Entry test

After a bumpy journey of more than two days, our group finally arrived at Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi on schedule.

Speaking of Longhu Mountain, it is undoubtedly one of the birthplaces of Taoism. Unfortunately, contemporary Chinese Taoism has declined, and many sects have disappeared, such as the Shangqing and Qingwei sects, which basically went into decline after the Song Dynasty and have now completely vanished. The only ones preserved are the Maoshan sect and the Longhu sect, which are known as one of the most mysterious branches of Chinese Taoism and the lineage from Zhang Daoling, respectively. Sadly, these two sects are also waning, their legacies becoming thinner and at risk of disappearing at any time.

The Taoist sect Qingyi belongs to is the Longhu sect. To take their sect as an example, there are now less than a hundred people in the entire sect. Apart from the current sect leader who is a Grand Celestial Master, Qingyi is the strongest, holding the title of a Lesser Celestial Master, making him the next successor of the Longhu sect. The sect is in a state of decline, with fewer and fewer followers. Unfortunately, the people have turned to worship Buddhism from India, and their understanding of Taoism is diminishing, so it's foreseeable that the national religion is declining.

As for the Maoshan sect... it's said to be even worse, now with less than thirty people. Zhang Jinya is one of them, though he is at the bottom of the sect.

There are many reasons for the current state of the Maoshan sect. In fact, the main reason is that the Maoshan sect is different from other Taoist sects. Their existence is not for the purpose of quiet cultivation; to put it plainly, it's for catching ghosts, subduing zombies, and the like. Who would dare join such a sect for no reason? It's completely different from the Longhu sect, which primarily focuses on quiet cultivation, with demon-slaying and exorcism as side jobs. So, the decline of the Maoshan sect is entirely foreseeable.

Perhaps it's because of the decline of Taoism that Longhu Mountain has now completely turned into a tourist area, no longer allowing Taoists to operate within it. So, when I arrived at the Heavenly Tao Alliance, I was truly surprised because the so-called "mountain gate" of the Heavenly Tao Alliance was actually a villa area, located more than twenty miles south of Longhu Mountain's scenic area. There are thirty to forty villas, both large and small. They are luxurious and imposing, but it's somewhat embarrassing to be driven out of Longhu Mountain and have to settle in a villa area outside.

After we drove in, there were already quite a few people in the villa area. Fatty warned me that basically everyone who could enter this villa area was from the Heavenly Tao Alliance, and I should be very careful when moving around here because none of these people were simple, especially those in strange and unusual attire. I should avoid them as far as possible because those who dress differently from modern people are "greenhorns," meaning they rarely enter cities and mostly dwell in deep mountains and forests. These people are particularly difficult to deal with, severely disconnected from modern life, with a frighteningly weak sense of law. Provoking them is more troublesome than provoking ghosts; they dare to take lives at the drop of a hat. If I accidentally provoke someone like a Miaojiang witch, I would have nowhere to cry; I might just be killed by a couple of bugs without a place to reason!

Seeing Fatty's wary demeanor, I secretly guessed that this fat man must have suffered at the hands of those people before; otherwise, he wouldn't call them "greenhorns" so contemptuously.

After returning to the Heavenly Tao Alliance, Qingyi didn't take me to meet the main person in charge of their Longhu sect right away. Instead, he first took me to the last villa in the villa area, saying this was the place for welcoming those who came back from missions. Qingyi spoke a few words to a gatekeeper, then went straight in and arranged a suite for me to stay in. After that, he left with Wu Fatty and Rosa, only telling me that the return of the Ge family was a big deal for the Heavenly Tao Alliance, and they needed to give the sect leader a heads-up and help sort out the situation for me.

I wasn't foolish; I knew from their words that things weren't as simple as they said. I guessed there must be some resistance to my joining the Heavenly Tao Alliance. After all, as a novice just starting out, although I had solved two major cases with Qingyi and Zhang Jinya, my experience was still limited. Moreover, as a member of the Ge family, I was expected to become the guardian of the entire Shanxi region, which might not be accepted by everyone!

Qingyi and the others didn't want to discuss these issues with me, probably because they didn't want to hurt my pride. So they said it that way and then went behind my back to pave the way for me. However, I didn't point this out and just silently noted their kindness in my heart.

Once Qingyi and the others left, the large villa room was left with only me, Zhang Jinya, Zhou Jing, and Heizi. Feeling bored and with nothing else to do, I asked Zhang Jinya about the rules within the Heavenly Tao Alliance.

"What needs to be said, Fatty has already told you. In short, there's one most important rule: before you have your father's abilities, don't offend anyone for no reason, or you'll die miserably. This is something you must remember! Because since the era of the real Zhang Daoling, the Heavenly Tao Alliance has always followed the rule of survival of the fittest. It does not prohibit conflicts within the organization!!!"

Zhang Jinya sighed softly and told me about an incident from his past.

It turned out that he was one of the victims of the rules of the Heavenly Tao Alliance!!

Although the Maoshan sect is considered a relatively large sect within the entire Heavenly Tao Alliance, apart from the sect leader who is a Grand Celestial Master, almost none of the other disciples are significant. So, it was inevitable that they would be bullied when they went out. Zhang Jinya was initially targeted because he offended a corpse driver from Xiangxi with his sharp tongue. That night, the corpse driver sent two zombies to trouble him. He was woken up by a zombie strangling him. If it weren't for my father passing by his room at the time and dealing with the two zombies, Zhang Jinya might have been done for. So, strictly speaking, Zhang Jinya owes our Ge family a life. This is also why Zhang Jinya was willing to help me initially. On one hand, he was counting on our Ge family's skills to get some treasures, and on the other hand, he was repaying my father's kindness.

After hearing this, I felt a bit uncomfortable. It seemed that the waters of the Heavenly Tao Alliance were quite muddy. I suddenly understood why Zhang Jinya and Fatty were always tricking me when we first entered the Qinling Mountains. Living in such an environment, it was just a means of self-preservation for them.

Seeing the expression on my face, Zhang Jinya seemed to guess what I was thinking. He smiled, patted my shoulder, and said, "But you don't have to worry. After all, you are a child of the Ge family. Your father left you some connections, so as long as the grudge isn't too big, most people wouldn't dare to target you. After all, your father had a few good friends back then. Not to mention others, if someone wants to harm you, our Maoshan sect's sect leader must step in. He had a life-saving relationship with your father back then, almost becoming sworn brothers. He might be too lazy to care about the troubles of us disciples, but he won't just watch if you're in trouble. Not to mention Qingyi, I don't know why he's so fond of you, but he will definitely support you. Besides, I guess the sect leader of their Longhu sect, who is also the current leader of the Heavenly Tao Alliance, will take care of you! With several Celestial Masters backing you, you've got some solid support. As long as you're cautious, there shouldn't be any problems."

I was overwhelmed by the complexity of it all. How many friends did my father have in this Heavenly Tao Alliance? But in such an environment, having many friends also means having many enemies. It seems I have to be careful in the future, so I don't get secretly harmed by my father's old enemies.

Zhang Jinya then told me some other miscellaneous rules, mainly about how to accept missions and how to distribute rewards with the organization after completion. There wasn't anything else particularly noteworthy.

At noon, Zhang Jinya and I ate in the villa. The conditions here were indeed very good; food and accommodation were taken care of by someone, which showed that the Heavenly Tao Alliance was indeed wealthy.

I had just arrived here, and although I had a few friends, I still didn't know much about the situation. So, to avoid accidentally causing trouble, I simply spent the afternoon sleeping in the villa.

It must have been around six or seven in the evening when Qingyi, Rosa, and Fatty finally came back. Seeing their gloomy faces, I knew things probably didn't go smoothly, so I asked directly if something had happened.

"Indeed, there is a bit of a problem."

Fatty sat on the sofa with a grim face, grinding his teeth as he spoke, "Your dad just left, and these beasts started to make trouble. The three of us went to explain your situation, and several regional leaders started to oppose it right away, saying you're too young and not up to the task. Damn it, they all seem so hypocritically benevolent, but in the end, aren't they just coveting the territory of Shanxi? Everyone knows that the larger the territory, the more missions there are, and more missions mean more money! But they don't have the final say on this matter. Shanxi has always been the Ge family's territory, and that's not up for negotiation! Later, Qingyi almost drew his Que Xie Sword to kill people, and those beasts finally softened their stance. They agreed that Shanxi could continue to be led by a member of the Ge family, but there's a precondition—you must pass their test. You have to complete a mission without our easy help and prove your ability. Only then can you become the guardian of the entire Shanxi region!"

"We definitely can't accept this mission!"

Rosa said solemnly, "This is clearly those people causing trouble. The difficulty of the mission will definitely be very high. Sending Xiao Tian alone is practically the same as sending him to his death. We'll go find them again tomorrow!"

After hearing what the two of them said, I had a general understanding of the situation and was not surprised by the outcome. It must have been tough for them to get those people to loosen up and propose a test. They must have put in a lot of effort. If I continued to cause trouble because of my situation, it would be somewhat unreasonable, so I thought for a moment and said, "Sister Sha, no need. You've already done a lot to get me this far, and I'm grateful for that. But continuing to make a fuss won't help. Even if I end up taking my father's position, I probably won't be able to hold it firmly because I won't be accepted by everyone! So, I think I should try their test. If I pass, that's great. If I don't, then it's because I don't have the ability, and if I can't hold onto Shanxi, I deserve it!"

As soon as I said this, Zhang Jinya and Rosa immediately looked at me in surprise, but Qingyi's face showed a faint smile. He patted my shoulder and said, "Good, that's manly, you've got spirit! Since you've decided, I won't say anything more. Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet those people and see what kind of tough question they've come up with to test you!"

"..."