"Here, this is the Lonely God Peak of Eternal Youth Mountain, and the lair of the Longevity Heaven." The Demon Lord, with droopy eyelids, spoke in a languid and indifferent manner.
"How magnificent!"
Chu Mo showed little concern for the Demon Lord's disdain. His face showed a mix of awe and admiration, "Truly befitting the top faction under the heavens, so full of splendor!"
With that said, the excitement on his face was apparent as he charged towards the enormous mountain gate, "Longevity Heaven, here I come!"
A twitch appeared at the corner of the Demon Lord's mouth, but soon after, his expression turned into one of amusement.
"Halt!"
"Who dares to cause a commotion here at Longevity Heaven? Tired of living, are you?"
Following two harsh rebukes, two young men, both about eighteen or nineteen years old, rushed out from the towering gates towards Chu Mo. They stared down at him arrogantly, their faces filled with disdain and their eyes filled with disgust.
Chu Mo was momentarily taken aback, then he quickly cupped his hands and apologized, "Greetings, senior brothers. I am... here to seek discipleship."
"Who do you think you are calling senior brother? Who is this ragamuffin!"
"You want to seek discipleship? You?" One of the young men, who looked rather ordinary, radiated a strong air of arrogance. He looked at Chu Mo with contempt and sneered, "Little beggar, you've come to the wrong place!"
The other young man frowned and said, "Why bother talking to him? Just drive him away. Shouting about here and there, if our senior brothers see, we'll be the ones scolded."
He then coldly glared at Chu Mo, "What are you looking at? A stinky beggar like you has no place here. Get lost!"
As a young man disguised as the Demon Lord, he watched Chu Mo from afar and chuckled triumphant, shaking his head slightly as he thought: 'Chu Mo, Chu Mo, this is just the beginning!'
Do you think it's easy to enter the gates of a prestigious faction?
I will teach you with cold, hard facts that within a prestigious faction... not everyone is necessarily kind.
"Little beggar?"
Chu Mo looked surprised at the two intimidating young men, then at his own dusty but complete clothes.
He was stunned.
The Longevity Heaven in his heart... wasn't like this.
Chu Mo subconsciously glanced at the Demon Lord next to him, but the Demon Lord was busy staring at the sky.
It was as if he was focusing on several white clouds above, as if there were naked goddesses living inside them.
Chu Mo glanced at the two young men, seemingly helpless but also somewhat wronged, as he took out a dark, palm-sized wooden plate from his bosom, "I possess the token of the Seventh Elder, I really am here to seek discipleship!"
The two irate young men who were about to throw out this young man were momentarily stunned.
They glanced at the wooden plate in Chu Mo's hand, and their eyes flashed with a momentary sense of panic.
How could a disciple of Longevity Heaven not recognize the token of the Longevity Heaven elders?
One of the ordinary-looking young men's attitude suddenly spun, revealing a flattering smile, "Little brother, why didn't you mention that you have the elder's token earlier? We almost failed to recognize our own people."
"Wait here, we will report it for you immediately!"
Without waiting for Chu Mo's answer, he turned around and ran up the mountain.
The other disciple of Longevity Heaven was a step slower, his face showing regret, he felt surpassed.
He wanted to build a rapport with the young man, but he couldn't swallow his pride, so he could only stand there awkwardly.
Before long, the ordinary-looking disciple came running down, his face full of joy, he said to Chu Mo, "Little brother, come with me. The elder wants to meet you!"
The other free disciple's eyes flashed with jealousy, those who carried an elder's token to request discipleship had eight or nine chances of directly entering the inner door, and might even become the elder's personally taught disciple.
What a prestigious status that would be?
The lay disciples like them, if they could forge a good relationship with an initiate, they were bound to rise to the top in the future.
Unfortunately, such a great opportunity was snatched away by his companion.
Chu Mo nodded his head, thinking: Seems like grandpa didn't lie to me, the Seventh Elder, he truly is a sentimental man.
With that in mind, he followed the disciple up the mountain.
The Demon Lord followed Chu Mo without any expression on his face.
The two disciples of Longevity Heaven didn't stop him, and acted as if they didn't notice.
Soon, Chu Mo reached a massive square accompanied by the disciple from Longevity Heaven.
The square was so large that the end could not be seen, sprawling over hundreds of feet.
Various training equipment was placed there, and countless young people were cultivating.
Chu Mo looked curiously and thought to himself: I will soon become one of them.
Shortly after, Chu Mo and the Demon Lord, followed the disciple from Longevity Heaven, to the foot of a grand hall at the end of the square.
Looking up from several dozen stone steps, Chu Mo saw a few people standing above.
One of them, a middle-aged man, was standing in the middle, surrounded by the others.
The middle-aged man has a clean-shaven face, looks scholastic, but his eyes were deep and his expression very stern.
The Longevity Heaven disciple escorting Chu Mo looked at the middle-aged man with respect and said to Chu Mo, "This is the Seventh Elder!"
Chu Mo quickly held up the wooden token with both hands in respect, bowed, and said, "I, Chu Mo, the grandson of Fan Wudi, carry the token of the Seventh Elder. I have come to Longevity Heaven to learn and to apprentice."
These were the words his grandfather had taught him.
Upon the stairs, the stern middle-aged man slightly furrowed his brows before saying, "Bring the token over."
Someone came forward to collect the token from Chu Mo, and handed it over to the middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man was the youngest elder of Longevity Heaven... the Seventh Elder, Zhao Hongzhi!
His gaze was deep as he glanced at Chu Mo, thinking to himself: no one must ever learn about that incident from the past! Otherwise, it would cause endless trouble!
Did this little one... know anything about it?
He then raised his head to look at Chu Mo, speaking in a deep voice, "Indeed, this token... is real!"
Immediately, a look of relief settled on Chu Mo's face. He'd been worried that the Seventh Elder might deny the authenticity of the token.
It seemed now that he had been overly suspicious.
After all, what kind of place was Longevity Heaven? What kind of people resided there? How could they possibly lie?
However, the Seventh Elder's next words left Chu Mo completely stunned.
"But… your channels are blocked, your talent is even more mediocre than an average person, completely unfit for cultivation. Longevity Heaven cannot…"
"Create a precedent for a boy of such mediocre talent!"
The Seventh Elder looked at Chu Mo with an expression of impartiality: "Indeed, I shared a good relationship with your grandfather in the past."
"But that's a personal matter!"
"As an elder of Longevity Heaven, how could I neglect official duty for personal considerations?"
"Such a thing, I just cannot do!"
The moment the Seventh Elder uttered these words, the people beside him immediately held him in high regard. The disciples who overheard their conversation regarded the Seventh Elder with admiration.
An old man next to the Seventh Elder nodded with a smile, "Seventh Elder is truly fair and stern! Deserving of admiration!"
"Actually, this kid is quite handsome. If he were to stay as a page boy to serve tea or pour water... it would still be acceptable!"
The Seventh Elder shook his head: "Director Zhang, your words are misguided. Longevity Heaven is the world's number one sect! Even a mere servant who returns to the mundane world would be a renowned hero."
"If I were to allow him to stay, and he eventually returned as a useless person from Longevity Heaven..."
"It would certainly tarnish the reputation that Longevity Heaven has accumulated over a thousand years. Wouldn't I then become an infamous villain across history?"
The old man nodded in admiration after hearing this, "Seventh Elder, you are thoughtful. I must admit... I am narrow-minded."
Chu Mo's smile froze on his face. He stood dumbstruck at the foot of the stairs, gazing at the lively chatter of the people above.
He then felt as though hundreds if not thousands of gazes on the square, at that moment, were all centered on him.
"I... I am untalented? My meridians are blocked? Completely unfit for cultivation?" Chu Mo murmured, "But, but my grandfather said that I'm a cultivation genius..."
"Dare to persist in telling lies!" Seventh Elder stood on the stairs, looking down at Chu Mo, scolding him with a stern face. "What do you think Longevity Heaven is? Do you think the people here are ignorant? Can't they recognize if you are a genius or mediocre? You dare to tell lies at such a young age. Your behavior is abhorrent! I feel ashamed on behalf of your grandfather!"
With the Seventh Elder's loud reprimand, almost everyone on the square heard it.
This time, Chu Mo finally understood the taste of being the focus of public attention.
He could hear all sorts of snide remarks coming from all directions.
"Is this little guy using the Seventh Elder's token to take him as his master? He's a waste with blocked meridians? It seems that not only are his meridians blocked, but his brain too."
"What kind of place does he think Longevity Heaven is? How could they take in a waste like him?"
"His guts are not small, it's commendable courage, but he's just a little stupid!"
"What kind of people exist in this era, even ordinary mortals are so ignorant and arrogant!"
"Seventh Elder is a great model for us, impartial and upright!"
"Of course, otherwise, how could he become the youngest elder of Longevity Heaven?"
The voices of these discussions all flowed into Chu Mo's ears.
This 13-year-old young man's face was pale, standing there helpless, and said in a wronged tone, "I... I'm about to step into the Primordial Pass..."
"You still dare to talk tough at this time? With your talent... at the second level of the Yellow Rank, I don't know how many primordial medicines your elders have wasted on you! And you still think you are a genius?" A young man in his 20s standing next to the Seventh Elder sneered at Chu Mo.
The Seventh Elder sighed lightly and said to the old man next to him, the Sixth Elder of Longevity Heaven. "Many years ago, I got to know this child's grandfather. He helped me with something, so we had a bit of a connection. Every two or three years, I would send over some high-quality primordial medicines …"
"I see..." Director Zhang and the surrounding people all revealed an enlightened expression.
Director Zhang shook his head lightly and said, "Every elder is like this, willing to pay any cost for their own juniors. They always see their own juniors as the best... This boy may have stolen his grandfather's insignia and came here privately?"
A young man beside the Seventh Elder sneered, "Who knows? Maybe the grandfather and grandson are working together to use their past relationship to blackmail the master!"
"Have they even thought about what kind of place Longevity Heaven is? Can they be allowed to act recklessly?"