The Green Leaf Sect's cultivation doctrine focused on freedom and ease, carefree and unrestrained.
As for its disciples, rewards and punishments were clear-cut, without favoritism or partiality, treating everyone equally. Even the teachings of the Dao could be chosen freely; so long as one could cultivate, there were never any restrictions.
Thus, whether they had falsely claimed to be descendants of Green Leaf or harbored ulterior motives, everyone who came to the Green Leaf Sect felt extremely comfortable. Those disciples who eventually left the Green Leaf Sect would always tell others, "The years I spent in the Green Leaf Sect were the happiest time of my life. If not for lacking aptitude or encountering a bottleneck in cultivation and being sent down the mountain, I would gladly have stayed in the Green Leaf Sect for the rest of my life. If there is a next life, I would still wish to become a disciple of Green Leaf."
Chen Ganliu handed over the Green Leaf Spirit Talisman and registered smoothly, without the slightest hurry. He was assigned lodging and told to await the examination seventeen or eighteen days later.
The place where he lived was a mountain terrace with fifty or sixty rooms. Once there, he needed only take a slightly deeper breath to feel spiritual energy flooding his body. The Azure Emperor Jia Yi Art surged like a tide, far stronger than cultivating outside the mountain by who knew how much. Tears immediately filled his eyes.
"The Immortal Encounter Sect is far stronger than the Green Leaf Sect. It has a full twelve True Yang Realm cultivators and dozens in the Spirit Embryo Realm, yet how miserly is it?"
"In my previous life, I was a Servant Disciple. I didn't even have the qualifications to breathe in a mouthful of spiritual energy."
"But the Green Leaf Sect lets even those who haven't officially joined yet, merely descendants of Green Leaf who came to seek instruction, bathe in such dense spiritual energy. It truly lives up to its name—the Green Leaf Sect, where a thousand kinds and myriad bonds enter the Green Gate, and one leaf clings to it forever."
After sighing with emotion, Chen Ganliu seized the time. He returned to his lodging and bitterly cultivated.
Even if he failed to join the Green Leaf Sect, at least he would not waste such an opportunity. Outside a celestial sect like this, there was no such abundant spiritual energy.
The other descendants of Green Leaf who had come to seek instruction had never experienced three lifetimes as a person and two lives of cultivation. They therefore did not feel the same urgency as Chen Ganliu. Once settled in, they went around making friends, exchanging details about their family backgrounds and seeing whether they could draw upon friendships formed several generations ago.
Chen Ganliu secluded himself to cultivate, conveniently avoiding this "ordeal."
Twelve or thirteen days passed in the blink of an eye. Fewer and fewer young people came up the mountain, and the mountain terrace where Chen Ganliu lived was already nearly full.
After all, although the Green Leaf Disciple Recruitment Season lasted a full month, no one seeking entry into a celestial sect would truly wait until the final day to climb the mountain. Everyone came early.
The dozens of young people had not known one another for long, but in theory, their families had shared connections several generations back. Thus, they got along harmoniously, often inviting one another to banquets and drinks, and most had become quite familiar with each other.
Even someone as "antisocial" as Chen Ganliu had long since learned these people's identities, backgrounds, and names. They had even exchanged some anecdotes about their respective ancestors.
Chen Ganliu did not dare use his own "name." He borrowed his senior female disciple's surname, claimed to be surnamed Nan, and fabricated the courtesy name Sixing.
The moment he gave this surname, these descendants of Green Leaf subjected it to rigorous genealogical research, filling in seven or eight generations of his ancestors and tracing him back to a great cultivator in the Spirit Embryo Realm.
The Green Leaf Sect's equal treatment was genuinely fair. Even descendants of Old Ancestor Zhenyang, if unable to make progress in cultivation, would be sent down the mountain to marry. Even if a great cultivator in the Golden Core Realm or Spirit Embryo Realm had descendants who amounted to nothing, those descendants still could not loiter on the mountain. This was one of the reasons the descendants of Green Leaf felt devoted to the sect.
The ancestors they dug up for Chen Ganliu nearly scared him into wetting himself. A Golden Core Realm cultivator could live for several hundred years, while a Spirit Embryo Realm cultivator could live for a thousand. That great cultivator surnamed Nan in the Spirit Embryo Realm had yet to pass away. If word got to him that a junior surnamed Nan had come to seek instruction, what would Chen Ganliu do if they investigated?
Aside from that, however, the Green Leaf Sect had no recorded person surnamed Nan. He did not dare refute them either, or his little black toad feet would be exposed on the spot. He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.
He could not even keep a low profile. Among these descendants of Green Leaf, his cultivation was the highest.
After all, reaching the second layer of Qi Condensation and boiling liquid into qi was certainly not something achieved by luck.
Moreover, people had discovered that he was highly skilled in talisman arts. They often came to his door seeking advice. Chen Ganliu was tormented by the interruptions, yet he could not coldly turn them away. The atmosphere in the Green Leaf Sect was simply too pleasant; he could not afford to be antisocial.
As Chen Ganliu counted the days, finding each one unbearably long, he was just thinking of entering seclusion for several days to avoid socializing when he heard a commotion outside. He had no intention of joining the spectacle, but several people called his name repeatedly.
Helpless, Chen Ganliu could only walk slowly out of the room. He saw a young woman in a pale green dress surrounded by the crowd, her smile as radiant as flowers, her brows dark as misty green hills, as though someone had just painted them. She was looking this way and that.
Chen Ganliu's mind thundered. He regretted only one thing: why had he reported his real name to that girl back then?
Although the Green Leaf Sect never nitpicked over such things, these "descendants of Green Leaf" still had to keep their disguises intact. If his identity were truly exposed, it would be terribly awkward, and he feared he would be unable to remain on the mountain.
A boy with a face flushed bright red ran over, grabbed Chen Ganliu, and whispered, "Come quickly and pay your respects to Young Ancestor Yang."
Chen Ganliu could only lower his brows and droop his head as he stepped forward to salute. Yang Xuesheng could not help laughing and said, "Little grandson, this Old Ancestor has run into you again."
Yang Xuesheng was also quite puzzled. Why had Chen Ganliu come to the Green Leaf Sect to seek instruction?
Generally speaking, disciples who had already joined another sect could not be accepted by the Green Leaf Sect, even though it opened its doors wide. After all, the original sects had their dignity to preserve. Taking in disciples so indiscriminately could easily breed friction.
She beckoned and said, "Stay by my side for now. When I have some time, I'll ask you a few things."
Chen Ganliu also had some questions, but he certainly did not dare ask them. How had Yang Xuesheng, clearly the only daughter of the great demon Yang Shiyilang and the Young Mountain Master of Jinyun Mountain, become the little ancestor of the Green Leaf Sect?
Yang Xuesheng had come to inquire whether these descendants of Green Leaf had encountered any inconvenience living on the mountain and how their preparations for the examination several days later were going. This was routine business for the Green Leaf Sect, so after making one circuit, she took Chen Ganliu away with her.
The other disciples of the Green Leaf Sect secretly envied him. They thought, So Brother Nan's backing is this solid. Those of us who called him Brother Nan have already gotten our foot in the door, while those who never called him that must be regretting it now, right?
Yang Xuesheng led Chen Ganliu a long way. Once no one was nearby, she asked with a beaming smile, "Why have you come to the Green Leaf Sect to seek instruction again?"
Chen Ganliu hurriedly said, "I've never taken another master."
Yang Xuesheng asked in surprise, "Aren't you a disciple of the Spiritual Gate? Then where did this cultivation of yours come from?"
Chen Ganliu hurriedly replied, "The person who taught me the Dao refused to take me as a disciple, so I have remained unaffiliated and without a sect."
He had not lied in the slightest. The person who taught him the Azure Emperor Jia Yi Art was the Dao companion of someone who had paid respects to the ancestor and was officially acknowledged by the Immortal Encounter Sect.
Yang Xuesheng nodded slightly and said, "I see. Our Green Leaf Sect does not forbid such a thing. Since you have no sect, you haven't violated the rules. Don't do anything foolish in the future, and I'll recommend a good master for you when the time comes."
A thin sheen of cold sweat formed on Chen Ganliu's back. He thought, Who would have thought I could get past even this?
Unable to suppress his curiosity, he asked, "Sister Sheng, how did you come to become a disciple of the Green Leaf Sect as well?"
Yang Xuesheng giggled. "What? Can't the Little Fox Immortal become a disciple of a celestial sect?"
I got up this morning and started writing, and I've written until now—the first chapter is finally done...
I've decided that if I don't finish writing the second chapter, I won't eat breakfast...
A little black toad working this hard needs monthly-ticket encouragement...
Before you continue