ah?The palace fighting system can also cultivate immortality

Chapter 198: Mountain Selection
Immortal sects have always been strict in accepting disciples. Not only do they have requirements for spiritual roots, but they also prefer young ages.

Every time, there are people who are over the age limit and cry in front of the sect, hoping that the immortal will show leniency and accept them as an exception. However, after crying for a while, they are often sent down the mountain by a gust of immortal wind and can no longer set foot within a hundred miles of the sect.

The Jiuyang Sect is not only one of the three major sects, but also a holy place in the hearts of sword practitioners.

When the news that the Jiuyang Sect was recruiting disciples spread, Jinwu City quickly became lively, and even the beggars in the city began to live a good life - carriages of travelers from other places arrived one after another, and those who got off the carriages and entered the city were either rich or noble, and the beggars could be fed with just a little money from their fingers.

"That's strange,"

The little beggar returned to the shack with two meat buns in his hands. He shared the buns with his companions and said, "Liu Zi always hangs around me. Why can't I see him these past two days? Could he have been kidnapped?"

Cross the galaxy and take a glance.

Another little beggar went on to say, "How is that possible! I just saw him yesterday. He has been begging so hard these past two days. In the past, we could just say some auspicious words, but he kowtows all the time, from the north to the south of the city, and his forehead is all bruised. When there are fewer people in the market, he goes to the dock to move goods. We can't beat him."

"There are so many nobles in Jinwu City recently. Is it necessary to work so hard to beg for food? I advise him to go to the dock less often. He will be beaten sooner or later if he competes with those people for work, and the wages are not much..."

"Does he want to become a disciple of the Nine Yang Sect? I heard that one has to pay a toll to enter the Nine Yang Sect."

When they heard about the Nine Yang Sect, the little beggars fell silent.

One of them laughed and said, "The Immortal Master will never accept beggars like us as his disciples. Stop dreaming, Liuzi. If we really want to go, I'll go. I think I look like an immortal even when I don't eat or drink. I heard that the Immortal Master likes people who are brave, and I think I'm very brave."

The other little beggars all looked at them sideways.

As expected, Xu Liu has a fixed position to flatter the leader. When Liuzi is not around, there will be others who will flatter the leader.

"Talk about your own things, don't bring me up."

Du Xinghe's words made them quiet down again.

After a while, they all tactfully changed the subject.

There was a hammock in the shabby shack. Sleeping on it was Du Xinghe's privilege, while the little beggars could only sleep on the ground. She loved to sit cross-legged on the hammock, and they also learned to do the same, thinking that as long as they imitated her well, they would be able to fight as well as her.

Du Xinghe discovered that after sitting cross-legged, placing his hands on his legs with his palms facing up, slowing down his breathing, and making each breath longer than the last, the hunger in his stomach would gradually be soothed, and he would feel more energetic.

She didn't think about becoming an immortal. She felt that she must have been very good at preserving her health in her previous life.

In the shed that was leaking all day long, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth naturally merged into the true energy in her body, as if the two were one.

If there were cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above here, they would find that the thin spiritual energy around them was attracted by the jade token hidden under her clothes, forming a small spiritual energy vortex that was absorbed by her and cleansed her meridians.

As the spiritual energy filled Duxing River silently, she found that she could feel a breeze, a drop of morning dew, and even the words of the soil under her feet. They were not conveyed in any language in the world, but she could capture and recognize them.

Compared to talking to people, communicating with heaven and earth is more interesting.

"call……"

A strange breeze rose from her hand, as if the wind also wanted to touch her hand and hug her gently.

Du Xinghe opened his eyes and thought solemnly -

Bad, her recent hallucinations and auditory hallucinations seem to have become more serious again.

"……Ouch!"

A gust of evil wind suddenly blew from behind, pushing Du Xinghe, who was sitting comfortably, forward and falling off the hammock.

"Sister, what's wrong with you?"

The little beggars who were chatting were startled and came over to ask about her well-being: "How could you fall off the bed for no reason? This is strange. Are you hurt?"

"Can such a small noise hurt me? You are looking down on your sister. Go play somewhere else."

Du Xinghe waved his hand and asked them to disperse.

She really wasn't hurt, she lifted her legs slightly, and when she fell, it didn't seem like she fell to the ground, but was caught by the soft quilt, but how could it be? She touched the ground in disbelief and felt gravel.

The wind blowing into the shed from outside made a whistling sound, as if someone was sneering shrilly.

……

There are still two days left until the end of the Nine Yang Sect selection.

Du Xinghe hadn't seen Xiaoliu for four days - when he was away, her ears were much quieter. The child had ADHD like a monkey and never stopped talking. He was very suitable to beg on the street. Before her companions finished saying "Master, good luck...", he had already said a long string of words without getting out of breath, "Master, you can tell at a glance that I am blessed with great fortune. I haven't eaten for three days. Please give me half a bun so that I can also get some of your blessings."

She caught a young beggar who had just returned and asked him, "Have you seen Xiaoliu?"

"I haven't seen him today, but Liuzi... he should be by the canal at this time. Sister, do you need to see him for something? I'll pass the message on for you, or just call him back!"

said the little beggar.

Du Xinghe paused. What did she want to see him for? Hanging out with a bunch of street kids was only a temporary solution, but after all, she hadn't seen him for many days: "...No, just asking...I said no, didn't you just come back? Why are you going out again?"

"I told Liuzi that you asked him, he would be happy if he knew."

He said it bluntly.

Du Xinghe let go of his hand and let him go.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the little beggar came back in a panic, shouting, "Something bad has happened! Sister! Liuzi has been captured! Go and save him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Du Xinghe disappeared from the hammock.

The little beggar was patted hard on the back. When he turned around, he found that the big sister was already standing next to him:

"lead the way."

As the little beggar led her to the canal, he kept mumbling, "I've long advised Liuzi not to look for work at the docks. Winter is coming, and when the river freezes up, the canal boats will stop operating. Those canal boatmen should hurry up and make more money before the river freezes up. He's still trying to compete with others for work. Isn't that just taking food from others? He'll get beaten sooner or later!"

If you have hands and feet and are willing to work, you will not starve to death. Those who beg for food are all lazy people...

This does not apply in Jinwu City.

When winter came, a lot of people would starve to death, and the frozen corpses would have nothing valuable to show except some flesh on the bones. In the city, every business had a helmsman and a boss. If someone wanted to start his own business, he would be beaten to death before he could make any money.

Even if you are begging in Jinwu City, you have to follow the rules.

When Du Xinghe first arrived, she offended the big beggar. As she was a woman, he wanted to snatch her away to be his wife, so he let her go for two days... Of course, before he could make a move on her, she packed her things up and sent her to the canal herself.

When we reached the canal, there was no trace of Liuzi.

Fortunately, there was a little beggar here, and Du Xinghe asked and found out that Xiaoliu was dragged to a boat by three big men. The boat they pointed to was piled with fish as high as a mountain from a distance, and the door of the boat was closed.

If a fight occurs on the shore, the officers and soldiers will take care of it. On the boat, as long as there is not too much noise, the patrolling officers and soldiers will not bother to intervene even if they pass by the shore.

"You guys stay here, I'll go over there by myself."

Du Xinghe said this, and without waiting for the little beggar to stop him, he ran over like a feather swallow.

Sister, are you going there by yourself?
How did it go?

The boat is some distance away from the shore and is held by chains. Is it possible to swim over there?

Do you know how to swim?
Under the astonished gaze of the little beggars, Du Xinghe jumped from the shore and landed on the iron chain. The chain sank when she stepped on it, and she walked all the way to the small boat as if she were walking on flat ground, stepping on the water and the iron chain.

"How many times have I warned you? If you are not one of us named Xiang, you can't find a job at the dock. You are not looking for a job, you are looking for death!"

Even through the door, Du Xinghe could hear the shouting and cursing inside.

Amidst the cursing, Xiaoliu begged for mercy. He promised the three men that if he could work for one more day, he would never come to the dock to bother them again.

"Still want to fight for another day? I see you didn't listen to us at all!"

"You have worked for six days. Pay us the wages for these six days and we will let you go."

"Don't think we're making things difficult for you. The work you did was originally contracted by us, the Xiangs. We didn't make it difficult for you because you're young..."

Hearing that he had to hand over his wages, Xiaoliu, who had been begging for mercy in a low voice, suddenly became excited: "No, you can't take my wages! Please, three masters, let me work for one more day... I don't have to work anymore! Give me back my purse! Give it back to me!"

"Break his hands and send him back to the south of the city to beg for food!"

"We are helping you. One of your hands is broken, and others will give you two extra buns out of pity for you—"

Before the man with the softer voice could finish his words, the wooden door was kicked open.

"who!?"

The kick that broke the door was so loud that it shook the earth, but what came into view was just a thin girl.

The girl's face was pale and almost bloodless, except for her eyes which were as dark as the night, colder than fire. She used a sharpened bamboo to cut her hair herself, which looked like it had been gnawed by a dog, between short and long hair. If any barber cut this kind of hair and sent it to the government, the official would give him ten strokes without even a trial. But she cut it herself, so naturally she couldn't ask for too much, and it was enough for her to be able to move around easily.

When the three men saw that it was a girl, their heartbeats, which had been startled by the unusual movement, returned to normal, and they even found it a little funny.

Those who make a living at the canal dock do rough work.

The grown men who worked as coolies would beat a little beggar like a chicken, let alone a little girl?

"Oh, the little beggar also broke our door, but the wages you have are not enough to compensate you,"

The man narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down with ill intent: "But if a girl wants to make money, she has more ways to do it than a beggar like you..."

"No! You are not allowed to touch my sister!"

Xiaoliu, who was stepped on the ground, began to struggle.

There was a rouge field in the city, so he naturally knew what business they were talking about: "I'll pay you back! I'll work for you! I'll sell it! I know how to sell it!"

Among the beggars, Xiaoliu hated it most when people mentioned the bullying he had suffered at the hands of an old beggar. His companions all sympathized with his situation, and even when they quarreled over food and greeted each other's parents whom they had never met, they never revealed his scars.

But when these three boatmen had their eyes on Du Xinghe, he felt that he still had this advantage, at least he could protect his sister...

"You know? Then you can come too."

Said the boatman.

This sentence confused Xiaoliu.

He thought he could trade one for one, but who knew that people were targeting both of them.

In fact, if he had thought about it calmly, or had more knowledge, he would have known that it happened that the Nine Yang Sect was selecting disciples, and the security in Jinwu City was the best. It would be fine to drag him onto the boat and beat him up, but if they were to forcibly sell them to a brothel, if they resisted and made trouble, they would not end up well.

Xiaoliu didn't know, he just felt that his resistance was so weak in front of the three people that it was not worth mentioning.

Du Xinghe didn't even think about the possibilities.

When the three men made those harsh remarks, she took them seriously.

——As long as you say it out loud, it means you have this thought, and that means you are a mortal enemy.

In her hand, she was holding a paddle that she had picked up from outside. She used it instead of a sword and swept it across their necks. The three men saw the girl suddenly disappear in front of them, and the next second, a strong wind swept towards their vital points.

Du Xinghe tapped the ground with his toes, and his whole body rose into the air, domineeringly cutting a path among the three people.

The big man who was stepping on Xiaoliu was shocked by this change and took two steps back. Xiaoliu rolled on the ground and rolled to the corner. Just when he was about to stand up to help the big sister, he heard a clear shout: "Hide yourself and don't make trouble."

"...Okay sis, got it sis."

The three were caught off guard, and Du Xinghe was extremely ruthless. Although they subconsciously protected their vital parts, the oars still knocked them unconscious when they hit them - how could a mere beggar have such great strength? !

"You little bitch, you hit my brother...!!"

One of them reacted the fastest and wanted to grab Du Xinghe's neck from behind, but at this moment, the surface of the river shook and he lost his balance. He fell backwards and was hit hard by her again.

The swaying of the river water seemed to favor Du Xinghe, and it just swayed along with her attack. Du Xinghe had long known that her strength far exceeded that of her peers. No matter how thin or hungry she was, she never lacked strength. While others were beating randomly, she had a methodical approach to each move. After a fierce battle, the two were beaten straight to the ground. Just as she was about to turn around to deal with the last person, two arms thicker than her waist hugged her tightly from behind, and they were going to strangle her to death with just their strength.

"You damn beggar, aren't you quite good at fighting? Are you still crazy? Huh?"

The boatman gritted his teeth and said bitterly.

He used all his strength with his hands, and Du Xinghe's internal organs were almost displaced in an instant, putting pressure on his heart and almost causing him to faint.

Instinctively, she bit his arm with her backhand, trying to tear off a piece of flesh.

When people get angry, they will always return to their original state.

When Du Xinghe was about to faint from lack of oxygen, the hands that were holding her tightly suddenly softened like noodles.

"Let go...let go of my sister!"

Following Xiaoliu's trembling voice, the last boatman loosened his hands that were holding Du Xinghe, and slid to the ground face down, with a knife used to fillet fish stuck in his back.

Xiaoliu looked at the two people wailing and screaming on the ground, his eyes widened and he kept gasping for breath.

He was not afraid, he just felt happy and even had his blood boiling.

Just now, it was this passion that drove him to find a sharp weapon on the boat and stab the boatman in the back.

"Sister, did I, did I kill someone?"

Only then did Xiaoliu realize that he seemed to have done something irreparable.

He paused and said, "I will confess my guilt to the authorities. Sister, I was the one who defeated them all. I am very powerful."

Du Xinghe kicked the knife-eater, then squatted down to check his breath: "He's not dead, he just fainted from the pain."

"not dead……"

Xiao Liu was thankful, but also had a trace of regret on his face. He continued, "They are all in the same group. We injured him and blood was shed. The Xiang family will not let us go. Sister, run quickly... Yes, run up the mountain! I have prepared some money for you to travel, but it's just a little short..."

He pulled out a bag of copper coins and small change from his pocket.

Just now, the boat driver stepped on his back and couldn't get him to pay his wages, so he gave it all to Du Xinghe: "You have to figure out the rest yourself, sister."

Du Xinghe took the small torn bag and said, "Is this the reason why you didn't come to see me these days?"

"They all say that even if you are a beggar on the street, as long as you have good qualifications, the immortal will accept you into the sect... I want you to give it a try. As long as you join the Nine Yang Sect, you will be a superior person and you won't have to live in our broken shed that leaks wind and rain anymore."

"Sister, why don't you say anything? Are you angry that I acted on my own? Don't be angry. I just think that if you knew, you would definitely not allow me to go to the dock and compete with the boatmen for work..."

"I'm sorry, please forgive Xiaoliu because I only have a few days left to live."

Seeing that his sister ignored him after talking for a long time, Xiaoliu lowered his head in embarrassment.

"I'm not angry, it's just..."

Du Xinghe closed his eyes, his temples aching slightly: "Who told you that the Nine Yang Sect needs one or two taels of silver to select disciples?"

When Xiao Liu said that he was begging for money from a merchant passing by, she said, "You've been deceived. A large sect like the Nine Yang Sect only recruits people with excellent qualifications. They won't accept passing silver, let alone one or two taels. They won't even accept a copper coin."

Du Xinghe didn't know how he knew the inside story.

She only knew that when she was extremely angry just now, the relevant memories popped up in her mind.

Seeing Xiaoliu's pupils trembling, Du Xinghe patted his head:

"But since you want me to try it so much, don't let me go alone. You should accompany me."

Seeing Xiaoliu stunned, she raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Don't want to?"

"I'm not unwilling - it's just, it's just, sister, are you really willing to take me there? Can we still get out?"

Xiaoliu looked at the three people who had fainted in the boat.

"Um……"

Du Xinghe pondered, then skillfully took the knife from his hand and squatted down. However, he paused as soon as he raised his hand: "Ah."

"sister?"

"No, it's just that the first thing I thought of was to kill those three people to silence them."

"……what?"

"If I don't make up for the loss, I will feel uncomfortable all over."

Du Xinghe squatted down and waved a knife at the three people twice. The cold light flashed and made people feel cold from the soles of their feet.

She is not afraid of killing people, but once someone dies, it is difficult to resolve the matter peacefully.

She was confident that she could be accepted into the Nine Yang Sect and protected by the immortal sect, but what about the beggars who stayed in Jinwu City? She could leave, but the Xiang family would definitely not let them go.

She can't do this.

The Xiang family was not a big force in Jinwu City. They were just a large family doing hard labor on the canal. We had to find a way to discredit them and make them unable to hold their heads up, so that they would not cause trouble for the little beggars again.

Du Xinghe clenched the knife tightly and took great pains to suppress his murderous intent.

It is really inconvenient to take care of a bunch of little beggars and have some worries in my heart.

After a moment, Du Xinghe raised the knife again -

"Sister! What are you doing!?"

Only this time, she was scratching herself.

……

"Help! Someone please save my sister!"

When the patrolling yamen soldiers reached the shore, a cry was heard from the boat.

The people on the shore and the yamen soldiers looked towards the source of the sound, and saw a skinny little beggar stumbling to the bow of the boat carrying a bloody girl on his back, opening his arms and calling for help.

The girl was naked, with her clothes exposed. One could even see a long scar from her shoulder to her lower abdomen. There were also new wounds of varying sizes and lengths on her arms. The deepest one was so deep that the bone was visible. It was obvious that she had been treated inhumanely and was only breathing her last.

No one would care about the life or death of a little beggar, but the little beggar kowtowed to everyone he saw on the shore, wanting to seek justice for his sister, saying that the three boatmen wanted to defile his sister, and his sister insisted on her innocence and refused to obey them, so she was injured like this. In anger, he beat up the three people...

In front of so many people, and at a time when there were the most outsiders in Jinwu City, the government had no choice but to intervene.

If they don't do anything, the Nine Yang Sect will come to question them.

When the three boat drivers named Xiang slowly woke up in the yamen, they realized that they had committed a serious crime.

"No, that's not it! Did the little beggar hurt us in anger? He was hiding under the stool. It was that woman who beat us!"

"I really didn't lie! It was that woman who beat us!"

The residents of Jinwu City felt that these three people had brought shame upon them, and the man named Xiang was also driven out of the dock by the Grand Canal Gang, as he was ashamed to associate with them.

Du Xinghe specifically asked Xiaoliu not to cover her up. Under the moonlight, her back and arms were covered with horrific knife wounds. Everyone who witnessed this scene thought that she would not survive. They experienced the treatment of the dead being the greatest in advance, and they also felt that she was very strong-willed and was a pair of pitiful and respectable siblings. Therefore, they were even more disgusted with the actions of the three Xiang family members.

She lay in the hammock in the shabby shed for a whole day, and then she and Xiaoliu slipped out through the dog hole.

……

"Sister, can you really do it?"

Xiaoliu witnessed with his own eyes how Du Xinghe stabbed him and seriously injured him. The wounds on his body were still red and would split open with the slightest touch. How could he walk on the ground?

"Why don't we just not go..."

"I'm fine, let's go."

"Then sister, I'll carry you on my back."

Xiaoliu squatted down, looking like he would not leave until she climbed up.

Du Xinghe stared at him for a moment, and seeing that he was extremely determined, he said, "With your small body...if you feel tired later, don't let me fall on the road."

"I definitely won't! Don't worry, sister!"

Seeing that his sister agreed, Xiao Liu immediately smiled. He carried her on his back all the way until they reached the foot of the mountain of Jiuyang Sect.

After walking for a very long time, we could finally see the Chilun Gate of the Jiuyang Sect from afar.

The top of the mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist, and the buildings in the middle are majestic and solemn, like a palace in heaven.

There are many rich people in Jinwu City. Beggars are not allowed to approach the streets where the rich live easily. If they are seen by the gatekeeper from afar, they will be beaten. But Xiaoliu is very curious and has gone to take a look once or twice - this is because the feng shui of the ancestral tombs must be very good, and the ancestors must have accumulated such great blessings to be able to live in such a good house. Xiaoliu dared not even to think about it. He felt that his ancestral tombs were probably in a mass grave. His ancestors slept on a large bunk bed, and he also slept on a large bunk bed. How could this not be considered a kind of inheritance?

But compared with the sect that he saw from afar, it was still far behind.

The places where those rich masters live are not even worthy of being used as toilets for immortals.

"Sister, did you see that? You will be able to live in such a nice house in the future."

No matter how light the Du Xinghe was, it was still very strenuous to carry another person all the way. Sweat gathered at the tip of Xiaoliu's chin and fell to the ground.

Du Xinghe asked him to put him down, but he still refused.

"The road below is rough and difficult to walk on. You're carrying me so hard that my wounds are about to break open."

After hearing what she said, he quickly put her down.

As the two climbed the mountain, from time to time, bearers would carry a sedan up the mountain. They were the young masters of wealthy families who came to participate in the selection of disciples. When they passed by the two, the people in the sedan lifted the curtain to look at him, with contempt in their eyes: "You little beggar, you want to become an immortal?"

"I am a beggar, but my sister is not. Have you ever seen such a beautiful beggar?" Xiaoliu retorted loudly.

"Oh, you're still talking back,"

The young master in the sedan glanced at him and said, "If I wasn't in a hurry to go up the mountain to become a disciple, I would definitely teach you a lesson. Humph, hurry up, I'm about to get tainted with the beggar's poverty!"

At the young master's shout, the sedan bearer responded with a bitter "yes" and walked even harder.

Xiao Liu turned around and said, "Sister, why don't I carry you on my back? He has someone to carry him, and you have someone to carry you, so we are not inferior to him in any way."

Du Xinghe told him to shut up quickly and save some energy climbing the mountain.

From the moment daybreak until noon, the two finally reached the top of Jiuyang Sect Mountain.

When they reached the top of the mountain, they discovered that what connected the Nine Yang Sect was actually a long paper bridge.

Below the paper bridge is a bottomless abyss.

The wind in the valley made the paper bridge rustle, and the originally fairy-like clouds and mist also became terrifying.

There was a sign next to it that read:

Anyone who relies on external force to cross this bridge is not allowed to be a disciple of the Nine Yang Sect.

The young master who had originally mocked them was also asked to take out of the sedan chair by the bearers, and stared at the sign with an ugly expression.

Other people who climbed the mountain at the same time also stopped.

There are no guardrails around. If you fall down, you will be smashed to pieces and there is no way to recover.