Daoist Arts Are Not Easily Imparted; Entry Requires a Test

While it was described as shrouded in mist, Zhong Bai personally felt that "haunted house" was a far more accurate description.

After all, that chilling sensation, enough to make his hair stand on end, threatened to engulf him at any moment.

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Bai continuously tried to steel his nerves.

"You all should think carefully. As you can see, this is a haunted house, which this old Daoist suppressed three years ago.

If you don't enter, there's no danger.

Those who enter, your lives are your own!"

Everyone swallowed nervously, and several of them were already having second thoughts. Their families were quite wealthy, and they had only come to Maoshan to try their luck; they hadn't expected to truly put themselves in harm's way.

Zhong Bai glanced around, seeing the hesitation on their faces, but he didn't scorn them.

After all, not everyone bore the blood feud of their parents like him, understanding that this was his only chance!

Without hesitation, Zhong Bai stepped inside.

As Zhong Bai was the first to enter the house, several people from behind him quickly followed suit.

No matter the era, there's never a shortage of fearless individuals...

Upon entering the house, an oppressive ghostly aura assailed him. Zhong Bai felt a jolt run through his entire body, and the fear from deep within his soul was magnified infinitely at that moment.

His rationality told him that this place was extremely dangerous and he should leave immediately.

But… Zhong Bai gritted his teeth, not heeding the fear originating from the depths of his soul.

However, just as Zhong Bai was gradually getting used to the chilling sensation, a sharp female voice suddenly rang out.

"Why?!

On my wedding night, why accuse me of adultery, of being impure and unchaste?

Hahaha, now, they want to force me to hang myself, no, I'll drag your whole clan down with me!"

In an instant, the sound of shattering vases and sharp, mocking laughter, accompanied by an overwhelming blaze, seemed to engulf everything.

Zhong Bai was plunged into a deep sense of powerlessness at this moment.

He wanted to stop all of it, wanted to tell himself it was all an illusion.

But when the raging flames surged towards him, Zhong Bai still felt the burning pain!

The pain was indescribable; he watched himself burn, his clothes incinerated, his skin cracking and bleeding, turning charred and stained with blood…

In just a moment, Zhong Bai fell unconscious.

He didn't know how long had passed. When Zhong Bai awoke from his unconsciousness, the sun was already setting.

There was no one else beside him. Among the youths who had ascended the mountain with him, he was now the only one left in Maoshan.

"Awake?"

Drowsily, Zhong Bai heard True Immortal Qianyuan's greeting, imbued with Daoist charm.

His eyes snapped open. What met his gaze was no longer the mountain gate, nor the haunted house, but rather a grand hall.

Above the hall hung a plaque: Hall of the Three True Lords Mao!

Slowly standing up, Zhong Bai found that everything that had happened to him inside the house felt like a distant memory.

He looked up.

The atmosphere in the hall was incredibly solemn.

Seven elders sat facing each other in two rows, with an empty seat at the head of the hall.

"Tsk tsk, Senior Brother Qianyuan, it's your Law Enforcement Lineage's turn to recruit disciples this year. I never expected that amidst the great sifting, you'd find a young man with such a temperament.

My Corpse-Driving Lineage is truly envious; I really want to snatch him from you, Senior Brother!"

"Junior Brother Changsheng, what you say is wrong. Didn't you also take in a promising young one two years ago?

What was his name... Four-Eyes, that's right. We didn't interfere then.

This old Daoist's Law Enforcement Lineage is prone to offending people and has very few successors, so I can't give him up."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Qianyuan, with Junior Brother Changsheng's limited abilities, he wouldn't dare challenge you."

"Alas, Senior Brother Lin of the Talisman Lineage truly understands this junior brother's sorrow!"

As the others joked, Zhong Bai in the hall felt a bit at a loss.

He understood that he had gambled correctly this time and should have earned the opportunity to study in Maoshan.

However…

Even so, he still had no say in his own placement.

He could only wait for these Maoshan True Monarchs present to decide with a single word!

"Young man, you've heard everything that was just said. My Daoist name is Qianyuan, and I am the chief enforcement elder of Maoshan's Law Enforcement Hall.

Your temperament is acceptable. Today, this old Daoist intends to take you as a disciple. Do you have anything to say?"

Zhong Bai froze, a huge surge of joy washing over him. He respectfully kowtowed three times.

"Disciple Zhong Bai greets Master!"

"Not bad at all. You know when to advance and retreat, and you have perseverance. The Law Enforcement Hall needs exactly your kind of character. Now that you've formally become my disciple, follow me to the Law Enforcement Hall."

True Immortal Qianyuan stood up, flicked his hand, and a streak of light instantly landed on Zhong Bai.

With a whoosh, True Immortal Qianyuan vanished from the spot, taking Zhong Bai with him.

Inside the Maoshan Law Enforcement Hall.

After Zhong Bai returned with his Master, True Immortal Qianyuan, his gaze fell upon the large purple drum enshrined in the center of the hall.

It wasn't that Zhong Bai was being overly dramatic; it was simply that the purple drum before him was truly extraordinary and mysterious.

Streaks of purple lightning coiled around the drum, suspended in the void. Even with Zhong Bai's current lack of experience, he could tell that this item was undoubtedly an incredible treasure!

True Immortal Qianyuan naturally noticed his disciple's gaze.

He chuckled softly. "Zhong Bai, you have good eyesight. Do you know what this is?"

Zhong Bai shook his head. "Zhong Bai does not know. I ask Master to enlighten me."

"This item is called the Kui Niu Drum!

Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor crafted a drum from the hide of a Kui Niu, using its bone as a mallet. With one beat, it could shake eight hundred li, bringing forth rolling thunder and invincible divine power."

"Hiss!"

Hearing such a legend and seeing the actual item, Zhong Bai's astonishment was immense.

"However…

The Kui Niu Drum before you now is not the one crafted by the Yellow Emperor.

While the Kui Niu is precious and hard to find, the one the Yellow Emperor captured and killed was the ancestor of all Kui Niu, which is why it could shake eight hundred li with one beat.

This Kui Niu Drum of our Maoshan was crafted from a Spirit Transformation Realm Kui Niu killed by the 36th generation patriarch of the Law Enforcement Hall a thousand years ago.

Though it is far inferior to the Yellow Emperor's Kui Niu Drum, it can still shake dozens of li with one beat!

Its power is so immense that only a Nascent Soul Dao Lord can wield it."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai became thoughtful.

"Master, then, does Maoshan have a Nascent Soul Dao Lord?"

True Immortal Qianyuan's gaze suddenly faltered. He swallowed, then gave Zhong Bai a somewhat annoyed glance.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't aim too high.

Currently, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is thin, and the environment for cultivation is far worse than a thousand years ago.

Let alone a Nascent Soul Dao Lord, even Golden Core True Monarchs are extremely rare. I have cultivated for a hundred years and only just reached Foundation Establishment Peak.

Of course, there might be a Nascent Soul Dao Lord residing within the blessed land of Maoshan…

But who knows?"

Zhong Bai nodded. Indeed, thinking too far ahead was useless now. His Master's talent should be quite good, yet even he took a hundred years to reach Foundation Establishment Peak. As for himself… cough cough he felt a bit laughable.

"Alright, you'll slowly learn about these things later. Since you've officially become my disciple, you should start cultivating as soon as possible.

Today, I will first teach you the Body Tempering Technique to strengthen your physique and cleanse your body. Otherwise, you won't even have the right to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth…"

"Disciple understands. Please bestow the technique, Master!"