Chapter 1 Nanshan

Mr. Nanshan looked like an ordinary old man, with nothing particularly memorable about him except for his exceptionally bright eyes.

On the other hand, the two Wen family executives beside him exuded an extraordinary aura. Judging by their appearance alone, it was clear they were no ordinary people.

Both had stern faces, their gazes sweeping across the banquet hall, lingering especially on several Wen family direct descendants, revealing expressions of anticipation.

"Those with Mr. Nanshan are my eldest uncle and third uncle. Be careful of my third uncle later," Wen Tingting whispered next to Ye Chuxiao.

Ye Chuxiao nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

Big families! There were always some messy things going on.

When a family's internal members were united, everyone working together towards a common goal, it was a family on the rise, with a clear core and complete goals and direction.

Once the core became unclear and development stagnated, internal strife and infighting would inevitably follow.

Ultimately, it all came down to resources.

The Wen family was certainly a large family, but the best resources at the top were limited.

Just like Wen Tingting being able to use the Treasure Jade Gourd to chase the aurora, such treatment was not available to all Wen family members.

Other Wen family members who were not eligible to use the Treasure Jade Gourd would naturally be filled with jealousy towards Wen Tingting.

Mr. Nanshan looked around and coughed twice, clearing his throat.

The entire banquet hall quieted down.

"Twenty years ago, I was seriously injured and ended up in Wen Family Mountain City. I am grateful to the Wen family's Old Master for not disdaining me, sheltering me within the mountain city, settling me on Nanshan Mountain, and treating me with the courtesy of a distinguished guest. Even later, when I was certain that my cultivation could no longer be restored and I was merely a ghost guarding a corpse, the Old Master's courtesy towards me never diminished in the slightest," Mr. Nanshan said, word by word, very clearly, his tone extremely sincere.

"To this day, many old friends have withered, and many old enemies have also been mostly eliminated. On the contrary, I, a useless person, have survived until now, feeling ashamed," Mr. Nanshan continued.

At this moment, a wave of comforting sounds spontaneously arose from the crowd.

Although Mr. Nanshan belittled himself, he was by no means as 'useless' as he described himself.

Although his cultivation was ruined, his personal knowledge, accumulation, cognition, and thoughts were still extraordinary. Over the past twenty years, he had not only written books and established his thoughts in Wen Family Mountain City, adding some literary flavor to Wen Family Mountain City, but many Wen family cultivators had also been taught by Mr. Nanshan, counting as his registered disciples.

The fact that Wen Family Mountain City's cultivators could have such a scale today, occupying a place in the entire Wasteland Battle Realm, could be said to be inseparable from Mr. Nanshan's teaching.

He alone had made the Wen family's cultivators' prosperity flourish by more than a third.

If not, when Mr. Nanshan proposed to leave, how could the cultivators of Wen Family Mountain City have made such a big commotion?

"Past grievances have dissipated with time. I have not returned to my hometown for many years, and now I only wish to return to my homeland and bury this remnant body under the paulownia tree in my hometown."

Saying that, Mr. Nanshan opened the two glazed boxes behind him.

Turning to Wen Liangyu, Wen Tingting's eldest uncle, on the right side, he said, "Liangyu! These are all my random thoughts and notes over the years, recorded over time, and compiled into a record over three years. I will hand them over to you."

"If there are younger generations who can bear to take a look, it will be my honor."

As soon as Mr. Nanshan's voice fell, many cultivators who were not Wen family members showed disappointed expressions.

They had originally thought that Mr. Nanshan would take out this *Nanshanzhai* Records and publicly select a suitable successor, and they would still have a few opportunities.

Ye Chuxiao, on the other hand, felt that this was normal.

Otherwise, Mr. Nanshan, who had been sheltered by the Wen family for many years, would instead give his hard-earned insights to strangers out of temporary emotion before leaving. Although it could not be said to be ungrateful, it would seem somewhat mean.

Wen Liangyu cupped his fist to Mr. Nanshan and said, "Sir, your great virtue will never be forgotten by my Wen family for generations."

Saying that, he turned to the public and said, "I also know that Mr. Nanshan left this record not only for my Wen family. Now that Mr. Nanshan has entrusted his life's work, I will also set up three tests here. If all are passed, the record can be borrowed for three days."

As soon as these words came out, Wen Liangyu immediately received a large wave of praise.

Ye Chuxiao couldn't help but sigh that this person knew how to seize opportunities to win people's hearts.

Mr. Nanshan's records, if they were useful, would of course be very useful.

But if they were useless... they could also be said to be useless.

It was neither a peerless divine skill nor any secret passed down.

For the right person at the right time, what was recorded on it was certainly invaluable advice, but for those who were not suitable, reading it would be of no use.

Wen Liangyu's choice not to put this record on a high shelf, only for a few people to observe, but to make it public with conditions, was to magnify the value of this record.

Of course, he was not simply doing good deeds.

I'm afraid the secret was hidden in those three tests.

Sure enough, someone immediately asked, "May I ask, Great City Master, what are these three tests?"

Wen Liangyu smiled and said, "Since it is Mr. Nanshan's life's work, then it cannot be viewed by mediocre people. Therefore, the first test is to rely on one's own strength, starting from this building as the base, to walk to the top floor. Those who reach the top will be considered to have passed the first test."

"The subsequent viewing order will be determined by the time it takes to finally pass the three tests."

"Brother! It's still necessary to set a time limit, otherwise there will always be people coming to climb the building, which will be a trouble for us," Wen Liangjue, Wen Tingting's third uncle, said.

Wen Liangyu pondered for a moment, then threw the question back to Wen Liangjue, "Then, what does Third Brother think is a good time limit?"

Wen Liangjue said, "Then let's set a period of one day. If you don't reach the top within one day, then you can only wait for the next opportunity."

"As for when the next test will be held, we might as well wait until I discuss it with the elders before making a decision."

With a few words, Wen Liangjue was about to pick Wen Liangyu's fruit.

Wen Liangyu had taken the first sip of soup, but the future initiative was about to be held in Wen Liangjue's hands.

Mr. Nanshan stood aside, keenly aware of the two brothers' hidden intentions, but without any intention of interfering.

He had already handed over the records, and he would not interfere much in how they were handled in the future.

In the crowd, Ye Chuxiao whispered to Wen Tingting, "Is there anything special about climbing the Wen family mansion?"

Wen Tingting said, "You should have heard that rumor. That's right... the Wen family mansion is indeed a divine artifact, a divine weapon that is being conceived. We are now in the shaft part. Under the isolation of the formation, we don't feel it yet, but if we walk upwards, the higher we go, the more pressure we will bear. When we reach the tip of the spear, the pressure we bear is definitely not something ordinary people can withstand."

"To resist the pressure, you either need an extremely amazing willpower, or a heaven-defying cultivation, or you need to show absolute obedience to the Wen family, without any rebellious thoughts."

Speaking of this, Wen Tingting showed a difficult expression and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to make a wasted trip tonight. Don't try it easily."

"The climbing process is not that simple. If your thoughts are slightly off, there is a risk of having your cognition forcibly reversed."

Ye Chuxiao understood the hidden meaning in Wen Tingting's words.

Her meaning was that during the process of climbing the Wen family mansion... or rather, the Wen family building, if one's willpower was not firm, they would be forcibly brainwashed by this building, which was transformed from a divine weapon, and become a staunch supporter of the Wen family.

Since Wen Liangyu took out the records as bait, it was impossible for him to easily allow outsiders to peek at them.

As for those who could really withstand the pressure and pass this first level, there were still the second and third levels.

If someone really forcibly passed all three levels, then it would not be impossible for the Wen family to form a good relationship with them.

What Wen Tingting said to Ye Chuxiao was obviously not an absolute secret.

Some cultivators who had stayed in Wen Family Mountain City for a long time also had some speculation about the tricks involved, and couldn't help but show difficult expressions.

Relying on the Wen family for survival and completely surrendering to the Wen family were two absolutely different concepts.

For a *Nanshanzhai* Record, is it worth risking losing 'self'? This requires careful consideration.

"Of course, in order to avoid everyone returning disappointed this time, I have decided to extract some excerpts from the record and publish them here for everyone to view," Wen Liangyu said at this moment.

Mr. Nanshan, upon hearing this, showed a slight surprise. Although he remained silent, he clearly had an unpleasant expression.

He had no complaints about his life's work being used by the Wen family as a foundation for recruiting talents.

After all, he had been sheltered by the Wen family for half his life and had lived in Wen Family Mountain City for twenty years. In fact, he had already regarded himself as a member of the Wen family.

However, Wen Liangyu's method of deliberately setting bait and luring people into the trap was really a bit low-level, making his intentions seem ugly.

In the center of the banquet hall, a series of texts were projected onto a large crystal screen.

Many people knew it was bait, but they couldn't resist the temptation, and they were full of confidence in themselves, so they looked over.

At this sight, many people were immediately fascinated.

It must be said that Mr. Nanshan was extremely special.

He was once a rare great cultivator in the world, his cultivation entering the Intent Realm, almost stepping into the legendary Wuding Realm, and later he was seriously injured, and his cultivation gradually dissipated.

With Wen Family Mountain City as a support, he read a large number of cultivation books in order to solve his own cultivation problems.

In this way, many insights converged in his heart and transformed into thoughts and words. His unique perspective and way of looking at cultivation were worth learning from by many cultivators.

Ye Chuxiao was also looking at those excerpts.

These excerpted texts, combined with many of the past experiences of powerful individuals he had seen in the Aurora Realm, connected together, and brought new feelings.

The two were compared to each other, like the difference between watching a movie and reading a novel.

The former is more intuitive, but it involves relatively less of the heart and thinking, and the space left for the viewer to imagine is narrower, giving things more directly and thoroughly.

The latter, on the other hand, leaves a lot of blank space through the way of recording text. This blank part is more suitable for the viewer to fill in their own things.

Equivalent to the records just giving a framework of thought, in which the specific things to be inserted are actually the accumulation of the observer.

[The old book friend who has known me for ten years recommended me to use the app to chase books, which can change sources! It's so easy to use, I rely on this reading audiobook to pass the time while driving and before going to bed, you can download it here]

Undoubtedly, it is more helpful to help cultivators break through from the Transformation Realm to the Wisdom Realm.

"The *Nanshanzhai* Record, the complete record, I must see it!"

"It can save me a lot of time. If I read the complete version, I might only need to use another year... at most two years, to break through to the Wisdom Realm, and the rest of the time will allow me to sprint and try to break through the Intent Realm."

"In this way, my subsequent overall plan will have a very strong supplement."

"Once I have Intent Realm cultivation when I return to Daheng, it is equivalent to finally standing on the same competitive line as Jin Buyi and Ying Shu, and no longer being a weak party, who may be easily eaten at any time," Ye Chuxiao thought with great ambition.

But at this moment, an even more crazy idea emerged in Ye Chuxiao's heart.

The *Nanshanzhai* Record is dead.

Mr. Nanshan... he is alive!

If he was given a wisp of Dao rhythm…

Ye Chuxiao interrupted his own evil thought.

"Why do I have such an idea?"

"I am certainly not a gentleman with moral cleanliness, but I am not such a despicable person who has no integrity in order to profit."

"But the previous impulse is by no means fake... it seems that the Heart Pill still has an impact on me, it still invisibly amplifies my desires and magnifies my evil thoughts," Ye Chuxiao was very sure that he was not shirking responsibility.

Before being parasitized by the Heart Pill, he would not even have such an evil thought in the same situation.

"In any case, first strive for the *Nanshanzhai* Record." Ye Chuxiao did not blindly cut off his thoughts, but used stronger other thoughts to isolate and ignore those evil thoughts.

The power of the Heart Pill is equivalent to placing a part of another person's heart in one's own body.

Simply cutting off certain thoughts would have the opposite effect.

Those cut off thoughts would really integrate into one's own heart and become a part of oneself.

This kind of subtle influence is the terrible thing about the Heart Pill.

"May I ask Great City Master! What are the remaining two tests?" The mouthpiece present asked the question for Ye Chuxiao.

Wen Liangyu said, "The second test is to withstand ten rounds in my or my third brother's hands."

"This is also to ensure that you have the ability to protect the content of the records you see. Otherwise, if your strength is insufficient, you will be forced to ask by those with evil intentions who come to your door tomorrow, and this is our fault."

These words sounded very nice, but they were actually setting limits.

Even if someone wanted to sell themselves to the Wen family as a dog, the Wen family would have to see if they were qualified!

Not everyone is qualified to be a dog for the Wen family.

"As for the third test... I have decided to leave it to Mr. Nanshan. In a sense, those who are lucky to read the record can be regarded as Mr. Nanshan's disciples."

"Mr. Nanshan should conduct tests on the viewers."

"Of course, only this time. In the future, Mr. Nanshan will return to his hometown to live in seclusion, I'm afraid this third test should be changed."

Wen Liangyu's few words brought Mr. Nanshan, who was originally uninvolved, back into the circle.

It also dissolved most of Wen Liangjue's previous arrangement for 'picking fruits'.

Being personally 'tested' by Mr. Nanshan was more of a benefit than a test.

With Mr. Nanshan's personal guidance, reading the record again would definitely have a different effect than reading it on one's own initiative.

Ambitious and thoughtful cultivators would never miss this rare opportunity.

Instead of waiting for the next time.