Seeking Immortality

As soon as he said this, the whole hall was shocked.

The senior elders of the "Hua" generation, the new elders of the "Qing" and "Yu" generations, and even the ordinary disciples of the entire Jiuhua Mountain became stunned when they heard Zhang Hualing's words.

Deacon elder? The deacon elder whose status in Jiuhua Mountain is second only to the headmaster, supreme protector, and mountain guardian elder? The deacon elder who is in charge of everything in Jiuhua Mountain and assists the leader?

Although he had expected that Zhang Hualing would have other arrangements for Xu Qingfan, he never expected that Zhang Hualing would place Xu Qingfan in such an important position.

The elders of the "Qing" generation who were the same generation as Xu Qingfan were even more surprised or happy, and looked at Xu Qingfan with a mixture of fear and jealousy.

For a time, all the eyes of the "Hualing Hall" were focused on Xu Qingfan.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Xu Qingfan knew that Zhang Hualing had not told anyone that he would be appointed as a deacon and elder.

But now that the matter has come to an end, Xu Qingfan did not refuse, but bowed deeply to Zhang Hualing and said respectfully: "Thank you, Master. This disciple will definitely work for Jiuhua wholeheartedly in the future, and will never let down the Master and all the elders." Expectations for disciples.”

After hearing Xu Qingfan's agreement, some elders' expressions changed and they stood up to object.

It's not that these elders have any opinions on Xu Qingfan, but the matter of appointing deacons and elders is of great importance after all. Especially in Jiuhua Mountain, it is the practice for the deacons and elders to be the next leader, so many elders think that if they have to There is nothing wrong with appointing Xu Qingfan as an elder deacon, but you need to carefully observe it for a period of time before making a decision. After all, Jiuhua's future is at stake and nothing should be done hastily.

But these elders just wanted to object. But he was stopped by some close-minded elders. At the same time, these close-minded elders either sent messages into the secret, or looked towards the top of Jiuhua Mountain with their eyes.

These elders who were increasingly opposed were also excited for a moment, and reacted one after another after receiving prompts from others.

Xu Qingfan has been living with "that person" at the top of Jiuhua Mountain for more than twenty years. "That person" has personally taught Xu Qingfan over the years. Does that mean that Xu Qingfan has become the new deacon and elder? "That person" decided with Zhang Hualing?

As a legendary figure who has protected Jiuhua Mountain for thousands of years, he is also the only Mahayana monk in Jiuhua Mountain. There must be a reason for his decision, right?

It has to be said that as the previous head of Jiuhua Mountain, Li Xuhan's prestige and people's trust in him are much higher than Zhang Hualing. Especially after the catastrophe more than twenty years ago, this kind of prestige and trust has reached a new height.

Originally, when Jin Qinghan, Lu Qingshang and other elders who were very familiar with Xu Qingfan heard that Xu Qingfan would become the new deacon elder of Jiuhua Mountain, although they were slightly disappointed, they were mostly happy. After seeing several elders standing up and about to object, my heart tightened, and I was ready to stand up and support them. The result was surprising. These elders actually stood up slightly and then sat down again without making any objections. They seemed to have acquiesced in Zhang Hualing's decision. Not only were Jin Qinghan and others extremely surprised, even Xu Qingfan did not expect things to go so smoothly.

"When did my popularity and image become so good in the hearts of the elders? No one objects to such a big thing?" Xu Qingfan thought inexplicably.

Only Zhang Hualing was not surprised by the scene at this time. After announcing the appointment of Xu Qingfan, he remained silent for half a minute, and then said again: "Since no one objects, then the matter is settled."

Said. Zhang Hualing said to Xu Qingfan again: "Deacon Xu, please take a seat."

As he spoke, Zhang Hualing pointed his finger to the position next to him. This position is very close to the head's seat, and the seats of the Supreme Protector are on both sides of the head's seat, one on the left and one on the right. It is a bit higher than the seats of other elders.

After getting used to Zhang Hualing calling him by his name, Xu Qingfan couldn't react for a moment when he heard Zhang Hualing politely call himself "Deacon Xu". It took him a moment to realize that he was being called.

Although his heart was ups and downs, Xu Qingfan remained calm on the outside. He seemed extremely calm. After bowing to Zhang Hualing, he walked towards his seat step by step with a hint of anxiety and excitement, and then sat down slowly. His appearance was neither humble nor arrogant, which made some elders secretly nod. .

After Xu Qingfan took his seat. Zhang Hualing said to Xu Qingfan and the new elders: "Now you are no longer the ordinary disciples you were before. From now on, you will also participate in the major decisions of my Jiuhua Mountain. I hope you can correct your mentality. And always remember the oath you just made. ”

After Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan and others responded, Zhang Hualing said to the elders: "Now, Jiuhua has been closing the mountain for more than 21 years. After closing the mountain, our first step plan has been completed. A large number of disciples have greatly increased their skills and become a new generation of elders. However, due to the opening of the Jiuji Cave twice, our Jiuhua Earth Millennium Reserve has been completely exhausted. Apart from the spiritual stones and materials needed to continue the operation of the Jiuji Array, there is also a shortage of resources. . Now, let’s discuss how Jiuhua should spend the next time.”

As Zhang Hualing finished speaking, the elders began to discuss and put forward their own opinions. After Xu Qingfan became a senior executive in Jiuhua Mountain, he immediately began to participate in Jiuhua Mountain's first elders' meeting.

However, although Xu Qingfan has become the fourth person in Jiuhua Mountain to some extent, he has not gotten carried away. When the elders put forward their opinions, Xu Qingfan just listened quietly, learning from the elders' coping experience, but he did not say a word.

From the moment Xu Qingfan became the deacon elder of Jiuhua, he was already the person with the highest status among the new elders of the "Qing" and "Yu" generations. The series of events such as the change of Huandao and the attack of Zhang Xusheng more than 20 years ago made Xu Qingfan have a great reputation among the younger generation of disciples. In addition, Xu Qingfan reached the Jindan stage without going through the "Jiuji Cave". He was the first disciple of the younger generation to create his own magical power, so whether Xu Qingfan was willing or not, he was already the undisputed leader of the new generation of Jiuhua elders and even the two generations of Jiuhua disciples, Qing and Yu. These new elders also unconsciously followed Xu Qingfan. After seeing Xu Qingfan's silence, these people, although they all had their own ideas, were silent like Xu Qingfan. So these discussions were finally carried out among the elders of the older generation.

In the end, the results of the discussion between Zhang Hualing and the elders were nothing more than a few points.

First, try to save the use of spiritual stones and elixirs in the following days, and try to extend the time of closing the mountain. In order to miss the most terrifying beginning stage of the upcoming catastrophe to the greatest extent.

Second, the instruments and savings of the Jiuhua elders who died in the catastrophe or after giving initiations to the new elders should not be collected in the public treasury of Jiuhua Mountain in the following days to alleviate the shortage of resources in Jiuhua Mountain. These elders receive a large amount of resources from Jiuhua Mountain every year, and travel and collect them from time to time. Their private collections are probably very considerable.

Third, in the days to come, all disciples in Jiuhua Mountain, no matter what stage they are in, should practice first. Try to enhance Jiuhua's strength. The elixirs and magic tools that the elders can't use can be given to the most promising disciples to maximize the strength of Jiuhua Mountain.

Fourth, Jiuhua Mountain now has a total of 18 new elders. Although they all had their own caves before, those caves, whether in terms of scale or spiritual energy, are not in line with their status as elders. So after confiscating the caves of the dead elders, these caves should be allocated to the new elders as soon as possible.

More than ten of them will be the direction of Jiuhua Mountain in the next few decades. During this period, the senior elders will naturally put forward some opinions that are beneficial to them for their own interests. But Zhang Hualing was not confused after all, and refuted them one by one.

During this process, both Xu Qingfan and the newly promoted elders who followed him were silent. Even if some of their opinions were not in their interests, they gave up refuting after seeing Xu Qingfan still silent and thinking that they had gained a lot from becoming elders.

After all the discussions were over. Zhang Hualing saw a thoughtful look on Xu Qingfan's face and asked, "Deacon Xu, you have been silent, but your face is constantly changing, but what do you think?"

At this time, Xu Qingfan thought of the tragic experience of him and his senior brother Yue Qingru after the death of his master 6 Huayan, and the promise to Niu Hualian to take care of his disciples. \\junzitang.***\\ Now he listened to the elders planning how to deprive the dead elders of their inheritance. He felt a little sad and uneasy. But he also knew that in Jiuhua's current situation, the opinions of Zhang Hualing and others were indeed the best for the future of Jiuhua Mountain.

Hearing Zhang Hualing's question. Xu Qingfan's heart moved, and after a slight hesitation, he said: "Junior does have some ideas, which I think will be of great benefit to Jiuhua after implementation, but it goes against the tradition of Jiuhua, but I don't know whether I should say it."

Zhang Hualing asked casually, but he didn't expect Xu Qingfan to have an idea. Especially after hearing Xu Qingfan say that his idea went against the ancestral system but was of great benefit to Jiuhua, his face became serious and said: "Just say it."

Xu Qingfan nodded and said slowly: "Junior's idea is this, those dead elders, they are people who have made contributions to Jiuhua after all, although confiscating their legacy caves is the most beneficial to Jiuhua and must be done, but their disciples cannot be ignored."

Gongsun Huasu frowned and said: "Of course we know this, and we will never ignore it. Those old friends Disciples, we will arrange for them to change to another master and continue to practice. I think the elders will treat them like real disciples. "

Xu Qingfan smiled and said, "I naturally don't doubt this, but as far as I know, most of those disciples are unwilling to change to another master and would rather practice on their own. But the matter of cultivating immortals is not like other things. Without the guidance of a famous teacher, their progress will inevitably slow down greatly. However, many of them are talented. If they are allowed to do so, I am afraid that it will not only waste their talents, but also be greatly detrimental to the recovery of my Jiuhua strength. "

A white-haired elder said, "We also know this, but they are unwilling to change to another master, and we can't do anything about it. This kind of thing can't be forced."

Xu Qingfan shook his head and said, "We have a way."

Gongsun Huasu asked, "What way?"

Xu Qingfan said in a deep voice: "In our Jiuhua lineage. Even in the entire world of cultivating immortals, the inheritance lies in the teaching of master and disciple. This is certainly conducive to the emotional cultivation of the sect and the cultivation of elite disciples. It is indeed the most suitable for our world of cultivating immortals. The form of inheritance. But it is not suitable for my current situation in Jiuhua. Now I, Jiuhua, have about 1,500 disciples. Including the elders who were trapped in reincarnation and died in this catastrophe, there are nearly 900 disciples. Without their master to teach them, it will be very detrimental not only to their future, but also to our Jiuhua’s future.”

After a pause, Xu Qingfan continued: "Seniors, you have traveled a lot in the world, have you ever noticed how mortals in this world teach poetry? As far as I know, they adopt an academic method. The location of the academy and The teaching content remains unchanged, and the apprentices can continue to change colleges to study in more advanced colleges according to their progress in knowledge. I think Jiuhuashan can learn from this model and establish three colleges of heaven, earth and man. These more than 900 disciples who have no masters are included in them for study. Each elder goes to the three academies regularly to teach the methods of cultivating immortals and solve the confusion of the disciples. Among them, the human academy only recruits disciples who are in the Qi refining stage. The courtyard is designed to recruit disciples in the Bigu stage, while the Tianyuan is designed for disciples in the Lingji stage. As their skill level progresses, they will slowly enter the Tianyuan from the human courtyard, and even eventually become the Danjing stage. Disciple. In this way, we have an explanation for the deceased elders. It will not waste the talents of these disciples, but it will also be very beneficial to the recovery of our Jiuhua strength. What do you think, seniors?

Hearing Xu Qingfan's words, all the elders in Jiuhua's eyes lit up. I feel that this method is indeed very beneficial to Jiuhua, but they all hesitate to say anything. After all, the model of master-disciple inheritance in the world of immortality has lasted for tens of thousands of years, and it has also formed a thinking inertia in people's hearts. Therefore, although they feel that Xu Qingfan's The method is good. But still hesitant.

The gray-headed elder who spoke before suddenly said: "Deacon Xu's method is certainly good, and it is of great benefit to the disciples and Jiuhua Mountain. But the old man disagrees, because in this way, the teacher is not the teacher, but the disciple If you are not a disciple, what kind of tradition can you have? Since ancient times, only a master has accepted multiple disciples. How can one disciple accept multiple masters? Such teaching will eventually result in unclear sects and interrupted inheritance. inappropriate."

Xu Qingfan said: "Senior, you also said that the inheritance of master-disciple is only a matter of ancient times, but this rule is not unchangeable. What's more, our first priority now in Jiuhua is to restore our strength. In order to cope with what may happen in the future It is better to have the master and disciple unknown than to destroy the Jiuhua Sect. What's more, the establishment of these three houses is only a temporary necessity. After these disciples who have lost their masters have taken shape, the three houses will be removed, so it will not cause much damage. As for the inheritance of the various factions in Jiuhua, it still exists. All the disciples who enter the three colleges to study only need to pay half-master ceremony to the elders who teach them how to cultivate immortality. In this way, there will be no masters. Something unknown happened. What do you think?"

After hearing Xu Qingfan's words, the elders were silent for a long time, but Gongsun Huasao suddenly asked: "Then, who should we send those elders to teach and solve doubts in these three courtyards? You must know that the elders will retreat from time to time. There is no fixed time at all.”

Gongsun Huasuo said this, which implicitly meant that he agreed with Xu Qingfan's opinion.

Xu Qingfan smiled slightly and said: "We can divide the elders who teach the disciples of the Third Academy into two types, one is voluntary and the other is compulsory. The elders of the Chinese generation are in seclusion all year round. There is no fixed time, so they can teach on a voluntary basis. In retreat, As long as I have time, I can go to the three academies to teach and solve my doubts. And we, the two elders of Qingyu, can teach on a voluntary basis, because our skills are relatively weak now, and we can only stay in retreat for one or two years at most. , there is plenty of time to teach.”

To Xu Qingfan's surprise, after hearing Xu Qingfan's words, the new elders of the two generations of Qingyu nodded in agreement. It was very different from Xu Qingfan's previous worry that they would complain that doing so would delay their practice.

As Liu Huaxiang said before, the thoughts and ideas are different depending on the position.

These new elders were helped by Jiuji Cave. The elixir was formed successfully more than a hundred years in advance. For them now, although cultivation is important, it is equally important to increase their power and influence in the Jiuhua Mountains. Although they have great prestige among the younger generation of disciples, after all, those young disciples still turn to their master. Therefore, compared with the older generation of elders, they are not only lacking in skills, but also in terms of influence and prestige in Jiuhua Mountain.

In this way, when there is another meeting to decide the situation in Jiuhua in the future, even though they are the elders of Jiuhua, they still can't intervene. All the biggest interests will also be taken up by the elders of the older generation. Just like this time. When discussing the resources allocated to each elder in the future, these new elders are far inferior to those of the older generation. If things go on like this, these new elders will inevitably become puppets of the Presbyterian Church, at the mercy of others.

Xu Qingfan's suggestion is equivalent to handing over half of the disciples of Jiuhua Mountain to them. Although it will waste some time in cultivating immortals, in comparison, it will gain more influence on the Jiuhua lineage and prestige among the younger generation of disciples. , and even the support of more than 900 Jiuhua disciples, this loss is nothing. After all, with this influence and prestige, they will compete for the limited resources of Jiuhua Mountain and even those rare magic weapons in the future. There are many advantages.

Which of those elders of the older generation is not a wise old man? When the elders of the younger generation nodded one after another, they had already thought about the pros and cons, but the look in their eyes when they looked at Xu Qingfan was different.

I didn't expect that Xu Qingfan, who seemed indifferent, had such powerful means. With a simple suggestion, he wanted to gain the support of half of the disciples of Jiuhua. After all, once the three academies are established, the biggest beneficiary is still Xu Qingfan, the leader of the younger generation of elders.

Although Xu Qingfan said that they could also teach in the three academies, it was only voluntary after all, and they were not as good as the younger generation elders who taught in the three academies. What's more, which of these elders of the older generation is not about to die and needs to work hard to improve their skills? But where do they have time to compete with the elders of the younger generation for the influence of most of the disciples of Jiuhua?

Seeing the knowing eyes of the young elders when they looked at him, and the vigilant expressions of the older elders when they looked at him, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Poor Xu Qingfan, he was clearly dedicated to the public, but was misunderstood by everyone. There was nothing he could do.

In this way, the elders immediately split into two factions, debating the suggestions made by Xu Qingfan.

One faction agreed with Xu Qingfan's point of view. They were all the young elders of Jiuhua and nearly half of the elders of the older generation. These elders either felt that doing so was beneficial to themselves or to Jiuhua, so they firmly supported Xu Qingfan's opinion.

The other faction was opposed, led by Gongsun Huasu, the Supreme Protector. Because Xu Qingfan's opinion had the greatest impact on them. These people either had great prestige in Jiuhua Mountain or had many disciples. They benefited a lot from these in Jiuhua Mountain on weekdays. Xu Qingfan's actions undoubtedly offset their advantages.

Especially Gongsun Huasu, as the Supreme Protector of Jiuhua. He was responsible for the training and rewards and punishments of Jiuhua disciples. Once the three academies were established, his rights and interests would be weakened by more than half, so he naturally firmly opposed it.

Similarly, once Xu Qingfan's opinion is passed, Xu Qingfan will not only be the deacon guardian of Jiuhua, but also become the half-supreme guardian of Jiuhua, and his status will be second only to Zhang Hualing.

From the beginning to the end of this debate, Xu Qingfan never thought that his unintentional proposal would lead to a huge change in the power of Jiuhua Mountain. And he would be regarded as someone with ulterior motives. His mood also slowly changed from the original hesitation and panic to the current cold-eyed observation, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

But he thought with some irony in his heart: "Master Liu's words are indeed right. No matter how people are in their daily lives, they can't stop fighting for power and profit. Even the so-called immortals who are devoted to the Tao are not immune to this. Where there are people, there are interests, and where there are interests, there are disputes. Even if you don't want to fight, others will force you to fight. These elders may all be loyal to Jiuhua Mountain, which was proved when the catastrophe happened before, but at this time, they are still blinded by their own interests. It's sad and lamentable."

To be honest, Xu Qingfan had always thought that the Elders' Council of Jiuhua Mountain was an extremely pure organization, and everyone was doing their best to maintain Jiuhua Mountain. So when he proposed the establishment of the three colleges, he didn't have any idea of ​​fighting for power and establishing prestige for himself. He was devoted to Jiuhua. But he didn't expect things to turn out like this. The disappointment in his heart was even greater than the panic caused by the chaos.

After a long time, Zhang Hualing, who had been silent, said, "Everyone, please be quiet."

After the elders were quiet, Zhang Hualing said, "I just thought carefully about Deacon Xu's proposal, and I think this proposal is most suitable for Jiuhua's current situation. I just observed that most of the elders also agree with this opinion, so let's do it."

Hearing Zhang Hualing's words, the elders led by Gongsun Huasu looked at each other helplessly, knowing that the matter was done and there was nothing they could do. After all, what Zhang Hualing said was true. This proposal was indeed of great benefit to Jiuhua Mountain, and most of the elders did agree. After all, many of the elders of the older generation were still thinking about Jiuhua wholeheartedly.

But just when Gongsun Huasu was about to obtain the power of the three academies, Zhang Hualing said: "Since this matter was proposed by Deacon Xu, Deacon Xu must have thought most clearly about the setting of the three academies, so let Deacon Xu be responsible for this matter."

Zhang Hualing did this because he wanted to support Xu Qingfan. Before, he had too many people opposed him before he took over as the head of the sect, which led to the Zhou Huahai incident. So he would not allow this to happen again. He would try his best to establish Xu Qingfan's power and prestige before Xu Qingfan took over as the head of the sect. Second, he also wanted to suppress Gongsun Huasu. After the Zhou Huahai incident, he found that the power of the Supreme Protector was too great. Gongsun Huasu's performance just now also made him extremely disappointed.

Xu Qingfan actually didn't want to accept this task. Compared with gaining greater power, he wanted to practice in peace. But he had figured it out just now. At this time, he was already riding a tiger and it was difficult to get off. As Liu Huaxiang had said to him before about the relationship between the majority and the minority, he could only go down this road now.

Ignoring Gongsun Huasu's cold eyes, Xu Qingfan stood up and bowed to Zhang Hualing.

He gained great power, but offended Gongsun Huasu, who had a good relationship with him. Is this good or bad? Xu Qingfan didn't have time to think about it.

After everything was arranged, Zhang Hualing nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "The elders of Huazi can withdraw. The new elders, please follow me to the secret library and choose a few high-level magic tools that you think are convenient, as well as your offerings for this Jiazi year."