Chapter 12: Chapter 12 I Met the Young Lady in Penglai
Editor: Henyee Translations
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[Countdown to world destruction: One thousand years.]
[Please hurry in your search for the Heaven-Mending Stone.]
[Location three: Penglai Yuqing View.]
[Character Identity: Luo Yan.]
[Overlaying the Mirror Flower Water Moon template, time-space travel in progress.]
Luo Yan opened his eyes… No, Luo Yan didn’t open his eyes because he was squinting.
Despite squinting, he could actually see through a tiny slit, so his vision wasn’t greatly affected.
The place where the Kunlun Mirror sent him was a small fishing village on the Immortal Island of East Sea Penglai.
Penglai Yuqing View was different from the Kunlun Taiqing Sect and the Shushan Shangqing Faction. Its location on the offshore Penglai Immortal Island was not directly open to the public.
Commoners wishing to travel here from the mainland could only set sail from Qingzhou to the east, heading first to the periphery of the seventy-two caves on the East Sea, hiring an ocean-going sailor skilled in Qimen Dunjia with a hefty sum to navigate through layers of mystic barriers, and then successfully arrive at Penglai Immortal Island.
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Because of this, those seeking apprenticeships at Penglai Yuqing View might not necessarily be of exceptional comprehension, but most were the wealthy offspring of well-to-do families.
Sons of generals from Yue, sons of royal advisors from Qi, the fourth princes of Chu, among others, were all commonplace here, with various second-generation officials and rich kids everywhere.
Even the inns in the small fishing village were extravagantly built, sharply contrasting with the surrounding humble fishermen’s thatch-roofed homes.
Although Luo Yan had some money with him, he naturally wouldn’t waste it on accommodations.
After asking the villagers, he headed in the direction of Yuqing View.
This Yuqing View was built on the mountainside of Mount Penglai and it didn’t look very big.
Apart from the architectural style of Taoist temples, from the outside it rather resembled the courtyard gardens of scholars and nobility.
However, considering the numerous Array Masters within Penglai Yuqing View, there might be a whole different world inside.
When Luo Yan arrived at the main gate of Penglai Yuqing View, he saw a puppet made of white jade blocking a beautiful girl, about sixteen years old, mechanically saying:
“According to Elder Shi Ding’s orders, you are not allowed to enter or leave the sect at will…”
Before it could finish speaking, the beautiful girl impatiently tossed out a small seal.
The small seal grew rapidly upon touching the wind, expanding to the size of a pot lid in mid-air, then spun swiftly with a “ping” sound, and “smack”!
It shattered the puppet to pieces.
“Hmph, mere Nian Nu…” The beautiful girl retrieved the small seal, turned around to leave the View and saw Luo Yan standing there, dumbfounded.
To be accurate, his mouth was agape in shock, but his eyes didn’t widen—after all, he couldn’t easily open his squinted eyes.
Although Luo Yan was new to cultivating immortality, Qiu Changtian was not, and he recognized at a glance:
Wasn’t the small seal in the girl’s hand the Heaven-flipping Seal that had once caused havoc in the Intercepting Cult during the ancient battles?
That was a post-celestial Spiritual Treasure!
“You are…” The beautiful girl initially looked timid upon seeing a stranger, but then quickly realized something and tentatively asked, “Are you here to seek apprenticeship?”
“Indeed.” Luo Yan snapped back to reality and hastily replied with respectful laughter, “I am wholly devoted to the Way, and have long heard of the great name of Penglai Yuqing View. I have travelled thousands of miles here, hoping to hear and cultivate the Way…”
“Stop! Enough!” The beautiful girl raised her hands crossed in front of her chest, signaling for him to stop, “Enough, enough!”
“All you have to say is that you’ve come to seek apprenticeship.” She looked at Luo Yan with disdain, thinking that this man laughed foolishly, didn’t seem too bright, and his eyes appeared as if they were barely open, making him look even more simple-minded.
For such a person to pass the entry level test, it’s probably going to be difficult, right?
Lucky for you to have met me, the young miss. Considering the fate of our encounter, it wouldn’t be out of question for me to lend you a hand.
This is the karma you’ve cultivated over your past eight lifetimes; just be quietly elated!
“If you wish to seek apprenticeship, then follow me.” The beautiful girl said coldly and started leading the way.
“Thank you, senior apprentice sister!” Luo Yan was overjoyed and quickly followed, “May I ask for senior apprentice sister’s name?”
“Shi Liuli.” The beautiful girl replied.
Luo Yan smiled and said:
“Liuli of drifting clouds and colorful rays, what a beautiful name for senior apprentice sister.”
“It’s ‘Liuli’ from ‘five-colored glaze’!” Shi Liuli glared at him, but for some reason, felt extremely cheerful, “It’s not ‘liuli’ from ‘drifting clouds and colorful rays’; remember that clearly!”
“Understood, senior apprentice sister.” Luo Yan chuckled.
With each mention of senior apprentice sister, Shi Liuli couldn’t help but feel delighted inside.
As the youngest daughter of Elder Shi Ding, she was usually treated as a little apprentice sister surrounded and cherished by all kinds of older apprentice brothers and sisters.
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At this moment, seeing a junior who respectfully called her “senior sister,” she suddenly felt a certain sense of responsibility as an elder.
For instance, just as Yue Lingshan from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer warmed up to Lin Pingzhi when he respectfully addressed her, her attitude towards this junior brother immediately became enthusiastic.
“Fair enough,” Shi Liuli said haughtily, “do you know what the entry-level exam at our Yuqing View is like?”
“I really don’t know, please enlighten me, senior sister,” Luo Yan said respectfully.
“You don’t even know this, did you seek immortality at our doorstep without any preparation?” Shi Liuli shook her head, with a helpless expression of “I really can’t with you,” and said, “The entry exam is a written test, one thousand questions, and you pass if you get six hundred correct.”
“As for the content of the exam… Have you ever heard of Daozang?”
“Daozang? I haven’t heard of it,” Luo Yan replied with a smile.
This was a lie.
Daozang was to cultivators what Buddhist scripture was to the disciples of Shaolin Temple; even those monks obsessed with martial arts could not possibly have never encountered the Buddhist teachings.
However, Luo Yan said this to test the effectiveness of his false persona.
As expected, right after Shi Liuli chuckled, the Kunlun Mirror in his mind began to whisper:
[Falsehood persona, synchronization value +1.]
Luo Yan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
So that’s how it is, as long as the lie is successful, the synchronization value of the false persona increases, huh?
According to Qiu Changtian’s experience, now that he had a proven method to increase the synchronization value, it would be best to find a scapegoat… no, to find a caring senior sister or junior sister to help him maintain this synchronization daily!
And since he had to be “false,” it would be best if this person were a bit foolish, unable to see through his lies and uncover his “falsehood.”
For example, this airheaded-looking senior sister.
Shi Liuli, unaware of his thoughts, mulled over the situation.
This squinty-eyed junior brother, who appears so simple and naive and hasn’t even heard of the entry exam’s focus on Daozang, how could he possibly pass the entry exam?
If it had been someone else who failed the exam, that would be that, but since this junior brother respectfully called me senior sister, I suppose I should reluctantly offer him some guidance.
“Listen carefully.” Shi Liuli coughed and then said, “Daozang is known as having three thousand volumes, but in fact, according to content, it can be divided into the Three Caves, Four Supplements, and Twelve Categories.”
“The Three Caves, namely Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Cave Divine, discuss the most essential aspects of the Great Dao and are the main focus of the entry exams;”
“The Four Supplements, Taiqing, Taiping, Tai Xuan, and Zhengyi, provide explanations and additions to the preceding Three Caves;”
“The Twelve Categories refer to the twelve categories under each Cave, with thirty-six categories in total for the Three Caves, serving as supplements and miscellaneous compilations to the previous Three Caves and Four Supplements.”
Bringing Luo Yan to the entrance of the Daozang Pavilion, Shi Liuli stopped and said with deep meaning:
“So, do you understand what the entry exam will test you on?”
“I understand, I understand,” Luo Yan thought to himself how could this not be clear. Since all others are supplements, the exam would definitely test on Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Cave Divine.
“Good,” Shi Liuli then pushed him into the Daozang Pavilion and said, “You have one hour to study the Daozang here.”
“After an hour, a formation will transport you out and take you to the adjoining quiet room to take the written entry exam.”
“Seeing as you called me senior sister, I have practically given you the answer. Make good use of this hour and plan accordingly.”
Having said that, the doors of the Daozang Pavilion automatically closed, shutting Luo Yan inside.
Turning his head, Luo Yan saw that the room was lined with many bookshelves, eight rows of four, totalling thirty-two.
Each bookshelf was divided into five layers, with twenty books on each layer, adding up to a total of three thousand two hundred books.
Having been reminded by Shi Liuli just a moment ago, Luo Yan knew he should mainly look for the books of Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Cave Divine, so he quickly started to search for these three volumes.
In less than ten seconds, he found the books labeled “Three Caves” on the top shelf to the left.
A quick count revealed there were twenty-four in total!
With one hour to work with, meaning he would need to finish and comprehend one book every five minutes, how could that possibly be enough time?
No wonder Shi Liuli said he was embarrassingly unprepared! It turns out you absolutely cannot pass the entry exam without prior preparation!
“Ah Jing!” Luo Yan quickly called out, “Can you access Qiu Changtian’s records now without being detected by the formation here?”
“I can,” the Kunlun Mirror replied.
“Can you also return to those records later?”
“No problem.”
“Good!” Luo Yan clenched his teeth, “Return to Qiu Changtian’s side now, go to the Kunlun Scripture Pavilion to study the Daozang! Prepare for the exam!”