The Foremost of All Beings

That night.

The Heaven's Mandate Bureau held a grand banquet.

At the same time, Li Mo learned that the young master with the Wind Purity Body talent was named Zhou Zheng, and the ice and snow beauty was named Zhao Huaxue.

Everyone had a preliminary introduction and got to know each other.

However, the most eye-catching person present was not these two, but an old man in his sixties. Several of his teeth had fallen out, and his hearing seemed to be failing, but he was no longer delirious and was calmly recounting his experiences.

"This old man is Zhang Guoyin, a fisherman from Zhang River."

He sighed deeply.

"When I was young, I followed my father to Anle City once. I remember it was also the Dragon Boat Festival. Upon learning that the Heaven's Mandate Bureau required five strings of cash to test spiritual root aptitude, we hesitated for a long time. My father ultimately couldn't bear to spend the five strings of cash. So many years have passed, and it has always been a deep regret in my heart. Recently, Zhang River flooded, and many people were lost. I came here this time to prove that I am not useless..."

Now Li Mo finally understood why he cried and laughed, falling into delirium, after his spiritual root was detected.

It was a pity that with his remaining lifespan, even if he had a spiritual root, it was unlikely he could achieve much.

To Li Mo's left sat Lu Tianyou, and to his right sat a lively and cute-looking girl with two ear-loop buns. She revealed two dimples when she smiled at Li Mo.

"Hello, my name is Zhu Yidan."

"Hello, my name is Li Mo."

They smiled at each other.

As they had just met, they didn't say much after nodding and smiling. The banquet soon ended amidst everyone's laughter.

The next day.

It was a massive flying boat, about twenty zhang long, slowly docking in the backyard of the Heaven's Mandate Bureau.

Everyone boarded the flying boat.

As the flying boat slowly ascended, Li Mo's heart pounded, feeling a bit nervous.

A moment later.

He sat at the edge of the flying boat's cabin, looking down at the earth from high above. He was incredibly excited but tried hard to control his emotions to avoid being laughed at.

However, Li Mo clearly worried too much. He wasn't the only one who had never ridden a flying boat.

As the flying boat sped through the clouds, many people shouted excitedly. Not everyone had Li Mo's composure. Most of them were just children who had recently come of age, had never left Anle City, and were merely half-grown kids.

Li Mo's knowledge might not match some of them, but his temperament was definitely not comparable to these youngsters.

The journey from Anle City to Qingming Mountain was a full several hundred li. The route was mostly rugged mountains, which would take about two days even at a gallop, and seven to eight days on foot at best, or half a month at worst. However, the flying boat only took about two hours to cross several hundred li and arrive at Qingming Mountain.

"Wow!"

Exclamations erupted from the flying boat.

Li Mo also came to the edge of the flying boat's deck to look out.

He saw that on the mountaintop, soaring into the clouds, were countless magnificent buildings. Some even shot out pillars of light that formed mysterious and unfathomable arrays in the sky. The ground was distributed in a pattern of mixed and clustered settlements, divided into dozens of courtyards of varying sizes.

In the center of these courtyards was a massive plaza.

A giant tree, a hundred zhang tall, grew in the plaza. Countless spiritual birds nested on it, circling the glowing giant tree.

The scene was breathtakingly beautiful, like a fairyland, no wonder it elicited everyone's exclamations.

Li Mo, standing in such a beautiful fairyland, also felt refreshed and deeply moved, unable to speak for a long time.

As the flying boat slowly landed, everyone, led by several cultivators, disembarked one by one and stepped onto the ground.

Li Mo felt instantly enveloped by dense spiritual energy!

Although the density of spiritual energy here was far from that within Spirit Stones, it was far beyond comparison to the outside world. It even gave him a slight sense of oppression, as if countless spiritual energies were continuously converging here from all directions.

"Lingmu Sect."

Li Mo noticed a huge stone tablet in front of him with "Lingmu Sect" written in large characters, and a line of smaller text below.

"Respecting the Dao of the Primacy of All Things, Man is the essence of heaven and earth, the chief of all things. Heaven and earth give birth to all things, all for human use."

Li Mo had heard from Han Kui and Lu Tianyou that each country had its own orthodox tradition.

And the orthodox tradition that Gan State followed was the Dao of the Primacy of All Things.

He then looked at the giant tree in the distance.

On the canopy of the hundred-zhang-tall giant tree, not only countless spiritual birds nested, but spiritual energy, visible to the naked eye, continuously dripped down like raindrops, merging into the ground and disappearing.

The clear, foolish eyes of the dumbfounded crowd immediately drew laughter from two gate-keeping young disciples.

Just then, a middle-aged man in his forties, who seemed to be the cultivator responsible for receiving Li Mo and the others, walked over. The cultivators who had led Li Mo and the others here earlier stepped forward to salute him.

"Uncle-Master Ding, this year, there are fifty-one people detected with spiritual roots in Anle City. One of them has a special spiritual body named Zhou Zheng, possessing the Wind Purity Body."

"Mm, thank you for your hard work. You may go and rest."

The cultivators who had led the way heard this and left, chatting and laughing.

The fifty-one people from Anle City all looked at the middle-aged man.

He was wearing a loose crane cloak, holding a horsetail whisk, and had a dignified appearance. He picked up a list, called out everyone's names one by one, and then began to introduce himself.

"This humble Taoist, Ding Wei, will be your Uncle-Master of enlightenment for the next three months. I am responsible for teaching you the basic common knowledge of the Shan Hai Realm, the Way of the Paramount Being of All Things of Gan State, and the main cultivation methods of the Lingmu Sect. You may address me as Uncle-Master Ding from now on."

Ding Wei spoke with a stern, unsmiling expression, his tone devoid of any emotion, making him seem like an unfeeling person, difficult to approach.

"For cultivators, besides possessing spiritual roots, great comprehension is also required. Therefore, if any of you cannot master the main cultivation methods of our sect and become a qualified Qi Refining Stage cultivator within these three months, it will mean your comprehension is insufficient or you cannot adapt to the Way of the Paramount Being of All Things of Gan State. At that time, you may descend the mountain on your own to seek other opportunities. Only Qi Refining Stage cultivators are allowed to continue cultivating on Qingming Mountain. Follow me."

Upon hearing this, everyone followed Ding Wei.

Li Mo felt a chill in his heart. So, merely detecting spiritual roots didn't guarantee becoming a disciple of the Lingmu Sect. There was actually a system of elimination here.

After winding through courtyards and towering buildings, they arrived at a relatively secluded courtyard.

Li Mo noticed other people similar to them here, their eyes filled with a clear sort of foolishness. They were likely individuals who had been tested for spiritual roots in the towns near Qingming Mountain and had arrived at Qingming Mountain ahead of them.

"This is the Enlightenment Hall. For the next three months, you will undergo your initial cultivation here. You are not allowed to leave easily during this period, or you will face corporal punishment for minor offenses and expulsion from the mountain for severe ones."

"Yes."

Everyone responded in unison.

Next, led by Ding Wei, they were assigned to dormitories, two people per room, and settled in. Each person was also given two loose, crane-feathered Taoist robes and instructed to familiarize themselves with the facilities within the Enlightenment Hall.

This place seemed to be an isolated courtyard within the Lingmu Sect, equipped with everything needed for daily life, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

As time passed, more people were sent into the Enlightenment Hall.

These individuals were clearly from more distant prefectures and counties. Due to the long journey, they had arrived later. Given the vast expanse of Muzhou, even with the speed of flying boats, it would likely take at least four to five days to traverse the entire territory.

Of course.

The speed of flying boats varied. Many areas of Muzhou were remote wilderness mountains, so it couldn't be generalized.

"Sigh, are we going to be eating this every day from now on?"

Facing the simple fare from the Enlightenment Hall's kitchen, Lu Tianyou was clearly unaccustomed to it, sighing and complaining incessantly that it was hard to swallow.

Li Mo, on the other hand, was eating with relish. As they shared a room, Li Mo offered words of comfort to Lu Tianyou.

"You can think about other things and just not look at it."

Lu Tianyou rolled his eyes at this.

Fortunately, there were no mosquitoes or insects on Qingming Mountain, and they slept soundly at night.

The next day.

Early in the morning, everyone from Anle City arrived at the classroom. They were grouped into a single class. People were still arriving at the Enlightenment Hall from time to time, but they were assigned to other classes.

Ding Wei arrived at the classroom on time.

"Today is the first day, so everyone relax. We will first learn the basic common knowledge of the Shan Hai Realm. Does anyone know what the Shan Hai Realm is?"

Only a few scattered individuals in the classroom raised their hands.

After surveying the room, Ding Wei gestured for Zhang Guoyin to answer.

The elder rose from his futon and said with a gentle smile, "This world, where the sun and moon shine, where mountains and rivers lie, as far as the eye can see and the foot can tread, is the Shan Hai Realm."

Ding Wei nodded.

"Correct. Where we live is the Shan Hai Realm, the world of our human race. However, it is not inhabited solely by humans. The Central Plains, where humans reside, is the most prosperous region of the Shan Hai Realm. Here, numerous states stand in competition, with Lu Country, Gan State, Ling Country, the State of Yu, Xia Kingdom, and the State of Jin being the six most powerful. Each state upholds its own traditions, and sects within their borders pursue their respective orthodoxies. Beyond the Central Plains, there are Demons, Devils, ghosts, and Monsters lurking in remote and extremely dangerous areas..."

He spoke for nearly half an hour.

Many people listened with confusion, while Li Mo felt his horizons greatly broadened.

The Great <<Tan River Malevolent Spirit and various Malevolent Spirits were all classified as Monsters, distinct from Demons, Devils, and ghosts.

As cultivators, humans were naturally tasked with maintaining human order and interests, continuously eradicating the Demons, Devils, ghosts, and Monsters that caused trouble within various states. However, there were also special exceptions for those who abided by the law, with different states having different approaches.

"The Gan State has a history of over two thousand years. Although it is the latest founded among the six great states, it is currently the most powerful major state in the Central Plains. The Emperor of the Qian Yuan Era is undoubtedly one of the strongest cultivators on the continent, perhaps even without the 'one of'."

When Emperor of the Qian Yuan Era was mentioned, Ding Wei's usually placid face showed an unconcealable look of longing.

He appeared somewhat fanatically devoted.

"The Sage Emperor founded the Way of the Paramount Being of All Things in Gan State. Humans are the essence of heaven and earth, the paramount beings of all things. Heaven and earth give birth to all things, all for human use."

Li Mo had seen related records on stone tablets outside.

"Through the continuous development of Gan State over the past two thousand years, although some sects have declined and perished, disappearing into the river of history, the vast majority of sects have prospered under the Way of the Paramount Being of All Things, and their numbers have steadily increased. To this day, there are thirteen great sects..."

"Uncle-Master Ding."

Zhou Zheng interrupted Ding Wei's words.

Everyone looked at Zhou Zheng, who stood up from his futon, a look of confusion on his face.

"I heard from the elders in Anle City that Gan State only has twelve great sects?"

Ding Wei paused for a moment, then nodded with a somber expression, gesturing for Zhou Zheng to sit down.

"It's not wrong to say there are twelve sects. Do you know why Gan State and Lu Country have been engaged in so many wars over the past century?"

Zhou Zheng shook his head.

"Over a hundred years ago, the Tu Xing Sect within Gan State suddenly abandoned the Way of the Paramount Being of All Things and instead followed the Way of Naturalness, or rather, the Way of Immortality. They defected to Lu Country, renaming themselves the Earth Element Sect. This led to a hundred-year war between the two countries. As our Lingmu Sect is closest to Lu Country, we have suffered great sacrifices in many of these wars. Not only have two Nascent Soul ancestors been Liberation by Violence as a result, including one of our own Nascent Soul Late Stage ancestors named Quanzhi Zhenren, who was ambushed by cultivators from Lu Country's Zai Zao Sect in Zhongshan Country thirty years ago, but this also caused our sect to decline from its peak..."

Li Mo listened as Uncle-Master Ding recounted the history of the Lingmu Sect.

The Lingmu Sect was founded over a thousand years ago.

It was established in Gan State by Lingmu Real Person, a rogue cultivator from Zhongshan Country between Lu Country and Gan State. He founded it after referencing the innate spiritual power of the Demon Race and combining it with the Way of all beings in Gan State.

After Lingmu Real Person passed away 800 years ago, Dongcha Zhenren succeeded him as the second-generation sect master. Dongcha Zhenren then passed away 400 years ago, and Qingling Zhenren ascended as the third-generation sect master, continuing the lineage to this day.

"The continuation of a sect's legacy not only requires adherence to a specific doctrinal inheritance but also the deterrence of a Nascent Soul Cultivator. Otherwise, it will only become prey for others. A Nascent Soul Cultivator can easily live for a thousand years, ensuring a sect's stable position for four to five hundred years without large-scale wars. If they can advance to a Spirit Transmutation Cultivator, it's said their lifespan can instantly extend to over two thousand years, perhaps even longer..."

Cultivators in the Shan Hai Realm are divided into the Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Realm, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Realm, and Spirit Transmutation stage.

These are all the stages for human cultivators in the Shan Hai Realm.

As for cultivators of higher realms, since the ancient era, they have only existed in historical records. The Spirit Transmutation Late Stage is the limit for cultivators in the Shan Hai Realm; no one has been heard to have advanced to the Void Refinement stage since.

Even the number of Spirit Transmutation stage cultivators clearly recorded on the Central Plains continent at any given time is only a mere dozen or so, and they are almost all concentrated within the borders of the six great nations.