Chapter Thirty-Six: The Servant Disciple

  Misty and mysterious, with strange peaks towering high, although not as vast as the Tianying Mountains, it is still a place where mountains are densely packed and spiritual energy crisscrosses. This is the legendary sacred land of the Tianfu Continent, passed down through generations by word of mouth among the common people. In their eyes, anyone who can summon the wind and rain, wield swords to fly, move mountains and fill seas with divine powers must be a deity from this sacred mountain shrouded in mist all year round. However, they are unaware that within these vast and unbroken mountain ranges, there are more than a dozen large and small sects, and the Miao Cheng Sect is one of them.

  In the legend of the Tianfu Continent, all the gods and immortals are said to have originated from this mysterious and unfathomable sacred land. However, this is not the case. The continuous mountain range located in the far west of the continent, known as the Mianyan Mountain Range, is called the Zihua Xianfu by cultivators. All those who cultivate here are considered to be from prestigious and orthodox families. Compared to the Jue Tian Ridge, which is infested with demonic beasts, the spiritual energy area of the Zihua Xianfu is not inferior in any way. It's just that no ordinary person has ever ventured deep into it, so it is considered by worldly people to be just a sacred mountain. In this vast and continuous mountain range, due to the abundance of spiritual energy, all sorts of heavenly materials and treasures are abundant, and the spiritual veins and mineral deposits are layered on top of each other. It can be said that it is a paradise for cultivators. In comparison, the evil cultivators who occupy the Jue Tian Ridge are slightly inferior.

  The Tianfu continent has two major evil lands, the Qinghuo Flame State in the south and the Jiutian Ridge in the north. These are places where demonic cultivators and ferocious beasts gather. However, due to the presence of various sects from the Zihua Xianfu, a balance has been maintained. The reason why the first two are considered evil is that demonic cultivators value freedom and doing as they please, without violating their nature. Evil cultivators have strange and unpredictable methods, with behavior that goes against the norms of society. In contrast, those on the righteous path value following the will of heaven, embodying the heart of heaven, and naturally cannot tolerate these evil cultivators who act recklessly. Therefore, there is a deep-seated animosity between them, and many prominent sects have as their first rule that they are not allowed to interact with people from the demonic or evil paths.

  Three years ago, the spiritual energy of the Tianfu continent suddenly exploded, and many cultivators died due to the sudden increase in spiritual energy density. However, the surviving cultivators all made great progress in their cultivation. This was a strange event in the cultivation world, but also an extremely perilous spiritual tide. After this calamity, the leaders of various sects joined forces and invited the Yu Shen Sect's treasure, the Taiyi Bagua Pan, to calculate the heavenly way. However, unexpectedly, the result was a great omen of disaster, directly pointing to the alliance between good and evil 60 years later.

  Five thousand years ago, the two paths of orthodoxy and heterodoxy clashed, with constant disputes and numerous casualties among cultivators. Both sides suffered greatly, and some sects were on the verge of extinction. The great war between the two sides also made the people of the Tianfu Continent miserable, and the entire land was almost shattered. In the end, under the mediation of a few overseas masters with high cultivation, the two sides finally reached an agreement to hold a meeting every 300 years to compete for control over the Tianfu Continent. The winner would be able to roam the continent and recruit disciples, while the loser would not be allowed to appear openly in the mortal world.

  The Righteous and Evil Alliance must be a new apprentice under the age of 150 to participate in the competition. In the early years, the evil cultivators of the demonic path gained the upper hand. At the beginning of their cultivation, the evil cultivators' speed was clearly faster. On the other hand, the righteous cultivators were still building their foundation, so they couldn't withstand the evil's ruthless methods. Until a genius emerged, with only 20 years of cultivation, wielding the Two-Polar Microcosm Sword to sweep away the young masters of the demonic path, turning the tide for the righteous path. This person was Miao Cheng Zhenren of Yulongsan, who also founded the sword cultivation lineage in the Purple Flower Immortal Mansion, and the name of the sect came from him.

  With the 300-year time buffer, the various factions of the Zihua Xianfu can select talented disciples from the secular world, and thus win again in the second Righteous and Evil Alliance. The orthodox faction has many more means to deceive people than the demonic gate and evil sects, first of all, they have an advantage in appearance, and within just 600 years, the Zihua Xianfu has produced numerous talents, with countless stunning individuals, finally completely suppressing the demonic gate and evil sects, until now.

  But this time, the abnormal change in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has made the leaders of various sects in the Purple Flower Immortal Mansion vigilant. The Taiyi diagram disc shows that this catastrophe is actually related to the alliance between good and evil sixty years later. How can people be at ease? Is it possible that a genius like Miao Cheng True Person will appear in the demonic path? In that case, the major sects of the righteous path will surely be suppressed. After thousands of years of malicious demonization, in the eyes of the righteous path, the two major evil sects are like demons and monsters. If they are allowed to dominate the Heavenly Continent, it would truly be a catastrophe for heaven and earth.

  So all the major sects received news of the catastrophe of heaven and earth, and they sent people to Tianfu Continent to recruit disciples. They were willing to be short-handed rather than take in too many, in preparation for the great calamity sixty years later. However, there was one thing that everyone tacitly understood: even if a brilliant and extraordinary person appeared within just one cycle of sixty years, they would still not be able to compete with those hundred-year-old cultivators. The reason these sects were doing this was simply to prevent the alliance between good and evil from falling into defeat after one cycle, and to prepare for recruiting disciples.

  After the True Person of Miao Cheng Men, Miao Cheng Zhen Ren, flew up to the sky after crossing the tribulation, no one could thoroughly comprehend the swordsmanship he left behind. The status of the sect had long been greatly reduced, but even so, it was still a first-rate large sect. Seeing that all the other major sects were doing the same, the current leader of the sect, Wu Le Zhen Ren, was also deeply moved and wanted to leave some leeway for the sect no matter what. Unfortunately, there were many opposing voices within the sect, even startling several senior elders, who believed that the rule of recruiting disciples every thirty years could not be lightly abolished. After much persuasion by Wu Le Zhen Ren, coupled with the pressure from other sects going down the mountain to recruit disciples, it was decided to send some disciples to recruit new members, but they would not be entered into the sect's register and were only a few outer sect disciples, just servants or menial workers.

  The Miao Cheng Sect is divided into two factions, the inner and outer sects. The disciples of the inner sect are the legitimate heirs of the Miao Cheng Sect's legacy, and each generation's Righteous Evil Alliance is a competition among them. The treatment of the inner sect's disciples is extremely generous, with ample spiritual stones, elixirs, and cultivation techniques at their disposal. They can freely browse the various secret scriptures in the scripture pavilion, and receive several spiritual stones and elixirs every month to aid in their cultivation. In contrast, the outer sect's disciples do not enjoy such treatment. Each month, they can only receive two spiritual stones and three elixirs, and are only allowed to enter the first three levels of the scripture pavilion for one day. Moreover, they have to complete tasks and work on a daily basis, unlike the inner sect disciples who can cultivate all day long.

  As for the outer gate disciples, they are actually just miscellaneous workers. They cannot enter the scripture pavilion and do not have access to spiritual stones or elixirs. When they first join, they are given a basic manual on how to cultivate their energy, and they are left to practice on their own. Every day, they must complete a large amount of chores. However, if they progress quickly in their cultivation and have exceptional talent, after being reviewed by the elders, they can be promoted to become an outer gate disciple with the character "recorded name". Outer gate disciples who are particularly outstanding can also undergo evaluation by the elders and enter the inner gate to learn advanced techniques.

  Gan Ping was standing among the children, listening to a self-satisfied outer sect disciple explaining the rules of the sect on the high platform in front. This outer sect disciple had a slender figure, a pointed chin and a mouth that seemed to be sneering, but his cultivation was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, which was not surprising given his self-satisfied expression. As an outer sect disciple, he couldn't even lift his head in front of inner sect disciples, let alone being one generation lower in seniority. Now that he had the opportunity to instruct these outer sect registered disciples who were lower than him in status, he naturally wanted to vent some of the pent-up frustration in his chest.

  Gan Ping didn't slack off because of the appearance of this outer sect disciple in front of him. He stood among the crowd, carefully listening to his explanation of the sect's rules. It was a habit that no one could avoid, judging people by their appearance. Although the outer sect disciple named Xuan Yang was complacent on stage, when he swept his eyes over the children below, he found that most of them didn't even give him a glance. Suddenly, he felt annoyed in his heart and secretly memorized the faces of those who looked down on him, thinking to himself: "I'll make you regret this later."

  Xuanyang spoke for nearly two hours, and Ganping listened carefully, feeling that he had gained a slightly better understanding of the situation with Miao Chengzong. When Xuanyang finished speaking, Ganping hastily bowed deeply, not to curry favor, but out of genuine gratitude from the bottom of his heart. If Mr. Zhang were to see this scene, he would surely be overjoyed, thinking that all these years of teaching poetry, books, and etiquette had not been in vain. Some of the other children also showed expressions of gratitude, but most of them dispersed in a hurry to get food. Xuanyang glanced at Ganping out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the dispersing children, let out a stern hum, and stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.

  Gan Ping also knew that Xuan Yang was not dissatisfied with himself, but was angry at others. This kind of person who is naturally ugly and has a strong sense of self-respect, if treated with courtesy, will certainly be very protective of you, but if ridiculed... Gan Ping shook his head, one can only take care of their own affairs, those children have their own destiny.

  After a simple meal, Gan Ping followed the crowd to the Duty Temple, where miscellaneous tasks were assigned to these outer sect disciples. In the past, there were very few outer sect disciples in the Miao Cheng Sect, so even ordinary outer sect disciples had to do some miscellaneous work. However, this time they recruited a large number of registered disciples, also known as servants. These outer sect disciples were overjoyed and saved their energy to refine their cultivation, increasing each person's chances of entering the inner sect by a lot.

  Although the matter of the catastrophe in the Tian Di was well-known among the high-ranking members of the Zihua Xianfu, the ordinary disciples below were completely unaware of it. However, with so many servants entering to replace their own work, everyone was still very happy. The Myo Seong Jong had only over 70 inner door disciples, but there were over a thousand outer door disciples. Originally, there were only over 700 miscellaneous disciples, and they were already short-handed. This time, they recruited over 1,500 registered disciples, which made the sect's internal situation chaotic due to the sudden increase in disciples. Even the inner door disciples who were closed off for cultivation came out of curiosity, and familiar outer door disciples saw them and hastily paid their respects, causing a commotion. In the end, only the law-enforcing elder stepped forward, chasing away those inner door disciples back to the rear mountain, while some outer door disciples were dispatched to lead these newly arrived registered disciples.

  Gan Ping arrived at the place where tasks were assigned, looked up and saw Xuan Yang standing on the main hall, with several elders sitting behind him, closing their eyes to meditate. When Xuan Yang saw him, he smiled slightly and nodded his head slightly. Gan Ping hastily bowed and paid respects, feeling somewhat puzzled - how could this outer sect disciple have such great power within the sect? He was even in charge of assigning tasks, fortunately, he had not shown any disdain when listening to Xuan Yang's explanation of the sect rules earlier, otherwise, he would have been punished.

  Actually, Gan Ping thought differently because within the sect's rules and regulations, outer door disciples were mostly diligent in their cultivation methods but not worldly-wise. If it came to handling matters, they might not be a match for Xuan Yang, who was from the wealthy and influential Gao Tang family and had been familiar with the intrigue and scheming of the aristocracy since childhood. He understood these factional appointments quite well, so he took charge of several elder's tasks and managed these outer door disciples. Even that day when Gan Ping sat on the high platform in Shuo Feng City was Xuan Yang's idea.

  Xuanhe Daoist was also one of the outer disciples, unfortunately with poor qualifications. His hair turned white and he only had a mid-term cultivation level in Qi refining. If he couldn't enter the late stage of Qi refining within 20 years, his lifespan would be exhausted and he would have no hope of ascending to immortality. However, it was this youthful appearance that made him look better than those inner disciples who looked like young boys despite their high cultivation levels. Even Tan Ming, who had only reached the foundation-building level, could only supervise from behind. Xuanhe sat on the high platform, putting on an air of a transcendent being, and the surrounding commoners naturally believed in him. If that dark-faced and dark-bearded Tan Ming were to sit up there, he might be mistaken for a human trafficker or a swindler, such is the strangeness of people's minds.

  At this moment, Xuan Yang saw Gan Ping, and a hint of warmth appeared in his eyes. The few people who had just passed by were all guys who were very disrespectful to themselves during the day. The elder behind him didn't care about himself at all, as long as he quickly finished assigning tasks, his task was also completed. This little guy in front of him, however, did not have a slight look of disdain for himself, and his errand should be properly assigned, unlike those few just now.

  Xuanyang flipped through the pages of the book in his hand, thinking about what task to assign to Ganping. Suddenly, he heard a loud exclamation from behind him and quickly turned around, only to see Wutun Elder, who was in charge of the Dan room, looking at Ganping with an expression of surprise. Xuanyang also couldn't help but turn his head to look at Ganping, and was shocked to see that a bright red monkey's head had popped out from under Ganping's black outer disciple robe.

  It was the fire that had been sleeping in Gan Ping's arms, and as soon as it woke up, it attracted everyone's attention. Most of the people in the hall were children, and when they saw such a cute little monkey, they all cheered and clapped. If not for the Xuan Yang coughing twice on top of the main hall, perhaps they would have already surrounded him, reaching out to pet this little mischievous spirit.

  Xuanyang saw Ganping holding a monkey in his arms, and his brow furrowed as he was about to speak. But before he could say anything, Wuyan Zhang behind him had already spoken up: "That kid down there, is the thing in your arms a Mihuo Monkey?" The others didn't know that Wuyan Zhang, who was skilled in alchemy, wouldn't be unfamiliar with this naturally fire-controlling spirit beast, the Mihuo Monkey. It's just that this Mihuo Monkey was still young and its bloodline wasn't very pure, otherwise having it by his side while refining pills would increase the success rate of the pill-making process.

  Gan Ping hurriedly bowed his head and respectfully replied, "This disciple doesn't know what kind of monkey it is either. It was this disciple who encountered it by chance in the mountains and brought it back home to raise as a pet for several years. It's quite intelligent and can understand human language. This time, I brought it along with me." After saying this, Gan Ping's heart became anxious as he waited for someone above to speak. He bowed his head and waited for a while, but surprisingly, no one paid attention to him. He secretly looked up and saw an old man whispering something to Xuan Yang, who then turned around and said to him, "Outer sect disciple Gan Ping, enter the Earth Fire Temple's Dan room to manage the alchemy furnace fire."

  Gan Ping heard this and was somewhat bewildered, why didn't they mention Huo Er's matter? Xuan Yang saw him dazed there, poked him with the brush in his hand, "Go, don't hinder others." Xuan Yang was quite satisfied with Gan Ping going to Dan Fang. Originally thought that giving this seemingly pleasing young man a quiet job would be enough, but didn't expect this young man to have such good fortune, being valued by Wu Yun's elder of Dan Fang, went to manage the furnace fire in Dan Fang, became a fire boy, and it was also a very good job.

  Gan Ping walked out of the temple with a confused expression, although he was bewildered, but being allowed to enter the Miao Cheng Sect was a good thing. He wondered what the Dan room would be like and whether he would have the opportunity to learn how to cure Ling'er's illness there. With questions in mind, he walked out of the grand hall and gazed at the mountains shrouded in darkness, feeling dazed.