Chongming Sect

Pei Ling felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. He stood frozen behind the door, scarcely daring to breathe.

Through the veiled hat, he could not see Fairy Li's expression. For a moment, the room was so silent one could hear a needle drop.

A moment later, Fairy Li suddenly raised her hand and threw something at him. Startled, Pei Ling reacted swiftly and smacked it away.

Yet at that very moment, the long-absent System Prompt came online: "Ding-dong! An unfamiliar external saber technique has been detected. Recording in progress..."

Pei Ling: "..."

He looked at the booklet he had knocked onto the floor, then at Fairy Li, still seated where she was, and felt the urge to die on the spot.

"Master it within ten days, or die!" Fairy Li spat out coldly. With a sweep of her sleeve, her entire body burst apart like a bubble with a bang, then vanished without a trace.

It was only after she had been gone for a while that Pei Ling awkwardly walked over and picked up the booklet.

On its cover, four characters were written in Cloud Seal Script: "Blood Fiend Saber Technique." The sight of those ancient seal characters immediately made his expression turn grave! The Pei Clan School had collected only a little over a hundred Cloud Seal Script characters. In other words...

He opened the booklet and flipped through it roughly, then sighed.

Yes, he did not recognize most of the words in this saber technique. He could not even understand it by reading...

Fortunately, the system said at that moment, "Ding-dong! Recording of the unfamiliar external saber technique is complete. Please name it, Host."

"Blood Fiend Saber Technique." Pei Ling found the system pleasing to the eye for once. Yet after pondering for a moment, he still gave up on having the system cultivate it immediately.

After all, the Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat was far too dangerous. If that Idiot System caused trouble again, he did not dare imagine what kind of disaster it would stir up this time.

Pei Ling closed the booklet and tucked it into his clothes. Just then, he felt the entire boat tremble slightly.

Not long afterward, Pei Hong Nian from next door came knocking. "We've arrived at Zhan Chen Platform. Hurry up and gather your things, then head to the deck. Don't delay Fairy Li."

Pei Ling had packed his belongings earlier in preparation for fleeing, but when the system had controlled his body and rushed him to the Jade Wutong Courtyard's Refined Chamber, he had brought nothing except the already-used Seven Absolute Soul Suppressing Powder. Now, aside from the clothes on his back, he had only one Nourishing Origin Pill, a copy of the Blood Fiend Saber Technique, and the Aversion to Life Saber.

The Nourishing Origin Pill and Blood Fiend Saber Technique were tucked into his clothes. He went inside to retrieve the Aversion to Life Saber, then followed Pei Hong Nian to the deck.

Without Jiao Ni and Wu Liu at their side along the way, the doors lining both sides of the passageway seemed especially quiet.

The moment he stepped out of the cabin and swept his gaze around, Pei Ling could not help drawing a sharp breath.

Before his eyes stretched an unimaginably vast Sea of Clouds!

The Sea of Clouds was far from calm. Its waves rolled and surged, raging and roaring. Jagged mountain peaks lay hidden within like reefs in the sea, scattered like stars across the sky, too numerous to count.

Within the Sea of Clouds, besides the mountains, countless rare birds and strange beasts soared freely through the air. Every one of them was something Pei Ling had never heard of or seen before.

Beside one particularly lush mountain forest, whose summit glimmered faintly with firelight, an enormous body flashed through the clouds like a startled swan. Merely a section of its tail stirred the Sea of Clouds around that mountain into a boiling frenzy, sending it surging and churning for a long while!

At that moment, the Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat was flying over this boundless Sea of Clouds. Before long, it sailed into a mountain peak that seemed faintly surrounded as the center of the others.

This peak was a full section shorter than the neighboring ones. Its summit was flat, as though someone had forcibly sheared off part of it, creating an enormous plaza. At the moment, many flying boats and similar vehicles were rising and descending there.

But at the sight of the Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat, they hurriedly moved aside.

"This is Zhan Chen Platform." Pei Hong Nian had been in the sect for years and had long grown accustomed to the sights of Chongming Sect, so he was not as stunned as Pei Ling. He merely introduced it casually. "All new disciples enter the sect from here. From this day onward, immortals and mortals are worlds apart. The sect named this place Zhan Chen in the hope that we would sever all worldly thoughts from this day forward, press ahead bravely, and bid eternal farewell to mortal dust."

After saying this, he suddenly recalled something and frowned. "Right, how will Senior Brother Zheng and the others arrange you?"

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat, within the railing, Zheng Jingshan was also respectfully requesting instructions. "Senior Sister, we have reached the sect, but how should Pei Ling be arranged?"

Fairy Li's black dress fluttered as she stood with her hands behind her back not far ahead of him. Only after a moment did she say in an icy voice, "Send him to the Outer Sect."

"Yes." Zheng Jingshan nodded, then transmitted his voice to Pei Hong Nian. "Take Pei Ling to the Outer Sect!"

A moment later, the Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat soared into the sky again, shooting like lightning toward the depths of the Sea of Clouds. Left behind on Zhan Chen Platform, Pei Ling could not help watching that direction for a while before asking, "Is that where the Inner Sect is? It looks so far away."

Pei Hong Nian was in a poor mood and ignored him, saying only, "Keep up."

He led Pei Ling with practiced ease to a two-story building at the edge of the plaza. After entering, they found the interior empty and sparsely furnished. Only a white-haired, wrinkled old woman was there, holding a wine jug and slumped sleepily in a reclining chair, taking occasional sips.

She did not even stir upon hearing someone enter. Pei Hong Nian had to step forward, salute, and say with a smile, "Senior, Senior Brother Zheng Jingshan, Pulse Master of the Inner Sect, has sent his junior clan member Pei Ling to enter the Outer Sect."

"These little brats keep finding things for this old woman to do every day." The old woman sighed in a hoarse voice. Still, she did not make things difficult for them. She slowly sat upright, revealing a face filled with wrinkles. Yet her eyes seemed to possess some kind of magic. One look, and it was impossible to look away. The two brothers could not help losing themselves, staring blankly at her, unable to speak.

It was only when the old woman examined them for a moment and said indifferently, "Follow this old woman," that Pei Ling and Pei Hong Nian snapped awake. Their expressions both became somewhat unnatural.

Following the old woman out of the small building, they saw another structure behind it. It did not look large from the outside, but once they entered, they discovered that the space within was astonishingly vast.

Countless lamp stands floated in midair, each holding a blood-colored flame. They rose and fell at varying heights, densely packed together. The flames varied in size as well. The smallest were no larger than mung beans, while the largest floated high overhead like blazing suns. Pei Ling could not look directly at them, much less accurately judge their size. Even a glimpse from the corner of his eye let him feel the terrifying power contained within.

Farther away hung more than a hundred portraits, all lifelike, depicting men, women, old people, and children. Some did not even appear to possess entirely human forms.

The old woman beckoned, and a lamp stand flew over from nowhere. It was no different from the many floating lamp stands. She said calmly, "Since you are a Pei Clan member and Zheng Jingshan has vouched for you, there is no need to waste breath on those inspections. Go pay respects to the ancestors, then give a drop of your essence blood to light this Life Soul Lamp. From then on, you will be a member of Chongming Sect."

Pei Ling had no desire whatsoever to enter such an Underworld Sect. Yet at this point, it was impossible for him to flee a thousand miles away.

He could only force himself forward and, following the old woman's instructions, kowtow and pay respects one by one to the Founding Ancestor, the Successive Ancestors, the Current Supreme Elder, the Current Sect Master... Finally, he cut open his fingertip and forced out a drop of essence blood.

The essence blood fell onto the lamp stand and immediately transformed into a small flame, slightly larger than a mung bean, about the size of a soybean.

The old woman asked Pei Ling's name, date of birth, and Eight Characters. Lines of detailed information then appeared beneath the lamp stand. Finally, a sentence emerged stating the year, month, day, and hour he had entered Chongming Sect, as well as who had brought him in. The lamp stand then turned into a streak of light, flew free from the old woman's hand, rose into the air, and merged with the many other lamp stands.

"Now that you have entered the Sacred Sect..." The old woman glanced at it without paying it any mind, then beckoned Pei Ling to her side and instructed him listlessly, "From now on, you must watch your words and conduct, and strictly observe the Sect Rules. Especially with someone of your background, once you violate the rules, the consequences will be too dreadful to contemplate... Understand?"

Pei Ling asked cautiously, "May I ask, Senior, what are Chongming Sect's... the Sacred Sect's rules?"

The old woman said, "There are far too many. Go back and read them yourself."

As she spoke, she pulled out a book a full three inches thick from behind her and stuffed it into his hands. With earnest gravity, she said, "You must commit every word to memory, from beginning to end. Remember, the Sacred Sect is not like your home. Its Sect Rules are strict, and its sect laws are merciless."

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the heart Pei Ling had kept hanging in his throat finally settled instead.

As the saying went, do not fear having too many rules; fear having no rules at all.

For a Person of the Dogged Dao like him, it did not matter if there were many restrictions. So long as there were precedents to follow, they would instead give him a greater sense of security. What he feared was having no rules whatsoever, with everyone acting as they pleased, reckless and unrestrained, while calamity fell from the sky at any time and in any place.

He thanked the old woman gratefully and hugged the Sect Rules to his chest as though they were priceless.

So thick, with so many rules—it showed how thorough and meticulous Chongming Sect's considerations were. His heart instantly felt much more at ease.