Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

Feng Linzi used his enchanting words to dissuade most of the people.

In reality, all the children brought by their parents perished; they all left... Which respectable parent could truly bear to send their child to suffer?

Only children from villages like Sujia Village, who were brought there by their elders, remained. These children cried loudly, but the elders who brought them were not swayed by their cries.

Feng Linzi looked at him, then smiled gently and said, "The path of cultivation is so difficult; perhaps only one in a hundred who aspire to the Dao will succeed. If you have any concerns, please return. Be filial to your parents and live a good life. If you still have a desire to pursue the Dao in ten or twenty years, you may come to this Xuanmiao Temple. Whether it is me or any of my fellow disciples cultivating here, we will patiently answer all your questions."

"Yes, I also have a scripture here. If you are interested, you can take it and copy it for your own study... When the children come to my Changchun Palace, the first thing they will do is study this 'Changchun Scripture'."

This made many people back down, and many children simply shouted, "I'm not going, I'm not going..."

The elders looked embarrassed.

But Feng Linzi then stood on the same side as them and kept analyzing the pros and cons, which made these elders truly waver.

Even Uncle Su from Sujia Village sighed and said, "Fine, if the children don't want to go, then they don't have to."

Su Baichen chuckled upon hearing this: "Second Uncle, I am going."

Second Uncle looked over in surprise: "Chenwa, you didn't seem very enthusiastic about this before, but now you seem very..."

Su Baichen glanced at the maple forest, lowered his head and whispered, "I only heard about it from my second uncle, and he only heard it secondhand. It sounds like the tricks that human traffickers use to deceive children."

Just then, he suddenly felt a gaze looking in his direction... It was from Maple Forest!

Su Baichen felt a chill run down his spine, but he continued nonchalantly, "Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I realize that this Taoist priest is truly capable. He is also carefully selecting his successor, so of course I'm just happy."

Seemingly having heard these words, Feng Linzi withdrew his gaze, then smiled warmly and said, "Alright, now those children who still want to come with me can come over."

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen immediately took a step forward, then turned around and bowed to his second uncle, saying, "Baichen thanks Second Uncle and all the relatives for their help and upbringing over the years. The clan can take my father's twenty acres of land and distribute it to those in need. If I ever pass through the village and stop by in the future, I only ask that you give me a simple meal."

The second uncle showed a moved expression, followed by an unconcealable look of shame.

Su Baichen was well aware of this... He sent him here to seek immortality and enlightenment, perhaps with the intention of owning his family's ten acres of fertile land.

But as I said before, without the help of the clan, his mother wouldn't have been able to raise him until he was six years old, and he himself would never have been able to survive to this day.

After saying goodbye, he walked towards the maple forest.

At this point, only three people were actually able to make it across.

Besides Su Baichen, there were also two older children, a boy and a girl.

They followed Feng Linzi into the Taoist temple.

This Xuanmiao Temple is not large, but it is very clean.

Feng Linzi took out three prayer cushions and placed them in the Taoist temple for them to sit down. Then, with a smile, he asked, "Come, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

He pointed to the boy who looked the oldest.

The boy had a stern face and seemed somewhat arrogant. He said, "Taoist priest, my name is Wang Xingyuan, and I am 16 years old."

He was dressed quite elegantly, suggesting he came from a well-to-do family.

At the same time, he deliberately kept his distance from Su Baichen and the other girl, indicating that he looked down on them.

Feng Linzi wasn't satisfied with such a simple self-introduction and casually asked, "Where do you live, and how many people are in your family?"

Wang Xingyuan was taken aback, paused for a moment, and then asked, "What does this have to do with my cultivation?"

Feng Linzi nodded firmly: "Of course it's related. Changchun Palace is a righteous sect, and even when we accept disciples, we only accept those from families with respectable backgrounds. Moreover, if you achieve success in your cultivation and reach a certain stage, you will need to 'sever worldly ties.' Understanding your situation now will help prevent problems when you 'sever worldly ties' in the future."

Wang Xingyuan hesitated for a moment, but still confessed: "I am the eldest son of the Wang family in town, and I was supposed to inherit the family business, but later my legitimate younger brother was born, so I became superfluous..."

Feng Linzi interrupted, "I think I understand, there's no need to continue."

Wang Xingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling less embarrassed.

Then Feng Linzi looked at the slender girl.

"My name is Lin Zhaodi, and I am 14 years old."

She seemed a little shy and clearly uneasy, but she still managed to maintain a calm demeanor as she introduced her family situation.

"I've reached the age to get married, but my family is poor and can't afford much dowry, so I'm afraid no good family will want me. My parents are also worried about me and don't want to use me to earn that dowry money, so they thought they might as well let me come here and try."

A girl is considered of marriageable age at 14. If she is still unmarried at 16, her family will be subject to heavy taxes.

Feng Linzi nodded and said, "Very well... If the conditions are right and you have achieved success in your cultivation, I can recommend you to be the abbot of this Xuanmiao Temple in the future, which would also fulfill your worldly destiny."

Li Zhaodi was somewhat bewildered, unaware that she had already been properly arranged for.

Feng Linzi then looked at the youngest, Su Baichen, and asked with a smile, "I heard you gave all the family's land to the clan. You're quite carefree."

"Would you mind telling me about your family?"

For some reason, Feng Linzi's attitude towards Su Baichen had changed significantly... he seemed much closer to him than the other two.

Su Baichen shook his head and said, "There's no one else in my family."

"My mother passed away two years ago. As for my father... he suddenly left home to seek immortality when my mother was pregnant with me, and never came back."

Feng Linzi was surprised: "Your worldly ties are quite simple, so you should be able to calm your mind and cultivate properly... Not bad, keep up the good work."

"You all should work hard."

The three children bowed to the maple tree in unison.

To Su Baichen's surprise, they didn't rest for another day. Instead, as the sun began to set, they followed Feng Linzi out of the Xuanmiao Temple gate... and they set off!

"Oh, by the way, to keep you from getting bored on the way, I'll chant some sutras for you."

As he spoke, he began to loudly chant a passage of scripture that sounded rather mystical.

"The Great Dao gives birth, and Heaven and Earth are evergreen. Yin and Yang operate and transform, and the four seasons never decline."

The Tao is originally nothingness, yet it gives rise to one that contains truth. This primordial energy spreads and transforms, bringing prosperity to all things…

The chanting seemed to contain the ultimate truths of the universe, drawing people in completely.

Su Baichen felt his scalp tingle and his head spin as if being electrocuted.

He seemed to have gained some insight, and vaguely saw a wondrous image of chaos about to open and yin and yang to emerge.

Having been given a second chance at life, his inspiration seems to be exceptionally abundant.

Even though he couldn't understand the meaning of this passage, he still felt something...