Sect

Anyang Commandery, inside the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Chen Chong got down from the carriage. The carriage had been made in a very special way: Its walls consisted of double layers of hardwood sandwiching iron plates, its floor was covered with thick cotton padding and leather, its wheels were wrapped in iron, and its axle was made of refined steel.

All the way from Pingyang City to Anyang Commandery, over several hundred li of official roads, he had barely felt any jolting. Even when they crossed gravel roads, all he heard was the rustling sound of the wheels grinding over the stones. The carriage swayed faintly, like a steady boat gliding over water.

This left Chen Chong feeling immensely amazed.

The Anyang Commandery branch of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was even more intricate. Only after coming outside did Chen Chong realize that he was still some distance from the pavilion's storefront.

Courtyards were nested within courtyards, corridors linked to corridors, and the doors twisted and turned around one another like a maze. He followed a servant for quite some time before finally exiting through a side door.

They were at the edge of the Commandery City, surrounded by low residential houses and several deserted alleys.

In the distance, the walls of the inner city stood silhouetted in the dusk like a gray mountain ridge.

Chen Chong got out of the carriage and headed toward the city center.

The Welcome Inn in the Commandery City was even more grand and magnificent.

The three-story building had upturned eaves and curling corners, black-lacquered corridor pillars, and a row of large red lanterns hanging beneath the eaves. They illuminated the stone steps before the entrance until they shone brightly.

After entering, a warm fragrance rushed over him. Purple sandalwood tables and chairs filled the main hall, famous calligraphy and paintings hung on the walls, and thick carpets covered the floor. Stepping onto them made the soles of his feet sink softly.

Several guests in silk robes sat in the hall drinking tea and conversing in low voices. The beautiful attendants made Chen Chong think he had walked into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

A woman came forward to greet him. She was in her twenties, tall and slender, wearing a light-pink cross-collared robe. Its neckline opened just enough to reveal a stretch of fair, clean neck. Her hair was arranged in a Falling Horse Bun, with a diancui hairpin tucked into it that swayed gently as she walked.

She bowed slightly and asked in a soft, sweet voice, "Sir, may I ask if you'd like to check in?"

Her voice was like a feather lightly brushing across his eardrum. Chen Chong's mind wavered, and the Profound Abyss Dragon-Tiger True Canon began circulating on its own. A warm force rose from his dantian and flowed once through his meridians, instantly dispersing that strange sensation.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

What a marvelous technique. The woman's voice carried a force resembling bewitchment. It was not strong, but it was enough to make an ordinary person lose his composure.

Chen Chong nodded.

The attendant began her introduction. There was nothing different from other inns: upper rooms, middle rooms, and lower rooms, charged by the day, with discounts for monthly stays. Food and drink were calculated separately.

But toward the end of her explanation, he learned that several luxurious room types could only be opened with a sect token.

Chen Chong could not help feeling a flicker of novelty. Money alone was not enough; one also needed status.

He rented an upper room. The furnishings inside were newer, and the room was slightly larger. The bed was new, the quilts soft and fluffy, and a pot of orchid grass sat on the windowsill. Several flowers were in bloom, filling the room with a faint fragrance.

Chen Chong set down his bundle and sat beside the bed for a while. Then he went out, intending to take a look around the streets.

Although he had arrived here, he actually knew very little about the Commandery City. He had originally planned to rely on alchemy to find a place to settle down, but now it seemed he needed to learn more first.

Chen Chong strolled along the street. The crowds hurried past, carrying a little more haste and purpose than those in Pingyang City. Everyone walked quickly, staring straight ahead, shoulders slightly hunched, as if something were pushing them onward.

There were an abundance of shops along the way: silk merchants, jewelry stores, medicine shops, blacksmiths, carriage and horse firms, pawnshops, restaurants, and teahouses, packed densely along both sides of the street.

Shop flags overlapped layer upon layer, while signs came in all sizes. Some were lacquered in gold, some outlined in red, some hung as plaques, and some stood as banners.

Chen Chong discovered that most of the larger shops had been established by sects. A tiny "Yun" character was carved beside the silk shop's signboard, marking it as an industry of the Yunjin Sect. A small sword was carved into the jewelry shop's pillars, the mark of the Sword Sect. Behind the medicine shop's counter hung a wooden plaque bearing the three characters "Qingnang Sect."

Sects. Chen Chong gained a new understanding of that word.

Inside the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Chen Chong inquired at the shop. To his surprise, selling pills here required a certain qualification guarantee—namely, joining one of the so-called sects. No matter how good a common alchemist's pills were, without a sect's endorsement, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion would not accept them.

The female receptionist explained politely but firmly, "That is the Commandery City's rule. The circulation of pills involves all sorts of interests. With a sect providing the guarantee, someone can be found if anything goes wrong."

Chen Chong began probing the shop for information about the various factions and their circumstances.

The female receptionist was patient enough and explained everything one by one. Chen Chong gradually learned that the factions had basically already passed their period for recruiting disciples.

Every year, in spring and autumn, the various sects opened their gates to accept disciples. Once those few days passed, they stopped taking people in.

As for entering a faction and becoming an elder or something similar, the larger factions were out of the question entirely. Their elders were all direct descendants raised from childhood or famous experts invited from outside.

After making some inquiries, Chen Chong learned that with Bone-Forging Stage strength, he might have a chance only with certain small sects.

Only those small sects with a few dozen members, occupying one or two streets, would recruit Bone-Forging Stage experts as attendants or elders. Chen Chong learned that the Hundred Treasures Pavilion also handled this kind of business, acting as a go-between and introducing people to sects.

Bone-Forging Stage, alchemist. Chen Chong roughly revealed his information.

The female receptionist's eyes brightened slightly. A Bone-Forging Stage alchemist was a rare commodity even in the Commandery City. She asked Chen Chong to wait a moment, then turned and entered the inner hall.

A moment later, a middle-aged man came out. He was in his forties, with a square face and thick brows, and wore an indigo brocade robe with a jade belt around his waist. He sized Chen Chong up, then clasped his hands and said, "I am the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's external affairs manager. My surname is Zhou. I hear that you, Mister Chen, are a Bone-Forging Stage alchemist?"

Chen Chong nodded.

Manager Zhou smiled and led Chen Chong toward the inner hall. "Mister Chen, you came at an opportune time. Several sects happen to be recruiting attendants lately, and two of them are urgently seeking alchemists. One is the Xuanyao Sect in the south of the city. They specialize in the pill trade; their scale is not large, but their foundation is solid. The other is the Pure Wind Sword Sect in the east of the city. They established themselves through swordsmanship and lack an alchemist capable of refining Mind-Stabilizing Pills. If you are interested, I can introduce you."

Chen Chong did not answer immediately. He merely asked several questions about the sects' rules, the attendant's treatment, and the obligations involved. Manager Zhou answered each one clearly and systematically.

After listening, Chen Chong nodded and said he would consider it for two days. Manager Zhou did not press him. He gave Chen Chong a calling card and told him to come to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion whenever he had made up his mind.

When Chen Chong left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, the dusk had already deepened. The lanterns along the street lit up one by one, illuminating the entire street until it was bright as day. Chen Chong walked among the crowd at an unhurried pace.

A Bone-Forging Stage alchemist could enter a small sect as an attendant in the Commandery City.

This status was stronger than being a deputy manager in Dingshan County. But an attendant was still working for someone else, with no fundamental difference from before. He touched the knife at his waist, and the saber intent of Ravine-Returning Profound Severance quivered faintly in his palm.

First, settle down. The rest can wait.