Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 696 Things have changed, but where are the old friends?

"Stop whoever comes!"

"Rein in your horse and register!"

The two statues of the gods Heng and Ha at the entrance of the witch's academy immediately "came to life" after Shang Lu rode his horse into the warning area.

The statue of the god Ha on the left has its mouth wide open. With a "Ha!" it pushes its hands outwards. If the pokeweed disobeys its command, it will unleash its magical power to attack.

The statue of the god of humming on the right is silent and coldly snorting, with his hands crossed in front of his chest, ready to open a barrier at any time to protect the witch's academy.

Such a commotion immediately alerted those waiting for the next round of recruitment assessments in the row of taverns and teahouses outside the gates of the Witch Academy.

They all peeked out, scrutinizing Shang Lu and his group with curious and appraising eyes.

The group of people waiting for the recruitment assessment arrived relatively late and had never seen Shang Lu before. In addition, Shang Lu was not wearing a witch's robe, but was dressed in ordinary clothes, as were Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others following behind him, so they regarded Shang Lu as one of their own.

Many people were watching the spectacle with a schadenfreude attitude.

"Heh heh, another ungrateful bastard has arrived."

"It's one thing to act arrogantly elsewhere, but to be so cocky at the gates of the Witch Academy, they really don't know how to spell 'death'!"

"Now there's something good to watch!"

However, some people realized something was wrong—the two statues guarding the gates of the Witchcraft Academy were no ordinary beings. If others didn't know the rules, they would have already taught them a lesson. Why would they be asking people to reveal their names and being so tense and wary?

Their gazes swept over Shang Lu, guessing his identity with surprise. Not only did they not dare to join in the mockery, but they also quietly distanced themselves from those ungrateful fellows beside them.

Shang Lu noticed the tension in the two statues, Heng and Ha, and patted Hei Yun's head to stop it.

As soon as the dark clouds stopped, Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others following behind reined in their horses.

Shang Lu leaped down from the black cloud and bowed respectfully to the Heng Ha statue, which looked as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Shang Lu, a disciple of the Baiyi County Witchcraft Academy, requests that his two teachers open the academy gate."

Upon hearing that the visitors were disciples of the Witchcraft Academy, the two statues, Heng and Ha, visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, they did not lower their guard, but instead ordered: "Show the shaman's token and verify your identity!"

Shang Lu smiled wryly: "My shamanic token was accidentally damaged. You two teachers can ask Yun Jun and Shan Jun; they recognize me."

The two statues, Heng and Ha, shook their heads in unison: "Yun Jun and Shan Jun have been transferred away from the Witchcraft Academy."

Shang Lu asked curiously, "Transferred from the Witchcraft Academy? Where were you transferred to?"

The statue shook its head again: "I don't know!"

The statue of Ha asked, "Is there anyone else who can vouch for your identity?"

“Senior Brother Feng Boyuan, you can vouch for me,” Shang Lu said.

The statue continued to shake its head: "If this person is not in the Witchcraft Academy, is there anyone else who can vouch for you?"

"Not here?" Shang Lu was taken aback. "Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know." The statue kept shaking its head.

"Senior Brother Bai Lingxu can also vouch for me."

Shang Lu gave another name, but was once again told that the person was not in the witch's academy.

He came here to find Feng Boyuan and Bai Lingxu, but neither of them was there.

The two statues, Heng and Ha, were only responsible for guarding the gate of the Witch Academy and had no idea about the whereabouts of the disciples.

While Shang Lu was speechless, he thought of someone else who might be able to tell him where Feng Boyuan and Bai Lingxu had gone.

So he asked again, "Is Uncle-Master Lu Dao of the Discipline Department in the Witchcraft Academy?"

This time, the two statues, Heng and Ha, finally stopped saying they weren't there and nodded in unison.

"With the great shaman Lu Dao here, we'll help you make the contact right away."

"If only you had mentioned Lu Dao Da Shaman earlier, it would have been much better."

Shang Lu also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his Uncle Lu was still at the Witch Academy, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to find any acquaintances on this trip back... Oh no, he was quite familiar with Hua Xuelu.

As for the other teachers and students, even those from the military and witchcraft departments, they might not remember Shang Lu, because he stayed in the witch academy for far too short a time.

"They call Uncle Lu a Great Shaman? That means he's broken through in cultivation." Shang Lu muttered to himself.

Thinking back carefully, it seems to make sense. After wiping out the bandits and returning to the Witch Academy, Uncle Lu received a generous reward. He was to fill the vacancy of the fifth-grade Inner Palace Realm after the fall of the Great Witch Zhongli, and even went into seclusion for a period of time.

It seems he has completed his seclusion and successfully broken through.

While Shang Lu was happy for Lu Dao, he couldn't help but think that if he didn't have San Niang and Wu Zang Miao, even if he entered the Witch Academy, he would probably only be able to follow the steps, accumulating seniority and merits to exchange for the materials needed for a breakthrough. He might even have to hope that a higher-level witch would fall, creating an opportunity for "promotion".

Shang Lu used to think that these were all due to a lack of resources for cultivation.

Now his views have changed. In today's world, cultivation resources are indeed not abundant, but the main reason is that various sects and factions monopolize cultivation resources and use them to blackmail and manipulate cultivators, driving them to work for them!
Many cultivators possess exceptional talent, but because they are not scions of sects or aristocratic families, or are not direct descendants, they waste their lives without achieving breakthroughs. Conversely, some direct descendants of sects and aristocratic families, despite having average talent, are able to break through barriers by accumulating resources and using secret methods to improve their physical constitution and talent.

It was precisely because Da Zhu understood these things that he wanted to overthrow the monopoly and control of cultivation by aristocratic families and sects, and create a relatively fair new order where "the capable rise and the mediocre fall."

It also provides some new opportunities for change in this increasingly rigid world.

Unfortunately, Da Zhu's plan has clearly encountered obstacles, and there is even a possibility of its demise.

As Shang Lu was lost in thought, the gates of the Witchcraft Academy opened, and Lu Dao, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, rushed out from behind the gate. Upon seeing Shang Lu, a smile immediately appeared on his usually cold and stern face.

"It really is you back, kid! I thought they were just playing a trick on me!"

Lu Dao looked Shang Lu up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Shang Lu concealed his aura, making it impossible for Lu Dao to discern his true cultivation level. Even so, in Lu Dao's eyes, Shang Lu's cultivation level was at least at the entry level of the Mingxin Realm.

This cultivation speed is just too fast!

Thinking back, when I first met this kid, he was just a beginner disciple who had just mastered Qi cultivation. In just a few short years, he has grown to this level!

Most importantly, this kid only obtained the materials needed for his breakthrough to the Heavenly Realm from the Witch Academy. His subsequent breakthrough to the Mindful Mind Realm was something he secured himself.

This is quite shocking.

"He is indeed blessed with good fortune; I didn't misjudge him." Lu Dao exclaimed, genuinely happy for Shang Lu.

As for whether the addition of a sixth-rank or higher wizard would disrupt the cultivation resource structure of the Wizard Academy and even Baiyi County, that was not something he needed to worry about.

Lu Dao wanted to ask Shang Lu about his experiences during this period and why his cultivation level had soared, but there were too many people and too many eyes at the entrance of the Witch Academy, so it was not a good place to chat. Therefore, he pulled Shang Lu into the Witch Academy.

He didn't forget to pat Shang Lu on the shoulder and give instructions to the two statues of Heng and Ha.

"Remember this face; he's one of our wizarding academy members."

The two statues of the gods, Heng and Ha, crossed their hands and responded with a buzzing sound.

Shang Lu turned around and instructed Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others: "You all rest in the tavern or teahouse next door for a while and wait for me to come out."

Lu Dao glanced back and laughed, "Why wait outside? Let them all come in and rest in the outer courtyard." Then he pointed at Hei Yun, "That beast hasn't been to the outer courtyard for a long time, and many teachers miss him very much."

With Lu Dao's endorsement, the two statues of Heng and Ha naturally did not stop them, and let Du Feng, Zhu Quan and others enter the Witchcraft Academy.

This scene drew envy from the people outside the gates of the Witchcraft Academy and inside the taverns and teahouses.

They had been here for many days, but they couldn't even get a glimpse of what lay behind the gate, let alone enter the witch's academy.

After entering the Witch Academy, Du Feng, Zhu Quan, and the others couldn't help but look around curiously, but no matter how they looked, they couldn't see anything special about the place—after all, they had only been to the outer courtyard and hadn't entered the inner mountain.

However, the spiritual energy here was much denser than outside, making them feel very comfortable.

Shang Lu gave them a few instructions and then followed Lu Dao to the inner mountain to replace the shaman's tablet.

During the journey, Lu Dao finally found an opportunity to express his curiosity.

“We received news that you had died in Xingshan, but we never expected that you would still be alive.”

When Shang Lu heard that Mao Tu had registered him on the list of the dead during his inspection tour, he had already come up with a plan.

He remained completely calm and sighed as he replied, "At that time, Xingshan was in chaos, and I thought I was going to die. Fortunately, the gods protected me and I managed to escape."

Lu Dao had clearly heard about the situation in Xingshan, and nodded, saying, "Xingshan has turned into a deadly place of extreme ferocity. Of those who fall into it, less than one in a hundred survives. It's truly remarkable that you were able to come back alive. But this also further demonstrates your great fortune!"

Before Shang Lu could ask, he sighed again and said, "The other disciples from the Witchcraft Academy who went to Xingshan weren't as lucky as you... Lü Yang, Gongshu Ling, and the others haven't sent any news back and can't be contacted. They've probably perished in the Deadly Death Ground. Oh, by the way, have you seen them?"

"I haven't seen him since I left Xingshan." Shang Lu shook his head, not telling the truth. It wasn't that he didn't trust Lu Dao, but that he didn't want to be a burden to him.

From Lu Dao's words, Shang Lu further confirmed that King Ba's purge of the Wei Wu was carried out in secret, and the local people were unaware of this matter.

After chatting with Lu Dao for a while, Shang Lu also asked about the things he was concerned about.

“Uncle-Master Lu, I came back this time wanting to ask Senior Brothers Feng Boyuan and Bai Lingxu some questions, but I heard from the two statues that they are not in the Witchcraft Academy?”

Shang Lu initially thought that given Lu Dao's status, he wouldn't know anything about the two disciples and that he would need to inquire further before he could get any clues.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Lu Dao said, "He is indeed not here. Feng Boyuan was ordered by the chief priest to go out on a mission. I don't know where he went. As for Bai Lingxu... he was sent to a post outside the capital and returned to his hometown to become a shaman."

"What?" Shang Lu was stunned. "Didn't Senior Brother Bai obtain a set of spiritual materials needed to break through to the Heavenly Realm? Why was he sent away and returned to his hometown to become a shaman?"

According to the rules of the Witch Academy, only those who have not seen a breakthrough opportunity by the appointed time will be sent out.

Even when they were sent out to other places, most of the disciples of the Witchcraft Academy went to places where they had the opportunity to make contributions and be rewarded.

Choosing to become a shaman or return to one's hometown either means being too old or having one's cultivation level declining, and one just wants to find a place to lie down and rest.

But given Bai Lingxu's situation, even if he were to release his power externally, it shouldn't be like this.

What kind of accident happened?
(There will be another update tonight)
(End of this chapter)