Inside the ancestral hall of Potter's Field, Ling Xiao curiously asked Uncle Nine, who was offering incense to the founding ancestor.
After returning with Qiu Sheng, they had been summoned to the ancestral hall by Uncle Nine, who seemed to have something important to announce.
"Ling Xiao, I've raised you for fifteen years, and taught you cultivation techniques for a full ten years. Now that your strength has reached the Earth Master Realm, it's time for you to officially become a disciple of Mount Mao!"
Uncle Nine slowly turned around, his expression solemn as he looked at Ling Xiao.
"Wait—Senior Brother isn't already a disciple of Mount Mao?"
Qiu Sheng was stunned. Did that mean Ling Xiao wasn't yet considered an official disciple?
"You, Wen Cai, and Qiu Sheng are all my disciples, yes, but only as named disciples. Your names aren't recorded in Mount Mao's records, nor have you been acknowledged by the founding ancestors. Strictly speaking, you don't yet count as disciples of Mount Mao."
Seeing Qiu Sheng's confusion, Uncle Nine offered an explanation.
Ling Xiao nodded slightly. He hadn't been entirely clear on this either—Uncle Nine had never gone into detail about it before.
Uncle Nine continued his explanation.
"There are three ways to become an official disciple of Mount Mao.
"The first method is to come to Mount Mao with no prior foundation, pass the talent test, and join the sect. But to become a true Mount Mao Daoist, one must reach the Earth Master Realm. That's how I, your master, entered Mount Mao."
At this point, Uncle Nine became a little nostalgic. Those were the most treasured years of his life.
"Then what about us disciples who never went to Mount Mao?" Qiu Sheng asked curiously.
"That brings us to the second and third methods. You all would be considered branch disciples of Mount Mao. But even to be acknowledged as a branch disciple, one must first reach the Earth Master Realm.
"In other words, since your senior brother has reached the necessary realm, once we seek the ancestors' approval, his name can be officially entered into the Mount Mao registry, making him a true Mount Mao Daoist.
"And to become an official disciple at the age of fifteen—he'd be the only one in hundreds of years! With such talent, he might even reach the Heavenly Master Realm in the future, becoming the next leader of Mount Mao!"
Uncle Nine looked at Ling Xiao with pride brimming in his voice.
"Whoa! If Senior Brother becomes the head of Mount Mao, we'll be set for life!"
Qiu Sheng looked at Ling Xiao with admiration.
Becoming the head of Mount Mao—that was an extraordinary achievement.
"Master, you're exaggerating. To become the sect leader requires incredibly strict qualifications. As someone cultivating in the Corpse-raising branch, I'm practically disqualified from the start."
Ling Xiao responded with a helpless smile.
His words made Uncle Nine sigh. Indeed, those who practiced corpse cultivation were often mistrusted—especially a genius like Ling Xiao, whose power grew at such an astonishing rate.
If word got out, few besides Uncle Nine would believe he hadn't gone down an evil path.
"Let's put that aside for now. I'll explain the final method—the third method is the only one that allows someone to be registered in the Mount Mao records without reaching the Earth Master Realm.
"Every year on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, during the Ghost Festival, Mount Mao holds a grand ancestral rite. On that day, the gates of the Underworld open, allowing the spirits of past ancestors to return to Mount Mao through a special sect ritual.
"If even one ancestor who reached the Heavenly Master Realm acknowledges you, you can directly become a disciple of Mount Mao.
"This ancestral ceremony is open to both branch and core disciples. But gaining the recognition of an ancestor is incredibly difficult.
"In our generation, only two people were recognized. The first was my senior brother Shi Jian. He awakened the power of heavenly lightning, and was recognized by an ancestor—becoming the first disciple of our generation to be recorded in the official Mount Mao register.
"He even became our generation's Senior Brother of Highest Rank—the heir to the sect leadership."
Uncle Nine calmly explained to the two.
"So that's how Senior Brother Shi Jian rose up!"
Ling Xiao suddenly understood.
"Master, didn't you say two people were acknowledged by the ancestors in your generation? Who was the other one?"
Qiu Sheng asked curiously.
"The second one… well, that would be your master—me. This whisk right here was given to me by the ancestor himself."
With that, Uncle Nine lifted his chin proudly and pointed to the whisk placed next to the ancestor's statue.
"It was you, Master?! Shi Jian had heavenly lightning powers—what about you?"
Qiu Sheng grew excited at the revelation.
Uncle Nine simply smiled.
"That's my secret technique for staying alive. One day, you'll see it for yourselves."
He spoke mysteriously.
Not only was Qiu Sheng intrigued, even Ling Xiao looked puzzled. Uncle Nine still had hidden aces up his sleeve?
"Master, shall we begin?"
Ling Xiao asked seriously.
"Very well!"
Uncle Nine nodded solemnly.
He stepped in front of the ancestral statue and performed a deep ceremonial bow, then reverently took down the whisk.
The ancestral statue depicted the legendary ancestor Zhong Kui.
Each disciple worshiped a different founding ancestor—this was related to the Summoning Ritual technique.
Only the recognized disciples could summon the respective ancestor.
Uncle Nine had once been acknowledged by Ancestor Zhong Kui, and thus worshiped him.
In all of Mount Mao, few could rival Zhong Kui in power.
Currently, only Uncle Nine could summon Zhong Kui.
Even the incredibly gifted Shi Jian could only summon a 500-year-old ancestor.
But Zhong Kui? He was a near-2000-year-old ancestor, a true peak existence.
Ling Xiao had already guessed—Uncle Nine's trump card was likely this Summoning Ritual.
Of course, surrounding Zhong Kui's statue were the name tablets of more than ten other Heavenly Master Realm ancestors from the same lineage.
Due to the difficulty of summoning Zhong Kui, they typically summoned these others.
"Hah!!"
At that moment, Uncle Nine let out a powerful shout and swept the whisk forward.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Instantly, every candle in the ancestral hall lit up, burning with a ghostly green flame from the surge of Yin energy.
The entire hall became eerily cold.
Then, Uncle Nine took out a stack of spirit money from his robes.
Whoosh!
Under the cover of his True Qi, the paper money burst into flames.
"Eighty-first generation disciple of Mount Mao, Yi Mei, respectfully summons the presence of the Founding Ancestor!!"
Uncle Nine knelt reverently and kowtowed toward the ancestors' name tablets.
Ling Xiao and Qiu Sheng also dropped to their knees.
Buzz!!!
Suddenly, one of the ancestor tablets began to emit a surge of violent Yin energy.
The surge caused the tablet to slowly rise into the air.
Uncle Nine's eyes lit up.
"Disciple Yi Mei respectfully welcomes the immortal spirit of Ancestor Qing Yun!
My disciple, Ling Xiao, has now reached the Earth Master Realm.
I humbly ask the ancestor to grant recognition, so that his name may be entered into the Mount Mao registry!"
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