The First Immortal of Destiny

Shen Mo was not aware that he had broken Zhao Lingyin's record and sparked a storm of public opinion in the Alchemy Zone.

After returning to his cave mansion, he set a cultivation plan for himself, immersing himself in secluded cultivation, never stepping out of his cave mansion.

「A month later, at the cliff edge of the cave mansion.」

Shen Mo finished a day's alchemy work. Looking at the talisman that kept vibrating on the pavilion, he picked it up.

"Junior Brother Shen, do you have any free time?"

"Senior Brother Xu and I discovered an expert's cave mansion and wish to form a team with disciples within the peak to explore it. Would you be willing to go with us?"

Picking up the talisman, Lu Ming's voice came from the other side of it.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Lu. I need to go into seclusion these days. I am afraid I have no time to explore the cave mansion with you."

After replying with the Sound Transmitting Talisman, Shen Mo then opened another group in the talisman.

There were also many messages inside.

All the people communicating and exchanging messages were disciples of Stars Peak.

This Sound Transmitting Talisman was somewhat similar to the communication tools of his previous world.

It could not only facilitate one-on-one contact but also allow the creation of chat groups for multiple people to communicate and exchange information simultaneously.

Before entering the Mountain River Realm last time, Lu Ming had told Shen Mo that he planned to hold an exchange banquet involving disciples of Stars Peak and asked him to attend.

Shen Mo had agreed at the time, but it soon slipped his mind.

It was not until half a month ago, while he was hard at work with alchemy, that Lu Ming came to find him, and he remembered the matter.

Since he had agreed, he felt it wouldn't be right to break his promise.

So amidst his busy schedule, Shen Mo still took the time to make an appearance.

Lu Ming was extremely talented, making it easy for him to attract attention. Coupled with his excellent networking skills, he soon became familiar with the senior brothers and sisters within the peak.

Almost all the well-known figures within Stars Peak attended this feast.

At this banquet, Shen Mo also got to know many senior brothers and sisters, becoming a familiar face among them.

At the same time, through this exchange, he gained a better understanding of many things regarding the disciples of Riverside Sect, such as the contempt chain among them, the sect's geniuses, and its internal factions, among other such matters.

As one of the Five Great Sects, the Riverside Sect, when counting outer, Inner Door, and core disciples, totaled over tens of thousands of people.

But clearly, peripheral disciples were mere menial laborers within the sect, serving as reserves.

Only by advancing to the Inner Door could one be considered a true formal disciple and enjoy the various benefits within the sect.

But the number of inner disciples in Riverside Sect numbered just over a thousand.

Among these thousand-plus disciples, only nine were recognized by the sect as core disciples.

These nine core disciples were the true dazzling geniuses of Riverside Sect, figures whom all inner disciples looked up to.

Within Riverside Sect, the status of a core disciple was even higher than that of an ordinary Elder.

They could enjoy an almost unlimited supply of the sect's resources.

But becoming a core disciple was also extremely difficult.

Firstly, the sect stipulated that the cultivation of a core disciple must reach the Spirit Sea Realm.

This level of cultivation was on par with that of the sect's Elders.

Moreover, core disciples had to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm before the age of forty.

If this limit was exceeded, and they sought promotion from inner disciple status, they would not be eligible for consideration as core disciples; instead, they would directly receive the title of Elder.

This rule applied to cultivators who had broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm. As for inner disciples who had toiled for many years without breaking through to the Spirit Sea Realm, if they wished for a promotion in title, the sect would assign them to be Deacons. They would be responsible for handling various miscellaneous affairs of the sect, managing the disciples in the outer areas, and handling the reception of inner disciples who had not yet been accepted into one of the Three Peaks.

For example, Deacon Ma, who previously managed the outer disciples, and Chen An, who treated Shen Mo like her own, both fell into this category.

Having toiled for many years with no hope of advancing to the Spirit Sea Realm, they chose to seek a promotion in title to gain more free time, though it also meant relinquishing any hope of further significant advancement.

"Among these nine core disciples, Rising Sun Peak alone has five, while Stars Peak and Bright Moon Peak each have only two core disciples."

Recalling the information he heard at the previous banquet, Shen Mo now understood why Rising Sun Peak was considered the most prominent among the Three Peaks.

Truth be told, Senior Brother Guo Zhao's younger brother is much stronger than I had initially imagined. Shen Mo thought to himself.

He had heard before that Guo Zhao's younger brother was a famous prodigy in the sect, who had become a core disciple at a young age.

However, not having looked into it in detail, he hadn't truly grasped how prestigious it was to be a core disciple.

Among the tens of thousands of disciples in the sect, there were only nine.

Moreover, within Stars Peak, there were only two core disciples. No wonder Guo Zhao, despite being just a disciple, could converse with the Peak Master and maintained good relations with many of the Peak's Elders.

With such a gifted younger brother, it was understandable that no one would refuse to foster good relations with Guo Zhao.

It is indeed fortunate for me to have befriended Guo Zhao through Senior Sister Chen. Shen Mo thought to himself.

Even though he was performing exceptionally well among the current batch of disciples, if not for their prior friendship, Guo Zhao might not have given him much notice.

After all, Guo Zhao himself was a Qi Gathering Realm Layer VII cultivator, proficient in the Forging Path. Additionally, he came from a big immortal clan, and his younger brother was one of the top two prodigies within the peak.

As such, he was a sought-after figure within the peak.

Unfortunately, Senior Brother Guo invited me twice recently to explore some ruins with him, but I was too busy to join. Shen Mo lamented.

After the last banquet, Lu Ming had created a group chat using the contact information from the Sound Transmitting Talismans of all the attending disciples. Guo Zhao and Guo Xun were also in the group.

Guo Xun, being a core disciple with many responsibilities, rarely spoke in the group, appearing somewhat aloof and reserved.

Guo Zhao, on the other hand, was quite active. Every time he went out for field training with fellow disciples, he would ask Shen Mo if he wanted to join.

The two ruins that Senior Brother Guo Zhao recently explored yielded quite a lot. If I had gone with him, I definitely could have shared in a good portion of the benefits. Shen Mo sighed.

Upon returning from these two expeditions, Guo Zhao had shared news of his gains in the group chat.

From his reports, Shen Mo learned that both ruins belonged to top Spirit Sea Realm cultivators. During the exploration, Guo Zhao and his fellow disciples had obtained a Grade III Elixir and a defensive spiritual umbrella of profound middle-grade quality.

There's still plenty of time. Shen Mo comforted himself.

Shen Mo had always been a loner, accustomed to a reclusive life of rigorous cultivation.

However, after joining this group with his fellow disciples, he often found himself listening to their exchanges concerning talismans during his spare time.

Listening to their many experiences and gains from their ventures, he couldn't help but feel a stir of excitement.

Nevertheless, considering the gains from his own month of arduous cultivation, Shen Mo felt much calmer.

After this month, both my Alchemy Path and Talisman Path have successfully advanced to Grade II.

Shen Mo opened his Destiny Panel. Looking at the data, he noted with satisfaction:

[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation: Qi Gathering Realm Layer I]

[Talisman Path: (Grade II) 647/3000]

[Alchemy Path: (Grade II) 547/3000]

[Forge: (Grade I) 864/1000]

This was the progress in experience for his various auxiliary professions this past month.

Since he had focused more on alchemy and talisman creation, these two areas saw the fastest growth.

In comparison, Shen Mo had spent less time on forging, so while he had made progress, he still hadn't managed to max out his Grade I experience bar to advance to Grade II.

As expected, it's crafting High-Grade Spirit Pills and talismans that yields a large amount of experience points.

Shen Mo sat cross-legged under the willow tree by the cliff edge.

He hadn't seen much growth in his auxiliary professions for quite some time.

However, after purchasing six Grade II talismans and obtaining two Grade II elixir recipes from the Alchemy Tower, once he began crafting them, his progress soared. He finally experienced that thrilling surge of rapid experience gain once more.