"The specific standards will be judged by the two of you. As long as you think they can handle it, do not intervene. You don't need to worry about anything. The true disciple trial is inherently risky, and no one will dare to blame you afterwards. Although you are guards, you are actually examiners, so strive to be fair and just. Do you understand?" the purple-robed man said indifferently.

"Yes," Su Tongxiao and Han Li replied hastily, bowing their heads.

The purple-robed man hummed and glanced at the white-robed young woman beside him.

The young woman met the man's gaze directly, without yielding.

The purple-robed man didn't say much. He turned around, and a遁光 rose as he sped away into the distance.

The white-robed young woman then turned her gaze and swept over Han Li and Su Tongxiao. Finally, her eyes lingered on Han Li for a moment, but the next moment, she turned and flew away into the distance as well.

Just as the young woman turned, a strange look flashed in Han Li's eyes, but it returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

Watching the two figures disappear into the sky, Han Li and Su Tongxiao looked up and exchanged glances.

"Brother Su, was that Lord Ouyang just now, perhaps Dao Lord Ouyang Kuishan, who ranks ninth?" Han Li asked.

"Indeed. The thirteen Golden Immortal Dao Lords in the sect rotate every hundred thousand years, taking turns to manage the sect. Currently, Dao Lord Ouyang is in charge. I didn't expect Dao Lord Yun to come along as well, and then leave without a word. It seems she's worried about her precious disciple," Su Tongxiao nodded and said.

"It seems they are about to depart. Let's get ready to move as well," Han Li said, his divine sense moving as he glanced towards the main hall.

Inside the adjacent main hall, those inner disciples had already set off, led by Fang Yu, towards the outside of the hall.

"Hehe, Brother Li, no need to rush. Let them get further away, and then we can catch up slowly," Su Tongxiao waved his hand and said.

Before he could finish speaking, a gray-haired old man suddenly appeared in the side hall. He was wearing a sect elder's robe, and was an inner sect elder.

The gray-haired old man glanced at the two, quickly shifting his gaze from Han Li to Su Tongxiao. He walked over with a laugh.

"Hehe, Elder Su, it's been many years since we last met."

"Elder Wang, a pleasure to see you," Su Tongxiao replied with a smile, welcoming him.

Seeing this scene, Han Li vaguely guessed what was happening, so he closed his eyes and rested, pretending not to know.

The gray-haired old man didn't linger. He chatted with Su Tongxiao for a few words and then bid farewell. Su Tongxiao escorted him to the side hall door.

As he said goodbye, the gray-haired old man discreetly slipped a storage bag into Su Tongxiao's hand. The latter didn't even look at it and put it away directly.

As soon as the old man left, a middle-aged man walked in, also looking like an inner sect elder.

"Elder Su, so it really is you in charge of this covert guard duty," the middle-aged man said with a smile, automatically ignoring Han Li's existence and directly cupping his hands towards Su Tongxiao.

"Elder Fan, you jest. It's just a coincidence," Su Tongxiao said with a smile, welcoming him.

The middle-aged man didn't waste time on formalities. He took out a storage bag directly and handed it to Su Tongxiao.

In the time that followed, the side hall was bustling with activity. Seven or eight groups of people came, all seemingly to deliver gifts, and they all left after a brief stay.

Han Li understood in his heart that these people were likely the elders and mentors of the disciples participating in the trial, here to ask for favors to look after their juniors or disciples.

Seeing that he was not only unfamiliar but also only at the early True Immortal realm, those gifts were naturally all given to Su Tongxiao, this mid-stage True Immortal.

Su Tongxiao accepted all gifts without refusing.

Han Li sat quietly to the side, not saying a word from beginning to end, but pondering the words of Dao Lord Yun before she left.

The woman wanted him to ensure Bai Suyuan's safety, but it seemed she hadn't entrusted this matter to Su Tongxiao, who had a higher cultivation level.

This was a bit intriguing.

"Brother Li, I think it's about time. Let's go now," Su Tongxiao said, calling out to Han Li when no one else came.

"Alright," Han Li opened his eyes and nodded.

...

On a towering peak in the northern part of the Zhongming Mountain Range, a green stone hall stood.

This was Linchuan Pavilion, the northernmost point of the Zhongming Mountain Range where the Candle Dragon Path was located.

Outside the hall, the cold wind howled, and the temperature was much lower than elsewhere. White snow fluttered in the air, overwhelming the sky, and the eye could see nothing but a vast expanse of white.

After Han Li and Su Tongxiao walked out of the hall, they flew directly towards the north without stopping at all.

After only half an hour, the two slowed down their遁光.

In the high sky tens of thousands of miles ahead, a huge flying boat was speeding forward in the sea of clouds as if riding the wind and waves.

"Hehe, this next part is quite easy. We just need to follow slowly. Speaking of which, Brother Li entered the sect at the same time as Bai Suyuan, so it shouldn't be even a hundred years ago. What do you think of our sect compared to the outside world?" Su Tongxiao looked at Han Li and asked with a smile.

"The sect's cultivation methods and resources are quite comprehensive, but if we want to obtain them, the price is not small," Han Li said with a wry smile.

"Brother Li is right. For us rogue cultivators who have no roots in the sect, how difficult it is to reach the next level without special opportunities! The initial offerings when entering the sect are just a drop in the bucket. Everything after that needs to be earned on our own. If we still want to improve at this realm, even mountains of gold and silver wouldn't be enough to spend. Otherwise, I wouldn't have barely taken this step after entering the sect for over ten thousand years," Su Tongxiao said with a self-deprecating smile, deeply empathizing.

"Initial offerings when entering the sect... What's that?" Han Li was slightly stunned upon hearing this.

"It's five hundred high-grade spirit stones and three immortal essence stones, right? May I ask, Fellow Daoist Li, who led you when you first entered the sect?" Su Tongxiao asked with a dry cough.

"Qi Liang," Han Li replied.

Hearing this, Su Tongxiao looked at Han Li with a profound look, but just smiled and said nothing.

However, the meaning behind this was very clear. He was telling Han Li that those spirit stones and immortal essence stones were all taken by Qi Liang.

A hint of anger flashed across Han Li's face, but in reality, it didn't cause much of a stir in his heart.

Qi Liang's behavior was probably commonplace in the Candle Dragon Path. Hearing Su Tongxiao say this, he was even more relieved about Qi Liang's previous enthusiasm.

Recalling Su Tongxiao's acceptance of gifts not long ago, Han Li felt a bit speechless in his heart.

He didn't expect that the prevailing rules were still the same, whether it was in the Mortal World, the Spirit World, or the Immortal World. In fact, many of these True Immortals' actions were becoming more and more like those in the secular world.

"By the way, Brother Li, do you still remember the incident when Vice Dao Lord Xiong Shan failed to refine a sword that year?" Su Tongxiao suddenly said, as if remembering something.

"Regarding this matter... Vice Dao Lord Xiong asked us not to spread it, so we'd better not talk about it," Han Li frowned and said.

"Haha... It's just the two of us here, there are no outsiders, it doesn't matter. Besides, even if we don't spread it, which elder in the sect doesn't know about it now? It's already a secretly circulated joke," Su Tongxiao laughed indifferently, not taking it seriously.

Hearing this, Han Li just smiled and said nothing.

"It is said that Vice Dao Lord Xiong borrowed a large sum of immortal essence stones from Elder Mo Xie of the Immortal Essence Hall to set up the sword array at the time, and has been in arrears ever since. As a result, Elder Mo Xie came to his door a few days ago to demand repayment. The two almost fought over it, causing a lot of noise in the sect, which was very unsightly..."

Su Tongxiao seemed to be quite enthusiastic about these kinds of internal sect anecdotes. He chatted with Han Li about many things.

Although Han Li was not interested in this, he had nothing to do along the way, so he intentionally or unintentionally guided the topic to the topics he cared about. After all, he had only been in the sect for a short time and didn't want to be inadvertently drawn into any disputes.

For a moment, the two seemed like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years, chatting non-stop.

As the huge flying boat in front flew further and further north, the temperature became colder and colder. Along the way, they encountered several rain and snow weathers, allowing Han Li, who had been busy with closed-door cultivation in the past, to enjoy a long-lost mountain snow scene.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

The flying boat carrying Bai Suyuan and the other inner disciples finally stopped in front of a huge mountain range in the northern part of the Zhongming Mountain Range.

This was the location of this trial, the Xuanbing Mountain Range.

This was the third largest branch of the Zhongming Mountain Range in the north, extending from south to north. It mainly grew a plant called Snowfield Needle Pine.

Here, the trees were tall and dense, and the leaves were needle-shaped, extremely resistant to cold. It was one of the few plants that could grow in this mountain range, covered in white snow, like white spires.

At this moment, Bai Suyuan and the other twenty-odd disciples had stepped off the flying boat in an open area in the southern part of the mountain range.

After Fang Yu put away the flying boat, he immediately said:

"Alright, now that I've brought you here, my mission is considered complete. You all have the map of this place. There are roughly three routes to move forward. You can arrange them yourselves, as long as you achieve your goals. I'll wait for you here to come back in a month."

After saying that, he swayed and landed on the top of a low peak, closing his eyes and meditating, ignoring these inner disciples.

Before long, the twenty-odd people gathered together in groups of three or five.

Qi Huanyu and Tang Chuan each had several people gathered around them, seemingly having discussed it and deciding to act together.

The several female cultivators who were originally with Bai Suyuan in Chaoyang Hall had now joined the teams of the two, indicating that they had each made their decisions on the road before.

On the other side, a few people who, like Sun Ke, came from rogue cultivator backgrounds, had also automatically formed a group.

Qi Huanyu glanced at Bai Suyuan, who was reading the map alone not far away, and immediately left the people around him, coming to her side.

"Junior Sister Bai, my junior brothers and I have chosen the Snow Camel Ridge route. Although it's relatively dangerous, it's the closest to the Snow Bear haunt in the center of the mountain range, and there should be a lot of extra gains along the way. Why don't you join us, Junior Sister? It's good to have someone to look after each other," Qi Huanyu said with an expectant look on his handsome face.