I have a little bit of talent

On the second day of the twelfth month in the twenty-third year of Changlong in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the weather was fine.

Deep in the heart of Yizhou, on the shores of Shengxian Lake.

December is the end of the year and the weather is cold. Even the Shengxian Lake deep in the mountains of Yizhou is blown by cold winds from time to time. The originally green trees around are now covered with a little frost, with only a few yellow leaves hanging on them, swaying in the slightly cold wind, as if they would fall off at any time.

The fish that used to be seen everywhere in Shengxian Lake have disappeared. It is unknown whether they are living on the bottom of the water or swimming away to other places.

With the arrival of winter, all things fall into dormancy and seem to be losing vitality, which is far less exciting than spring and summer.

Normally, in this cold winter, Shengxian Lake deep in the mountains is sparsely populated except for the nearby villages and towns. However, at this time, many people gathered here, staying by the lake on the opposite side of the village. A rough glance showed that there were probably no less than a hundred people.

Moreover, in this cold weather, these people are actually dressed quite coolly. At most, they just put on a long coat, and most of them are dressed in short clothes. Needless to say, they are all practitioners with cultivation. They have achieved success in physical training and are not afraid of the changes of cold and heat.

These people were naturally the independent cultivators who were secretly guided by Taoist Chenwei and gathered here to join Baiyun Temple.

These wandering cultivators have gathered here since Fang Lu and Han Tieyi came to see Taoist Chen Wei. It has been nearly ten days now.

Among these wandering cultivators, except for the leader who came here at the instruction of Taoist Chenwei, the vast majority were instigated by the leader to come to Shengxian Lake. After many days without any gains, it was inevitable that they became a little restless.

The reason why they are called casual cultivators is naturally that they are people with extremely average talents and physiques who are unable to join a sect. Although they have barely embarked on the path of cultivation, they have no famous teachers to teach them, let alone superior inheritances. Therefore, casual cultivators have always been at the bottom of the cultivation world, and their combat power is far less than that of sect disciples, not to mention Taoist holy places like Baiyun Temple.

Although the combat power of the independent cultivators is not good and their qualities vary greatly, those who can come to the Ascension Lake are undoubtedly rare strong ones among the independent cultivators. In the eyes of ordinary people, they are all like gods. As long as they do not meet the disciples of the sect, they are also the great figures who are high above. Many of them are even highly praised by some ordinary families and merchants, and they are quite arrogant.

After waiting outside Qingxu Peak for many days, there was no sign of anyone entering Baiyun Temple. Most people had already become impatient, and the atmosphere became increasingly complicated.

"Brother Shang, this holy land sect is really too much. We are also well-known figures. Why should we endure this kind of sullenness? It is better for us to return home."

One of them, a burly, middle-aged man with a face full of flesh, spoke impatiently to an old Taoist priest with a kind face and bulging temples.

"No one knows what this Xuanmen Heavenly Stele looks like, or whether it is real. It is really embarrassing to wait any longer. If it were not for Brother Shang's invitation, I would not even want to come."

"That's right, Old Taoist Shang, although Baiyun Temple is a holy place of Taoism, you are just a wild Taoist priest. I'm afraid it will be impossible for you to return to your ancestral home!"

"These big sects are like this. Instead of waiting here, I might as well go home and sleep with my wife. I just married my eighth concubine last month, and after just a few days of intimacy, I come here to blow the cold wind and endure the humiliation!"

Some people were the first to lose their patience, and many people followed suit, accusing him of being too arrogant.

"Brother Wei, although your horizontal training is powerful, it is only at the Qi training level. Don't you want to enter the Xuanmen Tianbei to obtain better methods?"

Facing the accusations from several people, Shang Laodao still smiled and didn't care. Instead, he looked at those who spoke and said bluntly:

“And Brother Feng, although I am only a Taoist priest, I know that opportunities are hard to come by and never come back. Your cultivation is also from the Taoist sect, right? Don’t you want to go further?

"And Brother Duan, having a beautiful wife and concubines is great, but seeing that you look tired, I guess you can't enjoy them anymore. This Taoist holy land has many unique skills, and of course there are secret methods to consolidate the essence and nourish the vitality. Don't you want them?"

These few simple words from Shang Laodao hit the nail on the head for several people. For a moment, they were all moved and didn't know how to refute.

Strike while the iron is hot. After sweeping his eyes over the many casual cultivators, Shang Laodao said with a smile:

"We are all poor independent cultivators without any superior inheritance. We gathered here this time to take advantage of the opportunity to climb to the top of the Heavenly Monument with Fangmu and become famous throughout the world. Naturally, we all want to enter the Xuanmen Heavenly Monument and obtain the gift from the Taoist Ancestor.

"Although Baiyun Temple is a holy place of Taoism, the Xuanmen Heavenly Stele is the treasure of the Taoist Patriarch. It should be possible for everyone in the world to enter the Heavenly Stele. We are also adhering to the general idea and are not afraid of the reputation of this holy place. Even if we cannot achieve our wish, the spread of this feat will also make us famous and bring many benefits. It's just a little more time and a little cold wind. What's so unbearable?

"If any of you brothers can't stand this pain, just go home. If you are replaced by others in the future, you can't blame me!"

What Shang Laodao said was quite sincere and encouraging, which could be said to be the ultimate in fanning the flames.

As expected, as soon as he finished speaking, many people echoed him.

"Brother Shang is right. We are independent cultivators, not like disciples of a sect. If we don't seize this good opportunity, we will regret it for the rest of our lives."

"That's right. The Taoist master has taught the world, and the Xuanmen Heavenly Stele should be accessible to everyone in the world. Although his Baiyun Temple was taught by the Taoist master himself, he has monopolized this treasure for thousands of years, and it's time to let it go."

"That's right. Even if we can't enter this holy land, we must let all the practitioners in the world know that we are not afraid of the reputation of the holy land and are righteous!"

Even Feng, Duan and Wei, who had just spoken, changed their minds and chose to continue waiting.

"Brother Shang is right, but we are superficial. We just need to wait for some time!"

Seeing that the group of casual cultivators were finally in high spirits and had no intention of leaving Shengxian Lake, Old Taoist Shang had a smile on his face, but he was actually sweating in his heart.

Taoist Shang was naturally the leader arranged by Taoist Chen Wei. Although he was born as a casual cultivator, he was also a Taoist with excellent eloquence, which was why Taoist Chen Wei entrusted him with such an important task.

In fact, he did not disappoint Taoist Chen Wei's trust. These independent cultivators were of varying quality and character. It was really a waste of his energy to let them all stay in Shengxian Lake for a long time without leaving. No one knew the pain in his heart.

"Why haven't they come out yet? It's been more than ten days. If there is no movement in a few more days, even if the Xuanmen Tianbei has a great attraction, it will not be able to keep these people."

Taoist Shang knew very well that these independent cultivators were just a group of scattered sands who gathered here simply for the sake of profit. They could only wait outside and would never dare to directly attack this holy land. Moreover, staying there for a short time was already the limit for them.

If there is no greater benefit and it is just empty talk, these people are not fools and will definitely choose to leave directly. Not only will they fail to complete their mission, but their reputation in the circle of casual cultivators will also be ruined.

Just when he was feeling extremely anxious, he noticed that the air around him was shaking and a strong wind suddenly blew up, making everyone's clothes rustle violently.

"Someone's out!"

Taoist Shang was overjoyed when he saw this, and shouted loudly, attracting the attention of many casual cultivators.

Sure enough, as the air shook, a circle of light about ten feet in size appeared in the center of Shengxian Lake, and then a young man in a white Taoist robe walked out of it.