Chapter 4: Soul Artisan (Seeking Recommendations)

  All along the way, there are about fifty or sixty crystal pillars on the road. It has to be said that Suxi Mountain is indeed a deep foundation.

  Tian Yingdong was drunk and infatuated, lingering and forgetting to return. For those incredibly powerful senior divine soldiers, he had an especially strong craving. However, Sun Li instead kept his head down, looking at the tips of his own toes.

  Because in his mind, Wu Yao used a tone of picking and choosing at the vegetable market, very casually pointing out these divine weapons that were "sacred objects" in the eyes of the Su Bao Shan disciples one by one.

  "This is at most a ninth-rate standard, with many runes that seem to have great power. However, in reality, the vast majority of these runes have overlapping functions. Just using two attributes that counter each other and attacking simultaneously will cause these functionally redundant runes to be unable to cope and collapse together."

  "This piece is slightly better, barely considered a mid-tier, the refinement is decent, with four layers of formation already stacked inside. Unfortunately, the formation itself is too weak, and can only hold a limited amount of spiritual energy. It's effective against low-level enemies, but against high-level opponents, it will be easily broken. If some poor disciple gets chosen by this thing, they're in for a world of trouble."

  "This flying sword is pretty good, much better than the broken copper and rusty iron! I'd say that refining these materials together is a really weird idea!"

  "This... even if it's a low-level sect, I don't want to say anything more. Why do the people of this declining sect always like to add feet to a snake? They really think that the more things are sealed in a treasure, the greater its power? How can they not understand that a good treasure lies in the combination of materials, array methods, and restrictions, as well as the craftsmanship of the maker. There is no best, only the most suitable..."

  Later on, Wu Yao was somewhat impatient and simply gave a brief comment, without explaining much to Sun Li.

  "Alright, we're here."

  Chong Zhao pointed at a large temple in front of him and said.

  "This is the Xuán Wǔ Dà Diàn of our Su Bao Pai's Determination Gate affairs."

  The grand hall is situated amidst a forest of pine trees, extremely large and spacious, even the thousand-year-old ancient pines cannot block its entire appearance. Upon arriving at the entrance, a Taoist priest happened to be coming out from inside, saw Chong Zhao and burst into laughter: "Ha! Isn't this Chong Zhao, brother? You used all your tricks to get this task of leading the way, how was it? Were there any gains? Did you manage to turn your fortunes around?"

  Chong Zhao's face changed greatly, and Chong Pu couldn't help but say angrily: "Chong Yang, you're gloating over our misfortune. I'll tell you, this time when we brothers went out, we found a disciple with all ten great wisdom roots!"

  The Taoist of Chongyang was stunned for a moment, his eyes scanned the back of Sun Li and Tian Yingdong, directly floating over Sun Li, and staring tightly at Tian Yingdong!

  After a while, Chong Yang gritted his teeth and nodded, bowing to Chong Zhao with a fist: "Brother Chong Zhao, I was blinded by my own ignorance earlier. Please forgive me for any offense caused, and I hope you can tolerate me more!"

  Chong Zhao snorted coldly and didn't respond. Chong Yang sighed, saying in a low voice, "Elder brother, younger brother has left first, another day will definitely come to visit and apologize, will certainly make elder brother satisfied."

  Chong Zhao finally cracked a smile and patted Chong Yang's shoulder: "Haha, alright, alright."

  Chong Yang slunk away in defeat, while Chong Zhao and his brothers raised their eyebrows and let out a sigh of relief, feeling rather pleased with themselves.

  No matter which sect, the most important thing is the inheritance of Taoism. Only by finding good seedlings can we ensure that the sect will continue to develop and grow in the future.

  Therefore, the task of introducing new disciples is particularly popular among the sects. As long as they can find good candidates, it will be a great achievement for the sect. Chong Zhao had been very passive in the sect before due to some things and had no way out, so he made every effort to grab this introduction task, which was somewhat like a gamble.

  Unexpectedly, he really won the bet and found Tian Yingdong, an outstanding disciple with precious wisdom. With this, he can immediately turn over a new leaf and regain his dignity in the sect. Chong Yang Daoist had to swallow his pride and reconcile with Chong Zhao.

  As for what he said, Tian Yingdong and Sun Li didn't quite understand, but it was probably just some behind-the-scenes deal.

  Chong Zhao said to Tian Yingdong: "Tian Shidi, let's go in quickly."

  Four people dressed solemnly and walked into the Xuanwu Hall.

  Inside the main hall are enshrined the statue and throne of Xuanwu Da Di, generally it is not a matter of life and death for the sect, absolutely will not really use the main hall to discuss matters.

  Tian Yingdong, although possessing the wisdom of Baolong, has absolutely not reached the point of mobilizing the Zheng Temple.

  Chong Zhao entered the gate and was immediately informed by a disciple who was on duty at the Xuanwu Hall that the Master of the Sect and several senior uncles were waiting for him in the side hall to the left.

  In the Xiu Zhen world, left is also revered. In the side hall on the left, and with the leader of the sect and several masters present, Chong Zhao was overjoyed and thanked the disciple who had been guarding the door before hurrying to take Tian Yingdong away. As for Sun Li following behind... throughout this journey, Sun Li's existence was not even acknowledged in the hearts of Chong Zhao and his fellow disciples.

  Although it is a side hall, the facilities are also exceptionally complete. At the entrance, there are two bronze crane incense burners standing upright, with fragrant smoke wafting gently upwards. The entire side hall is filled with an aroma that clears one's mind and eyes.

  A middle-aged man wearing a yellow robe with the Eight Trigrams pattern sat at the upper end, his figure slightly plump, but his eyes shone with a subtle light, and his demeanor was extraordinary.

  "Disciple Chong Zhao/Chong Pu, paying respects to Master Bo!"

  Zhang Jiao pointed at Zhen Ren Dao and said, "Get up." But his eyes were fixed on Tian Yingdong behind him: "Are you Tian Yingdong?"

  Tian Yingdong hastily knelt down: "Worldly little boy Tian Yingdong, sincerely and respectfully paying respects to the Master!"

  "Good, indeed not bad!"

  The surrounding uncles and aunts were also smiling from ear to ear as they looked at Tian Yingdong, nodding repeatedly.

  "As expected, worthy of being a treasure of wisdom, responding appropriately!"

  The speaker was an old man sitting on the right side of the True Person of Delusion. The old man had a strange appearance, with half of his hair red and half black, a face like a baby, and a pair of eyes shining brightly.

  Luohuan faintly said in Sun Li's mind: "This old man's gongfa should be the power of water and fire, two instruments cultivating together. This gongfa is indeed powerful, but unfortunately this old man has cultivated it in the wrong direction. He only single-mindedly cultivates the two powers of water and fire separately, probably thinking that during battle, he can forcibly merge the two and burst out with extremely strong power."

  "Normally, it should be a special mental technique that allows the powers of water and fire to return to their respective positions, which is why her hair would be half red and half black."

  "Unfortunately, he didn't know that the greatest benefit of cultivating both water and fire attributes lies in fusion. Every time a thread of water attribute spiritual energy and a thread of fire attribute spiritual energy are cultivated, they must be immediately fused together. After fusing, the thickness of one's own spiritual energy increases exponentially. This cultivation method was never meant for battle."

  "This old man is sacrificing the fundamental for the trivial, using a special mental technique to suppress two kinds of spiritual elements that are diametrically opposed. It won't be long before something big happens."

  At this time, the old man was smiling and saying to Tian Yingdong: "Young man, I am Lao Dao, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

  Wang Ming, the old Daoist, sat on the left side of the True Person Wang Xu, with a revered status that Tian Yingdong could naturally see. Wang Ming took the initiative to accept disciples, and Tian Yingdong felt an unbelievable happiness!

  Sun Lizhen's heart skipped a beat, thinking of Luo Huan's words earlier, and he subconsciously touched Tian Yingdong. Tian Yingdong looked at him with suspicion, but didn't respond.

  Sun Li quickly restrained himself - he had just reminded Tian Yingdong, purely because of his good nature. But what was the occasion now?

  A slight movement might be detected by those old gods above!

  Sun Li's small action was indeed seen by those people. It's just that, including Wang Xuzhi, they all thought this was a manifestation of Sun Li not wanting to be ignored.

  Those old men all had more important things to attend to and no one paid any attention to Sun Li.

  "Wang Ming Shixiong, aren't you being too hasty? Are you going to make a move already?" A female Taoist on the right side of Wang Xu Zhenren spoke up in a light tone. This female cultivator had a face as sharp as a knife, with two inverted triangular eyes. Her voice was neither overbearing nor submissive, and her white pupils were fixed on Wang Ming, showing no courtesy.

  She turned her face to Tian Yingdong, and the female cultivator suddenly put on a gentle and pleasant expression, smiling: "Young man, I am Mo Xi, and among the peaks of Daxi, the number of female disciples is the largest. Why don't you come under my tutelage?"

  Wang Ming burst into anger: "Old Taoist nun, how dare you compete with me for disciples!"

  "What's the point of snatching it?" Daoist Wanxi asked bluntly.

  With a sly smile, he turned to Tian Yingdong and said: "Yingdong, my young friend, I am the richest person in all of Su Bao Mountain! With wealth and power, anything is possible. What kind of woman can't be found with money?"

  Wang Xi was the only woman in the hall, and she immediately became enraged, her whole body trembling: "Wang Ming, you old scoundrel, how dare you deceive people like this!"

  "Cough, cough!" The fake True Person couldn't help but let out a cough to interrupt the two: "What's gotten into you! You're both at an age where you should know better, and there are still younger generations watching below. Don't lose face, I as the sect leader must also consider the reputation of Mount Suo!"

  The two were scolded by him, unwilling to shut up, but instead glared at each other, with a look that would not let the matter drop.

  Another Taoist couldn't help but chuckle and speak up, "Hehe, this time, Mo Ming Shixiong, Mo Xi Shijie, you two can't be too overbearing, right? In the past, we let you have your way in everything because you're our seniors. But this time, it's about our Taoist lineage, and that's something we absolutely cannot yield on."

  As soon as he spoke, others also echoed: "That's right, we've given in so many times before, this time it's your turn to return the favor."

  "You two have your own advantages, but we others also have our own strengths."

  "I don't care about others, anyway I've won this time!"

  Wang Ming and Wang Xi were furious, stood up together and shouted: "Do you want to rebel or what?!"

  Unfortunately, he didn't scare anyone. The old Taoist who spoke first said indifferently, "What's the meaning of this? Are you two allowed to take in good disciples while the rest of us are doomed to go hungry and can't even afford a bowl of soup?"

  "Enough!" Mo Xiu shouted in anger: "A group of seniors, fighting and scrambling in front of their juniors, what kind of dignity is this?"

  Everyone was silenced by his rebuke and didn't dare say another word for the time being.

  Chong Zhao's two men were overjoyed: The more Tian Yingdong was valued, the greater their merit would be!

  In Sun Li's mind, Wu Yao suddenly spoke up: "Young one, how does it feel to be overlooked by others?"

  Sun Li calmly replied: "I'm used to it."

  "Hahaha!" Wu Yao burst out laughing: "Nonsense! How can you get used to it? Look at these people, they completely treat you as air. No matter what they think, you have to understand that they are all ordinary people, mortal and ignorant, and don't even know what kind of person is worth cultivating."

  "With inferior wisdom, one can get hurt and bleed. But with true preciousness, it is discarded like a worn-out shoe."

  "Kid, you gotta understand, cultivating the Tao is what our generation strives for. A heart of Tao is as firm as a rock. But if we can make those who look down on us, ignore us, belittle us, and despise us, one by one, stare in shock and be left far behind, that feeling is awesome! If we can enjoy it, why not do it?"

  Sun Li smiled strangely in his heart: "How did I find out that you are very similar to my personality?"

  "Hahaha!" Wu Yao's laughter was like thunder.

  "Two little rascals."

  "Pah!" Sun Li and Wu Yao said in unison.

  "Ah, Master!" The old Daoist suddenly spoke up: "You wouldn't be thinking of taking Tian Yingdong as your disciple again, would you?"

  He bluntly said so, and everyone was immediately on guard.

  "Palming the teachings, you've already taken Qin Tianjian away, and now you want to take Tien Yung-tung too? That's just not right!"

  "Right, even if you're in charge, can't you be a bit more reasonable?"

  The fake and the real person are awkward.

  The roots of wisdom are also divided into three six nine grades, and the best ones are naturally the ten most famous roots of wisdom in the Xiu Zhen realm.

  In addition to the top ten wisdom roots, there are three levels below. The highest is first-class, and the lowest is third-class.

  Qin Tian's body possessed the Five Elements Wisdom Root, which was an extremely rare and top-notch wisdom root. This type of Five Elements Wisdom Root had a natural sensitivity to the spiritual essence of the Five Elements, allowing him to cultivate at a speed several times faster than ordinary people.

  At that time, Qin Tianjian was brought back, causing a sensation throughout Su Bao Mountain. Wang Xu Zhenren spent no small effort and sacrificed not a few benefits to finally bring Qin Tianjian into the sect.

  At that time, who would have thought that a small mountain village in Lianhuatai could produce a person with the top ten wisdom roots? Sufa Mountain was so lucky to not only get a first-class wisdom root disciple but also find another one of the top ten wisdom roots!

  It's really pointless for a hypocrite like him to continue arguing, but it's killing him inside.

  With a gloomy face, Mo Yu looked at everyone with a glance: "I won't fight again, but you should also restrain yourselves a bit! As for who Tian Yingdong will worship as his master, let's wait until the opening ceremony of the mountain gate to let him decide for himself."

  As soon as this was said, the minds of the old Taoists immediately became active: when the mountain gate is opened? That is to say that before this, everyone relies on their own means.

  Wang Xu looked at Chong Zhao and said: "Chong Zhao, this time you have made a great contribution to our sect. What reward do you want?"

  Chong Zhao hastily kowtowed to the ground: "To serve this sect is a matter of course. This is all thanks to the heavens' favor towards me, Mount Su's humble abode. As a disciple, I dare not take credit, nor do I dare ask for any reward."

  Although he knew that Chong Zhao's words were not sincere, Mo Yu still nodded slightly in satisfaction: "Although it is so, if there are merits but no reward, it will also make other disciples feel cold. So, from today on, you will be in charge of managing the spiritual beast rental in the Spiritual Beast Garden."

  Chong Zhao was overjoyed: "Thank you, Master Bo!"

  "Alright, you all go down first. Also, have those two settle down for now and live with the other disciples together."

  "Roger!"

  From start to finish, no one asked Sun Li a single question.

  Chong Zhao and Chong Pu, as soon as they stepped out of the door, bowed to Tian Yingdong: "Congratulations, Master Tian!"

  Tian Yingdong smiled proudly: "The two masters are my guides, this kindness, Tian Yingdong will remember in his heart!"

  The two brothers had been waiting for Tian Yingdong's words, and the two of them took extra care of Tian Yingdong on their way, wasn't it just to get along with this future strongman?

  The two of them immediately smiled: "Let's go, we'll find a good place for our junior fellow apprentice to live."

  Four people came out, and the crowd of old Taoists in the temple were about to disperse. Suddenly, Wangxu Zhenren shouted: "Everyone, wait a minute, there's something else I want to tell you all."

  "Master Zhu Yanqing is coming to visit our sect tomorrow, so I have decided to postpone the opening ceremony of the mountain gate for tomorrow and welcome Master Zhu with all my might."

  As soon as this was said, all the old Taoists were in an uproar.

  The opening ceremony of the mountain gate was particularly important, but not a single person opposed Zhu Yanqing's decision to postpone the opening ceremony in order to receive Zhu Dajun. Instead, one by one, they were all smiling: "Master, is that really Master Zhu?"

  He nodded slightly, with a hint of pride: "I also heard that Master Zhu Yanqing is going to refine a new spiritual pattern armor recently, which requires the use of Sanwen earth fire for sacrifice and refinement. So I spent a lot of money to walk through the relationship and inform Master Zhu that there is an excellent quality Sanwen earth fire hole in the back mountain of our Su Bo Mountain, and even sent someone to collect some fire samples and send them to Master Zhu for review. After he saw it, he was indeed very satisfied and has already written a letter to inform us that he will visit tomorrow to borrow our fire hole to refine the spiritual pattern armor."

  "Great!" The old Daoist was overjoyed: "Zhu Dashi is a famous spiritual structure master in the cultivation world. If we can take this opportunity to establish a relationship with Zhu Dashi, as long as he is willing to help us, Su Po Mountain, create one or two spiritual pattern arrays, we will be able to produce two top-notch masters!"

  The Spiritual Pattern Master is a very unique existence in the Cultivation Realm, and it can be said that the Spiritual Pattern Array is the highest summary of the entire Cultivation Realm's tens of millions of years of achievements.

  An array of spiritual patterns, which may involve: talismans, spiritual texts, array methods, artifact creation, spiritual beasts and many other knowledge, almost covering all professions in the entire cultivation world.

  Those who can create spiritual pattern arrays are respectfully called Spiritual Architects, and are the most noble existence in the entire cultivation world.

  A piece of Lingwen armor, which is considered to be the worst in quality, can still increase the wearer's combat power by 20%.

  For low-level cultivators, this additive effect may not be as good as a high-grade magic weapon, but for true masters, these two attributes can absolutely produce an earth-shattering effect!

  But wanting to become an architect is by no means an easy thing.

  First of all, it is qualification.

  The knowledge involved in being a Spirit Master is too vast, which means that almost all-around qualifications are required. Moreover, almost every subject needs to be practiced, and the progress is extremely slow. Many aspiring Spirit Masters often haven't even mastered all the necessary knowledge before they reach the end of their lifespan.

  Secondly, it is inheritance.

  To cultivate a spiritual architect, one must have a spiritual architect as a master. To say nothing of the others, so many basic knowledge, even if it is a super strong person in the realm of the ultimate man, can't teach them all.

  But good apprentices are hard to find, and it's even more difficult for a master builder to find a qualified apprentice. It's even harder to find an apprentice who is not only qualified but also able to break through the boundary in a short period of time and has a long life!

  No life without sunshine, no time to learn the vast basic knowledge.

  But after meeting the first two conditions, it's a nightmare for 99% of architect apprentices: creativity.

  The refinement of the spiritual pattern array is not a simple repetition. Each spiritual pattern array must be tailored to the user. Different users, different spiritual pattern arrays.

  After mastering the basic knowledge, how to combine these knowledge to create a truly spiritual array, is absolutely a process that requires creativity.

  This process has kept 99% of apprentices out of the spiritual structure master's door.

  As a master, one can only offer guidance and cannot instill their own creativity into their disciples.

  ……

  Just as Mo Yu and the others were discussing how to grandly welcome Zhu Yanqing, Chong Zhao and his brother arrived at a mansion with Sun Li.

  The mountain is divided into front and back mountains with the Xuanwu Great Temple as the boundary.

  Apart from the Ling Shou Garden, Tai Yang Tian Huo Pao Cannon Platform and other buildings, there are also many residences and palaces on the front mountain. The "Wang Shan Bi Yuan" where they are now is one of them. The facilities here are general, and it has always been a place to settle down for heart disciples.

  All the way, Chong Zhao also introduced them to the situation of Subao Mountain.

  Entering the third stage of Mortal Realm is equivalent to being a disciple of Mount Suo. However, this only counts as an outer sect disciple; breaking through from Mortal Realm to Dao Realm will make one an inner sect disciple.

  Chong Zhao's brothers are now inner disciples.

  And when one reaches the "Xianren Realm", they have the right to enter the back mountain and open up a cave mansion. That is the true master of Mount Su, and it's not comparable to being just a disciple.

  Currently, those living in the back mountain are still at the level of master uncles and ancestors, and none of this generation's disciples have been able to enter the back mountain.

  As long as they are favored by the masters of the back mountain and accepted as direct disciples, their future will be boundless, far surpassing that of ordinary inner door disciples. And Tian Yingdong is sure to become a direct disciple.

  Wangshan Villa occupies a large area, covering half of the mountain slope. The green tiles and white walls are dotted with various flowers and trees, squeezing out a space from the green grass and rocks, extending all the way to the banks of a small river in the valley.

  Chong Zhao found a small house with a separate entrance for Tian Yingdong, while Sun Li was sent to a small cottage. The courtyard of the cottage had four rooms, all of which were already occupied by people.

  When Sun Liping arrived, the doors of the other three rooms were all closed, and it was unknown whether there were people inside. He wasn't good at communicating with others anyway, so he just stayed in his own room and rested well for a night.

  The next day, early in the morning, the entire Su Bao Sect was mobilized, from the head of the sect to the disciples who were about to enter the door, all made serious preparations.

  The disciples stood in a square array outside the mountain gate, following the order of their entry. In front were the various masters. At the very front was naturally the leader, Mo Yu Zhen Ren.

  All the disciples had put on a new set of Taoist robes and cloth shoes in cyan color. The masters also wore their ceremonial robes, looking solemn and dignified.

  They waited until noon, when the scorching sun was burning fiercely on Mount Su, but from the fake Void True Person to the disciples who were about to enter the sect, not one of them looked impatient, instead they stood solemnly in their original positions.

  Zhu Yanqing said he would arrive at noon sharp.

  Suddenly a warm breeze came from the southwest direction, and someone shouted "It's coming". As a result, he was glared at by the Palm Teach True Person.

  In that direction, a figure was approaching quickly, with a girl of about 13 or 14 years old following behind.