As the end of the year approaches, the imperial city of Jin is filled with festive atmosphere. Every household hangs big red lanterns in front of the house.

Pedestrians came and went on the street. They bought New Year's goods and bought new clothes. When they met acquaintances, they would stop there and chat and worship each other for their early years.

However, what is more lively than the streets of the Imperial City is the bottom of the Tongtian Ruyi Tower to the east of the Imperial City. A large group of devout pilgrims lined up here early. The third day of the month and the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month are the days when the Tongtian Ruyi Tower allows the people of the Imperial City to go up to the tower and burn incense. This day is also called the day when the people in the Imperial City jumped over the Dragon Gate. Because once someone climbed the tenth floor of the Tongtian Ruyi Tower, the person will be taken as slaves by the three immortals. From then on, he can not only serve the three immortals, but also be respected by the rest of the Imperial City.

Since the opening of Tongtian Ruyi Tower, very few people can climb it. And every time someone successfully climbs the tenth floor, the incense and tower climbing activity on the day will end.

The person in charge of incense burning was Xun Shu, the chief servant of Tongtian Ruyi Tower. He dressed in white and plain robe, and made people feel like a transcendent master. Standing at the front of the team, he said to everyone: "The path of immortality is vague, and no one who is destined to enter. Anyone who steps on the tenth floor can go to Tongtian Ruyi Tower and listen to the teachings of the immortals. You and others have taken the three incenses and are sincere and upright."

After Xun Shu finished speaking, he nodded to the two men guarding the stairs on the ground floor.

The two immortal servants knew how to distribute Changxiang. Many people below took Changxiang and climbed up the tower in an orderly manner.

Some people who climbed the tower would secretly stuff some silver to the immortal servants who distribute incense at the door in order to get the favor of the immortal Tao. Those immortal servants were also happy to accept it. Whether they could get favor depends on the fortunes of these pilgrims.

A young man in his early twenties dressed in old cloth clothes gritted his teeth before taking Changxiang, handing over a tael of silver to the two immortal servants.

The two immortal servants never looked at the young man more, but gave him three lit long incense sticks after taking the silver. A mere tael of silver didn't even bring any blessings to the young man in their hearts.

What they didn't know was that the two taels of silver were almost all the assets of this young man. If he didn't succeed today, he might have to spend the New Year with this old dress again.

This young man was Xuan Kuo, who had been away from home for three years and was seeking immortals and asking questions outside. The successive deaths of his great-grandparents made him want to pursue the meaning of life at the age of 20. He felt that since he could make a relationship with Lin Qing, who was an immortal, he would definitely have an extraordinary fate. He firmly believed that as long as he met the immortal, he would be taken over by them, and he might meet Lin Qing again at that time.

So he trekked all the way to the imperial city of Jin, where immortals exist. When he saw the towering tower of Ruyi Tower in the sky, he felt a sense of heroism in his heart. He felt that the three immortals in the pagoda were waiting for him, the destined person.

But reality gave him a heavy blow. He stopped on the second floor when he climbed the tower for the first time. Looking at the pious pilgrims walking past him and climbed upwards, he tried his best unconvincedly, but even if his veins swelled up, he could not take a step further. He returned to the stairs at the bottom floor in a depressed manner. When he heard that someone among his fellow travelers climbed the tenth floor and was chosen as a slave to the immortals, his previous confidence was shattered.

That day he stood at the bottom of Tongtian Ruyi Tower for a long time, and all the immortal servants on the stairs left him and he still didn't leave. He looked at the steps ahead in a daze. He wanted to try again, but this time he couldn't even step on the first step. He thought that this was the immortal who was testing him, so he tried until the morning of the second day. Until the immortal servants in the tower came down and saw that he was still there, they told him that the time when the Tongtian Ruyi Tower was open to outsiders was only the third day of the month and the twenty-sixth of the end of the month, and they told him not to waste his energy.

After hearing this, Xuan Kuo had to leave in disappointment and wait for the end of the month to come again at 26 o'clock. But his money was almost spent on the road. It was not easy to settle in the imperial city where every inch of land was valuable. Seeing that the inn could not afford to live in, he wanted to find a job here first. However, although the imperial city was big, there were few opportunities to give him. After repeated encounters, the boss of Yijia Shop saw that he was young and strong and was not vague at all when he worked, so he hired him with a salary of three cents of silver per month.

This wage is considered low in Xuanjia Village, but Xuankuo thought that he came to seek immortality. As long as he could climb the tenth floor of Tongtian Ruyi Tower and be selected by the immortal, all this would be worth it.

After that, when Xuan Kuo was in the imperial city, he traveled back and forth between working in the grain shop and climbing the tower to seek immortality.

The owner of the grain shop saw Xuan Kuo working hard and not only helped him increase his salary to six cents a month in the third year, but also wanted to reuse him and let him manage the granary.

However, Xuan Kuozhi was not here. After thanking the grain shop owner for his kindness, he said that he came to the imperial city just to climb the tower to find immortals.

The owner of the grain shop sighed. He had heard many rumors and told Xuan Kuo that sometimes those who could climb the tenth floor of the Tongtian Ruyi Tower were not necessarily going to find immortals.

Xuan Kuo didn't understand what the grain shop owner meant, so when he went to ask, the grain shop owner just waved his hand.

Today, Xuan Kuo has climbed the fifth floor of the Tongtian Ruyi Tower. He has no time to care about his fellow travelers behind him. He held three sticks of burnt incense in his hand, and devoutly recited the names of the three brothers of the Zhang family, and walked forward step by step.

After many pilgrims went up the Tongtian Ruyi Tower, Xun Shu also climbed up in a leisurely manner. Looking at the pilgrims who worked hard and fell behind him, he could easily reach the tenth floor. Because only those who were recognized by the destiny could go up the twenty-fourth floor, those who climbed the tenth floor were immortal servants but those who had discussed in advance by the three brothers of Zhang and Fang Yi to let him spread. The three brothers of Zhang didn't care who was climbing the tenth floor at all, and they were all left to him by Fang Yi to take charge of these matters. In Xun Shu's eyes, the people below were like ants chasing delicious food, and he could decide which ant to succeed. As long as he controlled the number of servants in the tower, stayed for the suitable ones, and if not, contact Fang Yi and took the person out of the Tongtian Ruyi Tower and killed them.

Seeing that the time was almost over, Xun Shu took out a blue token from his waist and put it in the groove at the ten-story handrail. Xuankuo, who had just reached the ninth floor and the many pilgrims who could still move upwards below were also fixed in place by a huge force.

Xuan Kuo could see Xun Shu standing on the ten-story steps. He was unwilling to continue to move upwards, but the huge force only allowed him to retreat and did not allow him to move forward any more.

During the stalemate, Xuan Kuo's strength was quickly exhausted. He supported the steps with both hands and kept gasping for breath. He looked at Changxiang, which had already been extinguished in his hand, as if he saw his dream of seeking immortality breaking again. But what he couldn't accept was that at this time someone was walking by him with Changxiang in his hand. Looking at the man's back all the way up, Xuan Kuo only felt that his broken dream of seeking immortality had become the most despicable ashes here.

After the pilgrim came up, Xun Shu warmly welcomed and said, "Congratulations to this layman for becoming a member of the Ruyi Tower of Tongtian. You can go up with me."

"It's time for me to be in charge of the matter," the pilgrim said respectfully.

Xun Shubian and the pilgrim who had successfully climbed the tenth floor told him the rules of the Ruyi Tower of Heaven.

The two immortal servants below heard a bell from above and said to the pilgrims who were still on the tower: "Today, a pious pilgrim has already climbed the tenth floor, and you all have dispersed."

After hearing this, the pilgrims envied those who could climb the tenth level to gain the fate of immortality.

The two immortal servants also began to let the pilgrims go down the tower one by one. When they arrived at the ninth floor, they saw Xuan Kuo sitting on the steps motionless.

One of the immortal servants ordered: "The time to climb the tower today has passed, so please go down the tower quickly!"

The two servants from the immortal family were unmoved when they saw Xuan Kuo, and they all stepped forward to pull him down.

Unexpectedly, Xuan Kuo shook their hands excitedly, and he seemed to ask himself or ask the two of them, "Why! Why did I go to the ninth floor and I don't let me go up! The people behind me can pass by me and become the one who climbs to the tenth floor!"

The two immortal servants seemed to be used to the fact that they would not leave if they did not succeed in climbing the tower. They grabbed Xuan Kuo one of their arms without saying a word and dragged him to the bottom of Tongtian Ruyi Tower. After seeing more than a dozen pilgrims who had not dispersed here, they threw Xuan Kuo out without hesitation and said to the pilgrims: "This man is shameless and wants to stay in the tower and not go out!"

The twelve pilgrims laughed when they heard this.

Someone scolded, "Just like this silly look, I actually want to get to the immortal world. Let's dream!"

Someone said, "Don't say that, maybe the immortals would let him lie down here to guard the tower when they see him pitiful."

...

A burst of sarcasm sounded in his ears, but Xuan Kuo stood up and walked towards the bottom stairs as if he hadn't heard it.

The dozen or so pilgrims saw that the servants of the Immortal Family had returned to the tower, and Xuan Kuo turned a deaf ear to their sarcasm. They looked at each other and moved upwards, and decided to throw this ignorant boy farther away.

But before they could touch Xuankuo, they saw their hand that was holding Xuankuo, bent in the opposite direction, and their bodies fell down with weightlessness. When they were not sure why, severe pain had already reached their minds, but they could only make a whimpering sound because their chin had already been broken with great force.

Xuan Kuo looked at the twelve pilgrims who were twitching on the ground in an instant, and he was stunned. Before he could recover, four more immortal servants in white clothes and plain robes were thrown down on the stairs ahead.

Xuan Kuo recognized two of them as the servants of the immortal family who had just captured him and threw him out of the Tower of Tongtian Ruyi, one of the two was Xun Shu who was in charge of climbing the tower today, and the other was the devout pilgrim who successfully climbed the tenth floor.

Like the twelve pilgrims, the four of them were interrupted and crushed their chins, and they could only whimper on the ground.

Xuan Kuo knelt down and bowed his head, "But the immortals save him?"

"Get up!" A stern voice came into Xuan Kuo's ears.

Xuan Kuo was shocked, and he didn't dare to stand up immediately. When he saw Shi Wu and Xia Yinyin standing in front of him, he lowered his head and bowed, "Xuan Kuo has seen two immortals!"

Shi Wu asked: "Is it really so important to you to become an immortal?"

Xuan Kuo replied respectfully: "This is the lifelong pursuit of my younger generation!"

Shi Wu held the void with his right hand, and Xun Shu's head on the ground was grabbed by him. He pressed his left hand on Xuan Kuo's shoulder. As soon as the soul search method was released, Xuan Kuo was surprised to see that the person who climbed the tenth floor of the Heavenly Ruyi Tower was arranged by Emperor Fang Yi of Jin early in the morning. In other words, no matter how sincere they were, the only one who climbed the tenth floor would be the designated person.

Xun Shu whimpered, and a sound came from his mind: "Shangxian, I am the chief manager of Tongtian Ruyi Tower here, and I am also the confidant of Emperor Jin. Please give me a way out for the sake of the three immortals in the tower."

When Xuan Kuo heard many identities of Xun Shu, he thought Shi Wu would let him go.

Unexpectedly, a ball of flame emerged from Shi Wu's right hand, and Xun Shu in his hand was immediately burned into a pile of flying ashes.

The fifteen people lying on the ground were shocked and frightened. They did not expect that the immortal in front of them was so cruel.

Shi Wu looked at Xuan Kuo’s experience in the Jin Imperial City over the past three years in his mind, and asked: “In your heart, finding immortals is more important than family members?”

Xuan Kuo said firmly: "I just want to go my own way, and I don't want to leave any regrets!"

Shi Wu clenched his right fist. He didn't expect that he would find Xuan Kuo as soon as he came to Jin Imperial City, and he didn't expect that his good brother's grandson would say this. He nodded and said, "Okay, if you want to practice, then I'll give you a chance."

The flames rose in Shi Wu's right hand, and the fifteen people on the ground turned into ashes in an instant.

Xuan Kuo said with his eyes firmly: "You..."

Shi Wu said coldly: "This is a necessary path to practice. Yinyin, take him to the top of the tower."

Xuan Kuo had seen the three Zhang brothers demonstrated magic, so he was sure that the two of them were other immortals. When he heard Shi Wu say that he would give him a chance to practice, he was excited and suddenly felt that the surrounding scenes changed. When he realized that he had come to a room. The immortal was sitting in the middle, and there were three people waiting to stand beside him.

Zhang Jin and Zhang Rong were called to the top of the tower by Shi Wu and saw Shi Wu sitting on their elder brother Zhang Ji's seat with anger on their face. They thought that Zhang Ji on the side had offended Shi Wu. When they were nervous, Xia Yinyin and Xuan Kuo, who was wearing old clothes, teleported.

Shi Wu said to Zhang Ji, who was silent, "Go and help him test whether there are spiritual roots in his body."

When Zhang Ji heard this, he immediately took out a bronze mirror from the storage bag. He respectfully said to Xuan Kuo: "My friend, please put your hand on this bronze mirror."

"The Immortal Zhang Ji! The Immortal Zhang Qian! The Immortal Zhang Rong!" Xuan Kuo called out the names of the three brothers of the Zhang family one by one, these three were the immortals he had dreamed of seeing.

When Zhang Ji saw Xuan Kuo's eyes were full of awe when he saw them, he heard him respectfully calling the three of them the best immortals. He guessed that this should be a person from the imperial city of Jin. He said to Xuan Kuo who was stunned: "My friend, please come over and put your hand on this bronze mirror."

Shi Wu directly used the Thunder Curse Seal to Zhang Ji, "If he doesn't come, will you not go there?"

Zhang Ji felt a little nervous. He hurried over to Xuan Kuo and respectfully put the bronze mirror on the palm of Xuan Kuo's right hand. He heard Zhang Ji rumbling in his mouth, and Xuan Kuo felt that his palm was sucked on the bronze mirror.

A faint green light also emitted from the edge of the bronze mirror.

Zhang Ji returned to Shiwu and said, "Senior, this little friend has the lowest-grade wood spirit root."

After hearing this, Shi Wu asked Xia Yinyin, "Yinyin, do you have a jade pendant on your body?"

Xia Yinyin took out a blue jade pendant and said, "Brother Shi, give it to me."

After Shi Wu took the jade pendant, he broke off a large piece from half a dragon-shaped gold medal and pinched it into a golden bead. He handed the two items in front of Xuan Kuo: "Please hold this jade pendant first, and then you use this golden bead to go back to Xuanjia Village in the carriage and horse of the travel gate. You have low-grade wooden spiritual roots and can indeed practice. Instead of letting you be fooled outside, it is better to introduce you to Fengyuan Sect. But in exchange, you must accompany your grandfather in Xuanjia Village until a hundred years later. Then you break this jade pendant again, and I will arrange for Fengyuan Sect to collect disciples from the mortal world to pick you up to the outer hidden world in the name of collecting disciples with fate."

Xuan Kuo put away his jade pendant and golden beads as if he had received a treasure. He also wanted to kneel down to thank Shi Wu, but Shi Wu used his spiritual power to stay in place: "Don't tell anyone about my deal with you, including your grandfather."

Xuan Kuo heard the name of Fengyuan Sect from Xia Yinyin's previous call to Shi Wu, and asked tentatively: "Are you Grandpa Shi?"

Shi Wu just nodded and said to Xia Yinyin: "Yinyin, we are not convenient for us to show up in the imperial city for the time being. Take him down to the bottom of the tower and let him go to the travel gate by himself."

Xia Yinyin nodded and teleported to the bottom of the tower with Xuan Kuo.

Xuan Kuo felt that everything today seemed like a dream. When he wanted to thank Xia Yinyin, Xia Yinyin had already teleported back.

The depressing atmosphere on the top of the tower made the three Zhang brothers hold their breath. Everyone could see that Shi Wu was in a bad mood.

Shi Wu closed his mind and asked, "What have Fang Yi done recently?"

Zhang Ji hurriedly replied: "He sent someone to fill the vacancy of Zhong Zhan and asked us some matters related to foundation building. I guess he will make a breakthrough after the Royal New Year's Eve banquet."

"Will there be a lot of people coming at the New Year's Eve banquet?" Shi Wu asked.

Zhang Ji said: "In addition to the royal relatives living in the imperial city, the important officials of Jin State were also invited to go there. The three of us attended the dinner twice, but it was interesting to sing and dance at this dinner, and the others were too boring. We haven't attended the banquet in the past two years."

"Don't go this year. Just receive my instructions and come to save the scene." Shi Wu ordered.

Zhang Ji didn't dare to ask too much: "I'm going to take the order!"
To be continued...