If he possesses a certain spiritual body, even without this recommendation slot, he could probably still recommend himself in front of the influential person at Medicine King Mountain and join the sect.

Therefore, Gu Yuan didn't take the recommendation slot that Xia Mingyang mentioned too seriously.

If Xia Mingyang truly thinks Gu Yuan is still of the Iron Bone and Soft Tendons talent and plans to use the recommendation slot to manipulate him, then he is gravely mistaken.

However, the fact that Xia Mingyang mentioned an influential person from Medicine King Mountain coming down aligns with what Qin Hongxiao had mentioned.

Obviously, this influential person is also coming for the Red Dragon Immortal Palace.

Seeing Gu Yuan being so sensible, Xia Mingyang was quite pleased: "Very well, with your natural gift, even if you don't fully meet the criteria, if you can win the favor of that influential person, joining Medicine King Mountain and becoming an outer disciple shouldn't be a problem."

He naturally started painting a rosy picture for Gu Yuan:

"Don't underestimate the status of an outer disciple. Once you become one, the various benefits and advantages are something many people dream of but cannot obtain."

"Moreover, as long as you can advance to the Celestial Human Realm before the age of fifty, you can automatically be promoted to an inner sect disciple. In the future, you might even have the opportunity to forge a Golden Core, granting you an eight-hundred-year lifespan, becoming revered by all as a great cultivator."

Outer disciple?

A trace of a strange color flashed in Gu Yuan's eyes.

Medicine King Mountain, esteemed as a Great Immortal Sect, with a heritage spanning thousands of years, holds a transcendent status. In many people's eyes, even an outer disciple is considered a significant figure.

But Gu Yuan isn't some naive novice; he has heard old Chen talk about some things.

Medicine King Mountain divides its members into servant disciples, outer disciples, inner sect disciples, and true disciples.

Servant disciples, naturally, need no more words. Although called disciples, they are actually servants and laborers, serving as slaves and cattle, with their status being the lowest.

Although there are promotion paths, realistically, the chance of advancing to Celestial Human and becoming a cultivator is extremely slim.

As for outer disciples, although not bad, compared to inner sect disciples, both in terms of treatment and other hidden benefits, they fall short in many ways.

For instance, every month, outer disciples only receive five Yellow Millet Pills for their daily cultivation needs. If that's not enough, they have to figure it out themselves.

Whether through completing sect tasks, managing spirit fields to cultivate spirit medicine, or hunting demons to exchange for spirit stones to buy more, they must rely on self-sufficiency.

However, this means that valuable cultivation time is wasted, which undeniably affects personal cultivation.

In contrast, inner sect disciples receive thirty Yellow Millet Pills each month and, in addition, fifteen spirit stones as monthly allowance.

With this, they can focus entirely on cultivation without the need to arduously complete tasks for income.

Furthermore, concerning cultivation technique scriptures, upon entry, inner sect disciples immediately receive the True Daoist Technique. They can also regularly consult elders for various questions.

In contrast, outer disciples can only start practicing from martial arts techniques and, when encountering problems, must spend spirit stones to seek answers. Before reaching the Celestial Human Realm, they have to find ways to complete tasks and save sect contributions to exchange for the True Daoist Technique.

In comparison, outer disciples and inner sect disciples are like stepchildren and biological children, respectively.

There's a significant gap!

As for true disciples…

Well, they enjoy comprehensive benefits, unmatched status and mentorship, the best access to Daoist scriptures and elixirs, and even their cave mansion has the most abundant spiritual energy.

They're practically treated as masters!

In terms of treatment and status, they are comparable to the sect's elders.

However, to become a true disciple not only requires good talent but also seems to require meeting some other conditions.

"My requirements aren't high; becoming an inner sect disciple is enough. As for outer disciples, forget it."

Gu Yuan's goal was never to become an outer disciple.

Just his Sword Heart Talent alone rivals that of a Spirit Body Level talent.

After some time, when Ao Da advances, he'll even acquire additional talents. In this scenario, seeking to become an inner sect disciple of Medicine King Mountain isn't too much to ask, is it?

Of course, there was no need to share these thoughts with Xia Mingyang.

Gu Yuan cupped his hands: "May I ask the Pavilion Master, which elder is this influential person coming down the mountain?"

According to Qin Hongxiao, there are two major factions within Medicine King Mountain: the aristocratic faction and the sect faction, often in conflict with each other.

The aristocratic faction values bloodlines and status, often disregards rules, and desires to turn the sect into their private property, akin to a family.

With Gu Yuan's status, he wouldn't receive acceptance from the aristocratic faction. Even if accepted, he would never reach the core, so it was best to join the sect faction.

"Senior Brother Chen has gone a bit too far… He actually told this brat about some internal matters of the sect."

For Gu Yuan to raise such a question, Xia Mingyang was a bit surprised and developed some dissatisfaction with old Chen, though he did not hide the information:

"The one coming down the mountain should be the Ninth Elder, He Ling True Master."

The Ninth Elder?

Gu Yuan nodded slightly.

Old Chen seemed to have casually mentioned once that someone from Medicine King Mountain was just promoted to elder a few years back, and this elder ranked ninth.

More importantly, this Ninth Elder comes from the sect faction!

Clearly, for Gu Yuan, this was good news.

"Come, have some tea!"

Xia Mingyang gently tapped the table.

"Yes."

Gu Yuan picked up the teacup and began to savor it.

And indeed, the tea, slightly bitter upon entry, soon turned sweet, with a faint tea fragrance lingering in the mouth.

More remarkable was that a pure spiritual qi was released, easily refined by the True Qi, warming Gu Yuan's entire body.

"Bitter first, sweet later, with a lasting aftertaste, truly excellent tea!"

Gu Yuan couldn't help but praise.

"Naturally, it's good tea. This tea is planted in the spirit fields of Medicine King Mountain and has been around for over a hundred years, with someone meticulously tending to it daily. Just a few leaves are worth ten spirit stones, qualifying it as spirit tea."

Xia Mingyang introduced with a smile, his words carrying a faint sense of pride and superiority.

Although he's merely an outer disciple of Medicine King Mountain, he has deep roots within the sect, being the Pavilion Master of Jade Cauldron Tower, both in terms of connections and foundation, unreachable by ordinary people.

"Is that so? Then I should drink more..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan's eyes lit up. He gulped down the tea, even munching the leaves, then picked up the nearby tea canister and pot to brew himself another cup.

Seeing this, Xia Mingyang's mouth twitched with a touch of heartache.

My ten-spirit-stone-per-ounce spirit tea!

Damn, this kid is truly like a cow chewing on peonies... with no taste whatsoever...

…

After leaving Jade Cauldron Tower, Gu Yuan returned to his residence.

In the following days, apart from feeding Ao Da and Little Qing, he spent his time contemplating sword techniques and refining his bones.

The Sword Heart Talent elevated his mental realm, enhancing his enlightenment in swordsmanship.

Every time Gu Yuan contemplated the "Life-taking Sword Formulas", he made new discoveries.

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