Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 170 Visiting Relatives and Returning Home in Prosperity

Erdaiyuan and Maisheng'er greeted Fang Shu almost simultaneously:

"If there is anything I can do to help you in this competition for inner disciples, please feel free to ask!"

"The same goes for me."

Fang Shu looked at the two women, pondered for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

Within the inner sect, any conflict between inner disciples is often accompanied by a group of outer disciples. They might form a mutual aid society or take orders from a promising immortal being.

What they were after was that once someone they befriended successfully entered the ranks of inner disciples, they would have a powerful backer within the temple. If that person were to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage one day, their entire family would rise to prominence, reaping even greater rewards.

Not only Fang Shu, but Lu Renjia and Bao Fengtao, who were standing to the side, were also talking to each other and making some agreements. It was clear that the latter also intended to help the former.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone left without lingering. They greeted each other and then prepared to return to their respective homes.

Suddenly, Erdaiyuan caught up with Fang Shu, having something else to say to him:
"Fellow Daoist Fang, I've heard that you come from the Yifang Daoist Temple in Guling Town at the foot of the mountain?"

Fang Shu looked up at her and nodded.

The woman said, "Nine years have passed now. We are no longer newly promoted Qi Refiners. According to the rules, we can apply to go down the mountain for a journey."

Furthermore, for disciples like us who have just finished listening to the teachings, the Hall usually doesn't refuse requests to go down the mountain. There's no need to use the excuse of going down the mountain to do a mission; you can just say you're visiting relatives.

"I was just worried that you might not know this, so I came to inform you."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu raised an eyebrow slightly.

For the past nine years, he had been going back and forth between the cave, the Gu Hall, and the Scripture Hall. Although he had inquired about the inner sect selection, he had really overlooked this matter, or rather, he did not know that it was so important.

Then, Nardaiyuan whispered in his ear, "In addition, many people in the temple take the opportunity to go down the mountain to obtain some assistance from their families or dojos at the foot of the mountain. If you think it's feasible, don't overlook this point."

After pondering for a few moments, Fang Shu understood even more clearly.

His master, the Dugu Pavilion Master, was also a disciple of the mountain and was able to manage the Taoist temple in the Immortal Town.

Although he couldn't interfere with the matter of becoming a disciple of the hall master and didn't have much influence within the temple, he would definitely help Fang Shu a lot if he learned that Fang Shu had a chance to compete for an inner disciple position!
Although it won't play a decisive role, it should be able to help him earn some easily obtainable Taoist merit.

"Should I ask Senior Sister Fang Lu again later?" Fang Shu thought to himself.

After reminding her of this matter, Er Daiyuan whispered that she would also keep an eye out within the clan for Fang Shu to see if she could get some help from the Er family.

After all, if the immortal materials invested by the Er family can be promoted to inner disciples, it would be a good thing for the Er family.

After finishing their conversation, the two bid each other farewell.

After taking a few steps toward his own cave dwelling, Fang Shu made up his mind and immediately headed toward the hermitage where Senior Sister Fang Lu was.

The competition for inner disciple status is a serious matter, so he should quickly find his senior sister to inquire and confirm, and resolve the matter swiftly to avoid any delays.

Soon, he found Fang Lu in the hermitage.

As expected, what Erdaiyuan said was true. Anyone who wanted to compete for an inner disciple position would try every means to get help from various forces, and their respective dojos were a good choice.

And it's not just the Taoist temple; the fairy town at the foot of the mountain also helps out.

Especially when only one person in the Immortal Town is qualified to compete for the inner sect in a year, that person is the only one in the Immortal Town. If they can get the support of the entire town, that person will undoubtedly have a significant advantage in the future on the road to earning Dao merit.

"Junior brother!" Fang Lu solemnly instructed:
"Go to Hutang now and choose the nearest boat to leave the mountain. And remember, be very careful on the way, especially those in the same town who also want to advance to the inner sect." Fang Shu cupped his hands to indicate that he understood.

Fang Lu, the senior sister, gave him a brief outline of his recent plans and said that she would also try to find out about other competitors while she was in the temple. Then she urged Fang Shu to hurry to the temple.

Fang Shu readily agreed and, instead of returning to his cave, immediately headed to the main hall.

By the time he finished preaching, it was already quite late, and when he returned to the main hall, the doors were already closed.

In the dim light, although the place was closed, there were quite a few people waiting outside, all standing motionless. Fang Shu glanced around and saw that most of the waiting people were familiar faces. Although he couldn't see the faces of some of them, their figures were still familiar to him.

Without a doubt, these people must be his fellow Daoists from the same year.

Fang Shu secretly memorized the faces of these people, and mingled among them, silently joining the queue as well.

After him, every now and then, another person would run down from the mountains and mingle with the waiting crowd.

The crowd waited quietly until dawn.

The main gate of the First Class Hall opened, and the people waiting outside filed in, making it quite crowded for a moment.

Fortunately, Fang Shu was in the middle position. When he asked to go down the mountain, he actually got a chance to pass through Guling Town on his way down, and it was only three days later.

What bothered him even more was that he discovered there was another name ahead of him—Ling Bailang.

Fang Shu wondered to himself, "Could this person have also learned a skill and want to compete for an inner disciple position, or is he simply visiting relatives down the mountain?"

After putting down the talisman pen to sign and seal the document, he subtly glanced around, but did not see the figure of Ling Bailang. Perhaps he had already left.

Having accomplished this task, Fang Shu breathed a sigh of relief and strode towards the outside of the main hall.

As soon as he stepped out of the hall, he found that there were quite a few disciples who had come to the hall to handle matters today. The line of people waiting even stretched outside the hall, and each of them looked expectant, clearly disciples who wanted to go down the mountain to visit their relatives.

This made Fang Shu feel fortunate. Fortunately, he had been living alone for the past nine years and had not participated much in the interactions between outer disciples. However, he still had a few friends who could offer him advice.

Otherwise, if he waits until daytime or a few days later to come, he will most likely miss the nearest boat down the mountain.

Without further thought, Fang Shu immediately left the place and headed towards the other gangs and Toad Street one by one.

Since he was going down the mountain to visit relatives, he naturally wanted to prepare some things to show his appreciation to his second uncle, the master of the temple, and others.

You should know that many things are common and insignificant on the mountain, but are extremely rare at the foot of the mountain.

Even a simple round trip can allow a clever disciple to profit from the price difference and earn some spirit stones to supplement their household income.

After making careful preparations, Fang Shu returned to his cave dwelling and sat down to cultivate his Qi.

Within three days.

Senior Sister Fang Lu and Er Daiyuan both sent letters to Fang Shu. When he rushed to the Hall of Households to review the Gu techniques, he picked up the letters and, after reading them, immediately gained some understanding of the competition among the inner disciples.

This year, there are reportedly seventy-six people qualified to compete for inner disciple positions, but more than half are still pending verification. There are also two others who will be leaving the mountain with Fang Shu and heading to Guling Town.

And these two people just happened to be acquaintances of Fang Shu, and were also his suspected competitors.

(End of this chapter)