Ten-Li Slope.

In front of the dilapidated Mountain God Temple.

"Master... is this really the mountain gate of our world's number one immortal sect?"

A young girl with long black hair tied with a red ribbon, exuding an ethereal aura, looked up at the broken temple in front of her, her expression hesitant.

The young man in a tattered Taoist robe turned around, looking at the immortal seedling he had finally managed to persuade.

Chu Xingchen's handsome face showed a hint of a sage-like demeanor as he said, "A mountain does not need to be high; it is famous if there is an immortal."

"You're still young, don't get caught up in appearances."

The girl in a pink flowing fairy dress suddenly understood:"I get it, Master! Is there actually a hidden world inside?

I read in the Chronicle of Cultivation of Mount Qi that when you open a broken door, inside it's all resplendent and magnificent!"

Li Yingling excitedly ran forward, eagerly pushing open the old, drafty door.

What she saw inside was...

A half-destroyed deity statue, with cobwebs still hanging from the beams.

The original offering table had been moved to a broken wooden board, seemingly used as a desk.

But the table was tilted, propped up with a stone.

Beside it was a simple stove made of stones, with a small iron pot on top.

Li Yingling felt like this was just a neglected, unvisited old statue.

It even looked like a place where beggars lived!

Chu Xingchen also stepped into the broken temple, his expression calm and not at all embarrassed as he said:"Stop reading those stories written by ordinary folks; they'll rot your brain.

Wait, I'll take the side panel of the deity statue for you to use as a bed. This temple is quite big; you can sleep wherever you like."

Li Yingling felt a darkness before her eyes and timidly asked:"Master... isn't cultivation supposed to be different?"

Chu Xingchen confidently replied, "Cultivation! This is exactly how it is!"

Li Yingling timidly asked, "But aren't other immortal sects all resplendent, with grand palaces floating atop towering peaks?"

"Have you seen it with your own eyes, or did some fellow cultivator tell you?"

"The stories... don't they all say so?"

"You know they're just stories. Nowadays, cultivation isn't about that. As long as you can become immortal, that's a good cultivation."

Chu Xingchen grasped the key point and said, "What do ordinary people know about cultivation? Do they understand the simplicity of the great path?"

Li Yingling weakly responded, "But... but this is too simple."

"Stop talking nonsense. Are you going to cultivate or not?"

"...I will."

Chu Xingchen sat on the wooden board, coughed lightly, and smiled slightly: "Then hurry up and kowtow to your master."

Li Yingling hesitated, reluctantly moving her feet.

But there was no turning back now.

Going home meant being married off by her father to the Second Fool of the Minister's family.

That fool needed to be fed even when eating.

On the street, he'd babble at the sight of women.

A broken temple was better than feeding the Second Fool.

Li Yingling knelt down and gave Chu Xingchen a loud kowtow, saying:"Master, I, your disciple Li Yingling, pay my respects!"

[Beginner Quest Completed: Recruit one disciple.]

[Reward Issued: Flawless Golden Core!]

[Detecting Li Yingling, spiritual root is single attribute water spiritual root]

[Issuing teaching material]

[Supreme Lunar Water Sutra of True Mystical Spirit]

[Item has been placed in inventory]

Chu Xingchen felt a sudden sense of joy.

Three years, it took three whole years to successfully recruit a disciple with system-certified qualifications!

The system required that only those with the potential to become immortal could be recognized as recruitable disciples.

Isn't that requirement absurd? An immortal seedling needs at least a second-grade spiritual root to qualify.

Not to mention such people are as rare as phoenix feathers, even if they exist, they're treasures coveted by major sects.

How could a small cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage like me find such a rare disciple?

After three years, I traveled all over the Xuanwu Kingdom with my Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Only then did I manage to trick... ahem!

Only then did I recruit my first disciple!

Using the system interface, he glanced at Li Yingling in front of him.

[First Disciple: Li Yingling]

[Cultivation Level: None]

[Gold Attribute: Cultivation Genius]

[Purple Attribute: Fortunate Luck]

[Blue Attribute: Beautiful Appearance]

Although this little girl had the intention of using me as a shield.

And I knew she became my disciple to avoid marrying the Minister's foolish son, but with these attribute entries, what couldn't be accepted?

The reason for choosing to live in this broken temple was also to lay low for a while.

This Ten-Li Slope is desolate for thirty miles around, and I barely managed to find this broken temple here.

Otherwise, who would willingly live here?

It took three days of planning to successfully bring Li Yingling out.

Finally, the beginner quest was completed!

As the sound of the quest completion rang out, a surge of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi poured in, and my cultivation level soared.

A Golden Core slowly formed in my dantian.

Li Yingling, being a single spiritual root genius, was naturally sensitive to spiritual qi fluctuations.

But she had yet to begin her cultivation journey.

She could only sense that Chu Xingchen's aura had suddenly risen a level.

"Master... what is this?"

Chu Xingchen casually replied, "Having you as my beloved disciple made me so happy that I accidentally let some of my suppressed cultivation leak out."

"Alright, you don't need to kneel anymore, stand up."

Li Yingling nodded in realization, then stood up, somewhat puzzled:"Where are the other fellow disciples? As the first sect in the Xuanwu Kingdom, I imagine Master has many disciples, right? Where are they?"

"Currently, it's just you."

Li Yingling was stunned: "Ah? Master, you..."

Chu Xingchen calmly said, "I follow the elite path, only accepting fated immortal seedlings, never accepting mediocrity."

"Can this sect still be called the first sect in the Xuanwu Kingdom?"

"Your master, I, can single-handedly sweep across the Xuanwu Kingdom, so why can't it be called the first sect?"

Oh no, I should have listened to my mother; handsome men are indeed deceivers!

If it weren't for seeing Chu Xingchen indeed opposing the Minister's family for her, this would definitely seem like encountering a fraud, if not a lunatic: "Master... please don't deceive me."

Chu Xingchen directly took out the Supreme Lunar Water Sutra of True Mystical Spirit from the system inventory.

An old, yellowed book, wrinkled and worn, appeared in his hand.

The words "Supreme Lunar Water Sutra" on the cover were all blurred together, unreadable.

He tossed the book to Li Yingling beside him.

"Just cultivate with this, and you'll know if your master is lying to you."

Hearing her master's confident tone, it must be some top-tier cultivation technique!

Li Yingling happily looked at the book's cover.

A large blob of words was unreadable.

The remaining two words.

Li Yingling was shocked as she read, "Water Sutra?!"

Then she looked at Chu Xingchen with an expression that said, "Master, you're deceiving me again."

What top-tier immortal technique is called the damn Water Sutra?

The cover is so blurred, the contents inside must be a mess too, right?

Could it be something Master picked up from a street stall?

Wouldn't cultivating it lead to a fall into the demonic path?

In the stories, which top-tier inner cultivation method doesn't come with an aura, which doesn't come with Five-Colored Divine Radiance?

If this broken book were thrown on the street, it would probably be used as toilet paper!

Li Yingling looked at the broken book in her hand and weakly asked:

"Master, how about we switch to another one?"

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan