The Legend of Fangren

"My goodness..."

As the night deepened and the bright moon hung high in the sky, Fang Shi felt his legs trembling from the intense exertion and all-nighter, and no amount of fruit could help him recover.

At the end of the long staircase leading to the sky is a circular plaza that is no smaller than the platform at the foot of the mountain. The stone bricks on this platform are covered with engravings, like an array, and emit a faint glow under the moonlight.

Dozens of attendants stood tall and imposing around the circular platform, all possessing cultivation. In the very center stood Liu Yiyuan, the elder in charge of the Medicine Hall.

"Elder..."

Fang Shi was weak and listless. He dragged his legs and finally managed to get to Elder Liu. He couldn't even muster the energy he had when he was down the mountain to talk back.

Seeing his miserable state, Liu Yiyuan couldn't help but feel relieved.

Let me tell you, no matter how stubborn anyone is, they can't outrun this long staircase to heaven.

"You've got good perseverance, kid, but you're a bit too talkative."

Regardless, Fang Shi's ascent to this observatory as a mere mortal signifies his recognition by the sect. Such a person, if he remains obedient and law-abiding within the sect, can avoid the afflictions and famines of the mortal realm for the rest of his life, which is a rare blessing.

As Elder Liu spoke, he handed Fang Shi a pill. Although it was not perfectly round and shiny, it had a pleasantly sweet and fragrant aroma.

"Take this. It will restore your strength. It's not easy to find a Fuyuan Pill that's suitable for you in the pharmacy. It took me a lot of effort."

"Thank you, Elder."

Unexpectedly, Elder Liu is a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Fang Shi took the pill, swallowed it in one gulp, and immediately felt a sweet taste in his throat, like fertile soil filling a pit, filling his empty body.

"This is a first-grade earth-elemental blessing pill. Although it is the gentlest one for mortals, your body is currently weak. Remember to rest well tonight. Otherwise, your body will be too eager to generate strength, causing the unabsorbed medicinal power to rush into your body. You may be too weak to receive the nourishment and suffer harm instead."

As the head of the medicine hall, Elder Liu's duty was to warn against the taboos surrounding elixirs.

He then loudly announced: "Fang Shi, your perseverance in ascending the long steps to heaven is commendable. You are hereby granted the status of an outer sect disciple. It is hoped that you will continue to work diligently and never forget your original aspirations."

"Your disciple will remember this."

Fang Shi bowed respectfully, and then an attendant came forward to lead him to the disciples' resting place.

Silence fell once again on the observatory.

Fang Shi followed this attendant and, seeing that the man was older and had cultivation, addressed him as elder brother.

"Big brother, where are we going?"

"Climbing Clouds Tower".

Unfortunately, the attendant was very indifferent. He only replied once and then walked straight ahead, ignoring Fang Shi's tired legs and slow pace. Fortunately, the place was not far, otherwise he would have been left behind.

At the entrance of Panyun Tower, the attendant waited impatiently until Fang Shi arrived, then said, "This tower is where outer sect disciples rest when they first enter the sect. Tomorrow, you will not be assigned any tasks and can rest as you please. However, the sect is divided into areas. Outer sect disciples without tasks may only move within the lower outer sect area and may not enter the upper area without permission. This is for your safety."

"Your disciple will remember this."

Since the other party was so unfriendly to ordinary mortals, Fang Shi kept his reply brief, and the attendant turned and left without even giving a reply.

"Hmm~" Fang Shi didn't take it seriously.

It's common for protagonists who cling to powerful figures to be looked down upon by minor characters; he understands that.

Besides, compared to those guys, isn't the scene of this sect in front of us much more novel and appealing?

Looking up, one sees towering mountains. This outer sect area is surrounded by mountains, and the flat land it occupies is comparable to a city. There are many buildings in it. It is unknown which powerful figure developed it, or whether it was always like this.

"There are probably several thousand meters higher above this outer sect."

Even on the higher mountain, several mountain steps could still be seen leading up to the upper levels. I wonder where Hezi is resting tonight.

This mountain is 10,000 meters high. If one were to climb the entire 10,000 meters, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to reach it in a day and a night.

The night was deep and quiet, and the outer streets were deserted, except for the lights still burning in the buildings, but it was not as noisy as in my previous life.

Without further thought, Fang Shi shook the backpack on his shoulder and walked into Panyun Tower. He kept Elder Liu's instructions in mind and knew he had to get a good rest tonight.

Surprisingly, there was no one in Panyun Tower, not even a door lock, and the dust on the ground indicated that the building had not been cleaned for a long time.

The building has three floors, and since it was empty, he simply chose a room on the top floor.

Pushing open the door, the interior was extremely simple, yet still much better than the conditions in Qiaocun; at least the wooden bed didn't wobble.

After putting his luggage aside, Fang Shi dragged his tired body to lie down, and as soon as his head hit the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.

……

The next morning.

I didn't fall asleep until late last night, and I was exhausted. By the time Fang Shi woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

In the past, even if he slept all day, he would feel uncomfortable if he stayed up this late. But as soon as he woke up, he felt completely exhausted, with strong limbs and plenty of energy.

He jumped off the bed with a whoosh, throwing a few punches in the air with great force.

"My strength has increased a little more."

However, his legs are the strongest part of his body, and he feels that he can now easily jump more than two meters high without any problem.

Could it be the Elder's Blessing Pill from last night? It must also be due to the many spiritual fruits he ate during his ascent.

This inevitably gave Fang Shi more confidence. Now that he had arrived at the immortal sect, why not take this opportunity to seek immortality and ask for a cultivation method to practice?

With his backpack on, Fang Shi, still dressed in his rough hemp woodcutter's clothes from the woodcutter's village, went out the door.

The street outside was already full of pedestrians, their clothes varied, but all of them wore a blue and white cloth belt with a blue dragon embroidery around their waists.

Fang Shi, who had once been a corporate slave, immediately recognized it as an "employee badge." He hadn't received one last night, so he must have to go somewhere to get it.

Outgoing by nature, he planned to ask a passerby for directions, but when he looked up, he found that everyone was staring at him and talking amongst themselves.

Firstly, his attire was completely out of place in this immortal sect where everyone wore fine cloth; he looked like a primitive man.

Secondly, he came from Panyunlou.

This is a big deal. Every year, hundreds or even thousands of disciples enter the sect, divided into three levels: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Each level has its own place to rest, and the sect is always packed with people on the eve of the year. However, the Cloud-Climbing Tower, located behind the mountain gate, has been vacant for who knows how many years.

This shows that for many years no ordinary person has been able to climb the long staircase leading to heaven.

The group stared at each other blankly until a burly, middle-aged man with a large beard walked over and shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing! Aren't you going to work? The sect took in a large group of disciples yesterday, and the kitchen is short of firewood today. If you're not going to chop some wood, what are you doing standing around here? Don't you want your pay this month?"

The newcomer was the head cook of the kitchen, with an extremely loud voice. As he approached, one could almost feel a wave of sound that made one's ears itch.

When the kitchen staff saw the head cook arrive, they hurriedly ran out of the mountain gate. However, some of the kitchen staff were not intimidated and even pointed out Fang Shi to him.

"Old Zhu, look, Panyun Tower actually got a young man this year. Aren't you short-staffed? Why don't you just take him and not complain? Hahaha..."

The cook's name was Zhu Dalin. Because his surname was Zhu, calling him Zhu cook was the same as the name of a dish, which made people laugh. So people just called him Lao Zhu.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu immediately glanced at Fang Shi, and with just one look, waved his hand at the person who had spoken, saying, "What are you doing, making such a fuss? Don't you know how to do your work? I'll go complain to your steward later."

Upon hearing this, those people laughed and strolled away, leaving only Zhu Dalin behind.

Zhu Dalin didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Fang Shi and asked, "You little rascal, how did you get up here? Did you pull some strings?"

Old Zhu had a loud voice, which sounded rather fierce, but Fang Shi didn't feel that he was being looked down upon. He replied, "The sect opened its gates last night, and I climbed up by eating spiritual fruits along the way."

"Really?" Zhu Dalin was skeptical. He looked Fang Shi up and down, but didn't think he was particularly strong.

"Look at your skinny arms and legs, what strength could you possibly have? I could stand here and let you punch me, and it probably wouldn't even hurt."

Fang Shi had no aura of cultivation, so it's no wonder Zhu Dalin said that.

He continued, "But since you were able to climb up, it means you at least have the strength to work. I'm short-staffed these days, so you can come to the kitchen tomorrow and ask me to do some chores."

"Thank you, senior." Fang Shi glanced at the man and figured he was probably a kind-hearted and straightforward person.

When communicating with this kind of person, you're not afraid of being scolded, as long as they don't beat around the bush.

So he asked, "Senior, I've just entered the sect. May I ask where I can get the outer sect disciples' belts and cultivation manuals?"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Dalin snorted: "What, cultivation techniques? A mortal like you wants to cultivate immortality? You call yourself an outer sect disciple? To put it nicely, you're a disciple; to put it bluntly, you're a servant. What kind of immortality can a cook cultivate? Go to the kitchen and do your job well; that's better than anything else."