The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

Jianzhou was located in the northern part of Yue State. It ranked second in area among the thirteen states of Yue State. Its territory was mostly mountainous and hilly, with a sparse population. It was located on the border between Yue State and Yuanwu State.

In the western part of Jianzhou, there is a huge mountain range called the "Taiyue Mountain Range".

The Taiyue Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, are sparsely populated, and are covered with primeval forests.

Looking down at the mountain range from high above, you'll find that it's no different from other mountain ranges; it's all steep and rugged with lush trees.

But in reality, this mountain range is covered by a massive and mysterious formation, and what mortals see is all an illusion.

Inside the grand formation, countless pavilions and palaces had already been built, and some cultivators, riding on leaf-shaped magical artifacts, were flying around in the low sky, very busy.

This place is the mountain gate of "Yellow Maple Valley", one of the seven major sects of Yue Kingdom.

At dawn, a yellow flying boat sped from afar and slowly came to rest above the mountains.

The bow deck of the flying boat was crowded with people, including Yang Qingyuan, Han Li, and Uncle Wang, who had come from Tianwutai.

Uncle Wang took out a token engraved with a maple leaf pattern from his pocket, slowly poured his magic power into it, and then waited silently.

In just a few breaths, the view from above distorted slightly, forming a vortex.

A middle-aged cultivator in a yellow robe emerged from the vortex and glanced at the people on the deck of the flying boat.

"So it's Senior Brother Wang who's back." The middle-aged cultivator clasped his hands in a salute to Senior Uncle Wang, who was leading the group, and said, "You must have worked hard to preside over the Ascension Ceremony, Senior Brother."

"Are these people behind you the newly initiated disciples?"

"Huh? How come there's a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining?"

"This can also be achieved through the Ascension Ceremony..."

Uncle Wang stood with his hands behind his back and chuckled, "Junior brother, take another look."

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the mountain secretly activated his Heavenly Eye Technique to examine Yang Qingyuan. His expression then drastically changed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Lightning Spiritual Root!"

"It's actually a lightning spirit root."

"Senior Brother Wang has made a great contribution this time, and the sect leader will surely reward him handsomely."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wang waved his hand repeatedly and said, "You flatter me. I will first take them to the new recruit storeroom to collect their initiation items, and then I will take them to see the sect leader."

"Alright, alright." Upon hearing this, the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the mountain dared not delay and quickly manipulated the formation to let everyone in. He then reminded him, "By the way, Senior Brother Wang, you'd better send a message talisman to Senior Brother Sect Leader first."

"Our sect leader is currently receiving his senior sister, Hong Fu. Please don't offend her."

"Oh?" Uncle Wang was also startled upon hearing the name of True Person Hong Fu, and asked in surprise, "Senior Aunt Hong Fu has emerged from seclusion?"

The mountain-guarding monk nodded and explained, "That's not all."

"I heard from Senior Brother Liu from Green Wave Cave that even Uncle-Master Li Huayuan has shown up."

"Some people also saw that Lei Yunfeng's senior brother Lei Wanhe also made an appearance."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wang looked surprised and replied, "I never expected that three of the Core Formation cultivators, who are usually so elusive, would show up. It's truly a rare sight."

"Thank you for the reminder, Junior Brother. I will send a letter to Senior Brother Sect Leader to inform him about the Thunder Spirit Root disciple."

After speaking, he took out a sound transmission talisman and activated it, then propelled the flying boat into the array barrier...

Meanwhile, in Huangfeng Valley, at Tongtian Peak, in the council hall.

This council hall is where the Foundation Establishment managers of Huangfeng Valley handle sect affairs, and it is also where the sect leader resides.

The current leader of Huangfeng Valley is called "Zhong Lingdao". He is over a hundred years old, but he has a way of preserving his youth and still looks like a middle-aged man with a long beard. His cultivation level is in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

But at this moment, the highly respected Sect Leader Zhong was standing in the main hall, holding his breath and serving a woman in red, not daring to breathe loudly.

The woman sat upright, dressed in red, and looked to be in her thirties. She still had a charming appearance, but her face was cold and she exuded a kind of murderous aura that was rarely seen in cultivators.

"Please rest assured, Senior Sister Hongfu, I will immediately inform the alchemy room to reserve a Foundation Establishment Pill for your junior, Dong Xuan'er." Sect Leader Zhong smiled obsequiously, afraid of offending the woman in red before him.

Hong Fu Zhenren was very satisfied with the result. She nodded slightly and replied, "Nephew Zhong, I trust you to handle things."

"When the next sect leader is elected, I will guarantee your re-election."

"Thank you so much, Senior Sister Hongfu!" Headmaster Zhong was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly.

At the same time, a rumble of thunder suddenly came from outside the main hall.

"Huh? Lightning Release? It's Junior Brother Lei Wanhe." Hong Fu Zhenren sensed the anomaly and stood up, looking towards the entrance of the main hall.

The next moment, a silver-white bolt of lightning shot into the hall.

When the lightning dissipated, a large, fat man with a lot of fat appeared in the hall.

This fat man was dressed in loose brocade clothes, his eyes were squeezed into two thin slits, and the flesh hanging down his chin was layered on top of each other, and it was impossible to tell how thick it was. His waist was as thick as a water bucket.

This fat cultivator was none other than Lei Wanhe, a cultivator with the Thunder Spirit Root from Yellow Maple Valley. He later saved Han Li from the hands of the cultivators of the Thousand Bamboo Sect and exchanged two pill formulas with Han Li for two six-hundred-year-old spiritual herbs.

"Oh, Senior Sister Hongfu is here too, what a coincidence." The plump cultivator chuckled and asked, "What brings you here?"

"It's nothing, just asking for a Foundation Establishment Pill for my descendant." Hong Fu Zhenren parted her lips slightly and asked, "Weren't you in seclusion trying to break through your bottleneck? Why did you come out?"

Upon hearing this, Lei Wanhe looked distressed and explained, "As you know, once your cultivation reaches our level, it is extremely difficult to advance further."

"I went into seclusion before, but I still couldn't break through the bottleneck."

"The purpose of this trip is to find some aged medicinal herbs to refine a batch of Enhancing Vitality Pills."

At this point, he looked at Sect Leader Zhong and asked, "Nephew Zhong, has our Yellow Maple Valley recently collected any medicinal herbs that are over five hundred years old?"

Sect Leader Zhong quickly explained, "I've disappointed Senior Uncle Lei."

"It has been a long time since any medicinal herb over five hundred years old has appeared in the Yue Kingdom."

"Currently, the only place where precious spiritual herbs are produced is the Crimson Trial, which will begin in two and a half years."

Then Master Hongfu interjected, "According to the order, this time it should be Junior Brother Li Huayuan leading the team."

Lei Wanhe couldn't help but sigh and said, "Given his stingy nature, he'll definitely skim off a lot of spiritual herbs from the trial disciples."

"It's not even my turn."

"If I remember correctly, Junior Brother Li's second and fifth disciples were originally Qi Refining stage disciples who won first place in the Blood Trial."

"As a result, Junior Brother Li used the pretext of a discipleship ceremony to divide up half of the spiritual herbs."

"I reckon he'll use the same trick again this time."

"Where would it be my turn?"

Master Hongfu pondered for a moment and said, "I have always been on good terms with Junior Brother Li, so I can put in a good word for you."

"Have him give you a spot in the Crimson Trial, and you can arrange for one of your Lei family disciples to go in and collect spiritual herbs."

"Once you get out, you can take this descendant of the Lei family as your apprentice."

"Junior Brother Li will agree for my sake."

Upon hearing this, Lei Wanhe shook his head vigorously, refusing, "Forget it."

"Those good-for-nothing descendants of the Lei family have been relying on my name all these years, acting arrogantly and neglecting their cultivation, developing a bullying and cowardly personality."

"The mere mention of the Blood Trial is enough to scare them so much they'd wet themselves."

"If they can bring out even one spiritual herb during the trial, that would be quite an achievement."

"I think I'll go out and travel around and try my luck."

Before he could finish speaking, a sound transmission talisman flew in from outside the hall and landed in Sect Leader Zhong's hand.

"It's Junior Brother Wang's communication talisman. He must have returned from presiding over the Ascension Ceremony." Upon seeing this, Sect Leader Zhong scanned the communication talisman with his divine sense and was immediately overjoyed.

"Lightning Spirit Root!"

"Junior Brother Wang actually recruited a cultivator with a lightning spiritual root on this trip!"

"This cultivator with the Thunder Spirit Root actually defeated a young master from a noble family at the eleventh level of Qi Refining during the Ascension Ceremony, despite only being at the eighth level of Qi Refining!"

"Simply a gifted individual!"

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Lei Wanhe's eyes, followed by a thoughtful expression...