The spirit elder's residence was in a grove, built around a huge tree, a huge winding river next to it. The core of the building spiralled around the trunk, almost like some sort of spiral staircase. Outside, hundreds of colourful spirits flitted around, giving the place a rather fantastical look.

Mei walked along the white stone path that led to it, thoroughly impressed.

Now, this was what she expected to see in a cultivation world! Qiao Shun, the array master's was way too plain.

Wait... come to think of it. Could it be that he made such a trashy residence because he was super stingy? Not even willing to give away a common pill... Mei's impression of him went down even further.

As she approached the door, a few green spirits floated over to her. 

Those must be the spirits that reported visitors to the elder!

"Hi?" she said.

But after a few curious looks at her, they simply flew off. Apparently not.

She knocked on the door.

Soon, a woman opened the door.

Oddly enough, her hair had a slight green tint to it and she wore a beautiful dark green robe. She had a ridiculously pretty face and a rather good figure. Mei didn't think she was the type of person to care about her looks, especially with the little self-care she did, but even she felt a bit insecure after that.

That elder must be one of those 'jade skin' beauties she had heard too much about...

Mei put on an awkward smile, trying to make a good impression. From the pamphlet, the elder's name was apparently Li Xuan.

"Why, hello!" Li Xuan said. "What have you come here for?"

What else? Wasn't it obvious?

"I'm here to become an apprentice, master!" she said, bowing.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't expect that." the elder smiled in a way that vaguely reminded her of Xiuying. "I thought it had been 9 days since new disciples were taken in?" 

Mei was slightly taken aback and quickly came up with an excuse.

"Yeah, but I've had poor luck with other elders and got rejected many times..."

"Ah, that's unfortunate. Don't worry though, it's not because you're bad. It's just that us elders aren't supposed to accept unsuitable apprentices so we don't lead you down the wrong path."

Suddenly, Li Xuan paused.

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"Wait, didn't the other elders give you advice on what dao you should pick?" she asked.

Mei had a blank look. 

"It's not that bad. Spirit herb farming is very profitable." -Qiao Shun

"I think you'll find your dao with Horticulture!" -Beast Tamer Elder

"AHKAKAKAKA!" -Imaginary Peasant Hag

"Yeah... they did... which is why I'm here," she mumbled.

From the look on her face, Li Xuan didn't think it added up, but she simply shrugged it off.

"I see. Then let's proceed with testing," she said.

Mei expected her to be led into the building into some testing room as usual, but the elder just walked outside, stepping onto the grass.

"Uh..."

"The test is simple. I will call upon the spirits, and we'll see how well they resonate with you!"

"Oh!"

That made sense.

The woman reached out and grabbed Mei's arm. Her hand was sweaty for some reason, somewhat ruining the 'jade beauty' impression she had.

As Li Xuan's qi entered, everything before her eyes seemed to grow dimmer, except the spirits, which now seemed to shine radiantly. 

She could see an immensely powerful soul that shifted with 9 colours within the elder, which was rather intimidating. Right, all the elders were stupidly strong. Mei made a mental note to be more even more careful around the elders next time.

In the stalks of grass, the trees, everything alive, she could see motes of lights. Was that their souls?

She turned to the building and saw glowing human figures walking inside, clearly the souls of the other apprentices. She could more figures beneath her feet too. The building extended underground?

Mei was completely dazzled.

"Amazing, isn't it?" the elder smiled. "I still remember how awed I was when my master first showed me this."

Mei nodded.

"Judging from your reaction, your talent might be pretty decent! Now, let's continue."

Mei was overjoyed. Finally, something an elder said she was good at!

"Try to focus your mind and communicate with them!"

What? That's so vague!

As if reading her mind, the elder continued.

"The process is hard to describe and different for everyone, so, unfortunately, I can't give too much advice."

Ok.

Mei closed her eyes to focus. Now, all she could see were the light of souls. She focused and tried to connect with the countless spirits in the air, though not with any message in particular. It was just a vague desire to communicate.

Some spirits seemed to pause, slowly floating to her curiously.

After a while, 23 spirits floated to her.

"Hmm, that's pretty decent. Grade 4 talent?" Li Xuan said. "Though... they're all wood spirits."

Mei suddenly got a bad feeling.

"Let me confirm something." the elder's qi intensified, checking her meridians. A look of shock, mixed with pity came over her face.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?"

Mei was really starting to get tired of having to explain why... Still, she explained everything.

After hearing the story, the elder nodded.

"I see. Odd... I wonder why those elders recommended me to you? Horticulture seems to be the most suited for you..."

Mei ignored the imaginary old peasant behind her.

"Ah, no matter. So do you want to pursue Spirit Arts or switch to Horticulture?" Li Xuan asked. "If you stick with Spirit Arts, you'll mostly only be able to command nature spirits."

"That's fine." Mei smiled weakly. "I still want to become a Spirit Master!"

Hopefully, these spirits don't end up just being nothing more than farming helpers... Wood should be good for fighting too, right? It is a pretty tough material after all.

Suddenly, she thought of something. The self repairing dummies from the training room!

She imagined controlling a massive wooden dragon soar that soared through the sky. An enemy cultivator was running in fear, throwing flying swords at it as he ran. But the dragon simple healed up with the help of the wood spirits within!

A weird grin came over her face, filled with excitement for the future.

"Hello? Are you there?"

Li Xuan waved her hand before her eyes.

Mei snapped out of it and apologised.

"Sorry..."

"Daydreaming before an elder... you're a daring one, huh?" the elder smiled. "But I accept you as an apprentice regardless!"