Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 250 "The Ascension Staircase"

After dealing with several hundred paper puppets, Zhang Chengdao returned to Baishi Mountain and began to modify the deep pit at the foot of Baishi Mountain, which surrounded the roots of the Xunmu tree.

As a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, one can mold mountains, rocks, and rivers—

The rocks can be dug out from the nearby Daxingshan mountain range and then buried here, since no one cares about the deep mountains and forests anyway.

Rivers and lakes can be easily modified using the water feature in the "Crane Pond Reflecting the Moon Lantern" ornament.

In just a few days, the uneven bottom of the pit, which was originally empty, gradually took on the appearance of a paradise.

The area at the bottom of the pit was so large that Zhang Chengdao divided it into three "villages" named "Dayang Village", "Xiaoyang Village" and "Taoyuan Village".

Among them, Taoyuan Village is the smallest and looks the most rudimentary, with less than ten thatched huts scattered along a small river.

A dozen peach trees were planted along the river. When the peach blossoms were in full bloom, the petals drifted down to the river surface, giving this idyllic village a romantic veil, which is also the origin of the name "Taoyuan Village" (Peach Blossom Village).

These peach trees were all peach saplings that Zhang Chengdao bought directly from the mall—anyway, he had been signing in for more than half a year, and he had already accumulated more peach blossom stones than he could ever spend, so the cost of a few peach trees was really not a concern for him anymore.

Taoyuan Village was designated by Zhang Chengdao as a "beginner village". Although there were fewer than ten households in the village, blacksmiths, carpenters, woodcutters, hunters, butchers and doctors were assigned to it.

Of course, there was also a unique inn, and the innkeeper was a charming woman—Zhang Chengdao had specially commissioned Qiao'er Zhao to draw her portrait. Although she couldn't compare to his gold card disciples, she was still considered a beauty in the surrounding area.

The inn was converted from a restaurant, and only two rooms were available for accommodation, which was intentional on Zhang Chengdao's part.

He wanted to see what would happen when tens of thousands of people flooded into this small village and faced an inn with only two rooms.

Besides Peach Blossom Village, which serves as a "beginner village," Dayang Village and Xiaoyang Village are much larger in scale. Dayang Village even has a village school and teachers arranged by Zhang Chengdao, as well as blacksmiths, carpenters, woodcutters, hunters, butchers, and doctors. These NPCs are "programmed" so that they can give corresponding "props" based on the different behaviors of the participants in the Immortal Destiny Conference. They are also used to remind everyone that they can "make money" through these means, thereby exchanging it for expenses in the Trial Array World for a few days.

Because Zhang Chengdao specially cast some special "spiritual treasure coins", which are much heavier than the copper coins circulating outside, and because they are tempered with true fire, they can also be used to ward off evil spirits. They can be used as copper coins circulating in this trial array world.

As for silver coins circulating outside—sorry, we don't accept them!
They won't even accept gold or silver!

Only when one has to figure out how to survive on their own can one truly observe the character of those who participated in the Immortal Destiny Conference and created the Trial Array.

Since I can check my qualifications in the backend, it doesn't really matter.

In addition, there are various "experts" skilled in magic and supernatural abilities hidden among the villagers in the three villages. Under certain conditions, they can learn some magic and supernatural abilities that do not require the induction of qi into the body.

In the north of Dayang Village, Zhang Chengdao even transformed an ancestral temple into a haunted dilapidated temple and a Taoist temple with only two Taoist priests!
In short, Zhang Chengdao used several hundred paper puppets to fill three villages, making the deep pit under Baishi Mountain look quite realistic. To prevent the deception from being exposed, he even carried over several small hills to cover the trunks and exposed roots of the Xunmu tree standing in the center of the pit, hiding them with mountains to make it look like the place was originally a mountain. This also conveniently covered up the small shadow cast by the real Baishi Mountain that was raised to the sky.

Of course, artificial lighting is also needed to create the sun, moon and stars in places where the sky is not visible and only the bottom of Baishi Mountain is visible, so as to make this "small world" real!

In this way, one can roughly judge a person's character based on their behavior when entering the trial formation.

That's right. For this "trial array", he doesn't plan to set any special "tasks", but only leave a general riddle: "Find the key to pass the level".

However, the real "key to pass" was not a physical object, but rather something that Zhang Chengdao selected and distributed through various indirect means after examining the candidates over several days.

As for the rest...

What? You're saying I, Zhang Chengdao, cheated?

How can cultivating immortality be considered cheating?
I only used my cheat ability to slightly improve things; it's not like I was cheating at all!

Moreover, the reason why no special tasks were planned was because Zhang Chengdao believed that only in the most natural state could one glimpse the true nature of people...

Moreover, the fact that he doesn't assign tasks doesn't mean he doesn't plan for accidents!
The "female ghost" in the village's ancient well, the demon worshipped by the villagers, the old ox that has become a spirit...

Haven't you ever been a game designer or played games? It's just a matter of adding more random quests, what's so difficult about that!
Although it was just three small villages, it still took Zhang Chengdao a month to gradually tidy them up perfectly.

In fact, because these paper puppets are so useful, the original plan to have the outer disciples of the sect act as NPCs is no longer needed; a few hundred paper puppets are more than enough!
However, it's conceivable that if too many people participate in the Immortal Destiny Conference, these three small villages will be completely unable to handle such a large influx of people. Therefore, they still need to find a way to conduct a preliminary screening first...

"Why not bring forward the Inner Demon Illusion Technique? Let everyone undergo the 'Question of the Heart' first, and then face the Trial Array?"

After learning about Zhang Chengdao's troubles, Xu Ying dutifully thought about it for a while and made a suggestion.

This matter was a major event for the White Stone Immortal Sect, so Zhang Chengdao summoned several managers and the sect leader, as well as all his personal disciples, to the Lingxiao Palace for a small meeting.

"inappropriate."

Zhang Chengdao immediately rejected it.

Although he said it was inappropriate, Zhang Chengdao did not explain why. Xu Ying was puzzled for a moment, but then gave up.

What a joke! How could I let my "manager" know that my cultivation level is insufficient to withstand the mental illusions of tens of thousands of people?
Ye Shuyun, who was standing to the side, offered an even better idea: "Master, why not use the word 'greed' to filter out a group of people with insufficient moral character?"

Murong Ruyan's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands, saying, "Great idea! Gold and silver jewelry, cultivation manuals, even the 'elixir of immortality' from those storybooks—if they covet it, it shows they lack moral character!" Chang Ping'an scratched his head, somewhat puzzled by Murong Ruyan's statement: "Junior sister, even if someone is greedy or competitive, as long as it doesn't affect others, it shouldn't be considered a lack of moral character, right?"

"What I mean by lacking moral character is stupidity! Knowing full well that the purpose of coming to the Immortal Destiny Gathering is to seek immortal destiny, yet still coveting immediate petty gains, how can such a fool be worthy of being our fellow disciple?"

At this point, Murong Ruyan suddenly choked, secretly rolling her eyes, and forcibly swallowed back the words, "You're not smart enough to begin with."

"Gold and silver jewelry is too obvious, and I doubt anyone will fall for it. How about we use those little trinkets that the disciples of Lingyao Peak failed to refine? They won't kill anyone, and some of them even have some wonderful effects. I remember Zhong Hui failed to refine several thousand doses of 'Kudzu Root Pills.' Although they are far inferior to Master's 'Kudzu Root Soup,' they are still 'miracle medicines' that everyone in the martial arts world would flock to!"

Murong Ruyan's words opened everyone's minds, and Tang Xiaoyu also spoke up: "Second Senior Sister is right, but there's no need to use such precious things. Even some Immortal Peaches would probably make them fight tooth and nail for a peach!"

Murong Ruyan frowned, unable to understand Tang Xiaoyu's logic. She hissed and said, "Shouldn't...shouldn't be that stupid? Knowing this is the Immortal Fate Assembly, why not just pretend and instead try to steal and rob?"

Tang Xiaoyu smiled, her eyes alluring, but her words carried a strong Sichuan accent, which ruined her charm: "These are just ordinary things. If Master could produce some kind of 'elixir of immortality'... no, not even the 'elixir of immortality,' but even a pill that can prolong life, it would make those who are trying to break through the trial formation kill each other!"

Although Tang Xiaoyu, who had lived for over three hundred years, had always been a "homebody" and rarely went out, let alone to Sichuan, she knew that all crows are black, there is nothing new under the sun, and people everywhere are the same. How could she not know that ordinary people's vision was far more limited than Murong Ruyan's?

The group chattered on, gradually adding to the explanation, and Zhang Chengdao nodded in agreement.

That's the beauty of brainstorming!

As Chang Ping'an said, even those who were eliminated from this "Immortal Fate Gathering" can still obtain their own "Immortal Fate," so they won't be left empty-handed. It also helps to eliminate a large number of people with weak will and poor character, which is a win-win situation.

As for those petty scum in these sects...

These were originally worthless items, some of which were even slated for destruction. By being sent to the public in this way, they can continue to shine and be used, which can be considered as making the best use of them.

Having made the decision, Zhang Chengdao followed the method summarized by everyone and arranged a preliminary screening before opening the first trial array. He named it the "Ascension Path," a very clichéd term that has been overused in various novels, games, and movies.

The so-called "Stairway to Immortality" is a design of an endless staircase. Every time a certain number of steps are reached, a "reward" will appear, which Zhang Chengdao calls the "Immortal's Gift".

These "gifts of divine favor" can be taken freely, and it is even permissible to take them back down the steps and head straight home.

However, to qualify for the trial array, one must first ascend the "Ascension Staircase".

There are countless levels in the "Ascension to Immortality" system; perhaps thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands.

You might be able to climb it easily, or you might exhaust yourself and still not be able to. If you give up halfway or faint, then no matter how many "celestial gifts" you get, it will all be for nothing.

This rule is a blatant way of discouraging people from leaving.

Those with weak wills can descend the "Steps to Immortality" after receiving a few "gifts of immortality".

Of course, it's also possible that taking a few extra "Immortal Gifts" might actually hinder one's progress, causing them to exhaust their strength before truly ascending the "Ascension Steps," leaving them only able to watch helplessly as the top lies within reach, unable to take even a single step...

That depends on what each person chooses to do.

Most importantly, the "physical strength" consumed in climbing the "Steps to Immortality" is not physical strength in the secular sense.

Even the steps of the "Steps to Immortality" are not real steps, but rather a kind of illusion created by the desires and lazy nature of people's hearts. They do not have any physical form.

This design is also a method that is in line with the Mind Demon Illusion Technique. In essence, Zhang Chengdao uses "pressure" instead of "physical strength"—the pressure becomes heavier with each step he takes, until he can no longer resist the pressure and completely collapses, or turns back.

Even during the return process, one must still endure corresponding "pressure" until one completely leaves the "Ascension Steps".

Zhang Chengdao did not tamper with any of the "Fairy Fate Gifts".

These trendy little trash items are already worthless; to be so stingy and unwilling to let people take them just shows a lack of class.

Zhang Chengdao simply packed each "gift of immortal destiny" into a very heavy wooden box. Since it was inconvenient to carry, and the boxes were sealed with a spiritual seal, they couldn't be opened for the time being.

Only after leaving the "Ascension Steps" will the spirit seal become invalid and the box be opened.

It's easy to get one or two boxes, but it's not easy to get ten or eight boxes and then climb the "Steps to Immortality".

In this way, whether one is greedy for the "gift of immortality" or grits their teeth and fights for the unknown possibility of reaching the top is a personal choice, and it best reflects their true nature.

The most ingenious thing is that this method is very simple and can accommodate tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people at the same time, without consuming much of Zhang Chengdao's spiritual power—because climbing the "Ascension Steps" is done simultaneously by everyone, just like climbing a mountain, and they can see each other.

Even those "gifts of immortal destiny" are given to everyone at the same time. At most, Zhang Chengdao will arrange about ten "gifts of immortal destiny" for every hundred people. It seems like one for every ten people, but this raises another issue: if I don't take it, someone else will snatch it.

The problem isn't scarcity, but inequality. There are only ten "celestial gifts," yet hundreds of people are participating. Moreover, these "celestial gifts" are said to be unique "elixirs" and "miracle pills" found nowhere else in the world...

Compared to the unknown and unseen "Stairway to Immortality," the "Immortal's Gift" right in front of you is a tangible reality. If it were you, would you grab it?
Under the influence of this emotion, even some relatively calm people will lose their senses due to the frenzy, which will further filter out a large number of people!
(End of this chapter)