The Moon Worship Cult

More than a month had passed since the True Disciple Selection.

Up on the mountain.

The air was fresh, and mist shrouded everything.

Suddenly, a clear, resonant bell tolled through the mist and echoed across the rugged mountains. A few birds startled into flight, circled in the air, then settled back down.

After releasing the Striking Pole, Li Gan began cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body.

His daily cultivation now mainly consisted of two parts.

First, cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body.

Second, practicing the Heartless Sword Technique to comprehend the Heartless Sword Intent.

After completing a round, Li Gan stopped. His meridians ached faintly; it was a side effect of reversing his Internal Qi.

Compared with when he had first started cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body, things had improved considerably.

As for the Meridian Nourishing Pills his master, Zhou Buping, had given him, he took just one every three days.

As for the effect? A little, at least.

What truly helped was the toll of the Chen Bell... Without it, cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body would have been exceptionally difficult.

Suddenly, Chen Yong's voice rang out from beneath the Bell Tower.

"Brother Gan."

Li Gan had sensed someone approaching some time ago. He stood up and saw Chen Yong coming up the slope. With a faint smile, he said, "Chen Yong, looks like you got something out of the Combat Ranking List this time, huh?"

A few days earlier, Chen Yong had come up the mountain to ask Li Gan about the Sword Piercing Fist. He had said he was preparing to enter the Combat Ranking List.

Chen Yong was just about the only person Li Gan got along with in the Divine Sword Sect, and Li Gan was more than willing to help him however he could.

"Heh, I made the list. Dead last."

Chen Yong said happily.

As soon as the final results of the Combat Ranking List were announced, he had hurried over.

"Congratulations."

Li Gan said.

"Brother Gan, what's there to congratulate me for?"

Chen Yong scratched his head.

They had entered the Divine Sword Sect in the same year as Menial Disciples. Chen Yong was still working to open his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, while Li Gan had already become a Ranked Martial Artist.

"Take it slow. As long as you keep improving, you still have a shot at becoming an Official Disciple one day."

Li Gan encouraged him.

"Yeah, I'll work hard."

Chen Yong nodded, brimming with motivation.

Time flew by. Before long, another half a year had passed.

During that time, he had also found a moment to take on a simple Escort Mission.

It had gone smoothly.

He hadn't run into trouble like he had the first time.

Atop the Bell Tower.

After finishing his cultivation of the Immaculate Sword Body, Li Gan summoned the System Interface to check the latest information.

Host: Li Gan.

Cultivation Base: Postnatal Realm (Ninth Level 99/100).

Sacrificial Tool: Chen Bell (Law 821/10000).

Martial Arts: Sword Piercing Fist (Perfected), Heartless Sword Art (Perfected), Immaculate Sword Body (Minor Accomplishment 46/100).

Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent (Virtual Image 58/100).

Secret Technique: Myriad Transformation Sword Qi.

Now that the Immaculate Sword Body had reached Minor Accomplishment, he could only gain one point of progress every three days or so.

He was still only at Minor Accomplishment. Once he reached Great Accomplishment, his progress would slow even further.

Still, he wasn't in a hurry.

He got to strike the bell and cultivate at Chenzhong Terrace every day, undisturbed. It was quite nice.

At dusk, he arrived at Yanmen Valley.

He only came by about once every half month now.

He rarely came when there was nothing going on.

His master, Zhou Buping, also spent most of his time away from here.

Once, Li Gan had asked his master why he insisted on staying in Yanmen Valley. Couldn't he go out and find a disciple with good talent and high comprehension? Wouldn't that be more efficient?

Zhou Buping had answered that bone structure and aptitude were easy to assess, but comprehension was mysterious and unfathomable. It only revealed itself gradually through cultivation. Good bone structure didn't necessarily mean high comprehension—there was no fixed rule.

So finding someone with high comprehension was like fishing for a needle in the ocean.

But in the Chore Hall, among the tens of thousands of Menial Disciples who came in batches and left in batches, there might well be some with exceptional comprehension.

"I'll be away for a while. I don't know when I'll be back, so take the pills and resources for the next few months all at once. And take this jug of Medicinal Wine back too, lest someone else get their hands on it."

As soon as Zhou Buping saw Li Gan arrive, he spoke up.

"Master, where are you going?"

Li Gan was taken by surprise.

From the way his master spoke, it sounded like he would be gone for several months.

"The Moon Worship Cult has rebelled in the Eight Southeast Prefectures. The imperial court is summoning a group of high-ranking martial artists from the various sects to help put down the rebellion. I happened to be selected."

Zhou Buping said calmly.

"Master, will it be dangerous?"

Li Gan asked.

He spent most of his time in the Divine Sword Sect and rarely met anyone from outside, so he was terribly out of touch with current events.

"Of course there'll be danger, but... it shouldn't be a problem. Don't worry about me. Also, if you plan to take Inner Sect missions, try to avoid Suppression Missions."

Zhou Buping reminded him.

While he was away from the sect, if anything went wrong when Li Gan was out on a mission, he wouldn't be there to help.

"Master, I'll be careful."

Li Gan nodded.

Zhou Buping gave him a few more instructions.

When Li Gan returned to Chenzhong Terrace, he had a bamboo basket on his back, filled with bottles and jars and a large jug of wine.

Zhou Buping had brewed the Medicinal Wine himself with all kinds of precious spirit medicines. It was undeniably potent.

After drinking a small cup, Li Gan lay down, pleasantly tipsy.

The night was deep and quiet.

A full moon spilled its silver light over the land, leaving everything hazy and indistinct.

Suddenly, a Shadow darted silently past the Bell Tower without stopping, then followed the mountain path into the darkness beyond the mountain.

Inside the Bell Tower, Li Gan opened his eyes. He had been fast asleep.

He was always highly alert, even in his sleep.

Even after drinking, he was no different.

The slightest stir in the wind was enough to catch his attention.

"Someone?"

He could vaguely sense that something had passed by Chenzhong Terrace.

But he had no intention of going out to take a look.

It might have been some expert from the Divine Sword Sect heading out in the middle of the night.

It was better not to meddle in matters that weren't his business.

A few days later.

Li Gan went down the mountain and arrived at the Inner Sect Mission Hall.

He planned to complete his missions for the year.

The Mission Hall was quite crowded.

He glanced at the mission board, which was covered in postings.

"Huh? Why are they all Suppression Missions?"

Li Gan was puzzled.

He had been hoping to find an easier mission to get by.

"Senior Brother, why are they all Suppression Missions?"

He suddenly asked a young Inner Disciple who was also looking at the board.

"Junior Brother, don't tell me you've been in seclusion this whole time?"

The young Inner Disciple asked in surprise.

"How did you know, Senior Brother?"

Li Gan played along.

"Everyone's been talking about it for a while now. The Moon Worship Cult rebellion has thrown the Eight Southeast Prefectures into chaos. The prefecture where our sect is located is still fairly peaceful, but even here the Moon Worship Cult has been very active."

The young Inner Disciple explained.

Li Gan had heard his master, Zhou Buping, mention the Moon Worship Cult rebellion a few days earlier.

He had assumed it was limited to the Eight Southeast Prefectures. He hadn't expected it to start spilling over to the Divine Sword Sect as well.

Clearly, the rebellion sparked by the Moon Worship Cult was no small matter.

"I see. Senior Brother, besides Suppression Missions, are there no other kinds of missions?"

Li Gan asked again.

"Heh. Any other kind of mission gets snatched up as soon as it appears. See those people? A lot of them are just standing around waiting for missions."

The young Inner Disciple pursed his lips toward the many Inner Disciples standing nearby.

Many Suppression Missions required fighting ruthless Moon Worship Cult members. The Contribution Points were high, but so was the risk.

They weren't the first choice for most Inner Disciples.

"Then won't those Suppression Missions go unclaimed?"

Li Gan asked.

"Once the deadline comes, they'll be assigned by force. Besides, some Inner Disciples love taking risks and getting into fights."

The young Inner Disciple replied.

Li Gan thought about it and realized that made sense. There weren't few missions of other kinds, but there were so many Inner Disciples that they were still in short supply.

Inner Disciples could choose not to take missions.

But the consequences were severe.

The Inner Sect would cut off their cultivation resources.

They would also lose access to martial arts manuals and special cultivation grounds.

They would be left with nothing but the title of Inner Disciple.

And there would be no chance to make up for it.