Chapter 7 – Wealth, Beauty, Fame, Food, and Sleep 财色名食睡

Three days later, in the center of the square. The deacon of the outer sect steadily stepped onto the high platform. He was tall and straight, with his white hair neatly tied up. His eyes were deep and sharp, exuding a majesty that had been precipitated by the passage of time. His loud voice, like the tolling of a great bell, spread out in all directions: "In the second round of the outer sect competition, what is being tested is the state of mind. On the path of cultivation, although spiritual energy cultivation is important, the state of mind is even more crucial. If the state of mind is unstable, even if one's cultivation level is high, it is just superficial!"

After saying that, he took out an ancient bronze mirror. The mirror surface was smooth and flat, without any ripples, but it faintly emitted an intimidating aura.

"This is the 'Heart - Questioning Mirror', a low - grade magic weapon that can peer into the depths of the soul. Those who pass the test will become outer sect disciples; those who fail will stop here." As soon as the deacon finished speaking, the expressions of the 26 contestants all became solemn.

When it was Lin Yuan's turn, he inevitably felt a little nervous in his heart. Standing in front of the Heart - Questioning Mirror, he felt an invisible force tugging at his consciousness. In an instant, the scene in front of him suddenly changed, and he seemed to be in an endless illusion.

The first level, Wealth: In the illusion, Lin Yuan was in a luxurious mansion piled high with gold, silver, and treasures. Every gold brick sparkled with an alluring light, and pearls and jewels were scattered all over the place, almost drowning him. A bewitching voice rang in his ears: "All of these belong to you, as long as you give up the path of cultivating immortals..." Lin Yuan looked at these treasures, and suddenly an image flashed in his mind. He used gold and silver to create a huge "cultivation reclining chair", but as soon as he lay on it, it fell apart with a "crash" due to being overweight, and he fell flat on his face. Thinking of this, a sneer appeared on the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth: "The path of cultivating immortals is so difficult. How could I be trapped by money? This pile of things can't even buy me a cultivation reclining chair! How can it bribe me?" As soon as the words fell, the illusion shattered instantly. After a short moment of distraction, he came to the next level.

The second level, Beauty: Immediately after, he fell into a world of indulgence. Countless beautiful women surrounded him, speaking softly and sweetly, and the fragrant breeze made people intoxicated. Lin Yuan frowned. Looking at these women, he suddenly thought that if he was entangled by them, he would have to listen to them nagging "accompany me shopping" and "buy me rouge" every day. How could he cultivate immortals then? Cultivating immortals was so busy that there was not even enough time to sleep, let's not deal with these things! He instantly woke up.

The third level, Fame: In the third illusion, he saw himself being revered by everyone and becoming the leader of a sect. Countless disciples shouted "The leader is wise" in front of him, and some people presented him with a pile of magic treasures. A trace of pride welled up in his heart. But soon, he saw himself being destroyed by the Demon Sect. Lin Yuan woke up instantly: "This is all fake. I'm not even an outer sect disciple yet. What's the use of being a sect leader! And being a sect leader is not peaceful either!" He resolutely broke free from the shackles of the illusion.

The fourth level, Food: In front of Lin Yuan was a pile of delicacies from land and sea, with an alluring aroma. A golden and oily roasted chicken flew directly to his mouth, almost making him unable to resist taking a bite. But a picture suddenly flashed in his mind. After eating this roasted chicken, because it was too greasy, his cultivation level directly dropped by three levels. He took a deep breath and composed himself: "Eating these things requires time to digest, and it might even affect my cultivation level. I'd better pass the level quickly."

The fifth level, Sleep: The final test, however, put Lin Yuan in a difficult situation. He found himself lying on a soft big bed, extremely tired, as if he had just experienced a fierce battle. It was completely silent around, making people drowsy. He struggled to get up, but felt his body getting heavier and heavier, and his eyelids seemed to be filled with lead. As time passed, Lin Yuan's consciousness gradually blurred. Just as he was about to fall asleep completely, he suddenly dreamed that he had turned into a pig, rolling around in the mud, and Meng Xinghe was chasing him with a big brush to give him a bath. This absurd dream made him wake up suddenly.

Meng Xinghe, who was standing beside him, quickly woke up from the Heart - Questioning Mirror. He was the second person to pass the test. Looking back at Lin Yuan, who was still "asleep", he couldn't help frowning and sneered: "I said he might not be quite right in the head. Now it seems that he might be the reincarnation of Zhu Bajie! He can be so engrossed in sleeping!"

The surrounding contestants and audience couldn't help laughing when they heard this, but they didn't dare to be too presumptuous and could only hold it back.

It was not until the 19th contestant completed the state of mind test that Lin Yuan suddenly woke up. His forehead was covered with cold sweat, and his expression was complicated: "I just slept for a while, but it felt like several hours had passed! I even dreamed that I turned into a pig and you were chasing me to give me a bath, Meng Xinghe, you guy!"

Meng Xinghe crossed his arms and sneered: "You finally woke up. You almost got swallowed up by the dream, didn't you? Fortunately, no one sprinkled some cumin on you, or you would have really become a roasted pig."

Lin Yuan didn't bother to pay attention to him and rolled his eyes: "As long as you're happy."

The deacon nodded: "The first 20 servant disciples who woke up, congratulations to you. You have officially become outer sect disciples!"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced in his heart: "I finally passed the test. I don't have to sweep the floor every day anymore!"

The treatment of outer sect disciples was much better than that of servant disciples. Each person could be assigned an independent small room and could also receive some basic pills and spirit stones as cultivation resources. Looking at his clean and tidy small room, Lin Yuan finally showed a relieved smile.

"This is more like the way of cultivating immortals." He stroked his chin and began to plan his next move.

That night, when Lin Yuan was packing his luggage, the ring suddenly emitted a faint light and a cold voice came out: "Congratulations to you. You have achieved the first step. Next, the goal is the treasured artifact of the Longevity Sect, the metal - attribute magic weapon 'Tianhen Golden Wheel'."

Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It was useless to tell you. With your strength at the second level of Qi Refining, you didn't even deserve to get close to it." The ring said mercilessly.

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth: "Fine, I will prove it to you!"

The ring gave a cold snort and then transmitted a piece of information: "The 'Tianhen Golden Wheel' is a supreme treasure of the metal attribute. One needs to have extremely strong control over metal spiritual energy to use it. And one of the hidden abilities of your Golden Eyes can directly lock onto and control metal spiritual energy. Now, you should work hard to cultivate and strive to master this ability before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage."

After listening, Lin Yuan: "Okay, then let's start with the life as an outer sect disciple! But as for now, I want to had a good night sleep first."

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三日后,广场中央.外门执事稳步登上高台,他身形挺拔,一头白发整齐束起,双眸深邃锐利,透着久经岁月沉淀的威严.洪亮的声音仿若洪钟,向四周传开:"外门大比第二轮,考验的是心境.修行之路,灵力修为固然重要,心境更是重中之重.心境不稳,即便修为再高,也不过是徒有其表!"

言罢,他拿出一面古朴的青铜镜,镜面平整光滑,毫无波澜,却隐隐散发着一股令人心悸的气息.

"此乃'问心镜',为下品法器,可窥探心灵深处.通过者,将成为外门弟子;失败者,就此止步." 执事话音刚落,26 名参赛者神色纷纷凝重起来.

轮到林远时,他心底难免有些忐忑.站在问心镜前,他感到一股无形的力量牵扯着他的意识.刹那间,眼前景象陡然转变,他仿佛置身于一片无尽的幻境之中.

第一关,财:幻境里,林远身处堆满金银财宝的豪宅,每一块金砖都闪烁着诱人的光芒,珍珠宝石散落一地,几乎要将他淹没.耳边响起一道蛊惑的声音:"这些都归你,只要你放弃修仙之路..." 林远看着这些财宝,脑海中突然浮现出自己用金银打造了一个巨大的 "修炼躺椅",结果刚躺上去就因为超重 "哗啦" 一声散架了,他整个人摔了个狗啃泥.想到这儿,林远嘴角浮起一抹冷笑:"修仙这般艰难,我怎会被钱财所困?就这堆东西还想收买我,还不够打造我的修炼躺椅呢!" 话音刚落,幻境瞬间破碎.短暂的失神后,他来到了下一关.

第二关,色:紧接着,他陷入了一个温柔乡,无数美貌女子环绕身旁,娇声软语,香风阵阵,令人沉醉.林远眉头紧皱,看着这些女子,突然想到要是自己被她们缠住,每天都得听她们唠叨 "陪我逛街" "给我买胭脂",那还修什么仙?修仙忙得连睡觉的时间都没有,哪有闲工夫理会这些!瞬间便清醒了过来.

第三关,名:在第三个幻境中,他看到自己被众人敬仰,成为一派掌门.无数弟子在他面前高呼 "掌门英明",还有人给他呈上一堆法宝,他内心深处不禁泛起一丝得意.但很快,他看到自己被魔教给灭了.林远瞬间警醒过来:"这都是假的,我连外门弟子都还不是,掌门又算什么!而且这掌门当得,也不安生啊!" 他果断挣脱了幻境的束缚.

第四关,食:林远眼前堆满了山珍海味,香气扑鼻,一只烤得金黄流油的烧鸡直接飞到他嘴边,差点让他忍不住动手品尝.但他脑海中突然闪过一个画面,自己吃了这只烧鸡后,因为太油腻,修为直接倒退三层.他深吸一口气,稳住心神:"吃这些东西还得消化,说不定还会影响修为,还是赶紧过关."

第五关,睡:最后的考验却让林远陷入了困境.他发现自己躺在一张柔软的大床上,浑身疲惫不堪,仿佛刚刚经历了一场恶战.四周静谧无声,让人昏昏欲睡.他挣扎着想要起身,却感觉身体越来越沉重,眼皮好似灌了铅一般.时间一分一秒地流逝,林远的意识逐渐模糊.就在他快要彻底睡过去的时候,他突然梦到自己变成了一只猪,在泥地里滚来滚去,还被孟星河拿着一把大刷子追着要给他洗澡.这个荒诞的梦让他猛地惊醒.

站在一旁的孟星河很快从问心镜中清醒过来,他是第二个通过考验的人.回头看着仍在 "沉睡" 的林远,不禁皱起眉头,嘲讽道:"我就说他脑子可能不太正常,现在看来,他大概是猪八戒转世吧!睡个觉都能睡得这么投入!"

周围的参赛者和观众听到这话,忍不住笑出声来,但又不敢太过放肆,只能强忍着.

直到第 19 个参赛者完成心境考验,林远才猛地惊醒.他额头满是冷汗,神色复杂:"我不过睡了一会儿,怎么感觉像是过了好几个小时?还梦到自己变成猪被你追着洗澡,孟星河你这家伙!"

孟星河双手抱胸,冷笑着说:"你可算清醒了,差点被梦境吞噬了吧?幸好没人给你撒把孜然,不然你真成烤乳猪了."

林远懒得理会他,翻了个白眼:"你高兴就好."

执事点了点头:"最先清醒的 20 名杂役弟子,恭喜你们,正式成为外门弟子!"

听到这句话,林远松了一口气,心中暗自庆幸:"总算过关了,终于不用天天扫地了!"

外门弟子的待遇比杂役弟子好太多了.每人能分配到一间独立的小屋,还能领取一些基础丹药和灵石作为修炼资源.林远看着自己干净整洁的小屋,终于露出了由衷的笑容.

"这才有点修仙的样子." 他摸着下巴,开始盘算接下来的计划.

当晚,林远正在整理行李,戒指突然发出一阵微弱的光芒,传出一道清冷的声音:"恭喜你,第一步达成.接下来,目标是长生派的镇派之宝,金属性法宝'天痕金轮'."

林远一愣:"你之前怎么不早说?"

"告诉你也没用.以你练气二层的实力,连靠近它都不配." 戒指毫不留情地说道.

林远咬牙切齿:"行,我会证明给你看!"

戒指冷哼一声,紧接着传递了一段信息:"'天痕金轮'是金属性至宝,需要具备极强的金灵气掌控力才能使用.而你金瞳的一项隐藏能力,可直接锁定并操控金属性灵气.现在,你该努力修炼,争取在筑基前掌握这项能力."

林远听完,目光坚定:"好,那就从外门生活开始!至于现在,我想先睡一觉."