The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

Meanwhile, on a lush mountain ridge in Yellow Maple Valley, Uncle Wang piloted a flying boat and landed near a dense cluster of stone houses.

Uncle Wang piloted the flying boat and landed near a dense cluster of stone houses.

One by one, the people disembarked from the flying boat and looked around curiously.

These bungalows were all made of ordinary black stones, each one extremely simple, and there wasn't a single person in the entire complex; they were all empty.

Uncle Wang explained to everyone, "This is a temporary place for newly initiated disciples, so it's rather simple."

"You can stay here temporarily."

"Of course, disciples who have mastered the basic techniques to the tenth level can leave here and move to a place called Xuankun Mountain."

"The living conditions there are much better than here."

"Once you have established your foundation, you will have the same right as me to create your own cave dwelling."

After saying that, Uncle Wang looked at Han Li and said, "Your situation is special. Originally, we should have waited until a few days after I discussed it with the sect leader before you formally entered the sect."

"But since you came with your junior apprentice Yang Qingyuan, let's collect the items together."

Han Li quickly bowed and said, "Yes, it's all up to you, Uncle-Master."

After saying this, Uncle Wang led the eleven newly recruited disciples toward a tall stone house.

Meanwhile, Wu Feng and other Qi Refining stage disciples went to the General Affairs Hall to hand over their tasks.

"Junior Brother Lin, open the door. I've brought the disciples from the Ascension Ceremony to collect our supplies," Uncle Wang called out from the stone house doorway.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door swung open automatically.

Upon seeing this, Uncle Wang led the way and went inside without hesitation.

The group then filed in.

The room was very spacious and filled with a wide variety of items.

Some were clothes, some were swords and weapons, and others were everyday tools such as shovels and hammers.

In the very center of the room was a square eight-immortal table, behind which sat an old man in a gray robe with disheveled hair.

An elderly man in a gray robe is carving a wooden puppet of a general clad in armor.

The puppet was no bigger than the palm of your hand, but it was incredibly lifelike and emitted a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

Upon seeing the puppet, Yang Qingyuan couldn't help but take a few more glances, recalling information about his Uncle Lin.

Although this person serves as the warehouse manager in Huangfeng Valley, he actually comes from the Thousand Bamboo Sect in the far west and is the young master of the Thousand Bamboo Sect. Due to a rebellion within the sect, he had to flee to the Yue Kingdom and came to Huangfeng Valley to escape pursuit.

The puppet in his hand was likely the "Puppet Technique," a signature skill of the Qianzhu Sect.

Yang Qingyuan clearly remembered that Han Li found the first four levels of the Thousand Bamboo Sect's signature technique, the Great Evolution Technique, on this person's corpse.

This "Great Evolution Technique" is an extremely rare spiritual cultivation method, specifically used to strengthen spiritual sense and cultivate the split spirit. It is also a required cultivation method for the Thousand Bamboo Sect to use puppets.

A powerful divine sense not only allows cultivators to detect danger in advance, but also enables them to control more magical artifacts and even help them break through bottlenecks, offering numerous benefits.

Thinking of this, Yang Qingyuan began to have many ideas, pondering how to get the "Great Evolution Technique" from the young master of the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

However, it was just a thought, since he hadn't even found any Confucian or Taoist cultivation methods yet, so he didn't have time to work on anything like the "Great Evolution Technique".

Upon seeing the crowd enter, the elderly man surnamed Lin put down the wooden puppet he was holding, looked around at everyone, and said, "How come the disciples selected for this Ascension Ceremony include those at the eighth and ninth levels of Qi Refining?"

"How could a cultivator like this pass the arena?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wang pointed at Yang Qingyuan and Han Li and said, "Junior Brother Lin, you've misjudged them this time."

"One of them has a lightning spiritual root, and the other holds an ascension token."

Upon hearing about the Thunder Spirit Root and the Ascension Token, Junior Brother Lin also showed a surprised expression, muttering, "It really is true that everyone has their own destiny."

"Back in the day, I paid a considerable price to join the Yellow Maple Valley."

"I never expected that you two could be admitted to Huangfeng Valley based solely on your qualifications and the Ascension Token. It's truly enviable."

"Especially those with lightning spiritual root aptitude, they are excellent candidates for Core Formation."

"If I had such qualifications, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation today."

Immediately afterward, the old man surnamed Lin sighed, said no more, and got up to take some treasures from the surrounding counters, placed them on the wooden table, and said, "Take a portion of these miscellaneous items for each of you."

"The items are all the same: one 'Yellow Silk Robe,' one 'Azure Leaf Magic Weapon,' one set of daily refining tools, one Blazing Sun Sword, one Cold Moon Blade, and one ten-times storage bag."

Seeing this, everyone stepped forward one by one to receive the items.

Yang Qingyuan took his share and then examined it.

Uncle Wang then took the opportunity to explain the use of the items to everyone, "This yellow silk robe is the attire of disciples in the Qi Refining stage of the sect. When participating in various ceremonies of the sect, you must pay attention to your attire."

"This Green Leaf magic artifact is considered a low-grade flying magic artifact. Although it is not fast, about the same speed as a horse, it can carry the weight of two or three people, making it a decent means of transportation."

"These everyday refining tools are for you to use in handling the sect's general affairs."

"These Blazing Sun Sword and Cold Moon Blade are both low-grade magic weapons, imbued with heat and cold energy. For you winners of the Ascension Tournament, they are somewhat of a waste."

"As for this storage bag, it's quite practical; its capacity is much larger than the storage bags circulating in the market outside."

"But use it with caution, do not exceed the multiplier limit, and never put live animals in it."

"Also, the storage bag is ownerless. Once it is taken away, the treasures inside will change hands as well."

Immediately afterwards, he demonstrated to everyone how to use the Green Leaf magic artifact and the storage bag.

Seeing that Uncle Wang had finished teaching them, the old man surnamed Lin dismissed them, saying, "Alright, the things have been given to you."

"Senior Brother Wang, please excuse me for not seeing you off further."

After saying that, he took out another piece of wood from his pocket and started carving again, ignoring everyone else.

Uncle Wang was already familiar with the old man surnamed Lin's temperament, so he said nothing more and led everyone away from the storeroom.

Unexpectedly, just as he stepped out of the room, a sound transmission talisman suddenly flew through the air and hovered in front of Uncle Wang.

"Huh? Our sect leader wants to see us. Could it be that Senior Sister Hongfu has already left the council hall?" After checking the contents of the jade slip, Uncle Wang said to everyone, "Let's go, let's go to the council hall now."

After saying this, he patted the storage bag at his waist, released the yellow flying boat, and carried everyone straight to the council hall.

Half an incense stick later, the group arrived at the council hall at the top of Tongtian Peak.

At this moment, the presence of True Person Hong Fu was nowhere to be seen in the council hall; only Sect Leader Zhong Lingdao remained standing beside Lei Wanhe.

Uncle Wang was the first to enter the main hall. When he saw Master Lei Wanhe sitting in the hall, he was startled and quickly bowed and said, "Disciple greets Uncle Lei."

When Yang Qingyuan, Han Li, and their group heard that their Foundation Establishment stage Uncle Wang addressed the fat cultivator in the hall as "Uncle-Master," they guessed that the fat cultivator was a Core Formation stage True Person, and they quickly bowed in greeting.

"Surname Lei?" Yang Qingyuan thought to himself, "Could this person be Lei Wanhe, a Core Formation cultivator with a Thunder Spirit Root from Yellow Maple Valley?"

"How did he end up here? What a coincidence!"

Lei Wanhe also scanned the crowd with a scrutinizing gaze before finally settling on Yang Qingyuan.

Yang Qingyuan immediately felt a powerful sense of oppression coming towards him, as if Lei Wanhe could see through his internal organs.

The mantra scroll within his dantian sensed Lei Wanhe's divine sense and immediately began to slowly retract, concealing all its aura as if it did not exist.

Not to mention the divine sense of a Core Formation stage cultivator, even the divine sense of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator could not sense the existence of the True Word Scroll.