fairy family

Chapter 311 Secluded Cultivation, Ancestral Temple of the Central Plains

Yu Que looked at the purple Dao soldier that appeared before him and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

Judging from the quality of the Dao soldier in front of him, although it is slightly inferior to the first divine general he already has, its quality is also relatively superficial.

However, this thing definitely belongs to the primordial spirit level, and is a celestial weapon!
“Excellent! Thank you for your help, Master Examiner.”

Yu Que gave a light praise and bowed to the Nascent Soul Dao Soldier in front of him.

Immediately, the primordial spirit soldier standing in front of him nodded slightly. The light on the other party surged, and his figure swayed, instantly transforming into the appearance of the examiner.

Although Yu Que was not worried about the fate of the person who passed the evaluation or whether the palace would find out, the other party was, after all, nominally the deputy palace master of his judicial palace, so it was not a big deal for him to keep quiet.

Therefore, he decided that from now on, his second primordial spirit weapon would appear before outsiders as an evaluator.

As soon as Yu Que had a thought, the space in Baiyujing Immortal Garden distorted, and the person and the ghost in the center of the earth suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Outside, atop Nine Dragons Peak.

Yu Que's physical body suddenly opened its eyes, and the successfully refined human soldier that had passed the evaluation also appeared in front of him.

Then Yu Que gently waved his sleeve and gave an order to the Dao soldier in front of him:
"Let's go back to our places."

The evaluator immediately returned the greeting with a bow and a wooden voice replied, "Yes."

The method used to refine this Dao soldier was slightly modified by Yu Que after listening to the celestial immortal's sermon and discussing the Dao with the elders of the Huangshan Dao Palace.

Its core is still the secret method that the Liandu Peak lineage has been researching for thousands of years, but it has also added some of Yu Qu's own refining techniques.

Therefore, the examiner, this divine general, still lacks self-awareness, but retains a certain degree of intelligence.

Or to be more precise, Yu Que added many instructions for dealing with people and responding to conversations. On ordinary days, he only needs to be taciturn and not easily reveal himself to outsiders to disguise himself as a "living Yin spirit".

Buzz!

Upon receiving Yu Que's order, the evaluation god immediately leaped away, landing on a secondary peak below the main peak of the Nine Dragons. He transformed into a ball of azure light, hanging there like a piece of jade, radiating rays of light.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of many disciples on Nine Dragons Peak:

"The Palace Master has emerged from seclusion."

"That is the residence of the Peak Master of the Assessment... It seems that the Peak Master of the Assessment has reconciled with the Palace Master and has made considerable progress in his cultivation."

"Haha, the Palace Master is truly magnanimous. To be able to recruit such a treacherous villain to your side. If it were me, I would have slapped him to death long ago."

The disciples discussed this extensively, and some even subtly expressed their envy of the peak master.

However, on the other two mountains reserved for the Shi and She families, the ancestors of both families watched as the examiner flew out from the main peak. While they breathed a slight sigh of relief, their expressions remained filled with surprise and doubt.

"Is this guy surnamed Yu really so kind? Not only did he not harm the evaluation peak master, but he even gave him a great opportunity?"

"The evaluation of this guy is different from ours. We were just implicated by our clansmen. We killed and punished those in our respective clans in one go, and then we had no more grudges."

The assessment states that this guy personally ordered people to deal with the man surnamed Yu back then…

With their keen eyesight, they could clearly see that the blue light emanating from the "Peak Master of Assessment" contained a hint of purple.

Who knows, before long, they might break through to immortality and cultivate their primordial spirit!
Logically speaking, with such a benefit falling into their laps, the patriarchs of the Shi and She families should be overjoyed, wishing they could crawl up the mountain on their knees to pay homage to Yu Que and beg him to grant them great opportunities as well.

But for some reason, when they looked at the figure hanging high above the evaluation palace, a chill ran through them.

The two old fellows have lived to this age and are both immortals who are just one step away from becoming immortals. Unlike ordinary immortals, they do not regard intuition and premonition as mysterious things.

They understood that this feeling was a "whim," a vague sensation resulting from the interaction between themselves and the various energies of heaven and earth.

So, without prior agreement, they both chose to believe the fear in their hearts, no longer envying those who were "evaluated," and instead remained silent in fear.

When Yu Que issued the decree that the peak master of the assessment should remain in the palace and that the disciples inside should not disturb him unless it was a matter of life and death, the two patriarchs of the Shi family and the She family also announced that they would be going into seclusion.

These two didn't even dare to step out the door again, let alone visit the peak master.

Soon, Yu Que learned of this news.

He merely smiled and ignored the old men from the two families.

Refining his second primordial spirit weapon took him a great deal of effort.

Although he also digested most of his previous insights from listening to and discussing the Dao while acquiring a Yuan Shen Dao weapon, his realm improved, his spirit was invigorated, and he was not tired at all. It was a time when his inspiration was bursting forth, and he had plenty of mental energy.

However, since returning to the Dao Palace, he has been busy with so many things, it's time for him to go into seclusion and reflect on himself.

Following the two patriarchs of the Snake and Stone families, Yu Que, the Palace Master of the Judicial Palace and the Master of the Nine Dragons Peak, also issued a seclusion order, prohibiting any disturbance inside or outside the palace unless there was a major event.

His seclusion seemed to silence the entire Nine Dragons Peak.

However, inside the Huangshan Taoist Palace, the other disciples and elders who had been in seclusion for a long time were gradually leaving their meditation rooms and walking around inside and outside the palace.

The influence of Yu Que's deeds in preaching and imparting spiritual energy to the entire Huangshan Taoist Palace continued to spread as these disciples and elders emerged from seclusion, causing the name "Master of the Palace of Justice" to be sung throughout the Central Plains.

..............................

Time flies, and several months have passed in a flash.

During this period of time, apart from the Palace Master of Huangshan and others, almost all the disciples of Huangshan Dao Palace have emerged from seclusion, and their cultivation and Taoist practice have all improved considerably.

After several months of reflection, Yu Que issued an order to leave seclusion, allowing all matters within the Palace of Justice to be reported to him.

He gained a lot from this retreat.

Aside from refining the first divine general in his hands to make it more obedient and agile, the biggest gain was Yu Que's own cultivation.

With the help of the remaining immortal luck in his body, he broke through to the mid-stage of the Refining Qi realm in one go. Even without relying on his primordial spirit weapon, he is still a top-notch expert in the Huangshan Dao Palace, relying solely on his own magical power.

However, without a particularly good opportunity, his cultivation beyond the mid-stage of the Qi Refining realm would have to proceed steadily and rely on his own gradual cultivation. Of course, given Yu Que's current status, he could practically use all the resources within the Huangshan Dao Palace at his disposal. If there was anything he wanted but couldn't find, he could issue an order within the palace to have the entire Huangshan Dao Palace search for it.

Not to mention that he also has the Immortal Garden at his disposal, so his cultivation can rely solely on spiritual energy, without needing to resort to incense, paper money, and other such practices.

This day.

Yu Que, feeling restless after a long period of quiet, left his meditation room and went to the main hall of the Judicial Palace atop the mountain to review memorials and process documents.

Several of the memorials concerning the dynasty's incense offerings immediately caught his attention.

Yu Que activated his divine sense and quickly scanned all the memorials in the hall. Then he tapped the table and closed his eyes in deep thought.

According to the investigation by Huang Gong's disciples, since the strange events overseas, the incense offerings, which had been silent until now, have finally started to stir again.

The imperial family and the national preceptor of the dynasty not only reappeared and took control of the Daoist lineage throughout the land, but also dispatched the Daoist armies stationed in various places to select the elite members to join the Daoist army in the capital.

In addition, and most importantly, the annual Luncai Ceremony, which has been held for generations, will be held soon.

Right now, imperial messengers are rushing to various Taoist temples to deliver messages, requesting that local Taoist temples select candidates to participate in the grand talent examination.

Unlike previous years' large-scale recruitment efforts, this year's recruitment of talents has no restrictions on the number of participants, and the official documents sent out implicitly suggest that "the more people, the better."

Furthermore, this time, the number of places for the Five Ancestral Temples will be at least twice as many as in the past!
This news is currently causing quite a stir in the Huangshan Taoist temple.

The immortals in the palace, regardless of age, were all deeply moved by this.

"A quota for the ancestral temple, is that it?" Yu Que pondered this point, a look of great interest appearing in his eyes.

Given his current status, he could easily find out what benefits the ancestral temple in the Central Plains offered, and he could even arrange for people to take the exams through a "semi-pre-selection" process.

It turns out that the ancestral temple quota bestowed by the great talent was actually a quota of immortal learning fortune within the Central Plains.

Each immortal who is listed on the list can go to the ancestral temple of the five major lineages for a period of secluded cultivation.

These ancestral temples are said to be the first temples erected in the world by the predecessors of the immortals when the Chinese immortal system was first established, and they enshrine the true forms of deities such as Yama and the Dragon King.

Therefore, the Five Directions Ancestral Temple gathers the auspicious energy of the immortals since ancient times.

Those who cultivate in seclusion within the inner realm will receive the infusion of celestial energy, just as Yu Que did during his previous sacrificial ceremony. This brings countless benefits to immortals breaking through to the Refinement Realm.

It can be said that once a cultivator has successfully completed the "Great Talent Selection" process, they have essentially taken one step into the realm of Qi Refining.

Therefore, apart from a few individuals like Yu Que who relied on the local Daoist temple's fortune to perform sacrifices, all the cultivators within the Central Plains had spent some time in the ancestral temples of their respective lineages.

Yu Que had just had a sudden thought, and he sent a message to check on the situation of the Refining Immortals in the Huangshan Dao Palace.

The results showed that, apart from the Palace Master of Huangshan and himself, there was no other cultivator in Huangshan who had not visited the Ancestral Temple of the Central Plains.

Even those who accidentally practiced internal energy cultivation outside were selected by the Dao Palace to go to the ancestral temple of their chosen lineage for a period of seclusion to stabilize their internal cultivation.

As he pondered this matter, Yu Que narrowed his eyes slightly:
"In that case, I've never been to the ancestral temple in the Central Plains, but I'll have the chance to make up for it."

Having already experienced the fortune of immortals, he was extremely tempted by the opportunity to gain even more fortune.

Yu Que immediately wanted to issue a decree appointing himself as the chief elder to lead the team to participate in the ceremony this year.

However, under orders, he suppressed his impulse and sent a message to Lotus Peak to inquire whether the matter was feasible.

After all, in the entire Huangshan Taoist Temple, only the Palace Master of Huangshan had never gone to the ancestral temple for further study.

The sound transmission talisman is emitted.

Yu Que had assumed that the other party was in seclusion and would delay replying for a long time, or even not reply at all.

Almost immediately, a transmission talisman flew from Lotus Peak, transforming into a lotus flower shape and unfolding delicate characters inside:
"I entrust the trip to the ancestral temple in the palace to Fellow Daoist Yu."

In the transmission talisman, the Palace Master of Huangshan Palace roughly recounted the inside story of the ancestral temple in the Central Plains, as well as the reasons why she did not go to the ancestral temple for further study.

Originally, the five ancestral temples of the Central Plains had fixed locations, but they were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt more than once due to war.

In particular, the location of the ancestral temple is often the focus of attacks and ambushes by overseas evil cultivators. Every time a new dynasty changes in the Central Plains, it is the time when overseas evil cultivators attempt to seize the five ancestral temples.

Therefore, starting from this dynasty, the Five Ancestral Temples were moved to the vicinity of the capital by the founding national teacher, surrounded by heavy troops, and the five temples were mutually protected, which basically eliminated the influence of foreign heretical practitioners.

This approach also successfully strengthened the power of the incense-burning dynasty to control all the immortals in the world.

The founding national teacher once said, "All the immortals in the world have fallen into my trap."

However, this situation is not a good thing for the various Daoist temples in the Central Plains.

Originally, it was already quite remarkable that the imperial family of the dynasty could privately enjoy an ancestral temple, and they were revered as the head of all the righteous paths.

Now, the Heavenly Family of Incense, under the guise of "mutual protection among the five temples," has semi-forcibly included the five ancestral temples as their exclusive domain, making all the Taoist temples in the region feel as if a living ancestor is pressing down on their heads.

This is not something that local temples are making up out of thin air or judging others by their own petty standards.

Instead, there was once an emperor and his national advisor who actually organized a grand campaign, but not a single immortal was recruited, which was called "no wise men left in the wilderness".

From then on, Taoist temples in various regions became quite wary of the talent selection process. The candidates for each generation of temple master would generally not go to the ancestral temple in the capital for further study, but would instead rely on the Taoist temple's own fortune to refine their spiritual energy.

Unless the position of Palace Master is confirmed, the loser will not go to the ancestral temple for seclusion. Otherwise, going to the ancestral temple for the grand ceremony in advance is equivalent to giving up the position of Palace Master.

The reason why various Taoist temples do this is nothing more than the concern that the disciples who go to the ancestral temple will be bewitched by the incense offerings, or even secretly cast spells, affecting their character and so on.

As Yu Que sorted through these things, he couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly.

It is worth mentioning that the Palace Master of Huangshan Palace also changed the subject in the transmission talisman, mentioning that even if Yu Que went to the ancestral temple for further study, he would not be excluded from the list of candidates for the next Palace Master.

The other party told Yu Que to go without worry, that he might as well go, and that once he got there, he should absorb as much of the fortune from the ancestral temple as possible, and that his gains would definitely not be less than those from the Nine Dragon Waterfall Secret Realm!
(End of this chapter)