Chapter 35: Infiltration
Chapter 35: Infiltration
Facing the inquiries from the labor disciples, Gu Mo responded fluently. Upon receiving his confirmation, several disciples immediately expressed their willingness to join the Spiritual Plant Hall.
The benefits of an outer sect disciple were enough to make many change their choices. Although obtaining these benefits required passing a test, the opportunity was still highly attractive. Becoming an outer sect disciple and owning a piece of spiritual farmland of their own was a chance to change their fate.
Of course, some labor disciples who were more confident in themselves still chose one of the four major paths—alchemy, artifacts, formations, or talismans—because, in their eyes, the ceiling for a spiritual farmer was too low.
Gu Mo didn't mind. Not to mention spiritual farmers, even spiritual plant masters were considered among the lowest-tier professions in the cultivation world, far inferior to alchemy, artifact crafting, formations, and talismans.
However, this was only true at lower levels. Any profession that reached a high level would be sought after.
Take spiritual plant masters, for example—one of the most widely cultivated crops in the cultivation world today, the Spirit Jade Rice, was developed by a grandmaster in spiritual planting. Modern cultivators who enjoyed spiritual rice owed their gratitude to that master.
After gathering the labor disciples who were willing to join the Spiritual Plant Hall, Gu Mo handed them over to Mai Yunfa, who was responsible for recruitment. Gu Mo was merely assisting with the promotion.
"Good, good, good!"
It had only been a short while, and they already had recruits. Mai Yunfa was thrilled, already envisioning the rewards Deacon Zhao would grant him for successfully completing the recruitment task.
Gu Mo set off again, actively inviting labor disciples in the labor disciple district, even those who had yet to step into the Qi Refining stage.
A senior brother from the Spiritual Plant Hall personally extending an invitation, along with the promise of outer sect disciple benefits—this was an irresistible temptation for many labor disciples. Other than those who were firm in their aspirations, a significant number of them expressed their willingness to join.
"Mai Yunfa, your Spiritual Plant Hall is being too aggressive!"
Disciples responsible for recruitment from other peaks soon noticed the situation and complained to Mai Yunfa.
Thanks to Gu Mo's efforts, about 40% of this batch of labor disciples had shown interest in joining the Spiritual Plant Hall. What were the others supposed to do? The peaks specializing in alchemy, artifact crafting, formations, and talismans didn't need to worry about recruitment, but the other peaks were in trouble.
"You guys can recruit too. It's not like I'm stopping you," Mai Yunfa replied with a smirk. Learning that the Spiritual Plant Hall might take in 40% of the new labor disciples had kept him in a state of exhilaration.
"Hmph!"
The disciples from other peaks snorted coldly and fell silent.
They wanted to recruit like the Spiritual Plant Hall, but their peaks had no extra benefits to offer. Unlike the Spiritual Plant Hall, they couldn't afford to provide outer sect disciple status.
For example, the Beast Taming Peak offered outer sect disciples a spiritual beast or, at the very least, a pseudo-spiritual beast with a high chance of evolving. But they couldn't grant this to labor disciples—there were more labor disciples than spiritual beasts available. New recruits had to work on miscellaneous tasks for years before even being considered for a basic pseudo-spiritual beast.
Under these conditions, the Beast Taming Peak had no chance of competing with the Spiritual Plant Hall. They could only watch as the latter attracted recruits en masse.
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A Modest Courtyard in the Labor Disciple District
Though it appeared unremarkable from the outside, the courtyard was actually shielded by a high-grade formation that isolated all energy fluctuations. Inside, two figures cloaked in black mist sat facing each other.
"Senior Brother, here is the list from the past few years."
The figure on the right produced over a dozen jade slips, each inscribed with a name. Among them, Gu Mo's name was prominently displayed.
"Not bad."
The figure on the left glanced at the jade slips and nodded in satisfaction.
"Senior Brother, why are we infiltrating the labor disciples? Wouldn't it be more effective to target outer sect or even inner sect disciples?"
Encouraged by his senior brother's approval, the one on the right couldn't help but voice his doubts.
Their sect had migrated from a distant land, desperately seeking a spiritual vein to establish a stronghold. Unfortunately, all the suitable spiritual veins were either controlled by major sects or occupied by powerful demonic beasts—none were unclaimed.
To ensure their sect's survival, they had no choice but to seize another sect's territory. After careful selection, Qingluo Sect became their target.
Among the top sects in this cultivation realm, Qingluo Sect was unique—it had a fourth-rank spiritual vein but no Nascent Soul cultivator overseeing it.
Rumors suggested that Qingluo Sect's Nascent Soul Patriarch had perished decades ago while exploring a ruin. The other Nascent Soul cultivators in the region had witnessed this firsthand, making it an indisputable fact.
As such, Qingluo Sect was the weakest among the top sects in the area. Even so, taking over a Nascent Soul-level sect was no easy feat. Qingluo Sect's grand protective array alone was strong enough to fend off Nascent Soul attacks.
Moreover, as outsiders, directly attacking Qingluo Sect risked drawing intervention from other powerful local sects. After much deliberation, they determined that infiltrating and dismantling Qingluo Sect from within was the best strategy.
To the figure on the right, targeting outer sect or inner sect disciples seemed far more effective. Yet, they were only focusing on the insignificant labor disciples.
"A dam collapses because of an ant hole. Labor disciples may seem insignificant, but they are the easiest to infiltrate. More importantly, they form the foundation of Qingluo Sect's various industries. If we want to bring down a major sect, we must erode its foundation step by step."
The figure on the left was in a good mood and patiently explained.
Of course, what he didn't mention was that, if they had the means to infiltrate outer or inner sect disciples, they would have done so long ago. The reality was that Qingluo Sect, as a thousand-year-old Nascent Soul sect, had established safeguards against infiltration of key disciples.
Even infiltrating the sect's lower ranks had come at a great cost. The two of them had managed to integrate into the middle-to-lower levels of Qingluo Sect, but they were still far from reaching its core leadership.
That didn't matter. They had time.
Based on his observations, Qingluo Sect was unlikely to produce another Nascent Soul cultivator within the next hundred years.
And who said he wasn't trying to infiltrate the inner sect? He simply hadn't shared such classified information with his junior brother. The junior's task was only to focus on embedding themselves among the labor disciples.
"I understand, Senior Brother!"
Upon hearing the explanation, the figure on the right immediately stood up and bowed.
"By the way, are there any promising talents among the labor disciples?"
The figure on the left idly toyed with the jade slips. Labor disciples might be lowly, but occasionally, a worthy talent emerged—someone who, if nurtured properly, could prove invaluable in the future.