The blue-eyed octopus demon and the red-haired fire demon found a remote location near the Seven Stars Prefecture.

The blue-eyed octopus demon was the first to begin its transformation!

Meanwhile, the red-haired fire demon stood guard during this process. Once the blue-eyed octopus demon completed its cultivation, it would then protect the red-haired fire demon during its turn.

Soon, the blue-eyed octopus demon fully transformed, taking the form of a young man.

It then began dispersing its cultivation.

Wisps of demonic energy dissipated from its body, colliding with spiritual energy and causing intense reactions that corroded the surrounding land, leaving it pockmarked.

After completely dispersing its cultivation, the blue-eyed octopus demon directly fell to the mortal realm!

Even its physical body had become ordinary flesh and blood due to the transformation, though its soul strength and cultivation insights remained. Recovering its cultivation wouldn't be difficult.

"Eh? Yan Xinming, why does it feel like all my demonic energy has completely disappeared?" the blue-eyed youth exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh? It's true. It seems repeated cleansing by both spiritual and demonic energy has purified your foundation to an extraordinary degree," Yan Xinming marveled. "Lan Zhi, we might have discovered a great method to improve one's foundation! Though the cost is quite steep!"

"Does this mean I can reach the Celestial Immortal realm in the future?" Lan Zhi asked excitedly.

"Indeed, your talent has definitely improved. Your future path will be much smoother!" Yan Xinming sighed. "Who would have thought we'd stumble upon such an opportunity! If that Seven Stars Sect truly possesses powerful immortal heritage, we might actually achieve something significant!"

Lan Zhi immediately grew confident: "Hahaha, I'll become a Celestial Immortal, even a Golden Immortal!"

Half a day later, the two arrived at one of the Seven Stars Sect's outposts, where Lan Zhi applied to join the sect.

Yan Xinming hid within Lan Zhi's portable spiritual treasure to protect him.

"Be careful not to draw too much attention!" Yan Xinming warned.

"I know. With my talent, I'm bound to shock the entire sect—it can't be helped! I'll try to keep a low profile," Lan Zhi replied.

Yan Xinming nodded. He didn't think Lan Zhi was wrong—both of them had reached the Great Ascension Realm. In the mortal world, such talent was undoubtedly top-tier! Joining the Seven Stars Sect would surely astonish them, and the sect's heritage would practically beg them to take it.

At the outpost:

A Seven Stars Sect disciple glanced at Lan Zhi and said casually, "You want to join the Seven Stars Sect? Test your spiritual roots."

"Alright!"

Lan Zhi calmly placed his hand on the spirit testing platform.

A pillar of water-blue light immediately shot into the sky, illuminating the entire outpost!

All the cultivators present stopped what they were doing and surrounded Lan Zhi, staring in amazement.

"Heavens! A Heavenly Spiritual Root! It's surpassed the limit for measuring top-grade spiritual roots—we actually have a Heavenly Water Spiritual Root here!"

"Senior Brother Gu You has a Heavenly Metal Spiritual Root and reached late Golden Core stage in just ten years. That's the power of a Heavenly Spiritual Root—far superior to top-grade ones!"

"This will surely alert the sect elders!"

The crowd exclaimed in astonishment.

Lan Zhi remained completely calm inside, his confidence in his talent bolstered by a sense of superiority from the immortal world.

"Make way! What kind of behavior is this?"

The outpost's managing elder immediately flew over, pushing through the crowd with a smile. "Young friend, what's your name?"

"Lan... Lan Zhi!" Lan Zhi pretended to be nervous.

"Haha, relax! Don't be nervous!"

"I-I'm not nervous!"

"Your talent is exceptional. The sect will send elders to escort you. From now on, you're a disciple of the Seven Stars Sect."

Lan Zhi nodded happily.

Sure enough, within half an hour, Elder Nangong Xianweng arrived personally.

"Where is this genius?" Nangong Xianweng called out as soon as he landed.

"Elder, this is him!" The managing elder immediately presented Lan Zhi.

Nangong Xianweng examined Lan Zhi, particularly his blue eyes, and nodded in satisfaction. "As expected of a Heavenly Water Spiritual Root—even his eyes are extraordinary."

Lan Zhi lowered his head and clutched his clothes. "I... I was abandoned by my parents because of my eyes and have been wandering since childhood."

"Don't worry. From now on, the Seven Stars Sect is your home!" Nangong Xianweng patted his shoulder.

Lan Zhi was displeased by this gesture from a mere Divine Transformation junior. How old was he? Such disrespect.

Nangong Xianweng took him flying toward the main sect.

Lan Zhi was immediately shocked!

Nangong Xianweng's flying speed was incredibly fast—comparable to early Void Refining stage! His soul could clearly sense that this old man was only at mid Divine Transformation, yet he didn't seem to be exerting himself at all!

Instantly, Lan Zhi's condescension toward Nangong Xianweng vanished.

He began to wonder—could the Seven Stars Sect truly possess immortal heritage? How else could a random elder he encountered be so formidable?

"Elder, may I ask a question?" Lan Zhi inquired curiously.

"Oh? What is it? Go ahead," Nangong Xianweng replied casually.

"Are you the strongest in the Seven Stars Sect?"

Nangong Xianweng immediately shook his head. "Of course not! Don't speak nonsense. My strength ranks at least beyond the top fifty thousand. I must warn you—some things are better left unsaid."

Lan Zhi's eyes widened in shock. "Elder, you're this powerful yet rank beyond fifty thousand? Are you... are you trying to scare me?"

Nangong Xianweng waved his hand. "Why would I lie? You're just a new disciple—what do you know? Our Seven Stars Sect isn't as simple as it appears! The waters run deep here—you'll understand in time."

"Then... who is the strongest in our sect?" Lan Zhi asked.

"Naturally, it's the Seven Stars Patriarch!" Nangong Xianweng's expression turned reverent and admiring.

"What realm has the Patriarch reached?" Lan Zhi couldn't resist asking.

"I don't know," Nangong Xianweng admitted.

Lan Zhi was stunned. "Rumors say there's a Great Ascension Realm expert in the Seven Stars Sect. Is that the Patriarch?"

Nangong Xianweng chuckled. "The Seven Stars Patriarch? How could his strength be merely at the Great Ascension Realm? Hah, don't ask such naive questions. You've just entered the cultivation world—there's much you don't understand. You'll comprehend more as you progress."

Truthfully, Nangong Xianweng genuinely didn't know Su Yuan's current realm. Ever since being surpassed in cultivation, he couldn't fathom Su Yuan's level anymore—the techniques alone were enough to keep him occupied.

Moreover, he wondered why the Patriarch had specifically assigned him to handle this newcomer. What was the deeper meaning behind this?

Nangong Xianweng concluded, "Just consider the Seven Stars Patriarch to be the reincarnation of a supreme expert!"

Lan Zhi was puzzled. "A supreme expert?"

"It's pointless explaining—you wouldn't understand!" Nangong Xianweng waved dismissively.

But internally, Lan Zhi was horrified! In the immortal world, "supreme expert" wasn't a term used lightly—it specifically referred to those at the Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal realm or above!

Such an existence reincarnating? Impossible!

Inside the portable spiritual treasure, Yan Xinming was equally terrified. These words made the Seven Stars Sect sound like a dragon's den and tiger's lair!

Yan Xinming immediately suppressed his aura, observing the situation solely through Lan Zhi's senses, not daring to reveal even a trace of his power.

"Can I become the Patriarch's disciple? I want to learn his techniques!" Lan Zhi asked eagerly.

Nangong Xianweng gave an odd smile. "You want to learn? Heh, no need to become his disciple—you'll have access to them eventually. I hope you can maintain your current mindset."

Seeing Nangong Xianweng's smile sent a chill down Lan Zhi's spine. What exactly did that mean?

Before long, they arrived at the Seven Stars Sect.

From midair, Lan Zhi observed the sect's entirety—it appeared ordinary, with an unremarkable surface area.

But the moment he passed through the sect's protective formation, incredibly dense spiritual energy assaulted his senses!

At the mountain peaks, the spiritual energy was so concentrated it had liquefied! The sect's spiritual energy levels were dozens of times richer than the outside world—even surpassing ordinary regions of the immortal world!

This Seven Stars Sect was impressive!

As he marveled, a figure suddenly materialized before them, unleashing overwhelming pressure.

Nangong Xianweng immediately bowed. "Greetings, Elder Su Qian!"

Lan Zhi's heart shook!

This person's aura had reached ninth-stage initial level—the Great Ascension Realm!

The Seven Stars Sect truly hid dragons and crouched tigers!

What shocked him more was that he couldn't perceive how this person had appeared! Despite his soul strength remaining at peak Great Ascension, where few techniques at the same realm could escape his senses, this person seemed to have manifested from thin air.

Nangong Xianweng pressed Lan Zhi's head down. "Quickly greet the elder!"

Only then did Lan Zhi snap out of it and bow respectfully. "Greetings, Elder!"

Su Qian coldly glanced at Lan Zhi. "Who is this?"

"A newly recruited talented disciple," Nangong Xianweng quickly explained. "At least a Human-grade spiritual root!"

Su Qian nodded slightly. "Some potential. Test him to see if he can reach True-grade, Mystic-grade, or even Golden-grade."

Nangong Xianweng hesitated. "Elder, this child will probably only reach Heaven-grade. True-grade would be too much for him."

"Heaven-grade? Mediocre talent—hardly worthy of true inheritance." Su Qian's interest visibly waned.

With a flick of his sleeve, he dissipated like a breeze, vanishing without a trace.

Lan Zhi gaped, looking around in astonishment. "Where did the elder go?"

"Shh! Don't ask about the elders' affairs!" Nangong Xianweng warned.

Lan Zhi carefully asked, "Elder, what did Elder Su mean by True-grade and Mystic-grade?"

Nangong Xianweng explained, "It's simple—our sect's talent evaluation system. Beyond top-grade spiritual roots, one enters Human-grade, indicating potential to reach Human Immortal realm. Earth-grade corresponds to Earth Immortal, Heaven-grade to Celestial Immortal, and so forth."

Lan Zhi's eyes widened. "Human Immortal? Our sect..."

Nangong Xianweng tapped his head. "Don't aim too high too soon. Talent is just the starting point. While the Seven Stars Sect values talent, we value temperament even more! With exceptional temperament, you might even earn an audience with the Patriarch!"

His tone was encouraging.

Lan Zhi gulped, suddenly feeling apprehensive. He had thought his immortal world origins would make him a peerless genius in this tiny mortal world, yet the Seven Stars Sect had even higher talent classifications.

Dazed, Lan Zhi allowed Nangong Xianweng to lead him to a grand hall.

"Come, let's test your exact talent level first."