"Sect Disciple Selection Mission Edicts," referred to simply as "Mission Edicts," represented the most formal method by which the major cultivation sects chose their disciples within Xian Yuan City. The rogue cultivators of Xian Yuan City habitually nicknamed these edicts, which offered a chance to leap into greatness, the "Immortal Ascension List Documents."

Ye Qin finally understood. This Lingwu Grand Canyon had a direct connection to the Mission Edicts issued by the great immortal cultivation sects. No wonder the Zhang siblings and Old Man Xia were so eager to venture into the Lingwu Grand Canyon.

Old Man Xia, his great fan-like palm gripping Ye Qin's shoulder, boomed with praise: "Brother Ye, under twenty years old and already at the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage, plus you're an experienced Alchemist! Your chances of completing this mission and joining a sect are very high!"

Ye Qin hadn't expected Old Man Xia to be so strong; his shoulder felt as though it had been clamped by a massive iron pincer, causing him to wince in pain.

"Ah!"

Old Man Xia realized he had used too much force and hastily released his grip.

Rubbing his shoulder, Ye Qin thought, Thankfully, my bones are quite solid, otherwise that grip might have crushed them. "What kind of missions do the major sects issue specifically? Are they difficult?"

"Of course they are difficult. Not even one out of a hundred cultivators can complete the tasks listed in the Mission Edicts. It depends on strength, and also on destiny/opportunity."

Zhang Zhe found it difficult to explain all the various sect missions to Ye Qin on the spot. Since each sect had different standards for selecting disciples, their missions naturally varied completely. He suggested that his sister take Ye Qin to the Immortal Ascension Hall in the city center so he could see the mission postings publicly displayed there from the previous year.

"Okay, brother. Help me pack up all the goods on the stall and take them back. I'll take Big Brother Ye to see the Immortal Ascension Hall," said Zhang Qiao, entrusting the stall to her brother.

Following this, a thoroughly bewildered Ye Qin left the market with Zhang Qiao and headed for the Immortal Ascension Hall, located in the central district of Xian Yuan City.

The Immortal Ascension Hall was the main palace at the city's heart and the oldest structure in the city. This location also served as the crucial deliberation ground for the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and was generally not open to the public. Guards from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance stood before the main hall, preventing ordinary folk from entering.

However, they didn't need to go inside.

Before the Immortal Ascension Hall stretched a vast, open plaza. On one side of the plaza stood a massive stone stele for public notices—this was where the Mission Edicts of the great sects were posted for anyone to view freely.

Occasionally, cultivators hurried across the plaza, but apart from newcomers like Ye Qin who had just arrived in Xian Yuan City, no one lingered there.

"Before the tenth month of every year, the great sects will announce their annual 'Mission Edicts' here. Anyone who completes the tasks on the postings can join a sect," Zhang Qiao explained, tilting her head back and pointing her delicate finger toward the notices on the great stone stele.

Ye Qin nodded and began carefully examining the rows of expired, old mission edicts posted on the announcement stele.

At the very top of the stele were only seven postings, detailing the seven most powerful cultivation sects and their corresponding missions. Below these were ten or more smaller postings, listing smaller sects and their related tasks.

According to Zhang Qiao, the disciples of the Seven Great Sects enjoyed the best conditions, but their entry missions were also the hardest. The conditions for the smaller sects were somewhat inferior, and consequently, the difficulty of their missions was slightly lower. If one couldn't enter a major sect, a minor one was still a good alternative—certainly better than failing to gain entry anywhere.

The missions issued by the various cultivation sects varied widely in nature and difficulty. Some sects required the collection of dozens of rare spiritual herbs; others demanded the discovery of an extremely rare mineral; still others required locating a specific, unique item, and so on.

The collection sites for the vast majority of these required items were located within the Lingwu Grand Canyon.

Of course, some sect missions were truly bizarre. For instance, the mission edict from the Ancient Artifact Sect—one of the Seven Great Sects—from the previous year stated: "Our founding patriarch, Lü Qinghong, departed on a long journey and has not been heard from since. Anyone who can provide accurate clues regarding his whereabouts will be permitted to join our sect."

This was a pure search mission and should have been simple. But a founding patriarch of a sect was likely a Core Formation stage cultivator who could traverse hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye. Finding the trajectory of such an individual was ten times harder than climbing to the heavens.

Although the missions were varied, almost all sects listed a few basic requirements for accepting apprentices: I. Cultivators under the age of twenty possessing a single-element spiritual root potential exceeding forty points, and who exhibit exceptional talent, may bypass all other conditions and join any sect directly. II. Cultivators with ordinary spiritual root potential must complete one mission from the Mission Edicts as an initiation gift before they can apprentice themselves to any major sect. III. Those with high aptitude in areas such as 'Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman Crafting, Beast Taming, Formations, Planting…' and possessing a specialized skill set are granted priority in joining a sect. IV. The number of disciples admitted is limited; acceptance is granted on a first-come, first-served basis until the quota is filled.

Ye Qin touched his nose as he read. With his single-element potential at twenty points, it was impossible for him to join a sect without completing a mission.

Zhang Qiao said excitedly, "All the missions on the board now are expired; just take a look. Every year, right before October arrives, the great sects will post a batch of new missions. At that time, all the rogue cultivators in Xian Yuan City, along with cultivators from cultivation families across various nations, will practically descend upon Xian Yuan City, rushing to complete missions in the Lingwu Grand Canyon for the chance to enter the major sects."

Ye Qin asked curiously, "How many people will come here scrambling for those missions then?"

Zhang Qiao shook her head. "I don't know. I only arrived here a few months ago myself. But there are tens of thousands of rogue cultivators in Xian Yuan City alone. Including the members of cultivation families flooding in from everywhere, there will be at least several hundred thousand. Yet, the number of people the major sects accept into their ranks each year will not exceed one thousand. The competition will definitely be fierce. Big Brother Ye, which sect are you planning to join? If you've set your sights on one, it's best to start making preparations early."

Ye Qin had already scanned every sect mission edict on the stele. His gaze finally settled on the Mission Edict for the "Azure Pill Sect," ranked third among the Seven Great Immortal Cultivation Sects.

The Azure Pill Sect was a cultivation sect primarily focused on alchemy. They were masters of the Dao of Pills and held considerable strength among the great immortal cultivation sects. Last year, their entry mission required traveling to the Lingwu Grand Canyon to collect dozens of extremely rare wild spiritual herbs—a task graded at the highest level of difficulty. This was because even finding just one of the required items was difficult, let alone finding dozens simultaneously.

This Mission Edict doesn't necessarily change every year; sometimes, the same mission remains posted for several years. Perhaps the Azure Pill Sect would use this very mission again this year to test prospective disciples. These mission edicts often require more than a year to complete; in fact, perhaps only a handful of people manage to finish them even after more than a decade.

Ye Qin considered for a moment and said, "The Azure Pill Sect. I am quite adept at alchemy, so joining the Azure Pill Sect would allow me to continue my main trade. What about you? Which sect's mission are you thinking of attempting?"

Zhang Qiao replied playfully, "I’m only at the second level of the Qi Refining stage. Before I reach the third level, my brother won't let me venture into the Lingwu Grand Canyon for adventure. But thanks to Brother Ye's Dew-Dropping Pill this time, there are still about half a year before this year's postings come down. If I can reach the third level of Qi Refining before then, that would be wonderful. I could go adventuring in the Grand Canyon with you then... As for which sect I want to join, that's hard to say. These tasks are too difficult; perhaps I'll need more than ten years to accumulate enough strength to complete the mission on the edict. This year, I'll just treat it as getting familiar with the environment and tagging along with you to explore the Grand Canyon."

Ye Qin gave a wry smile. That works too?