Inside Tai Xu Men, it was ancient and simple, yet magnificent.

Clouds steamed and rosy hues flourished, and immortal qi was abundant.

A long and wide path of jade stone, like a stairway to heaven, led straight to the mountain peak.

With the mountain path as the central axis, Daoist buildings stood in great numbers on both sides. Pavilions, towers, halls, and gardens, steeped in ancient colors and scents, were immersed in a white mountain fog, as if precipitating through the years, showing a greater sense of weightiness.

As Mo Hua walked within, he felt a sense of having the vulgar dust washed away. His mood was tranquil, and his divine sense was also much more peaceful.

Shangguan Xu led Mo Hua to some pavilions on the right side. He saw several cultivators, whom he didn’t know if they were instructors or elders, and after saying a few words, some procedures were handled.

Afterward, Mo Hua underwent checks by several elders.

This included checks on his blood qi, meridians, cultivation methods, divine sense, and so on.

This type of check used a spirit tool that looked like a glazed mirror, rather than elders prying with their divine sense.

The cultivation methods and Dao laws of disciples from worldly families were often passed down from ancestors. Naturally, it was impossible to allow others to peek at the details, especially these high-cultivation elders.

Otherwise, it would easily lead to the leakage of inheritances.

The purpose of a sect is to pass on the Dao and teach professions, not to steal people’s inheritances. Elders rashly peeking at disciples’ foundations would violate a great taboo of the sect.

This was especially emphasized in the Qian Xue region, where worldly families were numerous and inheritances were strict.

Therefore, this kind of check could only use standardized spirit tools.

The checks were also shallow and stopped there.

They were only to see if the disciples’ blood qi was impure, if their meridians were in reverse or chaotic, if their cultivation methods conformed to the orthodox Dao, and if their divine sense had given birth to evil spirits…

The purpose was to prevent disciples from stepping onto an evil path, going into a trance or being possessed; this alone was the reason.

Mo Hua was shone upon by the glazed mirror, and the several elders looked and all nodded.

His Dao heart was clean, and his aura was pure.

He was a proper little cultivator with a kind heart and a focus on the Dao.

It was just that his aptitude was truly a bit poor…

Also, the image on the glazed mirror was a bit blurry, seeming to have received some interference, making some things unclear.

But as long as he was a proper little cultivator, that was fine.

Everyone was enrolled; the matter of aptitude was not something they could control, nor were they bothered to control it.

“Alright,” an elder said.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

Subsequently, Mo Hua’s storage bag was also checked once.

This was mainly to prevent newly enrolled disciples from bringing some improper things up the mountain.

For example, some dangerous talismans, forbidden pills, illegal formations, etc…

Especially demonic path evil tools.

The Dao Court has established laws, distinguishing between the righteous and the demonic.

Refining, privately possessing, or even using evil tools were all major crimes.

If disciples were found to be privately possessing evil tools, their sect enrollment quota would be revoked, and they might even be escorted to the Dao Court department and treated as demonic cultivators.

Their families behind them would also be implicated.

Therefore, all demonic path cultivation methods, Dao laws, and spirit tools were not tolerated by the Dao Court, or even by righteous sects.

Besides, there were also some forbidden items…

Some disciples would privately hide some inappropriate, heart-confusing, Spring Palace pictures and jade slips…

This was not considered a major mistake, and the elders would just give a simple admonishment.

But these pictures and jade slips would definitely be confiscated, and there was no hope of getting them back.

Finally, what surprised Mo Hua was the spirit stones.

Spirit stones had a limit; too many could not be brought into the sect, only enough for daily cultivation expenses was fine.

This was to prevent some worldly families from being too wealthy and indulging their disciples by bringing large amounts of spirit stones into the sect, either to pull in disciples, bribe instructors, or squander without limit, creating a luxurious atmosphere and seriously damaging the pursuit of the Dao.

Therefore, most sects would impose restrictions on the spirit stones disciples carried into the sect.

This was the first time Mo Hua knew about the spirit stone limit.

He was a bit worried that the tens of thousands of spirit stones he had accumulated and obtained from killing the human traffickers, a “huge sum,” would be too much, fearing he wouldn’t be able to bring them into the mountain gate.

The result was that he found out he had overthought things…

The “only” amount of spirit stones he brought was already considered very “frugal and simple”…

Mo Hua was dumbfounded. Only then did he understand that even one hair from a worldly family was thicker than his whole person…

“The gap between poverty and wealth in cultivating the Dao is too big…”

Mo Hua was helpless.

Everything in Mo Hua’s storage bag was ordinary, clean, and tidy.

Truly important things, like the Tian Yan Jue cultivation method, and the Five Elements Array Flow Chart containing strange source patterns, he all put in his Na Zi Ring.

The Na Zi Ring was given to him by his Master; others could not see it.

After the elders finished checking, they returned the storage bag to Mo Hua.

However, perhaps seeing that Mo Hua’s storage bag was a bit shabby, and he didn’t have many spirit stones, and was still a loose cultivator, they couldn’t bear it and comforted Mo Hua with a few sentences:

“It doesn’t matter if you have fewer spirit stones.”

“Once you’ve entered the sect, as long as you work hard, you can live a more self-reliant life, earn some spirit stones, enough for your cultivation…”

Live a more self-reliant life, earn spirit stones…

Mo Hua was stunned for a moment.

Did this mean… he could still fleece the sect?!

If he was a bit diligent and fleeced a bit more, did that mean that joining Tai Xu Men would not only not require spending spirit stones but also allow him to… make a small fortune?

Tai Xu Men was really a good place!

Mo Hua’s eyes sparkled, and he smiled squinting, saying: “Thank you, elder!”

The elder nodded slightly and praised him in his heart.

Poor yet strong, not losing the ambition of climbing to the clouds, although he came from a loose cultivator background, he was optimistic and upward, a good child…

After the procedures were handled.

Mo Hua received a new storage bag.

This storage bag was better than the one Mo Hua used before, with a larger space and it was also sturdier and better-looking. It also had the Tai Xu Men mark on it.

It was a profound white and black, two-instrument flowing pattern.

The two instruments are chaotic, deriving Tai Xu.

The more Mo Hua looked, the more he liked it.

Inside the storage bag was a set of Tai Xu Men disciple Daoist robes, some pills, some cultivation classics, and a Tai Xu command token.

This command token was a disciple token.

It was also the most basic command token of Tai Xu Men, made of jade, warm and moist to the touch, grand in shape, but slightly simple, with only a sword mark on it.

This meant that Mo Hua was an outer disciple of Tai Xu Men, newly entered, and a Foundation Establishment early stage disciple.

Shangguan Xu said: “This piece of Tai Xu command is very important, you must keep it carefully…”

“Anything you do in Tai Xu Men that involves sect permissions, all relies on this command token.”

“When you enter the disciple residence, enter the preaching pavilion, enter the Dao field, enter the pill refining room, artifact refining room, scripture library, etc., you must show this Tai Xu command.”

“If you have sect merits and need to exchange for cultivation items, you also rely on it…”

“Also, look at the back side…”

Mo Hua was startled and flipped over the Tai Xu command. He then saw that the back side of the Tai Xu command was glowing with light and had faint patterns, which illusionarily appeared as writing.

Shangguan Xu said: “This piece of Tai Xu command can also be considered a message-transmitting jade slip…”

“It will have some internal sect announcements, such as sect master’s orders, elders’ commands, including some disciples’ messages… and most importantly, the cultivation class schedule.”

Mo Hua was slightly stunned, “Cultivation… class schedule?”

“Yes,” Shangguan Xu nodded, “It will tell you what time, what place, what cultivation class you need to attend…”

“There are many classes in the sect, covering cultivation, formations, artifact refining, pill refining, talismans, Dao laws, etc. The class arrangements, times, and places for attending classes are very tedious. Occasionally, the elders or instructors who teach classes have private matters to attend to, and they still need to adjust classes and postpone them…”

“Therefore, the cultivation courses for disciples within the sect, how to coordinate the schedule, all rely on this piece of Tai Xu Men disciple command.”

“What time to attend what class, the Tai Xu command will remind you; if you arrive on time, it will sign in; if you skip class, it will also record it…”

“These look simple, but they contain extremely complex formation logic…”

“Formation logic?!”

Mo Hua’s eyes brightened.

Shangguan Xu was startled. He didn’t know why Mo Hua was suddenly so happy. After thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded, “Yes…”

“Senior Brother Xu, what formation logic? What is the name of the formation? Five Elements formation? Or other formation categories?”

Mo Hua asked excitedly.

Shangguan Xu smiled wryly, “I don’t know either… I just heard the instructors say that the sect will not teach us this formation, otherwise, there will definitely be disciples who will find ways to tamper with the Tai Xu command to cheat…”

Mo Hua felt a bit regretful.

He indeed wanted to know exactly what kind of formation this was…

Purely for research on formations!

He was a proper cultivator and wouldn’t cheat!

But since Senior Brother Shangguan Xu didn’t know, Mo Hua had even less way of knowing…

“But, what kind of formation could it be…”

Mo Hua frowned and began to ponder.

Tai Xu command…

Every disciple had one, which meant that this formation was similar to a “Spirit Hub Array,” built with a “total branch” linked control form.

There was a place where the array eye was stored. On the array eye, an array hub was built.

Through the array hub, all the disciples’ Tai Xu commands were linked, forming a whole set…

Mo Hua frowned, “…a whole set of message transmission arrays?”

“Or, is it not just that, but also has other functions?”

Mo Hua walked and thought, his small eyebrows wrinkled all the way, muttering…

Shangguan Xu looked at his appearance and shook his head with a smile. He also didn’t know exactly what this little junior brother was pondering…

Mo Hua pondered for a while longer, but although he was proficient in Five Elements formations and even some absolute arrays, his overall knowledge of formations was limited, and he couldn’t ponder out more things.

He tried to derive and calculate again, or perceive the Tai Xu command.

Inside the Tai Xu command, it seemed that some formation was indeed drawn, but it was completely sealed inside the command token, not revealing a single trace.

“Can’t calculate anything…”

Mo Hua was a bit regretful.

It seemed he could only wait until he entered the school, improved his understanding of formations, consulted relevant classics, and raised his formation attainment a bit more before researching the formation inside this Tai Xu command…

As the two walked, they arrived between some palace buildings.

“This is the disciple residence, provided for disciples to live and cultivate daily…”

“Across the Dao field to the left is the preaching pavilion, and the artifact refining room, pill refining room, and these hundred profession pavilions that teach cultivation.”

“The disciple residences are one person per room, and they are very quiet, good for self-study or cultivation, no one will disturb you.”

“You can enter the disciple residence and find your own residence by relying on your Tai Xu command…”

Shangguan Xu said patiently.

Mo Hua flipped over the Tai Xu command and saw the words “Tai Yi” on it, followed by the number “fifty.”

“Tai Yi?” Mo Hua was a bit doubtful.

“Oh,” Shangguan Xu seemed to just remember, “I forgot to tell you, Tai Xu Men accepts disciples once every three years, with about a thousand in each session…”

“Within three years, if you are promoted to the Foundation Establishment mid-stage, you can advance a session. If not, you will stay behind.”

“These almost a thousand will be divided among the disciple residences, and divided for residency, which is divided into classes.”

“Because it is Tai Xu Men, the disciple residences are named with ‘Tai’ as the first character, sorted by earthly branches, starting from ‘Tai Jia,’ ‘Tai Yi,’ ‘Tai Bing,’ until ‘Tai Ren’ and ‘Tai Gui’… a total of ten residences, which are ten classes…”

“Disciples of the same class live in the same pavilion.”

“You are Tai Yi, so you live in the Tai Yi residence, number fifty, which is the fifty room.”

Mo Hua asked softly: “Is this divided according to cultivation, or aptitude?”

Shangguan Xu shook his head, “No, it’s random. The elders draw lots and divide them to whoever gets it, so it depends on luck, and also on your fate.”

“Oh.”

Mo Hua nodded, understanding in his heart.

He just said, with his aptitude, how could he be assigned to “Tai Yi”? It turned out it was his good “luck”…

Shangguan Xu smiled: “The four great sects, they arrange according to disciples’ bloodline, identity, and background, so every time they divide the disciple residences, they have to consider for a long time, involving many interests…”

“Where you live also determines the disciples’ status and treatment…”

“And after fixing it, to urge disciples to progress, they still have to adjust according to the schoolwork results ranking at any time. Those who cultivate slowly, or don’t learn well, will be gradually demoted to the bottom…”

“Our Tai Xu Men sect master and elders are just much lazier, directly drawing lots and dividing them into whatever kind, which saves a lot of trouble…”

Mo Hua sighed and clicked his tongue.

The four great sects were really too scary…

The disciples they taught out would likely only know how to strive, be strong, and compete for victory.

But this was possibly also the intention of the worldly families, or these sects above, like raising Gu, only the truly outstanding heaven’s pride could stand out…

But these had nothing to do with him.

With his aptitude, besides formations, in other aspects, he couldn’t even be counted as a last-rate talent, only able to muddle through the days…

Shangguan Xu thought for a moment and then pointed to some pavilions relatively far opposite, and admonished in a low voice:

“The disciple residences on that side are where the female disciples live. They are separated relatively far. Unless you have something to do, absolutely do not go over, otherwise you will be regarded as a ‘little lecher’…”

“Little lecher?”

Mo Hua was startled.

“Yes,” Shangguan Xu had lingering fear, “Remember before, several male disciples from the same door thought about going to that side… cough, looking for something, and were discovered by a group of senior and junior sisters, and beaten half to death…”

“The injuries were too severe, they were not convinced and went to complain to the elders. The elders were furious after knowing about it and beat them up again…”

“It was miserable…”

Mo Hua opened his mouth, but after thinking for a moment, he still said in a low voice: “This is not worth it…”

Having malicious intentions was one thing.

Being beaten up was bad enough, but they still had the nerve to complain to the elders, throwing themselves into the net…

Mo Hua shook his head.

Indeed, lust blinds wisdom…

Cultivators must have a firm Dao heart and be vigilant against female charm!

“I just reminded you a little, don’t tell anyone everywhere,” Shangguan Xu said.

“Rest assured, Senior Brother Xu, I will definitely not say anything!” Mo Hua said with a vow.

Shangguan Xu nodded, “You go in then, I am two sessions ahead of you and live on the mountain peak behind. If you have any questions later, come and ask me again…”

“Yes, yes!” Mo Hua nodded, “Thank you, Senior Brother Xu!”

Shangguan Xu waved his hand and then left.

Mo Hua held the disciple command and entered the disciple residence, found the room with the number “fifty,” showed the Tai Xu command in front of the door, and then the light in front of the door flashed, the formation unlocked, and the large door also opened.

Mo Hua walked in and looked around, feeling quite surprised.

The residence was very spacious, with tables, chairs, screens, blankets, and beds, all complete, simple and generous.

But it was very much in line with the clear and simple style of cultivators.

Mo Hua was also very satisfied.

This room, from now on, was his “home” in Tai Xu Men.

Mo Hua just lived like this.

Three days later, Tai Xu Men held the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony was held once every three years, and it was a grand ceremony held by the sect master and a group of elders to welcome the newly entered disciples.

Although it was called a “grand ceremony,” it was actually very simple.

The grand ceremony was held in the large Dao field in the middle of Tai Xu Men.

Over a thousand disciples were bustling about.

The sect master spoke first, then several elders of honored status took turns speaking. Their words were all more or less the same.

They spoke of the long history of Tai Xu Men, its deep foundation, ancient inheritance, and glorious deeds.

Then they encouraged the disciples to cultivate diligently.

After achieving something in cultivation, they were to glorify Tai Xu Men.

They also had to uphold their Dao heart, guard the righteous path, not take the wrong steps, not enter the wrong path, and not fall into the demonic path… etc.

This was the first time Mo Hua saw the Tai Xu Men sect master.

He seemed to be just… an ordinary sect master, with a mild expression, splendid robes, and a deep aura, but nothing else could be seen.

Only his hair was black and dense, as Shangguan Xu said, extremely good at “nourishing life.”

While the Tai Xu sect master was also silently looking at the vast number of disciples in the Dao field, he showed no expression on his face, but in his heart, he was muttering:

“Looking… it’s just an ordinary group of disciples, standard, not too bad, but you can’t say how outstanding they are…”

“Strange, strange, how did green smoke suddenly rise from the mountain gate?”

The Tai Xu sect master was puzzled and didn’t understand.

After the grand ceremony, everyone dispersed, and the next day they would formally cultivate and attend classes.

Participating in the entry grand ceremony also meant that Mo Hua had formally entered the sect, and he was now a disciple of Tai Xu Men.

Afterward, he could cultivate steadily and learn formations at ease.

The heavenly machine was chaotic, and cause and effect were obscure. Many matters in the world were profound and complex. Mo Hua didn’t know much now and couldn’t do anything about it.

He was just a small Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He could only do what he should do.

Step by step steadily, cultivate one step at a time, learn formations bit by bit, climb the great Dao step by step, and save his Master…

And the next goal was the Golden Core!

Comprehend the Dao of fate and life, and transform into a Golden Core!

Mo Hua’s gaze was firm and shining brightly.

He wanted to forge a divine thought above twenty patterns, have a golden body that didn’t leak, prove the Dao with his divine sense, and become a great cultivator of the Golden Core realm!

Thank you to book friends Burned Flame Mage, Scatter Green, Living Color Fresh Fragrance, Heart Pavilion Inside Sun, I Have A Sword Can Break Mountains And Seas, and 20180831200334433 for their rewards.

There will be one more later.

(End of this chapter)