Upon hearing that True Lord Xuanji wanted him to join Laoshan, Jiang Hao was delighted. Ever since he had met Qi Xiuyuan and Ma Sichun, the thought had taken root in his mind. Part of why he had worked so hard to save them was due to a small selfish motive.
He had been pondering how to join a major sect and systematically study the methods of cultivation. Meeting those two had been the perfect opportunity. He could not look down on Laoshan just because it ranked sixth in the cultivation world. Sixth place was still a top-tier great sect.
Sometimes, when an opportunity came, one had to seize it firmly and then work hard to make the most of it. Do not aim too high and hope for something even better, because that was the surest way to miss the only opportunity of your life.
As for whether joining Laoshan counted as betraying his master, considering he was a Maoshan disciple in the real world—
It absolutely did not.
Every world had its own life. Being overly bound by such things was just pedantry.
Besides, Maoshan and Laoshan were both Daoist sects. It was not as though he were converting to Buddhism or believing in Jesus. A single tree bore thousands of flowers; all Daoist sects under heaven were one family. It did not count as betraying the faith at all.
They all shared the same patriarch and worshipped the Three Pure Ones. There was plenty of exchange between Daoist sects, so what difference was there between Quanzhen, Zhengyi, Laoshan, and Maoshan?
Learning from many sources would only allow him to acquire richer knowledge.
Jiang Hao set down his chess piece, rose, and stepped out of the small pavilion. He gave True Lord Xuanji a deep bow. "This junior