disciples declared that Yang An could formally enter the Emei Mansion and become one of its members. They then led him into the true Emei Mansion.

Although they had passed through the Emei Mansion's Mountain Gate earlier, they hadn't been considered to have truly entered. This was the real thing.

Continuing up a seemingly endless flight of stone steps, Yang An was brought to the area where Entry-Level Disciples gathered and was assigned a cave abode.

The cave abodes in this area were for new Immortal Mansion Disciples whose Cultivation Level had not yet reached Foundation Establishment.

Each cave abode housed three Cultivators. After Yang An was assigned his, the two Immortal Mansion Disciples who had guided him left behind a Qi Eating Magic Technique. They gave him a few instructions—to find the Little Land God at dawn to collect his cultivation resources, to train hard, and to strive to reconstruct his physical body as soon as possible—before excitedly running off to claim their reward.

For every new disciple they successfully introduced who passed the assessment, they would receive a reward of resources. This was one of the Rules for maintaining a steady supply of new blood for the Immortal Mansion.

Cultivators within the Immortal Mansion often died during the Celestial Tribulations that accompanied breakthroughs. If new disciples weren't constantly brought in, their numbers would only dwindle.

Yang An looked down at the Qi Eating Magic Technique the Immortal Mansion Disciple had left him, then glanced at the other two caverns within the abode. Both were sealed tightly shut. The Cultivators inside hadn't shown themselves despite the noise outside.

Compared to the mortal world, this place lacked a certain human touch, but that was to be expected.

Yang An entered his assigned cavern and closed the stone door as well. At that moment, all sound ceased, sealing him in complete silence.

The Qi Eating Magic Technique in his hand was called the *True Introduction Technique*. It was a method for sensing and absorbing Spiritual Qi. It was quite detailed, enough for any new Entry-Level Disciple to understand and learn.

Yang An was only interested in the methods for sensing Spiritual Qi and breaking through in cultivation. He had no use for the rest.

He had the Mora Buddha's Acupoint, and he had already absorbed a great deal of Spirit Charm. His methods were countless times faster than this Qi Eating Magic Technique.

"So, you little punk, what's your next move?"

Yang An's successful, and relatively uneventful, entry into the Emei Mansion had surprised the Bow Lady. But ultimately, he still had to face the real problem.

According to the Rules of the Immortal Mansion, a new disciple like Yang An was merely a common Entry-Level Disciple and not counted as an Official Disciple. Only after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Cultivation Level could one become an Official Disciple.

For now, aside from cultivating, he would be ordered around by the Official Disciples. To put it bluntly, until he became an Official Disciple himself, he was little more than a servant, forced to do all the dirty and tiring jobs.

Refusing was not an option, as these tasks were necessary to earn the cultivation resources needed for faster advancement.

The Bow Lady wasn't too worried about this particular problem. With Yang An's strength, improving and breaking through would be a simple matter.

What she was concerned about was how Yang An planned to purge the Cultivators tainted with turbid qi, especially right under the noses of so many powerful experts.

As for that question, Yang An had actually already thought it through before he arrived.

"I don't have much time, so I have to do this quickly. I can't afford to hesitate."

"You mean...?"

"A speedrun, of course!"

"...What's a speedrun?"