Contending with a Cultivation Clan

The mountain forest was quiet, blanketed in thick fog. Strands of sunlight spilled through gaps in the leaves overhead, forming slanting beams visible to the naked eye.

Zhou Xue walked at the very front, while Fang Wang and Fang Hanyu brought up the rear. The group of nine had been traveling on foot for nearly two days.

The mountain paths were difficult to traverse, with many muddy stretches. They occasionally spotted snakes, insects, rats, and spiders, leaving the Fang Manor disciples extremely tense. They watched every step with care.

"In such deep mountains, it's hard to imagine there's actually an immortal cultivation sect hidden here."

Fang Hanyu murmured with feeling. Great Qi's territory was vast beyond measure, with countless uninhabited mountain ranges like this one. Wild beasts roamed freely and bandits lurked within; even a martial artist like him rarely set foot in such places.

Fang Wang could sense that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in this region was abundant. The farther they went, the richer the spiritual energy became, making him look forward to Taiyuan Sect even more.

Just then.

A burst of weeping came from ahead. It sounded like a woman, yet also like a child, sending chills down Fang Wang and the others' spines. But seeing that Zhou Xue did not stop, they continued following her.

Fang Wang turned to look behind them. The fog billowed thickly, and beyond seven steps, nothing could be seen clearly.

He had just felt as though something was following him. That sensation had only appeared after the crying began ahead.

He did not panic and continued onward calmly.

Soon, the fog ahead thinned and the terrain flattened out. Beneath an old tree, they saw a woman seated on the ground. Dressed in rough cloth and covered in grime, she was clearly a village woman from the wilderness. She held a child in her arms and sobbed softly.

"Should we ask what happened to her?"

Fang Xin, the youngest among them, asked. She was a year younger than Fang Wang, frail in build, carrying two bundles on her back and drenched in sweat.

Another young girl, Fang Ziqing, tugged at her and shook her head.

Everyone looked toward Zhou Xue. Over the course of the journey, Zhou Xue had already become their pillar of support. After all, Zhou Xue had taught them the method of drawing in qi, and even Fang Wang, the strongest among them, deferred to her.

Zhou Xue did not stop. She walked straight toward the woman.

Hearing the sounds of approach, the woman looked up at her. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes red from crying. As though she had spotted a lifeline, she reached toward Zhou Xue and cried out, "Miss, save my child! He was bitten by a venomous snake..."

Upon hearing this, several Fang Manor disciples wanted to step forward to help. But then they saw a dagger emerge from Zhou Xue's right sleeve, which she smoothly grasped in her hand.

The woman saw the dagger as well, and her face turned deathly pale. Just as she was about to speak, Zhou Xue suddenly hurled the dagger, shooting it straight at her head.

The woman abruptly transformed into a cloud of white mist. The dagger passed through the mist and buried itself in the tree trunk.

As the white mist dispersed, the clothes fell to the ground. Two weasels leaped up and landed on a distant tree trunk—one large, one small. The Fang Manor group stared wide-eyed. That woman had been transformed from a weasel?

Zhou Xue's expression did not change. She stared at the two weasels in the tree, her gaze indifferent.

"Fine skills. You must be at least at the fifth level of the Qi Nurturing Realm, little girl. If you wish to join Taiyuan Sect, why not go to Taiyuan City?" the weasel said. Its voice was exactly that of the woman from before.

Zhou Xue replied, "Taiyuan City is too far away. It is more convenient to visit Taiyuan Sect directly. We have come sincerely to cultivate. I hope Senior will not toy with us again."

The weasel smiled and even waved its paw in a humanlike manner, signaling for them to continue on their way.

Zhou Xue turned back and gave everyone a look before continuing to lead the way. As they passed beneath the tree where the two weasels sat, all of them were nervous, afraid that the creatures might suddenly leap down and attack.

After walking some distance, Zhou Xue finally explained, "Those were two Monsters. Quite a few Monsters hide in the forests surrounding Taiyuan Sect. Some are wild, while others are raised by sect disciples. The Monsters on the outskirts are responsible for frightening away mortals who wander in by mistake. That is how tales of ghosts and monsters spread, keeping ordinary people from daring to approach."

One Fang Manor youth could not help asking, "Are they only meant to scare people away?"

"They might eat you, too. Though Taiyuan Sect can be considered part of the Righteous Path, even between righteousness and demonic ways in the cultivation world, there are gray areas. You must all act cautiously in the future," Zhou Xue said with a smile. Yet to the others, her smile looked utterly sinister.

With that, Zhou Xue continued leading the way.

Fang Wang remained at the rear of the group, but his attention was fixed behind him. After passing the two Monsters, the sensation of being watched still lingered. He did not dare let down his guard.

Half an incense stick later, that feeling of being watched still coiled around Fang Wang's heart.

"There is no need to be nervous. He does not dare make a move."

A voice entered Fang Wang's ears. He raised his eyes toward Zhou Xue at the very front, his expression strange.

It seemed that only he could hear Zhou Xue's voice. The others continued walking without glancing aside or looking back.

"This is the Sound Transmission Technique. Once you enter Taiyuan Sect, you can learn it too. The person following us should be connected to the cultivator you killed. These past days, I hid deep in the woods and pretended to study the Soul Burning Banner, when in truth I was leaving traces for them to follow."

Zhou Xue's voice came again, making Fang Wang frown. He did not understand what she intended to do.

"That person held two magical artifacts, so there must be someone behind him. I feared Fang Manor would suffer another murderous calamity, so I deliberately lured the person behind him here to investigate. As long as they learn that we have joined Taiyuan Sect, they will not dare act rashly. No matter how important that person was, he was only in the Qi Nurturing Realm. Offending a colossal power like Taiyuan Sect for his sake would be more loss than gain."

So that was it.

Fang Wang thought it made sense, but another doubt arose in his heart.

Were they really so bold as to follow them all the way here? Were they not afraid of Taiyuan Sect discovering them?

Zhou Xue stopped transmitting her voice. Fang Wang did not relax his vigilance and remained alert.

It was not until evening that the sensation of being watched finally vanished. It seemed the other party did not dare advance any farther.

In the forest, the group stopped beside a small stream and lit a fire. Fang Wang sat beside Zhou Xue to rest, while the others sat around together as well.

"Tomorrow, we will reach the valley town before Taiyuan Sect. Let me explain something first. Taiyuan Sect has Nine Peaks. By my estimate, the entry examination will take place in another six or seven days. With your aptitudes, passing it will not be difficult. I hope each of you joins a different peak. Do not cling together in a group," Zhou Xue said softly.

They were not the only people in Fang Manor capable of cultivating immortality. Zhou Xue had merely selected the most gifted batch of disciples to bring here, intending for them to establish a foothold first.

Upon hearing that they would each have to enter a peak alone, Fang Xin's face turned pale and she immediately grew nervous. The other youths and young adults, however, showed no fear; they were more excited than anything.

Zhou Xue glanced at Fang Wang and Fang Hanyu. "Once you two enter the examination, do not hold back. Display your talent as fully as possible. This will determine how you are treated after entering Taiyuan Sect. Those with ordinary aptitude can only become ordinary disciples, and advancement will require many years of hard work."

"Especially you, Fang Wang. This is no time to play at being a pig to eat a tiger."

Zhou Xue was wary of Fang Wang, because the kid was far too good at hiding himself. After being reborn, she had looked into it and learned that not only she, but the entire Fang Manor—including Fang Wang's parents—had never known that Fang Wang possessed such formidable martial arts.

She had also wondered why she had never seen Fang Wang make a move in her previous life. Later, she figured it out. On the Night of the Clan Annihilation, she had been powerless as a trussed chicken and fled that very night. She had only caught sight of Daoist in Green once, and she had not witnessed many of the battles between Fang Manor's disciples and Daoist in Green. Without the Sword Control Technique, no matter how strong Fang Wang was, he would still have died at Daoist in Green's hands.

Fang Wang said helplessly, "Got it."

It made him seem like such a cowardly schemer.

Zhou Xue continued to remind them, but she did not describe the assessment in detail. Whether it was to temper them or because she feared being overheard by an expert from the Taiyuan Sect, he did not know.

Nothing happened that night.

As the moon set and the sun rose, when the first ray of morning sunlight spilled down, Fang Wang and the others continued on their journey.

Along the road ahead, they saw all manner of curiosities: spiders as large as human heads, man-eating trees with waving branches, wild mountain goats with human faces, black cats with five tails, and more. According to Zhou Xue, these were all the lowest-grade demonic creatures, not yet spirit monsters. The defining trait of spirit monsters was that they could speak human language.

Besides demonic creatures, they also saw many brightly colored flowers and fruits that looked anything but ordinary. However, after Zhou Xue told them they were highly poisonous, none of them dared touch them.

Not until after noon did they finally reach the valley Zhou Xue had mentioned. A massive gate stood at the entrance, with a plaque hanging above it:

Taiyuan Town!

Pavilions and towers stood in dense rows within the valley, smoke from cooking fires curling upward. The surrounding mountains were majestic, making Fang Wang think inexplicably of Five-Finger Mountain. Taiyuan Town seemed trapped within that Five-Finger Mountain.

No one guarded the mountain gate, so Fang Wang and the others entered the town directly. Many people came and went along the street ahead, and none of them looked like ordinary mortals. Some even rode cranes into the sky, flying out from the town and swiftly vanishing beyond the high mountains. The sight set the Fang Manor disciples' hearts racing, and all of them grew excited.

Only at this moment did they feel as though they had truly come into contact with the path of immortality.

Along the way, Fang Wang observed his surroundings as well. Shops lined both sides of the street, selling pills, magical artifacts, Talisman Paper, cultivation techniques, spells, and more. There was even a Curiosity Pavilion. Though most of the shops were not packed with customers, they still exuded a rich immortal-cultivation atmosphere.

Zhou Xue led them to an inn and arranged rooms for them. After paying the silver, the waiter led them upstairs. Aside from Fang Xin and Fang Ziqing, everyone else had a room to themselves.

Taiyuan Sect even takes silver?

Fang Wang mused inwardly. Though he found it strange, Zhou Xue had paid quite a considerable sum. It seemed the Taiyuan Sect also needed to involve itself in worldly affairs.

Fang Wang entered his room and shut the door. After coming to the bed and making a few simple arrangements, he began to meditate.

There were still six or seven days left. He had no intention of wandering around aimlessly; instead, he wanted to raise his cultivation as much as possible.

His Mysterious Sun Scripture had already reached great perfection, but spiritual power had to be accumulated over time. Since Zhou Xue had told him not to hide his abilities, he would go all out.

Thus, Fang Wang shut himself away, and the other Fang Manor disciples did not dare disturb him lightly.

Six days later.

At the hour of the Snake, the sky was bright. A burst of ringing bells echoed through the valley, deafeningly loud, waking Fang Wang.

Is it here?

Fang Wang thought silently, a smile appearing on his face.

Last night, he had finally broken through to the seventh layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm. Even with the power of the Mysterious Sun Scripture at great perfection, it had taken him over a month to reach the seventh layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm. If he had started cultivating from the first layer of the Mysterious Sun Scripture, it was hard to imagine how long it would have taken him to reach this realm.

"Come out quickly! The entrance assessment is about to begin!"

Zhou Xue's voice came from outside the door. Fang Wang picked up his treasured sword and rose from the bed.

Having drawn in qi to temper his body, he had no need to wash up or eat. There was nothing else to prepare, and he looked clean and refreshed.

Half an incense stick's time later, Fang Wang and the others left the inn under Zhou Xue's lead. They found quite a few others doing the same, while on the street, group after group of people headed in the same direction.

Fang Wang asked curiously, "You mentioned Taiyuan City before. What is the difference between Taiyuan City and Taiyuan Town?"

Zhou Xue replied, "Taiyuan City is the city the Taiyuan Sect presents to the outside world, open to the entire immortal cultivation world. Taiyuan Town, meanwhile, is a mortal settlement cultivated by the Taiyuan Sect itself. The mortals living here are responsible for mining all sorts of resources for the Taiyuan Sect's disciples. Nearly everyone who can come to Taiyuan Town has an immortal-cultivation background and comes from cultivation families across various regions. Without connections and information, one would never find this road."

"Simply put, in Taiyuan City, we compete against mortals. Here, we compete against cultivation families with immortal-cultivation backgrounds. Of course, passing the assessment here brings greater benefits as well."