Wenxian City originally had a plain name. A hundred years ago, after it became the place where all the major sects recruited disciples, the city lord sent his subordinates to spread the word everywhere. After unremitting efforts, the city finally had an elegant name that ordinary people looked up to - Wenxian City.
Ordinary people are afraid of illness and poverty, and hope to be rich and live long.
Those who practice Taoism are afraid of inner demons and evil spirits, and hope to achieve great success and be able to call the wind and rain.
Becoming an immortal is what they aspire to be, the dream of countless people, and a desire that they know in their hearts but never express out loud.
There are many ways to offend the people of Wenxian City, but the fastest and most lethal method is...
"Excuse me, is this Niugou City?"
In an instant, the two vendors fighting for the stall stopped arguing, passers-by fell silent, and even the eldest sister who was about to pull her husband's ears withdrew her aggressive hand.
They all looked at the person who spoke, their eyes were cold, like a ruthless butcher who had killed livestock for ten years.
After seeing the appearance of the person asking the question clearly, the coldness in his eyes gradually melted away, and finally became tolerant.
The questioner was a little girl, wearing a green waist skirt, with fair cheeks and smiling almond eyes. Whoever those eyes looked at would unconsciously feel a little more tolerant.
"Girl, this is the Immortal City." A young man put his dirty hands behind his back, his face flushed.
"Did I read the map wrongly?" Jiu Hui opened the hand-drawn map given to her by the village chief before leaving, and frowned slightly.
"Young lady, are you here to ask for advice?" Unable to bear seeing her upset, the young man explained in a low voice: "If so, you have not come to the wrong place."
"What about this place?" Jiu Hui pointed to the three words "Niugou City" on the tattered map, and turned to look at him.
"This place was originally called this," the young man said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "It's just that it was renamed a long time ago."
"So that's how it is. Thank you for telling me." Jiu Hui bowed to express her gratitude.
The tattered map disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. The boy opened his eyes wide, looked at the girl's empty palm, and his straight back bent slightly.
Anyone who can wear and store magic weapons must have an extraordinary family background. Ordinary people like them who were born without any chance of becoming immortals dare not offend them at all.
"Walk another nine hundred feet ahead, and you will reach the place where you can ask questions of the immortals." The young man lowered his eyes, not daring to look directly at Jiu Hui: "I wish the fairy can achieve the great way soon."
Jiu Hui thanked him again and noticed that the young man suddenly became respectful to her. After a little thought, she suddenly realized that this place was worthy of being renamed "Wenxian City" as it treated people who came to seek immortality and ask for the way so politely and warmly.
It truly lives up to its name.
The closer we walked to the place the boy pointed, the more lively it became. There were small stalls on both sides of the road, and the colorful signs were shining brightly under the blessing of the formation. A cleanly dressed child squeezed in front of the pedestrians and asked mysteriously: "Do you want the secret of becoming a disciple of Jiutian Sect? What about Qinglan Sect and Yuzhen Sect?"
"I have all the secrets of becoming a disciple that are kept secret by the top fifty sects in the world of immortal cultivation."
"If the Immortal Inquiry Quick Course cannot help you join the sect, this store promises to return the money in full."
Jiu Hui looked around curiously, as if anything could attract her attention.
"Girl." Just as Jiu Hui was trying to approach a spiritual sword shop, a hand gently tugged at the corner of her clothes.
Jiu Hui looked back at the woman who was pulling her clothes. She was wearing a long Hunan-colored skirt with a star pattern embroidered on the hem. Her cheeks were slightly red and she looked a little shy.
Seeing Jiu Hui looking at her, her cheeks turned even redder, but she still mustered up the courage to explain in a low voice: "My name is Yu Luan, from Manxiang City. I saw that you were alone, are you here to visit the sect as well?"
"My name is Jiu Hui." Jiu Hui bowed and said, "I come from a remote place. The village is very far from here, so I didn't ask the elders to accompany me on this journey."
Before leaving the village, the elders stuffed a lot of things into her hands. Although they didn't say anything, she knew that she must be the hope of the whole village.
"Miss Jiu Hui, if you don't mind, why don't you come with me?" Hearing the words "remote" and "in the village", Yu Luan looked at Jiu Hui with eyes full of pity: "People come and go in the city, and people's hearts are even more complicated. If you and I go together, we can take care of each other."
Jiu Hui nodded quickly in agreement. She followed Yu Luan obediently and listened to Yu Luan telling her how complicated human hearts are.
Things like "returning home with no money", "a prescription that goes against the teachings of our ancestors", "a magical sword and magical medicine that a certain powerful person has praised", "a magical sword that was smuggled out of a large sect and sold at a low price", "selling a token of love out of anger because of a tragic ending in love", etc. are all common means of defrauding spiritual stones, gold and silver.
Jiu Hui listened with great interest and was stunned. Seeing her expression changing from time to time, Yu Luan couldn't help but laugh and said, "You don't have to be afraid, there are always many good people outside."
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Jiu Hui suddenly stretched out her wrist towards the crowd. Before she could ask, she saw a purse in her palm. She hurriedly looked down at her waist, and the purse that was originally hanging there had disappeared.
"Just now I saw that person taking it without asking, so I helped you get it back." Jiu Hui stuffed the purse into Yu Luan's hand and urged: "Sister Yu Luan, please continue to tell me, what happened to the deceived woman later?"
"She..." Holding the purse tightly, Yu Luan was grateful: "Thank you very much."
"It's just a matter of convenience, not worth mentioning." Jiu Hui suddenly stopped and looked forward: "Is that where we are going?"
Following Jiu Hui's gaze, Yu Luan saw two doors emitting purple rays of light. Behind the doors was a huge barrier, with auspicious clouds curling above the barrier and cranes singing, as if it were a palace in heaven. Countless people stepped into the left door with hope, and many people walked out of the right door with a lonely look.
"Yes, that is the Immortal Questioning Platform." Yu Luan stroked the embroidery on the purse and put it in her arms: "After entering, if you have a predestined relationship with a certain sect, you can become its disciple."
"It's fate?" Jiu Hui nodded thoughtfully: "I understand."
Yuluan suspected that Jiuhui didn't understand enough. The two walked into the gate one after the other, Yuluan in front and Jiuhui behind. Behind the gate, there were many jade plaques with golden light floating in the air. Each jade plaque was engraved with the name of the sect. If someone accidentally touched the jade plaque, the jade plaque would conveniently show the introduction of the sect and the requirements for accepting disciples, which attracted people's admiration.
Jiu Hui immediately became interested and took a few steps forward to order the jade token. Suddenly, a few red lights flashed from the door behind her, knocking a gray-robed man who had just stepped in away. The man fell heavily to the ground, spit out a few mouthfuls of blood, then hid in the crowd and fled in a panic, not even daring to look back.
"That's a demon trying to sneak into the Wenxiantai." The Wenxian City guard in charge of guarding the gate saw Jiu Hui watching this scene and patiently explained: "Everyone here is from a famous and upright sect, how could they allow these little demons to sneak into their sect."
The guard standing opposite him smiled nonchalantly: "These monsters think that they can become humanoids and join the sect like humans to learn the cultivation techniques. How stupid and ridiculous."
Jiu Hui pointed at the glittering gate and said, "Excuse me, General, the monsters can't enter these two gates?"
"Of course." Facing the pretty girl who respectfully called him "General", the guard showed a little more patience. He said proudly, "On these two gates, there are formations left by the nine major sects. No monster can escape."
"Oh? Very impressive." Jiu Hui looked up at the flickering light above the gate. The light reflected in her pupils, like stars. "But will there be monsters that evade the formation and sneak in?"
The guards smiled more and more proudly: "Monsters are lowly, how could they possibly escape the eyes of the nine great sects? Young lady, you are new here, and you don't know much about the nine great sects yet. Once you join a sect, you will naturally know."
"Thank you for letting me know." Jiu Hui had just finished her greetings when Yu Luan walked up to her and said, "Miss Jiu Hui, the sect I want to join is not far ahead. I'll go ahead and see you later."
"Okay, I wish you success in joining the sect of your choice."
Yu Luan left in a hurry, Jiu Hui stood there and watched her back, and waited until her back disappeared into the crowd before walking towards the sect jade cards floating in the air again. The nine jade cards in the front were brilliant and dazzling.
Jiu Hui's eyes slowly swept across these jade tokens, and finally fell on the corner, where a lonely jade token with a flickering firefly was floating.
Wangshu Pavilion - surrounded by mountains and water, with the water surrounding the pavilion, the moonlight is bright, and flowers bloom all year round. It is a place for leisure and quiet cultivation.
"Elder Mo, has your sect not received the disciple you want yet?" A cultivator in a green robe passed by the stall of Wangshu Pavilion and smiled politely: "Today is the last day of the opening of the Immortal Seeking Platform. Could it be that your sect has no chance to meet all the immortal seekers this time?"
"It's fate, you can't force it." Elder Mo had dark green hair, a slightly plump figure, and a friendly smile. He looked at the boys and girls behind the green-robed cultivator and said, "Congratulations to Elder Luo for finding a desired disciple for your sect."
Don't hit a smiling person. Elder Luo swallowed the unfinished ridicule and said politely, "It's just barely acceptable. The talent is getting worse with each generation."
When the boys and girls behind him heard this, their joy of joining an immortal sect suddenly faded a bit, and they all lowered their heads.
"Elder Luo is joking. I think these disciples are upright and have clear eyes and a clean and upright mind. They are all rare good disciples."
Hearing these words, the smile on Elder Luo's face became more attractive. Just as he was about to speak, a clear and pleasant female voice interrupted him.
"I would like to join Wangshu Pavilion. I wonder what your sect's requirements are for accepting disciples?"
Elder Luo and Elder Mo were both silent and turned to look at the person who spoke.
Elder Luo: The girl has pretty features, but her eyesight isn't very good. Which ambitious young person would take the initiative to join Wangshu Pavilion
While she was in a daze, Elder Mo had already sat down and looked at the little girl with a smile: "I am the elder of Wangshu Pavilion and I am in charge of the matter of accepting disciples this time."
"Hello, Elder." Jiu Hui bowed and Elder Mo happily returned the greeting. As he waved his sleeves, a jade bead appeared on the table. The jade bead emitted a faint purple light, and the dark patterns on it were faintly visible.
It looked pretty good, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances.
"This is the jade pendant of our sect. It can measure one's aptitude and can also..." Elder Mo paused and smiled more kindly: "It can also measure the fate between you and our sect."
Elder Luo, who stayed behind to watch the fun, secretly laughed in his heart. Looking at the bleak appearance of Wangshu Pavilion with so few people, if there really were people with outstanding qualifications coming to become its disciple, it could only be the blessing of the founder of Wangshu Pavilion.
Jiu Hui stretched out her palm and covered the jade pendant. The jade pendant was cool, and the moment her palm touched it, a comfortable coolness flowed along her arm and into her limbs. She looked down at the jade pendant, and it did not change at all.
It turned out to be another unqualified person who came to try his luck when Wangshu Pavilion could not recruit any disciples. Elder Luo was bored and no longer wanted to watch the fun. He was about to leave with the newly recruited disciples. Before he took two steps, he heard Elder Mo's surprised and happy shouts.
"My friend is indeed destined to be with my Wangshu Pavilion!"
Elder Luo turned his head to look at the table in front of Elder Mo. The jade bead that Jiu Hui was holding was glowing bright green. The dazzling green light made the faces of the other people around him turn the color of leeks.
The author has something to say:
Today is auspicious and suitable for breaking ground.
Wish you all good luck~~