Gaining a Cave Dwelling on Cangyun Island

The Jade Court Mountain Range stood lofty and vast, its territory boundless—thousands of peaks vied in splendor, ten thousand streams converged in flow, one range enclosing heaven and earth.

Within it ran a great river, mighty and surging, as though it had poured down from the depths of the clouds and mists beyond the Ninth Heaven. It cleaved through gorges and valleys, winding for a thousand li. It was the Heavenly Melody River.

The river held many islets, large and small, scattered like fallen stars from its middle reaches onward.

At this time, though it was only the hour of the rabbit, an island's shore was already densely crowded with many Demon Race Spirit Monsters.

There were greenfish spirits over a zhang long, their jade-green scales like armor; turtle demons as large as millstones, their shells thick and heavy; Carp Foals covered in crimson-gold scales, their dorsal fins rising like horse manes; and toads as large as reclining oxen, with crisscrossing "bumps" on their backs forming tiny "sedan seats"... too many to count.

Yet at this moment, all these Demon Race Spirit Monsters had gathered along the shore, their eyes bright and intent. Whenever they glanced at the other Spirit Monsters around them, competition gleamed in their eyes.

Before long, a bell seemed to ring out amid the boundless mountains. Then, in the distant sky, a patch of azure cloud appeared.

An old man carefully rode the cloud over with a teenage youth.

But upon reaching the riverbank, the cloud abruptly stopped and no longer moved.

The old man cautiously guided the azure cloud down toward the shore, but before it could touch the ground, the Spirit Monsters in the river were already chattering noisily.

"Old sir, old sir, are you going to Cangyun Island? Ride me, ride me! I've lived in this river since I was little and have carried a thousand duty workers. I'm fast and steady, and I only charge half a Spirit Stone! If you choose me, monthly bookings will be even cheaper afterward!"

"Pah! You fool, you've only been coming to Cangyun Island for half a year, and you dare charge half a Spirit Stone!"

"Old sir, you're getting on in years. Ride my toad water sedan—it'll be nice and steady!"

The toad water demon and the greenfish spirit hurried up to the shore and began promoting themselves.

"Kree!"

At that moment, numerous spirit cranes rose into the air amid the boundless forest. Accompanied by many azure clouds, they carried crowds of humans in from afar.

Most of the spirit cranes and azure clouds bore two people, one old and one young, or sometimes three, but nearly all included a youth not yet of age.

With so many people, the place naturally became noisy, yet it also brought a different kind of vitality, lending the desolate mountain forest a few more traces of human life.

Lu Xuan, suspended in the sky, took all of this in.

He could not help sighing. "The Immortal Cult values life. Nothing could be more fitting than this."

Beside Lu Xuan stood a youth with thick brows and large eyes, dressed in fitted clothes. He looked more like a martial man than a cultivator. Hearing this, he immediately smiled. "Senior Brother speaks truly. Our Immortal Cult delights in human presence and values all living beings. That is why such a scene exists."

"Besides us instructors entering the Bureau, Cangyun Island is also holding a recruitment for duty workers. Those admitted may enter the Sea-Calming Bureau, whether preparing culinary meals, recording spirit registers, raising spirit silkworms... Though the work is somewhat arduous, they can receive a stable spirit salary. So long as they make no mistakes, they can work until their lifespan ends. If they do well, they may even be promoted to oversee a spirit hall."

"That is why so many have come today. Across the waters of the Heavenly Melody River lies a loosely governed dangerous land, teeming with Demon Race Spirit Monsters. To prevent ordinary people from wandering in by mistake, ordinary azure clouds of the sect are forbidden from crossing the river."

"To enter the river and reach the island, one can only hire these river Spirit Monsters and ride them over."

Lu Xuan nodded. Looking at the expectant youths and the somewhat worried elders below, he felt deeply moved.

To sustain the operation of an Immortal Cult required an immensely vast framework.

Clothing, food, lodging, travel, Spirit Stones, pills, dharma artifacts, even the construction of cave dwellings, spirit timber, bricks, and tiles—the daily expenditure was an astronomical figure.

Many sects forged spirit treasures and puppets to replace manpower and complete enormous quantities of tedious work.

But the Heaven-Gazing Sect forged many low-grade dharma artifacts, then recruited Embryonic Breath Realm cultivators and ordinary people, eventually gathering them into a giant wheel of teeth to support the Immortal Cult's operations.

After the Sea-Calming Bureau had been established, aside from Qi Refining cultivators needed to slay demons, the Culinary Hall, weaving, demon butchering, and all manner of other tasks required people to carry them out.

Qi Refining cultivators had no time for such matters, so they could only recruit more Embryonic Breath Realm cultivators and ordinary people.

"The conversion to the Golden Armor Jade Body is not taking place here?"

After watching the river's bustle from afar for some time, Lu Xuan seemed to recall something and asked the youth beside him.

"The Golden Armor Jade Soldiers must complete their conversion on Kunyu Island. After receiving their techniques, they will come to Cangyun Island for instruction together with us, then proceed with us to the Sea-Calming Bureau."

The youth answered with a smile.

"I see."

"It is getting late, Junior Brother Zhang. Let us enter the island first."

After watching a while longer, Lu Xuan spoke to the youth beside him.

This Junior Brother Zhang was named Zhang Xuange. He had been a classmate of Lu Xuan's former self, though they had not been particularly close in ordinary times. Today, Lu Xuan had happened to encounter him on the road while riding his cloud to Cangyun Island, so the two had naturally joined company.

Though the two had not been familiar before, they would both be instructing on Cangyun Island for the coming year, and afterward they would travel together to the East Sea. Naturally, they needed to become better acquainted.

"Senior Brother, please!"

Zhang Xuange smiled and gestured for Lu Xuan to go first.

Lu Xuan did not stand on ceremony. His Cloud Qi transformed into a streak of light, like a blazing morning sun, crossing the Heavenly Melody River toward Cangyun Island.

Zhang Xuange followed close behind, his Cloud Qi like a long rainbow, seeming to rumble as it flew.

The qi he had gathered was precisely the Four Seasons Qi that Lu Xuan's former self had desired but failed to obtain. It was now high summer, and its nature was fierce and overbearing, like a rainbow piercing the sun.

The many Embryonic Breath Realm cultivators in the Heavenly Melody River also saw the two brilliant streams of Cloud Qi. At once, they all lowered their heads, envy shining in their eyes.

Cangyun Island held a low mountain called Qiuding Mountain. Bamboo forests covered its slopes, lush and verdant, concealing a stretch of connected halls within.

The mountain was guarded, and none but inner sect disciples were permitted entry.

Lu Xuan and Zhang Xuange turned their Cloud Qi into light, crossed the great river, and flew straight into the bamboo forest, stopping before a hall roofed in green tiles.

The hall's name was simple and clear: Instruction Hall.

A duty worker had long been waiting before the hall. Seeing Lu Xuan and Zhang Xuange, he hurriedly came forward.

"Greetings, two Mystics!"

"I am a duty worker of this hall. By the Instruction Decree, I am responsible for all miscellaneous matters regarding this session's cave dwellings, dharma robes, and the like."

"Would the two Mystics like to select cave dwellings first, or enter the hall to wait and choose after today's instruction gathering concludes?"

Coming to Cangyun Island was not merely for receiving instruction in techniques. It was also preparation for entering the Sea-Calming Bureau a year later, as well as the time to receive the benefits allotted to inner sect disciples.

As for the "instruction gathering" mentioned by the duty worker, it was an assembly held upon first arriving on the island. Everyone would get acquainted, learn the island's rules, then settle in individually. Only tomorrow would the true teaching of techniques and exposition of the Dao begin.

"How many people are receiving instruction on the island this session? How many cave dwellings are there? How many remain?"

Lu Xuan asked.

The duty worker respectfully replied, "In response to Mystic, eight people have entered the island for instruction this session. There are twelve cave dwellings, all constructed according to the attributes of the Mystics' True Qi. Ten remain at present for the Mystics to choose from."

Lu Xuan nodded slightly, then asked, "Is there a map of the cave dwellings?"

While there were still many cave dwellings available, he intended to choose a place to stay first before entering the instruction gathering.

"The map is here. Please make your selection, Mystic!"

The duty worker respectfully produced a golden map and muttered an incantation. The entire Cangyun Island was then projected into the air, with golden light flowing across it to reveal the positions of all twelve cave dwellings.

Some of the cave dwellings lay exposed upon mountain cliffs, where one could see the stars and moon; some faced east, where one could behold the great sun; others enjoyed clear breezes and could overlook the vast river; still others stood amid light and shadow, planted with peach blossoms, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms for all four seasons... Each was different, corresponding to one of the Heaven-Gazing Sect's six attributes.

"Senior Brother, it seems your Great Sun attribute already has a fellow student. I wonder which senior brother it is?"

Zhang Xuange pointed at the map and smiled.

Among the twelve cave dwellings, the one that faced due east and could behold the great sun was conspicuously dim in golden light, signifying that it had already been chosen.

"The sect is filled with geniuses like clouds. It is hardly strange for another to gather the Great Sun."

Lu Xuan smiled faintly.

Yet he was somewhat curious, and a desire to contend rose in his heart.

Among the seventy-three kinds of True Qi, heroes under heaven were truly as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river.

His Dawn Radiance True Qi was certainly mysterious, but it was no more than one type of True Qi. Forget the Heaven-Gazing Sect—even whether he could stand out on Cangyun Island was uncertain.

But... only a world like this was interesting!