Heavenly Mist Sect Revealed, Sorrowful and Melancholy

After a few breaths.

Seeking Dao Mountains.

Misttrace Valley.

Misttrace Valley was something Li Moqing had made up; it had never existed in the first place.

Following the system's guidance, Li Moqing finally found its exact location—about ten miles deep into the middle of the Seeking Dao Mountains.

"Whoosh!"

Li Moqing, Zhang Qingping, and Zhang Xingfeng landed, and a towering, magnificent Sect suddenly manifested before them.

Its width was too vast to take in at a glance; its height soared straight into the clouds!

And the three glittering golden characters upon the Sect's gate—Heavenly Mist Sect—proclaimed an even greater sacred majesty!

The three of them gazed up at the Heavenly Mist Sect, all of them dumbstruck.

Even though Li Moqing knew the system would not deceive him, he had never expected that the Sect manifested by the system would be so grandiose!

As expected of the system, it really is magnificent!

Li Moqing rejoiced inwardly.

"Th-This is the Sect? So breathtakingly vast?"

After a long while, Zhang Xingfeng finally came to his senses and let out an exclamation of wonder.

"Isn't this place near the Burial Sky Green Plains? When did it become Misttrace Valley?"

"I've been here before, and I never saw any Sect existing here?"

Zhang Qingping, however, wore a puzzled look.

"Didn't Master say the Sect is a secluded sect? Since it's a secluded sect, it's only natural that Father didn't discover it earlier."

"As for why it's called 'Misttrace Valley', perhaps that's just what the Sect calls it?"

Zhang Xingfeng gazed dazedly at the Heavenly Mist Sect and explained.

"Mhm, Xingfeng makes a fair point!"

Zhang Qingping nodded in agreement.

"The two of you, follow me into the sect!"

Without wasting words, Li Moqing walked toward the Sect.

"Understood, Sect Master Li!"

"Alright, Master!"

Heavenly Mist Sect.

Inside the Sect.

The moment Zhang Qingping and Zhang Xingfeng stepped through the Sect gates, they were left gaping, petrified on the spot!

Before them lay a gigantic plaza in the center of the Sect; if one were to traverse it purely on foot as a mortal, it would likely take several days!

To the east, south, and West of the Sect plaza stood countless pavilions.

Merely what the eye could reach numbered in the tens of thousands, let alone those hidden from view!

To the north of the Sect was a towering mountain wreathed in clouds and mist, holding mysteries within that the two of them could not even begin to imagine.

"Is this the Sect? It was already towering and grand on the outside, but the inside is even more luxurious and magnificent, a world of its own!"

Zhang Xingfeng snapped out of his petrifaction and exclaimed in wonder.

He turned his head, casting his gaze upon a stone tablet near the Sect entrance with a slightly stirred expression.

Upon the tablet were ten dim stars, flickering with a strange radiance.

This stone tablet was something every Sect possessed, a Trial Stele used to test Spiritual Wisdom.

"As expected of a secluded Sect—the Sect's scale likely surpasses Clearwind Town a hundredfold!"

Zhang Qingping also recovered his senses, yet felt a strange doubt: "Why is there no one else to be seen inside the Sect?"

Li Moqing smiled with an air of mystery: "The Sect lives in seclusion, and our disciples aren't very numerous. They have all gone out into the world to temper themselves."

"So that's how it is."

Zhang Qingping's brow smoothed out as he continued observing the Heavenly Mist Sect with curiosity.

"The two of you, follow me to the Reception Hall!"

With those words, Li Moqing walked toward a pavilion situated closer to the entrance.

Zhang Qingping and Zhang Xingfeng were merely mortals; the Sect was too vast, and they wouldn't be able to handle walking too far!

"Alright, Master!"

"Understood, Sect Master Li!"

Zhang Qingping withdrew his gaze, following closely behind Li Moqing and Zhang Xingfeng.

Reception Hall.

"Patriarch Zhang, although Xingfeng has already become my disciple, the rules cannot be neglected. This apprenticeship gift..."

Li Moqing sat upright on the main seat in the center of the hall, speaking with an imposing air.

"Understood!"

As the head of a clan, how could Zhang Qingping fail to understand the meaning behind Li Moqing's words?

Before Li Moqing could finish speaking, he produced thirty gold yuan, placed them into an exquisite cloth pouch, and handed it to Zhang Xingfeng, signaling him to step forward, kneel, and offer the tribute.

"Master is above, please accept your disciple's apprenticeship gift!"

Knowing what was expected of him, Zhang Xingfeng immediately dropped to his knees before Li Moqing, performed three kowtows, and offered up the pouch.

"Good, rise!"

Li Moqing accepted the pouch with an utterly placid expression and smiled.

He did not want this apprenticeship gift for the sake of Zhang Xingfeng's kowtows and prostrations, but rather for the gold yuan within it.

Gold yuan were a currency minted from special gold-stone ores, round in shape and uniform in size, circulating among both mortals and cultivators.

Grand though the sect appeared, Li Moqing himself was quite short on funds, left with a mere two gold yuan!

He urgently needed some gold yuan to take care of certain necessary matters.

"Understood, Master!"

Zhang Xingfeng rose as instructed.

"This sect favors seclusion. Before others discover the sect, you must not casually leak our existence to outsiders."

As Zhang Xingfeng stood up, Li Moqing solemnly admonished him.

Though the sect looked formidable on the surface, it was all an empty facade with no powerful disciples to guard it.

If word got out and greedy opportunists found out, it could spell disaster for the sect, so Li Moqing naturally had to tread very carefully.

"Understood, Master!"

"Understood, Sect Master Li!"

Zhang Xingfeng and Zhang Qingping replied with grave expressions.

"Xingfeng, your master needs to attend to some matters in Clearwind Town, so I will accompany your father back there for now."

"You wander around the sect and get yourself familiar with its affairs."

"If you get tired, stay in the first room of the first row of pavilions on the west side. That will be your quarters from now on."

Li Moqing stood up abruptly and instructed.

"Understood, Master!"

Hearing this, Zhang Qingping stood up as well, producing a communication talisman which he handed to Zhang Xingfeng: "Xingfeng, if anything happens in the sect or you have any needs, use this communication talisman to contact me!"

"Alright, Father!"

Zhang Xingfeng took the communication talisman.

Mhm, a Communication Talisman?

Li Moqing raised an eyebrow.

Communication Talismans were crafted by cultivators to contact one another, and they required Source Power to activate.

Normally, mortals possessed no Source Power and could not use them, but some cultivators would infuse a portion of their own Source Power into the Communication Talisman when crafting it.

This way, even mortals lacking Source Power could use it to communicate.

Only, as the number of uses increased, the Source Power within the Communication Talisman grew weaker and weaker.

Until finally, once it was completely exhausted, the Communication Talisman would become nothing more than a scrap of paper.

Without batting an eye, Li Moqing watched Zhang Xingfeng tuck the Communication Talisman into his robes, an idea for earning Gold Yuan forming in his mind.

"Sect Master Li, let's go!"

At that moment, Zhang Qingping interrupted Li Moqing's thoughts with an invitation.

"Alright!"

Two hours later, dusk had fallen.

Heavenly Mist Sect.

Inside the Sect.

The setting sun cast its rays across the Heavenly Mist Sect, making the empty expanse feel all the more desolate.

A solitary golden figure sat atop the high platform in the Heavenly Mist Sect's plaza, head lowered.

The slanting rays of the sun drew his shadow out long, adding a touch of melancholy to the scene.

"Xingfeng, what are you doing sitting here?"

Having returned to the Sect, Li Moqing looked at Zhang Xingfeng upon the high platform and asked in puzzlement.

"Master, you're back. What did you go to Clearwind Town to do?"

Without answering him, Zhang Xingfeng raised his head and asked in return, his expression rather gloomy.