Zhao Lan's Gift

At the foot of Gu Refining Peak, one could only be considered on the outskirts. It was where menial disciples and various workshops were located.

Only official disciples who had passed the tests could enter the true Gu Refining Peak.

Likewise, official disciples were divided into ranks. The gap between ordinary disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples was like a galaxy standing between them—impossible to cross.

Just as disciples could only move about on the mountainside of Gu Refining Peak, there was also a main hall here, where certain core figures would occasionally come to expound the Dao to the disciples.

As for the summit, only inner disciples and official disciples were permitted to set foot there.

Though Pang Tong and Zhao Lan were ordinary disciples, they also served as stewards of their respective halls. Their status was therefore a notch higher, and many ordinary disciples had once worked under them.

Some were grateful to them, while others hated them, but here, no one dared provoke them.

After all, their ninth level of Qi Refinement cultivation was their greatest backing.

"Old Zhao, get out here and give my brother an official disciple's token!"

Upon arriving at a side hall on the mountainside, Zhao Lan shouted without the slightest courtesy. Before long, a bleary-eyed old man slowly emerged from behind a stone pillar. The instant he saw Zhao Lan and Pang Tong, he burst into curses.

"Are you two trying to get yourselves killed? Fuck, newly inducted disciples will naturally have someone take them to collect their things. What are you doing coming to me? That stuff was handed out long ago."

The old man pointed at Zhao Lan and shouted. What kind of place was this?

The Artifact Storage Hall. Though tokens and such were issued from here, who would dare come here and directly demand things from him?

Bai Yu studied the old man. The patterns on his black robes showed that he was likely the steward here.

Judging by the way the three acted, they seemed quite familiar with one another.

"Pah. Who doesn't know that the things handed out are all new, and low-quality to boot?"

"I won't waste words with you. Bring out something good, or tomorrow I'll expose the kickbacks you've been taking."

Zhao Lan said coldly, his voice low.

"Kickbacks?"

At those words, the old man's eyes flew wide open.

"Among the eighty-one halls of Gu Refining Peak, am I the only one taking kickbacks?"

"You, Zhao Lan, don't take any? You, Pang Tong, don't take any?"

"Come on, keep pretending here."

"Hehe, I've got people above me!"

"So do I!"

Hearing Zhao Mingzhu's questioning, Pang Tong and Zhao Lan chuckled and replied disdainfully.

"You fuckers..."

Zhao Mingzhu's eyes bulged, and he nearly passed out from rage.

He shot Bai Yu an irritated look, then walked behind the main hall. Not long after, he returned with a set of three dark uniforms and a crystal-clear token.

Bai Yu nodded and accepted the clothes and token. At the same time, the information on his menial disciple token was directly erased and reprinted onto the new token.

"Bai Yu, official disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect."

"There's more."

"I fucking know!"

Zhao Mingzhu rolled his eyes at Pang Tong, then took out a black ring and a bronze coffin...

"This token is proof of your identity. It is also linked to the sect's soul jade, so when you go out to gain experience, it can tell whether you're dead or alive. Your usual contribution points are stored in the token as well. No one but you can use them."

"If you unfortunately die, the contribution points inside will be voided."

"That's a spatial ring, and one of the benefits for ordinary disciples. It's not large, but twenty cubic meters is enough to hold quite a few things."

"Pang Tong, bullshit! Ordinary disciples only get high-grade storage pouches. Who gets rings? I'm giving it to this kid because I see he's a fine-looking talent!"

As Pang Tong explained, Zhao Mingzhu's tiger eyes widened and he shouted loudly.

What he got in return, however, were the two men's eye-rolls.

"Thank you for your gift, Senior Brother Zhao."

"I know about all those things, but this coffin..."

Naturally, Bai Yu would not be as unreasonable as the two of them. From Zhao Mingzhu's words, a spatial ring was something that might or might not be given after one entered the sect; it depended entirely on Zhao Mingzhu's mood.

But what was this bronze coffin?

A magical artifact?

"Hehe, Junior Brother Bai, all that earlier stuff was just appetizers. This is the grand gift I'm giving you."

At that, Zhao Lan gave a sinister smile.

"Look, Gu Refining Peak has over thirty thousand official disciples. There are plenty of houses around, but don't you find it strange that we've encountered so few people along the way?"

Zhao Lan's reminder made Bai Yu frown. Indeed, along the way, they had seemed to see hardly any official disciples.

"There are residences in the mountains, but for people like us, they aren't private enough!"

"Gu Refining Peak takes gu refinement as its path."

"And gu are the essence of heaven and earth. What we must do is combine all manner of materials and restore them to their original forms."

"Beyond the gu recorded in the texts, what gu masters should do is create!"

"Like your Centipede Gu—it is the crystallization of our predecessors' painstaking efforts, but we must also create gu of our own!"

"We must refine the formidable gu recorded in the texts. At the same time, after cultivating our techniques, we must create gu that belong to ourselves and walk our own paths."

"That is why a concealed environment is necessary."

"This bronze coffin is actually a small pocket realm. Only by living inside it will you have enough security and energy to walk your own path."

Zhao Lan spoke slowly.

Though small pocket realms were not exactly rare, they were still extremely expensive within the sect. Unless one had been a disciple for a long time, there was no chance of coming into contact with one.

Clearly, although Zhao Lan was somewhat cold, he possessed a forthrightness that none of the others had.

"Hahahaha, listen to you. Junior Brother will encounter such things sooner or later. Don't go talking so deeply—you might scare him."

"Only cultivators who possess their own pocket realms can be considered true cultivators. Otherwise, you have to brave wind and dew while worrying about others peeping at you. How unpleasant."

"Also, you can think of our cultivation as being like a cavalryman!"

"You should know that raising a cavalryman in an army is difficult. And for every mature cavalryman, there must be at least many horses and soldiers around to support him!"

"Our cultivation is the same. In the future, you'll need more attendants, furnace vessels, and slaves serving you alone. As your numbers grow, you can't possibly bring them all to live in the mountains, can you? Even if Gu Refining Peak were bigger, it still wouldn't have room for everyone."

"But if you have a pocket realm, you can bring them with you at any time, and they can serve you every moment of every day."

"Understand?"

Compared to Zhao Lan, Pang Tong was cruder, but the meaning behind his words was easier to understand.

In short, this pocket realm was a place for him to live, a treasured ground for keeping attendants, furnace vessels, slaves, and refining gu.

Hearing the two of them, Bai Yu nodded.

"Thank you both for your generous favor, Senior Brothers."

"Hm? Brat, aren't you going to thank this old man too?"

Bai Yu: ...

"And thank you as well for your care, Senior Brother Zhao!"

As the sun sank westward, Bai Yu slowly arrived at the mountain gate. He saw Yu Linglong clutching a bundle as she looked around in every direction, her eyes brimming with anxiety. The golden sunlight seemed to cast a filter over her.

"Perhaps it's time to try awakening the Heavenly Fox bloodline within her."

Looking at the bronze coffin in his hand, Bai Yu murmured silently.