Immortality Cultivation: Fellow Daoists, please live for two more episodes!

The Water Moon Branch of the Creation Immortal Sect, formerly the Water Moon Demon Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony, was held in its own lair, on Mount Wanku in the far west.

To coincide with the once-in-a-century disciple-acceptance ceremony of the Creation Immortal Sect, the Water Moon Branch went all out this time, with nine hundred-zhang-long suspended spirit boats moored above the sea of ​​clouds, cascading down thousands of auspicious waterfalls of light.

The continuous Black Stone Mountain Range was forcibly paved with white jade tiles, but it still couldn't hide the sinister smell that seeped into the bones.

Unlike the main branch, the Shuiyue branch's apprenticeship ceremony requires those who have been selected in advance to have a chance to attend.

Instead, it emphasizes education for all, and everyone can cultivate. Therefore, whether in the far west or even further afield, there are many people rushing to seek immortality.

However, although it is said that regardless of background, differences in talent still need to be taken into account. The interview venue is mainly divided into three areas. Anyone who wants to become an apprentice can confidently go to one of them according to their own conditions and choose one for an interview.

At the very center of the spiritual spring is the "Heavenly Gate Platform," reserved for geniuses. A spirit-measuring pillar with abundant water stands on the platform, and several elders from the outer academy sit around it.

There aren't many people queuing here, not because there are any testing requirements.

However, if you have an interview and perform poorly, wasting the time of several Foundation Establishment cultivators, they won't reason with you.

At this moment, a handsome young man in brocade robes placed his hand on a pillar, and a dazzling blue halo shot into the sky. The pillar clearly read: "Superior Single Water Spirit Root".

Upon seeing promising young talents, the branch elders sitting below the stage immediately beamed with joy.

One of the female elders, with a graceful figure and captivating eyes, leaped into the air and affectionately wrapped her snow-white wrist around the boy's neck.

"What an excellent physique! How about joining my sect? My Duobao Cliff may not have many other skills, but we have many magical treasures. If you join my sect, I will give you this Spirit Gathering and Blessing Buckle."

The boy was captivated by the fragrant breeze and repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude.

The female elder chuckled and casually fastened a pinkish jade ring around the boy's neck, as if putting a collar on him.

However, if someone were nearby, they would see that four large characters were clearly engraved in the middle of the jade ring: "Dingnu No. 6".

Moving your gaze downwards, you'll find the largest area, the general assessment area, which is also the most competitive.

The few spirit-testing pillars were crowded with countless people seeking immortality.

Just now, a rogue cultivator managed to light up a faint glow on the spirit-testing pillar, and the deacon in charge of the assessment casually tossed down a wooden plaque.

The rogue cultivator caught the food with tears of joy, but before he could even warm it up, the pockmarked man behind him, who had just been calling him brother and fighting with him for a seat, suddenly lashed out.

With practiced ease, he plunged a poisoned dagger into the lower back of the rogue cultivator.

The rogue cultivator collapsed to the ground, convulsing. The pockmarked man snatched the blood-stained wooden plaque, wiped away the blood, and respectfully handed it to the steward behind the desk.

The deacon didn't even lift his eyelids, picked up his vermilion pen and made a mark on the roster: "The original owner is dead, the spot is yours. What's your name?"

"Zhang San."

"Alright, next one."

The murderous intent was hidden in the smiling faces and toasts of those who called each other brothers.

……

As for the very edge of the square, in the nooks and crannies next to the cliffs, that was the area where laborers were recruited.

Although they were called menial servants, they were actually just medicine boys, mine slaves, cooks, and even living sandbags used to test the skills of the inner sect's prodigies in the branch academy.

After all, you can't expect those high and mighty monks to cook for themselves.

There were no spirit-testing pillars here, nor any high-ranking elders. There were only a few heavy black iron stones weighing thousands of kilograms used to test physical strength, and a few outer sect supervisors carrying barbed whips with menacing expressions.

So there are almost no people queuing here, and even if there are, they are all poor people who are pale and thin and can't even afford to eat.

What he sought was not immortality or enlightenment, but the few coins he could earn from successfully landing a menial job, so that his family could have something to eat in this harsh western region and not starve to death.

Of course, there may be people with ulterior motives, but the Water Moon Branch doesn't care.

At this moment, Zhou Youyuan was dressed in an inconspicuous coarse gray coat, keeping a low profile in the queue in the menial area that reeked of sweat, inching forward with the people in front of him.

The line in front of the queue gradually shortened.

Standing directly in front of Zhou Youyuan was a young man with an ordinary appearance and slightly dark skin.

This person, if thrown into a crowd, is the type you can glance at and forget completely; even their clothes are the most inconspicuous grayish-brown.

It was the black kid's turn to be tested.

The foreman pointed to a 15-pound iron stone on the ground: "Lift it up and walk it to that line."

The dark-skinned boy rubbed his hands together, stepped forward, his face flushed red, veins bulging on his neck, and legs trembling like leaves. He used every ounce of strength he had to barely lift Tieshi up.

He shakily moved past the passing mark, then crashed to the ground with a thud, panting heavily, looking as weak as if he might collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

The foreman waved his hand dismissively: "Barely passable. Go to the herb garden on the back mountain and be responsible for carrying manure and fertilizing. Go get your badge."

"Thank you, Immortal Master."

The young man was moved to tears and bowed repeatedly.

But just as he turned to leave, the overseer next to him, annoyed that the old man was walking too slowly, casually lashed him with a whip.

The old man was whipped and fell to the ground, crashing into a stone pillar. The pillar, which was already dilapidated, was unstable when it was suddenly hit and crashed down horizontally.

The servants below had no time to dodge; five or six ordinary people were instantly crushed into a bloody pulp, with blood, entrails, and bone fragments splattered all over the ground.

The stone pillar landed right in front of the dark-skinned boy, and the dust and blood that rose up covered his face.

The dark-skinned boy cried out and fell to the ground, trembling like a sieve.

Those queuing around him secretly marveled at how incredibly lucky this kid was, his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

However, Zhou Youyuan, who was behind him, could see it clearly with his eyesight at the first level of Qi Refining.

It wasn't just bad luck at all.

Judging from where the stone pillar landed, the dark-skinned boy should have been the last one to be crushed.

But in reality, before the old man could knock over the stone pillar, the dark-skinned boy had already carefully stepped firmly onto the ground.

The seemingly startled shudder was actually a way of using the sway of the body to dissipate the momentum of moving forward, forcefully pulling back the half-step that was about to be taken.

This Water Moon Demon Sect is indeed a place blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery.

Zhou Youyuan's eyes twitched, but he calmly withdrew his gaze, obediently lifted the stone across the line, and received his own menial servant's wooden plaque.

"You go to the herb garden in the back mountain with that guy."

The foreman continued working in a bad mood, as if the incident of hitting a stone pillar and killing someone was no different from stepping on an ant.

What a coincidence, it's also the medicinal herb garden in the back mountain. Does that mean I'm with that comrade whose purpose I don't know?

I wonder if that guy will interfere with his plan to find a scapegoat. Maybe I should test him.

Thinking of this, Zhou Youyuan put on a smiling face and quickly caught up with the figure ahead:

"Hey brother in front, wait a minute. We're all going to the herb garden. Why don't we go together? That way we can look out for each other."

The other person turned around, their face still bearing that awkward and ingratiating dry smile:

"Brother, you were assigned to the back mountain too?"

"Yes, we're lucky to have survived. Now that we'll be working in the same park, we'll definitely need to help each other out."

Zhou Youyuan stepped forward, stopped three steps away from the other party, and bowed with his hands clasped in a very natural manner.

"I am Chen Changsheng from Aolai Town, Chen family."

Upon hearing the other party reveal their sect's secrets, the dark-skinned boy also raised his hand and awkwardly clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"I come from a remote mountain village and am a rough man. Just call me Li Feiyu."