As Feng Qiyuan spoke, a light flashed in his hand, and a pure, fist-sized sphere floated in front of him. Feng Qiyuan pointed at the pure sphere as he spoke.
Li Yan, standing at the back, felt a very strong force of Divine Sense the moment the pure sphere appeared.
'There is a wisp of a Golden Core cultivator's Divine Sense left in here. As soon as someone touches the sphere, the Divine Sense will immediately immerse into their body to investigate. This is not just as simple as investigating spirit root aptitude. If it's the demon race or beast race, as long as their cultivation is not higher than the owner of this Divine Sense, they will immediately be exposed.'
Li Yan thought to himself, and at the same time, he felt relieved. However, if the person's cultivation was higher than the owner of the Divine Sense in the sphere, then it would also be useless. But that would be meaningless. Li Yan remembered that the highest cultivation in "Falling Star Valley" was late-stage Golden Core. If this Divine Sense belonged to this Golden Core powerhouse, would someone with a higher cultivation than him need to hide if they came here?
However, the thing Li Yan was most worried about did not happen, which was that the other party had a method to test bone age. A cultivator's appearance could be transformed into any age, but bone age could not be concealed. It was just that this kind of test generally required the other party's Divine Sense to be several levels higher than one's own. This was also one reason why Li Yan did not dare to go to a first-rate human sect.
And coming to "Falling Star Valley," with Li Yan's current Divine Sense strength, as long as it wasn't that late-stage Golden Core cultivator personally investigating, just relying on a stored wisp of Divine Sense, he could still hide it. And the original intention of the "Falling Star Valley's" test was to distinguish between humans, demons, and beasts.
At this time, Feng Qiyuan pointed at the burly youth at the very front.
"You first. After he's done testing, the rest of you can come over in order. There's no need for me to call you again."
The few people below had long been concentrating, listening to Feng Qiyuan's instructions. As soon as Feng Qiyuan's voice fell, the burly youth had already put away the keepsake in his hand and walked over in a few steps. When he placed his hand on the sphere, the originally pure sphere actually produced three lights of green, white, and yellow that flickered erratically.
Li Yan also praised the burly youth's aptitude in his heart. This was a three-lineage Earth Spirit Root of wood, metal, and earth. Even if placed on the Desolate Moon Continent, even if he joined the Malevolent Spirit Sect, this aptitude would be top-notch.
But Feng Qiyuan did not let the burly youth move his palm away. He was still staring at the sphere without blinking. After another five breaths, he finally nodded. He signaled for the burly youth to move his palm away and at the same time pointed to the mountain gate behind him.
"You wait over there!"
The burly youth had already known some things from his family. Although the assessment was different every year, the part about testing the spirit root was the same. He knew that this meant he had passed, and couldn't help but pump his fist in excitement. Then he pretended to be calm and looked at the five people behind him, his gaze lingering on the young girl for a while longer. Only then did he puff out his chest and walk behind Feng Qiyuan, finding a conspicuous position to stand.
Immediately, Feng Qiyuan's gaze moved to the next youth. That youth also had an eager look on his face, and upon seeing this, he hurriedly walked forward. Soon, three colors of light—black, yellow, and white—appeared on the sphere covered by this youth's palm. Li Yan saw Feng Qiyuan's brow furrow slightly.
Feng Qiyuan also did not immediately tell the youth to remove his palm. Similarly, after another five breaths, he finally let the youth remove his palm. He pondered for a moment and said.
"Since your family let you come, they must have told you. Although your cultivation aptitude is an Earth Spirit Root, you don't have the fire and wood attributes. This means that your sensitivity to these two types of Spiritual Energy is very weak, and you cannot perform alchemy or artifact refining. You should be clear about what kind of place 'Falling Star Valley' is. It is a major sect for alchemy and artifact refining. After joining with your spirit root attribute, you can only cultivate other cultivation methods of the sect, but the cultivation resources you get will be correspondingly much less. Of course, cultivation depends on personal opportunities. Good resources all depend on personal Immortal Fortune. What's more, with your aptitude, it is entirely possible for you to become a powerhouse. It's just that in our sect, the cultivation methods are still mainly focused on alchemy and artifact refining. In this way, most opportunities will have to be obtained through your own continuous efforts. Are you still willing to join 'Falling Star Valley'?"
That youth obviously already knew his aptitude and situation, but under Feng Qiyuan's direct warning like this, a trace of hesitation still appeared on his face, but he quickly answered.
"I am willing!"
It was just that his voice revealed some unwillingness. He had the same Earth Spirit Root aptitude as the burly youth just now. In some major sects, this would not make any difference, but they were attached to "Falling Star Valley." As Feng Qiyuan said, the inheritance here was still mainly focused on alchemy and artifact refining cultivation methods. But for him to go to other human sects, his small sect would have too many things to consider. His small sect had countless ties with "Falling Star Valley," and the well-weighed decisions were not for him to make.
"Alright then, you can also stand at the back."
Next, the remaining three were quickly tested. Li Yan finally confirmed that Feng Qiyuan's test was more focused on determining whether the other party was human. After all, those who could come here knew the minimum entry requirements in advance. Those who couldn't meet them wouldn't come. So, those who could come were ninety percent confident that they could join "Falling Star Valley." "Falling Star Valley" was of course even more aware of this, so the meaning contained in the test here was somewhat special.
After the first five people had completed the test, Li Yan was already very surprised in his heart. His surprise was not directed at Feng Qiyuan, but at the five young men and women. Among the five, apart from the burly youth, the older girl was actually a prodigy with a two-lineage Heaven Spirit Root of fire and earth.
'Could it be that the aptitude of cultivators on the Forsaken Continent is so heaven-defying, or is it a coincidence that today, just by seeing five people, a Heaven Spirit Root has appeared?' The other three all had four-lineage Profound Spirit Roots, which was not bad either. However, they had a common feature: they either had a wood spirit root or a fire spirit root. Apart from the twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl whose wood spirit root was considered her main spirit root, the wood and fire of the other two youths were not their main spirit roots. They could only be considered as barely meeting the requirements for alchemy and artifact refining.
Feng Qiyuan finally turned his gaze to Li Yan. Li Yan immediately stepped forward and extended a hand to place on the sphere, following the example. Soon, four colors of light—red, green, yellow, and white—appeared in the sphere, with the red and green colors being somewhat richer.
With Li Yan's current attainment in the "True Scripture of Gui Water," he could now make himself a Saint Spirit Root prodigy of unparalleled talent if he wanted to, just by unifying the five elements for a short time. But this time, Li Yan's palm was on the sphere for a full ten breaths, and Feng Qiyuan still hadn't told him to put it down. Li Yan wasn't anxious. If you don't tell me to remove my hand, then I'll just leave it there. He could roughly guess the other party's meaning, but Li Yan's expression became more and more nervous, and beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.
The five young men and women behind him were also curiously staring at Feng Qiyuan and Li Yan, wondering why this test was taking so long.
After another ten breaths, amidst Li Yan's somewhat evasive gaze, Feng Qiyuan finally spoke faintly.
"Alright, withdraw your Spirit Power."
As Li Yan nervously withdrew his palm, Feng Qiyuan stared into Li Yan's eyes and continued.
"Your name is Zhang Ming? You are not a local."
Li Yan's withdrawn palm trembled, and his expression became even more uncomfortable. Feng Qiyuan continued, "However, since the Zhang family vouches for you, and you are their returning side branch, it's fine. After you come to 'Falling Star Valley,' you must always remember that you are a disciple of Falling Star Valley. You must abide by all the rules in the valley. Otherwise, the punishments in the valley are not something a disciple like you can bear."
When he spoke, a faint smile actually appeared on his face, but anyone could see that this smile was by no means purely benevolent.
Li Yan was first terrified, then a look of bewilderment appeared on his face. Obviously, he didn't understand why the other party would say this to him, but he was already a little surprised in his heart. 'Is he suspecting my origin? But as far as I know, this kind of thing has not been unheard of in previous years.'
However, Li Yan didn't take this warning to heart. He didn't plan to stir up any trouble as soon as he entered "Falling Star Valley." If the other party observed him in secret, then let them observe. He was just here to borrow the Earth Fire for artifact refining; he had no other ill intentions.
Seeing Li Yan's face filled with fear and bewilderment, Feng Qiyuan's expression changed again, and he chuckled.
"Junior Brother Zhang Ming, you have both wood and fire spirit roots, and both seem to be much stronger than your other two attributes. You are a good choice for either alchemy or artifact refining. At that time, you will have to choose a direction for yourself. For us Qi Condensation stage disciples, even if we can cultivate both alchemy and artifact refining at the same time, our own cultivation also takes up a lot of time. So, before our strength has become strong, it is generally better not to choose multiple auxiliary cultivation methods at the same time."
Hearing this, the tense expression on Li Yan's face finally relaxed a little, and a trace of gratitude appeared on his face.
'This means that I can still choose between alchemy and artifact refining in 'Falling Star Valley.' I was worrying for nothing by showing both my wood and fire attributes.'
Finally, as if letting out a sigh of relief, Li Yan also looked in the direction of the burly youth and the others in the valley, and a relaxed expression also appeared on his face.
After Feng Qiyuan finished speaking, he said no more. The reason he had treated Li Yan that way just now was because this person's origin was not very clear, and the situation in the valley was different from previous years, so he naturally had to deliberately test the other party one more time. But the fact that the other party was not of a different race was completely confirmed. And his cultivation, under the "Star-Peeping" magical treasure refined by the ancestor, was indeed at the fourth level of Qi Condensation.
Feng Qiyuan led the six of them along the path into the valley, and along the way, he began to intentionally or unintentionally talk about some of the precepts in "Falling Star Valley," which made the burly youth and the others feel a little terrified.
Just as Li Yan and the others were walking into the valley, in a spacious Cave Residence in a deep valley about five hundred li behind them, a middle-aged man in a green robe withdrew his Divine Sense and then looked at a white-robed old man of about fifty years old on his lower right.
"Senior Brother, can you see if there is any problem with these six people?"
"Apart from the disciple named Zhang Ming whose origin is a bit unclear, their cultivation levels are all real. I don't see any problem. Could it be that Junior Brother has seen something amiss?" the white-robed old man shook his head.
"Even Senior Brother didn't see it, could my magic power be higher than Senior Brother's? Hehe, I just felt that the gaze of that person named Zhang Ming at the end seemed to be looking at us. It was just a feeling! So, I asked, to see if Senior Brother also had this feeling."
The green-robed middle-aged man chuckled, a bit self-deprecatingly. Recently, he felt that he had become a bit paranoid. That young man named Zhang Ming was clearly looking at the other five, but he felt as if the other party had discovered the Divine Sense of the two of them.
After hearing this, the white-robed old man thought for a moment and then said.
"It shouldn't be. He was just subconsciously looking in the direction of the other five. After all, they came together, and it is a young person's instinct to seek a sense of security. After passing the test, they naturally feel that they will no longer be isolated, and looking at the others is to seek a sense of belonging. Junior Brother, expanding and strengthening the sect's strength is a good thing, but for such a small matter, you really don't need to personally supervise every disciple who enters the valley."