The Wrong Way to Open It

Inside the Flying Dragon Ship's cabin, Lu Ye looked around to his left and right. When he came back to himself, he found Old Man Tang already seated on the meditation cushion.

He hurried over and sat upright before Old Man Tang.

Fate could be quite marvelous sometimes. They had met in the mine cave, and Lu Ye had never imagined he would join the sect Old Man Tang belonged to. But no matter what, from this day onward, he had somewhere to belong in this world. A thread of warmth flowed through his heart at the thought.

Choosing the Crimson Blood Sect had been a helpless decision, but if this was the sect Old Man Tang belonged to, then it was not entirely unacceptable.

"This old man is Tang Yifeng," Old Man Tang said. "The Crimson Blood Sect's Tenth Generation Sect Master."

Lu Ye froze slightly.

Though he did not know much about the Cultivation World, he understood what a Sect Master was.

He had previously guessed that Old Man Tang held no low position in the Crimson Blood Sect, but he had never imagined that the man before him was actually its Sect Master.

He hurriedly bowed. "This disciple greets the Sect Master."

Tang Yifeng nodded. "Although I have accepted you into the sect today, a country has its laws and a sect has its rules. At present, you cannot yet be considered an Official Disciple, only a probationary disciple. You must pass certain assessments before you can truly enter the sect. I will not speak of the assessments for now. Once we return to the sect, you will naturally learn of them. Besides, with your current cultivation, it is still far too early for you to undergo those assessments."

Lu Ye listened attentively and replied, "This disciple understands."

Back then, those mine slaves had also needed to undergo assessments if they wished to join Evil Moon Valley, so Old Man Tang's words did not surprise him.

It was not just him. Those people selected by the various major sects earlier could not yet be considered Official Disciples either. Every sect had its own assessments, using them to screen disciples for temperament, character, and all manner of other qualities. Only after passing those assessments could one truly enter the sect.

"The Crimson Blood Sect is located on Ao Mountain in Soldier Province. It was founded a thousand years ago and has trained sixty-three thousand, six hundred and sixty-two disciples. Among them, the total number in the Divine Sea Realm is..."

As Tang Yifeng spoke, a scroll of the sect's history slowly unfurled before Lu Ye's eyes, giving him a most basic understanding of the Crimson Blood Sect.

For now, he did not understand what those numbers represented. Only after he learned more in the future would he realize just how weighty those figures were.

After a while, Tang Yifeng looked at Lu Ye. "If there is anything you wish to know, feel free to ask this old man."

Lu Ye asked a question that had left him deeply curious. "Sect Master, when Evil Moon Valley was attacked this time, why didn't we see any of our Crimson Blood Sect senior brothers and sisters?"

When Old Man Tang had come to find him earlier, he had not noticed anything unusual. But once he learned that Old Man Tang was actually the Crimson Blood Sect's Sect Master, he immediately realized there was a problem.

The Crimson Blood Sect... seemed to have sent Old Man Tang alone. Otherwise, Old Man Tang would not have been the one to come looking for him. A matter like welcoming new disciples could be handed to any disciple at all. Why would it require the Sect Master to personally step forward?

"Ahem..." Tang Yifeng coughed into his fist. "Well, it's like this. Our Crimson Blood Sect does not have many people."

Lu Ye understood. "In other words, we are short on talent, and the sect is in decline."

Thinking about it, that made sense. A Ninth-Rank Sect was the lowest tier of sect in the Nine Provinces Cultivation World. Recruiting disciples probably was not easy. Take the mine slaves rescued this time—out of more than a hundred people, Lu Ye alone had chosen the Crimson Blood Sect, and that was only after Pang Dahai's advice.

"When you put it that way... you are not wrong." Tang Yifeng sounded somewhat helpless.

"Then, Sect Master, how many people are in the sect now?"

Tang Yifeng said, "Ask another question."

"Huh?"

"Don't you have any questions about cultivation?"

"I do!" Lu Ye hurriedly nodded. "This disciple's first aperture is now full, but when I try to open the second aperture, I can never find its location. I ask the Sect Master for guidance."

Tang Yifeng nodded faintly. "At the beginning of cultivation, it is indeed easy to encounter this problem. However, if you wish to open your second aperture, you must first have a suitable cultivation art."

"I have a cultivation art." As Lu Ye said this, he began loosening his clothes. Under Tang Yifeng's astonished gaze, he took out the second Storage Bag that he had kept hidden against his body.

This was Steward Yang's Storage Bag. When Lu Ye had decided to leave the Dark Path, he had hidden it close to his body. There were many good things inside, and he had been afraid others would set their eyes on it.

Now that he had joined the Crimson Blood Sect and the Sect Master was right before him, there was no need to hide it any longer.

Tang Yifeng looked at the Storage Bag at Lu Ye's waist, then at the second Storage Bag he had taken out. How could he not understand what had happened?

This boy had killed more than one person from Evil Moon Valley in that mine tunnel!

"Little rascal," Tang Yifeng commented.

Lu Ye gave an awkward laugh. He took a book from Steward Yang's Storage Bag and handed it to Tang Yifeng. "This Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art was collected by a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley. May this disciple cultivate it?"

"If it is a cultivation art, then naturally you may cultivate it. What are you worried about?" Tang Yifeng accepted it and opened it.

"This is, after all, a cultivation art practiced by an Evil Moon Valley disciple. This disciple worries that it might be some kind of wicked art..." Lu Ye stopped halfway through.

Some strange sounds had suddenly come from Tang Yifeng's direction. In the silent cabin, they sounded exceptionally grating.

Lu Ye's eye twitched.

Tang Yifeng, however, was reading with animated delight.

The sounds became increasingly boisterous—soft moans rising and falling, swelling and ebbing, accompanied by some strange dialogue.

If anyone unaware of the truth heard it, they would likely think someone in this cabin was engaged in some shameful business.

Unable to hold back any longer, Lu Ye leaned half his body forward and looked at the book in Tang Yifeng's hands.

Tang Yifeng was channeling Spiritual Power into the book, and the originally stiff figures painted upon its pages had come alive as though they were real. The sounds Lu Ye heard were coming from that very book.

Only then did he realize that he had taken out the wrong thing.

There were three books in Steward Yang's Storage Bag in total. One was Biography of the Sword Saint, one was Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art, and the last was the one currently in Tang Yifeng's hands. He had grabbed one at random just now, never expecting to pull out this thing instead.

When he had looked through it before, he had only felt that its illustrations were extraordinarily exquisite, the figures upon its pages lifelike enough to seem real. But he had never imagined the book possessed such a wondrous function.

Had he been opening it the wrong way before?

Lu Ye was utterly dumbfounded!

While Lu Ye was still stunned, Tang Yifeng had already snapped the reading material shut. The images and sounds vanished at once.

Their eyes met. Lu Ye said, "Sect Master, this book..."

Tang Yifeng wore a solemn expression. "This is an art of dual cultivation. It does have some worthwhile aspects, but you are still young and should not come into contact with it too early."

"No, Sect Master, this does not belong to me. It is war booty I seized from an Evil Moon Valley disciple," Lu Ye hurriedly explained.

Tang Yifeng nodded. "That is good, then. You are still young, so this old man will keep this item for you for now. When you are a little older, I will return it to you."

For some reason, Lu Ye found those words strangely familiar...

Tang Yifeng had already put away that marvelous reading material. Lu Ye had not seen a Storage Bag on him, and had no idea where he had stored it.