Bright Red

Till date, he had refined many spirit herbs to raise his cultivation realm to the peak of the Qi Refinement realm.

But the majority of herbs he had absorbed were fire-attributed in nature. He had also absorbed other elemental spirit herb, but the majority were fire-attributed or non-elemental spirit herbs. As he expected, he felt quite attuned to the fire element now. He could already guess the result of this test in his heart.

In the upper world, tri-elemental spirit roots aren't considered good, but in the lower world, they are considered very good. Having an Earth-grade spiritual root would put you in the category of geniuses.

He didn't know if Heaven-grade spiritual roots existed in this world or not, but if they did, they would definitely be supreme geniuses.

"Just touch that stone, and it will absorb Qi from inside you. Don't resist,"

Huan Caiyi spoke to him.

This test was just a formality. In her heart, she knew Jiang Hao would have a good spiritual root. After all, he was at the peak of the Qi Refinement realm at the age of 15. That wouldn't be possible without an Earth-grade or higher grade spiritual root.

She was low-key hoping that he was truly comparable to Ming Yue. Then maybe he too had a spiritual root comparable to hers. If that really turned out to be the case, then their would have two supreme geniuses she would , perhaps the only two supreme geniuses in the whole world.

The Mountain Sword Sect would definitely rise to the top of the world if they could nurture them.

Jiang Hao reached the stone and placed his hands on it. The moment his palm touched the stone, he felt a suction force from it.

Qi Refinement realm cultivators cannot release Qi outside of their bodies, but this stone could still absorb it from their bodies forcefully. He didn't resist and let it absorb his Qi.

The moment his Qi entered the stone, it began to glow red. The intensity of the glow began to rise gradually, and after some time, it stopped at a bright red color.

The guards were stunned as they knew what it meant, Huan Caiyi and Ming Yue were happy to see it. Huan Caiyi sighed, as her guess was right.

This bright red color indicated that Jiang Hao had a Fire spiritual root, and the brightness showed that its absorption strength was on the strong side of Heaven-grade spiritual roots.

Just having a Heaven-grade spiritual root didn't mean they were all equal in value, but even the weakest Heaven-grade spiritual root was stronger than the strongest Earth-grade spiritual root in terms of absorption speed.

Suddenly, Huan Caiyi looked at the guards with dangerous eyes, and when they saw that, they became nervous. Huan Caiyi was very famous in the sect.

She was the chief alchemist of the sect and also the peak master of the Alchemy Peak. But the reason she was famous wasn't because she was an alchemist but because she was very strong.

It was general knowledge that alchemists were generally weak in combat strength, but that didn't seem to apply to her. It was said that even other elders of the sect were afraid of her combat strength. Nobody spoke against her—even the sect master didn't go against her will.

So when they saw that dangerous look in her eyes, they became nervous.

"Not a single word should be exposed about what happened here. Remember that."

She didn't say more than that, but they understood very well. What happened here was only seen by five people, and among them, the two guards were outsiders. If the news that a Heaven-grade spiritual root had appeared got out, they would be the prime suspects.

And what would happen after that was easy to guess. Not even the sect master would be able to save them. They shuddered at the thought.

"Please be at ease, Elder Huan. We wouldn't dare to say a single word about this. Even if the person who asked us was the sect master himself, we would not say anything."

"Good, but let's add another layer of protection. How about you guys take a Heavenly Oath on your lives?"

When they heard that, they became nervous again. A Heavenly Oath was very dangerous for anyone. Before, they had said they wouldn't say anything to anyone, but if someone forcefully extracted the information from their souls, they wouldn't be implicated.

But if they took a Heavenly Oath, the moment someone tried to extract that knowledge, they would definitely die to protect it.

They were indignant about it, but what could they do? If they didn't take the Heavenly Oath, Huan Caiyi would definitely kill them right here. So, they both gritted their teeth and recited the Heavenly Oath.

"Hm... well done. So, what will you say if anybody asks you?"

"We will say it was an Earth-grade spiritual root and it is of Fire and Earth elemental nature"

Only then did Huan Caiyi remove her gaze from them and look at Jiang Hao. She smiled and said,

"I still haven't introduced myself to you. My name is Huan Caiyi. I am the peak master of Alchemy Peak. In the future, don't hesitate to ask me for any pills if you need them."

When the guards heard that, they were stunned again. Was this really Elder Huan? They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Everyone in the sect wanted pills personally refined by Elder Huan, but it was almost impossible.

Even elders and the sect master had to book appointments, let alone disciples. Also, Elder Huan refined pills only once a month, and it was up to her whose pill's she would refine.

To think that this new disciple had just received permission to get pills whenever he wanted—wasn't he too lucky? If others in the sect knew about this, they would die of jealousy.

Jiang Hao just nodded his head, though he doubted he would ever feel the need to ask for pills.

"Yue'er, you should go meet with your master. Don't worry, I will teach him some knowledge about the sect."

"Hmm." Ming Yue nodded and looked at Jiang Hao.

"Take care, junior brother. We will meet again."

Jiang Hao nodded at Ming Yue and said,

"Thank you for everything, senior sister. You should take care as well."

Ming Yue left after that.

"Now that you are a core disciple, let's go and get you your sect robes and core disciple token."

Jiang Hao followed Huan Caiyi. As they walked, she explained about the sect to him.

"Joining the sect as an outer, inner, or core disciple is just one part. After becoming an inner or core disciple, you have to choose one of the peaks to join.

Just like Alchemy Peak, there are other peaks in the sect too. They are Spirit Peak, Sword Peak, Strength Peak, Array Peak, Enforcement Peak, Weapon Peak, and Talisman Peak. These are the eight peaks of this sect.

Let me tell you in detail about each one so you can decide which one to join later.

First is Spirit Peak on which we are right now. The peak master of this peak is the sect master himself. It specializes in cultivation techniques and secret skills of various types. If you are interested in mastering different types of techniques, you can join this peak.

Second is Sword Peak. As the name suggests, it specializes in sword techniques. The peak master is Zhi Hui, and she is also the master of your senior sister, Ming Yue."

She paused and smiled a little before continuing.

"I think it might be the safest peak for you to join, believe me, because all the core disciples of that peak are women. This peak was opened recently, just like my Alchemy Peak, when Zhi Hui and I joined the sect.

Zhi Hui's sword techniques are suitable for women, so she doesn't allow men to join her core section of the peak.

Of course, there are male disciples too, as there are other sword techniques on that peak suitable for them, but they are only inner disciples. None of them is allowed to set foot in the core area of that peak."

When Jiang Hao heard this, he couldn't help but ask,

"Since Peak Master Zhi Hui doesn't allow male disciples to join, how would I have a chance of joining them? I am male too, Elder Huan."

When Huan Caiyi heard that, she looked at Jiang Hao from top to bottom seriously and said in a serious tone,

"Are you?"

Jiang Hao was stunned. Although he looked very handsome—to the point of being beautiful—he was still a guy. He didn't know what to say.

When Huan Caiyi saw his stunned face, she laughed heartily.

"Sorry, I was just joking. Look at your face... hehehe. Don't worry. Since this whole mess is a misunderstanding between you and Ming Yue, you aren't at fault here. Ming Yue is equally involved, but no one will try to harm her.

But your case is different, so we will just go and emotionally pressure Zhi Hui... hehehe. Let's see if she doesn't break her rules for you or not. After all, I am quite good at blackmailing people, and I know all her secrets—a perk of being her best friend... hehehe.

Well, everything depends on your choice, though. If you want to join Sword Peak, then leave everything to me. But if you want to join another peak, there won't be any problems. In fact, they will fight to have you"