Chapter 26

The mountain range where the Man鬼 Sect is located has more than a dozen peaks of various sizes, but most of them are occupied by the eight branches of the sect. Only the largest peak is not owned by any branch, and on it are built a series of important structures for the sect, such as the Hall of Stewards, the Sutra Pavilion, and the Alchemy Room, which are guarded day and night by carefully selected disciples.

The Ancestral Hall, where the disciples of the Man鬼 Sect pay homage to their predecessors, is naturally also built on this peak.

A huge black cloud descended onto a platform halfway up the mountain. Immediately, several green-robed disciples ran out from a nearby hall and respectfully bowed to the woman on the black cloud, saying:

"Pay respects to Senior Aunt Li. Everything in the Ancestral Hall is ready, just waiting for the Sect Leader and the other senior aunts and uncles."

"Good, you take these new juniors in first. The Sect Leader and the others will come soon," the woman casually instructed.

"Yes, Senior Aunt," the green-robed disciples nodded in agreement, then called out to Liu Ming and the others, leading a group of young boys and girls toward the distant grand hall.

The woman remained where she was, seemingly intending to wait outside for the Sect Leader and the others.

Liu Ming, mingled in the crowd, glanced up as he entered the hall.

Above the door hung a silver plaque several yards long, inscribed with the three large golden characters "Ancestral Hall," with a faint crystalline light faintly shimmering on its surface.

Upon entering the hall, many of the disciples drew in a sharp breath.

The hall, which appeared to be an ordinary structure from the outside, was actually a grand hall over a dozen yards high and covering an area of a hundred acres.

On both sides of the hall were hundreds of black chairs, and at the end of the hall, a large ancient painting about ten feet long hung on the wall.

In the painting, there was a figure in a green robe, with a silver hairpin several inches long in his hair, carrying a sheathless long sword on his back, and stepping on two ferocious ghost heads with his feet. A layer of faint black mist swirled around his body, giving him a mysterious aura.

Below the painting, a silver altar about five to six yards long was placed, with a lit long-burning lamp at each end, and in the middle were about fifteen to sixteen pale golden memorial tablets, each inscribed with a black name.

In front of the altar was a large bronze tripod, with several half-burned incense sticks inserted, giving a solemn feeling.

After the green-robed disciples led the disciples into the hall and stood at the entrance, they no longer paid any attention to the new disciples.

The young boys and girls, seeing this, exchanged glances, but influenced by the solemn atmosphere in the hall, no one whispered to each other, and they could only stand there waiting.

Liu Ming looked around the grand hall and then his gaze fell on the ancient painting hanging in front.

The fact that this painting was hung in such a prominent position suggested that the person depicted was most likely the founding ancestor of the Man鬼 Sect. However, it was only a back view, which was quite unusual.

Liu Ming's random thoughts did not last long. After a while, footsteps were heard from outside, and the green-robed disciples at the entrance bowed and loudly said:

"Pay respects to the Sect Leader and the senior aunts and uncles!"

"Rise," the Sect Leader of the Man鬼 Sect said in a calm voice, and then the old man in a hemp robe, the scholar with the surname Gui, the large man with the surname Lei, and others, including Chong, the last to enter, walked in.

At this moment, all the spirit masters had dispelled their protective spiritual light, revealing their true appearances.

Liu Ming and the other disciples hurriedly paid their respects.

This time, the Sect Leader of the Man鬼 Sect did not let them rise, but led the others to the altar first, picked up an incense stick, lit it, and inserted it into the bronze tripod before turning to let the young boys and girls rise.

"I am the Sect Leader Huangshi. I believe most of you already know me, so I won't introduce myself further. Now that you have opened your spirit sea, after paying homage to the ancestors, you will become true disciples of our sect. The person in the painting in the Ancestral Hall is our founding ancestor, the Six Yin Immortal. Six of the eight branches of our sect are directly descended from the ancestor. The memorial tablets below are for the predecessors who achieved the Crystal Transformation stage. Without their protection, our sect would not have continued to this day. Now, each of you will come forward to offer incense to the ancestor and the predecessors, and report your names," the Sect Leader of the Man鬼 Sect said solemnly.

"Crystal Transformation stage? Are there higher levels above spirit masters?"

Liu Ming, hearing this for the first time, felt a slight stir in his heart. As a newcomer to the cultivation world, he knew very little about it.

Seeing that the other disciples mostly had normal expressions, they must have already known about these matters.

While Liu Ming was pondering, Ge Chong, a disciple of the Earth Spirit Vein, was the first to step forward to the altar and kneel, saying respectfully:

"Disciple Ge Chong, fortunate to join the Man鬼 Sect today, hopes for the protection of the ancestor and the predecessors. I will do my best to promote the sect."

Then the tall young man stood up, picked up an incense stick, lit it, and inserted it into the large tripod before retreating to his original position.

Seeing someone take the lead, the other young boys and girls also came forward one by one to offer incense, and the words they said when joining the sect were mostly similar to Ge Chong's.

After all the disciples had finished, the Sect Leader of the Man鬼 Sect stood in front of them again, his face stern, and said:

"Our sect has three major commandments and thirty-six rules. Violating any one of them can result in severe punishment, such as the destruction of the body and the extraction of the soul, or the sealing of one's powers and being sent to the Black Wind Valley to suffer the wind and thunder punishments. The specific content of these commandments and rules will be explained to you in detail in a few days. You must behave yourselves!"

"Yes," the disciples responded in unison, their hearts filled with awe.

"Also, our sect is divided into eight branches: Ghost Dance, Yin Sha, Mystic Talisman, Nine Infants, Poison Spirit, Corpse Refinement, Heavenly Opportunity, and Blood Transformation. According to tradition, the senior aunts and uncles of these eight branches will take turns selecting disciples. Do you have any objections?" the Sect Leader of the Man鬼 Sect asked calmly.

The disciples naturally did not voice any real objections.

The old man in the hemp robe, seeing this, was very satisfied and continued:

"Since that's the case, I will represent the Blood Transformation branch and select a disciple first. Ge Chong, you have good potential. Are you willing to join the Blood Transformation branch? I am willing to personally take you as my direct disciple."

As soon as he said this, the Sect Leader's gaze fell on the tall young man.

"Disciple Ge Chong is willing to be your disciple!" The tall young man, without any hesitation, stepped out of the crowd and bowed deeply to the old man in the hemp robe.

"Good, child, you may rise. From now on, you are my seventh direct disciple. Your other senior brothers and sisters will be introduced to you when we return to my residence," the Sect Leader of the Man鬼 Sect laughed and let the tall young man rise, then followed him to the side.

Seeing this, the scholar with the surname Gui, Junior Brother Chu, the large man with the surname Lei, and others had rather unpleasant expressions, but none of them spoke to stop it.

"I am Chu Qi, the mountain master of the Yin Sha branch. Jia Lan, come here," Junior Brother Chu then stepped forward and beckoned to a seemingly unremarkable, pretty young girl in the crowd.

Revealing his true appearance, he was a graceful young man in his thirties, a handsome and elegant figure.

"What, she is Jia Lan, the one with the Nightmare Body!"

"Impossible, I know this girl, isn't her name Su'er?"

"Idiot, she must have used a fake name before!"

The disciples next to the pretty young girl immediately stepped back in surprise, and many people began to whisper in shock.

The young girl, seemingly oblivious to all this, walked out of the crowd, silently bowed to Chu Qi, and then stood up.

Chu Qi nodded in satisfaction and led the young girl to the side.

"Nightmare Body!"

Liu Ming stared at the young girl for a few moments, and recalling the enchanting woman he had seen on the square, he felt a sense of clarity.

"Lei Zhen, what are you waiting for? Come here," the large man with the surname Lei, standing in place, glared at Lei Zhen in the crowd and shouted.

Lei Zhen's eyes twitched, seemingly somewhat unwilling, but he still walked over reluctantly.

In this way, the eight most outstanding disciples were quickly selected by the eight branches.

Among them, the scholar with the surname Gui somewhat reluctantly chose a Nine Spirit Vein disciple, apparently as a trade-off for the Sect Leader's favor.

For the master of the Nine Infants branch, if he could have taken a Nine Spirit Vein disciple in the past, it would have been a cause for celebration, but now, having lost a Earth Spirit Vein disciple who should have been his, he could not be happy.

The other branches also chose the remaining Nine Spirit Vein disciples.

In the second round, the branches mostly selected Six Spirit Vein disciples and others with some talent in certain areas.

As a Three Spirit Vein spirit apprentice, Liu Ming naturally could not be selected in the first few rounds.

However, when the Six Spirit Vein disciples were almost all selected, someone finally noticed Liu Ming.

The 'Junior Sister Lin' of the Ghost Dance branch, whose full name is Lin Caiyu, is a seemingly twenty-something pretty woman. When her gaze fell on Liu Ming, she finally remembered what the Sect Leader had said about his mental strength being stronger than average.

Their branch excels in illusions and needs disciples with good mental strength.

Thus, she decided that when it was her turn, she would definitely select Liu Ming.

The Sect Leader, having obtained the Earth Spirit Vein disciple Ge Chong, had already focused most of his attention on him and had forgotten about the disciple he had mentioned casually.

However, the next moment, something unexpected happened:

"Hmm, you are Liu Ming, right? Are you willing to join our Nine Infants branch?" When it was the scholar with the surname Gui's turn, he pointed at Liu Ming and asked in a seemingly casual manner.

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