Lu Heng took Lu Da Niu back to Danyang Sect that afternoon, while Wu Chenzi stayed at the foot of the mountain.
This was because the two disciples who were recruiting people in the city were trapped and unable to get out.
The city they visited today was called Pingliang City. There were many surrounding villages and towns, and the area was primarily agricultural. Besides growing various grains, the residents also planted fruit trees.
However, the crop yields here were very low. After paying the public grain tax, the people had very little left for themselves.
Therefore, ordinary people's lives were not easy. Many families hoped that someone in their household could become a cultivator, allowing them to become richer by killing demonic beasts.
Furthermore, those who could cultivate would find it easier to marry later compared to ordinary people.
Every year, Danyang Sect would come to recruit people. As long as children were twelve years old, they would be brought over to be tested. However, the number of people with cultivation potential was still too small.
But this year, those who brought their children for testing encountered an unprecedented opportunity.
After a few tests, children confirmed to be unable to cultivate, after taking a certain substance, all gained the ability to cultivate. Moreover, among these children, two possessed golden spiritual roots.
This caused a huge stir. Not only were the children who had just turned twelve brought to the recruitment site, but families whose children had failed the test in previous years also brought their children.
They all hoped to encounter a similar opportunity to change their destiny as ordinary people.
However, Lu Heng and his group left without leaving behind the substance that could turn people into cultivators. Thus, the disciples who stayed behind to continue recruiting were surrounded.
The City Lord of Pingliang City also sent people to help maintain order, but those people were unwilling to let go of this opportunity and refused to disperse for a long time.
At this time, more people were still rushing into the city, hoping to change their destiny as ordinary people.
The City Lord eventually closed the city gates in advance. Moreover, there was a curfew in the city, and people were not allowed to wander around at night, which led to those not residing in the city being driven out.
Even so, those who already lived in the city did not disperse. After all, it was not yet curfew, and the City Lord had no reason to drive them away.
"We really don't have that thing, and we don't know what it is?" The two disciples who remained could no longer recruit new people. They collected the spirit stones and planned to leave the city before the curfew.
However, the surrounding crowd did not think so. They continued to surround the two, constantly questioning them.
"How is that possible? I saw it with my own eyes today that your Danyang Sect people took out that thing."
"Yes, I saw it too. That thing looked very different from demonic crystals."
"That's right. Demonic crystals don't cause headaches after consumption. Several children who took that thing today all experienced headaches."
"Didn't the people from Danyang Sect say that a headache means they can cultivate?"
"Yes, and you're saying you don't have it? Why didn't you bring out such a thing earlier? My son failed the test last year, and a whole year was wasted."
"Exactly, you must bring out that thing this year, otherwise..."
"Hmph! Otherwise what? I really don't know what you are trying to do now? Are you planning to attack my Danyang Sect?" Wu Chenzi's loud voice suddenly interrupted the surrounding people. He glanced at the crowd with displeasure, and Wu Chenzi smiled instead of getting angry.
"Hahaha, I knew it. So, other academies also want that thing?"
Those who were scanned by Wu Chenzi lowered their heads silently.
Wu Chenzi had considerable prestige on the Shenyuan Continent, as many royal family members used the pills he refined. Moreover, his pills were considered priceless in the market.
Even if some people wanted to contend with Danyang Sect, they would ultimately be wary of Wu Chenzi's identity as an alchemist.
In the end, it was Wu Chenzi himself who personally escorted those disciples out of Pingliang City.
...
Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard.
"Master, please accept this disciple's bow."
At this moment, Lu Da Niu held a teacup and bowed to Lu Heng, who was sitting in the room.
"Mm, get up. I was a recluse, and I never expected to take a disciple one day. It can be considered a fortunate coincidence for both of us." Lu Heng took a sip from the teacup.
"Yes, I know this is our destiny, Master." Lu Da Niu quickly got up, helped Lu Heng place the teacup on the table, and then stood in front of Lu Heng again.
"Mm, actually, I don't have any books on cultivation techniques here. I'll speak to Danyang Sect later, and you can cultivate with the inner disciples of Danyang Sect for now. As for demonic crystals, I have some here, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Mm, I understand, disciple." Lu Da Niu respectfully bowed to Lu Heng again.
"Uh, there's no need to be so formal. Just call yourself Da Niu. I don't have many formalities here, so you can be more relaxed." After speaking, Lu Heng took out a cup of ancient well water and handed it to Da Niu.
"Drink this, it's good for your health."
"Yes." Lu Da Niu was about to bow again, but remembering Lu Heng's words, he stiffly stopped his unfinished action.
Lu Heng smiled. He knew that these ancient people, even those who were not educated, had deeply ingrained respect for etiquette in their bones.
Ordinary people respected scholars, or rather, people in this world respected cultivators.
In the afternoon, Lu Heng used the excuse of needing to cultivate to let Lu Da Niu find something to do outside. Most importantly, he asked him to take a bath in the hot spring behind the house.
He then got out a laptop and planned to copy the books he had obtained from here. The fonts in those books were different from those in the apocalypse, and he needed to transcribe them into text that people from the apocalypse could understand.
The entire afternoon was spent in such leisurely time. After bathing in the hot spring behind the house, Lu Da Niu had been cleaning the entire courtyard.
In fact, the courtyard was usually cleaned by someone, but Lu Da Niu had nothing else to do and didn't want to just sit idly in front of his master.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The sound of knocking came from outside the quiet courtyard. Lu Heng rubbed his slightly sore eyes and looked at the several books he had already organized. He clicked the save button.
After putting everything back into his spatial storage, Lu Heng came out to find Lu Da Niu already leading Wu Chenzi into the courtyard.
"Hahaha, it's good that we brought you back early, otherwise you probably wouldn't have been able to leave Pingliang City by now." Wu Chenzi sat down, and Lu Da Niu quickly poured him a cup of tea.
"Mm, this child has potential, hahaha."
"What happened in Pingliang City?"
"Alas, little friend, you didn't see it. The entire Pingliang City was surrounded by people. I finally managed to squeeze my way in and find our disciples who were still recruiting.
However, after we left, they didn't recruit many more."
"Oh? Are their aptitudes all poor?"
"Yes, many of them have poor aptitudes. As you know, there are too few people with cultivation conditions. It's not just about effort to become a cultivator. Many, like this child here, can only be ordinary people." Wu Chenzi glanced at Lu Da Niu, who was sitting in the outer room, and shook his head. This child had encountered a great opportunity, but others were not so lucky.