Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Two-in-one: Generous Newbie Gifts...
Ning Yu: "My master was traveling with me when we heard that a vicious dragon had broken loose and flooded a nearby village known for its longevity, causing countless casualties. He took me there to slay the dragon, but when we arrived, we saw it, gravely wounded and near death, its eyes bloodshot and a maddened look. It was planning to self-destruct, dragging the entire village with it."
As Yun Miao listened to Ning Yu's story, he immediately thought of a bad possibility: "Flesh and blood...longevity...could everyone in that village have eaten dragon meat?"
"That's right."
Ning Yu: "No one knows why Mo Chi abandoned her child and left Black Dragon Ridge. No one knows why she, at the Void Refining Stage, was seriously injured and on the verge of death and ended up near that village."
"Anyway, by the time the low-level cultivators living in seclusion in that village discovered her, her inner elixir was already gone. Even so, the remaining parts of a four-clawed dragon were still rare treasures in the world. So, those low-level cultivators killed her."
"They were quite clever. They knew they'd lose everything if the news leaked, so they didn't even consider selling the body. Instead, they did their utmost to conceal the news and distributed the remaining flesh and blood to the other mortals in the village. On the one hand, they were dragging the entire village down with them, while on the other hand, they were destroying the body as quickly as possible."
She sneered, "So everyone in the village ate dragon meat, and even an old man without any spiritual roots managed to live to over 150 years old. He's considered an auspicious centenarian by the people in other villages."
"Back then, Mo Aotian had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage and nearly died at the hands of a few Qi Refining cultivators and a village of mortals. My master prevented his self-destruction and brought him back to the Xuantian Sect, effectively saving his life. But because of that incident, he developed a deep hatred for humans and refused to stay in the sect, constantly clamoring to leave."
"But he's only three hundred years old now, at the Jindan stage. Dragons reach adulthood at five hundred, so I imagine Jiaolongs are about the same age. If you do the math, he's actually about the same age as you, both still wet behind the ears."
"These days, some people even steal the golden cores of their own clansmen. To them, a four-clawed dragon is like a child carrying gold in a busy market. No, it should be said that it's a walking, top-grade spiritual stone. Everyone who sees it is envious, and everyone who sees it wants to take a bite. With a Mo Aotian like this... where else do you think he can go?"
When Ning Yu turned her head to look again, she saw the young woman in green with her head bowed and remained silent. The lively smile on her face had long since disappeared. She seemed to be frightened by the cruelty of the cultivation world.
She was very satisfied with this. After all, the purpose of her saying all this was to make this foolish and bold man understand the dangers of the world, so that he would not end up like Mo Aotian when he went out of the sect to have fun in the future.
However, at this moment, she suddenly saw the girl in green slap her thigh and suddenly realized: "I understand!"
Ning Yu: ???
"What do you understand?"
On the other hand, although Yun Miao felt that Mo Aotian’s past was a bit miserable, to her, it was ultimately just a plot story in the game.
So she didn't dwell on the cruelty of the world and the wickedness of human nature as Ning Yu had hoped. Instead, a flash of inspiration struck her: this plot...wasn't this the precursor to the start of a major side quest?
She immediately opened the game panel, and sure enough, she saw a new side quest slowly emerging in the taskbar: Please find the murderer who killed Mo Aotian's mother and help Mo Aotian take revenge.
There is no explanation of the reward after the mission, and the same is true for the previous main mission of joining the Xuantian Sect. Yun Miao feels that this is probably the game feature of "Asking the Way of Three Thousand Questions".
She recalled the level breakthrough prompt boxes that filled the screen after she cleared the ladder and the top-grade magic weapon she obtained. She guessed that the reward for this side quest must be very generous.
Maybe she will be rewarded with Mo Aotian as a mount. Then she won't need to ride a human-faced owl anymore, she can just ride a dragon and fly in the sky!
Yun Miao imagined that cool scene, and her heart was full of energy. So when faced with Ning Yu's question, she clenched her fist with a firm expression.
"As the leader's beloved disciple and the next leader of Xuantian Sect, I have the obligation and responsibility to help every member of the sect! So I decided to help Mo Aotian find the murderer and avenge Mo Chi!"
Ning Yu: ...
Ning Yu did not comment on this. She just looked straight ahead again with an expressionless face, and her hand unconsciously touched the whip at her waist.
It has been decided. If the Sect Leader really lets Yun Miao be the next Sect Leader, then she will directly lead the people from the Law Enforcement Hall to rise up in rebellion!
*
Because he was too speechless, Ning Yu never spoke to Yun Miao again. The bored Yun Miao could only lower his head and look at the scenery.
Looking down from the sky, except for the flat top of the main peak, the rest of the area is covered with rampant greenery, and many of Xuantian Sect’s core buildings are hidden in this vast forest.
The most eye-catching one is a towering ancient tree that is a hundred feet high. The huge crown is almost level with the top of the mountain, and the huge shadow it casts covers half of the mountain.
Many exquisite pavilions, towers, plank roads and flying terraces are built on these towering ancient trees, hidden among the dense and lush branches and leaves, and their shadows are vague and indistinct.
At the command of the white deer, the human-faced owls circled down from the sky and landed on one of the thick branches of the giant tree.
Everyone climbed down from the bird's back. The moment Yun Miao landed, he coldly pushed away the flaming red lips of the human-faced owl next to him, parted the lush branches hanging above, and followed Ning Yu along the branches into the room.
This branch is wider and flatter than an ordinary sidewalk, so there is no need to worry about falling. However, looking down from a high place will make you dizzy.
Several people afraid of heights quickly looked up ahead, trembling as they quickened their pace. Fortunately, their destination wasn't far away. After a few steps, they saw a three-story wooden building at the end of the branch. A plaque on it read in large characters: Deacon's Hall.
The doors and windows on the first floor were open, and you could see a person sitting in front of a wooden counter, sleeping soundly with his head supported by his hands.
Suddenly, a window on the third floor was slammed open, and a disheveled woman looked up to the sky and roared, "Ahhh, don't let anyone stop me! I'm going to burn all these damn documents! Burn down the Deacon Hall! Burn down the whole world!"
Yun Miao and the others were startled, and then they saw two more people walk to the window, grab the woman's arms and drag her away skillfully.
"No one is stopping you. If you want to burn something, go ahead and do it. I'll give you the fire for free."
"I'll pour oil on you."
Ning Yu continued walking as he calmly explained, "The Deacons' Hall manages the sect's internal affairs and controls its finances, so the benefits are very good. If you meet the requirements for admission to the Deacons' Hall in the future, you can apply to join."
"But it's also because there are so many internal affairs that need to be managed, so the people in the Deacon Hall are very busy every day. If they work too long, they will easily become crazy."
"The Law Enforcement Hall is located underground here, built on the roots of this tree. As the name suggests, all those who violate the sect's laws will be sent there. If that person just now really set fire to the Deacon Hall, he will be dragged into the Law Enforcement Hall by a Law Enforcement disciple like me to be dealt with."
She touched the whip at her waist and said in a cold tone, "Of course, arson is just a small matter. The most serious crime is colluding with the demonic cult, betraying the sect, and doing anything that harms the sect's interests. Once discovered, at the very least, their Dantian and Purple Palace will be destroyed and they will be expelled from the sect. At the worst, they will be killed on the spot after interrogation!"
"Decades ago, one of our senior brothers was discovered colluding with the Demon Cult. He was quite a tough guy. My master hung him from the beam of the Law Enforcement Hall and flogged him for a full hour before he finally got all the information out of him."
"Then, when that senior brother... no, that traitor was lowered from the beam, he was already covered in blood and dying. I was grateful that he had once called me Junior Sister with a smile, so I personally shattered his skull, ending his suffering. And according to his wishes, I planted his body in Zizhi Garden along with his favorite flower seeds."
Ning Yu couldn't help but look at Yun Miao again: "Do you know what this story tells us?"
Bai Lu muttered in a low voice: "Tsk, you're scaring the kids again."
Yun Miao pondered for a moment, his expression grave, and said, "This story tells us that if we don't listen to you, you will accuse us of being traitors, hang us from a beam, and whip us with a whip dipped in chili water for an hour. And you'll just whip us without asking, and finally slap our brains until they explode."
The more she spoke, the more sinister her tone became. "When we die, you'll use our bodies as fertilizer and plant flowers in the soil. When spring comes, the flowers that bloom from our bones will sway in the wind. You'll sit in the sea of flowers and sigh, 'How beautiful!'"
A few timid people retreated upon hearing this, looking at Ning Yu in horror. They didn't want to be hung up and whipped, nor did they want to have their brains splattered and used as fertilizer for the flowers!
Ning Yu, who really wanted to scare the child, said: "...Don't worry, as long as you don't commit the crime of treason, the Law Enforcement Hall will never treat you like this."
After she said this, she turned and walked into the first floor of the Deacon Hall, knocking on the counter with a cold face.
"Ding Sangsang, I'm bringing the new disciple to collect his share."
Yun Miao and the others followed him in and saw that the space inside the small building was actually three or four times larger than it looked from the outside. Huge cabinets shaped like medicine cabinets were placed against the walls on all four sides. There were hundreds of small drawers on them, which were densely packed and crowded together, making people dizzy.
"You can't wake up this sleeping god like this, I'll do it."
Bai Lu walked gracefully into the first floor, pushed Ning Yu away from the counter with his butt, then he gathered his energy into his dantian, opened his deer mouth, and the powerful voice of a rough man suddenly exploded on the first floor.
"Ding Sangsang, the new disciples are here. Can you please behave like a senior brother? Hurry up and give them the new disciples' allowances. Otherwise, I will tell Elder Ge that you are withholding the new disciples' allowances. Okay!"
Everyone's ears were buzzing from the sound, but the man who was facing the terrifying sound wave just raised his head lazily and yawned.
"Lu Dajiao, stop talking nonsense. Why would I withhold the disciple's uniform?"
Everyone looked over curiously and saw that Ding Sangsang looked like a well-read scholar, but unfortunately, his eyes were full of sleepiness and he looked listless. His two very noticeable inverted shaggy eyebrows made him look even more dejected.
The white deer stomped its hooves twice. "Who knows? What if you think the cloth from the disciple's uniform is easy to cut back and make underwear? Hurry up and give it to us. Don't waste time."
Ding Sangsang yawned again and waved his hand. Several small drawers behind him opened automatically and several piles of things flew out and landed on the cabinet.
"It's all here, you can see for yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, he fell asleep on the counter again.
Ning Yu tapped the counter lightly, and a series of simple and elegant bluestone tokens appeared before everyone. The front of each token was engraved with the six characters "Xuan Tian Sect Disciple Token," while the back was engraved with the image of "Crouching Dragon Coiled with Pearl."
She said that this was a disciple order mixed with low-grade Xuanxin ore. The Xuantian Sect had a very strict sect protection formation. Only disciples of the Xuantian Sect could move freely in most places of the sect if they wore the disciple order.
As early as when they were in the Immortal Boat, the Steward's Hall had already recorded the auras of Yun Miao and others into the formation as visitors, so the formation did not respond to their comings and goings.
The visitor status of those who have been eliminated has been revoked by the Deacon Hall, and they are no longer allowed to enter Xuantian Sect at will. The visitor status of Yun Miao and others will also expire tomorrow, and they must remember to wear the disciple order when traveling thereafter.
Curious baby Yun Miao immediately raised his hand: "What if I don't get the disciple order before tomorrow morning?"
Ning Yu said in a cold tone, "I heard that a thousand years ago, the Demon Cult invaded our Xuantian Sect on a large scale. The Sect Leader deliberately lured the enemy deep into our territory, and then activated the sect's protective formation with all his strength. The Demon Cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist, and those who had reached the Out-of-Body Stage or the Spiritual Transformation Stage were crushed into pulp in an instant."
A few people were startled and quickly reached out for the disciple order floating in front of them, fearing that if they were a step late, it would explode to pieces with a "bang".
As soon as their hands touched the token, they felt a pain in their fingertips, and a drop of blood was absorbed by the token. Then, a few small words appeared next to the "Xuantian Sect Disciple Token", which turned out to be their respective names.
Huo Xin calmly picked up the disciple order in front of him: "Since Senior Sister said that only when the formation is activated with full power can such an effect be achieved, I guess it won't be like this normally."
Bai Lu rolled his eyes at Ning Yu. "Junior sister, your guess is correct. Usually, when a large formation detects a suspicious person sneaking in, they will first alert the sect, and then the patrol guards from the Law Enforcement Hall and each peak will go to investigate the situation. Listen to my advice, and don't listen to Ning Yu's nonsense anymore. She just loves to scare people."
Ning Yu pretended not to hear Bai Lu's words. "Also, this disciple token has the ability to communicate through the air. I used it to communicate with Lu Dajiao before and borrowed the human-faced owl from Beast Peak. As for how to use it specifically, the people from the Enlightenment Hall will teach you when the time comes. I won't elaborate further."
Then she used her magic power again, and a white robe made of soft silk floated up from the counter.
The sleeves and hems of the robe were embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns in silver thread, which reflected silver light and sparkled in the sunlight. The collar was embroidered with a pattern of a crouching dragon and a coiled pearl in black thread. It was very similar to the clothes worn by the Xuantian Sect disciples they had seen along the way.
"This is the Xuantian Sect's disciple uniform, a low-grade robe. Once the defensive formation is activated, it can withstand a full-strength attack from a Jindan-stage cultivator. The pattern of a sleeping dragon and a coiled bead is the Xuantian Sect's symbol. Most cultivators in the cultivation world will know you're a disciple of our sect upon seeing this symbol."
"You may dye it and embroider any designs you wish, but avoid extensively altering the garment, damaging the original pattern and the 'Crouching Dragon Coiled with Pearls' pattern on the lapel. This will render the defensive formation ineffective."
"Of course, this is just the protection the sect provides to every disciple. Aside from certain important days, the sect doesn't force you to wear this uniform every day. You can dress as you please, but be sure to dress appropriately and not be too outrageous..."
Bai Lu: "You little brats, even if you dress up as women or men in Xuantian Sect, no one will care, but you are absolutely not allowed to wear a bellyband or nothing at all and run around freely in the sect, staring at your fellow disciples. If I see you, don't blame me for giving you a hard time!"
Most of the disciples immediately shook their heads, indicating that they absolutely would not dare.
Huo Xin looked at Yun Miao silently.
Yun Miao hugged herself in shock: "Why are you looking at me? I still have some shame in this regard, okay!"
Tan Xiaobai nodded seriously: "Yes, I believe in you, Boss!"
Ning Yu and others who accidentally heard this said:... They originally believed it, but now after hearing what you said, they began to be a little unconvinced.
Yun Miao pointed at Bai Lu and changed the subject: "By the way, isn't Senior Brother Lu wearing any clothes?"
Everyone was stunned, and then they all looked over. Their eyes couldn't help but move downwards: Huh? Why is there nothing?
The white deer clamped its hind legs together and glared at everyone. "What are you staring at, you little bastards? Who said I'm not wearing anything? This is a specially made robe that can change between human and animal form. Right now, it's just showing as fur. I'm wearing it tightly!"
Yun Miao lowered his gaze and found that he could see nothing. He immediately tilted his head in disgust: "Tsk!"
Bai Lu was so angry that he snorted and lowered his head to rush over and hit the person: "Hey, you damn kid, what are you tsk-tsk-tsk-ing about? What do you think of my outfit?"
Fearless Yun Miao immediately prepared for battle. Ning Yu raised his hand expressionlessly, freezing the white deer's hoof in place. Simultaneously, a fist-sized hailstone fell from above, hitting Yun Miao squarely on the head.
The sound of "thud" made everyone feel pain, but Yun Miao just touched her head in grievance and said, "Senior Sister, you don't hurt me anymore."
The white deer mooed angrily, "Let me go! I'm going to butt this annoying kid to death!"
Ning Yu pretended not to hear Yun Miao's words: "Xuantian Sect prohibits attacking fellow disciples. It is an even greater crime for a higher-ranking sect to bully a lower-ranking sect member. Lu Dajiao, if you're itching for a whip, I'd be happy to help you."
Bai Lu shut up immediately.
More items floated up from the counter, and Ning Yu continued to explain their meaning.
"This is a storage bag. You can use it after you break through the first level of the Qi Refining Stage. After you cultivate your spiritual consciousness in the Foundation Establishment Stage, you can mark it with a spiritual consciousness mark. This way, cultivators with spiritual consciousness lower than yours will not be able to open it. However, cultivators with stronger spiritual consciousness can still erase the spiritual consciousness mark and steal your things."
"So remember, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. When you become wealthy in the future, remember to buy a few more storage bags to store your things. In the past, there were always a few fools who stuffed all their belongings into one storage bag when they left the sect, and even wanted to put their entire house in it and take it with them."
"After his storage bag was stolen and robbed, he came back and threw his belt against the beam, crying and saying he couldn't live anymore and was going to hang himself. Ha, how foolish."
Yun Miao blinked innocently: I always feel like I was scolded, not sure, let me wait and see.
Ning Yu: "These four bottles are the Small Qi-Inducing Pill, the Small Soul-Restoring Pill, the Bigu Pill, and the Golden Wound Medicine. They are all low-grade pills. Their effects are..."
"This is a formation disk, engraved with low-level defense, self-purification, and spirit gathering formations. Later, I will take you to choose a residence and help you activate the formations..."
"These low-level talismans are the Speeding Talisman, the Vajra Talisman, the Sound Amplifying Talisman, the Dust Removing Talisman, and the Water Gathering Talisman... Even a mortal can tear them open and use them immediately..." "This is a medicinal bath bag prepared by Tifeng, it has some effect of cleansing the tendons and marrow..."
"This is the 'Low-Level Qi Refining Technique' and the 'Compendium of Five Elements Techniques'... Someone from the Enlightenment Hall will teach you later..."
"This is a fox demon's tail hair, and this is a wooden sword hairpin. Finally, each of you will receive ten low-grade spirit stones."
The piles of things on the counter flew into fifty-nine storage bags as if they had self-awareness, and then these storage bags flew in front of everyone.
"Among them, spirit stones, elixirs, talismans, and medicinal bath bags are the basic monthly allowance. You will need to collect them yourselves next month. As your realm is raised, the monthly allowance will also increase. That's all I have to say. Do you have any questions?"
Everyone hurriedly thanked the senior sister and happily accepted it. Even Yun Miao was a little moved. He didn't expect this belated novice gift pack to be so generous!
Tan Xiaobai imitated the boss and raised his hand: "Senior Sister, what are the functions of the last two?"
Ning Yu: "It's useless. The master stipulated that each peak must prepare a gift for the new disciple as a celebration. Beast Peak originally wanted to give a monster, but the master refused out of fear, so they gave a handful of animal hair instead. Sword Peak has always been short of money, so they broke off a few branches and gave them to you."
The white deer kicked forward with its hoof. "What do you mean by a handful of animal hair? Don't make our Beast Peak's welcome gift sound as cheap as a feather duster, okay? This is the tail hair of an old fox in the Nascent Soul stage. Wearing it can not only protect you from being bewitched by low-level illusions, but also deter and drive away other low-level monsters!"
"And these wooden hairpins, they were all hand-carved by the disciples of Jianfeng. Although they are just ordinary wood, they contain a hint of sword spirit and are filled with love. Do you understand what it means to send a goose feather from a thousand miles away, but the thought behind it is so great?"
Ning Yu dodged the white deer's hoof and sneered, "I really don't understand the meaning of 'a small gift but great sentiment'. I only know that after the old fox's tail tip was plucked out, he was so angry that he went crazy all over the sect and caused a lot of trouble for our Law Enforcement Hall."
"The disciples of Jianfeng are taking revenge on their own and secretly cut down the fortune trees planted by our Law Enforcement Hall. This is simply too much!"
What? There's such a thing?
Yun Miao and the others pricked up their ears quietly, wanting to hear more gossip, but Ning Yu turned his head to look at them at this moment, and reminded them in a faint tone.
"Just like Lu Dajiao said, these sword hairpins contain hidden sword spirits. So you'd better be careful when you use them to tie your hair, otherwise if your hand gets off... hehe, you might end up cutting off your head. That would be terrible."
Just at this moment, the wind blew in through the window, and everyone suddenly felt a chill on their necks.
*
After coming out of the Deacon's Hall, Ning Yu took everyone to visit the Sutra Library and Treasure Library, which were also built on the towering ancient tree.
However, just as she was about to take everyone into the air again and prepare to fly to other peaks, her disciple Ling suddenly flashed a faint light, indicating that there was something at the Law Enforcement Hall that needed her urgent attention.
Ning Yu had no choice but to let Lu Dajiao take everyone to find a place to settle down first. After the disciple-recruiting ceremony tomorrow, she would take everyone to familiarize themselves with other peaks.
Lu Dajiao responded, and after Ning Yu left, he began to ask everyone about their current affiliations so that he could take them to different peaks for resettlement. However, Yun Miao scared him as soon as he opened his mouth.
"What? You actually became the master's disciple?"
He scanned the area with his spiritual sense, and his look of astonishment gradually turned into another kind of surprise. "At fifteen years old, with a cultivation base of the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage, I never thought that a little brat like you is actually a genius picked out of a million. You're not much worse than the senior brother back then."
Except for a few disciples who had watched the Floating Light Mirror and knew the situation long ago, the pupils of the others also trembled.
What? Could even the lowest-grade five spiritual roots reach this level?
The one they thought was last in the rankings turned out to be so strong?!
How did she do that? Was this the reason the Sect Leader accepted her? If that was the case...then they really couldn't compete.
Yun Miao enjoyed the astonishing looks of the crowd with a little pride. However, just as she was waiting to hear more praise from the crowd, Lu Dajiao suddenly raised his horns and pushed her off the back of the human-faced owl.
A branch dropped from the crown of the towering ancient tree and wrapped around her waist, hanging her hundreds of feet in the air like bacon.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Xuantian’s traitor is delicious, so give him a hundred and eighty lashes!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
