3 Start of the expedition

A few days after Ji Feng's meeting with Quan Li, he was allowed to leave the cottage, which he found out was in the outskirts of the Spring Mountain. In the beginning there were several youths with him, but they all left before he could - their wounds were much lighter than his, and he was able to wake up only because of his superior willpower.

On the day he was dismissed from the cottage, he was given a new tunic, a few coppers and showed the way to the exit. If he wanted to return, he would have to wait for the next examination, which would take place five years later, or he would have to take part in the expedition. For Ji Feng, the choice was obvious. He had to be admitted fast, or else Su Yimu would be in a position to make his life into a living hell. An even better reason, however, was the fact that even if he wanted to take part in the examination five years later, he would be unable to, because the age limit was 15 years old. He was already 13 when he took part in the examination. If someone wanted to enter the sect but was already above 15 year old, his or her only hope would be having a cultivation base. But that had limits too - 1st level of Qi Refining age limit was 20 years old, 2nd and 3rd is 30, 4th to 6th is 40 and above 7th level to 9th is 50. Foundation Establishment cultivators could join the sect with no limits, and would immediately become a guest elder.

But Ji Feng wanted to join the sect to become an immortal, so joining the expedition was his only and last chance.

Because of that, the first thing he did once he left the sect was visit a nearby town and buy a map to locate the forest he was supposed to meet the girl that proposed... Forced him to participate.

It was a nice looking town, but Ji Feng didn't have time to sightsee. He wanted to be where the girl told him to as soon as possible to avoid any mishaps.

'According to the map, the most direct way to go to the forest is also the most dangerous one... I wouldn't be able to pass through that mountain unharmed.'

The path he was thinking about led through a mountain that was practically infested with demonic beasts. They were only 1st and at most 2nd level of Qi Refining, so it wasn't a problem for immortals, who would have no problem killing them and scaling the steep mountain. That's why, for Quan Li, it was only 10 km and for Ji Feng it was at least 40 km. He would have to hurry even more than he thought if he wanted to be there on time. He didn't know when the expedition left for the ancient ruin, but he didn't want to miss it, so the only option left for him is to run an equivalent of a marathon.

Since he didn't have any time to waste, he used the coppers he received from the sect to acquire basic supplies he would need to survive in the wild. Dry rations, flint and a small knife. Fortunately he was learning to become a hunter so he had all the required skills.

After he bought all those, he set off into the wild.

The journey took him 5 days even with his skills in the wild. It would only have taken 3 and half if there weren't any demonic beasts roaming around, but it was a forest near a cultivator sect, so the presence of week demonic beasts was to be expected, even if they weren't there originally they would have been transported there by the elders of the sect to allow younger disciples with material for training. Fortunately, Ji Feng was able to avoid any dangerous ones by hiding and keeping his distance.

When he finally arrived, he was worried that he might be late, buy what he found relieved him. He saw the girl that invited him along with someone he didn't know. The unknown youth had a handsome face and wore white robes which made him look like a deity. Especially since his robes were fluttering even though there wasn't any wind. These two stood out for him because when he saw them, he involuntary tensed up. It was caused by the feeling of danger he got from them, especially from the white robed youth.

When he entered, the youth immediately looked at him and once he determined he wasn't a threat, he stopped paying him attention. The girl who invited Ji Feng briefly glanced at him and then continued chatting with the youth.

After he calmed down from being glanced at by the youth, Ji Feng chose to look around. Immediately his back was once again covered in cold sweat. He noticed about 10 other people who gave him a feeling of danger similar to the girl or even stronger than her. It seemed they were the immortals who took part in the expedition. They all seemed to revere the white robed youth, indicating that he was the leader.

After taking yet another glance at the youth in the center, Ji Feng calmed down and analyzed the situation further.

In total, he could see about 50 people. The youth and the girl, the 10 immortals and other 40 people who seemed to be mortals like him. They were all male, and they were generally lazing around and doing all sorts of stuff. Some practiced martial arts, some were sleeping, some were just sitting and chatting. But they all had one thing in common - they were all quiet.

Some time later, the youth stopped chatting with the girl and looked at everyone gathered there.

"Everyone, I'm Shi Qiu. We are leaving tomorrow morning. There were originally 50 people, but seems like some of them had gotten lost."

He stopped there, raising his hands and lightly clapping. Immediately, all mortals gathered there felt something move inside their chest. At the same time, one of the people on the outskirts exploded, his bones flying in all directions.

"Seems like he was too far away from me. A shame."

The youth said, not showing any emotions on his face.

"Now that you see what happens when you try to run, let's get started with the rules."