Starting with the consumables of the Demonic Sect, one can barely achieve immortality.

"After the collapse of the Immortal Dynasty and the fall of the ancient immortals, a new emperor emerged, wielding the sword of the Human Sovereign, inheriting the glorious imperial lineage, sweeping across the land, and establishing the Zhou Dynasty."

"When the Zhou dynasty fell, numerous states emerged, vying for imperial power and attacking and destroying each other. Today, there are thirteen states south of the northern foothills, all of which inherited the Zhou throne."

"However, the Heavenly Mandate was lost, and the Mysterious Way was scattered, so other schools of thought rose up, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and the Three Pure Ones..."

In the Dharma Transmission Hall, the Heavenly Child put down the scroll in his hand, his face solemn and righteous:

"They are all enemies of our path!"

The monks present listened to his speech in silence.

Most of the people came from mountain villages and small towns, and it was already rare for them to have a basic understanding of writing. They knew nothing about the past events in the North that Tian Tong had mentioned.

Only Yan Cheng knew why Tian Tong had brought up history at this juncture.

The people in the hall must have noticed the flying crane from last night, and were intimidated by the immortal cultivator who rode the celestial crane and arrived with an air of grandeur as if he were inspecting his territory.

Yan Cheng didn't know if all the disciples were shocked, but Huang Tong was definitely scared.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have instructed Tiantong to do ideological work here.

Ostensibly, it was meant for the group of corpse cultivators, but secretly it was to put Huang Tong's mind at ease.

As Guan Caishun once said, the Hall of Longevity is the safest place among the five courts and twelve halls of the Immortal Sect.

With powerful magical artifacts and numerous eminent cultivators, we have no fear of trouble from villains, whether inside or outside the sect.

Unfortunately, Guan Caishun, who said these words, was hanged from the roof beam of his own cave less than two days later, without even needing any external enemies to intervene.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the fog sea closed at an unusually fast speed, almost preventing Yan Cheng from completing his body tempering in time.

Now that his physical constitution has greatly improved and he is about to complete the cultivation of the middle elixir, the next step will be to open up the eight extraordinary meridians, but he does not feel much sense of accomplishment.

Compared to those immortal cultivators who sit high on celestial cranes and travel with the clouds and the moon, what is there to be happy about in this little bit of progress?

Yan Cheng has adjusted her mindset quite well.

The fact that the other party can ride beasts into the air means they are no longer at the Qi Refining stage; they might be an old cultivator who has practiced for a hundred years.

With such a grand and imposing display, it's not exactly outrageous...

That makes sense, but the thought that she hadn't even been able to tell whether the other person was male or female, or what their appearance and age were, still made Yan Cheng feel uneasy.

His thoughts were in turmoil, and before he knew it, he had missed a long and rambling speech by Tiantong.

Then the guy continued:

"Both Confucianism and Buddhism originated across the strait, their lifelines are thousands of miles away, and their penetration in the northern border is not yet very deep."

"However, its harm is not as great as that of the Three Pure Ones Daoist sect, which originated in the northern border."

"A hundred miles south of these mountains, there is a sect called Shengao Sect, which has always been the head of all the sects of the three religions in the south."

"The disciples in feathered robes and yellow crowns seek fame and fortune, specializing in fasting, alchemy, and demon slaying, claiming to be on the righteous path while opposing ours."

"These righteous dogs have never given up their desire to destroy us. For hundreds of years, they have been expanding their influence in the countries south of the mountains, causing these countries to favor the wicked and abandon the immortals."

"But my immortal sect has always been focused on pursuing the Dao and has never bothered with worldly affairs. We are too lazy to bother with such clowns."

"True gold fears no fire in a furnace. If these righteous evildoers continue to be incorrigible and disregard the grace of Heaven, they will eventually perish on their own. Fellow disciples, there is no need to worry about them."

Yan Cheng almost burst out laughing, secretly feeling sorry for Tian Tong.

Despite his intelligence and insight, he was forced to say these rambling things that even he himself didn't believe.

No matter how easily Tiantong portrays the righteous people he speaks of as being utterly vulnerable, one thing remains unchanged.

They can ride cranes and soar through the heavens with dignity, accompanied by stars and moon and friends with floating clouds.

The high-ranking cultivators in the Longevity Hall of the Taiyin Immortal Sect could only hide quietly in the sea of ​​mist.

Even the bright moon, which symbolizes their own lineage, dares not let its radiance shine in the Xuan Palace.

There's really no need to say which is better or worse.

Yan Cheng looked at Tian Tong with amusement, and after the latter finished reading what Huang Tong had asked him to say, he quickly put on his standard leisurely smile again:

"All arrangements in the palace will proceed as planned and will not be hindered by any conspiracies from external forces."

"Those of you who received my instructions earlier, please stay. The rest of you may leave now."

Yan Cheng looked around and found that, excluding himself, there were only five people left in the hall.

As the leader of the exploration team, Tiantong naturally remained in the palace.

Beneath her, a burly woman with long hair, as docile and obedient as a loyal dog, lay on her back, her face hidden, as if she were about to suddenly attack and tear apart those around her.

Yu Caiying stood not far behind Tian Tong. This tall and graceful female cultivator never showed off her sharpness in front of others.

Yan Cheng noticed that her aura was quite profound, and her cultivation level was probably not ordinary.

Besides these, which other fellow disciples were fortunate enough to be selected to follow Senior Brother Tiantong in exploring the secret realm ruins?

Yan Cheng's gaze first fell on a tall, elegant young man leaning lazily against a pillar of the palace, who was wearing a sword.

The boy's skin was as white as frost, his eyes were long and narrow like a snake or dragon, and beneath his open shirt was a lean and muscular physique.

He had cloth strips wrapped around his wrists and ankles, seemingly imitating the clothing and appearance of some rogue cultivators in the south, but it was unclear what the purpose of these cloth strips was.

Tian Tong smiled and introduced the child to everyone:

"This is Junior Brother Deng Jian. He broke through to the mid-stage two years ago and has opened the Yinwei and Yinqiao meridians."

"His White Serpent Spitting Tongue Sword technique is ruthless beyond compare, unmatched by any other of his contemporaries. I specifically invited him to be our backup!"

Deng Jian was obviously extremely arrogant. Even in front of Tian Tong, he only nodded slightly and didn't even glance at the other corpse cultivators.

Tian Tong paid no attention and turned to a short, thin, monkey-like corpse cultivator in the corner, who was deliberately dressed in a wide-sleeved robe:

"This junior brother Li Bai has broken through three years ago and has opened up the Dai Meridian and Chong Meridian."

"He studied talisman techniques under his junior sister Li Caijin. His five elements talisman techniques are interlocked, making him the number one in the third level of the talisman chamber."

Li Lun seemed to be of a dull nature; upon hearing Tian Tong's praise, he forced out an unpleasant smile.

"Greetings, fellow disciples."

The third person was a petite female cultivator with a charming smile and a waist as slender as a water snake. Before Tian Tong could speak, she immediately bowed to the group of cultivators:

"My younger sister, Pei Yi, has been breaking through for two and a half years and has now opened up the Yin Wei, Yang Wei, and Dai Mai meridians, which are the three extraordinary meridians of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians."

"I don't have any special skills. If I had to say something, it would just be that I'm a bit more agile, which makes it easier for me to practice light-body skills than others."

"If I encounter any danger on this trip, I hope my fellow disciples will take care of me."

Deng Jian snorted coldly, and Li Bai awkwardly returned the greeting. Only Yu Caiying stared at the soft-spoken little vixen with a forced smile.

Yan Cheng observed the expressions and reactions of all the cultivators and pondered their own thoughts.

When Tiantong was selecting people, he clearly had a complete set of guidelines.

Deng Jian is skilled in swordsmanship, Li Bai is adept at talisman magic, and Pei Yi was selected for his mastery of movement techniques.

Everyone has unique skills, and everyone has extraordinary abilities.

Most importantly, each of them has opened two to three extraordinary meridians, which is far superior to the recent breakthroughs of the mid-stage practitioners.

Given this premise, Yan Cheng couldn't think of any reason that could convince Tian Tong to allow him to bring Wang Qing, who was at the initial stage of cultivation, along.

Oh well, I never intended to work with her anyway...

As he was lost in thought, Tiantong suddenly approached him with a beaming smile and affectionately took his hands in hers:

"All of you fellow disciples are outstanding individuals, whose talents I am aware of. I have personally selected you to participate in this grand undertaking."

"Only this junior brother Yan Chengyan concealed his true abilities and devoted himself to diligent study."

"In less than three months after entering the hall, he broke through to the mid-stage. His magical skills were praised by Senior Sister Huang, who specially allowed him to join our exploration team."

"The outside world is dangerous. If anything unexpected happens, I rely heavily on Junior Brother Yan's skills!"