Hermit in the Mountains

"The mountains."

Gu Changsheng softly called out Yang Dashan's name, signaling him to come and get the cultivation manual.

"Thank you for bestowing this technique, Peak Master." Yang Dashan and Zhang Yuanfu were overjoyed, secretly delighted that this trip had brought an unexpected surprise.

They originally only brought their descendants up the mountain to let the peak master see if they possessed spiritual roots. The two of them already knew the answer: having more potential than them meant they had cultivation aptitude.

Yang Dashan took off his shoes and entered the living room, picked up two martial arts manuals with both hands, and retreated back to the doorway.

Gu Changsheng waved his hand, telling them to go back and cultivate diligently. "If there's nothing else, you can go down the mountain and practice more."

"Yes, Peak Master." Yang Dashan saw Zhang Yuanfu's signal and led his two children and the other party's granddaughter down the mountain first.

After Yang Dashan and the other three had walked away, Zhang Yuanfu spoke up, "Peak Master, I have something to report."

He saw the master of the living room give him a signal, took off his shoes, walked into the living room, sat to the left of the stove, and casually took off the backpack from his neck and placed it on the table.

He took out three sealed bags from his backpack and handed them out with both hands, saying, "Peak Master, please take a look."

Gu Changsheng took the sealed bag, spread it out on the table, and glanced at the seal.

He opened the first sealed bag, took out a stack of documents, quickly skimmed through the contents, placed the documents on the sealed bag, and returned them to Zhang Yuanfu.

"Your idea of ​​establishing the Longevity Pavilion is quite good. You and Dashan can discuss the formal membership review process yourselves."

He doesn't intend to establish a cultivation sect; it's good enough for the secular world to have a formal force to handle external affairs.

Firstly, he wouldn't need to interfere with Wanshou Pavilion, and he could also hide his tracks.

Secondly, the Longevity Pavilion also undertakes the task of collecting intelligence and resources from the outside world, and as the concentration of spiritual energy increases, it must also strengthen its strength.

Thirdly, the Longevity Pavilion can help him keep out some random people who come to disturb his cultivation. Those who ignore the warnings of the Longevity Pavilion and trespass on the Longevity Peak can only be sent to the Western Paradise.

He finally gave Zhang Yuanfu a verbal endorsement: "If Wanshou Pavilion faces a life-or-death crisis, you can come to me."

"If you're going to do it, then make Wanshou Pavilion the best it can be. It doesn't have to be famous, but it must be the strongest in terms of its own strength."

"Don't bother me with trivial matters."

"Yes, Peak Master, I will definitely make Wanshou Pavilion the best it can be and live up to your trust." Zhang Yuanfu was overjoyed, but on the surface he remained serious and nodded repeatedly in response.

Gu Changsheng opened the second sealed bag, quickly flipped through the documents, read the last page, and handed the sealed bag to Zhang Yuanfu.

"Continue collecting Earth Core Copper, Deep Sea Cold Iron, Heartwood of Dead Trees Reviving, and Twin Lotus Flowers;"

"Also, collect several mutated silkworms and spiders, and purchase one hundred kilograms of gold and silver;"

"Purchase ten tons of jadeite rough."

"Meteorites that have fallen to the seabed, meteorites inside volcanoes, crystal clusters deep in the earth's fissures, and ancient bronzes over two thousand years old—the more the better."

Gu Changsheng gave Zhang Yuanfu a list of all the refining materials he would need in the future, and asked him to collect them.

The forging of defensive and auxiliary magical artifacts also needs to be put on the agenda, especially the magical robes I wear. I need to forge one as soon as possible, otherwise I will become a maniac who tears clothes if I don't control my strength.

"Yes, Peak Master, I will arrange for people to collect them as soon as possible." Zhang Yuanfu did not complain about the amount of work or whether the task could be completed. The more tasks there were and the more difficult they were, the more the Peak Master valued Wanshou Pavilion.

Gu Changsheng opened the third sealed bag, and the more he read the contents of the document, the more interested he became.

The document summarizes the major events that have occurred in China over the past three days.

The Chinese leadership announced the revival of spiritual energy, the National Spiritual Bureau appeared before the public, the Immortal Cultivation Academy launched its enrollment plan, key universities opened basic cultivation classes, and primary and secondary schools added health preservation courses.

The state apparatus operates at full speed; in just three days, cultivation courses were rolled out in colleges at all levels across the country, greatly alleviating the nationwide craze for cultivating immortality and making people clearly aware that cultivation has conditions and thresholds.

Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries across the country have opened up the selection of disciples. The strict selection criteria of these orthodox traditions have been made public, and the elimination ratio charts intentionally released by the authorities have made people personally realize that cultivation is not something that can be achieved with just enthusiasm. The passion of 150 million people who yearn for immortality has dropped to its lowest point.

By offering health and wellness courses and spiritual cultivation courses, and establishing a cultivation academy, the government has shown that everyone has the opportunity to test their own potential for cultivation, demonstrating that the nation has not abandoned them.

As a result, China's security situation did not experience major turmoil, but the number of patrols in various places increased several times over, with 24-hour patrols. Anyone who tried to take advantage of the chaos was immediately punished as a scapegoat, serving as a warning to others.

Ordinary people have no connections and can only wait for the government to make arrangements, while middle and upper-class people are looking for connections themselves.

Gu Changsheng also saw information about him and Xiaohe Village in the documents.

High-ranking officials, trillion-dollar conglomerates, centuries-old families, and various lineages with millennia-old traditions—all these forces have taken notice of Xiahe Village and him.

The document mentions that many forces have already entered the fray, with a large number of strangers buying up various shopping malls and residential buildings in the town, and developing new housing projects.

Some even targeted the villagers of Xiahe Village, including three college roommates who appeared with Yang Dashan's daughter, each of whom had a significant background.

With so many lineages and cultivators in the world, why are there so many people setting up schemes in Xiahe Village? Indeed, it's not just Xiahe Village; most cultivators have people interfering and setting up schemes nearby.

Gu Changsheng also saw the division of territorial boundaries in it. To put it bluntly, it was a tacit understanding reached by various forces to unite and protect their respective territories from outsiders taking a share of the pie.

The Chang'an area is a key focus for various forces and has been designated as an open area that any force can enter.

The Chang'an area is also the only area in China that has been designated as a public area, and the reason is related to him.

Gu Changsheng smiled speechlessly when he saw this.

The reason is that Gu Changsheng is cultivating in seclusion in the Chang'an area. His circle of followers has mastered four or five methods of refining pills and has several cultivators, making them the largest cultivation and pill-refining force.

Unable to withstand pressure from all sides, the Chinese leadership decided to go all out and turn Chang'an into a public area. At the same time, all parties reached a tacit understanding to maintain a strange balance, with no one daring to use coercive measures against Xiahe Village and Gu Changsheng.

They were all afraid of angering Gu Changsheng and his faction, causing them to side with other forces, and ultimately losing more than they gained.

Gu Changsheng is no longer the same Gu Changsheng he was three days ago. He has broken through to the sixth level of the Dao Root realm and mastered his natal flying sword. If he doesn't cause trouble and cultivates in a low-key manner, he can protect his life without any problem. The higher-ups will not take any drastic measures against him for no reason and send a large number of troops to suppress him.

The key point is that he is located on the outskirts of the Qinling Mountains and can escape into the depths of the Qinling Mountains at any time. Finding a person in the Qinling Mountains, which stretches 1,600 kilometers from east to west and is more than 300 kilometers from north to south, is no less than finding a needle in a haystack.

Gu Changsheng was not interested in the outside world's turmoil and the various power struggles and schemes.

What truly interested him were the contents of the last few pages: after the spiritual energy tide subsided, three zombie outbreaks and nine incidents of ghosts harming people occurred within the territory.