Chapter 147: Details Within the Valley

After completing the trade with Han Li, the elder surnamed Ye took him and flew on his magic tool toward the great hall of deliberation to report to the Sect Master of Yellow Maple Valley, Zhong Lingdao.

Not long after, Han Li stood before the giant stone hall, which was dozens of meters high, curiously observing the several Yellow Maple Valley disciples guarding the entrance. The magic power of these people was much deeper than Han Li's, at least at the tenth layer of the basic cultivation technique or higher. This made Han Li click his tongue in secret, and he looked up to the strength of the cultivators of this sect even more.

When the elder surnamed Ye and he arrived here just now, he had Han Li wait outside the hall for Sect Master Zhong's summons, while he himself went inside. This caused the awkward situation of Han Li standing alone outside the hall waiting, which made Han Li grumble for a while.

Fortunately, after a while, a middle-aged man in white walked out from inside. This person came directly to Han Li and said coldly, "Follow me in, the Sect Master summons you."

Then, without paying attention to Han Li's reaction, he walked back on his own. Han Li smiled bitterly to himself; it seemed that he, a cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, was not even in the other party's eyes, and they didn't even want to say an extra word to him!

Although he was very dissatisfied with this person in his heart, Han Li knew very well his own standing here, so he honestly followed closely behind and walked into the great hall.

After passing through three great gates guarded by disciples, Han Li finally saw the Sect Master of Yellow Maple Valley, Zhong Lingdao, a middle-aged man with a three-strand long beard.

On both sides of this hall sat more than a dozen other people in different attire. When Han Li entered, these people glanced at Han Li slightly, but seeing that Han Li's appearance was ordinary and had nothing attractive, they lost interest and shifted their gazes away. The elder surnamed Ye and that Junior Brother Wang were also sitting among them.

"Little friend is named Han Li, right!" Sect Master Zhong asked peacefully.

"Yes, disciple Han Li, greets the Sect Master!" Han Li looked very sincere as he stepped forward to bow.

"No need for formalities! Since little friend can come here carrying an Immortal Ascension Token, this Sect Master will definitely abide by the rules set by our predecessors and take you into the sect." Zhong Lingdao smiled kindly, like a spring breeze, and lightly flicked his sleeve.

Han Li felt his body, which was about to bow, being gently lifted by an invisible, gentle force, unable to continue bowing. This made his heart skip a beat, and he felt a few more points of awe for this Sect Master.

"Logically speaking, besides joining our sect, little friend also has the qualification to take a Foundation Establishment Pill. However, before this, I heard from Junior Brother Ye that little friend has given up this Foundation Establishment Pill and yielded it to someone else. Is this true?" Sect Master Zhong didn't talk nonsense and directly stated the purpose of summoning him into the hall.

"Yes, Sect Master! Disciple feels that my aptitude is poor, and taking this Foundation Establishment Pill is truly too extravagant. It is better to yield such a precious item to other Senior Brothers who need it more!"

After Han Li finished saying this, he still felt a dull pain in his heart. This was a Foundation Establishment Pill! Not those ordinary medicinal pills that he could eat by the handful like snacks!

If such a Foundation Establishment Pill were placed in the cultivation world, it would be strange if it didn't stir up a bloody storm! And although he relied on the mysterious little bottle, Han Li really didn't have much confidence that he could completely replicate such a spiritual pill! This made his words sound particularly insincere.

Han Li felt great reluctance in his heart, but on the surface, he had a very obedient and respectful expression, which made most of the people in the hall quite satisfied.

"Good! Little friend Han can have such a broad mind, and this Sect Master is also very gratified. However, little friend, rest assured, this Sect Master will not let little friend make this sacrifice for nothing!" After saying this, Zhong Lingdao turned his head to face the elder surnamed Ye.

"Junior Brother Ye! This Foundation Establishment Pill yielded by little friend Han will still be taken by your grand-nephew, but Junior Brother must compensate little friend well for his loss. You must make him satisfied!" Zhong Lingdao said solemnly.

"Haha! Sect Master, rest assured, I will definitely make Nephew-Disciple Han satisfied!" The elder saw that things were truly developing as he had imagined and were being resolved smoothly, so he couldn't help but be overjoyed and promised repeatedly.

Zhong Lingdao saw the elder's appearance, stroked his long beard, and smiled slightly. This difficult problem could be resolved so easily and satisfactorily, which also made Sect Master Zhong breathe a sigh of relief.

"The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill is settled, and from today on, little friend Han is a disciple of our sect. Junior Brother Wang, arrange little friend Han's residence, and by the way, tell him about the sect rules. Let him cultivate with the disciples who teach the techniques first, and if there is outstanding performance, he will be promoted later!" Zhong Lingdao's words were flawless, and he instructed Junior Brother Wang.

"Obey, Sect Master!" Junior Brother Wang stood up and obeyed.

Thus, this Uncle-Master Wang immediately took Han Li and walked out of the hall, and began to tell him about the rules of Yellow Maple Valley and introduce some common knowledge. Han Li listened attentively along the way, and he had a preliminary understanding of Yellow Maple Valley.

Yellow Maple Valley has a total of more than ten thousand disciples, of which more than ninety percent are Qi Condensation disciples, and there are only a few hundred Foundation Establishment disciples. These people are the backbone of Yellow Maple Valley.

As for the great experts at the Core Formation stage above, there are only a few, and they are basically in seclusion all year round, no longer asking about the affairs in the valley. Unless it is a major event concerning the life and death of Yellow Maple Valley, even Sect Master Zhong himself rarely sees these people.

As for the only Nascent Soul cultivator in the valley, he is an Uncle-Master Ancestor of Sect Master Zhong and others. It is said that he is over nine hundred years old. Not only is his magic power unfathomable and his Daoist arts profound, but he can also have his Nascent Soul leave his body and travel thousands of miles. He is a living immortal on earth. However, this old man is no longer in the valley, nor is he in the territory of the Yue Kingdom, but is traveling in other countries. No one knows when he will return to the valley.

With so many Qi Condensation disciples in the valley, of course, it is impossible for everyone to take a Foundation Establishment Pill! Only those most excellent disciples with the best aptitude will receive this honor.

Therefore, every ten years, disciples under the age of thirty in the valley will undergo a series of selections, and the intensity of the competition is no less than the Immortal Ascension Assembly in the outside world. Basically, only those true cultivation geniuses who have practiced their basic cultivation techniques to the eleventh or even twelfth layer can stand out and obtain the qualification to take the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even among the hundreds of best disciples selected through such strict selection, only twenty or thirty can pass through foundation establishment and enter the Foundation Establishment stage after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill. Others at most have their magic power improved a step further, refining their basic cultivation techniques to the peak, and still remain at the Qi Condensation stage.

Thus, very naturally, the disciples in the valley are divided into three major levels.

The lowest level is those disciples who have never even taken a Foundation Establishment Pill. These people are the most numerous in the valley and also the ones with the shallowest magic power. These people not only do the most chores, have the least time to cultivate, but are also the people with the lowest status in the valley, although they have a title that sounds very imposing: "Deacon Disciples."

Those with slightly better status than them are those disciples who have taken the Foundation Establishment Pill but have not entered the Foundation Establishment stage. The basic cultivation techniques of these people are basically at the peak, their magic power is much stronger than those Deacon Disciples, and some can even use some simple mid-level cultivation techniques. Thus, they take on the responsibility of leading and managing many Deacon Disciples, and are usually called "Leading Disciples."

And those with the highest status and best treatment are the disciples who can enter the Foundation Establishment stage. These darlings of heaven can be counted as true cultivators and are true cultivators who have stepped onto the path of cultivation.

After these people successfully establish their foundation, they will be allowed to find a place with sufficient spiritual energy in the entire Taiyue Mountain Range to open a cave dwelling and cultivate alone. They do not need to take on any chores and can just focus on cultivation. Moreover, they will be allocated various rare materials and a large amount of spirit stones every year to help them accelerate their cultivation. Their only obligation is that they must help when the sect encounters a great enemy and cannot disobey orders.

Besides these disciples, Yellow Maple Valley also has various managers who control the real power in the sect.

These managers are those who have emerged from the disciples who have entered the Foundation Establishment stage and, after a period of cultivation, know that there is no hope of entering the Core Formation stage. They voluntarily give up continuing to cultivate and are willing to be responsible for the specialized management of the idle affairs in the valley. The elder surnamed Ye and the dozen or so people who held a meeting in the great hall are all such managers.

In fact, strictly speaking, Sect Master Zhong Lingdao is also a high-level manager, but he is responsible for the overall planning of the entire sect and is the manager of other managers.

What truly determines the life and death of the sect are those Core Formation stage and above cultivators who do not care about external affairs. It is precisely because of their existence that those evil demons and heretics dare not bully their way to the door, and Yellow Maple Valley can stand as one of the seven immortal sects to this day. Otherwise, Yellow Maple Valley, as one of the seven immortal sects, would have been wiped out countless times by those evil people with profound magic power.

Of course, the content mentioned above is not the original words of this Uncle-Master Wang, but Han Li's own summary from the other party's words and probing.

This gave Han Li a clear understanding of his environment and status, which was of no small help to his future dealings with other fellow disciples.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 148 =====