Chapter 90: The Immortal of the Tai'er Sect

Those who ranked among the top hundred before the ascent might be accepted into an immortal sect; this referred to ordinary mortals without any cultivation at all.

Before entering the Dao, before entangling themselves in karma, disciples of this sort could be nurtured into something useful. Even if their talent was modest and their cultivation shallow, they still possessed loyalty.

For a great sect, there is one phrase it fears above all: no successors to follow the old.

There must be three kinds of people for a sect to stand firm and keep its foundation secure.

The first kind is the old ancestors and senior elders of the sect, those who can fight.

The second kind is the sect master and the elite disciples, those who can calculate.

The third kind is the foundational disciples: average in cultivation, but all loyal.

Without those who can fight among the old ancestors, a sect in this perilous primordial wilderness will sooner or later be destroyed.

Without those who can calculate among the leaders, no matter how vast the estate, it will be squandered away.

Without loyal foundational disciples, where would fresh blood come from? Without a foundation, it does not count as a sect.

A towering building rises from level ground; a thousand-mile levee is destroyed by an anthill.

Any sect that does not value this is either already on the road to decline, or else already dead.

Thus, the Seven Great Profound Origins Sects decreed that any mortal among the top hundred before the ascent could enter the sect, regardless of talent.

Those holding the Immortal-Ascent Token, as well as wandering cultivators, were excluded.

The former were second-generation disciples and had to go through the proper process.

As for the latter, there was concern that they might be spies from hostile sects, or that they had come merely to freeload and idle away their lives, or that they were improper in conduct and unstable in mind, and would one day bring ruin to the sect’s reputation.

Luo Feng was playing the role of a loose cultivator who had only cultivated for two and a half years.

He was a youth who, by some stroke of fortune, had picked up a crude cultivation method and, after bitterly cultivating to the point of entering the innate realm, had finally felt how shallow his cultivation and how ordinary his talent were. Still clutching his dream of immortality, he had come to the Seven Great Profound Origins Sects.

What an inspiring cultivation tale.

Reserved, with a touch of nervousness; six parts unease for the future, and one faint trace of apprehension.

It was the very picture of a classic wandering cultivator seeking the Dao at the gates of an immortal sect.

His brows trembled slightly, as though worried whether he could truly enter the immortal sect.

Would the sect reject him because he had cultivated other methods and entered the path ahead of time?

Seeing this, the old Daoist could not help feeling a little moved.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled how he himself had looked when he had once come to worship the immortal sect and seek the Dao.

Back then, he too had come to test the mountain path with nothing but a shallow technique, and he had seemed much the same.

As his thoughts shifted, he could not help but develop a few favorable feelings toward Luo Feng.

He decided to form a small bond of goodwill.

The old Daoist smiled faintly. “Little Dao Friend, there is no need to panic.”

“The Seven Great Profound Origins Sects are upright and aboveboard, all inheriting the traditions of the righteous path’s mighty figures.”

“Whether one has cultivation or not, all must undergo examination before the true transmission may be granted.”

Luo Feng was instantly moved to tears, lowering his head at once and saying with hurried, nervous earnestness, “Thank you. Thank you for your guidance.”

The old Daoist nodded. “Dao Friend, please proceed with the test. Just send a thread of your own spiritual energy into it.”

Behind him stood a stone stele nine zhang high, erected in the center of the plaza, said to have been planted there by the founding patriarch of the Pure Light Temple.

It could test all manner of talent, so that instruction might be tailored to the individual.

Of course, there was also an element of choosing the best from among the many. Over hundreds and thousands of years, the strong grew stronger and the weak weaker.

The Heavenly One Pavilion, which ranked at the bottom among the Seven Sects, had fallen so low that only a single Earth Immortal remained to suppress its fate.

Luo Feng stepped forward at an unhurried pace and sent a trace of spiritual energy into the stele.

At once, the stone stele became smooth as jade, and its color turned a deep azure. Beneath the blue void, a roc seemed to be swimming; from a distance, it looked like an endless ocean.

Seeing this, the old Daoist’s smile widened further. His own judgment had indeed been sound. He praised, “Dao Friend, your talent is quite good.”

“The stele has transformed into a scene; the great Dao is azure and boundless, and the sea is like jade. I would say that Dao Friend has the makings of a Golden Core, and the Nascent Spirit realm is not out of reach.”

“There are quite a few water-based techniques in my River Star Sect.”

“Dao Friend’s path is naturally inclined toward water; do give it careful consideration.”

“If you choose the right technique, there will be a thread of hope for immortality.”

Within the primordial wilderness, extraordinary geniuses and monstrous prodigies emerged without end; born with extraordinary roots, those abnormal creatures would occasionally appear in the world.

Of course, those born with heaven-given roots either entered the orthodox lineages of the sages or became great powers in their own right.

They had nothing whatsoever to do with the Seven Great Profound Origins Sects.

What the stele tested were ordinary geniuses.

Sea like jade referred to a Dao naturally close to water, where cultivating water techniques would be twice the result with half the effort.

Within the history of the Seven Great Profound Origins Sects, such talent ranked above average.

The Seven Great Profound Origins Sects were immortal sects, with Earth Immortals and Heaven Immortals presiding over them.

Not to mention a sea like jade aptitude; even purple qi surrounding the body and golden lotuses blooming in profusion had appeared there several times.

Luo Feng’s sea-like-jade aptitude would count as rather ordinary within an immortal sect.

He changed to another salute and gave a simple, honest smile. “Certainly, certainly, I will think it over carefully.”

The old Daoist nodded. If Luo Feng were to join his own sect, then a thousand years from now his lineage would have one more Nascent Spirit cultivator.

As for becoming an immortal, that was not something he dared to imagine.

The Seven Great Profound Origins Sects had been founded for hundreds of thousands of years; with a new generation every hundred years, the number of disciples was staggering.

Yet after hundreds of thousands of years, there were still only those few Heaven Immortals, and Earth Immortals had increased by only a little over a dozen.

On average, one immortal emerged every several tens of thousands of years. This made clear how difficult immortality truly was.

Half an hour later, the fated mortals had all been divided up, and the remaining wandering cultivators each chose the sect they desired and entered it.

The old Daoist looked around with delight.

Suddenly his spirit jolted, and he felt somewhat dazed.

What was he doing?

Who had he been looking for?

Form a bond of goodwill? How could that be? Given his temper, not giving the wandering cultivators a cold face already counted as merciful.

How could he possibly have been so agreeable?

Who had that person been? What was his name?

Luo... what was it again?

What... Yi?

It seemed to be called... Heaven...

No, no, that was wrong.

Hm, it seemed there had never been such a person.

The old Daoist flicked his whisk, thought for a while, and indeed nothing had happened.

Gone, gone. Back to the sect.

Luo Feng blended into the Taier Sect’s group, silent and unobtrusive, looking at a glance like an honest and gentle youth.

He glanced at the old Daoist and nodded inwardly.

Suppressing fate to lower intelligence, then using the Perfect Hands technique to alter memory.

Not bad at all.

In the future, if he needed to hide his tracks, he would use this move.

All around were the newly recruited disciples: three wandering cultivators and fifteen mortals.

At the front was a middle-aged man with Nascent Spirit cultivation, dressed in the Taier Sect’s robe, a red cloud embroidered upon it, and using a flying sword as his magic treasure.

Such were the simple cultivators of the primordial wilderness, such simple artifacts, such simple attire.

Everything was so perfect.

Luo Feng also showed a simple, honest smile and mingled with them.

On the huge flying sword magic treasure carrying the middle-aged Nascent Spirit cultivator, the atmosphere was awkward, and no one dared speak first.

The middle-aged man looked at the scene and gave a warm, honest smile. “Since you have entered my Taier Sect, you are now members of the sect.”

“Let me explain the rules inside.”

“My Taier Sect is divided into the inner and outer gates. You are outer-gate disciples, and you will undergo assessment in the outer gate for anywhere from several decades to several centuries.”

“Only then may you enter the inner gate.”

After the Nascent Spirit Daoist spoke, everyone let out a breath of relief. It seemed this immortal elder was easy to get along with.

After a moment, a richly dressed young nobleman carefully asked, “May I ask, Immortal Elder, how many great experts are there in our sect?”

The middle-aged man smiled honestly. “Easy enough, easy enough. Our sect has three immortals: one is Immortal Yuanling, and another is Immortal Jiulian.”

“And there is one more immortal: our founding patriarch, Immortal Taier.”