Chapter 145: Valley Inside Details

(Hehe! After a night's sleep, the fever is finally completely gone! Wang Yu will update you all immediately. I hope you continue to support me!)

After completing his transaction with Han Li, the elder surnamed Ye took him and flew with a magic tool towards the Grand Hall of Discussion to report back to Zhong Lingdao, the sect leader of the Huangfeng Valley.

Shortly after, Han Li stood before a massive stone hall, several dozen meters tall, curiously observing the several Huangfeng Valley disciples guarding the entrance. These individuals possessed far deeper magical power than Han Li, at least appearing to be at the tenth level or above of basic cultivation methods. This made Han Li secretly click his tongue, further increasing his regard for the strength of cultivators within this sect.

When the elder surnamed Ye and Han Li arrived, the elder instructed Han Li to wait outside the hall for Sect Leader Zhong’s summons, while he himself entered. This left Han Li standing alone outside, a somewhat awkward situation that caused him to grumble inwardly for a while.

Fortunately, after a short wait, a middle-aged man in white robes emerged from within. He walked directly up to Han Li and coldly stated, “Come with me. The sect leader has summoned you.”

Then, without waiting for Han Li’s reaction, he turned and walked back inside. Han Li inwardly smiled wryly, realizing that his cultivation at the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage clearly wasn't even worth a second glance to the other party, who didn't even want to exchange another word with him!

Although Han Li was greatly displeased with this person, he was well aware of his own standing here. He honestly and promptly followed behind the man, entering the grand hall.

After passing through three successive guarded gates, Han Li finally met Zhong Lingdao, the sect leader of the Huangfeng Valley, a middle-aged man with a long, three-stranded beard.

On either side of the main hall sat over a dozen other individuals, dressed in various styles. When Han Li entered, these people briefly scrutinized him. But seeing that Han Li’s appearance was ordinary and unremarkable, they quickly lost interest and shifted their gazes elsewhere. The elder surnamed Ye and the junior martial brother Wang were also seated among them.

"Young friend, your name is Han Li, isn't it?" Sect Leader Zhong asked calmly.

"Yes, disciple Han Li greets the sect leader!" Han Li appeared to be sincerely stepping forward, ready to perform a grand salutation.

"No need for such formality! Since young friend has arrived with a 'Shengxian Token,' this sect leader will certainly uphold the rules set by our ancestors and accept you into our sect." Zhong Lingdao smiled kindly, his expression as gentle as a spring breeze, as he lightly waved his sleeve.

Han Li, just about to bow, felt an invisible, gentle force softly lift his body, preventing him from completing the salutation. This surprised him, adding a few more layers of awe and respect for the sect leader.

"Logically, in addition to joining our sect, young friend also qualifies for a Foundation Establishment Pill. However, before that, I heard from Junior Martial Brother Ye that young friend gave up this Foundation Establishment Pill and yielded it to someone else. Is this true?" Sect Leader Zhong did not waste any words and directly stated the purpose of summoning Han Li.

"Yes, Sect Leader! This disciple feels that my aptitude is poor, and taking this Foundation Establishment Pill would be too extravagant. It's better to let such a precious item go to other senior martial brothers who need it more!"

After Han Li said this, he still felt a faint pang of regret in his heart. This was a Foundation Establishment Pill, after all! It wasn't like those common pills he could consume by the handful like snacks!

If such a Foundation Establishment Pill were to appear in the cultivation world, it would undoubtedly cause a bloody storm! And although he possessed the mysterious small bottle as a reliance, Han Li wasn't very confident that he could perfectly replicate spiritual pills like the Foundation Establishment Pill! This made his words particularly insincere.

Han Li felt great reluctance in his heart, but on the surface, he maintained an extremely obedient and respectful demeanor, which pleased most of the people in the hall.

"Good! It greatly pleases this sect leader that young friend Han possesses such breadth of mind. However, young friend can rest assured; this sect leader will not let your sacrifice be in vain!" After saying this, Zhong Lingdao turned his head to face the elder surnamed Ye.

"Junior Martial Brother Ye! The Foundation Establishment Pill that young friend Han gave up will still be given to your grandnephew. However, Junior Martial Brother must adequately compensate young friend for his loss; ensure he is satisfied!" Zhong Lingdao said solemnly.

"Hehe! Sect Leader can rest assured, I will definitely satisfy Junior Martial Brother Han!" The elder was overjoyed to see things proceed smoothly as he had imagined, and he repeatedly agreed.

Seeing the elder's demeanor, Zhong Lingdao stroked his long beard and smiled slightly. The fact that this difficult problem could be resolved so easily and to everyone's satisfaction also allowed Sect Leader Zhong to breathe a sigh of relief.

"The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill is settled thus. From today, young friend Han is a disciple of this sect. Junior Martial Brother Wang, arrange a residence for Junior Martial Nephew Han. Also, explain the sect rules of our valley to him, and let him first cultivate under the instruction of the Transmission Disciples. If he shows outstanding performance, he will be promoted separately!" Zhong Lingdao spoke meticulously, giving instructions to Junior Martial Brother Wang.

"As you command, Sect Leader!" Junior Martial Brother Wang stood up tall and acknowledged the order.

Thus, this Senior Martial Uncle Wang immediately led Han Li out of the hall, beginning to explain the various rules and introduce common knowledge about Huangfeng Valley. Han Li listened attentively throughout the journey, gaining a preliminary understanding of Huangfeng Valley.

Huangfeng Valley has over ten thousand disciples in total. Among them, Qi Condensation stage disciples account for over ninety percent, while Foundation Establishment stage disciples number only a few hundred. These few hundred are the backbone of Huangfeng Valley's strength.

As for the higher-level Core Formation stage grand masters, there are only a handful, and they are basically in perennial secluded cultivation, no longer concerning themselves with matters within the valley. Unless there is a major event concerning the life or death of Huangfeng Valley, even Sect Leader Zhong himself rarely gets to meet these individuals.

As for the valley's sole Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he is a grand-uncle to Sect Leader Zhong and others, reportedly over nine hundred years old. Not only is his magical power unfathomably deep and his Daoist techniques profound, but he can also achieve Nascent Soul out-of-body travel, wandering for thousands of miles—a living immortal on earth. However, this elder has long since left the valley and is no longer within the borders of Yue State, instead traveling through other states. No one knows when he will return to the valley.

With such a large number of Qi Condensation stage disciples in the valley, it's naturally impossible for every person to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill! Only the most outstanding and best-qualified disciples are granted this privilege.

Therefore, every ten years, disciples under thirty years old within the valley undergo a series of selections, the competition for which is no less fierce than the Ascent to Immortality大会 outside. Essentially, only true cultivation prodigies who have practiced their basic cultivation methods to the eleventh or even twelfth level can stand out and qualify for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even among these hundreds of best disciples, rigorously selected, only twenty to thirty succeed in establishing their foundation and entering the Foundation Establishment stage after taking the pill. The others, at most, advance their magical power a step further, perfecting their basic cultivation methods to the peak, but still remain in the Qi Condensation stage.

Thus, quite naturally, the disciples within the valley were divided into three main tiers.

The lowest tier consists of those who have not even taken a Foundation Establishment Pill. These are the most numerous disciples in the valley, and also the ones with the shallowest magical power. Not only do they perform the most miscellaneous tasks and have the least time for cultivation, but they also hold the lowest status within the valley, even though they have an imposing-sounding title: "Steward Disciples."

Slightly higher in status are those disciples who have taken a Foundation Establishment Pill but have not entered the Foundation Establishment stage. Their basic cultivation methods are basically at their peak, and their magical power is significantly stronger than that of the Steward Disciples. Some can even use simple intermediate-level cultivation methods. Thus, they take on the responsibility of leading and managing numerous Steward Disciples, commonly referred to as "Supervisor Disciples."

The highest in status and best-treated are the disciples who successfully enter the Foundation Establishment stage. These favored children of heaven can truly be considered cultivators, real practitioners who have embarked on the path of cultivation.

After successfully establishing their foundation, these individuals are permitted to find a place rich in spiritual energy within the entire Taiyue Mountain Range, establish their own separate cave dwelling, and cultivate in solitude without having to undertake any miscellaneous tasks. They are only required to focus on cultivation. Furthermore, they are annually allocated various rare materials and large quantities of spirit stones to help them accelerate their cultivation. Their sole obligation is that they must come to the sect's aid when it faces a major enemy, and they must not disobey orders.

Besides these disciples, Huangfeng Valley also has various overseers who wield the true power within the sect.

These overseers are disciples who, after entering the Foundation Establishment stage and cultivating for a period, realize they have no hope of reaching the Core Formation stage. They voluntarily give up further cultivation and instead choose to be responsible for the specialized management of miscellaneous affairs within the valley. The elder surnamed Ye and the dozen or so people meeting in the grand hall are all such overseers.

Strictly speaking, Zhong Lingdao, the sect leader, is also a high-ranking overseer; it's just that he is responsible for the overall strategic planning of the entire sect—he is the overseer of the other overseers.

What truly determines the sect's survival are the cultivators above the Core Formation stage who do not meddle in external affairs. It is their existence that prevents evil cults and demonic forces from daring to trespass, allowing Huangfeng Valley to stand firm as one of the seven great immortal sects to this day. Otherwise, Huangfeng Valley, as one of the seven great immortal sects, would have been wiped out countless times by those highly skilled demonic practitioners.

Of course, the content mentioned above is not the exact words of this Senior Martial Uncle Wang. Instead, Han Li pieced it together himself from the other party's words and subtle hints.

This allowed Han Li to gain a clear understanding of his environment and status, which would be of considerable help in his future interactions with fellow sect members.

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