Chapter 146: 8: First Take a Senior Disciple

It took Wei Dongliu several days to finally finish setting up the formation.

First was the Valley Protection Formation, which enveloped the entire mountain valley in its embrace. Its function was to temporarily trap the enemy, preventing them from locating his position.

At that time, as long as he presided over the Valley Protection Formation and then pulled out the Postnatal Five Elements Great Extermination Divine Light to slash wildly at the opposition, even a Golden Core True Person would lose a layer of skin.

Next was the passageway formation, covering the entrance to this rocky peak, with the purpose of concealing the entrance and confusing the enemy, making them unable to find the rocky peak’s entrance, or mistaking it for a dead end.

After setting up the formation, he began to build housing.

The style and distribution of the housing followed the pattern of the ancient Intercept Cult beneath the Wuzhi Archipelago.

The central area near the lakeshore’s moist depression was designated for the cultivation of spirit flowers and grasses.

The surrounding area had disciples’ residences, storage rooms, elixir rooms, meditation chambers, and even prisons and so on.

In Cultivation sects, the task of building houses was usually entrusted to mortals. If it was a small sect unwilling to spend money, they would have to let their own disciples do the work, but without wood system or earth system Daoist techniques, cultivators weren’t much faster at building houses.

However, if one used the Five Elements Divine Light, it only took a gentle sweep to freely control the growth of wooden trunks and the rise of the earth into walls – it was incredibly convenient.

After advancing to the Refining Mansion stage, True Qi transforming into condensed True Yuan, the Five Elements Ultimate Extermination Divine Light could finally exhibit at least its minimum might — at least not like before, when a few seconds of use would completely deplete the Qi Sea.

With the infrastructure complete, Wei Dongliu prepared to go out and find some disciples to fill his ranks.

The identity of Wei Dongliu was not for infiltrating any sect, but for collecting intelligence on the Hell Path.

Doing it alone was definitely not enough.

He needed to recruit a batch of disciples first, and then use their social circles to maximize the channels of information.

Leaving the valley and walking into the rocky peak, Wei Dongliu was surprised to see Jiang Liyan standing in the center of the rocky peak’s passage, her expression calm and alert as she watched her surroundings.

So she was trapped by the formation… huh, why does she seem familiar?

After pondering for a moment, he remembered that Shi Liuli had once been trapped by his formation in the same way on an overseas deserted island.

Only, Miss Shi had been panic-stricken, running around wildly; whereas Jiang the Witch remained calm and cautiously observed her surroundings.

This alone showed that Jiang the Witch’s experience in battle was far richer than Miss Shi’s by more than a thousandfold.

Wei Dongliu waved his hand and dispelled the formation, only to see Jiang Liyan look over, her expression revealing a trace of relief and… resentment?

“Wei Daoist friend,” she quickly hid her negative emotions, smiling sweetly again, “was that a formation just now?”

“Just some minor tricks,” Wei Dongliu said indifferently.

“I never expected that the Tong Xuan Gate’s legacy would include knowledge of formations,” Jiang Liyan remarked half seriously and half mockingly, “I fell into the formation without a sound, and couldn’t find a single flaw. If Wei Daoist friend hadn’t taken action to save me, I might have been completely at others’ mercy.”

“As Myriad Laws Mystic Profound Sect is named, it naturally incorporates a wide array of strengths,” Wei Dongliu patiently explained, “Daoist magic, swordsmanship, formations, and strange objects—I understand a bit of each.”

Jiang Liyan’s mind stirred, secretly thinking: Although Wei Dongliu has received the Intercept Cult inheritance, why does his speech have the rigid style of the Clarify Cult?

We in the Intercept Cult don’t care about the “coherence of name and meaning”—we simply choose the most domineering names. Who decreed that being called ‘Myriad Laws’ means one must be adept in all laws?

Yet such thoughts of criticism circulated only briefly in her mind before being suppressed again.

“This time I’m out, I plan to recruit a few disciples to return with me,” Wei Dongliu said again.

“Recruit disciples?” Jiang Liyan pondered for a moment and smiled, “What kind of disciples does Wei Daoist Friend intend to recruit?”

“Honest and obedient,” he replied.

“Anything else?” she asked.

“No, that’s it.” Wei Dongliu said in surprise, “Isn’t that enough?”

Jiang Liyan was somewhat speechless, you’re looking for a successor to pass on your mantle!

Even if you can’t find someone with high cultivation talent (after all, geniuses have been picked up by the big sects), you should at least look for someone smart and clever, right?

Who just looks for the honest and obedient?

“That’s too simple a criterion,” Jiang the Witch said with a chuckle while covering her mouth, “Wei Daoist Friend could go to some remote mountain village to find those skinny little kids who are dark and have hardly had a decent meal, and I guarantee they’ll all be obedient and honest.”

Her insinuation was that “honest, obedient” equals “foolish, slow-witted,” and aren’t fools found everywhere?

Unexpectedly, Wei Dongliu nodded and said:

“I see, I have learned something.”

In the eyes of Wei Dongliu, the Wei family’s eldest son, the first disciple must be honest and obedient, so he could serve as his confidant.

The information gathered by other junior brothers and sisters would have to be summarized by him before being passed on to oneself.

For such a critical position, if the person seated here harbors ulterior motives, engaging in actions that are contradictory to their outward appearance, then the harm could be truly great.

Better to be a bit slow-witted and dull, than to compromise on loyalty!

Jiang Liyan couldn’t understand his logic but, seeing that he still refused to speak frankly, she could only sigh and say:

“If that’s the case, then shall I take Wei Daoist Friend out for a spin? Just to the west here lies the ancient city of Shangdang. We often go there to collect materials… ahem, slip of the tongue. Mainly to find some quick-witted mortals to come and help with cultivating techniques.”

“That would be great, please lead the way, Jiang Daoist Friend,” Wei Dongliu said, not caring at all about how this witch cultivated her demonic techniques. Since she offered to lead the way, nothing could be better.

Upon leaving the range of Shiping Mountain, they took to their sword light and flew towards Shangdang City in the west.

Shangdang in Jinzhong, an ancient city once belonging to the Zhao kingdom, is now known as “Luzhou” or “Luzhou Prefecture”, a city located on the Loess Plateau.

The two landed near the city to avoid unnecessary attention and then entered the city on foot, pretending to be mortals.

Jiang Liyan even used the “Ten Aspects Release Method” to disguise her exquisite appearance into something plain and unremarkable, causing Wei Dongliu to give her a few surprised glances.

The Ten Aspects Release Method, it seems everyone in the Heavenly Demon Path knows it. Luo Yan encountered a Heavenly Demon Path female disciple who knew the Ten Aspects Release Method as well on Wuzhi Islands…

“Wei Daoist Friend seeks disciples who at least must be literate,” Jiang Liyan said with a smile as they walked through the bustling streets, “If they’re illiterate, they won’t understand Daoist Technique Scrolls. Surely Wei Daoist Friend doesn’t wish to start by teaching literacy?”

“On the other hand, it’s best if the prospective disciple is young and still impressionable so that they can be shaped more easily. Otherwise, if they’ve been seasoned in the mortal world for too long, there’s the risk of deep-seated worldly attachments, which are detrimental to subsequent cultivation.”

“Combining these factors, we should go to some affordable private schools, to look for those good family’s children who are studying there. That would be the most suitable choice.”

“Indeed, that’s true,” Wei Dongliu nodded, affirming Jiang the Witch’s judgment.