The Ascension Society

The next day, when Fang Huai arrived at the Skinning Room, Luo Heng showed no particular interest in him.

Only when they were clearing the grounds did he give Fang Huai a meaningful glance.

Fang Huai understood. He deliberately slowed his pace, dawdling until he was the last to leave.

After the crowd had dispersed, he went up to thank Luo Heng.

"Thank you for the treasure, Senior Brother! After using it yesterday, my cultivation speed improved noticeably—even faster than when I practiced in the sect's Cultivation Room."

Luo Heng smiled. "Junior Brother Fang, you really trust me! After using that Blood Jade Leaf, did you notice any other reactions besides the faster cultivation?"

Fang Huai pretended to ponder. "I seemed to feel a little hallucinatory. In a daze, it was as if I'd become an immortal and ancestor. Is that normal?"

"Normal, perfectly normal!"

Luo Heng nodded in satisfaction. He stepped up to Fang Huai and suddenly seized his wrist.

Fang Huai's heart tightened. Had his disguise been seen through?

He quietly gathered spiritual power at his fingertips, ready to deal with whatever happened.

Luo Heng said, "You make it sound convincing, but I need to verify for myself whether you really used my kind gift or merely pretended to accept it."

A torrent of spiritual power abruptly surged into his meridians, making Fang Huai's heart sink.

First, he hadn't touched the Blood Jade Leaf yesterday. Luo Heng's spiritual probing might well uncover the truth.

Second, two Corpse Meteor Insects, one large and one small, still lay dormant inside him. If these strange insects were detected, the consequences would be unthinkable.

But for some reason, when the spiritual power swept over the two insects, it treated them as though they weren't there and passed right through.

Could these insects evade spiritual probing?

Fang Huai had no idea. But since the Corpse Meteor Insects could suppress the Poison Miasma Gu Insect and dispel illusions, a few more strange abilities wouldn't be all that unbelievable.

About five breaths later, Luo Heng withdrew his spiritual power, looking apologetic.

"It seems Junior Brother Fang didn't deceive me. You really did use the Blood Jade Leaf. From now on, we're on the same side.

"Don't blame me for being cautious. There was an accident before, and the Ascension Society lost many members. I have no choice but to be careful."

"I'm not an ungrateful man. Senior Brother has treated me well. I can hardly repay you enough—how could I dare deceive you?"

Fang Huai spoke flattering words, but his mind was full of questions.

The Ascension Society?

How had he never heard of such an organization?

He suppressed his doubts. More than anything, he was relieved to have escaped disaster.

If Luo Heng had discovered that he hadn't used the Blood Jade Leaf at all, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he would have turned on him and killed him without giving him the chance to explain.

As for why Luo Heng had misjudged the situation, it was probably because Fang Huai had once been afflicted by a Blood Jade Insect at the Nanze Zheng Family.

"Junior Brother Fang, you must never tell anyone about using the Blood Jade Leaf. Otherwise, the sect will extract our souls and destroy them!" Luo Heng said sternly.

Fang Huai frowned. "I thought you'd given me an immortal herb. Now it feels like you've lured me onto a pirate ship."

Luo Heng chuckled. "It's no pirate ship. It's an immortal ship, a divine ship, a lucky ship carrying us to the far shore of eternal life.

"Who comes to cultivate at the Corpse Sha Sect without wanting to break through their limits and become a supreme being?

"But with our aptitudes, we'll never even reach the threshold of Foundation Establishment before we die. We might as well take a gamble and join the Ascension Society."

"The Ascension Society? What kind of organization is it?"

Luo Heng had mentioned it twice in quick succession. The name sounded not just unreliable, but almost like some heretical cult.

Luo Heng's eyes flickered as he patted Fang Huai on the shoulder. "Before joining, your fate is to become a skeleton in Miasma Valley. After joining, you'll embark on the road to immortality."

Fang Huai was certain Luo Heng had been brainwashed. Immortal ship, divine ship—if something that good really existed, how could it possibly fall to the likes of them?

He wondered if, when the Gu insects inside him finally erupted, Luo Heng would regret it enough to slap himself a few times.

Fang Huai asked, "Then why did you choose me?"

"It's simple. The worse someone's aptitude, the greater the improvement they get from the Blood Jade Leaf. You have no Spirit Root, so after using it, you're sure to soar to greatness."

"You've explained what I stand to gain. What about you?"

Fang Huai didn't believe Luo Heng was helping him out of pure kindness.

Back then, Fang Huai had merely fainted by the roadside, yet Luo Heng had been willing to sell him like merchandise. Now he was generously giving away treasures and advising him on Foundation Establishment. He had to want something in return.

"Heh, I won't hide it from you, Junior Brother."

Luo Heng's eyes gleamed as he looked at Fang Huai as though he were a treasure. "The leaves we hand out each month are limited. But if you bring someone into the society, you get more.

"If you bring in a Qi Refining cultivator like you, with no Spirit Root, you get double the extra leaves!"

Sure enough, the sales tactics of pyramid schemes worked in the cultivation world too.

Most of the Corpse Sha Sect's disciples had three or fewer Spirit Roots. They were low-ranking disciples whose cultivation had long been painfully slow.

Once they tried a Blood Jade Leaf and experienced its benefits, they would inevitably grow addicted to the feeling and start frantically recruiting others.

After all, every cultivator dreamed of becoming an immortal and ancestor.

If there was a shortcut to make that dream come true, then even those who knew it was a trap would still fight tooth and nail to get in.

Fang Huai just didn't know what special use the Ascension Society had for cultivators without Spirit Roots.

He could clearly feel that the Corpse Sha Sect had been eroded to the brink of collapse. Perhaps before long, its foundations would begin to crumble.

Although he had fallen into a massive conspiracy, after Luo Heng had laid his cards on the table, Fang Huai's days in the Skinning Room improved considerably.

When assigning monsters, Luo Heng gave him ones that were easier to handle and full of vigorous qi and blood.

Whenever there was a dispute, regardless of who was right or wrong, Luo Heng unconditionally took Fang Huai's side.

The good times didn't last long. A few days later, Luo Heng stopped him again. "Tonight at the double hour of the pig, I'll bring you into the society."

Fang Huai narrowed his eyes. "Could I perhaps skip joining and just work as one of your field operatives?"

Luo Heng chuckled. He rested a hand on the monster bones atop the skinning table and applied a little pressure. The bones crumbled to dust.

"Meet at the eighth entrance to the southeast of Miasma Valley at the double hour of the pig. If you're not there, I guarantee you'll be lying on the skinning table tomorrow."

Luo Heng and Fang Huai quietly slipped into Miasma Valley under cover of night.

Wrapped in loose robes, they walked while watching their surroundings, afraid someone might be following them.

Fortunately, apart from the occasional fiendish Sha Corpse, all they encountered were low-tier monsters.

But as they ventured deeper into the valley, furtive shadows began appearing in what should have been Miasma Valley's deserted depths.

The shadows were headed to the same destination as the two of them: a bluestone beside a gloomy, withered tree in the middle of Miasma Valley.

"In a moment, don't say anything out of turn. Do exactly as I tell you," Luo Heng said sternly.

Fang Huai nodded. "I'll follow your lead, Senior Brother."

Luo Heng struck the boulder three times lightly, then five times hard. A sand vortex immediately appeared in front of it.

"Jump!"

Luo Heng spoke and jumped in without waiting for him.

Fang Huai hesitated, but when he saw the shadows behind them drawing closer, he sighed and jumped in after him.

It was his first time encountering a teleportation entrance made of sand. He had no experience to guide him.

The instant he stepped inside, a powerful sensation of spatial shearing swept over him. Countless grains of sand drilled into his mouth and nose, scraping him until he could barely stand it.

By the time he thought to seal his seven apertures, it was already too late. He might as well give up and let the sand pour in.

After about ten breaths, the vortex finally spat him out.

He looked around and realized he was in a dimly lit hall. At the same time, Luo Heng's grim voice rang out.

"Keep your head down. The Hall Master is coming!"