Starting with Taoist priests from Maoshan to cultivate immortality

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Ah Xu's illness flared up again, and he started coughing violently again. This time, he coughed more than fifty times, almost coughing up his lungs.

Sister-in-law Ren looked anxious and quickly brought out the prepared medicine, handing it to Ah Xu, saying:

"Son, quickly drink this medicine."

Gudong!

After taking the medicine, Ah Xu's condition improved significantly.

Sister-in-law Ren sighed softly:

"The medicine prescribed by this pharmacist is expensive, but it works quite well. Unfortunately, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

He has already emptied his savings to treat his son's illness.

Jiang Yu asked:

"Sister-in-law, what exactly is wrong with Ah Xu?"

Sister-in-law Ren said with heartache in her eyes:

"What Ah Xu has is not an illness, but a sequela left over from being possessed by a ghost."

Jiang Yu frowned and said:

Is there any way to treat this?

Ren's eldest sister-in-law said:

"We spent most of our savings to seek treatment from the physician of the Tianyi Sect, who said that 'only the Crimson Gold Grass can cure it completely'."

Tianyi Sect is one of the six major sects, specializing in medicine, and can treat all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases of cultivators.

The Crimson Gold Grass grows deep within Tianmen Mountain, guarded by a swarm of Crimson Gold Snakes. Even cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining dare not provoke it.

Ren's eldest sister-in-law looked heartbroken and said:

"My husband went to the mountains to search for treatment for our son, but it's been three days and we still haven't found anything."

Jiang Yu comforted him:

"Everything will be alright."

Sister-in-law Ren perked up and looked at Jiang Yu, saying:

"Xiao Li, although we've only spent half a day together, I can tell you have considerable skills. You didn't come to Tianmen Mountain to waste your time, did you?"

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and replied:

"The Tianmen Mountain Secret Realm is about to open, and a rogue cultivator like myself naturally wants to find some opportunities."

Sister-in-law Ren shook her head and comforted her:

"Xiao Li, as someone who's been through this, I still want to advise you that we should stay out of these kinds of things."

Most of the real benefits of the secret realm were seized by the people of the six major sects.

We rogue cultivators can only become cannon fodder; a slight misstep could cost us our lives.

You are still young; you should be down-to-earth.

The eldest sister-in-law of the Ren family spoke very aptly.

Jiang Yu didn't actually intend to participate in the secret realm. His main purpose was to complete the mission of the Heavenly Mandate Treasure Talisman, find his master's whereabouts, and dig up the treasure left behind by Fan Wu.

He planned to complete his mission during the day and then search for his master's whereabouts at night.

At this moment, more than twenty monks wearing silver-threaded hats entered the market.

Each of them held a portrait in their hand, and they searched and inquired throughout the market.

They arrived in front of Jiang Yu and the others in no time.

A monk holding a portrait asked:

"Fellow Daoist, have you seen this person before?"

"If anyone can provide information about his whereabouts, the Silver Serpent Sect will offer a substantial reward."

Looking at the image on the paper, Jiang Yu's pupils contracted slightly; it was actually him drawn on it.

He quickly covered it up, shaking his head and saying:

"I have never seen it."

Then he tentatively inquired:

"I wonder how this person offended your clan?"

The Silver Serpent Sect disciple seemed intent on publicizing the matter, loudly calling out to the crowd:

"Everyone might as well come and listen."

He held up Jiang Yu's portrait, his voice filled with anger, and said:

"This person killed more than a dozen outer disciples of my Silver Serpent Sect and even boasted, 'I will kill every single person from the Silver Serpent Sect I see!'"

The Silver Serpent Sect's law enforcement elder has ordered that anyone who can provide clues about him will be rewarded with five hundred spirit stones.

Whoever brings his head will be rewarded with three thousand spirit stones!

Upon hearing this, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves:

"Damn, who is this guy? He dares to offend even the Silver Serpent Sect?"

"Could he be a disciple of one of the six major sects?"

But even disciples from the six major sects couldn't protect someone who had done something like that.

"Anyone capable of killing more than a dozen outer disciples of the Silver Serpent Sect is definitely a ruthless character and not to be trifled with."

Jiang Yu frowned:

When did I become entangled with the Silver Serpent Sect?

They even killed more than a dozen disciples of the Silver Serpent Sect. What kind of logic is this?

He suddenly remembered that Han Tianyi, who had the conflict in the restaurant yesterday, was a disciple of the Silver Serpent Sect.

It seems someone is framing me!

No, we have to find out who the real culprit is.

The Silver Serpent Sect is one of the top ten sects in Guobei County. If we were to completely antagonize them, things would get complicated.

Jiang Yu secretly rejoiced:

"Fortunately, I obtained the Thousand Illusion Mask, so others can't figure out my identity for the time being, and there's still time to maneuver."

After the presentation, the Silver Serpent Sect disciples led their men to continue searching and spreading the word in other streets of the market.

They seem genuinely angry, determined not to give up.

Jiang Yu shook his head slightly, "There are more and more things to solve, but we have to take it one step at a time."

Saying goodbye to the Ren family mother and son.

Jiang Yu arrived at a charming little courtyard on the south side of Tianmen Town and gently knocked on the door.

A thin, old man poked his head out and said:

Who are you looking for?

Jiang Yu cupped his hands and said:

"I have come to pay my respects to Master Ge with protruding ears."

Jiang Yu inquired and found out that this Uncle Ge was the know-it-all of Tianmen Town.

He knew everything about cultivation in the vicinity.

Jiang Yu wanted to inquire about the person in the ear.

The gaunt old man frowned, closed the door, and said:

"He's not in now."

Jiang Yu smiled slightly and handed over one hundred spirit stones.

A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the gaunt old man as he took the spirit stone and said:

"Come in."

He led Jiang Yu into the house and turned to say:

"I'll go and ask Uncle Ge to come out right away."

After an incense stick had burned, the same person, wearing a brown felt hat, sat in the main seat and said:

"Speak, young man, what business do you have with this old man?"

Jiang Yu stared at him, her lips twitching:

"Are you kidding me, kid?"

Grandpa Ge gently swayed his long robe:

"I want to see if you are sincere."

Jiang Yu was speechless:

"I've already paid with the spirit stones, so tell me, am I sincere or not?"

Grandpa Ge chuckled and said:

"So, are you going to ask or not, young man?"

Jiang Yu said helplessly:

"I'd like to inquire about the people outside Tianmen Mountain."

Grandpa Ge's expression changed:

"You should take this spirit stone back."

Although he said that, Jiang Yu could tell that he had no intention of returning it.

Jiang Yu understood that he meant "more money is needed", so he took out another hundred spirit stones.

Grandpa Ge licked his lips and said:

"This news is too dangerous; I really can't reveal it easily."

"goodbye!"

Jiang Yu stood up, snatched the storage bag from Grandpa Ge's hand, and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Grandpa Ge quickly stopped him and said:

"No! I'll tell you!"

After carefully putting the storage bag away, he took a sip of tea, adopting the demeanor of a seasoned elder.

"Young man, you've come to the right person. My information network is so extensive that even the people from the Demon Suppression Division might not be able to keep up."

Jiang Yu frowned slightly. If it weren't for Sister-in-law Ren telling him that Uncle Ge was a know-it-all, he would have left long ago.

Grandpa Ge took another sip of tea and finally spoke:

"The person in the ear is a kind of demon called 'Demon Orb'."

This idea was implanted in the ears of those unrealistic cultivators, making them mistakenly believe that they had received divine favor and could easily achieve the Great Dao.

Jiang Yu sighed softly:

"This is exploiting people's greed."

Ask yourself, which of those cultivators who have entered the realm of immortality does not wish for eternal life?

However, due to limited talent and lack of aptitude, they gradually wasted their time.

At first, I believed in destiny and cultivated diligently.

But in the end, when there was no hope of breaking through, they began to rely on external forces.

Jiang Yu expressed his feelings:

"But it was all just a pipe dream, and I ended up falling into someone else's trap."

Grandpa Ge nodded and said:

"I didn't expect you to see things so clearly at such a young age. Not bad."

Jiang Yu asked:

"Who implanted this demonic orb?"

Grandpa Ge frowned and lowered his voice:

"All I know is that this thing is related to the Peerless Cult."

"The Peerless Cult?"

Jiang Yu's eyes widened:

"They are indeed no benevolent people. They pretend to be kind and perform rituals for the common people, but secretly release demonic pills to slaughter cultivators."

However, given the immense power of the Peerless Sect, Jiang Yu lacked the strength to eliminate it, and could only hope to find his master as soon as possible.

So he asked Grandpa Ge:

"What will happen to those cultivators who have been invaded by the demonic orb?"

Grandpa Ge said:

"That demonic pill will interfere with the cultivator's mind, urging them to continuously absorb spiritual energy."

In recent days, a number of those kinds of people have gathered at Qingyue Cliff on the outskirts of Tianmen Mountain.

As far as I know, the Demon Orb is harvested once a year, and the harvest day is in two days.

Young man, haven't your elders been parasitized?

Grandpa Ge stroked his teacup, seemingly having seen through everything.

Jiang Yu cupped his hands in praise and said:

"Uncle Ge has a truly discerning eye."

He then asked:

"Is there any way to restore those controlled by the Demon Orb to normal?"

Grandpa Ge shook his head:

"I don't know about that. It's a secret of the Peerless Sect. It's already quite remarkable that I know this much."

Jiang Yu nodded in agreement.

Grandpa Ge put down his teacup:

"Now that you've asked, please proceed."

Grandpa Ge gave them the order to leave.

Jiang Yu asked again:

"I'd also like to retrieve the Crimson Gold Grass from Tianmen Mountain. Do you know of any suitable independent cultivation teams you could recommend?"

Grandpa Ge said calmly:

"10 spirit stones."

Jiang Yu thought to himself, "This old man is really obsessed with money."

However, it suits his personality well; he'll do anything for money.

Therefore, Jiang Yu readily took out 10 spirit stones and handed them to Grandpa Ge.

"Go to the west side of the market and find a person named 'Zhou Dali'."

He often teamed up with independent cultivators to go to Tianmen Mountain in search of rare and precious materials; he was a fairly kind person.

He was forming a team, specifically to find the Crimson Gold Grass.

As he spoke, Grandpa Ge took out a piece of paper, wrote a character on it with his spiritual power, and handed it to Jiang Yu:

"Take this; he'll accept it out of respect for me."

Thank you!

Having obtained the information he needed, Jiang Yu got up and left.

Those 210 spirit stones were well spent.

Jiang Yu left, and the room fell silent.

Grandpa Ge muttered to himself:

"It's another turbulent time; looks like I need to move to a different place."

As a know-it-all, he has a lot of knowledge and therefore attracts a lot of attention from his enemies. Having multiple escape routes is his way of survival.

……

Following Grandpa Ge's advice, Jiang Yu arrived at the west end of the market.

After making a few inquiries, they met Zhou Dali, who was recruiting team members.

He had prominent ears, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, and looked very simple and honest.

Three cultivators, all at the third level of Qi Refining, had already gathered around him.

These teams are usually five people each, a skill developed by countless independent cultivators in Tianmen Mountain through risking their lives.

Jiang Yu took the initiative to step forward:

"My name is Li Feiyu. May I join your team?"

Uncle Ge recommended this place to me.

He took out the calligraphy copybook written by Grandpa Ge.

Zhou Dali took the calligraphy copybook, glanced at it, his eyes lit up, and after looking Jiang Yu up and down, he nodded and said:

"Since you were recommended by Uncle Ge, of course you can come."

He said to the team members behind him:

"Fellow Daoists, everyone has been gathered. Let's go into the mountains."

If all goes well, we should be out before dark.

"Wait!" a cross-eyed man suddenly spoke up.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, exploring Tianmen Mountain is an extremely dangerous matter, not something you can use to do favors."

What if something really happens to this greenhorn who's only at the second level of Qi Refining?

You're playing with everyone's lives.

Jiang Yu is currently using the Thousand Illusions Mask to conceal his cultivation level at the second level of Qi Refining.

Zhou Dali frowned and explained:

"Don't worry, I've been in and out of Tianmen Mountain more than ten times, there won't be any problems."

The cross-eyed man insisted on refusing:

"It's better to be safe than sorry."

The others also showed expressions of agreement.

The cross-eyed man continued:

"Unless he can prove his abilities and show he won't be a burden once he's in the mountains?"

Jiang Yu asked:

"I wonder what level of skill is considered 'not a burden'?"

The cross-eyed man's lips unconsciously twitched downwards. He made a hand seal, and a fireball appeared, blasting a hole in a rock the size of a person in front of him.

The cross-eyed man was very satisfied with his results. He raised his head and looked at Jiang Yu with a smug expression.

Jiang Yu smiled slightly, stepped forward, and with arcs of electricity flashing in his hand, he struck the hole in the stone with a thunderous roar, instantly shattering the stone into pieces.

Upon seeing this, the cross-eyed man was startled. He hadn't expected that Jiang Yu, a mere second-level Qi Refining cultivator, would possess a Daoist technique more powerful than his own.

Zhou Dali laughed heartily and said:

"Fellow Daoist Li has already demonstrated his strength; now he has nothing more to say, right?"

He grasped Jiang Yu's hand and said:

"Welcome to the team."

At that moment, a furious voice rang out:

"Who the hell smashed the rock I used to make this statue?"

Zhou Dali quickly said:

"I believe everyone agrees with Fellow Daoist Li joining us, so let's hurry up and go!"

The cross-eyed man nodded firmly and said:

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

The group, looking guilty, quickly fled and entered Tianmen Mountain.

Throughout the journey, the group remained silent, as they were all impromptu, unsure of each other's temperaments.

Zhou Dali was a very talkative person, and this was what he couldn't stand the most, so he took the initiative to introduce himself:

"As you all know, the Tianmen Mountain Secret Realm has recently appeared, and the monsters are migrating inwards."

Furthermore, the fact that the secret realm only allows cultivators at the Qi Refining stage to enter has attracted a large number of independent cultivators and disciples from the six major sects.

Although it's discouraging to say, nine out of ten of the final benefits will end up in the hands of the geniuses from the six major sects.

Zhou Dali continued in a deep voice:

"For us cultivators with lower cultivation levels, the best course of action is to take advantage of this opportunity to pick up as many bargains as possible."

For example, the Crimson Gold Grass we went to find this time. If it were before, I would never have gone even if you killed me.

Because there is a group of red gold snakes guarding that place.

However, due to the opening of the Tianmen Mountain Secret Realm, the demonic beasts migrated inland, leaving only one there, which gave us our chance.

The cross-eyed man said:

"It's really not easy to encounter a monster in the mountains these days."

"Hmph!"

However, the next moment, a wild boar the size of a truck charged towards them.

Its fangs are enormous, and the branches on its body are like armor.

Zhou Dali, who had been talking eloquently, suddenly changed his expression, his muscles bulged, and he grabbed the wild boar's tusks and slammed it away.

Immediately afterwards, two brass knuckles appeared in his hand, and his powerful fists, accompanied by a violent afterimage, slammed into the wild boar.

The wild boar's thick armor was utterly vulnerable to him, and it eventually died bleeding from all seven orifices.

Everyone was surprised to learn that Zhou Dali was actually a powerful body cultivator.

Jiang Yu thought:

Those who have managed to safely emerge from the outer perimeter of Tianmen Mountain more than ten times are indeed no pushovers.