Blackstone City.
Demon Mountain stood outside the city. Teng Kun stood before a dozen or so boys and girls, probing the state of their bodies with his divine sense, his lone eye filled with dissatisfaction.
Times had changed. With all his cultivation resources suspended, he had no choice but to pinch every penny.
Simply keeping Demon Mountain suspended high in the sky consumed a considerable number of spirit stones every moment. He could no longer use its airborne grandeur to inspire awe and longing in these youths.
"Is this all?"
"Not a single one with even slightly outstanding talent?"
Teng Kun dismissed the youths and turned toward the man responsible for finding disciples in Blackstone City. His face stern, he asked, "A population of hundreds of thousands, and you only found a dozen?"
With a bitter smile, Han Yu explained, "The truly talented youths were already gathered up by the Primal Demon Temple."
"Before you arrived, Elder Gu's formal disciple, Feng Mu, also picked out a few with some decent talent and took them away. There's really nothing I can do."
He was a guest elder of the Crippled Demon Sect. Originally a rogue cultivator without any backing, he had now become an external member of the sect.
Even as merely an external guest elder, he had shed his status as a rogue cultivator, and his standing had changed considerably.
By working for the Crippled Demon Sect, he could also receive compensation.
"Gu Jianzhou!"
Teng Kun drew a deep breath. He refrained from saying anything ugly in front of Han Yu and ordered, "Take them to Demon Mountain outside the city!"
Han Yu bowed and left.
To produce formal disciples in the Primordial Spirit Realm within five years was utterly impossible unless he found youths with truly exceptional talent.
Blackstone