Sogo Continent, Jiayuan Kingdom Dengzhou.

At dusk, the Manyuan Xiang Restaurant in Shannan Town is full of guests, noisy and lively, and the sound of laughter and shouting spreads all over half of the long street.

In the backyard of the restaurant, thirteen-year-old Xue Tong unloaded a load of dry firewood.

"Chen is in charge, two hundred and eighty catties of pine firewood, only a lot more." Xue Tong wiped his sweat and licked his dry lips and said.

Chen Zixiong, who is about 30 years old, has a six-foot long body and big ears, and since he first met Xue Tong two years ago, he has noticed this unusual young man. At that time, Xue Tong picked up more than 100 catties of pine branches from 30 miles away and sold them along the street, Chen Zixiong sighed that his strength, it was not easy to be a young man, so he bought Chai He on the spot, and told him that he could pick a load and sell it to the restaurant every ten days.

Xue Tong's skin is slightly dark, his posture is straight, his thin face is thin, his eyebrows are bright, and his eyes are bright, revealing a keen and resolute gaze.

Chen Zixiong handed over eighty copper coins and said, "If you have something to look for, come with me."

The two of them came to Chen Zixiong's hut, where three large bowls of dishes were placed on the table, plus half a stone pot of rice.

"I'm hungry, I'll eat first."

Xue Tong swallowed his saliva and looked at Chen Zixiong hesitantly.

Chen Zixiong waved his hand and urged: "Eat quickly, specially prepared for you."

Xue Tong was no longer polite, gobbling it up, eating it all like a whirlwind, he licked the oil juice on his hand, and smiled at Chen Zixiong a little shyly.

Xue Tong is often hungry and panicked, his parents died early, and he was raised by his second uncle since he was a child. However, for some reason more than half a year ago, Xue Tong's meal amount doubled, and he could barely mix half full every day, and only on the way to chop wood, catch rabbits or pheasants and other game, so that he could have a full meal and replenish oil and water.

"What is Master Chen looking for me?" Xue Tong asked.

"Well, I want to recommend you to a good place."

"Oh" Xue Tong felt strange, Chen Zhangshi treated himself well, but he had never thought about arranging his future.

Chen Zixiong's expression was solemn, and he said word by word: "This matter is very important to you and me, and listen to me slowly."

"In Dengzhou, Luoxiao Mountain stretches for thousands of miles, the mountains are high and the valleys are low, the forests are deep and the trees are lush, most of the places are uninhabited, the terrain from the mountains to the southeast is slowing down, and there are villages and towns and farmers."

"Seven hundred miles northwest of the town, deep in the mountains, there is a Xiuxian Xuanmen called Yunxiao Sect, I am a disciple of the sect outside the sect, three years ago I became the head of the garden, it is actually the eyes and ears of the sect in the south of the mountain."

"Cultivating immortals is also known as cultivating martial arts, that is, the so-called cultivation of divine skills, attaining the Tao and ascending to immortals. The Yunxiao Sect has been inherited for more than 6,000 years, with 2,000 disciples, and is divided into four categories: true transmission, inner gate, outer gate and miscellaneous servants. ”

"You have strong muscles and bones, your spirit is radiant, and you seem to have the talent for cultivating martial arts, I want to recommend you as a miscellaneous servant of the sect, if you really pass the examination within two years, I can also gain fifty points of contribution to the sect and be promoted to an inner disciple."

"The opportunity to enter the Xuanmen is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, how many people can't ask for it, if you go to Yunxiao Sect, you will have no worries about food and clothing, second, you will have a great future, and third, your second uncle can still get a lot of money."

"I don't know if you understand?"

Chen Zixiong's eyes were like electricity, staring at Xue Tong.

"What do the miscellaneous disciples do?" Xue Tong asked puzzled.

"While working, while cultivating martial arts, the sect repairs bridges and paves roads, builds houses and houses, and even grows vegetables and cooks are all completed by miscellaneous disciples, and all kinds of miscellaneous work are not easy to do, so there are certain requirements for talent, and ordinary people are not competent."

"Okay, I'll go!" Xue Tong's eyes flashed, and he did not hesitate.

Xue Tong's parents died in a terrible mudslide many years ago, and Xue's mother struggled to throw him onto the roof at the last moment of the mudslide, saving his life.

After that, the second uncle raised him with hard work, and Xue Tong was also sensible early, cutting firewood and farming, and trying his best to undertake household farm work, but his heart was clear, his future was bleak, and it was difficult to achieve great things in his life like this.

Now that there is finally a way out, how could Xue Tong miss it?!

……

Ten days later, Luoxiao Mountain Jinglan Valley.

A carriage came from the mouth of the valley, and the horses pulling the cart were tall and strong, dark red, and the sound of hurried and messy hooves broke the quiet of the valley in the early morning.

The black-clothed coachman tugged on the reins, the fire dragon horse stopped with a neigh, Xue Tong jumped out of the carriage, and a person on the side of the road stepped forward and said, "Xue Tong?" I am Chen Zixiong's younger brother Shen Chuanpeng. ”

"Yes, Brother Shen is good!"

Shen Chuanpeng arrived as promised, and Xue Tong's hanging heart finally let go.

"Senior brother's letter of recommendation has been submitted to the deacon hall, and I will take you to go through the formalities."

Shen Chuanpeng pointed ahead as he spoke, "That is the main mountain of the Yunxiao Sect, Chijin Peak, which is majestic and steep, and miscellaneous disciples are not allowed to go up the mountain unless they are summoned. ”

In the distance, a towering mountain peak stands on the top of the clouds, and the top of the mountain is the color of golden red glow, majestic and magnificent, and it is a grand view.

"It's such a magnificent mountain, but I didn't expect the status of the miscellaneous servants to be so low that I can't even go up the main mountain."

"Alas, yes, the Xuanmen is highly hierarchical, take your time."

Xue Shen and the others walked for several miles, and a hanging mountain-style building with eaves and arches came into view, which was the Jinglan branch of the deacon hall where the two of them were going.

Jinglan Valley is far away from the main mountain, the slope is gentle and the valley is wide, and the stone houses and wooden houses on both sides of the valley are dotted, and it is the group residence of half of the miscellaneous servants of the Yunxiao Sect. The deacon hall has set up a branch hall in Jinglan Valley to oversee nearly 500 miscellaneous servants of the sect.

There is a long stone case in the branch hall, the outer hall is empty, and two young people in the inner hall are leisurely sipping tea.

"Deacon Cui, I made an appointment to come today to go through the formalities." Shen Chuanpeng walked to the first person on the left and greeted him respectfully.

"Oh~" Cui Yuanping reluctantly put down the cup and looked Xue Tong up and down.

"Just him? Does it look bad, is it reliable? ”

"Reliable, reliable, Chen Zixiong's vision should be reliable."

"The Scalemound Quarry is in urgent need of manpower, and Chen Zixiong said that he has a lot of strength, so it's just right to go there." Cui Yuanping said lazily.

Shen Chuanpeng's face suddenly tightened, and then he smiled unnaturally: "I agreed with Deacon Cui that day... It's like going to an orchard. ”

"They registered the vacancy that day wrongly, and now only the scale mound is a person, are you going to go?" Cui Yuanping looked impatient.

Shen Chuanpeng was speechless for a while, the Scalemound Quarry was simply a place that couldn't be worse, extremely far away, the surrounding environment was dangerous, and it was also the place where the miscellaneous disciples suffered the most casualties.

"Xue Tong is still young, so Deacon Cui is very kind and arranges a slightly better place?" Shen Chuanpeng said almost in a pleading tone.

"Yunxiao Sect is not a place to do good, you know that he brought him here when he was young, and if he didn't want to go, he would go home, according to the rules of the sect, Chen Zixiong's contribution value can not be deducted."

Shen Chuanpeng's face turned red and trembled slightly, Xue Tong hurriedly pulled his sleeve and nodded his wish.

"Okay," Shen Chuanpeng was helpless.

"Well, it's still a child's sensible."

After Cui Yuanping finished speaking, he took out the animal skin scroll and flipped to the line with Xue Tong's name recorded, "Come, register in this drop of blood, the newcomer package is packed, and the precept book must be read carefully, don't violate the laws of the sect." ”

After the registration and collection were completed, Shen Chuanpeng took Xue Tong and left, and as soon as the two left, Cui Yuanping glanced at the other deacon and laughed proudly.

Huang Qing patted Cui Yuanping's shoulder and said in a low voice: "Brother Cui did a good job, even if this surnamed Xue is unlucky, Chen Zixiong offended Senior Brother Lu, and none of the people introduced to him will survive!"

On the way back, Xue Tong saw that Shen Chuanpeng was sullen, and took the initiative to talk: "Brother Shen, what happened to Deacon Cui just now?"

"Cui Yuanping is not a thing, he said last time he would go to the orchard, but today he suddenly changed his hexagram, and I don't know the details of the dirty things behind it, I hope that the fat is robbed, and there is no other conspiracy."

"The sect has formed a faction, dumped and framed, and all kinds of tricks and tricks have emerged, you will know it slowly." Shen Chuanpeng said indignantly.

Xue Tong seems to understand whether he understands or not, and faintly feels that he needs to pay more attention to how to deal with people in the future.

"Listening to Brother Shen's tone, it doesn't seem that the scale mound is a place for people to stay."

"Alas, the scale mound is remote and far away, except for the front of the stone field, all around are dense forests that cannot be seen, and the gloomy miasma is pervasive, and you must not wander around after you go."

Shen Chuanpeng led the carriage parked on the side of the road, "I'll send you over." ”

Xue Tong had nothing to do in the compartment, curiously opened the newcomer's bag, and counted it.

"Three coarse gray clothes, two pairs of boots, a jade plate of the sect, a map, "Xuanmen General Narrative", "Book of Precepts", "Gathering Spirits", "Bailie Fist", "Cultivation Technique", "Five Elements Basic Spell", hey, and five stones."

A gray-black stone the size of a broad bean.

Shen Chuanpeng glanced at it, "It's called a spirit stone, you can check the general description." ”

"Brother Shen, these are the exercises of the sect, so much."

"All the things that can be received before the promotion are here, and if you can't refine the spirit gathering technique within two years, you will be expelled from the sect."

Xue Tong didn't understand it, but when he saw Shen Chuanpeng's gloomy face and obviously unhappy appearance, he couldn't help but stop asking.

……

Xue Tong sent Shen Chuanpeng away, and it was already afternoon. Shen Chuanpeng left his address before leaving, stuffed Xue Tong with a small bag containing a hundred spirit stones, and told him that this was a gift from Chen Zixiong, and he must put it away and save some flowers.

There are more than 30 miscellaneous servants in the quarry, scattered in Xiaoyi Mountain, close to the stone quarry, Xue Tong's stone house is a single family, which makes him very satisfied, the conditions of the residence are better than expected, it seems that there are few people in Xuanmen, and it is a trivial matter to build some stone house courtyards.

"Gathering Spirit Technique, Brother Shen said that it must be refined within two years, it seems that the road to martial arts cultivation will start with this Gathering Spirit Technique."

Xue Tong let out a long breath and opened the first page of the spirit formula.

"The meridians of qi are turned to the sky; Gather the dantian and condense into the sea. ”

After the general outline, the first article "Breathing and Breathing" talks about the method of regulating the breath evenly and calming the mind, which is the basis of the spirit gathering technique.

Xue Tong read two pages, and picked up the "Xuanmen General Narrative", he needed to know too many things, but fortunately, Hong Tianyou, the steward of the stone field, gave him three days as usual, which was enough for him to understand the general situation of Xuanmen.