Shennong Dao Master

The Preaching Scholars have a wide range of interests, and their Daoist tests can vary in form, so bringing in more people might increase the chances of gaining inheritance.

"Looks like I can easily gain some benefits this time." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

You Yitian and Fan Yu didn’t even ask what skills I have! This obviously means: you don’t need to exert yourself, our team is complete, little brother, you just relax.

"Little Du is really something, repay kindness with kindness, when I leave in the future, I must remind you to escape from this big trap called Yuanhai Ancient Country."

...

The team quickly moved away from the direction of the withered tree, heading eastward.

You Yitian and Fan Yu didn’t choose the direction arbitrarily; they judged based on the Spiritual Energy Index, which gradually increased to the east.

If there were any tests or treasures, they would only be there.

West of the withered Ten Thousand Dao Tree, the Spiritual Energy Index fell below ten, so there couldn’t be any treasures or Array barriers.

Because it was an exploration, the progress was slow, taking nearly half a year to cover a hundred million kilometers.

After traveling five hundred million li eastward, green grass started to grow, rivers appeared, and life began to emerge.

The exploration team finally encountered the second barrier.

Zhao Xing scanned ahead and discovered many figures wandering the grasslands, wearing gray scholar robes and carrying book boxes on their backs.

"It’s the Inquiry Book Puppets."

A voice came from within You Yitian’s stomach. Zhao Xing identified it as a Small Divine Power Realm scholar speaking, named Du Qing, presumably a tribesman of Du Yun.

"Du Qing, what are the Inquiry Book Puppets?" You Yitian asked.

"The Inquiry Book Puppets are used by Preaching Scholars to instruct students in law and theory," Du Qing said. "Preaching the Dao and instilling enlightenment requires a price, with the number of uses in a lifetime limited. It is not a conventional teaching method."

"Is there anything particular about it?"

Taking advantage of You Yitian speaking, two scholars flew out.

"There is no major danger, the Inquiry Book Puppets are a relatively mild selection method, primarily assessing whether the seeker aligns with the teaching philosophy of the Shangluo Daoist School."

"As the saying goes, ’different paths cannot make plans together’, if you answer incorrectly, you may be turned away."

"I guess we are on our way to the Shangluo Daoist School now, and the Inquiry Book Puppets are the second test," Du Qing explained.

"Is it possible to break through by force?" Du Qing asked. Thinking of the mental task, he found it troublesome.

"I’m afraid not." Another man in a black scholar’s robe spoke: "The laws of the Tao Domain Realm scholars are difficult to break."

"Then could you answer on our behalf?" Fan Yu asked.

"Let’s give it a try," Du Qing said.

Then, You Yitian spat out all the others, setting down the ones in his ears as well.

He proceeded with Du Qing.

Upon stepping onto the grassland, a Book Puppet immediately enlarged to the same size as You Yitian.

Subsequently, it questioned You Yitian.

"A Viper holds the Taiyin, its body length is one hundred and eight thousand joints long, its venom sac turns from black to dark gold, what is its Dao?"

You Yitian was somewhat bewildered, what kind of question was this?

Zhao Xing couldn’t help but laugh, it seemed the tomb owner held biases against Qi Sect Martial Artists, asking such a simple question.

In essence, the Inquiry Book Puppet was saying that a Viper could hold a Taiyin Star, its body grew a hundred and eight thousand joints long, and its venom sac turned golden, so what realm was this Viper?

Zhao Xing thought this was basically a giveaway question, but You Yitian couldn’t answer it.

He was ranked thirty-ninth among the Guest Elders in Yellow Sand Mansion, how could he kill small Vipers for money?

How could he pay attention to a Viper’s growth and what realm it belonged to?

This time it was merely a test, and Du Qing didn’t help.

You Yitian cautiously answered in the Yueluo language: "If it can hold the Taiyin, it should be in the Tao Domain Realm?"

The answer was very general.

But even so, it was considered a pass.

The Inquiry Book Puppet nodded and then retrieved an Elixir from the book box and tossed it to You Yitian.

You Yitian was quite happy.

Then the Inquiry Book Puppet shrank slightly and moved to You Yitian’s chest and abdomen, staring at Du Qing inside.

Seeing this, Du Qing realized he couldn’t avoid it and thus flew out.

The Inquiry Book Puppet continued its inquiry:

"When a Viper attains the Dao, transforms into a human, is it a Daoist or a demon?"

Du Qing was at a loss.

The question for You Yitian was quite simple, yet for him as a scholar, it became a subject full of dialectics.

Zhao Xing found it amusing, the Inquiry Book Puppet raised a philosophical question, meaning that when a Viper cultivates into a spirit and transforms into a human, is its Dao considered the Dao of the Human Clan or the Demon Race?

There was a trap here, you couldn’t answer that the Viper was human or demon since the Book Puppet asked about the Dao, not the race.

"This question has no correct answer, it all depends on the tomb owner’s preference, and the national circumstances of the Yueluo Ancient Country at the time. If there was hatred towards the Demon Race, then undoubtedly, the transformation of the Demon Race would not be considered pursuing the Great Dao of the Human Clan. Conversely, it would."

"If the ideals don’t match, the Shangluo Daoist School will turn you away," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "And since the tomb owner set up an ’eviction order’, it’s highly likely they detested the Demon Race and wouldn’t consider the Demon Race’s attainment as human Dao. At most, it could only be recognized as useful to the Human Clan and become a subordinate."

"If the scholar’s thoughts deviate, it will lead astray a large group of people. Du Qing probably has only one chance to answer."

Du Qing pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and replied: "In the cosmos, the Ten Thousand Races have distinct paths to the Dao, they cannot converge. When a Viper attains the Dao, even if it transforms into human shape, it is only an appearance, the Origin of Life remains as a demon, and it cannot belong to the Great Dao of the Human Clan!"