Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

"So, what do you mean, fellow Daoist?" The Shenfeng Sect elder hesitated.

"What I mean is, this genius I have here won't participate in your public disciple selection!" Gou An said, "but will be discovered by you after the ten-day selection process!"

Gou An said this because he wanted to know whether the Divine Wind Sect was willing to spend resources.

An elder in charge of the matter picked up a disciple with a Heavenly Rank spiritual root. The disciple was not even four years old and was a perfect candidate for cultivation.

If such a great achievement goes unrewarded by the elder, how much better can the disciple be treated? That chubby girl shouldn't be allowed to join this sect.

"If that's the case!" The elder of the Divine Wind Sect swallowed hard and slowly said, "When I was traveling, I accidentally discovered a four-year-old genius with a high-grade Heavenly Rank spiritual root. This would definitely be a great achievement, and the sect would surely reward me handsomely. I might even have the opportunity to be promoted from a steward elder to a core elder!"

The elder of the Divine Wind Sect became increasingly excited as he spoke, finally regaining his composure, looking at Gou An, and solemnly saying, "I can give you fifty thousand spirit stones!"

"Didn't you just say you could only give five thousand?" Gou An asked back.

"I don't have many spirit stones on me!" said the elder of the Divine Wind Sect. "Therefore, I can only give you the 50,000 spirit stones later."

"Trying to get something for free?" Gou An frowned on the spot.

"No!" The Shenfeng Sect elder immediately shook his head and said, "I can only afford to give it to them after I receive the sect's reward, can't I?"

"I can consider 50,000 spirit stones!" Gou An nodded, but said with a doubtful look, "I won't give it to anyone without the spirit stones."

"But if you don't give it to someone first, I won't get the reward, will I?" The elder of the Divine Wind Sect sighed helplessly.

"If that's the case, why should I make a deal with you? I'll just go find someone who can afford it." After saying that, Gou An got up to leave again.

The elder of the Divine Wind Sect pulled Gou An back again and said, "I will give you ten thousand spirit stones first, and then I will leave a magic treasure with you as collateral."

As he spoke, he took a storage bag out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

Gou An took it and saw that there were exactly 10,000 spirit stones inside.

"What kind of magic weapon is it? Let me see it," Gou An asked.

The elder of the Divine Wind Sect flipped his hand, and a mountain-shaped seal instantly appeared in his hand.

The large seal is earthy brown, with mountains, rivers, lakes and seas carved on it, and the workmanship is exquisite.

"What is this?" Gou An took the seal and asked curiously.

"My most valuable magical treasure!" the Shenfeng Sect elder said with a pained expression, "is called the Hundred Rivers Seal! It's considered a near-high-grade magical treasure."

"Oh?" Gou An looked at the seal from left to right and found that apart from being a bit heavy, it didn't have any other special features.

"How do you use it? What are the effects?" Gou An asked again.

"Infuse it with spiritual energy, then throw it at the enemy!" the Shenfeng Sect elder replied.

"So, it's used to smash people?" Gou An asked.

The elder of the Divine Wind Sect nodded: "Once activated, this object will grow rapidly and become as heavy as a mountain. If a Core Formation cultivator is hit by it, he will either die or be seriously injured."

"But this thing doesn't seem to be worth 40,000 spirit stones, does it?" Gou An tossed the seal in his hand a couple of times. This thing was worth at most 10,000 spirit stones.

"Indeed, it's not worth that much!" the Shenfeng Sect elder suddenly said. "But after talking for so long, I still haven't seen this child with the Heavenly Rank Spiritual Root. If all the benefits are given to you, what if you run away? Who will I complain to?"

Gou An wasn't surprised by the other party's reaction. With so many spirit stones being traded, it was normal to have doubts if the goods hadn't been seen.

He then pushed the storage bag and the seal back in front of the Shenfeng Sect elder, and said, "I'll be waiting for you at the river valley outside the city early the day after tomorrow. Just come alone!"

"Also, prepare items worth 50,000 spirit stones. Cash on delivery!"

After Gou An finished speaking, he got up to leave.

Upon seeing this, the elder of the Divine Wind Sect quickly asked, "May I ask your Daoist name, fellow Daoist?"

"Master Gou!" Gou An replied, then asked in return, "And you?"

"I am True Man Yinshan!" the elder of the Divine Wind Sect replied. "Then we'll meet the day after tomorrow!"

When Gou An returned to the inn where he was staying, Fatty was fast asleep on the bed, with grease stains still on her lips and drool at the corners of her mouth.

When Gou An saw her dressed like this, he almost burst out laughing.

This chubby girl is quite carefree, but that's a good attitude. With such a personality, she can adapt to any situation and get along well with anyone she goes around.

Although selling Fatty like this... giving her away like this seems a bit shameful, but Gou An needs spirit stones, a lot of spirit stones.

With these 50,000 spirit stones, plus the 20,000 or so I already had, it would be enough for me to transform my demon core into a golden core.

Moreover, it's definitely better for Fatty to go to Da Zong than to stay with me.

Gou An kept comforting himself.

Soon, the ten-day selection process for the Divine Wind Sect came to an end, and the sect members, along with the selected disciples, boarded a flying boat and left Luoqing City.

The families of those children who were selected were naturally very happy. Not only did they receive silver as compensation, but having someone in their family join the immortal sect was also considered a great honor for their ancestors.

Moreover, after the child completes their studies, they will have the opportunity to come home and visit.

With someone in the family who cultivates immortality, who would dare to bully them in the future? Who knows, one day when the children grow up and come back, they won't be able to afford to offend them.

Those families who weren't chosen watched the flying boat slowly disappear into the sky with envy and forlorn expressions.

Cultivation is cruel; talent is something you're born with, you either have it or you don't, and it can't be changed.

That's fate!

However, Elder Yinshan of the Divine Wind Sect did not return with the flying boat, but stayed behind under the pretext of having something to do.

The next morning!

Master Yinshan arrived at the river valley outside the city, as Gou An had described, and waited there, his heart filled with excitement.

You should know that children with Heavenly Rank spiritual roots are extremely rare in the world. Even in their sect, there have been no more than ten in hundreds of years.

Not to mention the top-grade Heaven Rank, which has only appeared once in the sect's history.

This person was the former sect leader, the only one in the sect to attain immortality and ascend to heaven.

It was precisely because of the sect leader's successful ascension that the Divine Wind Sect entered the ranks of the Four Great Heavenly Sects.

If I could bring this back, it would be a tremendous contribution to the sect at this stage.

Although 50,000 spirit stones would be an asset that would take him decades to accumulate, it was still a worthwhile investment.

But Master Yinshan waited and waited, but Gou An never came. For a moment, he realized that he had been deceived.

But when I think about how Gou An didn't take anything from me, what could he possibly be deceiving me about?

Unless the other party is deliberately making fun of you, or suddenly regrets their decision and runs away?

Various thoughts swirled in his mind, making him somewhat restless for a moment.

Just as he was about to lose his composure, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Gou An leading a little girl towards him.

"Fellow Daoist, you've finally arrived!" Master Yinshan wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, while constantly glancing at the chubby little girl hiding behind Gou An.

Fatty was a little timid, only peeking out half her head to peek at Master Yinshan.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I actually arrived even earlier than you!" Gou An smiled lightly, "I was just afraid you had brought other people with you, so I checked the surrounding area before showing myself."

Upon hearing this, Master Yinshan gave an awkward smile: "Fellow Daoist is indeed cautious."

"I'm used to it!" Gou An patted the chubby girl's head, then said to Master Yinshan, "Are the things for testing spiritual roots and what I asked for all prepared?"

"Of course, of course!" Master Yinshan nodded hurriedly and took out a jade plate from his robes.

The jade plate resembles a clock, with hands, many markings, and three sections, naturally representing the three levels of spiritual roots: Heaven, Earth, and Man. It appears to be very precise.

Master Yinshan walked up to the chubby girl with a kind smile and handed her the jade plate: "Little girl, hold it with both hands!"

Fatty didn't rush to take it, but instead looked up at Gou An.

Seeing that Gou An nodded in agreement, she then took the jade plate and held it in her hands.

Then the pointer on the jade plate began to spin rapidly, drawing Master Yinshan's gaze fixed on it, and he dared not look away.

After a moment, the pointer began to slow down, eventually stopping at the Heavenly Staircase area and pointing to the far right.

"My God, my God!" Upon seeing this result, Master Yinshan couldn't help but burst into laughter, which startled Fatty Ya, who hid behind Gou An again.

"It really is a top-grade Heavenly Rank item! I've actually encountered one."

Master Yinshan could hardly hide his smile; he was so excited that his whole body trembled.

"Don't get agitated!" Gou An suddenly emphasized, "Have you prepared what I need?"

Reminded, Master Yinshan came to his senses and immediately took out a storage bag from his robes and handed it to Gou An.

"There are forty thousand spirit stones in here!" Master Yinshan exclaimed excitedly. "I specifically borrowed thirty thousand from the Spirit Storage Manor in the city yesterday!"

As he spoke, he took out the magic seal again: "This magic seal is worth another 10,000 spirit stones. This is the limit I can offer."

Seeing this, Gou An did not continue to make things difficult, after all, this was originally a free deal.

I met Fatty on the street; it cost me nothing.

Although this girl has a big appetite, she didn't eat up much of Gou An's savings.

So Gou An stored the storage bag full of spirit stones and the magic seal in his palm space.

Then, holding the chubby girl's hand, he squatted down on the ground.

"Fatty, from now on you will be going to the sect to cultivate with this old man!" Gou An said gently, "When you get there, your real life will officially begin, and you will definitely become a very remarkable person in the future."

Although Fatty was reluctant, she had already made her own preparations, just as her mother had entrusted her to Gou An back then.

"Yes, Immortal Master!" The chubby girl nodded emphatically, "I will definitely try my best!"

"And one more thing!" Gou An said with a smile to the chubby girl, "When you grow up and have cultivated your skills, if you meet me again, you must not draw your sword against me!"

"Don't worry, Immortal Master!" The chubby girl nodded and assured her, "You've treated me to so many meals, I won't forget you."

Gou An pinched Pang Ya's chubby cheeks again. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he was actually a little reluctant to part with her now that they were separated.

However, Gou An knew that he was a demon and Fatty was a human, so it wouldn't be good for her to follow him. Therefore, he didn't linger any longer and said to Master Yinshan, "Elder, I'm entrusting Fatty to you. Take good care of her."

"Rest assured, fellow Daoist!" Master Yinshan immediately assured him, "We will ensure that such a genius does not suffer any harm."

"Then I'll take my leave!" Gou An turned around and disappeared in a flash.

Master Yinshan then took out a flying boat from his robes, took the chubby girl into the sky, and headed towards the sect.