Becoming a leader of the immortal path begins with sowing the seeds of inner demons.

Lu Ming was a little confused.

Bad news: it seems that the eldest brother is tied up with something and won't be back for a few days.

Even worse news is that the eldest disciple thinks it's a good thing that he's cultivating at the Discipline Peak.

The original words were: "You have exceptional talent in cultivating physical strength, which is equivalent to several years of hard work for others in one day. Therefore, you should put more effort into cultivating your mind."

Although Zhilu Peak is busy with many affairs, it is an excellent place for cultivating one's mind.

With such a reasonable argument, Lu Ming had no choice but to accept it and could only hope to be assigned a good task.

To be honest, he was quite curious to see how the Hehuan Sect was misrepresenting its reputation...

On the other side, after a heated debate among the monks in the hall, the bearded monk successfully recruited him with a thousand merit points.

Lu Ming was both amused and exasperated, feeling inexplicably like a rare treasure at an auction, and a sense of doubt arose within him.

Are we still so short of manpower even though we're already cultivators?

Just as he was thinking this, the cultivator walked up to him.

He was a Golden Core cultivator with a square face and a victor's smile under his beard. He said warmly, "Hello, Junior Brother, my name is Chen Zheng."

"Don't just sit there like an idiot, come on, your senior brother will treat you to a meal."

Seeing that it wasn't the cultivator in charge of the Hehuan Sect, Lu Ming felt a little disappointed, but he still got up, registered, and followed Chen Zheng out of the hall and down the mountain.

Along the way, Chen Zheng seemed to have gotten a great deal, and was in an exceptionally good mood, chatting animatedly with Lu Ming.

"Junior brother, when did you join the sect?"

"A few days ago."

"You've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage right after joining the sect?" Chen Zheng raised his thick eyebrows in surprise. "Did you already have some skills when you joined?"

Lu Ming shook his head.

Chen Zheng was even more surprised and looked Lu Ming up and down carefully.

He had been working day and night at Zhilu Peak these past few days, never expecting that the sect would have such a talented disciple.

I reckon only the eldest disciple would be willing to place someone like this on the Law Enforcement Peak...

"Senior brother?" Lu Ming felt uneasy under Chen Zheng's gaze, especially when he noticed a hint of pity in Chen Zheng's eyes, which made him even more uneasy.

Is Zhilufeng a trap?

"Ah, sorry." Chen Zheng came to his senses and laughed heartily, "Since you are a newly joined junior brother, eat as much as you like today, consider it a welcome feast for you."

I'll transfer the remaining 1,000 merit points to you now.

No need to be so polite with me.

"You've just joined the sect, you'll need money for everything... 10,000?!"

Upon seeing the numbers on Lu Ming's identity jade token, Chen Zheng froze as he took out the token, looking at Lu Ming as if he were a monster.

Is this the net worth a newly initiated disciple should have?

Could he be the illegitimate son of the Grandmaster... Sect Master?!

But they don't look alike at all...

"Senior brother, why aren't you eating?"

In a valley in front of the Yuhua Sect's mountain gate, Lu Ming sat in an exquisitely decorated restaurant, enjoying a feast of delicacies.

If Chen Zheng hadn't led the way, he wouldn't have known that the Jade Flower Sect had such a lively place.

The valley is filled with restaurants and taverns run by cultivators, each of whom has been immersed in culinary arts for decades or even centuries. Any one of them would be a world-renowned chef if placed in the mortal realm.

The ingredients were all exotic plants and beasts, with delicious flavors that left Lu Ming with a lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth.

It's a pity that the monster's cultivation level wasn't high, otherwise Lu Ming really wanted to try what a Nascent Soul monster tasted like, and maybe bring some back for Da Jin to try.

"Eat, eat." Chen Zheng picked up a piece of crystal-clear, fragrant beast meat and sighed resignedly.

As the senior brother, I can't ask my junior brother for help for nothing.

Compared to merit points, the tasks at hand are more important.

Thinking of this, he stopped being upset and started eating quickly.

Both of them were cultivators, and they quickly devoured the entire table of food.

Chen Zheng casually wiped his beard, stood up and said, "Let's go, junior brother, it's time to get to work."

"Now?" Lu Ming was somewhat surprised.

Shouldn't new employees receive some kind of training?

Chen Zheng nodded. "Time is tight and the task is heavy, but this job isn't complicated. We'll learn on the way."

Chen Zheng raised his hand and pointed, and the clothes he and Lu Ming wore all turned black, with the bright "Jade" character embroidered on their chests. Then he took Lu Ming and they soared into the clouds.

Before long, the two landed in Yujiang Prefecture.

Chen Zheng looked around and walked straight east. Wherever he went, cultivators and mortals alike silently made way for him, their expressions varying.

Some cultivators wore expressions of fear and awe, while most mortals wore expressions of reverence and pride.

Lu Ming once again enjoyed the spotlight, but this time he had a feeling he couldn't quite describe.

Especially when the mischievous children on the street pointed at him excitedly and tried to hand him the sugar figurine, he felt inexplicably nervous and satisfied.

"Don't be nervous, you'll get used to it after a few more times." Chen Zheng transmitted his voice with his divine sense, his face expressionless, completely different from when he was in the sect. His gaze was sharp like a hawk, frequently landing on the faces of the passing cultivators.

Very few people dared to meet his gaze; they all silently lowered their heads.

Lu Ming nodded, puzzled. To ease the tension, he also asked telepathically, "Senior brother, what are we going to do?"

"First, re-register and verify the cultivators in Yujiang Prefecture. If you encounter anyone suspicious, you don't need to expose them; just send me a message." Chen Zheng said, handing Lu Ming a jade slip and smiling, "After verifying everything on this jade slip, we can handle a few family conflicts as well."

That concludes today's events.

Lu Ming scratched his head as he listened, as this seemed quite different from what he had imagined cultivators would do when they went out to train, slay demons and monsters.

That's too... trivial, focusing on everyday family matters.

"What about tomorrow?" Lu Ming asked curiously.

"We'll continue tomorrow." Chen Zheng pulled out a handful of jade slips from his pocket. "Registration is the main thing, but if we encounter any criminals, we'll deal with them as well."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming curiously glanced into the jade slip and was astonished by the long list of names. "So many?!"

Just the two of us?

"Aren't there any other... Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples to help?"

"Didn't Senior Brother tell you this?" Chen Zheng asked in confusion. "Qi Refining Disciples should focus on cultivation and are not suitable for doing such miscellaneous tasks."

Moreover, although our Yuhua Prefecture is called a prefecture, after hundreds of years, its actual jurisdiction area is much larger than that of a prefecture.

The area south of Tiannan Road, including the border of Tianxuan Mountain, is under the jurisdiction of our Yuhua Sect.

The area is too large, so the Foundation Establishment disciples were sent to the county towns below.

There are too many cultivators in the city. If something goes wrong, they won't be able to control the situation... Actually, this job is very easy. Knock on the door, ask for identity, register, and then leave.

It's a bit tedious, but the daily achievement points are plentiful, and it also...cultivates the mind.

Chen Zheng said a long string of words, as if he was afraid that Lu Ming would run away.

Seeing that Lu Ming simply nodded thoughtfully, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the front gate, saying, "Starting from this one, you're in charge, and I'll back you up."

Lu Ming looked up and his gaze froze.

Isn't this the Zhou residence?

Why did you come back after all this time?

He stepped forward in confusion, but the gatekeeper, without waiting for him to greet him, swiftly opened the middle gate and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Master."

My master has already been notified and specifically instructed me to wait here.

All the cultivators of the Zhou family have been waiting for a long time. Thank you for your help.

Lu Ming glanced at Chen Zheng, who was nodding slightly beside him, cleared his throat, and was about to speak when a clear voice rang out.

"Zhou Fu, you may go down now. I will personally receive the senior cultivator from Yuhua Sect."

Lu Ming felt the voice was familiar, looked up, and blinked in surprise.

Zhou Qianqian?

What is she doing here?!