Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 145 Gaining Favor by Climbing the Social Ladder
At the entrance, the other two newly promoted Qi Refining cultivators turned their gazes toward Fang Shu.

One of the men, who appeared to be in his thirties or forties, even had a smile on his face, and stood up to give a respectful bow.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist. My name is Lu Renjia."

Fang Shu immediately returned the greeting: "My name is Fang Shu. Greetings, fellow Daoist."

The other newly promoted Qi Refiner waiting was a woman. Judging from her appearance, she was slightly larger than Fang Shu, but not by much, and it was impossible to tell exactly.

The woman leaned against the wall and teased, "Uncle Lu, you weren't so polite to me just now, but you're deliberately trying to curry favor with this young man."

Upon hearing the woman's words, Lu Renjia's brows furrowed as if black lines were being squeezed out. He turned his head and earnestly corrected her:
"I've already told you, don't call me 'uncle.' I'm about your age, just over twenty. In terms of age, you might even be older than me, Sister Bao!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu couldn't help but glance at the male immortal again, thinking to himself that this brother looked really mature.

The woman chuckled and greeted Fang Shu, "My name is Bao Fengtao, and I greet you, young man."

The three exchanged pleasantries, and then a young man walked in.

Lu Renjia took the initiative to step forward and greet him, saying with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, we entered the Daoist sect in the same batch today, which means we are considered to be of the same age in the mortal world."

The young man, however, remained indifferent. He glanced at Fang Shu and the others a few times, then looked at the guide who had brought them here. He did not introduce himself, but simply replied, "Greetings, fellow Daoist."

Then the man lowered his eyes and waited outside the door.

This behavior made Lu Renjia's smile turn awkward, and the atmosphere among them became slightly cold, with no one saying anything more.

Soon, the door to the private room next door opened, and a waiter came out. He looked around at everyone and called out, "Si Jiazi, come in."

The young man who arrived last immediately stepped forward, bowed to the waiter, and followed him inside, closing the door behind him.

Fang Shu and the others stared longingly.

After about half a cup of tea's time, the man surnamed Si came out, smiling, and chatted with the shop assistant standing in the corridor:

"Thank you for your kind words, fellow Daoist. I will be cultivating in the Pill Hall from now on. If you come, please come and find me."

The waiter at the restaurant responded with a smile.

Fang Shu and the others exchanged glances after hearing the conversation between the two. They were all certain that the man surnamed Si had a distinguished background. He must have not only entered the Pill Hall but also become the disciple of the Pill Hall's master.

For a moment, all three of them couldn't help but feel envious. Lu Renjia, in particular, felt a little relieved that he hadn't shown any displeasure at being snubbed.

Suddenly, the waiter in the office turned his head and looked at the group: "Hey, old man, why aren't you going in yet?"

Lu Renjia stretched out his hand and pointed to himself.

The waiter said impatiently, "Yes, I'm talking to you. What are you standing there for?"

Lu Renjia quickly put on an apologetic smile, cupped his hands in greeting, and hurried towards the door. The waiter remained standing outside, not going in to accompany him, and the door to the private room remained open.

Sounds gradually began to rise from inside the room:
"What's your name? Do you have any skills?"

"Yes, yes, yes! This disciple is skilled in drawing talismans, and can now draw the Four Tribulations Purification Talisman."

“You do have a skill, so go to the Talisman Hall and be temporarily assigned to work there.”

Upon hearing the words "Four Calamities" and "Talisman Hall," the people outside the door reacted. Even the man surnamed Si and the shop assistant immediately paused and glanced at the door. However, upon hearing the words "borrowed," they looked away and continued their conversation.

Soon.

Lu Renjia walked out with a gloomy expression, but when he met the gazes of Fang Shu and the others, he still managed a forced smile.

Although this person had entered the Talisman Hall, he had not been able to become the master of the Talisman Hall, which made him completely different from the man surnamed Si from before.

Suddenly, the waiter in the reception hall pointed at Bao Fengtao and shouted, "Hey woman, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go inside!"

Bao Fengtao quickly bowed, her face no longer showing the joyful expression she had when joking with Fang Shu and the others. Instead, she looked uneasy and took small steps into the room.

A faint sound came from inside the room again:
"How old are you? Do you have a teacher?"

"This disciple is twenty-two years old and is a disciple of Master Jinfeng."

The room was quiet for a few moments, then laughter suddenly broke out:

"Master Jin Feng... is a disciple from the foot of the mountain. How can that be considered a lineage? You have neither skill nor a lineage..."

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

The female immortal Bao Fengtao walked out of the elegant room. Her face was gloomy, and when she saw Fang Shu and the others' gazes, she could not even force a smile.

Clearly, this woman couldn't even get into the eighteen halls, and her master was randomly assigned to someone, like an arranged marriage, with no idea whether her master was male or female, good or bad.

After the woman came out, the shop assistant nodded at Fang Shu, snorted, and didn't say a word.

Fang Shu also bowed to the other party, and then walked inside with some trepidation.

The lineage he received down the mountain didn't count as a proper lineage. Even his genuine immortal skills, like drawing talismans, only allowed him to work on loan at the Eighteen Halls; he couldn't formally become an apprentice to the hall masters. It seemed his chances of success were slim.

Upon entering, there was no one else in the room.

It was a baby-sized, bald whisk, standing shakily on the table, with the whisk's hairs hanging down, moving the abacus beads on the table.

The whisk seemed to raise its head slightly, and an aged voice rang out: "What is your name?"

Fang Shu quickly greeted them and recited in detail the name, age, and other information that had already been filled in at the household registration office.

With a whoosh, as he spoke, a few long hairs on the top of the whisk rose up and moved through the air, writing talismans, with spiritual light constantly swirling beneath the tips of the hairs.

The aged voice rang out again: "Do you have a teacher, a skill, or a lineage?"

Fang Shu cupped his hands, organizing his thoughts:
"This disciple is skilled in refining Gu. Before coming up the mountain, I was already able to refine Three Tribulation Gu worms. The Three Tribulation Gu formulas I am familiar with include the Follower Gu, the Sleepy Gu, the Breath-Holding Gu, as well as many other low-grade Gu worms."

He paused for a moment, then said, "This disciple is not yet eighteen years old. This time I came up the mountain as a celestial seed. Some time ago, when I was breaking through, I also successfully refined a four-tribulation natal Gu, and with this Gu I was able to plant my spiritual root."

The following words caught the attention of the bald whisk, and Fang Shu immediately sensed a divine sense sweeping over him and gathering on his forehead, scrutinizing him closely.

Fortunately, the other party had no malicious intent, and their divine sense did not forcefully penetrate into it.

Bald-haired man mutters to himself while dusting off his hair:

"The Spring Examination Immortal Seed has long expired, hasn't it? But you can use your natal Gu as a spiritual root, that's quite an achievement. I guess you can refine a Four Tribulation Gu worm... Then let's go to the Gu Hall."

The Gu Hall is one of the eighteen halls of the Five Internal Organs Temple. Although it is not famous, its status is there, and it is a good place to go.

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu felt a great weight lifted from his heart, and he immediately began to look forward to seeing who the other party would assign him as a master.

Bald-haired whisk muttered to himself, "It's just that Gu Tang guy is a bit eccentric and dislikes trouble. If I just send someone over randomly, and he doesn't like them, then it'll be troublesome."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu's heart sank.

Bald-haired whisk hesitated, then looked at Fang Shu and asked again, "You haven't reported your lineage and background yet."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu racked his brains, trying to come up with a good excuse for himself.

The image of the Dugu Pavilion Master, Senior Sister Fang Lu, and even the Hu family, who passed down the art of dragon-seeking and gold-tomb-moving, flashed through his mind.

The first two were on the mountain, so they weren't really connected to him and hadn't been given any instructions. As for the latter, he wasn't even a relative of the Hu family, and the Hu family had long since fallen into poverty, with no one from their ancestors seemingly having reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Fang Shu frantically pondered how he could establish a connection with the Foundation Establishment Immortals.

As it turned out, he actually thought of someone, or rather, someone who was extremely likely to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
So, in the elegant room, Fang Shu bowed deeply, gritted his teeth, and mustered his courage to say:
"Reporting to the senior, I come from humble origins and have no powerful master. The reason I was able to come up the mountain to seek immortality is because I was entrusted by the old mountain lord, which allowed me to be reborn and enter the immortal sect."

"Old Mountain Lord?" Bald-haired whisk was taken aback, seemingly not understanding.

This reaction made Fang Shu somewhat uneasy. But the next moment, the bald-haired whisk didn't ask him to explain who the so-called Old Mountain Lord was. Instead, it seemed to realize something and asked:
"The 'Old Mountain Lord' you're talking about, is he the blockhead from Guniu Ridge?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied:
"Replying to the senior, this junior came up the mountain from Guling Town, and it was outside Guling Town that I met the old mountain master."

The Mountain Lord often hosts banquets on the mountaintop, and various deities, including the Golden-haired Gentleman, come and visit. Perhaps you, sir, have also attended these banquets?

As he spoke, a slight look of surprise appeared on his face: "Please forgive my poor eyesight and bad luck; I have never had the chance to meet you, senior."

Knowing the bald whisk well, he shook the long hair on top and muttered:
"They're just a bunch of scruffy wild demons, nothing more than guards. Why would I, an old man, drink with them? That blockhead doesn't seem to care about lowering his status."

When Fang Shu heard this, he didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

Fortunately, the bald-haired whisk gave Lingzhi Mountain Lord some face and spoke up: "Do you have any proof, token, or a letter written by that blockhead?"

"Yes, yes." Fang Shuxin was overjoyed and quickly touched the back of his head.

However, he did not wear the hairpin on his body. Instead, he quickly patted his sleeve pocket and released a bunch of miscellaneous items from his storage pouch.

Fortunately, the room was quite large, and he was far away from the bald whisk; otherwise, if he had dumped all the clutter out, he might have bumped into the other party.

To his surprise, the bald-haired whisk, seeing his rash appearance, was not annoyed, but instead laughed and scolded him:
"He only likes to collect junk, just like that blockhead."

Before Fang Shu could find the hairpin, the wooden box containing it opened by itself, and the hairpin slowly floated out from inside.

The hairpin drifted to the bald man's face, and after examining it for a few moments, he said with disdain, "It really does smell like that blockhead."

He then tossed the bald whisk back into place, continued writing the spiritual talisman, and muttered to himself:
“You’re eighteen, skilled in Gu magic, and a blockhead. Then you might as well become the apprentice of that guy from the Gu Hall. If that guy finds it troublesome, let him go and cause trouble for the blockhead himself, don’t come to me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a buzzing sound rang out!
The talisman in mid-air fell and landed on a piece of talisman paper on the table.

The talisman flew out again with a whoosh. It was golden all over. Although it was made of paper, it had been transformed into something as hard as metal.

The bald-haired man swayed his body and said lazily, "Take your credentials and go report for duty yourself."

Fang Shu was overjoyed. Holding the golden talisman, he immediately bowed to the other party:

"Yes, disciple thanks senior."

Bald-haired whisk ignored Fang Shu, coiled up his whisk, and dozed off on the table, fast asleep.

After packing his things, Fang Shu bowed again and slowly took his leave.

As he was about to leave the room, he turned around and saw pairs of bright eyes looking up at him.

The owners of the eyes were all grinning.

　Book Recommendation: *I Became a Quack Doctor in a Martial Arts World*

　　Transmigrating to a world of high martial arts, I activate the quack doctor system.

　　Wei Jianwei only had one question—

　　Are there any cases of medical disputes or violence here? I need an answer urgently!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)