Eternal Life by Daily Divination

His gaze lingered on Chai Rui and Zhai Yu for a moment before he gave a slight nod. "Your natural talents are acceptable."

Hearing this, the two were overjoyed. This Puppet was extremely strict and had never praised anyone before. It seemed they had a great chance of obtaining the Meng Luo Leaf this time!

The Puppet spoke slowly. "Disciples of my Pill Cauldron Sect can be roughly divided into four statuses: Servant Disciple, Outer Disciple, Inner Sect Disciple, and Core Disciple. If you three wish to obtain the Meng Luo Leaf, you must pass the highest difficulty assessment to earn the status of a Core Disciple."

"We understand!" Li Chang’an and Chai Rui responded in unison.

"Since you understand, then enter." The Puppet waved his large hand.

The Array in front of them immediately split open, revealing a gap. What appeared before their eyes was not the Spirit Medicine Garden, but three dark entrances—perfectly corresponding to Li Chang’an and the other two.

Li Chang’an had previously heard Zhuo Wanshuang explain that each disciple would undergo the assessment in an independent space. Chai Rui and Zhai Yu entered the first two entrances respectively. Li Chang’an stepped into the third.

Soon, the gap closed. He found himself alone in a small, secret chamber. An illusory projection of the Puppet appeared in front of him to explain the contents of the assessment.

"The first stage of my Pill Cauldron Sect’s disciple assessment is the identification of Spirit Medicines.

"Before you are two Jade Scrolls. One of them contains ten million types of Spirit Medicines. You must identify them one by one and record your answers in the other Jade Scroll.

"Successfully identifying ten thousand Spirit Medicines qualifies you to become a Servant Disciple.

"Identifying one hundred thousand qualifies you to become an Outer Disciple..."

The Puppet’s exceptionally cold voice echoed in Li Chang’an’s ears. To earn the qualifications of a Core Disciple in this first stage, Li Chang’an had to identify all ten million Spirit Medicines! The vast majority were Low Tier Spirit Medicines with similar appearances, making them incredibly difficult to distinguish.

"As an Alchemist, if you cannot even identify a Spirit Medicine, you are only harming others. Begin!" After saying this, the Puppet’s projection fell silent and stood quietly in place.

"Yes!" Li Chang’an bowed with cupped hands. He stepped forward, picked up the first Jade Scroll, and sent his Divine Sense into it. Soon, thousands upon thousands of Spirit Medicines appeared in his perception, as numerous as the stars in the night sky.

Having been a Loose Cultivator for over a hundred years, this was Li Chang’an’s first time participating in such a formal disciple assessment. He focused intensely, dedicating his full attention to carefully identifying them.

"Cyan Jade Flower, Celestial Blue Star, Exquisite Fruit..."

In the blink of an eye, he had already identified dozens of Spirit Medicines. In the days that followed, he remained completely motionless, continuously identifying various Spirit Medicines and recording them in the other Jade Scroll.

Seven days later, Li Chang’an slowly set down the two Jade Scrolls.

He let out a long breath and rubbed his temples, his mind feeling heavy and swollen.

The Puppet glanced at him and said indifferently, "If you can no longer identify them, then conclude this stage of the assessment. Do not waste time."

Over these seven days, he had focused almost entirely on the other two, paying little attention to Li Chang’an. At this moment, those two were still burying their heads in identifying Spirit Medicines, yet Li Chang’an had already put down his Jade Scrolls. In the Puppet’s eyes, Li Chang’an was likely giving up.

However, Li Chang’an replied, "Senior, I have completed the identification of all the Spirit Medicines. Please review them."

"Oh?" The Puppet was somewhat skeptical and raised his hand to take the two Jade Scrolls. As he gripped the Jade Scrolls and carefully sensed their contents, a trace of surprise gradually appeared on his face.

A moment later, he set down the Jade Scrolls and examined Li Chang’an with a fresh perspective.

"Out of a full ten million Spirit Medicines, you only made one hundred and eight mistakes. Even in Ancient Times, such a result was exceptionally rare."

His words carried a hint of disbelief. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Li Chang’an to reach such a level at all.

Li Chang’an was equally quite stunned. "Senior, I actually got one hundred and eight wrong?"

Out of all the Spirit Medicines, there had been fewer than ten that he wasn’t completely confident about. He truly hadn’t expected so many errors.

The Puppet said in exasperation, "Does a brat like you think one hundred and eight is a lot?"

Li Chang’an replied respectfully, "Senior, I honestly did not expect to get so many wrong. May I know which ones were incorrect?"

"Of course. Come here, I will point them out to you!" The Puppet was incredibly patient as he highlighted Li Chang’an’s mistakes.

"Look at this Mist Lotus Fruit and Fog Origin Fruit. Both share identical shapes and similar medicinal properties. They are virtually indistinguishable. Even a Tier Five Alchemist could easily mix them up..."

Not only did he point out the errors, but he also took the opportunity to explain the value and various uses of these Spirit Medicines. This benefited Li Chang’an immensely.

In terms of knowledge and experience, Li Chang’an was already quite extraordinary. Along his journey, he had explored numerous ruins, pored over countless Ancient Texts from the Nine Great Immortal Sects and even the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, obtained the legacy of a Nascent Soul Elder from the Pill Cauldron Sect, and had even received guidance from Master Dancheng.

Yet, he still could not compare to this Puppet. After all, the Puppet himself was a relic from Ancient Times.

About half an hour later, Li Chang’an had learned all of his mistakes. He bowed deeply. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior!"

"There is no need to thank me. Your talent is remarkable; this is what you deserve." The Puppet waved his hand, his tone no longer as cold as before.

Next, Li Chang’an entered the second stage. This stage still tested his knowledge of Spirit Medicines, but instead of identifying them, it was about accelerating their growth. Placed before Li Chang’an were thousands of Spirit Seeds from various types of Spirit Medicines.

"By accelerating the growth of just one Spirit Seed, you will qualify as a Servant Disciple," the Puppet explained the rules in an even tone. To obtain the qualifications of a Core Disciple, he needed to accelerate the growth of all one thousand Spirit Seeds.

Almost every Alchemy Dao legacy came with a Magic Gate for accelerating the growth of Spirit Seeds, but not every Alchemist could execute this Magic Gate flawlessly.

"You are a Cultivator with a Wood Spirit Root. Your affinity with Spirit Plants naturally exceeds that of Cultivators with other Spiritual Roots. Therefore, my requirements for you will be even stricter. Begin."