Chapter 1: Climbing the Mountain and Paying Respects (Part 2)

  "Sixth Brother, Ninth Brother, don't complain anymore. It's not our fault, who made the rules set by our ancestors so strict? Those requirements are simply... simply..." The four of them exchanged a glance and whispered in unison: "Perverted."

  The nine second-generation disciples of Lianyun Sect are in charge of the central peaks of Lianyun Mountain Range, namely Jietian Peak, Zhīyún Peak, Piāoyǎo Peak, Dēngxiān Peak, Tiānshí Peak, Wújī Peak, Shūsuǒ Peak, Mièyán Peak and Zhǐshuǐ Peak. Although they all practice the skills passed down by Lianyun Zongshi, their understanding is different, so they have formed different cultivation levels. Under the second-generation disciples, there are more than 40 third-generation disciples, who not only receive teachings from their masters but also live alone on a peak. The number of fourth-generation disciples is much larger, with over 400 people, all of whom follow their masters and live on the corresponding peaks.

  The four people on the Peak of Spiritual Energy were all disciples of Tian Shi Feng, the second-generation master of Lian Yun Sect. They were Ling Tong Zi, ranked sixth; Ling Zhi Zi, ranked eighth; Ling Yan Zi, ranked ninth; and Ling Yu Zi, ranked eleventh. Today, their task was to come here to recruit new disciples. The Lian Yun Sect's seventy-two peak fairy array opens only once every five years, and today is the last day of the five-day period. However, not a single person has come to take the test, so the four of them couldn't help but chat idly.

  Ling Yanzi said in a low voice: "It's indeed perverted enough, we were lucky to pass the test at first, and the probability of passing is less than one percent."

  Ling Tongzi smiled bitterly and said, "Master and Master's ancestors have never forced us to take in disciples, but without a fifth-generation disciple, those miscellaneous chores all fall on us. Never mind, as long as someone can come here today, no matter what, we must take him in, so that in the future, we can also be free."

  The other three people also cast their eyes on Ling Tongzi and nodded in unison, apparently they were also fed up with those trivial matters.

  Ling Yuzi said, "Sixth Brother, your cultivation is the highest here. Use the Heavenly Vision Technique to see if there are any people coming to pay respects at the foot of Mount Earth Spirit. The time is already late, and if no one comes to climb the mountain, I'm afraid this time will be a failure again."

  Ling Tongzi nodded, activated the law of decision, and shouted: "Qianli Eye listens to orders, open Tian Shi." A blue light shot out from Ling Tongzi's law decision, completely dyeing his eyes blue. Ling Tongzi's head slightly shook, and his blue eyes emitted a deep gaze, like two pools of cold water constantly flowing. A circle of faint cyan gas surrounded his body, gently swaying, emitting a faint fragrance.

  Lingzhi Zi exclaimed: "Sixth Brother's cultivation has made further progress! It seems that he has already reached the later stage of Dao Solidification, and the fragrance of the Taoist fetus has appeared in the Tianxin Decree. Alas, we are still stuck in the Tengyun Realm."

  A hint of joy suddenly flashed across Ling Tongzi's face, as if he had discovered something. The blue light in his eyes flickered and disappeared. "Great, we have hope now."

  "What's it like? Sixth Brother, how many people have come to pay their respects?"

  Ling Tongzi smiled and said, "I clearly see that two people have already entered the Earth Spirit Mountain. They are now at the halfway point of the mountain. Although there are only two people, it should be enough for doing miscellaneous chores."

  Ling Yu Zi let out a long sigh and excitedly said, "My hardships have finally come to an end." Since he was ranked last in the sect, he had been doing the most chores. Now that someone had come to join, he felt greatly relieved. "Sixth Senior Brother, why don't I go bring them up? I really can't wait any longer."

  Ling Tong slightly furrowed his brow and said, "Younger brother, although we will compromise a bit this time, we must still maintain the demeanor of our seniors. Don't forget, they will become our disciples in the future."

  Ling Yu Zi nodded helplessly, his right hand forming a spirit seal as he floated down to sit on a large boulder. His eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "In that case, I'll use the Heavenly Vision Technique to take a look at them."

  Ling Tongzi, Ling Zhizi and Ling Yanzi sat down cross-legged, also using the Heavenly Vision Technique to observe those two who came to pay homage.

  "Brother Long, let's go back. I...I can't take it anymore, when will we ever reach the top of the mountain?!"

  "You little brat, you dragged me here to die or live, and after walking for so many days, you want to retreat now? Hmph, not even a bit of perseverance. Now it's too late to turn back, our dry rations are all gone, if we don't find those gods you mentioned, I'm afraid we'll starve to death here. This time you've really gotten me killed."

  "This can't be blamed on me! Who knew this mountain road was so difficult to walk, we finally arrived at the foot of Lianyun Mountain with great difficulty, but how could we get in? The past few days were hard enough to get in, but this mountain is so high. My poor dry rations! That's what we accumulated with great effort. Ah, if I had a choice again, I would definitely stay at home and chop firewood every day. Climbing mountains is simply exhausting."

  The two people climbing the mountain were indeed Hailong and Zhanghao from a small village in the western suburbs four years ago. In these four years, in order to achieve their ideals, Zhanghao took Hailong to school every day to read books. Over the course of four years, the two had learned quite a few characters. Originally, Hailong was unwilling to come with Zhanghao, but after four years, he had already become numb to Zhanghao's words. However, he couldn't bear his persistent pleas and finally agreed to go together. Their appetites were not large, and they brought a lot of dry rations, but unfortunately, they arrived early, reaching the outer reaches of the Lianyun Mountains a month in advance. With their weakness, how could they pass through the ancient immortal array of the Lianyun Mountains? After wandering outside for a full month, just when they were about to lose hope, they suddenly saw a golden light rising from within the Lianyun Mountains. Driven by curiosity, they once again approached the mountain range. This time, the immortal array had opened, and they followed a winding path at the foot of the mountain to ascend to the Earth Spirit Mountain. They didn't know that Lianyun referred to an entire mountain range and thought that the towering peak in front of them was Mount Lianyun.

  Although Dilingshan is only a small mountain peak on the outskirts of Lianyun Mountain, its elevation is over 4,000 meters. Hailong and Zhanghao are only 13 and 12 years old respectively, and their physical condition is not very good. They climbed for four days and only covered more than half of the distance. Looking up, they could only barely see a faint shadow of the peak. Zhanghao was lazy by nature, and his body was naturally not as strong as Hailong's, who chopped firewood every day. Although he had a strong desire to become an immortal, when they reached this point, he finally couldn't hold on anymore, sat down on the ground with a thud, and refused to get up no matter what.

  Zhang Hao pulled out the last piece of dry rations from his bosom and threw it to Hailong, saying: "Little bug, you eat this, I'm not going anywhere, I think I was deceived at first. The two people we met five years ago probably had mental problems, if now is really the time for those gods to take in disciples, why isn't anyone here? Alas, it's all my fault, and I've dragged you down with me, don't worry about me anymore, eat this dry ration and hurry down the mountain, going down should be easier, and if you're lucky, you might even make it back to the village."

  Hailong's body shook, and from Zhang Hua's suddenly changed expression, he had already seen something. He didn't mind being called "little bug" by him, and firmly said: "Douya, I won't let you stay here alone. Although we're not born of the same mother, you'll always be my best brother. Now that we have no way back, don't think it's easy to go down the mountain. Have you forgotten how hard it was for us to climb up in the first place? The only path ahead of us now is to keep climbing upwards. Even if we're going to die, we'll die at the mountaintop." He broke the dry rations into two halves and tossed one half to Zhang Hua, then said: "Hurry up and eat, after you finish, we'll rest for a bit before continuing our ascent." After speaking, he took a big bite of his own dry rations.

  Looking at the half piece of dry rations in his hand, Zhang Huan murmured: "Little Bug, from childhood you've always taken care of me, been good to me, treating me like a younger brother. When other kids in the village bullied me, it was always you who stood up for me. Two years ago, to help me get revenge, you fought with the strongest kid in the village, Da Xiong, who's three years older than you! In the end, although you lost, Da Xiong never dared to bully me again. You were badly injured that time, and there's still a scar on your chest now. You kept it from me, but I knew all about it! But, but... you're so good to me, yet I've harmed you, Little Bug...". By this point, Zhang Huan was already in tears, his voice choked with emotion. In the face of danger and desperation, he no longer had the carefree smile and playful demeanor he once shared with Hai Long. His young heart was filled with deep regret.

  Looking at Zhang Huan's sincere expression, Hai Long's eyes also became moist. He sat down beside Zhang Huan, patted his shoulder and said: "We are brothers for a lifetime, what's the point of saying so much? Let's eat quickly and then head out. Although the road ahead is uncertain, didn't you say that gods have great abilities? You're not harming me, are you? If you really want to do something for me, then quickly cheer up, finish this dry rations, only when we reach the summit can we have a glimmer of hope."

  Looking deeply at the yellow and black face of the sea dragon, gritting his teeth, Zhang Hua had a strong obsession rising in his heart for the first time since he was born. He bit into a dry ration with force and said firmly: "Big brother, we will definitely succeed. Let's rest for a while, then continue on our way. If heaven really wants to abandon us brothers, we must die standing at the top of Lianyun Peak, at least we tried."

  At the top of the Earth Spirit Peak, the four blue lights disappeared simultaneously. The four brothers, Ling Tongzi and his siblings, looked at each other, their eyes slightly moist. Ling Tongzi said: "Sixth Brother, let them come up. It seems that we don't need to test them or make any arrangements, these two children have already fully met the requirements set by our ancestors."

  Ling Tongzi nodded and sighed, "Yes! They not only have an unyielding faith, a resolute will, but also the most precious friendship among them. Those who can reach this realm are the ones that best fit our Lianyun Sect's heart method. Let's go pick them up." With a flick of his right hand, his sword flashed out of its scabbard and hovered in mid-air. Ling Tongzi flew up with a wave of his sleeve, landing steadily on his flying sword. Under the shining blue light, he led the way down to the foot of the Earth Spirit Peak. Ling Zhizhi, Ling Yanzi, and Ling Yuzi also mounted their own flying swords and followed closely behind. The four blue lights quickly descended towards the waist of the peak.

  Hai Long and Zhang Hua had been resting for over ten minutes, and their strength had finally recovered a bit. Just as they were about to get up and continue climbing, they suddenly felt the mountain wind pick up, blowing strongly enough to make their bodies sway. Both of them were startled at the same time, and looking down from here, all they could see was cloud and mist swirling around. If they fell, it would be hard not to die. In a panic, Hai Long quickly pulled Zhang Hua over to press against the rock wall behind him, squatting down. This sudden change made their young hearts surge with fear, and a sense of terror rose up.

  A flash of blue light, and the four Lingtongzi appeared in front of Hailong and Zhanghao, riding on flying swords. Hailong was startled at first, took a step forward to block Zhanghao behind him, and cautiously looked at the four middle-aged men in front of him. Zhanghao's brain was a bit brighter than Hailong's, and he tentatively asked: "Are you... are you gods?"

  Ling Tongzi's four flying swords returned to their owners, floating down in front of the two men. Although they were dressed simply, the magnificent sight of the swords flying back and being sheathed still deeply shocked Hai Long and Zhang Hua.

  With a faint smile, Ling Tong said: "Two young brothers don't need to be nervous, I suppose you came up the mountain today to pay respects and learn from me?"

  Hai Long also came to his senses at this time, and he exchanged a glance with Zhang Huan. The two clever brothers simultaneously knelt down on the ground and respectfully said: "We beg of you, immortal, to take us in."

  Ling Tongzi and his four brothers all laughed, everything was simpler than they had imagined, these two little guys were really clever. Ling Yanzi said: "You both get up now, let's go to the top of the mountain first." Before the Hai Long brothers could respond, Fei Jian held up his sword, and in the flashing light of the sword, Hai Long and Zhang Hua felt themselves being completely enveloped by a mysterious energy. The scenery before their eyes changed, and the mountainside beside them slid rapidly downwards. They were originally just ordinary children from a small village on the west side, how could they have experienced such a grand scene? Zhang Hua cried out in surprise, and immediately fainted, Hai Long was not much stronger than him, he barely looked down once, and was dazed by the constantly surging and floating clouds below his feet.

  Four rays of blue light landed on the top of Diligent Peak, and Ling Tongzi and Ling Yanzi put Hai Long and Zhang Hua on the ground. Ling Yu Zi laughed and said: "Looking at their appearance, it reminds me of the scene when I first entered the sect. At that time, my senior brother took me flying, and I was even more useless than them, so scared that I peed my pants."

  Here is the translation:

  "Today I'll send out two and a half chapters for everyone to take a look. Official updates of this book will start on October 3rd. Hope everyone can support me. -- San Shao"