At Shili Slope.
In front of the dilapidated Mountain God Temple.
"Master... Is this really the mountain gate of our number one immortal sect in the world?"
The fairy-like young girl with long black hair tied up by a red string looked up at the dilapidated temple in front of her, her expression showing hesitation as if she wanted to say something but held back.
The young man in a worn-out Taoist robe turned around and looked at the immortal seedling he had managed to coax over with great effort.
Chu Xingchen, with his handsome face, showed a bit of an air of an expert and said, "It doesn't matter how high the mountain is. As long as there are immortals, it will be famous."
"You're still young. Don't be misled by appearances."
The girl in a pink flowing fairy dress showed a look of sudden realization:
"I understand, Master! Is there actually something extraordinary inside?!"
"I read in the 'Qi Mountain Immortal Cultivation Story' that when a shabby door is opened, there's a magnificent sight inside!"
Li Yingling, looking excited, trotted all the way and pushed open the dilapidated and drafty door with excitement on her face.
She was full of anticipation for what was inside.
However, what caught her eye was...
The statue of the god that was half-destroyed, and the spider webs on the beams hadn't even been cleaned up.
The original offering table had been moved in front of a broken wooden board and seemed to be used as a desk.
But one corner of the offering table was crooked and was propped up with a stone.
There was also a stove simply piled up with stones beside it, and on it was a small iron pot.
Li Yingling thought that this was just a dilapidated and unvisited statue of a god.
And it also looked like a place where beggars lived!
Chu Xingchen also walked into the dilapidated temple. With a calm expression and not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed, he said, "Don't read those novels written by ordinary people from now on. It's easy to mess up your mind."
"Wait a minute. Master will take down the side board of the statue for you to use as a bed. This temple is quite big. You can sleep anywhere you like."
Li Yingling felt as if the sky had fallen and asked timidly:
"Master... Is this really what cultivating immortality is like?"
Chu Xingchen said firmly, "Cultivating immortality! It's exactly like this!"
Li Yingling asked timidly, "But aren't all the other immortal sects magnificent, with vast palaces floating above lofty peaks that reach into the clouds?"
"Have you seen it with your own eyes, or did you hear it from some fellow cultivators?"
"Isn't that what's written in the novels..."
"You also know it's from novels. Now, cultivating immortality doesn't follow that. As long as you can become an immortal, then you're cultivating well."
Chu Xingchen grasped the key point and said, "What do ordinary people know about cultivating immortality? Do they understand what 'the greatest truths are the simplest' means?"
Li Yingling said weakly upon hearing this, "But... But this is too simple."
"Stop talking nonsense. Do you want to cultivate or not."
"...I do."
Chu Xingchen sat on the wooden board, cleared his throat slightly, and showed a bit of a smile as he said:
"Then why don't you come and kowtow to worship me as your master?"
Hearing this, Li Yingling seemed a bit reluctant but still moved her feet.
But now there was no turning back. If she went home now, she would still have to be married off by her father to the second fool of the Wang family, who was an official in the Ministry of Rites.
That second fool even needed to be fed when eating.
When he went out on the street and saw a woman, he would just babble incoherently.
A dilapidated temple was better than having to feed that second fool.
Li Yingling knelt down on both knees and suddenly kowtowed hard to Chu Xingchen:
"Master, please accept your disciple Li Yingling's obeisance!"
[Newbie Task Completed: Recruit One Disciple.]
[Reward Issued: Flawless Golden Pill!]
[Detecting Li Yingling, Spiritual Root is Single-attribute Water Spiritual Root.]
[Teaching Materials Issued.]
[Supreme Taiyin Zhenxuan Ling Water Heart Sutra.]
[Items Have Been Sent to the Backpack.]
Chu Xingchen instantly felt refreshed and at ease.
Three whole years! It took a full three years to successfully recruit a disciple who met the system's qualifications!
The system's requirement was that only those with the potential to become immortals could be recognized by the system as disciples eligible for recruitment.
Wasn't this requirement ridiculous? The lowest level of an immortal seedling had to have a second-grade spiritual root to be considered an immortal seedling.
Not to mention that such people were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even if there were any, they would be treasures coveted by major sects.
As a small cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, where could he find such a blind disciple? For three whole years, with his cultivation at the Foundation Establishment stage, he had been carefully making his way through the entire Xuanwu Kingdom.
Only then did he manage to... bah!
Only then did he receive his first disciple!
He took a look at Li Yingling in front of him using the system panel.
[Eldest Disciple: Li Yingling]
[Cultivation Level: None]
[Golden Attribute: Immortal Cultivation Genius]
[Purple Attribute: Great Fortune]
[Blue Attribute: Beautiful Appearance]
Although this little girl also had the intention of using him as a shield.
And he also knew that she worshiped him as her master because she didn't want to marry the stupid son of the Ministry of Rites official, but with these attribute entries, what else couldn't he accept?
The reason why he chose to live in this dilapidated temple was also to avoid attracting attention.
This Shili Slope was desolate within a radius of thirty miles. He had managed to find this dilapidated temple here with great difficulty.
Otherwise, who would be willing to live here?
It also took him three days of planning to successfully bring Li Yingling out.
Finally, he completed the newbie task!
As the sound of the task completion rang out, a stream of heaven and earth spiritual energy poured in, and his cultivation level rose steadily. A golden pill slowly condensed in his dantian.
As a single spiritual root genius, Li Yingling was naturally very sensitive to the changes in spiritual energy.
But after all, she hadn't yet started cultivating immortality.
She could only sense that the aura on Chu Xingchen had suddenly risen by a notch.
"Master... What's going on with you?"
Chu Xingchen casually replied, "I'm so happy to have taken you as my beloved disciple that a bit of my suppressed cultivation accidentally leaked out."
"Alright, you don't have to kneel anymore. Get up."
Li Yingling nodded with a look of sudden understanding and then stood up. She asked with some confusion:
"What about the other fellow disciples? As the number one sect in the Xuanwu Kingdom, I guess Master has recruited quite a few disciples. Where are they?"
"Currently, you're the only one."
Li Yingling was stunned upon hearing this: "Ah? Master, you..."
Chu Xingchen said calmly, "I'm taking the elite route. I only recruit fated immortal seedlings and never accept the mediocre ones."
"Then can this sect still be called the number one sect in the Xuanwu Kingdom?"
"Your master can sweep across the Xuanwu Kingdom all by himself. Why can't it be called the number one sect in the Xuanwu Kingdom?"
Oh no. She should have believed what her mother said. Handsome men are always good at lying! If Li Yingling hadn't seen that Chu Xingchen had indeed opposed the Wang family, who was an official in the Ministry of Rites, for her sake, this would have looked like she had encountered a liar or a lunatic:
"Master... Please don't lie to me."
Chu Xingchen directly took out that "Supreme Taiyin Zhenxuan Ling Water Heart Sutra" from the system backpack.
An old, yellowed book, all wrinkled, appeared in his hand.
The words "Supreme Taiyin" on the cover were all smeared and couldn't be clearly seen.
Fortunately, the remaining three words were still crystal clear.
He directly threw this book to Li Yingling beside him.
"You cultivate this one. Once you do, you'll know whether your master has lied to you or not."
Hearing the master's extremely certain tone, it must be some top-notch immortal cultivation technique!
Li Yingling happily looked at the cover of this book.
Most of the words on it couldn't be seen clearly.
The remaining three words.
Li Yingling read them out in shock: "Water Heart Sutra?!"
Then she looked at Chu Xingchen with an expression that seemed to say "Master, you're lying to me again".
Which top-notch immortal method was called the damn Water Heart Sutra?
This was too shabby! Since the cover was so blurred, wouldn't the content inside be a mess?
Could it be that the master picked it up from some roadside stall? Wouldn't cultivating with it cause one to go mad from Qi deviation?
In the novels, which of the top-notch mental cultivation methods didn't come with an imposing aura and colorful divine light when they appeared?
If this tattered book was thrown on the street, it would probably be taken by people to use as toilet paper!
Li Yingling looked at the tattered book in her hand and asked weakly:
"Master, how about changing to another one?"