Su Xin's face darkened, and she left without a word...

“Junior brother, you don’t care about the old tribute, I have some cave dwellings with excellent feng shui here, would you like to take a look?” Li Yun said.

Chen Yi blinked, somewhat incredulously asking, "Cave dwellings? Aren't they assigned to people within the sect?"

"Of course there are no allocations. Everything within the Hidden Moon Sect must be earned. The same goes for cave dwellings. Even the sect's protectors only have the right to stay temporarily. Disciples like us can only rent a place based on our contribution points."

After hearing Li Yun's introduction, Chen Yi's expression became even more tense.

However, it is said that this is the case for most sects now.

Some sects used to treat their disciples and followers extremely well, euphemistically calling it "developing the sect."

As a result, they developed a lazy and gluttonous family tradition, which ultimately led to their defeat and annihilation in a confrontation with a rival sect.

“You’re new here, so you probably don’t have a cave dwelling yet. Tell your senior brother your budget, and he’ll recommend some good cave dwellings to you!” Li Yun said enthusiastically.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yi nodded in agreement.

Indeed, it is inconvenient for cultivators not to have their own cave dwellings.

Especially since he is already a Foundation Establishment cultivator, unlike the Qi Refining stage, he doesn't need to live in a decent dormitory.

"Budget? I'm not very familiar with the market. Senior brother, what budget do you think I should spend on a cave dwelling?"

Li Yun stroked her chin, as if deep in thought.

"Generally, for newly arrived junior brothers, I recommend staying at... By the way, I haven't asked which faction you belong to yet? Inner sect or outer sect?"

Chen Yi was stumped by this question.

He had no idea which faction he belonged to; he only knew that his cheap master was known as the Mysterious Candle Immortal.

"To which faction does Master Xuanzhu belong?"

"Master Xuanzhu belongs to the Youxuan sect," Li Yun explained. "Are you an inner disciple or an outer disciple?"

It should be noted that in the Hidden Moon Sect, some mediocre individuals will be demoted; even those at the Foundation Establishment stage may be reduced to outer disciples.

"Uh, my master is Master Xuanzhu," Chen Yi said, still a little unaccustomed to it.

Li Yun's eyes widened suddenly. "What?! Your master is Master Xuanzhu?"

"What's wrong?"

Chen Yi took the opportunity to inquire further.

Li Yun looked in a certain direction and shook his head: "It's nothing. I just heard that Master Xuanzhu took Su Xin as his last disciple and stopped accepting true disciples. I didn't expect that there would be someone like you, junior brother!"

"Senior brother, I could tell from afar that you, junior brother, are a man of exceptional talent, otherwise I wouldn't have come here, hahaha!"

"Senior brother, how many factions does the Hidden Moon Sect have?" Chen Yi asked.

"Isn't this a coincidence? Well, your senior brother Li is known as the all-knowing scholar of the Hidden Moon Sect! Our sect has four major factions: Shuoyue, Qinghui, Suhua, and Youxuan. Although there is competition among the factions, they all share the same goal: to make our Hidden Moon Sect stand forever."

"Ahem! I've digressed. Junior brother, since you are a disciple of True Person Xuanzhu, you must have quite a lot of contribution points. Senior brother recommends a budget of 1500 contribution points."

"A month?" Chen Yi frowned.

"Of course!" Li Yun replied matter-of-factly.

“True disciples must stay in more expensive places. This is not only for your own face, but also for the face of the real person! Moreover, you are surrounded by people of similar status, which makes it easier to make close friends.”

Secondly, that place is rich in spiritual energy, which is very beneficial to cultivation!

You can ask around and you'll find out that I, Li Yun, have an excellent reputation in the Hidden Moon Sect!

True disciples typically earn 3000 contribution points per month by completing tasks, with 1500 used for renting out their cave dwellings, which isn't excessive.

Chen Yi had a clear understanding of the value of contribution.

It seems that earning contribution points in the Hidden Moon Sect is not easy!

Even the most accomplished disciples only earn around three thousand a month.

I wonder if my level of proficiency in the six arts will be enough to get by?

With that in mind, Chen Yi agreed to let Li Yun go see the house—or rather, the cave dwelling.

The two looked at more than a dozen sets before finally finding one they liked.

Along the way, Chen Yi also encountered other people who came to see the cave.

It seems he wasn't the only one to join the church recently.

After paying 1500 contribution points and signing the contract, he will be able to reside in this cave for the rest of the month.

"Remember to pay the rent on time every month. You can just use the token to pay, it's very convenient," Li Yun said.

"It's so troublesome. Haven't you thought about paying it once a year? Anyway, cultivators have such long lifespans, and going into seclusion is a common occurrence," Chen Yi said.

"It's not that we don't want to pay annually, it's just that a year is too long. If someone dies, we won't be able to notice! By the time we find out the following year, the cave will have already started to stink, which will affect the rental," Li Yun explained.

After confirming that everything was correct, he said to Chen Yi, "Junior Brother Chen, if you have any questions in the future, you can come to Qinghui Peak to find me."

After saying that, he flew away.

Chen Yi watched Li Yun leave and returned to his cave.

The space here is vast enough to practice spells.

With a flick of his finger, he placed a forging table in a quiet room.

They also placed array flags around the cave, and set up protective arrays and spirit-gathering arrays.

After doing all that, he finally had time to review what had happened recently.

Looking back on the past few days, he felt a sense of disorientation.

From applying for the Foundation Establishment Certificate, to the arrival of the beast tide, to rescuing people from the Zhao family, then breaking through to Foundation Establishment, and finally arriving at the Hidden Moon Sect...

In any case, he will have to stay here to cultivate for the next period of time.

To be honest, the richness of the spiritual energy here was something he had never seen before in the Crimson Dragon Kingdom.

Even the ruins of the Yinshan Sect back then couldn't compare to this place.

As expected of a force with a Nascent Soul cultivator as its patron...

He went to a stone bed and lay down.

The cave dwelling was furnished with some everyday furniture; in Li Yun's words, it was move-in ready.

He soon fell asleep.

In the dream world, he looked at the sun hanging overhead.

"The system said that I could only comprehend the meaning of my natal character after I reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Now that I've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it should be possible, right?"

He stared at the sun, gradually becoming mesmerized.

Suddenly, the sun overhead changed.

It was no longer golden, but turned crimson.

Chen Yi continued to stare at the rising sun.

Gradually, the red faded, and black spots emerged.

More and more spots appeared, and eventually, the sun disappeared, and the surroundings grew cold.

"What does this mean? The sun has died out?" Chen Yi was a little confused.

When he came to his senses, a white light burst forth in the already extinguished sun.

The black gradually peels away, and white light takes its place.

A glimmer of light appeared in Chen Yi's eyes.

"This is the rising sun... no, that's not right, this is the lesser yang!"

He seemed to have realized something.

"So what happens next is... gradual flourishing, and then decline?"

Sure enough, the sun then went from white light to golden light, repeating the cycle.

He vividly recalled that the system had given examples of the various meanings of the character "yang," such as Shaoyang, Zhengyang, Canyang, and Lingyang.

But why do I see the process from birth to ruin?