Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, the day of departure arrived.
At first light, Shi Jiu was so nervous and excited that he couldn't sleep a wink. All these days of waiting were for today!
He quickly got up, got ready, carefully checked his pre-packed luggage, loaded the rations Hou Laohan and the others had prepared, and then eagerly ran to the village square where they were to gather.
He thought he had arrived early enough, but to his surprise, many adults were already there with their children.
Indeed, what parent wouldn't hope for their child to be chosen by an Immortal?
This would not only ensure a smooth future for the child but also bring glory to the entire family and even the clan.
Tie Sheng and the others had also said that the chances of being chosen were extremely low, sometimes several villages couldn't even produce a single person, but everyone still held onto beautiful hopes.
After greeting the villagers, Shi Jiu cheerfully went to the village chief to collect a long saber.
The two weapons he had brought out from the Transmigration Formation cave had long since been returned to him by the villagers.
When they were helping Shi Jiu, Hou Laohan and the others, just in case, worried that Shi Jiu might be a bandit wanted by the Government, so they secretly hid his weapons.
Later, after spending some time together, they found that Shi Jiu really didn't seem like a bad person.
Moreover, he had never asked for the two weapons he had brought, which made Hou Laohan and the others feel embarrassed, so they proactively returned the weapons to Shi Jiu.
"Uncle Jiu, you're here so early!"
At this moment, Hou Laohan's grandson, Xiao Houzi, ran over with a small bundle on his back and affectionately hugged Shi Jiu.
During their daily interactions, because Shi Jiu often told stories to Hou Laohan's grandson, the old man felt that Shi Jiu was a highly learned scholar, and thus proposed that Shi Jiu give his grandson, who had not yet been given a formal name, a proper name.
This made Shi Jiu feel quite honored, but how could he come up with any names? He didn't want to give a name like "Zi Zhe, Zi Ming, Zi Mo" in a cultivation world.
So, after some thought, he gave the child the formal name "Hou Liangping," hoping Xiao Houzi would be lucky and, when he grew up, find a prominent father-in-law, saving himself decades of struggle.
Hou Laohan, smiling, smoked his dry pipe, watched his little grandson play with Shi Jiu for a while, and then instructed Shi Jiu:
"Brother Xiao Jiu, I heard from the village chief that we're going to the relatively distant Shima Village to gather this time. A caravan hired by several villages will collectively escort the children and goods to Feixian City. The journey will take more than ten days, so I'll trouble you to look after Liangping."
"Don't worry, Uncle Hou, leave it to me," Shi Jiu readily agreed.
In a flash, the sun had already risen.
Shi Jiu and his group, along with the children participating in the test and the village's goods, set off towards Shima Village under the expectant and reluctant gazes of the villagers.
Upon arriving at Shima Village, Shi Jiu suddenly realized why not only city escorts were specially hired for this journey, but also why each village was required to dispatch a considerable number of young men with sabers to guard them.
It turned out that the number of children participating in the test and the amount of mountain goods being transported this time far exceeded previous years.
Shi Jiu took a quick look and found that in previous years, about 100 children participated in the test, but this time there were nearly 200 people, and the quantity of goods had also increased.
With a command from the caravan leader, this large group marched grandly towards Feixian City.
Ten days passed in a flash, and the villagers' worries about beast or bandit attacks did not materialize; the journey was peaceful and uneventful.
Along the way, Shi Jiu did not feel bored or that the journey was long; instead, he learned a lot about the customs and practices of the cultivation continent from the escorts and other villagers.
For example, why did the Emperor of Great Wei Kingdom immediately issue an edict to replace the city lord as soon as an Immortal spoke?
In fact, the imperial family of this Wei Kingdom was simply supported by the Seven Luminaries Sect to help manage these cities.
But in a large city like Feixian City, the officials sent by the Wei Kingdom's Emperor could only act as "mascots"; the true power was held by the Immortals sent by the Seven Luminaries Sect.
Moreover, an old escort said that besides the Seven Luminaries Sect, there were several other Immortal Sects like it, governing countless countries like the Wei Kingdom.
Shi Jiu's heart was indeed restless after hearing all this these past few days.
He knew that in this cultivation world, Immortals must have a very high status, but he never expected it to be this high!
And there were actually so many large Sects like the Seven Luminaries Sect in this world. However, it seemed there wasn't such a big barrier between Immortals and Mortals, nor was there any eternal separation between Immortals and Mortals.
For example, in Feixian City and several smaller cities, Immortals and Mortals basically lived together.
Many cultivators and Mortals lived together, but there were definitely designated areas, and Mortals mostly revolved around cultivators.
While lost in these thoughts, Shi Jiu's group finally arrived at the legendary Feixian City.
Amidst gasps of surprise, Shi Jiu finally saw Feixian City's appearance, which indeed lived up to its name, "Flying Immortal."
Shi Jiu looked out, and Feixian City appeared like a brilliant pearl rising from the ground. It seemed to float above the clouds, its city walls soaring into the sky, each side a hundred zhang high.
At the very top of the city walls, patrolling Immortal Guards were faintly visible.
Shi Jiu knew that those people might be the Immortal Guards the escorts had mentioned to him.
The selection of cultivators was already one in a thousand, and it was said that the selection of Immortal Guards was an even more rigorous one in a thousand among cultivators, so every Immortal Guard was a master among masters.
Shi Jiu walked and thought, perhaps becoming an Immortal of the Immortal Guard level should allow him to find the way back to that Transmigration Formation cave.
He couldn't find it, probably because after leaving that ruin, the entrance and exit of the ruin were automatically covered and protected by some Formation, isolating it from the prying eyes of ordinary Mortals.
Because Shi Jiu's group was large and accompanied by goods, they did not use the main gate of Feixian City but entered through a small archway on the south side.
After entering, the village representatives and the escort leader settled the fees for this trip, and then arranged for Shi Jiu and the children to rest temporarily at an inn, awaiting the official start of the Aptitude test two days later.
During these two days, to avoid unnecessary mishaps, all children were restricted to activity in the inn's backyard and were not allowed to step out of the inn.
As a Escort, Shi Jiu assisted in delivering the goods to several merchants who purchased mountain produce on the first day, and was then permitted to move around near the inn.
These one or two days of aimless wandering truly opened the eyes of this Transmigration, who considered himself a "modern person."
Within Feixian City, palaces and towering buildings stood in abundance.
Whether it was the Mortal residential area in the west of the city, or the Immortal gathering place in the north, or other areas, all buildings exuded a mysterious and ancient charm.
The city was bustling with people, coming and going, and the sounds of zithers and flutes drifted through the air, as if everything was proceeding in a joyful and orderly manner.
...
Two days passed in a flash.
Early that morning, Shi Jiu and the other village leaders woke the children early, gave them some rules and instructions, and then together they marched grandly to the Aptitude test venue in the northeast of Feixian City.