Profound Heart Sect

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Background

The Profound Heart Sect is little known and has declined from what is rumored to be an exceptionally powerful heritage. Qiao Ranran becomes interested in it partly because its cultivators reconsidered bringing the Clear Feather Sect under their banner after observing that sect’s conduct 3 9.

In Qiao’s previous life, a Profound Heart cultivator went to Clear Feather Sect seeking the person he was destined to teach. Qiao was confined to Reflection Cliff, so he did not find her 14. In her new life, Xi Lingge brings her directly to the Profound Heart Sect, where she completes the Immortal Ascension Road and becomes his disciple 13 17.

Membership and Customs

• Size and ranks: The sect has barely a dozen members and does not divide disciples into servant, outer, inner, or personal ranks. Masters select students individually for affinity and talent 18.
• Requirements for masters: A cultivator must reach the Deity Transformation Stage before taking a disciple. Once that disciple reaches the same stage, the master leaves to travel. The rule arose after earlier disciples surpassed the masters who had accepted them 18.
• Apprenticeship: Disciples receive an engraved jade token and light a Soul Lamp. Formal kneeling is unnecessary; a greeting suffices 17.
• Daily life: Members generally manage their own affairs and seldom disturb one another without need. Qi Zhuoyu handles the sect’s day-to-day business on behalf of Ji Qingming 18 46.

Landmarks and Resources

• Immortal Ascension Road — The mountain path tests entrants with intense pressure and shifting gravity. Qiao’s climb takes ten days, during which the sect provides her meals and her cultivation rises from the first to the third layer of Qi Refining 14 16 17.
• Profound Heart Sect Stele — Left by the Founding Ancestor, it contains a trace of Daoist Truth that those with sufficient affinity or talent may comprehend. It leaves an imprint on Qiao’s soul 14.
• Profound Heart Gate — An immense, spirit-aware jade gate halfway up the mountain that collects Spirit Stones regardless of grade 18.
• Book Repository — Anyone may enter, but reading a book requires overcoming the restrictions or unusual conditions placed on it. Its holdings include methods for cultivating the Divine Soul and Primordial Spirit 32.
• Task board — Rarely used: the sect has few tasks or resources, and members increasingly arrange matters through communication jade slips instead 18 19.

Notable Members

• Ji Qingming — Sect leader and Qi Zhuoyu’s master. He is injured, prompting Xi Lingge’s long-running search for a treatment 17.
• Xi Lingge — Qiao Ranran’s master and an alchemist researching the Nine Cauldron Pill for Ji Qingming. He is protective of Qiao but often disappears into seclusion 17 46.
• Qi Zhuoyu — Ji Qingming’s disciple and the sect’s prospective next leader. He welcomes Qiao, shows her around, and provides communication jade slips 17 18 46.
• Zhou Lukang — A disciple of Duan Qiankun who crafts array discs, talismans, and other items. He also trades for fellow disciples and made a jade slip that carries group voice conversations 18 19.
• Nie Gui — Described as the sect’s strongest remaining fighter; he brings the injured Pei Ling to the sect and becomes his master 21 26.
• Qiao Ranran — A medicine cultivator accepted by Xi Lingge. Her spellwork, alchemy, and ability to light her own Soul Lamp attract attention despite her low cultivation 13 17.
• Pei Ling — Joins after finding the sect on his own and approaching the stele at the foot of the Immortal Ascension Road. He becomes Nie Gui’s disciple 30.

Economy and Communication

• The sect has few formal tasks or reward systems. Members instead rely on their own skills and contacts; Zhou Lukang helps sell Qiao’s pills and trade for supplies 19 20.
• Qi Zhuoyu distributes reusable Message Jade Slips. One of Zhou’s versions lets sect members speak in a shared conversation, largely replacing the task board for routine arrangements 18 19.
• At Qiao’s apprenticeship ceremony, other cultivators give welcome gifts. Xi Lingge warns her to take payment when supplying them or their disciples with pills 17.