Longevity starts with learning

Early in the morning.

The bell rang nine times, and the gate of Changsheng Mountain opened.

There were already crowds of people outside the gate.

Countless scattered cultivators from all over the world gathered outside the gate of Changsheng Mountain early in the evening, waiting for this moment to come.

According to past practice, Changsheng Sect recruited new disciples in the opening ceremony, and they were divided into two categories: art and law.

And this art and law are not magic and skills.

The so-called art refers to the hundred arts of cultivating immortals, and the so-called law refers to the hundred arts of non-cultivating immortals.

At the opening ceremony, all the monks who worshipped the mountain can only choose one category as their goal and participate in the worship assessment.

Choosing art is to assess the hundred arts of cultivating immortals, focusing on skills and understanding, and not on aptitude.

Choosing law is to focus on aptitude and understanding, and there are also great restrictions on age.

According to the Changsheng Law, except for some extremely special cases, all disciples who participate in the law must be under ten years old, and their spiritual root qualifications must be dual-attribute earth spiritual roots, or above earth spiritual roots... heavenly spiritual roots, special spiritual roots.

As for the art, there is no age limit or qualification limit. Even if you are very old, as long as you have superb immortal arts and extraordinary comprehension, you can pass the art assessment and join the Changsheng Mountain Gate as an outer disciple of the Changsheng Sect.

In addition to the art and law, according to convention, the Changsheng Sect will also recruit a certain number of guest elders every time.

There are even fewer restrictions on the recruitment of guest elders.

There is no age limit or qualification limit. You only need to have reached the foundation-building stage and have a unique talent or specialty in a certain aspect.

For example, the hundred arts of cultivating immortals, such as true meaning, such as having a special bloodline, a special physique...

As long as you have it, it is basically a foregone conclusion that you will become a Changsheng guest elder and enjoy a certain degree of treatment as a Changsheng Sect disciple, and have the support of the Changsheng Sect, this behemoth.

Of course, no matter whether it is a technique, a law, or a guest official, the core assessment is to check one's conscience, that is, to confirm that the recruit has no ill intentions towards the Changsheng Sect.

If there is no problem with this, there will be subsequent assessments. Otherwise, no matter how excellent the qualifications are, it is obviously impossible to join the Changsheng Sect.

Obviously, the Changsheng Sect's founding ceremony has only one purpose, that is, all the talents in the world will enter Changsheng!

This founding ceremony is naturally no exception. In fact, for various reasons, the scale of this founding ceremony has become larger, and the impact is naturally more far-reaching.

And with the nine rings of the bell, the mountain gate opened, and this founding ceremony officially kicked off.

Technique, law, guest official.

Three steps to heaven appeared under the Changsheng Mountain Gate, and each step to heaven was crowded with people.

Teams of disciples in Changsheng robes shuttled through them, and under one scolding after another, they maintained the order of this founding ceremony.

In the sky, there are still several Jindan elders from the two functional departments of internal affairs and law enforcement standing in the air, intimidating all the monks participating in this opening ceremony.

Above the clouds, there is still a towering palace looming, and a man in a green shirt stands in the palace of the true teaching, overlooking all living beings.

The Nine Veins Conference has ended long ago, but for Chu Mu, a conference presided over by the leader of the Changsheng Sect, attended by the leaders of the nine veins, and participated by the Yuanying Taishang of each vein, no matter how special he is, it is obviously impossible for him to have any say.

For several hours of discussions, except for the attention of the Yuanying at the beginning, he was almost transparent throughout the whole process.

Judging from the results of the Nine Veins Conference, Changsheng Sect's peeping at the Ancient Heavenly Palace is a foregone conclusion.

In the next trial of the ancient heavenly palace ruins, Changsheng Sect will mobilize twenty Jindan real people, one hundred foundation building, and one thousand Qi training monks as the first team to explore the ruins.

The second and even third batches will depend on the exploration of the Tiangong ruins by the first team.

Although he was transparent in the Nine Veins Conference, the Nine Veins Conference was originally caused by him, so it is obviously impossible for him to stay out of it.

As the only true disciple who had come into contact with the ancient Tiangong ruins and successfully escaped, he was naturally given an important task.

A right that he could not resist but was quite hot...

Chu Mu's eyes were dim, and his fingertips moved lightly, and a flawless white scroll was suspended in his palm.

The scroll was pure white, with auspicious clouds and white patterns on it. Mountains and ravines, towering immortal mountains, were all outlined with white patterns, lifelike.

In the corner below the scroll, a few auspicious cloud characters were engraved, and the four words "Master of Changsheng" were extremely clear.

Chu Mu raised his hand and the scroll slowly spread out to both sides. On the cloth scroll, there were several lines of characters, like engraved imprints, which were breathtaking. Below the characters, there was a trace of sword marks. Even the naked eye could tremble with fear!

Sect Master's Decree!

Holding this decree, it was as if the Sect Master was present in person.

And the specifications of this decree...

All those below the Changsheng True Transmission must obey his orders unconditionally!

In other words, he held this Sect Master's decree, and except for the few at the top, all the rest of the human and material resources of the Changsheng Sect were under his control.

The power was undoubtedly far beyond the power of the Changsheng True Transmission.

After all, the dignity of the True Transmission was more about the status.

Although the real power was not small, it was obviously a world of difference compared to this decree.

According to the content of this decree, he needed to be fully responsible for... the selection of the first batch of personnel to explore the ruins of the Heavenly Palace, and the subsequent corresponding training.

After the Nine Veins’ Great Meeting, this huge and hot power, along with this Changsheng decree, fell upon him.

After the change of identity, he seemed to be helpless again and drifted with the tide...

"Huh..."

Chu Mu took a deep breath, forced himself to suppress the discomfort in his heart, and then looked at the decree of the Changsheng Sect Master, his eyes also tended to be calm.

He raised his hand and pointed, the spread scroll closed, and with a roll of his sleeves, the scroll decree was put back into his pocket.

At this time, two escape lights soared into the sky and dissipated into the clouds. Two Jindan elders from the Changsheng Internal Affairs Hall and the Law Enforcement Hall bowed and said: "Reporting the true teachings, the opening ceremony is ready."

"Let's start."

Chu Mu nodded slightly, and his deep eyes were also fixed on the steps to heaven under the Changsheng Mountain Gate.

Skills, laws, and guest officials.

The three subjects of recruiting talents are not much different from the secular dynasties' opening of the examinations.

The three steps to heaven are for questioning the heart.

All the monks who participate in the three-category recruitment must step on the three steps to heaven.

The ninety-nine steps are for questioning the heart, the traces, and the past.

This level is to ensure that those who worship the immortal sect will not have bad intentions, and it is also a screening for all monks who worship the mountain.

For example, the origin, background, and even the past will be clearly revealed under the torture of these ninety-nine steps.

For the monks who worship the mountain, as long as they do not have bad intentions towards the immortal sect, they will basically not be eliminated at this level.

At this moment, as the bell rang, the sea of ​​monks rushed onto the three steps to heaven almost instantly.

At the same time, the true order hanging on Chu Mu's waist also rippled.

Presiding over the opening ceremony, all the authority of the opening ceremony will naturally be transferred to his hands.

This true order is the core of controlling all the authority of the opening ceremony.

Chu Mu's mind moved slightly, and the True Transmission Order was suspended. With a touch of his finger, an interface that did not exist on the True Transmission Order also appeared.

The interface was called the Mountain Opening Ceremony.

On the interface list, the line of the Heavenly Steps was already filled with countless figures flashing.

Chu Mu raised his finger and pointed, and one of the figures quickly turned from illusory to solid. In the blink of an eye, a projection screen was formed and appeared.

In the screen, there was a white-haired old man.

Every time the old man stepped on a step, a series of rapidly flashing pictures appeared.

In the screen, the old man's name, past, and even his memorable experiences were roughly revealed.

In just a few breaths, this old man was revealed in front of him without any secrets.

The old man's name was Yan Xunshan. He was born in Yanyun City, Yanbei County, Da Chu. He had three spiritual roots and was not outstanding, but he was a direct descendant of the Yan family, a local immortal cultivation family.

There are three foundation-building cultivators in the Yan family, who have been entrenched in Yanyun City for thousands of years, and have already begun to take shape.

Yan Xunshan's father is one of the three foundation-building elders of the Yan family.

With such a family background, his practice is naturally much smoother than that of ordinary casual cultivators.

It happened that the Yan family was preparing to expand the family's foundation, and he also had some talent for refining weapons, so he was selected by the Yan family as a refining seed to study the way of refining weapons.

According to the predetermined fate, Xunshan might have gone on step by step like this, and everything should have been smooth sailing.

In the end, perhaps he would achieve foundation building and become a refiner of the Yan family, guarding the Yan family's inheritance for hundreds of years.

But as the saying goes, there are unexpected changes in the world. Yan Xunshan was only in the late stage of Qi training, and the civil strife in Da Chu broke out extremely abruptly, and in just a few months, it eroded most of Da Chu's cultivation world.

The tranquility of Da Chu's cultivation world also collapsed in an instant.

The Yan family was affiliated with the Nanshan Li family, so they were naturally recruited and incorporated into the banner of the Righteous Alliance.

In the early days of the war, the Righteous Alliance was surging, and the army was heading straight for the northern border. The Yan family also reaped the benefits of the war, and its patriarch even jumped up and became a Jindan elder of the Righteous Alliance.

But with the departure of the Hanhai Chen family, the good situation of the Righteous Alliance was lost in one day!

As part of the Righteous Alliance, the Yan family naturally could not escape this reincarnation.

The Jindan ancestor, the pillar of the family, disappeared in the chaos, the soul lamp was extinguished, and several foundation-building elders died. The Yan family, which was at its peak, was instantly broken.

After retreating to Jingmen, they survived with the only foundation-building elder in the family.

But with the outbreak of the Jingmen War, the Righteous Alliance was defeated again, and the Yanyun Yan family, which was already surviving, was undoubtedly completely disintegrated and became history from then on.

Although Yan Xunshan managed to escape, without the support of his family, it would be a stretch to call a mere Qi-cultivating cultivator an ant in this great situation.

After escaping from Jingmen, he lived a life of being wanted by the Changsheng Sect and hiding from place to place.

After decades of tossing and turning, he finally reached the stage of foundation building. He wanted to return to the Righteous Alliance and revive the reputation of the Yan family, but with the tragic defeat of the Righteous Alliance in the Battle of Nanshan and the demise of another giant, Yan Xunshan finally recognized the reality and dared not use the name Yan anymore. He changed his name to Yunshan and wandered around in the Great Chu Immortal Cultivation World.

It was not until the Changsheng Sect pacified the southwest and pardoned the world that many cultivators like Yan Xunshan, who were barely considered remnants of the Righteous Alliance, were pardoned. Only then was Yan Xunshan able to appear in the Great Chu Immortal Cultivation World in a fair and open manner.

After that, he moved around many times and served as a guest elder in some business houses and trade alliances. Until more than 30 years ago, he followed a business alliance to the Seven Cities of Beidou and saw the grand ceremony of the founding of the Changsheng Sect. He then had the idea of ​​joining the Changsheng Sect.

According to common sense, with Yan Xunshan's cultivation and age, participating in the guest examination is the most correct decision.

But he is unwilling to be a guest, and he wants to truly join the Changsheng Sect. His skill is the art of refining, and this is the third time he has participated in the Changsheng Sect's art examination.

The picture freezes, and Chu Mu raises his finger, and the scenes of Yan Xunshan's previous two participations in the art examination also emerge.

Although the art examination has fewer restrictions, it is even more stringent than the law examination in terms of talent.

For those who participate in the art examination, after passing the Tongtian level, there is only one level left.

For example, Yan Xunshan chooses the art of refining, so he only needs to show his own refining skills.

The Changsheng Sect sets the questions, starting from the lower-grade magic weapons, step by step.

In the end, it is the best to be admitted.

If it is a guest examination, whoever has a higher grade of weapon refiner will be admitted.

However, the superiority of the art subject is much more complicated. There is even a set of systematic weight rules in the evaluation rules.

That is, talent has the greatest weight, followed by spiritual root qualifications, age, refiner grade, and finally cultivation...

In such a set of rules, whoever has the best talent, the highest spiritual root qualifications, and the youngest at the same time is the best.

For someone like Yan Xunshan, who has basically no training prospects, it may not be difficult to enter the guest assessment and become a guest elder of the Changsheng Sect, but for the art subject, competing with countless young people of amazing talents is basically destined to be eliminated.

The same rules basically apply to the law subject.

Even for a behemoth like the Changsheng Sect, it will consider the gains and losses.

If you want to get the resources of the Changsheng Sect, you must have the talent and qualifications worthy of this resource training.

Otherwise, you can only be a Changsheng guest, or sign a contract with the Changsheng Sect without any guarantee, and work for the Changsheng Sect on various battlefields, exchanging your life for a few insignificant resources.

"May I ask the True Transmission, how will the quotas for the two subjects of Art and Law be allocated for this disciple recruitment?"

At this time, a Jindan elder from the Law Enforcement Hall suddenly asked.

"What is the previous practice?"

Chu Mu was slightly startled, then he rolled up his sleeves, the projection screen broke, and he said one sentence.

"Reporting to the True Transmission, according to the previous practice, the quotas for the two subjects of Art and Law will be half and half."

"Let's follow the previous practice."

Chu Mu nodded.

"I will obey the True Transmission's order."

The man bowed and turned away.

Chu Mu's eyes moved and fixed on the Tongtian Steps again.

After passing the Tongtian Steps, it is the classification assessment of the three subjects of Art, Law, and Guest.

The Art and Guest subjects are basically the assessment of the hundred arts of immortal cultivation.

For example, Yan Xunshan has ignited the true fire and started to refine a test instrument.

The test instrument is weird and tricky, almost covering a considerable part of the characteristics of the lower-grade instruments, which can be called a show of skill.

But his weapon refining skills were mediocre, and he had not made much progress in decades, and his showmanship was not distinctive.

This time, his fate of being eliminated was almost certain.

Chu Mu looked around. In the entire art examination, each batch of 10,000 cultivators took the examination, but even if he picked one out of a million, he did not see anyone who made him shine.

However, in the guest examination, there were several foundation-building masters, who were quite distinctive. Obviously, most of them had escaped the scope of copying others and had some master style.

He looked around a little, and as his eyes moved, they were fixed on the place of the law examination.

Compared with the art examination, the guest examination was busy, and the law examination was much calmer.

Passing the ninety-nine steps of the heart-searching step is the spiritual root test.

The selection criteria for earth spiritual roots have long been well known. Those who can enter the law examination are naturally earth spiritual roots and above.

The so-called spiritual root test is more of a subdivision of the spiritual root qualifications. At this stage, as long as the qualifications reach the spiritual root, it is equivalent to having the possibility of joining the Changsheng Sect.

As for whether one can really join the Changsheng Sect, it depends on the subsequent assessment.

The subsequent assessment is not cumbersome, just one level, that is, to test the understanding.

And the questions for this level of understanding test, according to the practice of the Changsheng Sect, are set by the true disciples who presided over the opening ceremony.

This time, he presided over the opening ceremony, and this question that needs to test understanding was naturally set by him.

At this moment, the Fa Ke monks who passed the Tongtian Steps and the spiritual root test, under the arrangement of the Changsheng Sect disciples, went to the side of the Changsheng Mountain Gate to wait.

If they pass the last level, they will cross the Changsheng Mountain Gate, pass Feilai Peak, and go to Tianyang Square, and officially become a member of the Changsheng Sect.

One step away, a short distance, but every time, for many people, it is a distant luxury that is difficult to cross in a lifetime.

This time, of course, was no exception.

The quota of 9,000 disciples is divided equally between the two branches, Art and Law.

In other words, the Law Branch will only recruit 4,500 new disciples.

And now, the assessment has just begun, and there are already nearly 10,000 disciples who have passed the spiritual root test of the Law Branch.

On the steps to heaven, where the spiritual root test of the Law Branch is held, there are still countless young children, who are stepping into this cruel selection under the gaze of expectant eyes outside the mountain gate.

There are also countless pleading eyes, looking up at this towering palace of the True Transmission floating above the clouds, praying that the existence above the clouds overlooking all living beings can give some mercy and some luck...

Time passed by little by little, and the original hustle and bustle outside the Changsheng Mountain Gate gradually calmed down. An unspeakable depression seemed to descend on the hearts of countless cultivators.

The assessment of the art department was still proceeding in an orderly manner, and page after page of lists were presented to Chu Mu one after another.

The assessment of the law department, however, still stopped at the last level. For the fairness of the assessment, it was necessary to start the last level of the assessment after all the disciples of the law department had been screened, and the assessment was conducted together to ensure fairness and justice.

For a full ten days, the art department and the guest assessment had ended one after another, and the screening of the law department was just coming to an end.

Outside the Changsheng Mountain Gate, the crowds of people did not decrease at all. On the contrary, because the assessment was coming to an end, the crowds were even more surging.

Countless cultivators gathered here, waiting for the final results to be announced, and witnessing one lucky person after another.

At this moment, outside the True Transmission Palace, several Jindan elders from the Law Enforcement and Internal Affairs Halls also stood respectfully.

Chu Mu took up his pen, and in front of him, the list of guest officials and the list of the two subjects, the art subject, had already appeared.

Densely packed names appeared on the silk, and after each name, the results of their assessment were clearly marked.

There were a thousand guest officials, not counting the quota.

There were four thousand five hundred art subjects, among the nine thousand quotas.

Names came into view one by one, and with the flow of his spiritual consciousness, images appeared in his spiritual consciousness.

After a long time, Chu Mu slowly put down his pen.

When the pen fell, a white list fell from the sky above the Changsheng Mountain Gate, and appeared in the vision of countless cultivators outside the mountain gate.

As Chu Mu's pen stroked, one by one, the marked names appeared on this roll of the Changsheng list.

One after another, the names of the people who had appeared in the eyes of countless people were once again heard by countless people.

Outside the gate of Changsheng Mountain, the originally oppressive silence was instantly broken by the chanting of names.

The noisy cheers rose and fell like the tide, and the various forms of life were vividly reflected in the appearance of these names, under the gate of Changsheng Mountain.

From dusk to sunset, thousands of names were finally presented on this roll of the list.

In the palace, Chu Mu was about to write, but in the end, he slowly put it down. The densely packed first page list circled only one in a hundred, and after that, there were many more pages of lists, and the number of people circled was even fewer.

A Jindan bowed and asked: "May I ask the true disciple, has the list been finalized?"

"It has been finalized."

Chu Mu nodded.

"Please respectfully invite the true disciple to come down to test and teach, and recruit talents for our sect!"

At this time, under the mountain gate, all the immortal disciples bowed and worshiped, and the shouts went straight to the sky.

At this moment, countless cultivators also looked up at the clouds, some were nervous, some were expectant, and some were heavy...

Chu Mu stepped on the clouds, and under the gaze of countless cultivators, the blue shirt waved his sleeves, and the sky and the earth changed color, and the clouds and mist broke.

But there seemed to be an invisible great force gathering, and the broken clouds and mists reunited and intertwined, and the strands were twisted and crisscrossed.

In just a few short breaths, it turned into a cloud and mist text of about several feet in size, hanging in the sky, and also reflected in the vision of countless cultivators.

"To comprehend this text, one stick of incense is the limit."

The voice was long and reached the ears of the cultivators present. At the same time, a green incense was also hung on the side of the text. The curling green smoke seemed to have a shocking effect. In an instant, the noise dissipated and it was silent.

At the place of the law examination, one child after another looked up at the sky, and strands of spiritual consciousness soared into the sky, instantly covering the cloud and mist text...

...