Chapter 66: The Spiritual Peak
The major news that Mai Yunfa brought to Gu Mo was that the Elder Spiritual Planter had officially announced a lecture scheduled for one month later. Disciples with the qualification to attend would need to go to the elder's spiritual peak to listen to the teachings.
This one-month period was clearly meant to allow those currently in secluded cultivation enough time to prepare.
After thanking Mai Yunfa for the news, Gu Mo immediately began preparing for the upcoming lecture. After all, this was a rare opportunity to receive teachings from a Golden Core-stage elder, and the subject was the inheritance of a Spiritual Planter. For Gu Mo, this profession was particularly significant—it was the best cover for the mysterious origins of his plants.
A month later, Gu Mo, along with other outer sect disciples from the Spiritual Plant Hall, set out for the elder's training ground, riding their flying swords.
During the journey, the other outer sect disciples showed no surprise at Gu Mo possessing a mid-grade flying sword. By now, everyone knew he was wealthy—just from selling the Water Spirit Rice last time, he had earned thousands of spirit stones.
"There are quite a few people here!"
Gu Mo glanced around and saw that over a dozen outer sect disciples from the Spiritual Planting Hall were accompanying him. And this was only from their hall—disciples from other peaks would also be attending. Though their numbers were fewer than those from the Spiritual Planting Hall, the total count across all peaks was still considerable.
Thanks to the speed of their flying swords, it took them only half an hour to reach the elder's training ground—an invaluable cultivation site blessed with a third-grade spiritual vein.
"Junior brothers and sisters, gather over here."
Upon arriving at the foot of the spiritual peak, they were greeted by a man and a woman dressed in the attire of the Spiritual Planting Hall's outer sect disciples. These two were Song Xing and Li Jinmei—the only two officially recognized Spiritual Planters in the entire Qinglu Sect.
Both had emerged from the Spiritual Planting Hall and now assisted the third-grade Spiritual Planter elder in managing affairs on the peak, which included guiding the arriving disciples.
"Senior Brother Song! Senior Sister Li!"
The outer sect disciples of the Spiritual Planting Hall were all familiar with these two. Mai Yunfa, in particular, had a good relationship with them, so he was the first to step forward and greet them.
"Junior Brother Mai, our senior brother has high hopes for you," Song Xing said with a smile upon seeing a familiar face.
"Huh? Why is there a servant disciple here?"
Li Jinmei, standing beside him, suddenly noticed Gu Mo, whose servant disciple robes made him stand out among the outer sect disciples.
"Senior Sister Li, don't underestimate Junior Brother Gu Mo. He's the one who successfully cultivated Water Spirit Rice!" Mai Yunfa quickly introduced Gu Mo to them.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Song, Senior Sister Li." Gu Mo respectfully saluted them.
"What?! You can grow Water Spirit Rice?"
Both Song Xing and Li Jinmei looked at him in disbelief. Even before becoming official Spiritual Planters, they had never been confident in cultivating such a high-grade spiritual plant. Yet now, a servant disciple had managed to do it?
They hadn't been back to the Spiritual Planting Hall in a few years, but had things really changed this much?
"Of course! Everyone saw it with their own eyes," Mai Yunfa laughed. Gu Mo was someone he had recruited from the servant disciple district, so the more talented Gu Mo was, the more it proved his own keen judgment.
"That's right," several other outer sect disciples from the Spiritual Planting Hall chimed in, nodding in agreement.
Although Song Xing and Li Jinmei still found it hard to believe, with so many people confirming it, there was no way it could be false. A servant disciple capable of cultivating Water Spirit Rice—this was definitely worth investigating further.
However, before they could continue questioning him, more disciples from other peaks arrived, forcing them to suppress their curiosity and focus on welcoming the new arrivals.
The Lecture Begins
After waiting at the foot of the mountain for a short while, most of the attendees had arrived. No one dared to be late for the elder's lecture. Gu Mo estimated that there were around fifty disciples present, all outer sect members from various peaks.
He even spotted an inner sect disciple among them.
Among the crowd, this inner sect disciple and Gu Mo—the lone servant disciple—were undoubtedly the two most attention-grabbing figures.
"Everyone, follow me," Song Xing instructed once the attendees had gathered. He and Li Jinmei then led the group up the mountain.
The spiritual peak was protected by a powerful formation, and without a guide, triggering it would have severe consequences.
The disciples followed the stone stairway toward the mountainside, where the lecture would be held.
As they ascended, they took in the sights of the spiritual peak. Since this was the domain of a Spiritual Planter elder, the mountain was naturally filled with a variety of rare and exotic spiritual plants, capturing everyone's fascination.
However, Gu Mo's focus was not on the plants but on the spiritual fields beneath them. Each field was at least second-grade, and he even spotted a third-grade field among them.
A third-grade spiritual field—something he had never even dared to dream about. Even a second-grade field was out of his reach for now, yet here, the lowest level of land was second-grade.
If he could obtain a second-grade spiritual field, his path to the Foundation Establishment stage would be completely secured.
"If I can become the elder's disciple, I wonder if I could receive a second-grade spiritual field?"
A sudden thought crossed Gu Mo's mind.
It was said that this Spiritual Planter elder had never taken on a disciple. Even Song Xing and Li Jinmei, the two officially recognized Spiritual Planters, were merely caretakers of the elder's domain, not his students.
If even official Spiritual Planters weren't taken as disciples, it was evident that becoming this elder's student would be incredibly difficult.
"We've arrived!"
While lost in thought, Gu Mo suddenly realized they had reached the mountainside.
A grand hall stood before them—this would be their lecture hall.
As for the mountaintop, that was the elder's private cultivation area and a forbidden zone.
"You may enter and find a seat. We will notify the elder now." With that, Song Xing and Li Jinmei left.
Upon entering the hall, they saw numerous neatly arranged meditation cushions. Almost immediately, the disciples rushed forward, competing for the best spots, especially those in the front rows.
The closer they sat to the elder, the higher their chances of being noticed.
Gu Mo wasn't the only one with thoughts of apprenticeship—everyone here wanted to be accepted by the Spiritual Planter elder.
In fact, every outer sect disciple of the Qinglu Sect dreamed of becoming a disciple of a Golden Core-stage elder. However, such elders only took in elite inner sect disciples. Ordinary inner sect members had no chance of being accepted as students.
That lone inner sect disciple in attendance was clearly just a regular member—if he had already been taken in by a Golden Core-stage elder, he wouldn't need to attend this lecture.
After all, inner sect elites with Golden Core mentors prioritized cultivation above all else. Even if they sought proficiency in one of the auxiliary cultivation arts, they would choose alchemy, artifact forging, formations, or talismans—rarely would they specialize in spiritual planting.
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