The flying boat sailed smoothly for about an hour. Yelin could feel the elevation rising steadily; pavilions and towers began to appear on the ground below, with lights flickering in the distance.
Sometime later, most of the cultivators rose from their meditation. Their faces were bright with smiles, their moods buoyed as if they were wanderers returning to their hometown.
Taixuan Sect, they were finally arriving!
Many disciples walked to the ship's railing. To Yelin's surprise, he was surrounded by a group of beautiful, colorfully dressed Senior Sisters. They chattered away with great enthusiasm, eager to introduce him to the Taixuan Sect.
As for why so many female cultivators were fond of Yelin: his handsome appearance was a factor, though a minor one. The most important reason was his exceptional talent for cultivation, which had even led Daoist Xuanling to pin high hopes on him. Cultivators were well-versed in the art of early investment to win Yelin’s favor.
"Junior Brother Yelin, we have now reached the outer perimeter of the sect. This area is mainly where the servant disciples reside, surrounded by vast spiritual fields and herb gardens... You come from a prominent family, so you should understand what a servant disciple is..."
The Senior Sister who was introducing him suddenly noticed Yelin’s ragged, coarse cloth garment and smiled with a hint of embarrassment. "Well, perhaps you aren't from a prominent family after all. Let us introduce you to some of the basic knowledge of our sect."
Yelin quickly bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Senior Sisters."
"Disciples in the Taixuan Sect are graded. Almost everyone begins as a servant disciple. You will be responsible for tending the spiritual fields and herbs, contributing to the sect to earn contribution points. These points can be used at the Contribution Pavilion to exchange for treasures you might need, such as magical artifacts or cultivation manuals."
"Once a servant disciple reaches the Qi Condensation 3rd Heavenly Layer, they are promoted to an outer disciple. Outer disciples must choose an Immortal Peak to join. Each peak has its specialties: for example, the Cloud Thunder Peak specializes in spells, the Spirit Sword Peak in sword techniques and saber arts, and the Spirit Beast Peak in raising immortal beasts and spirit insects..."
"We are all outer disciples, so we don't need to tend the fields or herb gardens. We earn our contribution points by completing sect tasks, and every outer disciple has their own independent cave dwelling."
"Once an outer disciple reaches the Qi Condensation 6th Heavenly Layer, they become eligible to participate in the inner disciple assessment. However, passing the assessment to become an inner disciple is extremely difficult. Many cultivators remain outer disciples even at the 8th or 9th Heavenly Layer."
"Becoming an inner disciple allows you to learn more powerful immortal techniques and brings you closer to the path of immortality. Only as an inner disciple do you have a glimmer of hope of stepping into the Foundation Establishment stage."
When Yelin heard that the Spirit Beast Peak specialized in raising immortal beasts and spirit insects, his eyes lit up. This was likely his goal for the future. As someone possessing the Worm Emperor bloodline and the Ancient Ring, he might not dare claim much, but he was a professional when it came to raising insects.
However, his heart also burned with fervor when they spoke of spells and sword techniques. Spells and sword techniques were the hallmark abilities of the immortal path. With spells, one could summon clouds, bring rain, call down thunder, manifest flames, or turn stones into gold. Earlier, when Daoist Xuanling fought the demonic cultivators, Yelin had seen bolts of lightning erupt from the Daoist’s hands—the demonic cultivators had dodged them instinctively, clearly fearing the immense power of the lightning.
As for those skilled in sword techniques, they could fly on their swords, controlling them from hundreds or even thousands of feet away to take an enemy’s head. Legends of Sword Immortals parting rivers and splitting mountains with a single strike were common among the common folk.
The Senior Sisters continued to chatter, circling Yelin, eager to cram all the basic knowledge of the sect into his head at once. Fortunately, Yelin had consumed the pearls from Xiaobai, which had made his mind sharp and his memory extraordinary. He recorded every word they said without missing a single syllable. He was rapidly gaining an understanding of the Taixuan Sect and the cultivation world of the Seeking Dragon Mountains.
The Taixuan Sect occupied an area far wider than the city of a large prefecture. After another half-hour of flight, the flying boat finally descended slowly onto a vast, flat expanse where dozens of other flying boats were already docked.
The Senior Sisters were still taking turns speaking to Yelin with increasing enthusiasm until they were interrupted by two dry coughs from Daoist Xuanling.
The female outer disciples surrounding Yelin went silent, waved goodbye to him with smiles, and leapt off the boat, quickly disappearing from sight. Not being one for social interaction, Yelin could only bow gratefully to the empty air.
In his ten-plus years of life, other than his parents and grandparents, Yelin had only ever felt such warmth and kindness from the people in the Taixuan Sect. It gave him a strong sense of belonging. He clearly realized that while the world of cultivation had a cold and ruthless side, it also possessed a warm and gentle one.
***
Only Yelin, Daoist Xuanling, and Lin Xiaoxin remained on the flying boat.
Daoist Xuanling instructed Lin Xiaoxin, "Xiaoxin, take him to the Servant Hall to complete the initiation process like the other children."
Lin Xiaoxin replied respectfully, "As you command!"
As soon as the words left her lips, Daoist Xuanling transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the night. Due to the vast gap in their strength, Yelin couldn't even tell how he had left the boat. Yelin bowed respectfully toward the direction where the Daoist had disappeared. "Farewell, Martial Uncle." He felt quite grateful, as the Daoist had gifted him medicinal pills earlier.
Lin Xiaoxin seemed not to have emerged from the gloom of her sister being captured by demonic cultists; she was in no mood to converse with Yelin. She grabbed his arm, and Yelin felt like a small chick being easily lifted by the seemingly delicate girl. She then leapt onto her flying sword, and they vanished into the night.
During the high-speed flight, the rushing wind roared in Yelin’s ears, preventing him from opening his eyes. At the same time, the intoxicating scent of the young woman enveloped him, causing his heart to race. Having lived a humble life, he had only caught faint whiffs of such pleasant scents from high-born ladies from afar; he had never smelled it from such close proximity. But he didn't dwell on it, simply finding it pleasant.
Before long, the flying sword slowed, and Yelin was finally able to open his eyes. Lin Xiaoxin had brought him to a noisy, crowded plaza guarded by several disciples in Taixuan Sect robes.
Yelin saw hundreds of teenagers gathered there. Some wore luxurious clothes and carried fine iron swords, while others were like him, dressed in tattered, patched coarse cloth. These were the children found across the Great Xuan Dynasty who possessed Spiritual Roots.
As Lin Xiaoxin landed with Yelin, many people looked their way.
Lin Xiaoxin said, "Junior Brother, wait here. A steward from the Servant Hall will come soon to take you through the initiation process."
Before Yelin could thank her, she soared into the sky on her sword and vanished into the night. Yelin walked to the back of the crowd, where the commoners stood, while the prominent family children occupied the front.
The boys and girls were all very excited, much like the young masters and misses Yelin had encountered on the boat. Their return trip to the Taixuan Sect must have been smooth, without any ambushes by demonic cultivators.
From time to time, more Taixuan Sect disciples brought in new batches of children. By the time the crowd reached six or seven hundred, the sky was beginning to brighten. A large group of disciples in sect robes descended from the sky. Standing at the very front was an elderly man with gray hair, looking at the children with a kind smile.
"Little ones, I am the steward of the Servant Hall. Line up. Once you pass the inspection of the Demon-Reflecting Mirror, you will receive your identity token and officially enter the Taixuan Sect as servant disciples."
As he spoke, the boys and girls quickly formed a long line. Yelin now understood why the noble children gathered in the front—they wanted to pass the Mirror of Heart-Questioning first and enter the sect ahead of the commoners. Not feeling impatient, Yelin took his place at the end of the line.
The gray-haired steward nodded slightly, and with a flash of spiritual light, a copper mirror emitting a silvery-white glow appeared in his hand.
*Hum, hum, hum.* The mirror flew from the steward's hand, face down.
*Whoosh!*
The steward pointed at the mirror, and a water-blue beam of light shot from his fingertip into it. The mirror’s glow intensified, and its surface rapidly expanded to the size of a winnowing basket.
"Demonic shadows and evil spirits, have nowhere to hide! Move!" the steward commanded softly.
The mirror shone brightly, passing over the heads of the children, just a few inches above them, one by one.
Yelin felt a slight surge of tension. The mirror seemed designed to detect demonic and evil energies, meant to prevent demonic cultivators or monsters in human form from infiltrating the sect. He had interacted quite a bit with Xiaoqiang and Xiaobai. Xiaoqiang could strip the pants off itinerant cultivators, and Xiaobai could read and write; there was no doubt they could be considered monsters. Yelin didn't want the Mirror to discover the secret of the Worm Emperor Ancient Ring.
However, it was clear he was overthinking. The mirror flew over his head without pausing and without emitting any special light. Yelin passed the test plainly and simply.
At the front of the line, those who passed registered their names and received their identity tokens, along with a set of well-fitting Taixuan Sect robes, a Qiankun bag, a thick stack of books, and an iron sword.
Since Yelin was at the end of the line, the sun was already high in the sky by the time he reached the steward. The steward stroked his beard and smiled at Yelin. "You are Yelin, the one rescued by Xuanling?"
"Reporting to the steward, this junior is indeed Yelin."
The steward nodded and found a token engraved with "Taixuan Sect Servant Disciple, Yelin" from a pile and handed it to him. "Drip your blood to claim it!"
Yelin bit his finger and squeezed a drop of blood onto the token. The token flashed with a faint light, and Yelin felt a strange, mysterious connection form with it.
"From this moment on, you are officially a disciple of our Taixuan Sect. You must follow the sect rules, cultivate diligently, and take it upon yourself to slay demons and uphold the interests of the righteous path."
Yelin bowed. "Disciple Yelin will follow your teachings!"
The steward smiled. "Go to the other disciples and collect your supplies."
Yelin went behind the steward to a disciple handing out robes. The disciple had an incredibly sharp eye; he didn't need a measuring tape to accurately distribute perfectly fitting robes—he had clearly been doing this for a long time.
"Junior Brother, these are your two sets of Dharma robes. Our robes can repel mosquitoes and miasma, remain free of dust in sandstorms, and cannot be burned by common fire or soaked by water. However, you must reach the Qi Condensation 1st Heavenly Layer to activate these abilities. The stronger your cultivation and the more potent your magic power, the more powerful the robes' functions will be."
"When you grow bigger, you can come to the Servant Hall to trade these in for larger ones. If you want robes of a higher grade with stronger functions, you must exchange sect contribution points at the Contribution Pavilion. Your identity token records your contribution points."
Yelin accepted the brand-new robes, feeling incredibly excited. This was definitely the most expensive and beautiful garment he had ever touched in his life.
***
Yelin happily hugged his new robes and approached the beautiful Senior Sister distributing the Qiankun bags. She handed him a palm-sized bag embroidered with the words "Taixuan Sect," a cloud, and a crane.
Perhaps seeing that Yelin was handsome and had received the attention of both the steward and Daoist Xuanling, she was very friendly. "Junior Brother, quickly drip your blood to claim it. You only need a tiny bit of magic power to use the Qiankun bag. You can put your robes inside."
"Also, a word of advice: the Qiankun bag is extremely precious. If you lose it, the sect will not replace it for free. You would have to spend ten Spirit Stones to get a new one at the Servant Hall. If you need a larger space, you must exchange for it with contribution points. Of course, if you have enough Spirit Stones, you can trade with other cultivators, but be careful—the cultivation world is filled with malice, so don't get scammed!"
Yelin thanked the Senior Sister and squeezed another drop of blood from the wound on his finger onto the bag. As it absorbed the blood, Yelin felt a mysterious connection form with it.
He looked inside; it was empty, and the space was small, enough to hold a square table for four. With a thought, his robes vanished from his hand and appeared inside the bag. With another thought, one of the robes reappeared in his hand. Yelin felt even more thrilled—this was truly an immortal's ability!
"What a clever little Junior Brother..." the Senior Sister praised him with a smile.
Yelin then moved to the disciple distributing books. A large stack had already been prepared for him.
"Junior Brother, make sure to study our sect rules carefully when you have time. There will be an assessment in three months, and failing it will result in punishment. If you cannot read or write, the Servant Hall holds daily classes."
"In the future, if you want to learn more profound knowledge, you must spend contribution points at our sect’s Library Pavilion. We have a hundred thousand volumes there, containing everything under heaven. You can learn anything you desire!"
The stack included *Taixuan Sect Rules*, *Chronicles of the Seeking Dragon Mountains*, *Techniques of Breathing and Meditation*, *Explanation of Basic Spells*, *Taixuan Body-Refining Art*, and *Taixuan Sword Art*. Yelin was burning with curiosity to read them, but he couldn't do so here, so he stored them all in his Qiankun bag.
After bowing to thank the disciple, he went to the one handing out the iron swords. A blade in a light cyan scabbard was handed over, which Yelin accepted reverently. On the surface, he looked calm, but inside, he was ecstatic—he finally had his first weapon!
The disciple whispered to him, "Junior Brother Yelin, an iron sword is but a common object. It’s fine for practicing sword forms, but never use it to fight actual demons or ghosts."
"I hear you have excellent aptitude and should reach the Qi Condensation 1st Layer soon. Once you do, you will possess the strength of a 'Spirit Horse'—the power of a sturdy horse—and you can control magical artifacts far more powerful than this iron sword. But to obtain artifacts, you will need many contribution points. You must work hard for the sect."
Yelin nodded. "Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother!"
Yelin had already learned from the chatter of the Senior Sisters on the boat that in the cultivation world, the strength of an immortal’s magic power was measured in specific units. Usually, the unit of measurement was the strength of a wild horse from the mortal realm!
Possessing the strength of one Spirit Horse meant having enough magic power to win a tug-of-war against a strong horse. A powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator possessed the strength of dozens of Spirit Horses, with surging magic power capable of lifting boulders and moving houses.
He had also heard that Golden Core masters possessed the strength of hundreds of Spirit Horses, enough to level city walls. In a fight, they could cause mountains to collapse and the earth to crack, and a single one could sweep through hundreds of thousands of mortal troops! And the Golden Core stage was far from the end of the cultivation path.
Yelin had always known that immortals could fly, live forever, and move mountains, but he had never had a concrete concept of it. Now, he finally understood just how powerful they were. It was no wonder that mortal kingdoms with billions of people submitted to the control of the immortal sects; even an emperor had to yield to them, and would bow in worship before a Golden Core master.
Next, a senior disciple led Yelin to the servant disciples' quarters, where he noted that men and women lived in separate areas. On the way, the disciple explained more common knowledge.
Even though they were now servant disciples of the Taixuan Sect, they were only "probationary servants." Because they hadn't yet reached the Qi Condensation 1st Layer to condense the strength of one Spirit Horse, they couldn't even perform the servant tasks of the sect.
The sect would give everyone one year. If they failed to reach the Qi Condensation 1st Layer by then, they would be stripped of their immortal status, their belongings confiscated, and they would be sent back to the mortal world.
Yelin suddenly realized that most of the "itinerant cultivators" in the mortal world were those who had failed to become formal servant disciples and were sent back. Even though being sent back was considered shameful, they could still live a life of luxury back in the mortal realm.
However, that meant they had no path to immortality.
Though Yelin had been a slave since childhood, the life he wanted was never just to be a master above others or to enjoy wealth. He understood that even the richest emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty, with its billions of people, was merely a high-ranking house slave to the Taixuan Sect.
He sought eternal life, absolute freedom, and a world where no one could ever trample over him again! Therefore, he had no interest in being sent back to enjoy a life of luxury.
According to the disciple, breaking through to the Qi Condensation 1st Layer within a year wasn't difficult, and most probationary servants succeeded. His aptitude was better than theirs, so he should be able to advance quickly.
During the probationary period, there was no salary. Only after becoming a formal servant and being assigned work—contributing to the sect—would one receive a salary of two Spirit Stones per month. In other words, the probationary period was primarily for learning the basics of the cultivation world and increasing one's strength.
The treatment for probationary servants was relatively poor. Regardless of one's background in the mortal world—even if one were a prince or royalty—each person was assigned only a small, ten-foot-by-ten-foot cubicle. The room contained a bed, prepared bedding, a delicate prayer mat, a small table, a few stools, and a cabinet at the head of the bed.
Seeing the senior disciple leave, Yelin excitedly closed his dormitory door and let out a long breath of relief. He clenched his fists, his mouth curling into an almost crazed smile, though he dared not laugh aloud.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*