The Five Books of the Supreme Yin, the Examination of Immortal Realms
Three years since crossing over, one extraordinary boon per year—doesn’t that seem reasonable? Reasonable, my foot!
Xiao Qingpei wore an expression as though suffering from constipation. The first boon could be said to be genuine, but his lack of talent dragged it down, turning the so-called “Innate Gift” into nothing more than “Heaven rewards the diligent—collect your welfare.” As for the second one, unless there was some hidden benefit, it felt as if this world had conjured it up specifically to kill him. And now, the third boon…
A Female Protagonist Ascension System?
If his guess was right, then this system—was most likely bound to the wrong person!
Yet, faced with Xiao Qingpei’s questioning, the system offered no response whatsoever. Its silence didn’t deter him; he searched his own body with spiritual sense and, to his surprise, located the system near his Niwan Palace. That gave him pause—he disliked being so close to a stranger, even if it wasn’t human!
He tried to drive the system away from his Niwan Palace with his spiritual sense, but the moment his consciousness touched it, torrents of information flooded his mind like a breached dam. In that instant, Xiao Qingpei finally understood the pain of childbirth!
It was a long while before the splitting headache faded, and with it, the nearly unbearable agony. Gradually, Xiao Qingpei pieced together the meaning of the information.
He seemed to be in a novel world centered around female protagonists—indeed, a series of stories aimed at female readers. Three different heroines had appeared, spanning five major eras. Strangely enough, Xiao Qingpei had a role in each era; though always a clownish one, those five eras stretched across a thousand years!
Even those who cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage could only reverse their fate for six lifetimes—about six hundred years. A hundred years per lifetime. Yet he had lived for a millennium!
“This doesn’t seem quite right…” Xiao Qingpei pondered. What made him so special? Was it his “Heaven rewards the diligent—collect your welfare” and “Better me dead than my fellow traveler” abilities?
“Hmm? Maybe it really is because of those two…”
His first “innate gift” was hampered by his own shortcomings. But when he was enlightening a ghost and cultivating the path of the Lunar Dao, his progress was so rapid it left him dumbfounded.
“Perhaps it’s the Lunar Immortal Power…”
Xiao Qingpei sensed the Lunar Immortal Power within him, which he could not advance further without passing the Immortal Examination. A faint suspicion began to form in his heart.
Ever since he had enlightened that ghost and started cultivating the half-volume of “Lunar Life-Nourishing Profound Explanation,” Xiao Qingpei had noticed his body returning to youthful vigor.
Previously, he thought it was a side effect of Yin-Yang conflict. When Pure Yang Immortal Qi flooded the world, all ancient Lunar Dao arts died out, showing just how irreconcilable Yin and Yang were. If not for his circumstances, that half-volume of “Lunar Life-Nourishing Profound Explanation”—clearly a superior cultivation manual—would never have fallen into his hands so easily.
Even the Linwu Sect, who once managed the Immortal Examination, had no superior cultivation manuals! It was said that in the early days of the Great Yao Dynasty, an incomplete superior Pure Yang manual appeared, inciting a scramble among powerful Golden Core cultivators.
When the will of heaven clashed, one “golden body” after another rode the winds, rain, and thunder, competing fiercely—so many cultivators trembled in fear, terrified and uneasy. The aftermath alone created terrifying anomalies.
The treasured secret ground “Thunder Sword Immortal Cliff” held dear by the Great Yao Dynasty was actually the lingering power of a sword cultivator who practiced Thunder arts and struck in bitter wrath.
From this, one could gauge the rarity of superior cultivation manuals!
If no one wanted it, it had to be a Lunar Dao manual.
“But why would Yan Song dare to demand Immortal Examination books in exchange for his complete Lunar inheritance?”
Xiao Qingpei recalled the origins of his half-volume “Lunar Life-Nourishing Profound Explanation,” and felt puzzled. The Lunar Dao was indeed useful to him, but no one else knew this—not even he had realized it until now.
At present, no matter how complete a Lunar Dao inheritance was—even a superior manual—it wasn’t as valuable as even a fragmentary inferior Pure Yang Dao manual.
Still, after some thought, Xiao Qingpei decided to seek out Yan Song.
Yan Song was also a disciple of the Linwu Sect, much like Xiao Qingpei once was, but he excelled at currying favor and networking, so he was popular within the sect. Many elders and guardians preferred to send Yan Song on errands, and he took pride in this, often boasting to new disciples about his connections with various elders and guardians.
Xiao Qingpei had been expelled from Linwu Sect, but carried a token left by Yan Song—a spirit talisman. He activated it and cast it into the water jar before him.
As the water rippled, a smiling, plump figure appeared on the surface.
“Senior Xiao, you’ve called for me late at night—have you made up your mind?”
The figure materialized in the jar, asking eagerly.
“Mm.”
Xiao Qingpei didn’t care what “made up your mind” referred to—he disliked riddles and simply nodded.
“That’s great! I’ll bring those Lunar Dao books to you right away.” Yan Song was overjoyed and promptly withdrew his image.
Less than the time it takes for a cup of tea, urgent knocking sounded at Xiao Qingpei’s door.
“Senior Xiao, it’s me!”
Opening the door, Xiao Qingpei found a man and a bird on the threshold—the man was the plump figure from the water jar, the bird a Linwu Sect spirit creature, a type of Azure Luan, of which there were only a dozen or so. Yan Song’s years of flattery had finally earned him the privilege of raising one.
What use was the Azure Luan? The speed with which this man arrived, carrying a black jade chest, spoke volumes.
Considering the distance from Linwu Sect’s mountain gate on Qingya Mountain to this town, even a Qi Refining disciple flying on a magical implement would need nearly half a stick of incense.
“Senior Xiao, here you are! Where are the Immortal Examination books I wanted?” Yan Song opened the chest and eagerly asked.
“Come in,” Xiao Qingpei, still at the Foundation Establishment stage, had no fear of any mischief.
Moments later, they exchanged their black jade chests.
“Thank you, Senior Xiao!” Yan Song was beside himself with excitement at finally obtaining what he’d long desired. As he was leaving, he said earnestly, “Senior Xiao, your expulsion by Guardian Lin isn’t final—there’s still room for negotiation. Honestly, why oppose Guardian Lin at all? His apprentice is actually his own son, born from an affair with his sister-in-law. He wants an Immortal Examination quota for his son—why not let him have it?”
There was a hint of persuasion in his words.
But despite all Yan Song said, Xiao Qingpei gave no response, so Yan Song simply cupped his hands and mounted the Azure Luan, swiftly vanishing into the night.
“The first year, I yielded because I’d just arrived and needed to play it safe.”
“The second year, I yielded again because I hadn’t resolved my regression in cultivation.”
Xiao Qingpei shook his head, speaking in a voice only he could hear.
He then took out all the books Yan Song had left in the black jade chest.
“Lunar Body-Nourishing Profound Explanation?”
“Lunar Immortal Sense Profound Explanation?”
“Lunar Spiritual Treasure Profound Explanation?”
“Lunar Divine Treasury Profound Explanation?”
Flipping through them at random, Xiao Qingpei was astonished. He’d thought Yan Song only possessed the other half of “Lunar Life-Nourishing Profound Explanation,” but to his surprise, Yan Song had collected all the Lunar Dao manuals!
These five manuals were known as the Five Lunar Books, said to have rivaled the Six Pure Yang Immortal Scriptures before Pure Yang Immortal Qi flooded the world!
With them, one could cultivate from Qi Refining all the way to Nascent Soul. With great talent and opportunities, one might even break through Nascent Soul and achieve immortality!
Then Xiao Qingpei recalled the information gained from the “Female Protagonist Ascension System.”
The third heroine was named Situ Yu.
Situ Yu, too, faced the dilemma of lacking an Immortal Examination quota, but as a protagonist, she naturally enjoyed special treatment.
Situ Yu found another way to take the Immortal Examination—a legitimate method that had disappeared for many years!
Nowadays, Immortal Examinations were controlled by powerful sects across the land. Yet, in truth, these sects merely acted as proxies for heaven’s authority.
The examination was originally meant to be conducted by heaven and earth, but something happened over time, and all cultivators forgot how to summon the heavenly Immortal Examination, so they could only rely on the sects’ controlled exam.
Now, Xiao Qingpei knew how to summon the heavenly Immortal Examination!