The Taiyi Sect opened, meaning the Taiyi Sect officially began recruiting disciples.
A woman dressed in Moonfrost Gauze, with a cold, extraordinary demeanor, stood with a sword before the Taiyi Sect.
She scanned the crowd gathered in front of the Taiyi Sect and sternly said, "Everyone, enter the Taiyi Sect's Mind-Questioning Ladder in an orderly fashion. Those who intentionally cause trouble will be killed!"
She did not conceal her cultivation. Just a hint of her Leaving Aperture Stage mid-stage pressure caused many to turn pale.
"As expected of the Taiyi Sect, even those maintaining order are powerful cultivators at the Leaving Aperture Stage mid-stage!"
"I know her. She is Fu Zhiyou, the Lingjian Peak Lord's direct disciple. Her talent is extraordinary, and it is said she has already been internally designated as the next Lingjian Peak Lord."
"This Junior Martial Sister's experience is also quite legendary. She originally had dual spiritual roots of metal and fire. After being accepted as a direct disciple by the Lingjian Peak Lord, she was appreciated by him and bestowed a wash spirit pill, which washed away her fire spiritual root, making her a single metal spiritual root. From then on, her cultivation speed advanced by leaps and bounds!"
"A wash spirit pill! Such a rare pill, and the Lingjian Peak Lord actually bestowed it so easily upon a disciple under his command?"
"While the wash spirit pill is precious, for a large sect like the Taiyi Sect, obtaining it isn't that difficult! Otherwise, why do you think everyone is scrambling to get into the Taiyi Sect?!"
Seeing that the crowd was intimidated by her, Fu Zhiyou then slightly turned sideways, holding her sword and standing on the stone platform to the left of the Taiyi Sect's gate.
With such a powerful cultivator maintaining order nearby, everyone became even more cautious, and even the sounds of their discussions were greatly lowered.
Zhang Yu, Lin Zhaokai, and Zhou Yunchang, among others, also entered the Taiyi Sect along with the crowd.
As they passed through the Taiyi Sect's main gate, Zhang Yu and the others all lowered their heads, showing respect for the Leaving Aperture Stage powerful cultivator.
Not long after Zhang Yu and the others entered, a stream of light flashed across the jade pendant at Fu Zhiyou's waist. She formed a hand seal, obtained the message from the jade pendant, and her eyes lit up. She summoned another Leaving Aperture Stage early-stage fellow disciple to temporarily maintain order in her place, and then hastily departed on her sword.
Many speculated about Fu Zhiyou's appearance when she left, wondering if something major had happened within the Taiyi Sect.
Fu Zhiyou arrived at the Taiyi Sect's Wangtian Peak on her sword. By this time, many people had already gathered there.
If those who wished to join the Taiyi Sect saw this scene, they would surely be so surprised their eyeballs would pop out.
Here, direct disciples from various peaks of the Taiyi Sect were gathered, even including the Taiyi Sect Sect Leader's direct disciple. Not a single person present had a cultivation lower than the Leaving Aperture Stage.
It could be said that those gathered here were the backbone of the Taiyi Sect, the next generation of Taiyi Sect's high-ranking officials.
Aside from the Taiyi Sect Supreme Sect Leader, the Supreme Elders, the Sect Leader, and the Lords of each peak, these individuals held the highest status within the Taiyi Sect.
Ordinarily, these people were either in secluded cultivation or busy working for the sect. Yet, today, they were all present, a rare gathering.
It seemed they were waiting for someone.
Having worked together for several hundred years, everyone was quite familiar with each other and naturally began to exchange pleasantries.
"When will our Junior Martial Aunt arrive?" Fu Zhiyou asked.
Yan Ang, the direct disciple of Lingyao Peak, replied to her, "Soon. I received a message from Junior Martial Aunt's side; it will be about another quarter of an hour."
A quarter of an hour later, a flying boat cut through the clouds and slowly descended onto Wangtian Peak.
Fu Zhiyou and the others quickly went to greet her.
After the flying boat steadily stopped, the boat door opened, and a delicate, beautifully adorned young girl, dressed in extraordinary attire, stepped down from the flying boat.
Fu Zhiyou and the others quickly bowed and called out in unison.
"Junior Martial Aunt."
Don't let her age deceive you; she was much younger than them, and her cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment mid-stage. But her seniority was undeniable.
As the Taiyi Sect Supreme Sect Leader's direct and last disciple, and their Sect Leader's biological Junior Martial Sister, they naturally should address her as Junior Martial Aunt.
"Greetings, Martial Nephews and Nieces," Wen Xiangjie said, her hands clasped behind her back, in a remarkably proper manner.
Her adorable appearance made even Fu Zhiyou unable to help but smile slightly.
"Junior Martial Aunt, please follow me. I will take you to the Mind-Questioning Ladder," Fu Zhiyou said, stepping forward.
Even though Wen Xiangjie was already the Taiyi Sect Supreme Sect Leader's direct and last disciple, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.
Moreover, climbing the Mind-Questioning Ladder would also benefit Wen Xiangjie, as it could temper her mental fortitude.
"Alright," Wen Xiangjie nodded, following behind Fu Zhiyou.
The Mind-Questioning Ladder was located below the Taiyi Sect's main sect, a long, heaven-reaching ladder whose top was even obscured by clouds.
Many people, upon seeing this seemingly endless Mind-Questioning Ladder, already felt their hearts pounding and somewhat wanted to retreat.
Not to mention that the Mind-Questioning Ladder also had the effect of testing one's state of mind; even just climbing it would probably exhaust someone to death halfway through.
Even Lin Zhaokai's face was slightly pale, but he still gritted his teeth and stepped his left foot onto the first step of the Mind-Questioning Ladder.
When his left foot landed on the step of the Mind-Questioning Ladder, suddenly everyone beside him disappeared. The entire world seemed to be left with only him, facing the seemingly endless ladder.
A sense of despair immediately swept through Lin Zhaokai's entire body, and the thought of giving up suddenly became even stronger.
Lin Zhaokai shook his head violently, trying to drive the thought of giving up from his mind.
After climbing dozens of steps, Lin Zhaokai's desire to retreat became so strong that he could barely control his legs.
To move forward, his legs were as if cast in steel, unable to move.
But if he entertained the thought of going backward, his legs would eagerly take a step back. If Lin Zhaokai hadn't reacted in time and firmly pinched his upper thigh, he would probably be back at the first step by now.
Logically speaking, dozens of steps should not have made Lin Zhaokai so tired. The Mind-Questioning Ladder, indeed, had an extraordinary effect.
Although he didn't know how many layers the Mind-Questioning Ladder had in total, he had only climbed a few dozen layers, so he definitely wouldn't pass.
Lin Zhaokai simply lay prostrate on the ground, attempting to use his hands and feet to climb a few more steps.
However, even with all four limbs, clinging to a higher step in such a disheveled posture, he still couldn't take that step.
At the same time, Lin Zhaokai received a fatal blow from the system prompt.
"Your root bone is 2, comprehension is 2, luck is 4. Based on these values, you can climb a total of 84 layers on the Mind-Questioning Ladder. You have already climbed 84 layers and cannot continue."
"Unfortunately, the number of layers you climbed is insufficient, and you cannot receive the Mind-Questioning Ladder's stat reward."
Lin Zhaokai felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He hadn't expected this game dungeon to have such stringent requirements for stats.
Even if he had the determination to continue climbing, he could only stop here due to insufficient stats.
To make matters worse, his insufficient initial stats prevented him from obtaining the Mind-Questioning Ladder's stat reward.