Joining the Sect

Entering the Sect

The morning sun broke, casting myriad strands of rosy light like golden gauze among the rolling mountains.

In the mountain forest, the chirping of a hundred birds sounded the prelude to early morning, and thin mists lingered like light gauze upon the branches, dreamlike and illusory.

Inside a thatched cottage atop one of the hills amid the mountains, Dong Lin slowly climbed up from a pile of straw, his movements sluggish and heavy as though every joint ached faintly. This was already his second day since coming to this place.

Recalling yesterday, Dong Lin still felt lingering fear. Having just soul-traveled from the Blue Planet into this person, a freezing demonic wind had howled like an evil ghost, the bone-chilling cold piercing straight to his marrow and instantly making his soul feel as though it were being stabbed by countless ice needles, nearly scattering his consciousness. He only felt his vision go black before passing out.

In a daze, someone had wrapped him up and sped all the way, finally bringing him here. After laying him down, that person had hurried away, leaving only a blurry figure to vanish into the darkness.

At that time, Dong Lin's mind was as muddled as if it were filled with lead, and every step he took felt as though he were using up all his strength.

He dragged his heavy steps into this thatched cottage, collapsed headlong onto the straw pile, and fell into a deep sleep.

Waking up again, it was already morning. Dong Lin rubbed his aching head and slowly walked out of the thatched cottage.

He raised his eyes to look, seeing that this place was situated on a small hill surrounded by mountains on all sides, like layer upon layer of verdant barriers.

In the distance, pure white cranes traveled freely among the clouds and mist, at times spreading their wings to fly high and at other times circling lightly. Their elegant posture complemented the dreamlike mountain forest like a breathtaking painting, truly an exceptional place for seclusion.

However, for Dong Lin who had inexplicably transmigrated here, this picturesque scenery could not dispel the bewilderment and confusion in his heart.

He was originally an ordinary university student. Just as he was preparing to take a nap in his dorm, a sudden wave of intense fatigue washed over him, as if an invisible hand were pulling him away from the real world, and the next moment his soul transmigrated to this place.

Even though he had rested for some ten hours, Dong Lin still felt intermittent sharp pains in his mind, and the psychological trauma suffered yesterday had not fully recovered. His gaze was filled with confusion; he did not know why he had come here, nor who had saved him from that demonic wind.

What troubled him even more was that after his soul transmigrated over, he seemed not to have inherited the memories of this body's original owner, leaving a complete blank in his mind.

A strong urge to go down the mountain welled up in Dong Lin's heart. He wanted to figure out where he was and how to return to his original world.

However, when he tried to walk down the mountain, he found that this hill was surrounded by an invisible force.

Faint, transparent barriers encircled the surroundings, refracting faint light under the illumination of the sunlight.

Curiously, Dong Lin raised his right hand and slowly extended it toward this barrier.

The moment his fingernail touched the edge of the barrier, a tingling sensation similar to a static electricity discharge spread instantly through his whole body, and he abruptly yanked his hand back.

Is this an immortal cultivation world? Dong Lin secretly surmised, a trace of doubt and anticipation revealing itself in his gaze.

After about half an hour, two black dots appeared in the distant horizon. The black dots grew larger and larger; it turned out to be two people riding cranes flying toward the hill where Dong Lin was located.

The white cranes possessed graceful postures, their huge wings spreading out and glittering with silver-white light under the shine of the sun.

In the blink of an eye, the white cranes flew above the hill. The two people leaped lightly from midair, their forms as light as feathers, and slowly landed on the hilltop.

One of them held a jade slip in his hand, stepped forward, and spoke to Dong Lin with a solemn expression, "Dong Lin, son of the deacon Dong Xiaotian, your parents died in battle for the sect within the Myriad Demon Cave."

"The sect remembers their loyalty and sacrifice, and specially recruits you as an outer sect disciple of our Profound Dao Celestial Sect." His voice was deep and resonant, every word seeming to carry a solemn power.

The other person wore a gentle expression and said to Dong Lin, "Please accept our condolences, and please go to the outer sect administrative office within three days to process your sect admission procedures."

"To commend your father's merit, one thousand contribution points will be specially issued to you."

"After you obtain your sect identity token, the contribution points will be deposited onto your token."

"After going down the mountain, follow this mountain path to the end, and you will see the outer sect main hall."

"Thank you both." Dong Lin reached out and took the identity token.

Before Dong Lin could ask anything further, the two people drove the white cranes to soar into the air, quickly vanishing into the horizon.

Dong Lin took a deep breath, trying hard to calm his inner panic and confusion.

He came to the vicinity of the transparent barrier once again, hesitated for a moment, and slowly extended a foot.

This time there was no hindrance, and Dong Lin stepped right out.

This transparent barrier had disappeared on its own after those two people left.

Dong Lin walked down the hill in the direction pointed out by the two men.

Along the way, hunger struck continuously like a tide, making his steps grow heavier and heavier.

He saw trees by the roadside bearing fruit, and without caring whether they were poisonous or not, he reached out and picked two, swallowing them into his stomach in just a few bites.

The fruit on the mountain was indeed quite extraordinary; shortly after eating it, Dong Lin felt much more energetic.

After traversing several small hills along the mountain path, an expansive, otherworldly immortal sect came into Dong Lin's view.

Mountain ranges overlapped and verdure stretched endlessly, resembling a winding, dormant green dragon.

A vast, flat expanse of mountain land sat within it, and tens of thousands of pavilions and towers were distributed in an orderly fashion across this stone terrain. These pavilions and towers varied in style; some were archaic and elegant, others magnificent and spectacular, with flying eaves, bucket arches, and carved beams and painted pillars, fully displaying the grand style of immortals.

Walking down from the mountain path, the ground beneath Dong Lin's feet was extremely smooth and even. It was by no means naturally formed, but seemed to be a massive expanse of flat stone created by directly shearing an entire mountain in half.

In the distance, a towering and magnificent palace stood proudly. The glazed tiles on the roof flashed with golden light under the shine of the sun, and the two giant stone pillars in front of the palace were carved with exquisite coiled-dragon patterns, so lifelike they seemed ready to soar into the sky at any moment. This must be the outer sect main hall of this sect.

The outermost layer of the architectural complex was a bustling commercial street.

All kinds of merchants gathered here, their peddling cries rising one after another in a lively and bustling scene.

On both sides of the road, towers stood in rows, and taverns and teahouses could be seen everywhere. Disciples of the sect set up stalls by the roadside, displaying their goods—there were magical treasures emitting bizarre light, elixirs with an appetizing fragrance, and all sorts of rare spiritual herbs, attracting the attention of passing pedestrians.

Dong Lin passed through the architectural complex and arrived at the foot of the main hall.

After presenting the token, a sect disciple came out and led Dong Lin to the administrative office.

Dong Lin followed this disciple into a side hall.

The hall was spacious and bright. An elderly man with white hair walked slowly out from the depths of the hall, looking at Dong Lin with a benevolent gaze, and asked, "You must be Deacon Dong's son, right?"

Dong Lin nodded and said, "I am Deacon Dong's son, Dong Lin, notified to come and handle the admission matters. I wonder who you are?"

Xuan Qing looked at Dong Lin before him, his aged face full of profound grief as he let out a heavy sigh, his voice carrying a trace of hoarseness:

"I am Xuan Qing, head steward of Outer Sect Division Two. Xiao Tian... has fallen in battle just like that. Hearing the dreadful news, my heart aches as if being torn apart."

"Originally, given your parents' cultivation levels and caution in this operation, they should not have met such an end. Who could have foreseen that a faction of unknown forces would suddenly slaughter their way in, and even collude in secret with that Heavenly Music King? This whole affair reeks of strangeness everywhere; there must have been an internal traitor leaking information. Truly hateful!"

He paused, the gaze he cast upon Dong Lin gaining a few parts of pity and solemnity as he reached out to gently pat the young man's shoulder:

"Your father Xiao Tian was the solid backbone of our Outer Sect Division Two, and this old man has always held him in high regard. From now on, in the sect, should you encounter even the slightest difficulty, feel free to come find this old man."

Dong Lin originally had no shred of memory regarding the biological parents of this body, yet looking at this white-haired elder with a grief-stricken face, his chest inexplicably sank, the tip of his nose grew slightly sore, and an indescribable sorrow inexplicably welled up.

A moment later, the administrative staff handed Dong Lin's disciple token over to him.

"Your dwelling is at Xuan Division Two Three Nine Seven Two. That was your father's residence, and now it belongs to you. I will take you there."

"In view of your own strength, I can only arrange the identity of an outer sect disciple for you. But because your father's cultivation chamber is in the inner sect, you will enjoy inner sect disciple treatment from now on. This is what I specially applied for from the sect to compensate for your father."

"Follow me." Xuan Qing led Dong Lin out of the main hall.

Dong Lin was lifted up by a ball of clouds following Xuan Qing. Dong Lin felt a trace of wonder, which was promptly replaced by tension from the gradually increasing height. Fortunately, this cloud and mist seemed to have the effect of stabilizing one's posture, preventing Dong Lin from being blown over by the high-altitude gales due to an unstable center of gravity.

Good thing I'm not afraid of heights, Dong Lin muttered quietly.

Xuan Qing drove the cloud to shuttle between mountain ranges, a sea of clouds roiling beneath his feet.

Though curious about the cloud beneath his feet, Dong Lin did not dare to move around carelessly.

After crossing the mountains, piercing through the clouds and mist that obstructed the view in the air, and ascending to midair, they arrived at the location of the Profound Dao Celestial Sect's inner sect.

Dong Lin raised his eyes to look. A massive palace, like a mythological Heavenly Court, spanned across the high heavens.