The Bell Rings, Breaking the Dusty Fate.

"The Qingyun Sect has ten thousand mu of spiritual fields, with ten thousand Dao disciples. With so many people, it's easy to produce geniuses. Although the Qingyun Sect only teaches these young Dao disciples the simplest Qingyun Qi Refining technique and provides no other guidance or help in cultivation, among these ten thousand plus Dao disciples, one or two outstanding talents emerge every year through their own comprehension, cultivating spiritual energy.

In the eyes of other Dao disciples, such individuals are all stunning geniuses, the pride of the heavens.

"Brothers, I'm leaving. I'll come back to visit and have a drink together sometime!"

Early in the morning, Fang Xing packed his belongings into a bundle and carried it on his back, bidding farewell to the other Dao disciples.

In the morning breeze, Wang Zhi, Little Freckles, Hangman, Rat Spirit, and Luo Quan Ghost stood in a row in front of the wooden house, seeing him off.

Their expressions were a mix of admiration and envy. They never expected that this fierce and domineering kid would cultivate spiritual energy in just three months, about to step into the outer disciple ranks and ascend to new heights.

Although they saw Fang Xing diligently cultivating every day, they thought it was just a common occurrence for newcomers to the Qingyun Sect. Every Dao disciple who entered the Qingyun Sect would spend the first year or even two years desperately cultivating, hoping to step onto the path of immortality, but as time passed, they would gradually give up, realizing their own aptitude and settling down to be ordinary people.

Usually, Fang Xing spoke sternly, and it was only yesterday when he mentioned that he was going to ring the Clear Heart Bell that others knew he had cultivated spiritual energy.

"Fang Big Brother, you're truly extraordinary. As you enter the outer sect and ascend, remember us, your brothers..."

Wang Zhi spoke sincerely, his eyes seemingly a little red, while Little Freckles burst into tears.

Fang Xing kicked out with a laugh, scolding, "You crybabies, why shed tears? I'm just leveling up, not going to die. All of you idiots remember the secret method I told you yesterday. It's something I painstakingly researched, a secret that must not be passed on. As long as you practice according to the method, you'll definitely cultivate spiritual energy. When you enter the outer sect, I'll still watch over you!"

"That method... is really... quite bizarre... But we'll remember it!"

The Dao disciples chuckled awkwardly, somewhat skeptical of Fang Xing's method.

Fang Xing smiled and said no more. He had already told them the method; whether they believed it or not was up to them.

"Alright, brothers, I'm leaving. No need to see me off!"

Fang Xing waved his hand, turned, and walked along the winding path towards the depths of the green mountains.

"Farewell to Fang Big Brother, wishing you a bright future and success in your journey..."

The congratulatory voices of the Dao disciples echoed behind him, showing deep affection and a sense of parting...

However, after Fang Xing's figure disappeared from view, the Dao disciples suddenly straightened up, their faces sly, wiping away the tears from their faces, and sighing, "Heaven has eyes, finally sending this little troublemaker away..."

"Yes, yes, yes. During his time here, I couldn't even sleep at night!"

"Life is finally back to normal. Thank the heavens..."

Following the winding path out of the spiritual fields, one could enter the vicinity of the Qingyun Sect's back gate. From here, one could catch a glimpse of the true appearance of the Qingyun Sect. It was truly shrouded in immortal clouds, with strange peaks rising one after another, ancient and secluded Taoist temples nestled between the valleys. Whenever a breeze blew, lifting the mountain mist, one could discover a practice cave that resembled a fairyland.

The spiritual fields only reached the foot of the green mountains. Beneath an ancient pine tree, there was a stone platform built of bluestones. Going up the platform, there was a green bronze bell, seemingly ancient and with no bell striker nearby. Next to the platform stood a stone monument, leaning against a stone-carved ox, with the inscription: Clear Heart Bell. There were also two lines of poetic verses beside the bell:

The bell rings, breaking the dusty fate, stepping into the Qingyun realm.

"Is this the place? If a Dao disciple cultivates spiritual energy, they can ring this bell and become an outer sect disciple..."

Fang Xing thought to himself as he walked up the steps and lightly touched the bronze bell's surface.

The morning dew had not yet dissipated, and the bronze bell was icy cold and extremely heavy. Fang Xing pushed it, but it didn't budge.

"The Clear Heart Bell, a low-grade spiritual tool. It doesn't ring when struck with ordinary wood, but when spiritual energy touches it, the sound can be heard for ten miles..."

Focusing his mind on the bell, Fang Xing's Yin-Yang Divine Mirror began to operate, absorbing the characteristics of this bronze bell into his mind.

"Let's begin then. Xiao Jianming, the tenth chief bandit of the Ghost Smoke Valley, is here..."

"Qingyun Sect, here comes Fang Xing..."

"The path of immortality, I'm here!"

Fang Xing took a deep breath, activated his spiritual energy, and slapped the bell.

"Hum..."

The heavy bell suddenly trembled, and a dull sound spread far and wide, startling a group of birds in the mountains.

Fang Xing struck the bell three times before stopping, waiting for the sect to come and receive him.

"The Clear Heart Bell has rung. Has another Dao disciple cultivated spiritual energy?"

"Heh, I wonder if it's truly exceptional talent or just another waste!"

Amidst the hidden green mountains, many people were awakened from their dreams. Some paid attention, some sneered, and some turned over and went back to sleep.

Less than ten breaths later, a figure flashed lightning-fast from the front gate of the mountain, a young man with fair skin and a slender figure, dressed in a green Daoist robe with his hair tied up with a wooden hairpin. He appeared lively and carefree, but his face was expressionless, almost like a dead person.

He arrived in front of Fang Xing, his eyes sweeping over Fang Xing as if sending cold electricity, and asked in a deep voice, "Did you ring the Clear Heart Bell? What's your name?"

"Senior Brother, please forgive me. I'm Fang Xing, Dao disciple from the third district of the Fire element. I greet Senior Brother!"

Fang Xing naturally wouldn't act arrogantly at this moment and respectfully bowed to the newcomer, appearing very well-behaved.

During the bow, he also carefully assessed this person, seeing that he had the cultivation of Spirit Awakening Quadruple, indicating his strength was not weak.

"Good, follow me!"

The young man nodded and grabbed Fang Xing's arm, swiftly flying towards the mountain.

Fang Xing felt the wind under his feet, the sound of wind rushing in his ears, the strong wind making his skin sore, and he couldn't even open his eyes. He suddenly cursed inwardly at this dead-faced person, was he showing off in front of him? He had greeted him for nothing... But then he realized he was being stupid; why hadn't he used his spiritual energy to protect himself? With a thought, his spiritual energy circulated, and he immediately felt much better.

Opening his eyes, he saw himself flying towards a mountain peak. The Qingyun Sect had countless peaks, with seven main peaks towering between the green mountains, seemingly disorderly but actually containing profound meaning, stabilizing the spiritual veins. These were the seven main peaks of the Qingyun Sect.

The young Daoist brought him to one of these peaks.

"Elder Gao, I've brought him!"

The young Daoist respectfully reported to a pavilion halfway up the odd peak.

"Let him in!"

An old voice came from the pavilion. The young Daoist pushed Fang Xing forward, and he stumbled inside.

"Damn, how dare he push me?"

Fang Xing instinctively wanted to curse loudly, but before he could speak, he suddenly felt a stern gaze locking onto him.

"How did you cultivate spiritual energy?"

The old voice sounded again, solemn and heavy, as if sound waves were striking Fang Xing's forehead.

Fang Xing turned his head and saw an old Daoist with skin like orange peel, gray-white hair draped on both sides. The morning light shone through the window, brightening half of his face, while the other half remained in darkness. However, his eyes were equally bright, sharp, and seemed capable of piercing through any secrets, making people feel chilly and afraid to lie.

"How come I can't see through his cultivation level..."

Fang Xing bravely sized up the old man, but to his surprise, his Yin-Yang Divine Mirror couldn't see through the old man's cultivation level.

Since the Yin-Yang Divine Mirror entered his body, each time it identified a treasure or assessed someone's cultivation level, it consumed a bit of Fang Xing's spiritual energy. The higher the level of what was being assessed, the more spiritual energy it consumed.

The fact that it couldn't see through this old Daoist's cultivation level indicated Fang Xing's spiritual energy was not enough to penetrate it.

"I... I... I cultivated after eating Transcendent Spirit Grass..."

Fang Xing quickly thought in his mind, deciding it was best to tell the truth, and pretended to be respectful and fearful as he replied.

"Sigh, another one who took a shortcut with Transcendent Spirit Grass. Well, being able to discover the usefulness of Transcendent Spirit Grass is also your good fortune. I'll allow you to ascend to the outer sect and become a Qingyun Sect disciple. Take this token; it's your proof of being a Qingyun Sect disciple. Later, take this token to the Green Wood Hall, and someone will arrange a place for your cultivation, give you a Qingyun Sect robe, a spiritual tool, and cultivation techniques..."

The old man seemed somewhat disappointed. After learning Fang Xing's name, he took a drop of Fang Xing's blood and merged it into a small black wooden token, which he casually threw to Fang Xing, then dismissed him.

"Is that it?"

Fang Xing stood outside the pavilion, feeling a bit dazed. He hadn't expected it to be so simple.

"Does that mean many people have discovered the usefulness of Transcendent Spirit Grass?"

Fang Xing couldn't quite understand, turned over the wooden token, and saw the engraving of a "Ding" character on it.

In any case, the "Ding" character definitely wasn't a good rank. Even in the spiritual fields, the "Ding" district was the lowest.

Fang Xing was unaware that although ordinary Dao disciples didn't know the usefulness of Transcendent Spirit Grass, the elders in the sects, who cultivated secretly and studied pharmacology, how could they not know? However, while the sects emphasized aptitude, the Qingyun Sect especially favored those with exceptional aptitude, so even if they had the means to help someone who couldn't cultivate to cultivate spiritual energy, they wouldn't do so.

After all, such people had extremely poor aptitude. Even if they were forced onto the path of cultivation, they had no future.

However, the sects also valued affinity and comprehension. Therefore, Dao disciples who cultivated through Transcendent Spirit Grass, although their aptitude was generally poor, the Qingyun Sect still gave them the status of an outer sect disciple. As for their future achievements, it depended on their personal fortune.