Senior Brother Song Yu handed Li Xiuchang and Chi Hui over to the reception disciple of Immortal Dust Sect's outer sect, then left with Pang Yuanfu.
Before leaving, Senior Brother Song Yu gave Li Xiuchang and Chi Hui one more reminder:
"When you choose which of the Hundred Cultivation Arts to study in a few days, if you can't make up your minds, you can come find me."
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Li Xiuchang hurriedly thanked him, inwardly marveling at his own good luck in meeting such a warmhearted person as Senior Brother Song Yu.
The reception disciple responsible for settling Li Xiuchang and Chi Hui was named Wang Long. Seeing that the two had a connection with Song Yu, he treated them quite courteously as well.
Wang Long first took the two of them to the outer sect Reception Area to register their identities and collect their Identity Tokens, then led them to choose a place to live.
"This is a map of the outer sect disciples' residential district. Houses marked in red already have occupants. All our outer sect disciples get one house each, so you can choose freely from the vacant ones."
Wang Long took out a Jade Slip and infused it with a thread of spiritual qi. At once, the Jade Slip projected a map composed of light and shadow.
Li Xiuchang let Chi Hui choose first while he used the opportunity to study the map carefully.
The residential district for Immortal Dust Sect's outer sect disciples was divided into four large areas—east, south, west, and north. Each large area was further divided into ten smaller districts according to the ten Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui.
Each smaller district contained anywhere from dozens to hundreds of houses, and the houses were labeled with numbers.
Li Xiuchang's gaze wandered across the map. He found that many districts were packed full, and excluding the areas not yet open for occupancy, the average occupancy rate was above seventy percent!
Li Xiuchang was someone with a cheat, and he didn't want too much contact with others lest they notice something unusual.
He had intended to find a quiet residence with few people, but it seemed that wouldn't be easy.
As his gaze roamed, it was soon drawn to one spot on the map.
It was difficult not to be drawn to it. Compared with the dense clusters of red dots in the other districts, the red dots in one particular district were conspicuously sparse.
When something was out of the ordinary, there was bound to be something strange about it. Li Xiuchang asked, "Senior Brother Wang, why are so few people living in this Eastern Geng District? Was it newly opened?"
"Not exactly." Wang Long wasn't surprised at all that Li Xiuchang had asked about the Eastern Geng District. Whenever he guided new disciples into the sect, there were always some who took an interest in it.
He then skillfully repeated to Li Xiuchang what he had told the other new disciples:
"There's something eerie about the Eastern Geng District. We don't recommend that new disciples move in. Junior Brother Li, you'd better choose somewhere else."
His words aroused Chi Hui's curiosity. Staring at him with her limpid, watery eyes, she asked, "Senior Brother Wang, what's so eerie about it? Tell us."
Under the girl's expectant gaze, Wang Long lowered his voice. "Our outer sect disciples have two paths to advancement within the sect. The first is to cultivate quickly and achieve Foundation Establishment before the age of forty, allowing you to enter the inner sect by exception;
"The second is to possess extraordinary skill. If you reach the third rank in one of the Cultivation Techniques, you can become an outer sect Attendant, and in the future, you may even have a chance to become an Outer Sect Elder.
"Though both paths are difficult, every residential district produces an inner sect disciple or an outer sect Attendant once every few decades at the shortest, or every few centuries at the longest. Only the Eastern Geng District is different. Supposedly, in the past two thousand years, it has been as stagnant as dead water—not a single inner sect disciple or outer sect Attendant has emerged from it.
"Over time, rumors arose that the Eastern Geng District was cursed. Once you moved in, your future would be shrouded in darkness. We cultivators are especially wary of talk about fate and fortune. Better to believe it than not, so naturally no one dared move in. Those who moved in despite their disbelief eventually moved away as well."
As soon as Chi Hui heard this, she immediately kept her distance from the Eastern Geng District. At Wang Long's suggestion, she chose to live in a district with more female disciples.
Li Xiuchang, however, was pondering the Eastern Geng District. It was a small residential district with only a little over thirty houses, and only four of them were occupied.
Those four houses were not adjacent to one another, which meant that the four senior brothers or senior sisters living there all valued their privacy.
If he picked a house in a corner of the Eastern Geng District, it would be his dream residence!
As for that so-called curse, Li Xiuchang didn't take it very seriously. Immortal Dust Sect was a renowned Righteous Path sect throughout the Immortal Shade Realm. If there really were a curse, how could the sect's higher-ups have failed to purge it?
"Senior Brother Wang, I like peace and quiet, so I'll live in the Eastern Geng District," Li Xiuchang said.
"You're sure?" Wang Long blinked, not expecting Li Xiuchang to be so stubborn.
"Absolutely." Li Xiuchang nodded.
"You'd better think it through..." Wang Long lowered his voice. "I shouldn't be speaking ill of others behind their backs, but according to disciples who previously moved out of the Eastern Geng District, several of the senior brothers there have eccentric tempers and aren't easy to get along with."
There were only four senior brothers in the Eastern Geng District. How many could "several" mean?
That wasn't important, though. When Li Xiuchang heard this, he was even more satisfied with the Eastern Geng District.
Not easy to get along with?
Then he simply wouldn't get along with them. That suited him perfectly.
If his neighbors were enthusiastic people, deliberately keeping his distance would seem somewhat discourteous. Now, he no longer had to worry about that.
"Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother. I'll give it a try first. If I find it difficult to live there, I can always move out later."
Seeing that Li Xiuchang was determined, Wang Long stopped trying to persuade him.
Every few years, there were always a few stubborn ones who insisted on moving into the Eastern Geng District... like the four living there now.
Wang Long piloted a flying boat and took Li Xiuchang to the Eastern Geng District.
Aboard the flying boat, Li Xiuchang got a glimpse of the Eastern Geng District in its entirety. The whole district resembled a "residential compound" from his previous life—and a high-end villa compound at that.
There were thirty-two houses in all. Every one was an identical two-story building, and each came with a moderately sized courtyard.
"Senior Brother Wang, wasn't it said that cultivators all lived in cave abodes? Why are there buildings and bungalows everywhere in Immortal Dust Sect?" Li Xiuchang asked curiously.
"Hahaha, that's all ancient history now." Wang Long laughed. "Cave abodes were usually built against mountains to stay close to the Spirit Veins within them, making it easier to absorb spiritual qi. But ever since Spiritual Qi Pipeline Transport Technology matured, who would still live on a mountain for no reason?"
Chi Hui looked at the houses below, delight showing on her face. The living conditions for Immortal Dust Sect's outer sect disciples were quite good, far beyond what she had imagined.
Somewhat incredulous, she asked, "Senior Brother Wang, a house this big is really for one person?"
"Of course!"
As he lowered the flying boat, Wang Long explained, "We cultivators are afraid of being disturbed while cultivating, so sharing a residence causes all sorts of inconvenience... However, all our outer sect disciples have to study the Hundred Cultivation Arts. Once they gain an understanding of an art, they'll generally take on one or two apprentices to help them. Those apprentices may live with us as well."
"I see."
After the flying boat came to a steady stop, Li Xiuchang followed Wang Long into the Eastern Geng District.
Among the vacant houses in the corners, Li Xiuchang chose one with a lucky number: Eastern Geng District, House Eighteen!
"From now on, your Identity Token will be the key that opens your house."
Using Li Xiuchang's Identity Token, Wang Long matched it with the protective formation of House Eighteen in the Eastern Geng District, then demonstrated how to use the token to activate and deactivate the formation.
Every house was protected by a defensive formation, ensuring the disciples' safety and privacy. This greatly satisfied Li Xiuchang.
After finishing everything, Wang Long was about to take his leave and continue escorting Chi Hui to her residence.
Li Xiuchang hurriedly called out to him. "Senior Brother Wang, what am I supposed to do next?"
"Look at me, forgetting something so important!" Wang Long slapped his forehead. Only then did he remember. He took a book from the Storage Bag at his waist and stuffed it into Li Xiuchang's hands.
Li Xiuchang focused on the book cover and read:
Beginner's Guide—compiled by Immortal Dust Sect's outer sect Reception Area.
Before you continue