In the center of Mozhou.
At the foot of Shangqing Mountain, Qingyun Town.
Ye Ling and his party arrived in the town and found it bustling with people, exceptionally lively.
"This town is so lively, is there a special festival today?" Tian Xing scanned the bustling town and asked curiously.
"Looking at the attire, customs, and even accents of the people in this town, and the fact that most of them are young talents, they should be from all over Mozhou. Could it be the day Shangqing Palace recruits disciples?" Ye Ling observed the surrounding cultivators and guessed.
"It's possible..." Tian Xing nodded, gazing into the distance. "I see a registration point over there. Ye Ling... do you want to sign up and try?"
"What would I do that for?"
Ye Ling shook his head and smiled, then looked at the towering Shangqing Mountain outside Qingyun Town and said, "However, our target, Shangqing Palace, is right there. Before we act, we should thoroughly investigate Shangqing Palace's background."
"Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles."
Tian Xing nodded and said, "I agree... After all, Shangqing Palace is the lair of the Lord of the Upper Realm, and Mozhou's overall strength is even greater than the combined strength of Dao, Beast, and Witch states. Shangqing Palace can firmly hold the leading position in Mozhou, so its strength must not be underestimated. We need to prepare in advance."
"Then let's split up and act. We'll rendezvous later to sort out the intelligence," Ye Ling said to Tian Xing.
Tian Xing nodded, "Alright, I'll go take a look around Shangqing Mountain. You investigate Qingyun Town and see what Shangqing Palace's reputation is like here."
"We don't know Shangqing Palace's background. Don't provoke the strong cultivators of Shangqing Palace. Be extremely careful and prioritize your own safety," Ye Ling cautioned Tian Xing.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"
Tian Xing gave Ye Ling an "ok" gesture, then transformed into a beam of light, easily passing through the barrier of Shangqing Mountain and infiltrating it.
Now that Tian Xing possessed a Seed of Origin, his strength had undergone earth-shattering changes. The ordinary magic formations deployed by Shangqing Palace at its mountain gate could no longer stop Tian Xing.
Upon seeing Tian Xing leave, the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire on Ye Ling's wrist immediately said to him, "Kid, let's take advantage of this rare opportunity to have some fun in this town... and investigate. This Qingyun Town is so prosperous, let's join the excitement... oh no, let's go investigate."
Ye Ling gave the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire a sideways glance and teased, "Did you just let something slip?"
"Let something slip? Did I?" the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire feigned ignorance.
"Forget it, I'll handle this town. If you want to have fun, go out on your own."
Ye Ling didn't really expect the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire to be of much help in terms of thinking, so he shook his head and smiled, then walked towards the most densely populated area.
Qingyun Town is a subordinate town of Shangqing Palace, an industry of Shangqing Palace, and it is also the only place where one can be accepted into Shangqing Palace.
Every three years, Shangqing Palace sets up a trial registration point in Qingyun Town. Any rogue cultivator who passes the trial can be accepted into Shangqing Palace and become an outer disciple.
Outstanding rogue cultivators can even directly become inner disciples.
However, the treatment of outer disciples in Shangqing Palace is completely different from that of outer disciples in Dao Sect. Outer disciples of Shangqing Palace do not have to do any menial labor, and they practice the same cultivation techniques as inner disciples. The only difference is that inner disciples receive lectures from dedicated elders and have a fixed monthly supply of elixirs.
Of course, if a rogue cultivator is favored by an elder who happens to be observing the trial, they can become the elder's personal disciple, practice the elder's unique techniques, and soar to the heavens.
Following the crowd, Ye Ling gradually learned about the special role of Qingyun Town to Shangqing Palace through the conversations of the surrounding cultivators.
Today was indeed, as he had guessed, the day to register for the Shangqing Palace trial.
Almost all the young talents in Mozhou had come to Qingyun Town, eagerly preparing to showcase their skills in the trial.
"Kid, I see that Shangqing Palace has quite a reputation in Mozhou, and it looks like a reputable sect. Is this really the sect of the Lord of the Upper Realm?"
As the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire followed, it saw countless cultivators looking at Shangqing Palace with admiration, and it fell into deep self-doubt.
After witnessing the actions of the Lord of the Upper Realm's dark army in the Primordial Lower Realm, the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire found it difficult to associate Shangqing Palace with the Lord of the Upper Realm who possessed the dark army.
"These might all be superficial. Moreover, Qingyun Town is the facade of Shangqing Palace to the outside world. Since Shangqing Palace is the leader of Mozhou, it has to maintain some superficial appearances."
Ye Ling was not shaken by the peace and harmony of Qingyun Town. He continued, "We won't know the true face of Shangqing Palace until Tian Xing returns."
The World Annihilating Spiritual Fire then said, "Kid... if, I mean, if Shangqing Palace really has nothing to do with the Lord of the Upper Realm, and is a reputable sect itself, will you still insist on destroying Shangqing Palace?"
"After all, we owe Bai Qing a great favor, and we promised to deal with Shangqing Palace... If Shangqing Palace really has nothing to do with the Lord of the Upper Realm, we can only grit our teeth and go through with it..." Ye Ling sighed.
"Kid, you're not thinking of slaughtering this Qingyun Town, are you?" the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire exclaimed in disbelief. "The talents from all over Mozhou are here. If we dare to do something like this, it'll be a minor issue if Mozhou considers us demons. It'll be a big problem if you, kid, suffer a backlash from your inner demons because of this!"
The World Annihilating Spiritual Fire understood Ye Ling very well and knew that Ye Ling would not commit evil acts like slaughtering innocent civilians, which would go against his conscience.
Ye Ling sighed slightly and asked the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire, "Then... can we negotiate with Senior Bai Qing and get a discount? Just deal with the current leaders of Shangqing Palace?"
"Do you think Bai Qing will accept that?" the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire asked.
"I don't know..." Ye Ling shook his head. "But based on the current situation, it's highly likely I won't be able to lay hands on Shangqing Palace and Qingyun Town. Let's take it one step at a time."
"If all else fails, we can go find Senior Bai Qing first and explain the situation clearly... In any case, let's just pray that Shangqing Palace isn't a proper sect..."
As Ye Ling and the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire conversed, they unconsciously followed the crowd to a registration point.
"Registration fee is one thousand spirit stones, only spirit stones accepted," a Shangqing Palace disciple said to Ye Ling without looking up from his writing.
Ye Ling snapped back to reality, realizing that he had subconsciously joined the queue and arrived at the registration point.
The Shangqing Palace disciple in charge of registration frowned when Ye Ling didn't respond for a while. He looked up at Ye Ling and asked, "Are you registering or not? There are quite a few people waiting behind you!"
Ye Ling looked back and saw a long queue behind him. He couldn't help but say to the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire, "When did I get in line?"
"Didn't notice. This town is so crowded, and I was too busy talking to you," the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire replied nonchalantly. "But kid, since you're already in line, why not register for fun? It can relax your mood and allow you to understand the specific situation of Shangqing Palace more deeply."
"A trial for a bunch of brats, why should we join the fun?"
Although Ye Ling said this to the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire, his body was honest. He took out a bag of spirit stones and placed it on the table, saying, "I'm registering."
The Shangqing Palace disciple opened the bag and checked it. After confirming the quantity of spirit stones was correct, he put them into his spatial ring and then said to Ye Ling, "Please provide your name, age, and cultivation level."
"Wang Liren, 17 years old, Heavenly Palace Realm," Ye Ling said with a straight face.
"You old rascal, your face is thicker than a city wall when you lie, you don't even blink," the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire couldn't help but complain. "How many times have you used Wang Liren's name? Can't you change it?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "That might be a bit difficult."
"Take this jade token and wait in the resting area over there. Someone will escort you to the trial." After recording Ye Ling's information, the Shangqing Palace disciple handed Ye Ling a smooth jade token.
"Thank you."
Ye Ling smiled and took the jade token. However, the moment he received it, his eyes changed.
"Kid?" the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire sensed the subtle change in Ye Ling's emotions and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Ling calmly put away the jade token and said to the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire in a deep voice, "This jade token... contains energy similar to that of Tianyun Island."