"Senior, what sect do you belong to, and where is your sect located?"
Cao Zili felt a trace of relief upon hearing Yang Hong preparing to register, but seeing that Yang Hong and his three companions were completely unfamiliar, he guessed they were not cultivators from the nearby immortal cultivation world.
At least, they were not powerful cultivators that Cao Zili could access.
"This Seat hails from Qingfeng Mountain Villa. Our sect is currently situated in Xi Mi of the Purple Kun Mountain Range."
"Xi Mi of the Purple Kun Mountain Range? Senior, you must have just relocated, haven't you? Where was your sect located before?"
Hearing Yang Hong, Cao Zili relaxed further. A sect relocating to such an isolated place was surely not a major sect. Now, as long as he invoked the backing of the De Yuan Sect, he would be safe.
"I come from the Li Huo Desert."
Yang Hong naturally saw Cao Zili's expression and guessed his thoughts, so he went along with his assumption and fabricated a background for himself.
This was because after every outbreak of the [Black Despair], cultivators from the Li Huo Desert would come to the Purple Kun Mountain Range to settle and develop. Not only in Xi Mi, but some powerful sects and families would even cross the Purple Kun Mountain Range to develop in Dong Mi, or even the Yu Rou Plain.
"So that's how it is. Then, Senior, how many disciples are you planning to recruit?"
Cao Zili was now completely reassured and his questioning became much smoother.
"As many as I can recruit."
"When does Senior plan to recruit disciples in the mountain range? Are there any age restrictions? Although I imagine Senior knows, we cannot recruit youths under 14."
"I am aware of this. We will start recruiting from today. I will accept anyone who is willing and destined to join."
"Heh heh~ Then, this junior will help Senior post the announcements."
"That would be good."
Hearing that this Foundation Establishment cultivator could help post announcements, Yang Hong nodded with satisfaction. This would save him some trouble.
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators bowed and took their leave, simultaneously writing the proclamation and reporting Yang Hong's situation to their respective sects. They were very familiar with such matters.
Every year, some small sects would come to the Gu Li Kingdom to recruit disciples.
In fact, this was already a custom in the immortal cultivation world of the Yu Rou Plain.
High-ranking major sects had their own exclusive territories. Nominally, recruitment was open to any sect, but low-ranking sects, unless they sought death or war, dared not recruit disciples in the exclusive territories of high-ranking sects.
Conversely, high-ranking sects could recruit disciples from low-ranking sects without much obstruction, as long as they were not overly aggressive.
These exclusive territories occupied half of the Yu Rou Plain, and they were all areas rich in spiritual energy.
The remaining areas, though supposedly public, were often claimed by sects below the seventh rank, with relatively fewer restrictions.
However, the Yu Rou Plain had a rule that had been established at some point: the unified recruitment of disciples took place on the second day of the second lunar month each year.
This was a rule that resulted from compromises among many parties.
After the second day of the second month, the remaining youths of suitable age were almost all individuals without spiritual roots or cultivation aptitude. Therefore, those sects only restricted the recruitment of outsiders before the second day of the second month; they imposed fewer restrictions on cultivators who came to recruit afterward.
This meant that cultivators like Yang Hong, who only needed to register, could recruit.
It was now mid-June. All potential recruits had already been taken in. Therefore, despite the three Foundation Establishment cultivators posting announcements, the number of mortals coming to the Imperial City Square to register for testing was very scarce.
Looking at the sparse crowds in the Imperial City Square, Yang Hong felt not only the lack of people but also the decline and senescence of the Gu Li Kingdom.
"Husband, this won't do. Not only are there few people coming, but there isn't a single mortal with spiritual roots."
Compared to Yang Hong's calm demeanor, Zhu Yuyan was getting a little anxious.
"It's alright. Let's take this opportunity to properly cultivate the [Piercing Eye]. It's a pupil technique derived from the fusion of immortal artifacts, and it consumes a considerable amount of pháp lực."
Yang Hong's eyes now flashed with a white light when they opened and closed, making him look quite eerie, as he had not yet mastered the [Piercing Eye].
Zhu Yuyan continued to persuade, "But we should also find a solution. How about we switch to a dynasty with more abundant spiritual energy to recruit disciples?"
"No need. The situation in other dynasties might be similar. Once I master the [Piercing Eye], I will be able to quickly select suitable disciples.
However, there are indeed too few people in this Gu Li Imperial City. We need to attract more people.
Or, we can directly bring people over."
Yang Hong smiled slightly as a good idea struck him, and he produced a grand item!
A flying artifact.
It was the only fifth-rank flying ship he possessed – the Sky Soaring Boat.
This Sky Soaring Boat was 6 zhang wide, 27 zhang long, and 20 zhang high. It was entirely refined from a sixth-rank spiritual wood – the Yi Kong Shan tree. The hull was adorned with gold and jade carvings and painted beams, and all materials were spiritual objects of at least fifth rank, making it incredibly luxurious.
The Sky Soaring Boat resembled a multi-story building floating in the air, divided into ten levels, each two zhang high, with formations protecting it inside and out.
With this magnificent treasure, it could carry two to three thousand people without issue, and even ten thousand if they squeezed in!
The construction of such a flying artifact was very troublesome and could only be accomplished by large sects. Yang Hong obtaining such a vessel was purely by luck.
As for the original owner of this Sky Soaring Boat?
Yang Hong had truly forgotten.
When the Buddhist sect migrated to the Tai Yuan Continent, he had killed too many people. Not only were there Buddhist monks, but also immortal cultivators, and even evil cultivators and demons. Their numbers exceeded a million!
The more people he killed, the more spoils of war he acquired. He only kept the truly valuable items on his person.
Flying artifacts, due to their large size, were rare. He only had two on him, the other being the eighth-rank [Sky Piercer Shuttle].
While the Sky Soaring Boat was grand, its speed was somewhat slow, and its target was too large. It was unsuitable for rapid travel, which was why Yang Hong had used the Sky Piercer Shuttle to fly here.
Now, he would use the [Sky Soaring Boat] to impress and attract attention.
He believed that mortals who had never seen the Sky Soaring Boat would re-evaluate the strength of [Qingfeng Mountain Villa].
Of course, Yang Hong's target had never been ordinary mortals.
He took out pieces of third-rank spirit ore manifesting stones, which rapidly melted under the combustion of Yang Hong's divine sense fire.
Cao Zili and his two companions, who had just been marveling at Yang Hong's luxurious flying ship, were now captivated by Yang Hong's miraculous artifact refining skills.
"This Qingfeng Mountain Villa seems to have profound foundations!"
"Whether it has profound foundations, I don't know, but I do know they must be very wealthy, with spirit stones."
"I don't care if they are wealthy or not, but I really want to learn this artifact refining technique!"
Yang Hong's lips curved slightly. He heard the three of them discussing enthusiastically.
Simultaneously, rogue cultivators in the city in the Qi Refining stage were also discussing in hushed tones. These were the disciples Yang Hong intended to recruit.
Soon, a mirror-like magical artifact was refined. Upon inputting pháp lực, a line of colorful text appeared:
"Qingfeng Mountain Villa recruits disciples. Age unlimited, cultivation unlimited, aptitude unlimited. All who are destined will be accepted."
Wow~
So beautiful~
So domineering.
Although the Imperial City Square wasn't crowded, it wasn't empty either. The common folk were drawn to this novel neon sign.
Even those who didn't intend to join the sect would come to watch the spectacle.
And so, people began to arrive.
But it wasn't over yet. Yang Hong then refined shop signs and hung them on the front, back, left, and right of the Sky Soaring Boat. He then instructed Zhu Yuyan and the others to tour the Gu Li Kingdom.
"Report! Quickly report to the sect, and have the sect leader come to make a decision."
Upon seeing the Sky Soaring Boat ascend into the sky and hearing the task Yang Hong assigned to Zhu Yuyan, Cao Zili and the other two urgently reported to their sect, asking the powers within their sects to contact their patrons to stop Yang Hong!