The Dragon King Realm has three great sects, not to say that there are only three sects in the entire empire, but that there are only three sects that are known and respected; namely the Scarlet Flame Gate in the Northland, the Mad Sand Sect in Lincheng and the Shelter Sect on Huashan Mountain.
Among the three, the one closest to the imperial capital is the Shelter Sect, which is less than three hundred miles away. If flying with a sword, it can be reached in half a day.
Chen Mo and his party rode on horses, and even if they were in a hurry, it still took them three days to arrive at the entrance of the Shelter Sect mountain.
"That's the Shelter Sect, isn't it? It looks even grandiose."
Fu Bo dismounted, and couldn't help but pat his old back. He was already in his sixties, and the entire journey was so bumpy it nearly took a toll on his health.
Originally, Fu Bo intended for the young people to take care of themselves, but Chen Mo insisted that he come. As a result, he had no choice but to comply with the arrangement.
Along with Fu Bo, Chen Mo was accompanied on this journey by Zhang Long and Liu Wuxin.
Zhang Long dismounted and took a look around the surroundings, finding it calm and uneventful. Although he was younger than Fu Bo, the latter had spent most of his time at the Chen household, rarely going out. In contrast, Zhang Long had traveled through the Nine States in his youth, and his experiences far surpassed those of Fu Bo, who had spent a lifetime as a house steward, and he had also gained more knowledge.
"We have arrived."
Chen Mo quietly called out, and the Liu Wuxin sitting in front of him only then remembered that they were riding the same horse, and they were extremely close to each other. She could even hear his heartbeat.
Throughout the journey, Liu Wuxin had been tense, gripping the reins tightly. Though shy, she found herself quite attached to the feeling of being in Chen Mo's arms. It was only when his voice saying 'We have arrived' reached her ears that she snapped back to reality.
"Oh, is that it?"
Liu Wuxin felt a bit downhearted. She wanted to stay in Chen Mo's arms for a bit longer.
Chen Mo dismounted and casually helped Liu Wuxin down.
Under the foot of Mount Huaxian, there stands a towering stone tablet inscribed with the three big characters 'Daoshan Sect' in vermilion. Behind the tablet lies a straight flight of stairs leading to the top of the mountain.
As the party prepared to ascend the mountain, two youths in white robes suddenly appeared and sized up Chen Mo and his companions. They then coldly bellowed, "This is Daoshan Sect. Who are you? State your name immediately!"
Fu Bo had never seen such a scene before. Scared by the cold rebuke, he trembled and immediately ducked behind Zhang Long.
Chen Mo stepped forward, took out the token given to him by the empress of the Tianlong Royal Empire, and presented it to the two youths in front of them. "I am Chen Mo, a person sent by the Female Emperor of the Tianlong Royal Empire. Please take a look at this token."
Upon hearing this, the two youths leaned in to take a closer look, after which one of the disciples dropped a "Wait a moment" and ran up the mountain in a hurry. He returned fifteen minutes later, with a different expression on his face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our sect leader would like to see you."
Chen Mo nodded slightly and followed the white-clad disciple up the mountain, with Fu Bo and Zhang Long following suit.
Liu Wuxin was about to follow when she noticed the other disciple guarding the mountain gate staring at her with a gaze that made her nervous. She backed up several steps.
Click.
At this moment, Chen Mo's big hand reached out and grabbed her little hand, "Come on, don't lose track."
With those words, Liu Wuxin's tension immediately melted away. She lifted her head and stared at the back, feeling the warmth spreading from the palm of her hand. In an instant, she felt a sense of security.
"Wuxin, over these three days, whenever you had a moment to spare, you were practicing the Zao Hua Gue. Have you made any progress?"
Chen Mo's casual question brought Liu Wuxin out of her daze.
"It's quite difficult, but I've managed to understand some of it. I can already try to make qi circulate through the eight veins for a full day now..."
The Zao Hua Gue, as a royal entry-level cultivation technique, is not comparable to ordinary cultivation techniques. It's very difficult to be taught one-on-one, but Liu Wuxin has extremely high talent. After thinking about it on her own for some time, she was able to practice it as if she had been trained by a master.
"You can now be called a qualified Ninth-level martial artist. In terms of strength, you are even stronger than me. So, from now on, you don't have to be so afraid of other people's gazes. If anyone bullies you, just hit back... If you are afraid of everything and something happens to me in danger, who will save me?"
As Chen Mo smiled and turned to look at Liu Wuxin, she was taken aback. Her teeth lightly bit her red lip, and her eyes suddenly became resolute, her two-colored eyes.
"I will no longer be like that in the future, brother. Wuxin will protect you."
"Um."
Chen Mo nodded with satisfaction.
Without realizing it, the group had already reached the top of the mountain. Endless mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, towering palaces dotted along the way, and a square capable of accommodating thousands of people could be seen in the distance.
In the center of the square, there was a raised platform, on which stood a tall stone tablet densely inscribed with ancient runes, very similar to the awakening platform in the capital.
Around the stone tablet, there were also a group of people. The middle-aged man leading them had a serious expression, commanding a group of teenagers to go up one by one, as if they were testing something.
"That is my Daoshan Sect's spirit veins tablet. Anyone who wishes to join the Daoshan Sect must undergo a spirit vein test. If their spirit vein grade can reach the middle-grade spirit vein or above, they are all welcome to join our sect; coincidentally, today is the last day for our sect to recruit disciples. People have been fewer recently compared to today... Would you like to take a look?"
The white-robed disciple smiled lightly, turned back to look at Chen Mo, and said, "I see you're just about the age to awaken your spirit vein. Why don't you try it?"
Chen Mo looked at the white-robed disciple with his eyes, a slight smile on his lips, and said, "Alright, it's just that I also think that the awakening platform in the capital might not be very accurate... Fu Bo, you'd better come with me. Zhang Long and Wuxin can stay here."
"Ah? Me?"
Fu Bo pointed at himself, a bit helplessly, "Master, I'm over sixty. You want me to have my spirit vein grade tested... isn't that too..."
"Otherwise, do you think I brought you all the way here for no reason?"
Chen Mo smiled slightly, took Fu Bo's hand, and walked towards the stone tablet on the raised platform.
The white-robed disciple led the way, dispelling several teenagers who were about to go up; although Daoshan Sect also had those who walked through back doors, such blatant queue-jumping was indeed damaging to the reputation of Daoshan Sect. The middle-aged man on the platform frowned slightly, displeased and opened his mouth, but saw the former immediately say: "It's the master's order."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately shut his mouth with a sense of tact, and the noisy disciples below also fell silent.
It's no wonder that the master of Daoshan Sect would personally open the door for someone who is obviously talented.
It is said that the highest talent awakened by Daoshan Sect is the Imperial Spirit Vein, perhaps the talent of that youthful disciple does not surpass it, so he would have earned the favor of the sect master and been allowed to cut in line.
A series of expectant glances were directed at Chen Mo, who stood on the platform. He felt a headache and had no choice but to bite the bullet and place his hand on the spirit vein tablet...
