At the mountainside of Yan Mountain, inside the Sect Leader Temple with its peeling lacquer, Gu Bai led his three disciples and respectfully bowed to a landscape painting in the main hall. Then he turned to Wu Ming and said solemnly, "I founded the Gujian Sect just over twenty years ago. This so-called sect is nothing more than a signboard to make cultivation more convenient. There are only four people on all of Yan Mountain, counting you, and no strict rules to speak of. You're a quick-witted boy, so I don't need to spell out every bit of common sense. Just remember to behave yourself, and that should be enough."
"But likewise, the Gujian Sect has no worthy legacy to pass down. I'm just a wandering cultivator without a sect or master, and all my techniques are my own inventions—foolish fantasies that could never grace the halls of refinement. Besides, though I somehow managed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm thanks to various fortuitous encounters, old injuries have left me without a Nascent Soul's divine abilities. You won't gain much by becoming my disciple. If you truly wish to attain the Dao and ascend, you'll have to work hard on your own."
"Mm, there's still a bit more I'd like to tell you, but if I say too much, your senior sister will complain about me again... She handles much of the Gujian Sect's daily affairs, and even teaches cultivation. She's only been cultivating for twenty years, yet she's already achieved Foundation Establishment. Be sure to listen to her. If she gets angry, even I won't be able to save you..."
Under Zhu Ying's eye roll, Gu Bai finished his brief speech as sect leader. Then he took Wu Ming's hand and said, "All right, you're now a Second Generation Disciple of the Gujian Sect. But before you can officially begin cultivating, you'll have to go to Dinghuang Prefecture, comprehend the Human Emperor Scroll, and receive the Human Dao Seal."
Wu Ming blinked, not understanding.
Zhu Ying only snorted, her disdain and displeasure plain to see—not aimed at Wu Ming, of course, but more like a cynical resentment toward the world itself.
Gu Bai sighed. "In Qiongzhou, any cultivation sect that takes on disciples has to register them with Dinghuang Prefecture. The disciples must undergo inspection in the Heart-Cleansing Pool and then comprehend the Human Emperor Scroll before they can cultivate."
Wu Ming blinked again, still not understanding.
"Heh, it's still early. Why don't I take you straight to the Prefecture City and explain everything on the way? Ying'er, use this time to fix up a place for your junior brother to stay."
Zhu Ying shot back irritably, "Where on this barren mountain is there even a habitable place? Should I make him squeeze in with Ling Xi and all those birds and beasts? She's the one who brought them back, anyway!"
Wu Ming glanced around the Sect Leader Temple and suggested, "Master, there's plenty of room here. Why don't the two of us make do together?"
Zhu Ying flew into a rage. "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Gu Bai could only smile wryly. "There is room in this temple for a few more people, but living day and night with a cripple who only has the realm of a Nascent Soul would do you no good. Ying'er, Ling Xi's quarters are also quite far from my temple. That's why... All right, Ying'er, stop saying things out of anger. You're the sect's senior disciple, so you ought to look after your junior brothers and sisters."
Zhu Ying snorted and stopped arguing. She clasped her hands and said, "Don't worry, Master. I'll take care of it."
Only then did Gu Bai nod. "Then I'll have to trouble you... Wu Ming, hold on to my hand. I'll ride the clouds and take you to the Prefecture City in a moment. If you're scared on the way, just squeeze your eyes shut. We'll be there before long."
As he spoke, the old man waved the sleeve of his robe. Wisps of cloud suddenly rolled down from the clear sky, weaving together like silk beneath him and Wu Ming to form a thick, round carpet. Standing atop the Cloud Carpet, the two of them slowly floated into the air, no longer bound by gravity.
The effortless ease with which he wielded this spell made Wu Ming's eyes light up.
"Master, what realm do I need to reach to unlock free-flight mode?"
Gu Bai furrowed his brow and puzzled out what Wu Ming meant before answering with a smile. "If you cultivate diligently, you'll have your own Cloud Carpet before Core Formation. Your senior sister is especially skilled at this. She was flying through the air with ease by the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. You can ask her for advice later... All right, keep your feet steady. We're leaving."
The next moment, Wu Ming's vision blurred. They shot out of the temple in an instant, then rushed upward and straight into the clouds. The scenery on either side twisted into indistinct smears of color, and the world spun around him.
Strangely, though, Wu Ming felt none of the discomfort of inertia as they accelerated. A moment later, the Cloud Carpet had carried them hundreds of meters into the air. Wu Ming remained perfectly steady, without the slightest dizziness. He watched the landscape shrink beneath his feet until the spacious Sect Leader Temple looked insignificant.
But when he looked down from above, Wu Ming couldn't help frowning.
What a desolate land... As far as the eye could see, bare, rocky mountains stretched without end. Gray and black stone dominated the landscape, as if someone had laid a filter from the underworld over the entire world. Vegetation, the sign of life, was painfully scarce. Only a few patches of green dotted the mountainside and foothills of Yan Mountain, standing out all the more—and looking all the lonelier for it.
Even without knowing anything about feng shui, anyone could see how poor the land's feng shui was.
Then Gu Bai chuckled softly and said, "Heh, I never thought you really wouldn't be afraid of heights! The land beneath us is Qiongzhou. It's pretty desolate, isn't it? The aftershocks of the Desolate Barbarian Rebellion five hundred years ago still haven't faded."
"The Desolate Barbarian Rebellion?"
Gu Bai sighed and began to recount a distant chapter of history.
Long, long ago, a hundred races had stood side by side across the Nine Provinces, and a hundred schools of thought had contended. But twenty-five hundred years ago, Grandmaster Taiqing excavated the first Immortal Mansion on Yanzi Mountain in Qingzhou and obtained the legacy of immortals from the old world. The Immortal Path flourished from then on, and the human race gradually rose above the other races. Thus began Immortal Mansion Year One.
By five hundred years ago—around the two-thousandth year of the Immortal Mansion Calendar—the human race had claimed eight of the Nine Provinces. Only Qiongzhou in the northeast remained a land where a hundred races stood side by side. Even there, the situation was as precarious as an egg balanced on its tip, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.
The Desolate Barbarian Rebellion was that touch.
The war erupted because the local human aristocratic clans had oppressed and exploited the other races too cruelly. The Demon, Witch, and other races joined forces in rebellion, choosing Twelve Leaders who rose up from the frontier and swept across the entire province in the blink of an eye.
The flames of war then engulfed the land for a hundred years before the Sanqing Immortal Sect finally suppressed and wiped out the rebels. All Twelve Leaders died in battle, and the Demon, Witch, and other races that formed the backbone of the Desolate Barbarian Allied Forces were nearly exterminated. The war left Qiongzhou's inhabitants dead and its land scorched for a thousand li. Even after several centuries, it still hadn't recovered.
Worse still were those who survived—the people who were neither members of the Demon, Witch, or other foreign races, nor fully human.
The Desolate People.
During the barbarian war, the foreign armies treated the Desolate People like oxen and horses, abusing them in every way. After the war, the human race refused to accept them, too.
In the end, the Sanqing Immortal Sect, guided by compassion, had not exterminated the Desolate People. But to prevent future trouble, it established the Dinghuang Prefecture system in Qiongzhou to strictly control their cultivation.
In Qiongzhou, all Outer Dao practices were strictly forbidden; the Immortal Path was the only way to cultivate. To embark upon it, one first had to register with a local Dinghuang Prefecture office and have their bloodline tested in the Heart-Cleansing Pool. If the human blood in their veins fell below a certain proportion, they could live their daily lives without restriction, but they were absolutely forbidden to cultivate.
Moreover, even if they met the bloodline requirement, the Desolate People still had to cultivate the Human Emperor Scroll. This technique was said to be the source from which ten thousand lineages of immortals flowed. It ensured that no matter how powerful a Desolate cultivator became, they would still hold the human race above all and never harbor dissent.
And now, Gu Bai was taking Wu Ming through this necessary process.
After listening to his master's explanation, Wu Ming pondered for a long time before his face suddenly cleared. "So the senior sister with the different-colored eyes and the Second Senior Sister with the pointy ears are actually..."
"Heh, that's right. Your two senior sisters have Demon and Witch bloodlines... and they've suffered quite a bit because of it."
Wu Ming asked again, "So, am I one of the Desolate People, too?"
Gu Bai froze. You have to ask someone else what you are?
But he answered seriously, "Since you're from Wuyang Village, you probably inherited some blood from the Sheep-Headed Demon Race. But after hundreds of years, that foreign blood should be very diluted. At least, I can't see any outward signs in you. You should be no different from an ordinary human. There's no need to worry."
Wu Ming looked a little disappointed. "Just an ordinary human..."
"?" Gu Bai hurriedly cautioned him, "Don't go saying that in front of people. Even after hundreds of years, longing for the foreign races is still taboo in Qiongzhou."
After a pause, Gu Bai asked curiously, "I thought someone with your temperament would consider the Dinghuang Prefecture system unfair."
Wu Ming smiled. "People have always been divided into high and low, rich and poor, strong and weak, local and foreign. That's just the way of the world. Even if it weren't bloodlines that set people apart, they'd use wealth, strength, or place of origin. Is everyone equal outside Qiongzhou?"
Gu Bai's expression stiffened. After a long while, he nodded. "You have a point."
Wu Ming asked curiously, "By the way, Master, what bloodline do you have?"
Gu Bai only smiled and didn't answer. "All right, we're almost there."
During that brief conversation between master and disciple, the Cloud Carpet had already crossed a thousand layers of gray-black mountains and reached a vast, densely populated plain.
Looking down from the sky, Wu Ming saw two great rivers winding in from the northeast and meeting after many twists and turns. At their confluence stood a prosperous city, surrounded by broad stretches of fertile farmland. Countless villages were scattered among the fields like stars.
Furthermore, as they neared the city, he could clearly see brilliant streaks of light cutting through the air from time to time, like shooting stars or ribbons of colored silk. They were clearly cultivators like Gu Bai, each displaying their own abilities.
"That's the local Prefecture City, Wu City. Dinghuang Prefecture governs the cultivation affairs within five hundred li of the city, and our Gujian Sect on Yan Mountain falls within its jurisdiction."
As he spoke, Gu Bai waved his sleeve and guided the Cloud Carpet down at a slant from the sky. They soon passed over the city walls and descended into the city.
In an instant, Wu Ming felt as if he had broken through an invisible curtain of water... He felt slightly dizzy, and the next moment, Wu City's dazzling, worldly bustle came rushing at him.
Street vendors hawked their wares, passersby chatted and laughed, and artisans pounded iron with a ringing clang. The scents of food and wine from restaurants and taverns mingled with the dazzling variety of pavilions and towers. The sensory barrage nearly suffocated Wu Ming. He felt as if his first-level cache was overloaded.
While his eyes darted everywhere, Wu Ming suddenly spotted a particularly eye-catching Pale Tower in the very center of Wu City.
The moment his gaze touched the tower, it seemed to spring to life, swelling abruptly in his field of vision! Its outline twisted and its pallor flowed, leaving Wu Ming unable to look away. The city's dazzling splendor suddenly dimmed into insignificance...
As Wu Ming stared in astonishment, Gu Bai had already placed a hand on his shoulder. A thread of warmth flowed into him, as if driving away his fear.
"That's Dinghuang Prefecture. There's a Human Emperor Stele in the tower, which exerts a suppressive force on Desolate Blood. But there's no need to be afraid. We're just going through the motions..."
Then, with a hint of hesitation, Gu Bai added, "Once we get inside Dinghuang Prefecture, you may see some things you won't like. Remember to be patient. Don't say or do anything... I'll take care of everything."
Wu Ming nodded knowingly. When he looked at the tower again, it no longer seemed strange.
Gu Bai was still a little worried, but the Cloud Carpet was already close to the white tower of Dinghuang Prefecture. Cultivators were constantly flying back and forth nearby, and there was no guarantee that outsiders wouldn't overhear them, so he said nothing more. He simply guided the Cloud Carpet down in silence... When they were halfway down, Gu Bai couldn't help letting out a soft cry of surprise.
The usually cold and solemn tower of Dinghuang Prefecture was decked out with lanterns and streamers. The courtyard before its main entrance was even more crowded and noisy, filled with laughter. A group of elegantly dressed middle-aged and elderly people surrounded a crowd of handsome young men and women, as if there were some festive occasion.
Wu Ming looked down and asked, "Is this a rave?"
"???" Gu Bai didn't understand what he meant, but his instincts told him it wasn't a good word. He quickly warned him, "Don't say things like that!"
At the same time, Gu Bai himself was quite curious. Dinghuang Prefecture had always held an awkward position in Qiongzhou's cultivation world. Broadly speaking, it was like a government office in the mortal world—solemn and imposing. Unless something unusual had happened, it was hard to imagine it having anything to do with this sort of festive commotion.
Yet now, more than a hundred cultivators of all shapes and sizes had gathered in front of the cultivation authorities. Among them was even a Nascent Soul True Person—an indisputably important figure in a border prefecture like Qiongzhou.
For a moment, Gu Bai was full of questions, but had no idea where to begin.
The Gujian Sect had always kept to itself and rarely interacted with outsiders, and Gu Bai had few friends in the area... After hesitating for a while, he could only take Wu Ming's hand and walk along the edge of the noisy crowd, listening in.
Fortunately, the reason for the festivities was no secret.
In short, the Third Young Master of the local foremost aristocratic clan, the Wu County Liu Clan, had turned sixteen that year. He had officially become a disciple of the Three Purities' Outer Mountain True Person, Lord Yanliu, and was about to embark on the Immortal Path.
According to local custom, anyone who wanted to cultivate had to first go to Dinghuang Prefecture, pass through the Heart-Cleansing Pool, and comprehend the Human Emperor Scroll. Only after condensing the Human Dao Seal would they officially be accepted as a cultivator.
Those two hurdles might be a real test for ordinary members of the Desolate People, but for someone of noble birth and distinguished bloodline like a member of the Liu Family, they were as easy as water flowing downhill—nothing more than a formality.
So the nearby sects and Aristocratic Clans had sent people to celebrate in advance, congratulating the Third Young Master of the Liu Family on embarking on the Immortal Path. The Liu Family had grown increasingly influential in recent years, and an unusually large number of people had come to offer congratulations. That was why the place was so lively.
Just then, a soft cough sounded in the distance.
It wasn't very loud, but it carried remarkably well. In an instant, everyone's attention was drawn toward it.
A waist-high stage had been set up in the tower's courtyard. On it stood a plump old man, dressed in an ivory-white robe woven with gold thread, wearing a Shuyu Crown and a pair of Cloud-Patterned Shoes. Under the gaze of hundreds, the old man looked rather excited, though he tried to put on an air of dignity. After coughing and fidgeting for a moment, he finally spoke in a solemn voice.
"May the Three Purities look down upon us. Would everyone kindly spare a moment to hear a few words from Kong? With all the worthies gathered before the prefecture office today, and such a fine occasion upon us, this is a rare stroke of good fortune. So I'll keep it brief and won't spoil everyone's enjoyment..."
"In recent years, the Immortal Path has flourished in Wu Prefecture, gradually distinguishing itself among Qiongzhou's seven prefectures. New talents have emerged in the prefecture time and again, earning even the officials at the provincial government's praise. This is truly thanks to the long-standing support of the local aristocratic clans, among whom the Liu Family is second to none. The Eldest Young Master's elegance and heroic bearing still inspire envy whenever people recall him. Now the Third Young Master, Liu Qi, has also become the disciple of a renowned master from the Three Purities and is about to embark on the Immortal Path. As Dinghuang Prefecture Governor, I, Kong Zhang, ought to show my support..."
"So, on this auspicious occasion, I hereby announce a joyous event: Any newly initiated fellow cultivator who comes to Dinghuang Prefecture today, cultivates the Human Emperor Scroll, and embarks on the Immortal Path will receive ten Spirit Stones as encouragement if they cultivate two layers of the Human Dao Seal in one attempt. Those who cultivate three layers will receive a copy of the Ganfeng Book. And those who cultivate four or more layers and claim the day's top spot... heh, will receive a Dharma Sword from Ranxiang Workshop in Qingzhou!"
Before he had even finished speaking, the crowd was already full of gasps.
"A Dharma Sword from Ranxiang Workshop?! They're giving one of those away?"
"Even a Dharma Sword for the Qi Refining Stage would cost several thousand Spirit Stones, wouldn't it?"
"Several thousand Spirit Stones would only buy you a tassel! What's the going rate for something from Ranxiang Workshop? Especially when we cultivators in Qiongzhou are always short on artifact refiners. A Dharma artifact like that could fetch well over ten thousand!"
"So why is Dinghuang Prefecture being so generous?"
While most people were stunned and confused, a few naturally saw through it.
"Hmph, I bet the Liu Family prepared that Dharma Sword themselves, then used Dinghuang Prefecture's name to spread the word and draw everyone's attention. They can then crush all the competitors in front of the crowd and take the sword back. They'd get a good reputation for nothing... What a clever scheme!"
"Haha, you've got the wrong idea, brother. The Liu Family is one of the oldest aristocratic clans in this prefecture. Would they really be so petty? Besides, you can't just conjure up a Fragrant Dye Dharma Sword at will. I happen to know a little about where it came from..."
"Oh? Do tell!"
"At last year's Sanqing Dharma Assembly, the Shangqing Celestial Master divined that a new Immortal Mansion would appear in Qiongzhou. That fits with how talented young cultivators have been emerging across Qiongzhou in recent years, so the sect sent over an extra batch of magical treasures and medicinal pills to nurture local talent. The Sanqing Immortal Sect has always been generous when it comes to matters involving an Immortal Mansion. As for us, Wu Prefecture just happened to be lucky enough to receive the most valuable Dharma Sword among the supplies. The other prefectures have quite a few complaints about that, actually..."
"Whoa, so Fatty Kong is using a gift to curry favor with the Liu Family! He's about to retire and wants to land an Attendant position in their household, doesn't he? What a slippery old fox!"
As people whispered among themselves, Kong Zhang displayed the Dharma Sword onstage. Its light shone like golden rays flooding the sky, and its sharp aura was intimidating. It was plainly a fine sword.
Kong Zhang first openly explained the sword's origins, then looked toward several people in the courtyard dressed in particularly luxurious clothes and smiled. "A few True Persons from the Liu Family advised me that such a precious treasure should perhaps be saved until the Third Young Master joins their ranks, then offered as a prize to the promising young cultivators of our prefecture. That would also avoid any suspicion. The Liu Family has a legacy stretching back hundreds of years, and the Third Young Master has an unlimited future on the Immortal Path. There's really no need to invite gossip over a mere sword... But the officials at the provincial government specifically instructed me to preside over this matter impartially—promote your relatives without avoiding suspicion, and recommend your enemies without fearing their displeasure. So today, I'll offer this sword as a gift and invite the local talents to come show off their gifts. The Dharma Sword will go to the most capable!"
The guests soon responded with enthusiastic applause. Several Golden Core cultivators stepped forward and loudly praised Kong Zhang and the Liu Family for their generosity and integrity. The few people who had been making snide remarks earlier had no choice but to shut their mouths and put on forced smiles as they joined in with the mood.
Amid the excitement stirred up by the Dharma Sword, Wu Ming was already raring to go.
"Master, we really did come at the right time!"
Gu Bai couldn't help laughing. "Where did you get the confidence to think you can win those ten Spirit Stones?"
Wu Ming paused, then laughed too. "What's the point of a mere third-place prize? If I'm going to take something, I'm taking first place! What's the difference between a salted fish and someone who doesn't even claim all the event rewards?"
"?"
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