Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 519 You surnamed Chen! Get the hell out here!

The disciple in charge wrote his name on the roster, then looked up at him and asked, "Cultivation level?"

"Mid-stage Foundation Building"

The disciple nodded, made a note on the roster, and then handed him a wooden tag: "This is your number tag. When your number is called, come forward for the test."

Chen Fan took the wooden plaque, looked down, and saw the number "ninety-seven" engraved on it.

More than ninety people.

He glanced at the crowd still in line, then quietly stepped aside, found a quiet corner, and closed his eyes to rest.

Time passed slowly.

Before the spirit-testing stele, one by one, the independent cultivators stepped forward and placed their palms on the surface of the stele.

The spirit-testing tablet would then light up with varying brightness, indicating the tester's cultivation level and the purity of their spiritual power.

Elder Li stood beside the monument, looking at it expressionlessly, occasionally nodding, and occasionally frowning and shaking his head.

"Zhang Dashan, Qi Refining Level 9, spiritual energy is mixed. Pass."

"Liu Sanshui, Qi Refining Level 8, spiritual power is acceptable. Pass."

"Zhao Tiezhu, Qi Refining Level 6. Failed. Next."

"Qian Sihai, early stage of Foundation Establishment, possesses abundant spiritual power. Pass."

……

The test proceeded quickly, with most participants being independent cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, and less than 20% in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Occasionally, when one or two early-stage Core Formation cultivators step forward, they attract envious whispers from those around them.

Chen Fan observed silently, memorizing the faces of all the cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage.

These people are his potential competitors in the state capital competition. Although he doesn't take them seriously at all given his actual cultivation level, it's always good to know yourself and your enemy.

"Number 97! Chen Mu!"

After about half an hour, it was finally his turn.

Chen Fan opened his eyes and stepped toward the spirit-testing stele.

Just then, a burly figure suddenly cut in from the side and blocked his way.

This man was eight feet tall, with a broad back and thick waist, and a face full of scars. He was clearly a body cultivator in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

He was wearing a short coat made of animal skin, revealing two thick, muscular arms with bulging veins, clearly indicating that he was a body cultivator who followed a fierce and powerful path.

"You're Chen Mu?" The cultivator glanced at Chen Fan with disdain. "A piece of trash at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, get in line behind me!"

Chen Fan stopped and looked at the other person calmly.

The surrounding crowd noticed the commotion and turned their attention to it.

"It's Lu Xiong! A traitorous disciple of the Iron Bone Sect, said to be a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with exceptional physical strength!"

"Why did he target that kid? Do they have a grudge against each other?"

"He's probably just bullying people because their cultivation level is low. Lu Xiong has a bad reputation in the rogue cultivator circle; he specializes in bullying the weak."

……

Chen Fan listened to the surrounding discussions, but his face remained expressionless.

He stood there, his figure slightly thin, wearing a faded gray-blue cloth robe, looking like an ordinary down-on-his-luck rogue cultivator, a stark contrast to the burly Lu Xiong in front of him.

Seeing that he didn't move, Lu Xiong assumed he was intimidated and his smugness deepened: "Useless trash, if you know what's good for you, get out of my way. You think you can get ahead of me?"

Chen Fan finally spoke, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion: "Why?"

"My fists are bigger than yours!" Lu Xiong grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "What? You're not convinced? Believe me or not, I'll break your legs right now, you piece of trash!"

Chen Fan looked at his arrogant and domineering face, and a slight emotion finally appeared in his eyes.

It wasn't anger, but a bottomless calm.

He slowly tucked the number plate into his sleeve, looked up and stared directly into Lu Xiong's eyes: "If you want to fight, then fight. Why waste words?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the surrounding chatter.

Everyone was stunned.

A Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, facing a late Foundation Establishment peak body cultivator, not only didn't back down, but actually took the initiative to say he wanted to fight?

Is this kid tired of living?

Lu Xiong was also taken aback, then flew into a rage: "Fine! Since you're courting death, I'll grant your wish!"

He took a step forward, his muscles suddenly bulged, and his late-stage Foundation Establishment Qi and blood power charged towards Chen Fan like a raging bull!

"That's enough!"

A furious shout exploded like a thunderclap!

Elder Li appeared between the two, unleashing his mid-stage Core Formation aura without reservation, instantly suppressing Lu Xiong's blood and qi.

Lu Xiong grunted and took three steps back, his face flushed red.

Chen Fan remained motionless, merely turning slightly to the side and bowing, saying, "Elder Li."

Elder Li glanced at him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

To remain so composed and unyielding in the face of provocation from someone in the late Foundation Establishment stage is quite admirable.

He then turned to Lu Xiong and said coldly, "Private duels are not allowed in the martial arts arena! This is the rule of the Shangyun Sect. If there is a next time, you will be disqualified from the test and expelled from the sect!"

Lu Xiong's face turned pale and then red. He gritted his teeth but dared not lash out. He could only bow his head, clasp his hands, and say, "I acted impulsively. I hope the elder will forgive me."

Elder Li snorted coldly, no longer looking at him, and said to Chen Fan, "Step forward for the test."

Chen Fan nodded, walked past Lu Xiong, and went to the spirit-testing stele.

He placed his palm on the cold surface of the monument and slowly channeled in a wisp of spiritual energy befitting a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

A soft white light shone on the spirit-testing stele, and several ancient characters appeared on its surface: "Mid-Foundation Establishment, Pure Spiritual Power."

Elder Li glanced at it and nodded in satisfaction: "Chen Mu, mid-Foundation Establishment stage, pure spiritual energy. Passed."

Chen Fan withdrew his hand and took a token engraved with the word "Deacon" and a jade slip containing the allocation of cave dwellings from the deacon disciple.

Without even glancing at Lu Xiong, who stood to the side with a livid face, he turned and walked out of the training ground.

Lu Xiong stared intently at his back, his eyes brimming with resentment.

"Lu Xiong! Number 98! Step forward for the test!" Elder Li's voice pulled him back to reality.

Lu Xiong took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and strode towards the spirit-testing stele.

……

Chen Fan walked up the mountain path.

Following the instructions in the jade slip, he was assigned to a cave dwelling halfway up Luoyun Mountain.

It's called a cave dwelling, but it's actually just a stone chamber carved into the mountainside, with a small courtyard around it. The courtyard is overgrown with weeds, and the door to the stone chamber is half-crooked, indicating that no one has lived there for a long time.

Chen Fan pushed open the crooked wooden door and entered the stone chamber.

The interior space was small, containing only a stone bed, a stone table, and two stone chairs. Several low-quality moonstones for lighting were embedded in the walls, emitting a dim, yellowish light.

The concentration of spiritual energy is slightly stronger than outside, but only to a limited extent, enough for the daily cultivation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the early stage.

However, none of this mattered to Chen Fan.

With the golden bowl in his hand, he never cultivated in the stone chamber outside.

The reason for needing this cave dwelling was simply to have a legitimate place to stay.

Chen Fan closed the courtyard gate and took out two simple array flags from his storage bag. He then set up a restriction to isolate divine sense and a low-level defensive array around the courtyard and stone chamber.

These two sets of array flags were looted from the sealed land back then. They are of low grade and can only block the prying eyes of cultivators below the Core Formation stage, but they are enough for use in the Shangyun Sect.

After doing all this, he went into the stone chamber and sat cross-legged on the stone bed.

He planned to rest for a day or two first, and then make further plans after he had figured out the specific situation of Shangyun Sect.

However, he had only been sitting down for a short while when a series of noisy footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

"This is it! Senior Brother Lu, that kid lives in this cave!"

A shrill voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate, followed by a violent banging on the door.

"Hey, you surnamed Chen! Get your ass out here!"