Chapter 1596 – Silent Ancient City
Time gradually passed. Qin Nan arrived as he promised a day later.
He discovered several huge cities with immortal glows floating in the sky.
Surrounded by the cities was a fairly eye-catching, enormous city over nineteen thousand zhang tall. It was made of some special ore with a starry brilliance, granting it a formidable aura.
The enormous city was the Silent Ancient City, one of the twenty-three ancient cities under the influence of the Sky Taihuang Sect. Every cultivator was permitted to enter it.
Qin Nan lifted his gaze and glanced behind the cities.
He was able to see various strange glows flickering in the distance within his vision, with a vast, boundless immortal intent lingering in the air.
It felt like an illusionary giant entrance that would bring him to a whole new world once he stepped through it.
This 'world' was the Sky Taihuang Sect.
Every Supreme Daoism Faction or faction led by a Peerless Ruler was different from the ordinary factions. They would usually establish their factions deep within the Heavens and Earth.
Unlike the Silent Ancient City, outsiders were required to complete certain quests or pay a certain price to enter it or take a glance at its true appearance.
"According to the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Badge, the Sky Taihuang Sect had nineteen Blessed Immortal Lands and two Dao Seeking Lands."
Qin Nan's eyes flickered with astonishment.
He was fairly interested in these Dao Seeking Lands and the Art of Dao Seeking that he kept hearing about.
"I'll try to ask Qiu Hong later."
Qin Nan murmured. He flew into the Silent Ancient City with a flicker.
As soon as he stepped into the city, he captured a faint, pleasant scent of wood.
Although the streets were bustling with cultivators, it still felt soothing and calming.
"There are quite a lot of experts around."
Qin Nan walked on the street and carefully observed his surroundings.
The cultivators in the city were basically Earth Gods and Heaven Gods. There were even quite a few Human Immortals too.
Deep inside the city were two terrifying auras. They were most likely the Earth Immortals that were responsible for the safety of the city.
"The top ten core disciples!"
"The trial to become an outer disciple of the Sky Taihuang Sect!"
"Just ten thousand Immortal Stones, and I'll teach you how to become an outer disciple!"
Stalls were set up on both sides of the street. Every single one of them had something to do with the Sky Taihuang Sect.
"What's happening over there?"
A moment later, Qin Nan paused with a curious look.
Ahead of him was a six story palace. The entrance of the palace was a dojo with a circumference of over a thousand zhang.
On the dojo were more than three hundred cultivators with different levels of cultivation.
In front of them stood a ten-zhang-tall golden pillar with mystical runes.
A Human God Realm cultivator was placing his hand on the golden pillar with drops of cold sweat on his forehead.
"Postnatal Lower-Grade Immortal Root."
Two disciples in long, white robes stood on both sides of the pillar.
One of them declared the result expressionlessly.
The Human God let out a sigh. After him, an Earth God stepped forward with a nervous look.
"They are testing their Immortal Roots? Maybe I can go have a try."
Qin Nan mumbled to himself and walked into the crowd.
Qiu Hong had not arrived yet, thus he was quite interested in seeing what level his Immortal Root was.
"Postnatal Immortal Root, Upper-Grade!"
"Natal Immortal Root, Middle-Grade!"
"No Immortal Root…"
The same voice declared the results as the cultivators took their turns.
Qin Nan gradually learned about Immortal Root from observing the process.
The Immortal Root was grouped into Natal and Postnatal, with Natal being more superior than the latter. Furthermore, the level of the Immortal Root was classified into Rare Phenomenon, Superior-Grade, Upper-Grade, Middle-Grade, and Lower-Grade.
The Immortal Roots were not the same as the Martial Spirits in the Canglan Continent. However, the higher the grade of an Immortal Root, the greater the Immortal Force that one would acquire when ascending as an immortal.
On top of that, those with Natal Immortal Roots were able to practice unique Immortal Arts as their special moves.
Currently, on the sixth floor of the palace behind the dojo…
A middle-aged man with white hair and glittering eyes let out a sigh upon seeing this, "Even until now, we've yet to discover a cultivator with Natal Upper-Grade Immortal Root. Third Elder, I'm afraid we're going to lose to the other cities."
The other twenty-two ancient cities were testing cultivators for their Immortal Roots too.
If they discovered a cultivator with an impressive Immortal Root, they would be willing to break the rules and recruit the person as an outer disciple.
The old man with wrinkles who was referred to as Third Elder closed his eyes and said calmly, "Be patient, we still have a day. Besides, even if we lost, it doesn't make much of a difference."
The middle-aged man wore a wry smile and said, "Even so, it's…huh, this cultivator's aura is quite unique."
It happened to be Qin Nan's turn on the dojo.
To the man's surprise, even with his cultivation of the peak Heaven God Realm, he was unable to see through Qin Nan's cultivation after activating his eye-technique.
The Third Elder's left eye sprang open with an immortal glow. He took a glimpse and nodded slightly, "This young man is different indeed. His Immortal Root might be Upper-Grade."
His cultivation was the peak Human Immortal Realm, yet he still was having trouble seeing through Qin Nan.
The middle-aged man straightened his figure with great anticipation.
Under his gaze, Qin Nan placed his hand on the golden pillar.
A few moments later, the golden pillar still did not show any reaction, not even the slightest glow.
"He doesn't even have a Postnatal Immortal Root?" The middle-aged man was stunned before he said helplessly, "Why would he come and take the test if he doesn't even have an Immortal Root? Isn't he just wasting our time?"
The Third Elder shook his head and closed his left eye.
"It's obvious that I have an Immortal Root in me, but why isn't the golden pillar reacting to it? Is it because my Immortal Root is refined by the Divine God of Battle?"
Qin Nan frowned. Having this thought, he left without saying a word.
He was only curious about the level of the Immortal Root, but since it was related to the secrets of the Divine God of Battle, he was unwilling to stay any further.
"No Immortal Root, next person!" The disciple glanced at Qin Nan's back coldly and said.
"Hehe, I was born with an Immortal Root. It is surely an Upper-Grade Immortal Root!"
A muscular bloke stepped forward and reached out his hand confidently.
"Upper-Grade?"
The crowd was looking forward to it.
A Natal Upper-Grade Immortal Root was already quite impressive.
"Mm?"
The middle-aged man in the sixth floor immediately wore an anticipated look as he was influenced by his confidence.
However, under the crowd's gaze, as soon as the man placed his hand on the golden pillar, a rare phenomenon took place.
