Several breaths later.
Seeking Dao Mountains.
Misttrace Valley.
Misttrace Valley was a name Li Moqing had made up. It had never existed before.
Only by following the system's guidance had Li Moqing found its precise location—some ten li deep in the central Seeking Dao Mountains.
Whoosh!
Li Moqing, Zhang Qingping, and Zhang Xingfeng landed. A magnificent Sect appeared before them.
Its breadth defied the eye; its height pierced the clouds!
And the three gleaming golden characters above its entrance—Heavenly Mist Sect—radiated sacred majesty!
The three of them stared up at Heavenly Mist Sect, dumbstruck.
Even though Li Moqing knew the system would not deceive him, he had never imagined the Sect it created would be so grand!
As expected of the system. It certainly knows how to make an impression!
Li Moqing rejoiced inwardly.
"Th-this is the Sect? It's breathtaking!"
It took Zhang Xingfeng a long while to recover enough to exclaim.
"Isn't this near the Burial Sky Green Plains? When did it become Misttrace Valley?"
"I've been here before, and I never saw a Sect."
Zhang Qingping looked puzzled.
"Master said this is a hidden Sect. Since it's hidden, it's only natural Father never discovered it."
"As for why it's called 'Misttrace Valley,' perhaps that's simply what the Sect calls this place?"
Zhang Xingfeng gazed at Heavenly Mist Sect in a daze as he explained.
"Mm, Xingfeng has a point!"
Zhang Qingping nodded in agreement.
"Come inside with me, both of you!"
Without another word, Li Moqing headed toward the Sect.
"Yes, Sect Master Li!"
"Yes, Master!"
Heavenly Mist Sect.
Inside the Sect.
The moment Zhang Qingping and Zhang Xingfeng entered, their jaws dropped, and they froze where they stood!
At the center lay a vast Sect square. On foot, an ordinary person would probably need several days to cross it!
Countless pavilions stood to the east, south, and west of the square.
Tens of thousands lay within sight alone, to say nothing of those beyond view!
To the north rose a mountain wreathed in clouds and mist. Neither of them could begin to imagine the mysteries hidden within.
"So this is the Sect? It was magnificent from outside, but inside it's even grander—a whole world unto itself!"
Zhang Xingfeng came out of his stupor and marveled.
He turned toward a stone stele near the entrance, his expression shifting.
Ten dim stars on the stele glimmered with an eerie light.
This was the Trial Stele found in every Sect, used to test Spiritual Wisdom.
"As expected of a hidden Sect. It must be a hundred times larger than Clearwind Town!"
Zhang Qingping recovered too, then frowned. "But why is there no one else here?"
Li Moqing gave an enigmatic chuckle. "Our Sect keeps itself hidden and has few members. They've all gone out to train."
"I see."
Zhang Qingping's brow relaxed, and he continued surveying Heavenly Mist Sect with curiosity.
"Follow me to the Reception Hall!"
With that, Li Moqing headed toward a pavilion near the entrance.
Zhang Qingping and Zhang Xingfeng were only ordinary men. The Sect was so vast that walking too far would exhaust them!
"Yes, Master!"
"Yes, Sect Master Li!"
Zhang Qingping drew his gaze back and followed close behind Li Moqing and Zhang Xingfeng.
Reception Hall.
"Clan Head Zhang, although Xingfeng has become my disciple, we can't dispense with formalities. The apprenticeship gift..."
Li Moqing sat upright in the great chair at the center of the hall and spoke solemnly.
"Of course!"
As the head of a clan, how could Zhang Qingping fail to understand his meaning?
Before Li Moqing could finish, he took out thirty Gold Yuan, placed them in an exquisite cloth pouch, and handed it to Zhang Xingfeng, signaling him to kneel and present the gift.
"Master, please accept your disciple's apprenticeship gift!"
Zhang Xingfeng understood at once. He knelt before Li Moqing, kowtowed three times, then offered the pouch.
"Good. You may rise!"
Li Moqing accepted the pouch without betraying a flicker of emotion and smiled.
He had asked for an apprenticeship gift not because he wanted Zhang Xingfeng to kneel and kowtow, but because he wanted the Gold Yuan.
Gold Yuan was currency minted from a special mineral, shaped into uniformly sized round coins and accepted by ordinary people and cultivators alike.
For all the Sect's splendor, Li Moqing had nearly empty pockets. He had only two Gold Yuan left!
He urgently needed more to take care of certain necessities.
"Yes, Master!"
Zhang Xingfeng rose as instructed.
"Our Sect prefers to remain hidden. Until others discover it, you must not casually reveal its existence."
As Zhang Xingfeng stood, Li Moqing gave this warning with particular gravity.
The Sect looked powerful, but it was only a magnificent shell, with no strong members to protect it.
If word spread and reached the wrong ears, the Sect might be wiped out. Li Moqing could not afford to be careless.
"Yes, Master!"
"Yes, Sect Master Li!"
Zhang Xingfeng and Zhang Qingping answered solemnly.
"Xingfeng, I need to attend to some business in Clearwind Town, so I'll return there with your father for now."
"Walk around and familiarize yourself with the Sect."
"If you get tired, stay in the first pavilion of the first row to the west. From now on, it's yours."
Li Moqing rose abruptly and gave his instructions.
"Yes, Master!"
Zhang Qingping stood and handed Zhang Xingfeng a Communication Talisman. "Xingfeng, if anything happens in the Sect, or if you need something, use this to contact me!"
"Yes, Father!"
Zhang Xingfeng accepted the Communication Talisman.
A Communication Talisman?
Li Moqing raised an eyebrow.
Communication Talismans were made by cultivators to contact one another and required Source Power to activate.
Ordinary people could not use them without Source Power, but some cultivators infused part of their own Source Power into the talisman when making it.
That allowed even ordinary people without Source Power to use it to communicate.
But with each use, the Source Power inside the Communication Talisman weakened.
Once it vanished entirely, the talisman became a worthless scrap of paper.
Li Moqing watched impassively as Zhang Xingfeng tucked the Communication Talisman into his robes. An idea for earning Gold Yuan took shape in his mind.
"Sect Master Li, shall we go?"
Zhang Qingping interrupted Li Moqing's thoughts with the invitation.
"Let's go!"
Two hours later, dusk had fallen.
Heavenly Mist Sect.
Inside the Sect.
The setting sun spilled across Heavenly Mist Sect, lending its empty grounds an air of loneliness.
A figure in gold sat on a raised platform in the Sect square, head bowed.
The slanting sunlight stretched his shadow long, deepening his forlorn appearance.
"Xingfeng, what are you doing sitting here?"
Li Moqing had returned to the Sect. Seeing Zhang Xingfeng on the platform, he asked in confusion.
"Master, you're back. What did you go to Clearwind Town for?"
Zhang Xingfeng did not answer. He looked up and asked a question of his own, his expression subdued.
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