Chapter Eleven: Mo Yunzi

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  "Come, you must be hungry, eat something quickly. After dinner, I'll take you to see Master Mo Yunzi." Chuan Lihai handed a steaming hot bun to Wen Ya.

  "......, um", Wen Yalang was taken aback for a moment, and only then did he notice that in Chuan Lihai's hand was a bamboo basket covered with a thick gray canvas.

  "Then trouble you!" Wen Ya took over the food.

  Lift the lid on the bamboo basket, revealing a corner inside. A gentle breeze blows from afar, and in an instant, a unique and exotic aroma peculiar to food wafts across the entire mountain top.

  Cheng Lihai took out a bowl of boiled potatoes, several pieces of smoked and purple-colored bacon, some small dishes, and some wild fruits that Wen Ya had never seen before from the bamboo steamer emitting hot air. White buns were placed in a wooden box, also emitting a warm mist.

  "What a pity that Father, Mother and the others can't have any of this!" Seeing the sumptuous food before him, Wen Ya couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness, thinking of his family. His eyes involuntarily dimmed at the thought.

  "Wen Ya, don't be polite. We outer sect disciples have to read scriptures and cultivate our energy during the day, we don't have time for these things. These are just a few small dishes that Mo Yunzi's uncle asked me to bring from the kitchen at the back of the mountain. However, these wild fruits were picked fresh this morning, you've just arrived at the Zhua Ti Sect, maybe you haven't had them before, feel free to try some, they're very fresh."

  "Uh, okay." Upon hearing Lie Hai's words, Wen Ya collected his thoughts and took the piece of purple dried meat that he handed over, nibbling on it with the big white steamed bun in his hand. "By the way, Lie Hai, who is this Mo Yunzi Shu Shu you mentioned? Why does he want to see me?"

  "Mo Yunzi Shifu is the seventh generation disciple of the Yanluo Sect and also the master in charge of our outer disciples on this mountain peak. All of us outer disciples living on this mountain are under his jurisdiction!" Chuan Lihai nodded, smiling: "At present, we are all outer disciples who were just recruited into the Yanluo Sect half a month ago, only ten or so days earlier than you. After you meet Mo Yunzi Shifu, who knows, maybe we'll become fellow disciples in the future!"

  "Oh," Wen Ya's face revealed a faint smile, and he raised his head, with an almost imperceptible unusual expression in his eyes: "You also came here for no reason?"

  Chuan Lihai was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head: "No, of course not."

  "So you or someone around you must have some connection with the Jie Mi Zong," said Wen Ya.

  "Huh, you're really amazing, guessing it right off the bat. Yeah, my dad is a manager at a trading firm in the southwest that belongs to the Jiǎo Kòu sect, and he's one of the higher-ranking outer disciples. He said his lifelong regret was not being able to seize the opportunity to become an inner disciple of the Jiǎo Kòu sect." Lei Hai continued excitedly: "So my dad sent me here to study hard... actually, most kids like us in the sect were recommended by outer disciples of the Jiǎo Kòu sect who are traveling outside."

  Wen Ya smiled faintly and neither confirmed nor denied it. Such a thing as being the first to get the moon in a waterside pavilion was not a secret anywhere, and wasn't difficult to guess either.

  "I'm telling you, according to my dad, every few years, a large group of young people come to the mountain to pay homage to their masters. But only less than one percent can truly become outer door disciples. And after the internal door assessment that takes place every six years, only a handful of people, at most a dozen or so, will suddenly become inner door disciples and receive the true transmission of Taoist teachings. As for those who don't pass, or are too old, they can only obediently return to being outer door disciples, handling various worldly affairs on behalf of the sect, and experiencing the normal cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death."

  Wen nodded slightly.

  This move itself is a deliberate balance, the number of disciples who come in will be roughly equal to the number of disciples who are eliminated, selecting the elite, sifting gold from sand, so as not to have good and bad people under one's door.

  "Heh, if you work hard, you might just become an inner disciple after all." Towards the straightforward and spirited child with a pair of big, bright eyes in front of him, Wen Ya couldn't help but feel a hint of fondness.

  Wen Ya had been drowsy for the past few days and hadn't eaten anything, but now he was really starving. In just a short while, several large steamed buns were completely gone into his belly.

  Fortunately, there were a few small dishes and various wild fruits that allowed Wenya to eat slowly while chatting with Chuan Lihai, and at the same time, he was also thinking about his current situation.

  Chuan Lihai, although he entered the Jie Mo Sect only half a month earlier than Wen Ya, his father was originally a high-ranking external affairs manager of the Jie Mo Sect in the southwest. Under the influence of his surroundings and intentional guidance, Chuan Lihai had already become very familiar with some things.

  So now he also spared no effort in telling Wen Ya everything he knew.

  Through Tian Li Hai's narrative, Wen Ya only slowly came to know that although the standard for accepting disciples was extremely strict, after accumulating over ten thousand years, there were also several thousand elite disciples within the Zhuan Xu Sect. The leader of the sect was called Yi Xuan Zhen Ren and he usually sat in the central Zhuan Xu Great Hall at the very top of the first peak, the summit of the sacred mountain!

  The remaining six leaders of the second generation disciples are in charge of Tiandu Peak, Lianhua Peak, Zhuobi Peak, Zhantai Peak, Juzhu Peak and Huoli Peak in the central part of the Qilian Mountains.

  Although the cultivation is the same as the ten million years of Gongfa passed down by the ancestors, the focus of the seven meridians is different.

  For example, among the seven major peaks, except for the Zhantan Peak, which is the origin of the Yuanyu Ji sect, and the Tiandu Peak, which has the most momentum, many of its disciples practice Taoist scriptures such as "Zhenren Yutai Jing" and "Yinhan Yujueji Jinban Jing". On the other hand, Lianhua Peak is the only female cultivator lineage of the Yankezong sect, and the methods they cultivate are also Taoist scriptures such as "Liuyin Yu Nüjing", "Fengwang Jing" and "Daxing Ji", which are more biased towards yin.

  The difference in understanding and cultivation has also formed different perspectives. The history of the Zhēn Yuè Sect is long, and on the surface, the seven veins are harmonious, but inside, they also have a sense of mutual rivalry.

  Under the second-generation disciples, there are more than sixty third-generation disciples. Apart from seeking guidance and listening to the true explanations of Taoist teachings from their respective masters and senior brothers in their daily lives, most of them also live alone on a mountain peak, devoting themselves to spiritual practice.

  The number of fourth-generation disciples is much larger, with about 500 or 600 people. They basically follow their own masters and live on the corresponding mountain peaks controlled by their masters. They are the backbone of the elite forces that make up the entire Zhēn Yuè Sect.

  ……

  The two of them chatted idly as they ate, and by around noon, Wen Ya had finally finished off all the food.

  "It's getting late, let's go see Master Moyunzi." Wenyu swept away all the food in front of him and burped contentedly several times. Lie Hai glanced up at the scorching sun hanging high in the sky, and only then remembered his task. He made a rough calculation of the time in his mind and felt that it was about time to take Wenyu to see Master Moyunzi.

  Having eaten and drunk enough, replenished the body's missing food and water, gained strength, Wenya's whole person was much more spirited.

  So he didn't have any opinion at all, looked around in all directions, and followed the direction of the stone steps leading down from the transmission hall.

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