Chapter 244: Recruiting Disciples
The true body's golden core was stored within his avatar. Because of this, Gu Mo's cultivation level had dropped sharply. Yet, though his cultivation had collapsed, this did not mean his true body's combat strength had collapsed as well.
After all, most of Gu Mo's combat power was built upon plants.
It was precisely because he had the plant battlefront as a safeguard that Gu Mo dared to store away his golden core. Were it any other golden core cultivator, storing away their core would be no different from courting death.
"Disciple, the recruitment of disciples for our Myriad Arts branch will be entrusted to you." While Gu Mo was in the midst of reconsolidating his golden core, he suddenly received a transmission from his master, Qi Chunde.
It was now the season when every great sect was widely recruiting disciples, and naturally, Shennong Valley was no exception. At this moment, in the mortal city under the Valley's domain, it was said that countless young boys and girls of suitable age had gathered. In addition, some rogue cultivators with cultivation already in hand also held strong intentions of joining Shennong Valley.
The other branches of Shennong Valley had developed over many years, with thriving populations, while the Myriad Arts branch was newly established. At present, its members were only Qi Chunde, Gu Mo, Xiaohua, and Xiaoli—two humans and two beasts.
This opening of the mountain gates was the best opportunity for the Myriad Arts branch to recruit new disciples.
"Xiaoli!"
Putting away the transmission talisman, Gu Mo called out. Before long, a glittering golden koi, glowing faintly with golden light, swam over. By now Xiaoli had already reached the peak of Tier 3 as a great demon, yet she showed no signs of attempting a breakthrough.
Gu Mo suspected the cause might lie with himself. Xiaoli was his spirit pet, and by principle, a spirit pet could not surpass its master in strength. This restriction existed to prevent rebellion or the breaking of the contract.
Since Gu Mo was still at the golden core stage, Xiaoli was naturally unable to break through. Unless Gu Mo dissolved their contract, she would never surpass him. Without that restraint, Xiaoli might have had the hope to do so.
But when Gu Mo had mentioned it to her before, she immediately burst into tears, thinking he wanted to abandon her. It had taken a long time to coax her back.
This showed just how deeply Xiaoli relied on Gu Mo. Before meeting him, she had been nothing more than an ordinary pseudo-spirit beast. Only after meeting him had she begun to change and steadily grow stronger.
Since Xiaoli refused to let go of their bond, Gu Mo did not insist. After all, Xiaoli's battle power was never part of his plans anyway.
"Come on, let's go have some fun!"
Gu Mo patted the koi's head and then had her carry him toward the mortal city under Shennong Valley, ready to recruit some disciples.
These disciples were not to be taken as direct disciples in the sense of master-disciple inheritance. Rather, they would be outer sect or service disciples. Once they joined the Myriad Arts branch, the branch would provide what they needed for cultivation.
Of course, if any particularly outstanding talents were found, they might be taken in by Master Qi Chunde as inner disciples of Shennong Valley.
As for Gu Mo himself, being a true disciple, if he chose to take disciples, those disciples could directly become inner sect disciples. In Shennong Valley, only elders and true disciples had that privilege. Other golden core cultivators' disciples could only be outer sect disciples.
Back when Qi Chunde had accepted Gu Mo as his disciple, Gu Mo should by rights have entered as an outer sect disciple. But because his cultivation was already at the golden core stage, he had skipped the outer sect entirely and entered directly as an inner disciple.
Qianye City.
This mortal city, located within Shennong Valley's sphere of influence, had become unusually lively in recent days, with countless people flocking in from all directions.
Everyone hoped for a chance to be noticed by immortals from Shennong Valley and to join the sect.
"Another immortal has descended!"
When Gu Mo rode Xiaoli into Qianye City, countless gazes turned to them. Though this immortal's mount was a bit unusual—not the celestial cranes or flying swords people imagined—but it was undoubtedly an immortal.
"It's the Koi Immortal!"
The rogue cultivators in Qianye City grew excited when they saw the golden koi landing upon the Gathering Immortal Platform. With the spread of intelligence regarding the Heavenly Chosen Battle, news of Gu Mo had spread far and wide as well, including his title as the Koi Immortal.
Gu Mo descended onto the Gathering Immortal Platform, a place set aside for Shennong Valley disciples to rest. Those in charge of recruiting disciples from each branch were already gathered here.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Gu Mo!"
Seeing him arrive, the Shennong Valley disciples on the platform all rose. Most were golden core disciples responsible for the recruitment, while they themselves were merely inner disciples. Facing Gu Mo, a true disciple, they naturally lowered themselves a notch.
And none harbored dissatisfaction, for Gu Mo's performance in the Heavenly Chosen Battle was enough to silence any protest.
"Senior Uncle Wei Yang, are you in charge of recruitment again this time?" Gu Mo smiled and greeted the crowd, spotting a familiar face.
It was Wei Yang, disciple of his grandmaster Hou Chunyu.
"Cough, cough. Junior Brother Gu Mo, please don't call me Senior Uncle, just call me Senior Brother." Wei Yang waved his hand. That "senior brother" was granted only because of Qi Chunde; otherwise, by rights, he would have to call Gu Mo "senior brother."
"Senior Brother Wei Yang, when does the recruitment begin?" Gu Mo did not fuss over the address. This sort of muddled hierarchy was common in the cultivation world, especially around rapidly rising prodigies.
"Now that you've arrived, we may begin." Wei Yang smiled. With Gu Mo's status, his word set the timing.
"Good. This is my first time here, so I'll be relying on you, Senior Brother." Gu Mo nodded. As for the exact procedure, he wasn't very clear, so he left it to Wei Yang.
"No problem!"
Wei Yang nodded, well-versed in the matter.
At once, he struck a great bell upon the platform. Its reverberations rolled across Qianye City, and the entire city erupted in excitement. Everyone knew that when the immortal bell rang, it meant the Shennong Valley's disciple recruitment ceremony had officially begun.
In the next moment, countless people surged toward the plaza below the platform, waiting to undergo the immortals' testing. The city had deployed large numbers of guards to maintain order.
Soon, Shennong Valley's outer sect disciples brought out the artifacts used to test for spirit roots, checking each of the gathered youths one by one.
"Junior Brother, there's no rush. Let's wait until after the first screening before we take our pick." Seeing Gu Mo's divine sense sweep across the crowd, Wei Yang chuckled.
For anyone wishing to set foot on the path of cultivation, spirit roots were a hurdle that could not be avoided. This was now the stage of spirit root screening. Wei Yang meant that Gu Mo could save his attention for after the filtering, when only the most promising remained.
As a top-tier sect, Shennong Valley naturally had its own methods of testing for spirit roots, with very little chance of missing anyone. If no roots were detected, it meant the person truly had none.
"The probability of detecting spirit roots isn't low," Gu Mo observed after watching a while, noticing the ratio was about one in a thousand—already a high rate.
"Junior Brother, you might not know—many of these people had already tested themselves before coming. Most of those who arrived from afar confirmed they had spirit roots before making the trip," Wei Yang explained.
Those who came unprepared, simply hoping, were mostly locals of Qianye City. But those who had traveled hundreds or thousands of miles had already taken simpler tests to avoid a wasted journey. For mortals, such long travel was perilous.
"This time, thanks to your dazzling performance in the Heavenly Chosen Battle, far more outsiders have come than usual," Wei Yang remarked with emotion.
Yet his words were not entirely accurate. For even though Gu Mo's avatar had shone brilliantly—one could even say dazzlingly—in the Heavenly Chosen Battle under the banner of the Grand Yan Sword Sect, that sect's recruitment ceremony had turned out quite ordinary.
Of course, compared to previous years, this was already an excellent turnout, but it clearly did not match the performance of Gu Mo's avatar.
The reason was simple: the foundation of the Grand Yan Sword Sect was lacking. In the eyes of outsiders, Gu Mo's avatar was already a cripple. This meant the Grand Yan Sword Sect had no future either.
One could say that, to the outside world, the Grand Yan Sword Sect was nothing more than a leaking ship—no one knew when it would sink.
Under such circumstances, naturally, few were willing to join the Grand Yan Sword Sect.
By contrast, although Gu Mo's true body had not shone as brightly as the avatar, his sect—the Shennong Valley—was one of the top three righteous sects. Its heritage and foundation could not possibly be compared to the Grand Yan Sword Sect.
Though the number of disciples seeking to join the Grand Yan Sword Sect was small, Xuan Tianhen was already very satisfied. At least compared to previous years, this year's situation was far better.
Besides, while others thought his disciple was crippled, Xuan Tianhen knew very well that his disciple was perfectly fine. When he once again revealed his brilliance, he would absolutely shock everyone.
"Are you willing to enter the Grand Yan Sword Sect?"
Because the number of applicants was small, the Grand Yan Sword Sect quickly completed the spiritual root testing. For the Grand Yan Sword Sect, anyone with a spiritual root would be accepted—they no longer had the luxury of being choosy.
"We are willing!"
Nearly a hundred youths who had been tested to have spiritual roots responded in unison. To take in almost a hundred disciples at once was without doubt a joyous occasion for the Grand Yan Sword Sect.
Xuan Tianhen immediately led them into the mountain gate. With this, his task was complete. The responsibility of supervising their cultivation naturally fell to the Transmission Hall.
In addition, if any of the sect's elders took a liking to someone, they could also accept them as personal disciples.
As for Xuan Tianhen himself, he no longer planned to take on more disciples. After all, his disciples had always been targets for the demonic sects. Aside from Lin Wu, all his other disciples had been killed by the demonic sects' plots.
Now, his only goal was to protect this one surviving disciple. When he grew strong, he would surely become the demonic sects' nightmare.
After Xuan Tianhen left, among the nearly hundred new disciples was a fair-skinned youth whose eyes held a trace of ferocity.
"You killed my disciple. Even if you are a cripple, I will grind your bones to dust!" the fair youth roared inwardly.
It was obvious that this appearance was but a disguise. His true identity was that of a Nascent Soul elder of the Yin Corpse Sect. His disciple was the Yin Corpse Sect true inheritor whom Gu Mo's avatar had slain during the Heavenly Chosen Battle.
He had painstakingly nurtured that disciple, waiting for the day he would mature and provide feedback to help him advance further.
But during the Heavenly Chosen Battle, that disciple had been directly cut down by Gu Mo's avatar. This was tantamount to cutting off his path forward. How could the Yin Corpse Sect elder not be enraged?
To vent his fury, he used a secret art to disguise himself as a youth, sneaking into the Grand Yan Sword Sect through their recruitment ceremony.
He knew full well the Grand Yan Sword Sect lacked heritage, and that Xuan Tianhen's investigative methods as a sword cultivator were limited. Had it been any other sect—especially a top-tier one—he would never have dared such a thing.
Even so, this operation had been meticulously planned. Killing Gu Mo's avatar was not only for revenge—there was also a generous reward to be claimed. That was the true reason he was willing to strike.
"Would you be willing to take me as your master?"
While the Yin Corpse Sect elder was pondering his next move, one of the Grand Yan Sword Sect's elders approached him. After all, the youth he disguised as displayed outstanding talent, and naturally some elders would want to take him as a disciple.
"I am willing! Disciple greets Master!"
The fair youth quickly bowed. If he wanted to find his target, he needed to mix into the upper ranks of the Grand Yan Sword Sect, and becoming an elder's disciple was an excellent path.
"Good, good!"
Hearing this, the elder laughed in delight.
"Snatched from under us again."
Other elders who arrived shortly after could only sigh helplessly.
"Master, do you know of Senior Brother Lin Wu?" the fair youth asked with a look of deep admiration.
"You must call him the Sect Master."
The Grand Yan Sword Sect elder chuckled.
"Master, could you bring your disciple to meet the Sect Master? It was because I saw the Sect Master's performance in the Heavenly Chosen Battle that I came here." The fair youth gazed at the elder with eyes full of yearning.
"This…"
The elder hesitated slightly. He knew the Sect Master's condition was not good, and disturbing him might be disrespectful. But seeing how his newly accepted disciple admired the Sect Master so much, if he refused, wouldn't that dampen the youth's enthusiasm?
This was the perfect time to show off his own connections as a master. He couldn't afford to falter here.
"In that case, I will ask on your behalf."
Finally, the elder nodded.
"Thank you, Master!"
Seeing how easily he could get close to his target, the fair youth's eyes flickered with excitement. Given his target's current state, as long as they met, he could subdue him instantly.
At that time, he could take him away alive and slowly torture him. If he brought him back alive, wouldn't the reward be even greater?
"Come, the Sect Master has agreed to see you."
A short while later, the elder waved, leading the fair youth toward the main hall of the Grand Yan Sword Sect.
"To think I have admirers now."
Recalling the elder's request just now, Gu Mo's avatar agreed to meet this newly recruited disciple. Since he had joined the sect because of him, it was only right to meet him. With his talent, he was worth taking seriously.
Right now, the Grand Yan Sword Sect was desperate for talent. A gifted disciple naturally had to be valued.
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