Late at night, two exhausted women walked in. They ordered a pot of tea and chatted quietly.
"Another day with no suitable beast."
"Finding wood attribute spirit beasts isn't hard. But finding ones that meet the standard is almost impossible."
"Yeah. It'll only get harder from here. Any wood attribute spirit beast that meets the requirements would've rushed over the moment they heard the Sacred Mountain was recruiting. We can only hope more wood attribute spirit beasts in other cities hear the news and hurry here."
Yun Jin's eyes shifted. She stood and walked over with a gentle smile. "Sorry to bother you. You're looking for wood attribute spirit beasts, right?"
The two women looked up, wary. When they realized they couldn't sense Yun Jin's cultivation or background at all, their expressions tightened. Anyone who could hide their aura this well was either born with a special constitution or far stronger than them. Either way, they treated her with caution.
One woman quickly replied, "Yes. The Sacred Mountain needs a large number of wood attribute spirit beasts. The two of us are in charge of searching the Holy City for wood attribute spirit beasts to send to His Majesty."
"Oh?" Yun Jin sat down naturally. "From what I heard, there are certain conditions?"
One of them nodded. "Of course. It's not easy to enter the Sacred Mountain."
"May I ask what the standard is?" Yun Jin asked.
The two women exchanged a strange look. They'd been searching here for over half a year. How did this girl not know?
Yun Jin smiled. A millennium spirit plant appeared in her hand. She set it on the table, and rich wood attribute energy spread across the room. The women's eyes went wide.
"Big sisters," Yun Jin said softly, "our race keeps to itself. This is my first time leaving home to cultivate. I just arrived in the Holy City today, so I don't know much. If you don't mind explaining, this millennium spirit plant is yours."
The women stared at each other.
Just a few questions.
For a millennium spirit plant?
Where did this prodigal girl come from?
It seemed her hidden race was extremely powerful.
One of them hesitated, then said, "Well, it's not a secret. There are tons of wood attribute spirit beasts. They can't all enter the Sacred Mountain. So there are requirements."
"First, if you've mastered a super level Law of Wood, you can enter the Sacred Mountain without any test."
"Second, if you've mastered any advanced healing type Wood Law, you can also enter without a test."
"Other than that, everyone has to be examined."
She placed a wooden bead on the table.
"Inject your wood attribute energy into this Wood Spirit Bead. If it lights up, you pass. If it doesn't react, you fail."
Yun Jin nodded. "And that's it?"
The two women smiled. One added, "Of course. If you've mastered an entire Primordial Wood, then nothing else matters. The ten Saints will personally welcome you."
Yun Jin raised a brow, interested. "Saints?"
"You don't know the Saints?" they asked, surprised.
Yun Jin gave an embarrassed look. "Sorry. Our race isolates itself quite thoroughly."
They relaxed. One explained, "On the Sacred Mountain lives the supreme Língzūn. Under Língzūn are the ten Saints. All ten are divine beasts."
Their eyes shone with reverence.
Yun Jin was stunned too.
In her original world, aside from Di Xiao and Di Ying who had been deliberately sent here, divine beasts simply didn't exist. Yet in this tiny spirit beast small world, ten divine beasts appeared just like that.
So this was the difference between worlds.
Seeing her shock pleased the two women. As members of the Sacred Mountain, they felt proud.
"Thanks for the spirit plant. We'll get going." They stood to leave.
Yun Jin's eyes brightened. She smiled. "Actually, I also have wood attribute energy. Why not let me try the Wood Spirit Bead?"
"Oh?" They perked up.
One handed her the bead. "Just inject your wood energy."
Yun Jin nodded, feeling faintly emotional.
Family, look at her now.
A few years ago, she would've revealed her Primordial Wood on the spot. Yet now she wanted to keep a low profile.
It really was a different world. She should gauge the Sacred Mountain before revealing anything big.
Holding the Wood Spirit Bead, she wondered how much energy to inject. If she used too little and failed, it'd be embarrassing. Too much, and she'd stand out, which went against her desire to stay low key.
She thought for a long moment, then carefully injected the tiniest thread of energy.
The two women didn't think much at first. Then their expressions changed.
The moment Yun Jin's energy entered it, the Wood Spirit Bead blazed with a pillar of light shooting toward the sky. The bead was originally carved from spirit wood, but in that instant, it gleamed like flawless jade.
"Spirit Bead transforming into jade," one woman whispered, stunned.
Yun Jin was shocked too.
She only put in a sliver of energy, yet the bead made such a huge scene.
Why did it look like it had never seen the world before?
Yun Jin instantly used the Law of Yin and Yang to seal her aura. The bead lost its reaction, the light vanished, and its appearance returned to plain wood.
The two women gaped.
The light disappeared?
How did the bead recover that fast?
Impossible.
Yun Jin awkwardly returned the bead. "So, does that mean I passed?"
Their expressions were complicated.
One examined the bead again, then murmured, "I definitely saw it turn to jade. How is there no trace now?"
"I don't know anything about spirit beads turning jade," Yun Jin said with a pair of innocent blinks.
Perhaps deciding she was a bit strange, one woman explained, "There's a special wood attribute constitution called the Body of Pure Wood. Spirit beasts with that physique produce incredibly pure wood energy. When the Wood Spirit Bead encounters one, it transforms into jade."
Yun Jin's eyes flickered.
Body of Pure Wood?
She definitely didn't have that.
Was this bead counterfeit?
The other woman added softly, "There's another possibility. If you've mastered Primordial Wood. After that, your wood energy becomes unimaginably pure, even purer than that of a Body of Pure Wood. The bead will also turn to jade."
They both stared straight at her.
Yun Jin: "…"