The Quest for Immortality

In the Taixu Gate, everything was ancient and magnificent.

The clouds and mist were resplendent, brimming with immortal presence.

A wide and long jade stone path stretched up the mountain, like a stairway to heaven, leading directly to the summit.

The path served as a hub, flanked by numerous cultivation structures: pavilions, terraces, towers, palaces, and courtyards, all steeped in an antique charm, shrouded in misty white fog, seemingly saturated with the passage of time, adding to their substantiality.

As Mo Hua walked among them, he felt purified of worldly dust, his mood became serene, and his Divine Sense was much more at peace.

Shangguan Xu led Mo Hua to several lofts on the right side, greeted a few cultivators who might be either Instructors or Elders, exchanged a few words, and went through some procedures.

Afterward, Mo Hua had to be examined by several Elders.

This included his Blood Qi, meridians, Cultivation Technique, Divine Sense, and more.

This kind of inspection utilized a spiritual artifact resembling a glaze mirror, instead of having the Elders look with their Divine Sense.

Disciples from the noble clans, with their familial Daoist Skills and Cultivation Techniques that often descend from their ancestors, naturally wouldn’t allow others to probe into their secrets, especially those high-reaching Elders.

Otherwise, the inheritance could easily be leaked.

The purpose of the Sect is to convey the teachings and instruct disciples, not to steal inheritances. Elders rashly probing the foundations of disciples would commit a great taboo within the Sect.

In the Qian Xue State boundary, where noble clans were numerous and their inheritances strictly guarded, this was particularly emphasized.

Thus, such inspections could only be conducted with standardized spiritual artifacts.

During the check, they also stopped at the slightest indication.

The sole purpose was to see whether the disciples had impure Blood Qi or chaotic meridians, whether their techniques aligned with the Righteous Dao, or if their Divine Sense harbored any evil spirits...

This was only to prevent disciples from straying into the Demon Path or becoming possessed by madness—nothing more.

When Mo Hua was illuminated by the glaze mirror, the Elders looked and nodded in approval.

A clean Taoist Heart, pure breath.

A good-hearted little cultivator, sincerely devoted to the Dao.

It was just that... his aptitude was indeed a bit poor...

Also, the images in the mirror were a bit blurred, as if disturbed, some details hard to discern.

But as long as he was a sincere little cultivator, that was enough.

Having been admitted into the Sect, things like aptitude were beyond their purview, and they could not be bothered to care.

"That will do," said an Elder.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, Mo Hua’s Storage Bag was also inspected.

This was mainly to ensure that disciples entering the Sect did not bring any improper items up the mountain.

Such as dangerous Runes, prohibited Pills, and irregular Formations...

Especially any Evil Artifacts associated with the Demon Path.

The Taoist Court had established clear laws, with a definitive line between Righteous and Demon Paths.

Manufacturing, privately possessing, or even using an Evil Artifact was a grave offense.

If a disciple was discovered to have hidden an Evil Artifact, their admission to the Sect could be revoked, or they might even be taken to the Taoist Court to be dealt with as Demon Cultivators.

Their families would also be implicated.

Therefore, everything related to Demon Path Skills, Daoist Skills, and spiritual artifacts were not condoned by the Taoist Court, nor by the Sects of the Righteous Dao.

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Beyond these items, there were also some contraband...

Some disciples would secretly keep certain age-inappropriate paintings and Jade Slips that could muddle the Taoist Heart...

This wasn’t considered a serious mistake, as they would simply receive a mild reprimand from the Elders.

However, these paintings and Jade Slips would definitely be confiscated and not returned.

Finally, to Mo Hua’s surprise, Spirit Stones were a concern.

There was a limit to how many Spirit Stones one could bring into the Sect—just enough to cover daily cultivation expenses.

This was to prevent rich noble clans from indulging their disciples by bringing large quantities of Spirit Stones into the Sect, potentially leading to favor-currying, bribery of instructors, extravagant competition, and creating a corrupt atmosphere within the Sect, which would severely damage the spirit of pursuing the Dao.

Therefore, most Sects would limit the amount of Spirit Stones a disciple could bring into the Sect.

Mo Hua had never heard of this limitation on Spirit Stones.

He worried that the "fortune" of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones he had saved and acquired from killing bandits might be too much and not allowed through the Sect gates.

Then he realized that his concerns were misplaced...

After all, bringing only "so many" Spirit Stones already qualified him as being very "frugal and simple"...

Mo Hua was stunned; it dawned on him that even the smallest hair from a noble clan was thicker than his entire being...

"The wealth disparities in cultivation are just too great...", Mo Hua lamented.

The contents of Mo Hua’s Storage Bag were all very ordinary, clean items.

The truly important things, such as the Heaven Yan Jue technique and the Five Elements Formation Flow Map with its peculiar Source Patterns, were all kept in his Storage Ring.

The Storage Ring was a gift from his master and invisible to others.

After the Elders finished their inspection, they returned his Storage Bag to Mo Hua.

However, perhaps pitying the meagerness of Mo Hua’s Storage Bag, with so few Spirit Stones, and him being a Loose Cultivator, one Elder felt a touch of sympathy and offered a few words of comfort:

"Being a bit short on Spirit Stones doesn’t matter."

"Once you’re in the Sect, as long as you work hard, you can stand on your own two feet, earn some Spirit Stones, enough for your cultivation needs..."

Earning Spirit Stones by standing on his own...

Mo Hua paused for a moment.

Did that mean... he could still "shear the Sect’s wool"?!

If he worked diligently, shearing more, did that imply that his entry into Taixu Gate would not only cost nothing but also potentially turn a neat profit?

Taixu Gate truly was a great place!

Mo Hua’s eyes sparkled, and he said with a beaming smile, "Thank you, Elder!"

The Elder nodded slightly, inwardly praising him.

Poor but steadfast, not losing the aspiration to reach the clouds, an optimistic and uplifting Loose Cultivator, a promising young man...

Afterward, the procedures were completed.

Mo Hua received a new Storage Bag.

This Storage Bag was much better than what he had used before, larger in space and more robust and stylish, marked by the distinctive emblem of the Taixu Gate.

It was a pattern with black and white swirling in an Eryi design.

Eryi mixes with Chaos to give rise to Taixu.

The more Mo Hua looked at it, the more he liked it.

Inside the Storage Bag were a set of Taixu Gate disciple’s Taoist Robe, some Pills, a few Tao Cultivation Canons, and a Taixu Token.