Chapter Six: The Rules of the Gate

  "It is I, Situ Jin, the master of Yunwu Peak. From today on, I will be your teacher." His gaze swept around the circle and he continued, "However, you are not yet my official disciples. For now, you are just registered names. Only after three years, when you have gone through a small competition, will I select one or two of you to become my direct disciples."

  The young men did not dare to move, but stood up straight and listened respectfully.

  He nodded at those few punished youngsters, "I have just whipped these few disciples, do you know why?"

  His tone suddenly turned severe, and his two sword-like eyebrows also stood up. "Our Demon Slaughter Sect is the demonic path, not only are we not tolerated by the orthodox cultivators of Ling Xiang Sect, but we must also fight against heaven and earth. If you don't have a ruthless determination, how can you survive? Humph! Don't think that after going through the blood sacrifice, your lives will be worry-free. To tell you the truth, within a year, at least 30% of the people here will be eliminated!"

  As soon as this was said, the young men were frightened and Shi Dong exclaimed in his heart: "Three successes? That means that out of thirty or more people, only twenty will be left behind? I wonder what other terrible tests there are in this year.

  "What I want to warn you about is... " He used his piercing gaze to slowly sweep over the crowd of young people, saying word by word: "Never relax at any time. Relaxation will lead to failure and will cost you your worthless little lives! Do you all understand?"

  "Yes, disciple understands..." The young men's legs trembled as they hastily replied.

  Shi Dong deeply felt that these words were reasonable, and he couldn't help but agree with them from the bottom of his heart. He vaguely felt that although this master's face was cold, his actions were upright and honest, and he would speak directly without hesitation, even if it was an ugly truth. He couldn't help but have even more respect for him.

  Xī Tù Jǐn nodded, and said in a stern voice: "Since my Mó Xiāo Gate is an evil path, we don't have as many stinky rules as the righteous path. Except for two things - 'deceiving one's master' and 'killing fellow disciples', everything else is allowed! Those who disobey... Hmph! Will be tortured to death by having their soul extracted, and then their soul will be extinguished in the Soul Lantern! Their fate will be even more miserable than those ghostly guardians of the White Bone Pagoda!"

  "Disciple dare not..." The crowd of young men shuddered and trembled in response.

  Shi Dong's heart also felt a chill, although he didn't know how terrifying the Soul Lantern was, but the ghostly faces nailed on the White Bone Tower made him scared enough. Thinking of those guys being nailed there for who knows how many years, wailing in agony and enduring the endless blowing of the dark wind, and when foreign enemies invaded, they still had to fight to the death, Shi Dong felt it was truly terrifying.

  Seeing the many disciples respectfully and seriously, it was clear that they had all taken this speech to heart. Sito Jin nodded in satisfaction, stood up: "Alright, what needs to be said has been said, Master has something to attend to and will take his leave first, the rest of you listen to Second Master White Jin's arrangements!"

  He beckoned to the three boys who were first selected as Class A talents, "You three come find me alone in a while." Then, without paying attention to the crowd of boys, he swung his sleeves behind him and was about to step away.

  Bai Jin stepped forward and bowed, saying: "Master, I have something to ask. This time we've selected thirty-three new disciples, but it seems that our cultivation caves are not enough."

  Situ Jin waved his hand impatiently, "This is a small matter that doesn't need to be asked of me. Just get rid of some of those old disciples who haven't made progress in a long time and make room for the new ones!"

  "Yes, the disciple understands." Bai Jin sent him off with a bow and turned around to change into a gentle smile. He said to the crowd of young men: "I am Bai Jin, your second senior brother. From now on, I will be in charge of your cultivation. Next..."

  He then asked each person their name, and gave each one a package containing three black crystal stones about the size of walnuts, which felt heavy to the touch; a black leather belt with strange flower patterns carved on it, with a buckle in the middle that could be opened to reveal a small hole; as well as a delicate porcelain bottle, a pair of jade chopsticks, and a jade pendant.

  After explanation, it turned out that the three black crystal stones were extremely precious for the magic path cultivators, called "Baleful Spirit Stones", which were formed by the accumulation of yin energy from the underworld at the foot of the five mountain peaks. They can supplement the true energy in the body and can also be used as materials for refining equipment and elixirs. Most importantly, they can be used as currency to purchase various resources needed for cultivation.

  These three Soul Stones are considered a welcoming gift, and in the future, one Moonstone can be received at the beginning of each month. The young people were reminded to use them carefully.

  As for the Wusha Pi waistband, it is a storage waistband. Inside, there are ingenious乾坤 (heaven and earth) that can store many things in small holes, making it convenient for cultivators to carry items. Moreover, it can also prevent theft, and cannot be easily opened by non-owners.

  Inside the delicate porcelain bottle are three Refining Qi Pills, which assist in meditation and speed up cultivation.

  On the jade pendant, each person's information is engraved, such as name, affiliation, cultivation and qualifications, for easy viewing by superiors or fellow practitioners, to avoid not distinguishing between seniority and humility, and ruining the rules.

  Of course, in this Mo Xie Men, the so-called seniority is determined by strength, if one's cultivation is high, even if they joined late, other fellow disciples must still address them as "Shixiong".

  As for the jade slip, Bai Jin had indeed spent a lot of effort to decipher it, and inside was recorded the cultivation method of the Demon Slaughter Sect, called "Mystical Wheel Turning Slaughter God Technique".

  Originally, the Moxie Gate was located above the underground cave of the underworld, and it had been shrouded in the cold yin energy of the underworld for many years. Therefore, all practitioners absorbed the surrounding yin energy and then used the seven major meridians inside their bodies to transform it into Moxie True Energy, which was stored in the Dan Tian.

  This is why the master, Yin the old devil, had to use blood to sacrifice the great Dafa, killing more than half of the young men, using their fresh and strong energy, plus their souls, as well as the specially made medicinal water in the large cauldron to wash their hair and help the young men open up the seven major meridians.

  Only when the seven major chakras are opened can one cultivate the "Chakra Turning Evil Spirit Skill", and the level of talent, such as Class A, Class B, Class C, is determined by the state of opening of the seven major chakras.

  The higher the qualifications, the faster the cultivation speed, and the faster the self-recovery speed of true energy. This means that a disciple can grow rapidly, so it is highly valued by various sect masters.

  As for the specific names and functions of the seven major chakras, due to time constraints, Bai Jin did not explain, but instead let everyone go back and ponder on their own according to the Jade Simplified Characters.

  Finally, he solemnly added: "The next year will be an important test for all of you named disciples. Only those who successfully break through the first layer of the Refining Qi period will be allowed to stay!"

  And as for those who were eliminated, he just chuckled and smiled coldly, making everyone shiver with fear, understanding that the eliminated ones would certainly lose their lives.

  His explanation is that the yin energy in the underground tunnels is too heavy, and if it cannot be broken through within a year, the person will be invaded by the yin energy and gradually lose their mind to become a yin corpse.

  So, no wonder the Mo Shaomen selected disciples too bloody and cruel, those who were not resolute in their hearts and did not have enough talent, if they were not eliminated, would eventually be invaded by yin energy and become a yin corpse.

  Moreover, the cultivation of the demonic path is fraught with hardships and not only must one endure the cruel environment, but also face the oppression of the righteous cultivators, as well as the bloody competition among fellow demonic cultivators; only those with hearts as firm as rocks can succeed.

  Therefore, when Mo Xie Men selects its disciples, it first emphasizes willpower and then considers innate talent.

  Regarding the Mo Dao's strange way of selecting disciples and their cultivation path, Bai Jin explained it in great detail to everyone, also revealing a bit about the cruelty of surviving in the demonic path.

  Many young people suddenly realized that they finally understood Master Sito Kam's words of advice and began to feel uneasy.

  Once you enter the demonic gate, there is no turning back, and every step forward will be without regret!

  The stone moved and didn't feel so uneasy, using his hand to rub the white progress on his package, but instead he was slightly excited.

  He came from a humble background, and was lucky to be alive. To have made it this far was already a gain. And now, he had the chance to live for another year, and even cultivate himself into an immortal, becoming as powerful as the five great gate masters, how could he not be excited and agitated!

  As soon as he thought that after mastering the art, he could find a way to return home, his mother and sister would be so happy that they would cry. He felt his heart beating rapidly, and he quickly opened his bright eyes wide, staring intently at Bai Jin, wanting to see what else he would say next.

  "Alright, don't be too disappointed, everyone. Our Demon Suppression Division still has many fun places that you can't imagine. Consider this a benefit of joining our division." He beckoned with his hand, "Come on, I'll take you around to get familiar with the place."

  As he spoke, he lifted his steps and walked out, with all the disciples following closely behind him.

  "This is the Book Pavilion, this is the Spiritual Beast Garden, this is the Spiritual Herb Garden, and this is the Spiritual Ghost Hall... Ah yes, this is where you can receive sect missions. Hehe... From now on, if you're short of money, you can come here to apply for missions and earn some sect contribution points or spiritual stones." Bai Jin smiled as he walked along, pointing out various places, his previous gloomy expression replaced by a more approachable one.

  The young people gradually relaxed and began to curiously look around, feeling that everything was full of novelty.

  Shi Dong perked up his ears and widened his eyes, not only paying close attention to everything Bai Jin introduced, but also carefully observing everything he saw with his own eyes, as all of this would be the foundation for him to establish himself in the future.

  However, towards Bai Jin's arrogant and flattering attitude, Shi Dong was secretly on guard. He had seen many people with two faces in the tea house, because he himself was such a person. To him, this Bai Jin was not worthy of trust at all, and his display of friendliness was just to win over the new disciples.

  As he walked and walked, it seemed that he had walked to the deepest part of the earth when Bai Jin suddenly stopped at a downward cave entrance with a thoughtful expression.

  The crowd of young people felt a surge of dark energy emanating from the entrance of the cave, even thicker than outside, and they couldn't help but shiver, looking at him with curiosity.