After everyone finished their meal, a young monk who was about twenty-seven or eighty years old and had a good-looking appearance walked into the hall.
He bowed his hands to everyone and said in a deep voice: "My name is Wei Yi, and I am a disciple of Lingdao Academy. The Head Academy has sent me to lead you to join the sect."
The young people stood up one after another and came forward to greet him: "I have met Senior Brother Wei."
Senior Brother Wei's eyes flew across everyone's faces, and he nodded: "Forty-five of us are all here. Come with me to the Spiritual Dao Academy."
There are seven peaks in Hanchi County. Daodao Peak, where Lingdao Temple is located, stands in the middle and is protected by other peaks.
Daodao Peak is only over 300 feet high, but nourished by spiritual energy, the ancient trees are towering, the pavilions are like canopies, and exotic flowers and plants with alluring fragrance can be seen everywhere.
The teenagers followed Senior Brother Wei to the foot of the mountain and walked up the stone steps. At first, they were divided into two groups, the local teenagers and the teenagers from the mortal world walking on each side.
But the mountain road is winding, and as time goes by, the two sides gradually mix together. After tentatively chatting for a few words, we found that we were actually able to chat, and we quickly became warm.
The most popular one is Lin Chaoran. He is the one with the highest spiritual level among the disciples. Before he arrived in Xuanyuan Continent, his name has already spread among the local teenagers. Now that they see him, they all come to ask about his age. Origin.
Zhao Lin deliberately walked at the end, silently listening to the conversations of the teenagers and collecting some useful information.
In less than half an hour, halfway up the mountain, a group of buildings and palaces built against the mountain appeared in front of everyone.
There are three big characters written on the top of the front door: Lingdaoyuan.
Wei Yi smiled and said: "This is Lingdao Academy, and the words above were mentioned by the headmaster himself."
The teenagers all shouted: "Good words!"
"penetrating!"
"It has the shape of a dragon and a tiger."
Zhao Lin wanted to laugh after hearing this, must the calligraphy written by the foundation-building monk be good?
Although his calligraphy skills are limited, after becoming the Duke of Zhenguo, he has seen many famous calligraphers and has a good taste.
These three characters are written in a way that... the shape of a dragon or a tiger is not even close to the mark, but the shape of a reptile is quite profound in its samadhi.
The Lingdao courtyard is very quiet, with a few monks occasionally walking around in the halls.
"This is the Gonggong Hall, a place where Gonggong is taught and preached..."
"This is the Magic Pavilion, protected by a magic circle, used to demonstrate destructive spells..."
"This gray stone building is an alchemy room..."
Senior Brother Wei led everyone to walk and look around, while explaining the purpose of each building and the practice matters after entry.
There are more than 200 monks in Lingdao Temple, most of whom are disciples. There are three foundation-building monks: Zhou Hongfang, the master of the academy, Nie Kui, the Taoist elder, and Wu Chuanqi, the elder of the Chuan Gong.
Senior Brother Wei mentioned by the way that Master Wu Chuanchui, the elder of the Chuan Gong, was Senior Uncle Wu who brought the young man from the small world to Xuanyuan Continent.
In addition to the three foundation-building monks, there are also many deacons, managers, managers, and disciples who teach skills.
"As expected, they are of the same origin."
Zhao Lin was convinced that the organizational structure of the Immortal Cultivation Sect was almost the same as that of the mortal martial arts sect.
Senior Brother Wei continued to introduce that after entering the school, disciples will practice in Lingdao Academy for three years, which can be extended to five years in special circumstances.
During this period, the disciples only need to concentrate on practicing the sect's exercises and spells without having to do any chores. After one year of study, they can also choose one or two Taoist arts for further study.
After hearing this, Zhao Lin nodded secretly. This can be said to be compulsory education in the world of cultivation.
Senior Brother Wei has an easy-going temperament. During the explanation process, young people kept asking questions. He did not show any impatience and answered all questions without hesitation.
When a young man asked which Taoist art he should choose to have a future, Senior Brother Wei smiled and said: "There are hundreds of arts in cultivation. As long as you practice well, you will have a future in any one of them."
"My personal suggestion is to first look at what you like and secondly whether you are good at it. You have just joined the sect, so there is no need to make a decision in a hurry. You still have a year to think about it slowly."
Zhao Lin heard that there were hundreds of arts of cultivation and asked: "Are there really so many arts of cultivation?"
Senior Brother Wei smiled and said: "Not only are there, but if we count carefully, I'm afraid there are more than a hundred kinds."
"In addition to the four most practiced Taoist arts: alchemy, weapon refining, formations, and talismans, there are also spiritual plants, beasts, insect control, puppets, brewing, spiritual tea, and robes."
"Canoeing, divination, medicine, pulse detection, tracking, poison making, treasure appraisal, spiritual baker..."
Senior Brother Wei talked about dozens of Taoist arts in one breath, as if announcing the names of dishes. He stopped when he saw the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, "Let's put it this way, most of the industries that exist in the mortal world are also found in the world of cultivation."
"It's just that some things don't require monks to take action, so they are left to mortals and those with spiritual roots."
After wandering around the Lingdao Temple for more than half an hour, Senior Brother Wei led everyone to the last hall to meet the three foundation-building monks of the Taoist Temple.
"Meet the Headmaster, Taoist Elder, and Chuan Gong Elder."
Under the guidance of Senior Brother Wei, the disciples bowed and saluted.
Zhao Lin looked up and his eyelids twitched a few times. Zhou Hongfang, the head of the courtyard, and Nie Kui, the Taoist elder, were the two old men who had played chess under the pine tree before.
Although both of them had changed their clothes and their appearance had slightly changed, he still recognized them at a glance.
Zhou Hongfang smiled and nodded, and said with a kind expression: "Very good, from now on, you will be disciples of the Chenghua Sect."
"Whether you are born in Xuanyuan Continent or come from a small world, I hope you can support each other and share the same friendship."
After speaking, he paused, looked at the young man standing on the left, and asked: "What is your name, how old are you? Where are you from?"
The young man was a little nervous. He stumbled and said, "Disciple Liu...Liu Zhizhen, sixteen years old, comes from Hanchijie."
Zhou Hongfang gently touched his palms after hearing this and praised: "Liu Zhizhen, this is a good name! Only a Jindan monk can be called a real person, the most true, the most authentic, and the Jindan realm!"
Hearing what he said, the teenagers all laughed, and Liu Zhizhen was no longer so nervous. He said loudly: "Thank you for the compliment, Master. I will definitely work hard and live up to my name."
Zhou Hongfang smiled and nodded, asked questions one by one in a soft voice, and chatted a few words with each boy, making people feel like they were refreshed by the spring breeze.
When it was Zhao Lin's turn, he deliberately did not ask about his age, but praised: "What a heroic young man, with innate martial arts, he is indeed extraordinary!"
Zhao Lin quickly said humbly: "The master's praise is false, and the disciples dare not accept it."
Zhou Hongfang waved his hand and said sternly: "You don't have to be humble. I might as well tell you that I was once a member of the Dai Viet Dynasty. I practiced boxing and kicking in a martial arts school for several years when I was young. I know how difficult the journey of martial arts is!"
"Now that you have come to Xuanyuan Continent, your journey of cultivating Taoism has just begun. I hope you can continue your efforts and persevere."
Zhao Lin responded: "Disciple understands."
After the introductions were completed, Zhou Hongfang looked calm and said: "I am a member of the Hua Sect and abide by the laws and etiquette. There are also rituals for joining the sect. You come with me."
After speaking, he walked down from his seat and led the disciples through the hall to a courtyard.
But the courtyard is vast, with small bridges, flowing water, rockery verandahs, flowers, plants and trees all carefully trimmed and arranged like a garden.
There is an ancestral hall deep in the courtyard, and the plaque reads: Chihancheng Huazong Merit and Virtue Temple.
Everyone walked into the ancestral hall and saw hundreds of tablets placed on the altar table. There were two stone tablets on the left and right, full of inscriptions engraved on them.
The three foundation-building monks washed their hands in the clean basin, lit three sticks of sandalwood, and bowed respectfully to the tablet three times.
Zhou Hongfang turned around and said slowly: "It has been 50,000 years since the founding of our Chenghua Sect, and we have always stood tall among the sects in Xuanyuan Continent. What is the reason?"
"It is precisely because of the Taoist teachings created by the ancestors and sages of the past generations, the Taoist skills studied, and the military exploits achieved."
"The ancestors and sages we worship are all people who have made great contributions to the sect. As the descendants, we must not forget our ancestors."
"It is because of their efforts that today's Chenghua Sect and Nine Small Worlds are possible!"
There is an unnamed tablet in the center of the altar table. Zhou Hongfang looked solemn and his eyes were slightly red. "There are very few people who can leave their names in the ancestral hall. There are countless meritorious predecessors who we must not forget!"
“Their names are unknown, but their deeds live forever!”
"Thousands of years ago, my Cheng Huazong's vitality was seriously injured. Now I am gradually recovering. It is time for us to work hard. I hope that you can be like the sages of the past generations..."
The young people present couldn't help but feel excited when they heard the words, and their eyes showed respect.
Zhao Lin suddenly felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart.
Why does our civilization always have a strong sense of family and country and respect for our ancestors?
He had never been able to figure this out before.
No matter in the past life or the world after traveling, people always attach great importance to sacrifices.
The royal family builds ancestral temples, the private sector builds ancestral halls, maintains ancestral tombs, and abides by ancestral precepts...
Do ancestors really have souls and know what their descendants are doing?
At this moment, he suddenly figured out that as a human being, he always needs to find a sense of belonging.
It does not matter whether our ancestors have souls or not. What is important is that we remember and commemorate them, inherit their legacy, and move forward in their footsteps.
Only in this way can we have roots! Only the nation has its roots!
Some civilizations solve this problem through religious means, relying on illusory, so-called omniscient and omnipotent "gods".
As for our civilization, what we believe in is our ancestors, which is actually belief in ourselves! Believe that man can conquer heaven!
The towering trees must have their roots; the water in the mountains must have their sources. No matter when or where we are, pursuing our future with caution and respecting our ancestors are our spiritual roots!
Only in this way can our family, clan, and country be closely connected and passed down from generation to generation!
"Come here, dress appropriately, wash your hands and leave your name."
Zhou Hongfang personally took the pen and ink and a piece of silk and brocade, and asked the teenagers to write their names on it.
Zhao Lin also walked up, washed his hands in the basin, straightened his robe, picked up his pen and wrote: Zhao Lin.
In this way, he officially entered the sect.
(End of chapter)
