Last time, when he had parted ways with Li Qing, Li Mu had felt that she seemed to have something on her mind.
After learning that she had left the Fu-lu School, Li Mu was even more certain of this thought.
Although the Fu-lu School had seven peaks and seven branches of disciples, from a certain perspective, there were only two kinds of disciples in the Fu-lu School: core disciples and non-core disciples.
Core disciples were disciples who had access to the core secrets of the Fu-lu School. These core secrets were either the Fu-lu techniques that were not taught to outsiders, or the Daoist techniques that were not taught to non-core disciples. These disciples could not casually leave the Fu-lu School.
Even if they wanted to leave, their memories of the sect's secrets would be erased.
Non-core disciples could not come into contact with these secrets. They only cultivated ordinary techniques, and the Fu-lu Daoist techniques that they studied were also made public. Unlike outsiders, they could obtain certain cultivation resources from the sect by completing sect missions. For example, in the past, Li Qing had worked as a constable in the Yangqiu County Government for a year. When she returned to the sect, she could exchange for spiritual jades, transcendent artifacts, and other items for cultivation.
Non-core disciples could leave the sect, but very few people did so.
After all, since ancient times, the Great Zhou had emphasized etiquette and respect for teachers. This was a tradition engraved in the bones of every person in the Great Zhou.
For cultivators, the sect was their home. Almost every cultivator had a strong sense of belonging to their own sect.
For a cultivator to leave the sect, it was no different from a mortal severing their relationship with their parents.
In the eyes of some extreme people, leaving the sect for no reason was no different from apostasy.
Li Mu understood Li Qing very well. She was a person who valued relationships and righteousness. She would not abandon a subordinate that had nothing to do with her. How could she suddenly leave the sect that she had lived in for ten years?
Thinking of how Li Qing seemed to have some hidden troubles before they parted ways, Li Mu was certain that she had left the sect for some reason.
When he thought of this, he could not sit still.
He was eager to find out why Li Qing was so good at Fu-lu School.
When Li Mu stood up and turned to leave, Han Zhe asked in surprise, "Where are you going?"
Li Mu didn't even turn his head and said, "I have something to do so I have to go out. Let Junior Sister Qin accompany you for a few drinks."
Han Zhe looked at Junior Sister Qin who was walking towards him and shook his head. "Junior Sister Qin, how many cups can you drink …?"
A moment later, Junior Sister Qin carried the drunk Han Zhe on her back. She turned around and waved at Wanwan and Xiao Bai, saying, "When Brother Li comes back, tell him that we're going back first …"
Xiao Bai sat at the stone table in the courtyard, resting her chin on one hand. She looked in the direction of the main peak and muttered, "Where did our benefactor go? Who is Junior Sister Li …"
"Shh …" Wanwan made a shushing gesture and said, "Don't mention this name in the future, especially in front of Miss. Don't mention it even once …"
…
White Cloud Mountain, main peak.
After Li Mu arrived at the main peak, the Dao bell sensed him and flew over happily. Li Mu patted it and said, "I'm here to find Elder Xu. Help me call him."
The Dao bell flew away with a 'whoosh' and soon flew back. There was still a person inside the bell.
Li Mu rubbed his forehead. The Dao bell didn't seem to understand what "call" meant.
Elder Xu was thrown out of the Dao bell and staggered. When he finally steadied himself, he saw Li Mu in front of him.
The Dao bell shrank and flew to Li Mu's shoulder. It buzzed non-stop as if it was asking for credit.
Li Mu looked at Elder Xu and said apologetically, "Elder Xu, I'm really sorry. I only asked the Dao bell to inform you. It seems to have misunderstood my intentions."
Elder Xu was originally drawing a talisman. He was halfway through when the Dao bell rushed in and swept him away. He was a bit distressed about the talisman materials, but he didn't dare to be angry with the Dao bell.
This ancestor had a strange temperament and was temperamental. If he angered it and made it run away, he wouldn't be able to atone for his sins.
Of course, he couldn't blame Li Mu. As an honored guest of the Fu-lu School and the only hope to speed up the restoration of the Dao bell, he had to be polite to Li Mu.
"It's fine." He smiled at Li Mu and asked, "Lord Li, why are you looking for me?"
Li Mu said, "I have a friend who used to be a disciple of the Purple Cloud Peak. For some reason, she left the Fu-lu School. I want to go to the Purple Cloud Peak to find out more about her, but I don't know many people there. I can only trouble Elder Xu."
"I see." Elder Xu smiled and said, "This is a small matter. I'll go to the Purple Cloud Peak with Lord Li."
The Purple Cloud Peak was the seventh peak of the Fu-lu School. The head of the peak was Yu Quan Zi. Li Mu had actually met Yu Quan Zi once. When Yu Zhen Zi brought Liu Hanyan to extort the peak heads, Li Mu was also present.
The Heaven-grade armor he was wearing now was given to him by Yu Quan Zi.
To be precise, Yu Zhen Zi had extorted it from him.
The two of them flew on a cloud and arrived at the seventh peak in the blink of an eye.
When the disciple guarding the peak saw the two of them, he immediately walked forward and bowed to Elder Xu. "Greetings, Elder Xu."
Elder Xu asked, "Is Elder Sun here?"
A disciple guarding the peak nodded and said, "Elder Sun is on the peak. This disciple will go and report to him."
Elder Sun was also an old man. Li Mu had stayed in White Cloud Peak for a long time and found that the Fortune Elders of the various peaks were mostly old men or old women. On the other hand, the officials of the imperial court who were at the fifth level of cultivation were mostly middle-aged. He did not know whether it was because the imperial court controlled the thirty-six counties and had more abundant cultivation resources, making it easier for them to create experts, or because the strength of the Fu-lu School was all roaming outside and not in the sect.
After Elder Sun walked out of the Purple Cloud Peak Daoist Palace, Elder Xu looked at him and said, "This is Lord Li, an honored guest of our Fu-lu School. He has a friend who used to be on the seventh peak. He came to the Purple Cloud Peak to ask about the situation of that disciple."
Elder Sun smiled and said, "Since you are an honored guest of our sect, let's go in and talk."
After entering the Daoist Palace on the left, Elder Xu introduced to Li Mu, "In the Purple Cloud Peak, Elder Sun is responsible for the admission and departure of disciples. If Lord Li has any questions, you can ask Elder Sun."
Li Mu nodded and looked at Elder Sun. He asked, "Elder Sun, do you know Li Qing?"
"Li Qing?" Elder Sun was startled at first, then a look of pity appeared on his face. He said, "What a pity, what a pity. She was originally one of the most outstanding disciples of the Purple Cloud Peak. After the Grand Competition of the Peaks, she would have definitely become a core disciple. Unfortunately, she left the sect before the competition. This is a loss to the Purple Cloud Peak …"
Li Mu continued asking, "Elder Sun, do you know why she left the sect?"
Elder Sun shook his head and said, "She didn't say the reason. I tried my best to persuade her that if she had any difficulties, she could tell the sect. However, she was determined to leave, so I didn't try to persuade her anymore. The sect has never restricted the departure of disciples …"
After coming to the Purple Cloud Peak, Li Mu's heart was not at ease. Instead, it was hanging by a thread.
Based on his understanding of Li Qing, she would definitely not leave the sect that had nurtured her for ten years for no reason.
Previously, when the two of them were on a mission together, Li Mu could clearly feel that she had a strong sense of belonging to the Fu-lu School. In her heart, leaving the sect was tantamount to betrayal.
What had happened to her that she did not hesitate to leave the sect and cut ties with the Fu-lu School?
Li Mu suddenly remembered the way Li Qing looked at him when he parted ways with her.
At that time, her eyes were filled with confusion and conflict, but in the end, she still chose to leave. It was as if … as if she was cutting ties with Li Mu.
If she had encountered something and wanted to cut ties with Li Mu, Li Mu could understand.
Based on her personality, she would never let her own matters implicate Li Mu.
But her choice to leave the Fu-lu School made Li Mu feel a lingering fear.
He understood Li Qing very well. There were only two possibilities for her to make such a decision.
First, what she was about to do might damage the reputation of the Fu-lu School. As a disciple of the Fu-lu School, she had a strong sense of belonging to the sect. She did not wish to damage the reputation of the Fu-lu School because of what she was about to do.
Second, what she was about to do might make things difficult for the Fu-lu School, or even implicate the Fu-lu School.
Li Mu was worried about the second point.
The Fu-lu School was one of the Six Great Daoist Sects. The Ancestral Court had a strong appeal to the various branches of the Fu-lu School. If she could become a core disciple, the Fu-lu School would become her backing. But in a situation where the status of a core disciple was so easy to obtain, she still chose to leave.
This meant that in her heart, the Fu-lu School could not protect her.
Li Mu did not dare to think about it any further. He asked Taoist priest Sun Chang, "Can I take a look at the file Li Qing entered the sect?"
Elder Sun looked troubled. "This …"
Although the files of the various peaks' disciples were not top secret, they were not something that an outsider could look at just because they wanted to.
Elder Xu said, "The Sect Master said that Lord Li is an honored guest of our sect. We must do our best to satisfy his requests."
Since it was the Sect Master's order, Elder Sun no longer hesitated. "Please follow me."
The three of them arrived at a small room in the Daoist Palace. A wooden shelf was placed on one wall of the room. The shelf was filled with jade slips.
Elder Sun thought for a moment, then said, "From what I remember, Li Qing came to the Fu-lu School eleven years ago. She was only nine years old at that time … I found the file of the disciples from eleven years ago. It's here …"
He took a jade slip from the shelf. After injecting a strand of transcendence energy, the jade slip projected a ray of light, condensing into several lines of words in the air.
Song Ming, twelve years old, male, from North Commandery Yu County, Song Village, two parents, younger sister, almost five years old …
Pei Chuan, ten years old, male, from North Commandery Zhou County, Pei Clan, parents dead …
Xu Ren, sixteen years old, male, from Yunzhong Commandery …
… …
The jade slip projected the information of the disciples that the Fu-lu School had recruited back then.
The Fu-lu School did not recruit many disciples each year, and even fewer disciples were assigned to each sect. This year, Violet Cloud Peak had recruited a total of ten disciples. The information in the jade slip was extremely detailed, recording each disciple's age, gender, place of origin, and family situation. Li Mu's gaze swept across, and finally, at the end, he saw a familiar name.
Li Qing.
Li Mu's gaze continued to move down, and his expression froze.
Under her name, there were no other words.
Other than her name, where she came from, and who else was in her family, there was nothing.
Elder Xu also noticed the abnormality. Looking at Elder Sun, he asked, "What's going on?"
Elder Sun scratched his head, also somewhat puzzled. "Logically speaking, such a situation should not have occurred, unless she did not enter the sect through the normal method. As for the specific method, I'm afraid only the Elder who guided her into the sect back then would know."
There was no record in Li Qing's file. Elder Sun asked the other Elders, but none of them knew.
In the past ten years, the positions of the Elders of the various peaks had changed, and some had even died due to unknown reasons. To find the Elder who guided Li Qing into the sect back then would probably require the full power of the Fu-lu School.
This trip could be considered a fruitless one. As they flew out of Violet Cloud Peak, Elder Xu said to Li Mu, "Lord Li, don't worry. I will help you keep an eye on this matter. If there is any news, I will inform you immediately."
Li Mu clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, Elder Xu."
Elder Xu smiled and said, "It's no trouble at all."
Li Mu's gaze inadvertently looked down, and he saw that the mountain path below was densely packed with people. Waves of mana could be faintly felt, and he asked curiously, "Why are there so many cultivators down there?"
Elder Xu explained, "In five days, it will be the Talisman Dao Trial that is held once every four years. During each trial, the various peaks will choose a few seedlings who are adept at the Talisman Dao from these cultivators and accept them as disciples."
For a large sect like the Fu-lu School, the legacy of the sect was extremely important.
Li Mu had seen this before. They sent people to the various government offices and through the household register, they found various talents with special constitutions. After accepting them as disciples, they nurtured them from a young age.
Compared to that method, accepting disciples through the trial was obviously less costly and more effective.
The Six Schools and Four Sects were the blessed lands in the hearts of all cultivators. Joining these sects meant that one could use the resources of the sect and receive the guidance of the sect's experts. Therefore, cultivators flocked to these sects. At this moment, Li Mu saw no less than a hundred people below.
Elder Xu looked down and said with some pride, "Thousands of people participate in each trial of our sect. The final winner will receive a talisman. With this talisman, one can directly become a core disciple of our sect …"
As he spoke, he suddenly slapped his head and said, "I remember now. No wonder the name Li Qing sounds familiar to me. Eleven years ago, someone used a talisman to exchange for her opportunity to enter the sect. I was the one who personally handled it …"
Li Mu raised his eyebrows and asked, "The talisman can be used by others?"
Elder Xu nodded and said, "It can. However, if the talisman is not used by the trial champion, but is only given to someone else, then the person who enters the sect through the talisman can only be an ordinary disciple …"
Li Mu thought for a moment and asked, "Can I participate in the Fu-lu trial?"
Elder Xu was stunned for a moment and nodded. "You can. As long as you are a cultivator under the age of thirty, you can participate in the trial …"
He sized up Li Mu and asked, "But does Lord Li know anything about Fu-lu?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "I know a little …"
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