Chapter 39: Entering the Gate (Part 1)

  Standing far away and looking around, Ling Feng saw Li Bang squeeze to the front of the high platform, not queuing up like others, but walking directly onto the stage.

  His actions immediately caused dissatisfaction among the people around him, and some of those with bad tempers directly opened their mouths to shout.

  "Who is this old guy? He doesn't have a shred of discipline!"

  "How dare you, with your mere 8th layer Qi Refining cultivation, cut in line and disregard the rules!"

  These people who glared at each other and scolded were mostly scattered cultivators, all of whom had stepped onto the path of cultivation by coincidence. Although they didn't belong to any sect or school, their cultivation wasn't much worse than Li Bang's. Among them, a few were even evenly matched with Li Bang in terms of strength.

  They all lined up honestly to test their spiritual roots. Now that they see Li Bang not following the rules, they naturally feel discontent.

  Li Bang ignored the accusations that came from all around and walked towards the two Taoist-robed men sitting on the high platform to his right.

  Perhaps the noise of the scattered cultivators was too loud, and the Tianji Pavilion cultivator responsible for testing the spiritual roots on stage also discovered Li Bang's overstepping behavior. Two people slowly stood up, their eyes filled with anger, staring tightly at this young man who didn't follow the rules!

  Cultivators are ranked by their strength, and the six on stage are all Foundation Establishment cultivators. In their eyes, Li Bang is old but his cultivation is low, just a junior who doesn't even qualify as a proper cultivator!

  How dare a junior like you be so presumptuous and rude in front of them, it's simply asking for death!

  The two men who stood up at the station had faces as cold as frost, ready to attack. At this time, a Tianji Pavilion cultivator sitting on the right side of the stage also stood up and smiled at his companions, saying: "Everyone, please calm down, this person is a slave under my nephew's command!"

  "Oh, so this young fellow is looking for Brother Li!"

  The two Tianji Pavilion cultivators who had stood up heard this and their expressions eased, then sat back down to continue testing the spiritual roots of the person on stage.

  Li Bang arrived before the man known as 'Li Shixiong', bowed his head in respect, and said: "Great Uncle Master, I have brought Young Master Changqing here under the orders of our master!"

  "Hmm!" Then 'Li Shixiong' nodded in response, his eyes turned to Li Bang and asked: "Where is Changqing? Bring him to see me!"

  "Chang Qing young master is waiting downstairs, I'll go bring him over!"

  Li Bang's voice fell, and he turned around and walked down from the stage.

  "Hold on!" Li thought for a moment and changed his mind, saying: "Anyway, I still have some things to tell Qing, so take me to see him!"

  "Yes!"

  Li Bang nodded in response and then the two of them walked down from the stage together.

  With 'Li Shixiong' by his side, Li Bang's walk through the crowded throng became much easier after he stepped down, without him making a sound, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him.

  Ling Feng's eyes locked onto Li Bang and that 'Li Shixiong' walking towards him together, he composed himself and went to meet them.

  He walked up, adjusted his collar, and bowed down in front of 'Li Shixiong', knocking three loud heads on the ground, saying: "Nephew Zhang Qing pays respects to Sixth Uncle!"

  "Get up!" 'Li Shu' responded with a sound and ordered.

  Ling Feng stood up after hearing this, and his eyes looked towards this "uncle ancestor" of his.

  Li Feng, from the collateral branch of the Li family in Siping, is a generation older than the head of the Li family, Li Rong. He entered the Tianji Pavilion at a young age and possessed both fire and wood spiritual roots, with decent innate talent. After a hundred years of arduous cultivation, he successfully built his foundation due to a fortunate coincidence.

  According to the rules of the Dongyue State Immortal Realm, disciples from immortal families like Li Feng, once they have successfully built their foundation, can regain their freedom and return to their respective families. Of course, if the sect has matters that require their presence, they must still obey and listen; otherwise, wouldn't the sect's efforts in cultivating such a disciple be in vain?

  As he was not a direct descendant of the Li family, after Li Feng successfully built his foundation, he did not return to his family and instead remained in Tianji Pavilion, opening up a cave mansion and cultivating on his own.

  However, this person also took good care of the Li family in Siping. If it weren't for him supporting them from behind, with the current decline of the Li family, they would have been annexed by other immortal families long ago.

  After Li Changqing was tested to have the Wind Spirit Root, Master Li Rong informed Li Feng of this good news. At that time, the Tianji Pavilion's once-in-a-decade grand opening had not yet arrived. After learning of it, Li Feng instructed Li Rong not to spread rumors about Li Changqing's cultivation method, and he would take care of everything himself!

  The only elder in the family, and the only one to rely on, gave such an order, so Li Rong naturally obeyed. Therefore, although Li Changqing was eight years old, he had never practiced any magical powers or martial arts.

  However, for Ling Feng, this saves a lot of trouble. If Li Changqing really started practicing from a young age, it would be much more difficult for Ling Feng to replace him. Not to mention other things, just in terms of cultivation methods, there will be flaws that can be identified by others.

  After standing up at Lingfeng Station, Li Feng's eyes naturally fell on his nephew, carefully sizing him up. But hearing the "hmm" from his mouth, with a strange tone, he asked: "Are you Changqing?"

  Ling Feng's heart skipped a beat after hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged. He bowed and said, "Nephew is right!"

  According to the information provided by the clan, this person had met Li Changqing once when she was three years old. Five years have passed since then, and it's normal for a child's appearance to change somewhat over time. Therefore, Ling Feng didn't think that the other party would be able to notice anything unusual about his own appearance!

  His idea was not bad, but Li Feng was born with an astonishing eye power and had the ability to remember everything he saw. At this moment, Lingfeng's appearance differed greatly from what he remembered, so he had some doubts in his heart.

  "When I saw Chang Qing back then, this kid had a slender face and fair skin, but now..."

  His eyes were long and narrow, commonly known as Danfeng eyes, but Ling Feng's pair of eyes was exceptionally large, making him look extremely clever. It didn't match the slender and long Danfeng eyes at all. Plus, he had been living in Nanhuang since childhood, with a healthy complexion that was slightly bronzed, which was vastly different from Li Changqing's pale skin.

  From these two points, Li Feng felt a bit strange in his heart, but although he had doubts, the idea that this nephew was an impersonator did not occur to him.

  "Long time no see, you've changed a lot in these few years, Uncle even had trouble recognizing you for a moment!" Li Feng said with a glance at Ling Feng.

  His expression and tone of voice make people feel a bit strange.

  "Uncle once said that although Longqing has a good innate talent, he is weak in his tendons and bones, looking like a girl. Therefore, Father often takes Longqing to the mountains to hunt, to temper his tendons and bones. Now he's much more robust and doesn't look as delicate as when he was young!" Lingfeng said with an unchanged expression.

  "Hmm! Hunting is great..." Li Feng nodded, and casually added another sentence, "Your father loves venison, taking you hunting can both temper your bones and satisfy your appetite, it's a win-win situation!"

  "Old fellow, trying to probe me again!" Ling Feng cursed silently in his heart after hearing this.

  Li Feng, although over a hundred years old, looked like a middle-aged man in his forties, and could be considered to have maintained his youthful appearance. Ling Feng cursed him as an old fellow in her heart, actually she was annoyed that this person repeatedly spoke to test her.

  "Uncle, you may have forgotten that after my mother passed away, Father started eating vegetarian food and hasn't touched any meat since!" As he said this, Ling Feng's eyes turned red and his small face showed a sorrowful expression.

  About Li Changqing's information, Ling Feng had already memorized it. His mother died soon after he was born, and his father, Li Rong, was so grief-stricken that he started to eat vegetarian food to accumulate merits for his deceased wife, which has been going on for many years!

  This matter is known to all core members of the Li family in Siping. Li Feng just mentioned it casually, but it's clear that he was probing.

  These little tricks are simply child's play for Ling Feng, who has rich experience as an undercover agent and is mentally strong, not worth mentioning!

  Seeing the painful and heartbroken expression on Lingfeng's face, Li Feng's doubts in his mind immediately dissipated. Originally, he didn't have the idea that Lingfeng was impersonating his nephew either, it's just that he had always been cautious and careful, so he spoke out to test him.

  "You see, Uncle is getting old and his memory is also getting worse. He even forgot about this matter!" Li Feng's face showed a warm smile, saying: "Chang Qing, the matter of your entry into the sect has already been arranged by Uncle. With your wind attribute spiritual root talent, although you can't become a core disciple of the sect for now, it's no problem to directly become an inner sect disciple!"

  Generally, a Xianmen (Immortal Sect) will divide its disciples into three categories. Outer sect disciples are usually those with poor spiritual roots, who have no hope of building their foundation in this lifetime. The sect's foundation is vast and needs manpower to manage it, so these outer sect disciples naturally become the first choice for miscellaneous chores.

  As for the inner door disciples, their spiritual root properties must be top-notch, at least having the opportunity to impact the foundation period. These disciples are the backbone of the sect and will have a special person to impart the Taoist method and divine ability. In the position of the sect, they are much stronger than the outer door disciples, and the treatment is naturally much higher.

  Inner disciples are at the top, core disciples. This type of talent is extremely talented and has excellent innate qualities. They receive full support from the sect and with time, becoming a Golden Elixir cultivator should not be a problem. Even breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is highly likely!

  "With your innate talent, you can barely meet the requirements of a core disciple. However, I, your uncle, have limited abilities and cannot introduce you to the Golden Elixir Ancestor's sect... Alas..." Li Feng let out a sigh, his face revealing a hint of regret, showing that he still cared about this younger generation of his clan.

  "Being able to join the sect is already satisfying enough!" Ling Feng said cleverly.

  Li Feng saw that he was clever and sensible, and was quite satisfied in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Although you can't become the core disciple of the sect now, your unseen master is actually the first person to build the foundation of Tianji Pavilion, and his cultivation has reached the Great Perfection Realm of Building Foundation. Once he breaks through the bottleneck and succeeds in forming the elixir, your identity as a disciple will naturally rise with the tide, and becoming a core disciple is just around the corner!"

  "It's all thanks to Uncle Shu's efforts that we have this opportunity today, I will always remember your great kindness!" Upon hearing this, Ling Feng couldn't help but feel a little expectation towards his unseen master.

  "You are the junior of our Li family, and if you achieve something in the future, it will also bring glory to me as your uncle!" Li Feng said with a smile.

  Li Feng turned his head to look at the stage, then instructed Li Bang beside Gong Li: "I'll take care of Chang Qing from now on. You can return to Siping Mountain and report back, and also tell Rong Shu that Chang Qing is being taken care of by me, her uncle, in Tianji Pavilion, so he doesn't need to worry!"

  "Yes, Uncle Grandfather!" Li Bang bowed and said. Afterwards, he walked to the front of Ling Feng, took out a small pouch from his bosom, and handed it over to Ling Feng.

  "Master, this storage bag was entrusted to me by the old master to give to you. When you start cultivating, you will naturally find a use for it!" Li Bang reminded him.

  Looking at the old man's face full of kindness, Ling Feng felt a warmth in his heart and nodded.

  "Master, you're alone outside, take good care of yourself. If there's a chance, go back to Siping Mountain to visit your father!"

  "I know, Uncle Bao, you should also be careful on your way back!"

  "Don't worry, young master! I'll take care of myself!" Li Bang smiled happily, his old face full of deep wrinkles. Afterwards, he bowed to Li Feng again before reluctantly turning around and leaving.

  Looking at the old man's departing back, Ling Feng felt deeply moved.

  He has always been fascinated by the feeling of being cared for, but unfortunately, the care from the elderly comes at the expense of an innocent child, leaving him with a faint sense of unease in his heart.