Dasheng Pass

"You comprehended cultivation methods... and several of them at that?!"

Bai Jin's mouth went dry. Emphasizing every word, she said, "Junior Disciple Brother Lu... don't deceive me with joking words. I'll be angry!"

"How could I? I might deceive anyone, but never you, Senior Sister!"

Looking aggrieved, Lu Bei recited the Seated Breathing Method before Bai Jin. "The Dao was originally without words, beginning in the void, containing the wondrous one within..."

When his voice fell, Bai Jin stood rooted on the spot. The usual keep-strangers-away attitude vanished, and her lovely face was filled with shock.

"Senior Sister, I also have a nourishing qi—"

"No need."

Before Lu Bei could continue, Bai Jin raised her hand to stop him. Once her heart had settled and she had fully calmed down, she reached out and clasped his wrist.

After a careful examination, Bai Jin fell silent again.

There were indeed traces of spiritual qi circulating inside Lu Bei's body. He had cultivated for too short a time, so it was impossible to tell what was wondrous about the method. Lu Bei had said that he had comprehended it from the Daoist Canon. Since this was the case, it was the most suitable cultivation method in the world for him at present.

Thinking of the superior cultivation method she had brought back from Dasheng Pass, Bai Jin deeply felt her loss. Mo Buxiu had entrusted Lu Bei to her, yet she had failed to fulfill her responsibility.

And if Lu Bei had cultivated the method she brought, would that not have misled a disciple and ruined Lu Bei's life?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt too ashamed to show her face. Bai Jin suddenly realized that Lu Bei's talent was astonishing—she could not teach this junior disciple brother.

"Junior Disciple Brother, pack your belongings. Come with me to the Lingxiao Sword Sect," Bai Jin said seriously.

"Now?!"

"Yes, we leave immediately," Bai Jin said decisively.

"I have no objection, but as for the Lingxiao Sword Sect, the sect master... well, you understand." Lu Bei shrugged. It was still the same issue—the relationships were not complicated.

It was not easy to hitch a ride with the Lingxiao Sword Sect.

Bai Jin was momentarily speechless. Right—if the sect master asked about Lu Bei's origins, how was she supposed to answer?

A lie would be riddled with holes, while the truth would be even worse. How had she learned of Mo Buxiu's death? Why was she willing to guide Lu Bei in cultivation? At whose behest was she acting?

The answer was obvious. When the time came, Bai Jin would not even need to answer—the sect master's face would turn sickly green, and he would cough up several dozen taels of blood.

Thinking of that outcome, Bai Jin could not help shaking her head. Some things were better left unknown to the sect master.

Bai Jin could guess the outcome, and so could Lu Bei, who had sorted out the triangular relationship from a few scattered words. He enjoyed watching excitement, but he did not enjoy becoming the center of it—let alone when his life was at risk.

He could not go to the Lingxiao Sword Sect, at least not yet.

"Junior Disciple Brother Lu, I will return to the sect and discuss this with my master. Uncle-Master Mo has perished, and you, his disciple, were left outside. The Lingxiao Sword Sect cannot simply stand by and watch you suffer humiliation at the hands of others..."

After thinking it over, Bai Jin formed a plan. She first took the small box containing Mo Buxiu, then said, "I'll take you to Dasheng Pass. I have a friend there. Stay at her home for a month or two. Once I explain the stakes to my master, she will speak with the sect master... In short, just wait for my good news."

"Can't I wait at Nine Bamboo Mountain?"

"No."

Bai Jin shook her head decisively. "The cultivation schools of Nine Bamboo Mountain are a chaotic mix, with good and bad intermingled. If you spend too long among them, it will do your future cultivation more harm than good."

From Bai Jin's perspective, her junior disciple brother possessed outstanding talent and would surely make a name for himself one day. Such a good seedling could not be left at Nine Bamboo Mountain.

He would be led astray!

"I'll follow Senior Sister's arrangements in all things."

Lu Bei secretly rejoiced. Players whose Main Profession tendencies had been selected would be placed throughout the Kyushu Continent. Those with good luck were thrown directly into immortal cultivation sects; those with bad luck appeared in nearby towns.

In truth, it could not really be called good or bad luck. Being born in a sect certainly saved the time of searching for an immortal opportunity, but ordinary people entering deep mountains and old forests without guidance were worse off than being born in a town and first becoming familiar with the strange world.

Moreover, towns had the Huangji Sect, the optimal choice for novices. In recent years, Wu Zhou's court had become increasingly unstable. Regardless of whether it was the central royal authority or local governments, all were expanding their forces. The Huangji Sect was no exception, accepting all fresh blood with excellent aptitude.

This meant that the larger the city, the more novice-suitable quests there were.

Lu Bei did not know whether Nine Bamboo Mountain counted as a Novice Village, but neighboring Langyu County most likely was one. As for Dasheng Pass, there was no need to mention it—it was absolutely a Novice Village.

Lu Bei had not encountered any quests at Nine Bamboo Mountain. The few NPCs he had met, Bai Jin included, had all interacted with him as NPCs interacting with another NPC. This had once left him thoroughly discouraged.

Dasheng Pass was an opportunity. If he still could not accept quests and earn experience after arriving there, then he could only...

Endure a little longer and wait for the server to open.

If everything was still hopeless then, he could only consider using a strategy guide on his own Senior Sister and let the rich woman carry him to the skies.

Dasheng Pass lay in Dongqi Commandery, Ning Province. It was the seat and chief county of Dongqi Commandery, sheltered by treacherous mountains and a mighty pass. In the early days of the nation, Wu Zhou's late emperor won a great victory over the enemy here, expanded territory eight hundred li to the east, and personally wrote an inscription renaming the pass "Dasheng Pass."

Likewise, that treacherous mountain was renamed Dasheng Mountain, and the county became Dasheng County. Because Dasheng Pass was so famous, people referred to the county as Dasheng Pass whenever it was mentioned.

Dongqi Commandery bordered Dongyang County, and Dasheng Pass was over four hundred li from Langyu County. In Bai Jin's view, they could arrive quickly without waiting until dawn, so she took Lu Bei and hurried on their way.

Before leaving, she made another trip to Four Scenery Peaks. First, she pressed Ding Lei to the ground and rubbed him around, then readily paid up, offering double the price and having him complete the Feather Transformation Sect's repairs within two months.

Ding Lei: "..."

Without a word, he clutched the silver notes tightly in both hands and nodded to indicate that he could finish on time.

Lu Bei nodded to himself. This was the power of money. He had deeply believed it when he was still a player, and seeing it from an NPC's perspective now made even more sense.

In the night sky, a sword rainbow blazed the trail.

A three-meter-long blade of sword light carried Bai Jin and Lu Bei. Amid its howling, the qi of wind and clouds was cleaved apart by the sword edge, while a hazy white stream wrapped around it, keeping the sword light level and steady, untouched by the wind.

Lu Bei sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes fixed on the figure before him. His line of sight slowly slid down from her slender waist, stopping at a round, upturned area.

Bai Jin: "..."

Cultivators had keen senses. She had perceived the gaze behind her long ago. Thinking that her junior disciple brother did not seem like an ill-mannered man and was probably not doing it deliberately, she had said nothing at first.

Who would have thought that he would grow increasingly presumptuous?

Sure enough, Nine Bamboo Mountain had done deep harm. Taking Lu Bei away early had been a wise choice.

A moment later, the locked-on gaze made Bai Jin's heart prickle. She lightly furrowed her brows and turned around, about to say something, only to see sweat beading on Lu Bei's forehead, both eyes fixed desperately ahead.

"Junior Disciple Brother, what's wrong?"

"I'm afraid of heights."

"..."

"I'm afraid of heights!!"

"Uh... I'll fly faster. We'll be there soon."

West of Dasheng Pass.

Amid the encircling woods, numerous pavilions and small courtyards appeared faintly through the trees.

Lu Bei followed behind Bai Jin with a pale face. When they landed and his Senior Sister kindly extended a hand, he decisively refused it.

This was his final stubborn dignity.

Dasheng Pass was the Huangji Sect's largest base in Ning Province. Its defenses were so strict that Nine Bamboo Mountain could not compare. Bai Jin did not want to make trouble out of nothing, so she lowered the sword early and led Lu Bei on foot to her friend's residence.

Lu Bei supported this wholeheartedly. Walking was good. Heaven had given humans two legs, not two wings, precisely to tell them to walk properly instead of constantly thinking about flying around.

Besides, it gave him time to recover, so that he would not arrive at someone's front gate and spread the generous gift in his stomach all over the ground.

Knock, knock, knock!

Before a grand residence, Bai Jin knocked on the bronze door knocker. Before long, an elder carrying a lantern came to open the door.

"Miss Bai, Madam is waiting in the hall. Please follow me."

"Thank you for the trouble."

Bai Jin nodded and led Lu Bei through the gate. At the moment, her face was covered by a white veil, her standard appearance when going out.

As they walked through the front courtyard, Lu Bei saw the old friend Bai Jin so often mentioned in the main hall.

In appearance, she was a beautiful, well-rounded woman in her thirties, with an equally refined temperament. Compared to Bai Jin, however, she lacked a trace of aura of immortality.

"My dear Senior Sister, why have you... come again?"