Chapter 18

Since its founding, the Profound Heart Sect had never had many disciples. Unlike other sects, it did not divide them into servants, outer disciples, inner disciples, and personal disciples. Each master simply sought out someone with the right affinity and talent, and none was eager to take on many. The entire sect had barely a dozen members, looking thin and rather pitiful beside other sects.

"Then what about the other elders in the sect?" From what Qi Zhuoyu had said, it sounded as though there were no elders apart from those of her master's generation. That was unusual for any sect, let alone an old, well-established one.

Qi Zhuoyu lowered his head and laughed. "That's how the Profound Heart Sect does things. No one can take a disciple before reaching the Deity Transformation Stage. Once their disciple reaches that stage, the master leaves the sect to travel the world."

Qiao Ranran: "..." This sect really was something. Why did everyone, from top to bottom, seem desperate to run away from home? "What stage are you at now, Senior Brother Qi?" So when Qi Zhuoyu reached the Deity Transformation Stage, would the Profound Heart Sect get a new leader?

"Early Nascent Soul."

"Then why aren't people allowed to take disciples before the Deity Transformation Stage?" In other small sects, cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage or Golden Core Stage took disciples. Even in larger sects, some allowed it at the Golden Core Stage, and others at the Nascent Soul Stage!

"Because in the beginning, the sect's elders didn't care about cultivation levels. They brought back anyone they took a liking to as a disciple. Before long, though, the disciples surpassed their masters. Things got rather awkward."

"..." Was that the real reason the Profound Heart Sect's elders ran away from home once their disciples reached the Deity Transformation Stage?

Qiao Ranran felt she had uncovered the truth.

"And this is the Profound Heart Gate." Qi Zhuoyu strolled through the sect with Qiao Ranran, pointing out its landmarks, including the gate for which the sect was named.

True to its name, the Profound Heart Gate was an immense jade gate standing halfway up the mountain. Sunlight refracted through it in clear, glassy colors, dazzling and beautiful. With clouds and mist winding around the mountain, Qiao Ranran could almost picture the Southern Heavenly Gate.

"Can I... touch it?" For some reason, she felt a little guilty about touching it without asking.

"Of course." Smiling, Qi Zhuoyu held out a Spirit Stone before the Profound Heart Gate. Qiao Ranran watched it vanish from his palm. "The Profound Heart Gate is easy to get along with."

Qiao Ranran: "..." What a fantastical world.

Oh, right. It was a fantastical world. There was nothing strange about the Profound Heart Gate having developed a spirit.

"The Profound Heart Gate doesn't have many interests. It just likes collecting Spirit Stones." It simply liked collecting them; whether they were low-grade or supreme-grade made no difference, so long as it got some.

Qiao Ranran: That's quite a hobby.

Unfortunately, she did not have even half a Spirit Stone to her name. Her martial uncles and aunts had given her welcome gifts, but none had thought about the fact that she was penniless.

The Profound Heart Gate was right there, but she would come back to win its favor once she had earned some Spirit Stones. A gate that shared the Profound Heart Sect's name had to be the biggest big shot in the sect.

"Senior Brother Qi, is there somewhere in the sect where I can take on tasks?" What she really wanted to ask was whether disciples received an allowance, but considering her cultivation and the Profound Heart Sect's unusual setup, she thought better of it.

"There is." Qi Zhuoyu smiled with narrowed eyes, looking good-natured. "But everyone in the Profound Heart Sect is used to handling their own affairs. Some don't like going out, of course, and sometimes it's inconvenient for them, so there aren't many tasks."

And when tasks did appear, the others snapped them all up. Should he tell everyone to save a few for his new junior sister? She did not seem to have much money.

"Uncle-Master Xi is obsessed with alchemy, so you probably won't see much of him. If you have any questions about cultivation, you can come to me. The other senior brothers can help too." As he spoke, Qi Zhuoyu handed her two more jade slips. Judging by the patterns engraved on them, they were Message Jade Slips—an extravagant gift. A message talisman was destroyed after one use, and a Communication Spirit Crane could take ages to fly a long distance. Message Jade Slips, however, could be used repeatedly regardless of distance.

They were useful, but expensive to make. Qi Zhuoyu's generosity made Qiao Ranran wonder if the Profound Heart Sect really was poor.

"Why are there two?" The engraved patterns differed slightly. Had someone asked Qi Zhuoyu to pass one along to her?

Qi Zhuoyu smiled. "One is my Message Jade Slip. The other is a little gadget your Senior Brother Zhou put together. It has a rather interesting use."

Qiao Ranran took it and fed spiritual energy into it. A jumble of voices discussing something burst from within, and she understood at once. Is this... a voice chat room?

She was suddenly intensely curious about Senior Brother Zhou. Anyone who had thought of something like this, made it, and gotten it to work was a genius!

As Qiao Ranran fed spiritual energy into the slip, the other senior brothers learned she had joined them, and the chatter instantly descended into chaos. Qiao Ranran calmly severed her connection to the Message Jade Slip. She had plenty of experience with this: when people got too noisy, she could just mute them. She could not mute anyone else, but she could mute herself.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Qi." After a moment's thought, Qiao Ranran took out a bottle of Hundred-Beast Pills and offered it to Qi Zhuoyu. "I don't have anything particularly good, and the pills I make are too low-level to be of much use to you. These are Hundred-Beast Pills. You can play around with them."

Qi Zhuoyu weighed the little medicine bottle in his hand, his smile turning gradually perverse—no, widening. "You're quite something, little junior sister, if you can hand out Hundred-Beast Pills just for fun." Without her noticing, he had gone from calling her Junior Sister Qiao to junior sister, and now to little junior sister.

Qi Zhuoyu was remarkably practiced at making himself familiar, doing it so smoothly she barely noticed. He was not wrong, either. Hundred-Beast Pills were not rare, but they were not something Qiao Ranran could casually give away. They were easy to make, but the finished pills did not sell for much, so alchemists had little reason to make them. Simply put, there was no profit in it, and hardly anyone bothered.

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