Chapter Seventeen The Idle Old Man

  Yang Chen returned to the room and found Xiao Xue smiling at him, then smiled helplessly and said: "Xiao Xue, you also heard that I'm going to work in the inner gate, so just stay here for this period of time!"

  Xiao Xue nodded obediently and said, "Don't worry, I won't run around recklessly!"

  Yang Chen nodded and sat down on the bed, starting to breathe in and out.

  Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour had already gone by. Yang Chen slowly came to, saw Xiao Xue cultivating, and immediately got up, took out the painting from under the bed, turned around, and walked outside.

  Yang Chen walked out of his room and headed straight into the dense forest, wanting to find a secluded spot to hide the painting.

  The forest was very large, and Yang Chen wandered around inside for a long time before finding a relatively secluded spot that no one usually came to. He then dug a hole and hid the painting inside, covering it with some things he found nearby before feeling at ease and heading back.

  When they returned, it was already noon. Everyone had gathered in front of the house, waiting for Wang Zong's arrival.

  Yang Chen glanced at everyone and then quietly walked into the crowd, waiting silently.

  Before long, Elder Wang descended from the sky, took a glance at everyone, checked the number of people, and said in a deep voice: "Now follow me to the inner gate!"

  He immediately led everyone directly towards the inner gate.

  Under the leadership of Wang Changlao, everyone first passed through the forest and then walked along a winding mountain road. It took about three hours to arrive at the boundary of the inner gate. From this, it can be seen that the inner gate is far away from the outer one.

  In this Taoist temple, the outer disciples are also on this mountain, but only on a small cliff on the east side, while the inner ones start from the middle of the mountain and go all the way to the top.

  Many disciples were visiting the inner sect for the first time, and they looked around curiously with faces full of longing.

  The inner and outer gates are almost the same, except that they have some strange flowers and grasses around them that Yang Chen has never seen before. These flowers and grasses emit a strange fragrance that makes people feel refreshed after taking two deep breaths.

  No wonder it's the inner gate, if I were to breathe and cultivate here, the chance of cultivating spiritual energy would definitely be greater!

  Yang Chen sighed inwardly and glanced around before standing quietly to one side.

  The old king looked at the many disciples with a yearning expression, lightly coughed and said: "Alright, after you refine the spiritual energy in your body, you can become an inner disciple. Now the most important thing is to do the task in front of you first!"

  After finishing speaking, Wang Zhang led the crowd to walk towards the distance, and did not continue to walk towards the inner gate. Instead, he thought of going westward, so that everyone could no longer see the full view of the inner gate.

  Although this has disappointed many people, it has also inspired the determination of many people to work harder to cultivate and enter the inner door.

  Not far from there, under the leadership of Wang Changlao, everyone came to a courtyard.

  Outside the courtyard, there were some fences made of bundled bamboo. Inside the courtyard, various flowers and grasses were planted on both sides, emitting a strong medicinal fragrance that instantly dispelled people's fatigue. In the center of the courtyard stood a simple wooden hut, in front of which an elderly man over 70 years old was sitting leisurely in a rocking chair, half-closing his eyes to bask in the sun, looking extremely relaxed.

  However, the many disciples present did not dare to underestimate this disheveled old man with a venerable appearance, because on the old man's body was worn a cyan long gown. Although the gown was somewhat tattered and had some mud stuck to it, it could not conceal the cyan color that made these people extremely respectful.

  What is the concept of a blue robe, I'm sure everyone knows. In this Tian Dao Gate, as soon as you enter the door, you will be told that even the lowest disciples, also known as registered disciples, wear red clothes, followed by orange, yellow, and green, and only after green can they wear blue robes. From this, it can be seen that this old man with a venerable appearance and shabby clothes has an absolutely high status in Tian Dao Gate.

  The old king gestured to the many registered disciples to stop, adjusted his clothes, felt about right, and then stood outside the courtyard with a respectful face, bowed towards the inside, and said in a respectful voice: "Elder!"

  The old man lazily opened his eyes, glanced at the crowd and said with a displeased expression: "Can't you see I'm sunbathing? Wait a minute!"

  Listening to the old man's words, Wang Changlao also showed a bit of displeasure, and even his bent waist did not lift up, maintaining a respectful appearance.

  Wang Changlao was like this, and the disciples standing behind him did not dare to make any extra moves, they all stood honestly in place, with a respectful face looking at the old man.

  Half a time had passed, and the old man finally opened his eyes lazily, sat up, stretched his waist, and said to Wang Changlao: "Are these the registered disciples who came to work?"

  Wang Changlao nodded and said respectfully, "Reporting to the elder, these are all the registered disciples, a total of 67 people." He then turned to face the many registered disciples behind him and said, "Don't you greet your ancestors!"

  Everyone hastily knelt down on the ground, with a respectful face towards the disheveled old man, and in unison called out "Ancestor".

  The old man nodded and walked over, took a look at the crowd, and said to Wang Changlao: "Alright, you go busy with your own affairs now, I will arrange for these disciples!"

  Wang Zhanglao bowed once and then glanced at everyone before turning around and walking directly outside.

  "Hmph! I have to personally ask about such things! These disciples we've taken in over the years are getting worse and worse."

  The old man's words deeply stung everyone's heart, causing everyone's face to suddenly flush red.

  The old man's words were indeed harsh, but this was an iron-clad fact: over the years, the disciples of Tiandao Gate had become increasingly inferior. It had been 10 years since a registered disciple had managed to become an inner gate disciple through their own hard work and without relying on the Gathering Qi Pill. Otherwise, the old man wouldn't have been able to utter such sarcastic words about his disciples.

  Yang Chen stood in the last position, listening to the old man's words, his fists clenched tightly, his heart filled with determination. He believed that he would definitely succeed and become an inner disciple of the Tian Dao Gate, not for himself, but for his parents.

  As the saying goes, one will not turn back until he hits the wall. However, in his eyes, even if he hit the wall, he would not turn back and instead, he would knock down the wall.

  Tenacious in character, strong in will, meticulous in thought, extremely cautious, and kind and simple in person, that is Yang Chen.