Chapter Six: Entering the Immortal Realm

  Dizzy and confused, Xiao Dou followed Mo Shao Feng with a foolish expression, along with the alert and nimble Shui Xian, to a large temple on the left.

  After Mo Shao Feng once again added oil to the fire and explained his heroic deeds, an old man with white hair and beard sitting above jumped up and shouted:

  "Xiao Mo, you're such a good-for-nothing, always disgracing your deceased heroic father. Can't you just use the Ziwei divine sword to kill some lowly little demons? What's with earning a bit of money and then wanting to invite Xia Ai out for a drink of Wanliu Xian fruit wine? You're such an incompetent kid..."

  Finally our Jiu Hua Mountain - Xian Jian Sect - Xian Jian Wudi - Mo Shao Feng was scolded until his head smoked, and he walked out of the main hall with a stupid face.

  The old man sitting above them suddenly glared at the two of them, and in that instant, Xiaodou felt like he had been completely seen through, even his heart. It was truly terrifying! Shuixian was so frightened that she fell to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

  Hurry to help up the narcissus, Xiao Dou angrily shouted: "Ah, hateful old stinker, bullying my good sister Shuixian, you're even worse than the black-robed snake demon!"

  Shuixian hastily covered his mouth, and with a sobbing tone, he said: "Xiaodou, don't talk nonsense! Immortal Grandfather, please don't mind him, he's always like this. Please don't be angry! Shuixian is willing to do any dirty work for you, please take us in, my sister and I!"

  "What siblings!" The white-haired old man said loudly: "From your bone age, you are only 56 days older than him. How is it possible for one person to give birth to a child in just two months? You are not even cousins or siblings from the same clan. This little girl's bloodline has an attribute of water system magic since birth, which is inherited from her parents who cultivate immortality. And this little boy, he's a mixed ball, a commoner! Hehe~ You little demon, it's not good if you don't tell the truth. I don't know what you're thinking in your heart, but I can see that you have an ulterior motive. Hurry up and confess honestly, otherwise, I'll expel you from our sect!"

  Narcissus hastily told about his own strange memory fragments and Xiao Dou's life experience...

  The old man with white hair listened and frowned, saying: "Hmmm, I can tell you're telling the truth, but this scene of red towers all over the sky is the best time for the ascension of the five thousand years of cultivators - the day of the nine-star six-way wheel turn. As long as one has a bit of magical power or inherited magic like yours, they can see it on that day. There are many sects with such water immortal flowers. In our Divine Land, there are nine major sects, twenty-four ordinary-sized sects, and countless Daoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, martial arts schools, beast gates, and even those demon spawn call themselves a great demonic gate. There are four great demonic gates, eight great ghostly gates, and twelve strange gates. If every sect has water immortal flowers, where can you go to find this scene?"

  "Shuixian said firmly: 'This is Shuixian's fate, I won't compromise. All I hope for is that the immortal grandfather will take me and Xiaodou in, and we can learn magic together to find our parents someday!'"

  The old man with white hair frowned, thought for a moment and said: "Alright then, you have a predestined relationship with Mount Jiuhua. I'll take you in as my entry-level disciple. However, you can't just think about yourself; you also need to contribute to our newly established Mount Jiuhua sect. As long as you work hard, our sect's Nine Steps of Surprising Clouds - Mo Wen Tian, who is also my uncle and the master of our sect, will definitely reward you if he sees your achievements in building up our sect. At that time, you can easily rise to fame and become an immortal. Do you understand?"

  Shuixian restored her elegant demeanor and smiled lightly: "Younger brother Shuixian will definitely follow the words of Master Xian, work hard to cultivate himself, and make contributions to Jiuhua Mountain. Xiaodou, isn't that right?"

  Xiao Dou smiled foolishly: "Shui Xian sister, you're right! I think so too. I'll definitely listen!"

  "Slowly..." The old man with white hair and a big beard said: "Little girl, you don't need to pretend that you can't understand me, nor do you need to cover up for this foolish kid. This mixed-up little brat doesn't have any bloodline inheritance, not even the lowest quality spiritual root or bone, no talent whatsoever! Becoming an inner disciple? Don't even think about it!"

  "What!" Xiaodou shouted in a bad temper: "What's with the spiritual this and that, why do I have to, no way, I don't want to be separated from Haoshui Xianjiejie!"

  Narcissus couldn't help but urge: "Immortal grandfather, Xiao Dou has been homeless since childhood, and he's also stupid. He even has a cold disease on his body. If you don't take him in and let him go out into the dangerous world, it would be equivalent to killing him!"

  "Hmm~" The old man with white hair was momentarily speechless, then put on a serious face and said: "It's not that I killed him, nor is it that I won't take him in. He's just an ordinary mortal, and even if he enters the immortal realm, he'll be mediocre for a hundred years and waste his life away. Why not let him become an outer sect disciple instead? In the future, when he grows up, he can help the sect with some tasks, get married, have children, and enjoy a lifetime of family bliss. Isn't that good?"

  "No way! I don't want to!" Xiaodou's whole body trembled with anger, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face as she shouted loudly.

  "Why, why from a young age to now, the way you look at me is so disgusting. Am I really that useless? Am I really that much worse than others? I don't accept it! I'm not inferior to anyone! If others can do it, I definitely can too! I won't be defeated in a place where I'm not wrong! You old man, don't underestimate me!"

  The old man with white hair thought for a moment, looking embarrassed, and said: "You little rascal, you don't know what's good for you. I'm doing this for your own good... Never mind, anyway, the cold disease in your body needs to be nursed back to health in a place with plenty of spiritual energy for a few years. When you grow up, get better, and understand things, you can go help out among the outer sect disciples. That way, you won't bring resentment and injuries to the outer sect disciples."

  Narcissus smiled with surprise: "Immortal grandfather, so to say, Xiaodou and I can be together now, it's great, thank you so much!"

  Looking at Xiao Dou wiping away her tears and no longer crying, the old man with white hair finally showed a few points of kindness, smiling and saying:

  "No way! You, this little scamp, are a naturally gifted treasure. Our Jiuhua Mountain was destroyed in the last Great Calamity of Heaven's Wrath, and now we need someone with your exceptional talent to rebuild our Jiuhua Mountain, fight back for the position among the top ten sects. Since you broke one rule, I hope you'll make more contributions to Jiuhua Mountain in the future."

  "Indeed, I, Shuixian, will strive to become a useful person for the sect, achieve great things and repay the great kindness of our ancestor!"

  Xiao Dou puffed up on one side and said: "Hmph! It's really infuriating, Old Master, you're a god, is there any way to make me as smart as Shui Xian sister?"

  "Hmph!" The old man with white hair and a large beard said, "A rotten wood cannot be carved, you little rascal! How can you compare to the rare Water Spirit who has concentrated all the excellent conditions of heaven, blue spirit blood, jade spirit bone, and other superior qualities? Spirit root, spirit bone, spirit blood, innate divine abilities, etc. are all classified into levels: heavenly, earthly, upper, middle, lower... At worst, Jade Spirit Bone is still an upper-level quality, but you... a little rascal!"

  "Immortal grandfather, isn't it possible that people aren't all born with talents like mine? Can't the great wisdom of our predecessors make up for the deficiencies we're born with?"

  "This..." The white-haired old man sighed with a helpless smile: "Yes, people are indeed clever, but little water fairy, in this cultivation world, in ancient times, our predecessors had countless years of cultivating heavenly treasures and rare herbs. All these things were not a problem, but after so many years have passed, the spiritual grasses and treasures of the world have long been depleted. To think that ordinary people can still cultivate, it's almost impossible!"

  "Crucial!" Water Fairy's small face said seriously and urgently: "This is the key, the predecessors must have had some way to do it, this... is the path that Xiao Dou has to take, but... Water Fairy also knew that the person who was killed by the black-robed snake demon had written about it, and that the matter of the technique was a major concern, a secret that outsiders couldn't ask about. Is there really no chance for Xiao Dou?"

  The old man with white hair laughed loudly: "Ah ha ~ this is not a secret, let's talk about the first skill of the orthodox school of Taoism - one energy transforms three purities. Not to mention our Jiuhua Mountain, even in the mortal world, there isn't one. However, within the one energy that transforms three purities, there is a basic skill that has been passed down by the seniors from above, called Xiantian Shengong (Pre-Heavenly Divine Merit). Our junior disciples at Jiuhua Mountain have all practiced this skill for several years when they first started. This skill can be supplemented with opportunities and levels, and there is also the Nirvana Rebirth of Buddhism, the Great Harmony Correct Air Technique of Confucianism, the Life Transaction of Demonism, etc., which can all supplement it. However... Hehe, you don't understand the cruelty of the cultivation world, the tension and extreme scarcity of cultivation resources. That's not something you can imagine. In other words, having a skill and good innate talent is not enough; without cultivation resources, it's absolutely impossible to succeed!"

  "Ah, just as I thought. Well, we're all still young, let's wait until Xiaodou grows up and then make a decision, hmm... Immortal Grandfather, I've also taught Xiaodou for two years now, can you..."

  "No problem!" The white-haired old man casually tossed out a bamboo slip and chuckled lightly:

  "Congenital divine power, I practiced two layers when I was young, you take it to study, hey ~ mixed ball boy ~ after entering the apprentice circle, don't always follow those useless boys to make trouble, fight, and learn more from Shuixian about recognizing characters, basic spells, otherwise, it's a waste of the opportunity created by Shuixian for you! The old way is finished here, you take care of yourselves, Kongming, Xuanyan, you distribute their apprentice certificates, then take them over!"

  Two strange men in white, carrying narcissus and small beans, flew rapidly at low altitude on their swords, traversing several mountain ranges, clouds and misty seas, leaving two children stranded on a vast mountain top. They dropped off two wooden nameplates and turned to fly away. It seems they have been doing this job for too long, too boring, not even bothering to say a word before flashing away. Although feeling a bit abandoned, this sadness was soon interrupted by the quarrelsome voices of three groups of children...