The Truth Behind It All

Looking at the token before him, Zhou Feng felt an unexpected sense of familiarity.

Xiong Dan seemed to have had a similar token on him as well.

If he carried this token, wouldn't that mean directly joining Zhao Wu's faction?

Through interrogating Xiong Dan, Zhou Feng had gained some understanding of the Inner Sect.

Compared to the Outer Sect, the Inner Sect not only had more people, but also more factions.

In order to compete for cultivation resources, many Inner Sect disciples chose to band together and formed all kinds of societies and organizations.

It seemed the area he was in was Flying Eagle Society territory.

Back then, Xiong Dan must have obtained this token as well and ultimately chosen to join the Flying Eagle Society.

Or perhaps everyone in this area who successfully achieved Qi Induction would join the Flying Eagle Society.

But Zhou Feng obviously could not join the Flying Eagle Society.

Everything he had done had been directly opposed to Zhao Wu. Though the two had never met—

Their enmity was already irreconcilable.

Wouldn't joining the Flying Eagle Society be like walking into a trap?

"I understand!"

Zhou Feng silently put away the badge and token.

It looks like I can only hide this token away, he silently calculated.

The Inner Sect! Zhou Feng had heard about this place so much over the past few months that his ears had nearly grown calluses.

Now, he was finally preparing to enter the Inner Sect.

The process of entering the Inner Sect was extremely simple. He only needed to pass through the checkpoint halfway up the mountain.

At the checkpoint, he only needed to present his badge to pass.

When he passed through the checkpoint, the guards gave him a surprised look upon seeing that he had no token.

Then they simply let him through without making things difficult for him.

"So this is the Inner Sect?"

After climbing a short flight of steps, Zhou Feng finally arrived at the Inner Sect.

Shock, puzzlement, surprise—every one of those emotions showed on his face.

The sight before him had completely exceeded his expectations.

There were clusters of ancient-style buildings everywhere, while people came and went along the streets. It looked just like an ancient town.

Having grown accustomed to the oppressive atmosphere of the Outer Sect, he could not help but feel his entire body relax at this sight.

This was the Inner Sect? The Inner Sect where competition was supposedly fierce?

It did not look like it at all! What was going on?

With those doubts in mind, Zhou Feng headed toward the center of town.

The sect's administrative office should be located at the town's center. Every Outer Sect disciple who came up had to report there.

Along the way, Zhou Feng discovered that many people in this town were only in the Body Tempering Realm.

There were even some who had not cultivated at all.

"Didn't they say the Inner Sect was brutal? This..."

Zhou Feng stared at everything in astonishment, while quite a few people also gathered around him with surprised looks.

"That guy seems to have come up from beneath the Gu Cultivation Den!"

"I think so! But why isn't anyone leading him?"

"Who knows? Shouldn't everyone who comes up from the Gu Cultivation Den have a token?"

"..."

Gu Cultivation Den? Didn't I rise up from the Outer Sect?

This was the Inner Sect? Why did it look more like a town? Where were all the Inner Sect disciples?

Was it because I had no token?

Countless questions surfaced in his mind. He needed an explanation.

Before long, he arrived at the administrative office in the center of town.

"You came up from the Outer Sect? Take out your badge and token!"

Zhou Feng presented his badge as instructed, but he did not take out the token.

"No token! Just the badge!"

The person at the administrative office gave him another astonished look.

"No token? Think carefully. Do you really not have one?"

"I really don't have a token!"

Of course, Zhou Feng could not take out the Flying Eagle Society's token. He did not want to clash head-on with Zhao Wu so soon.

Right now, he needed time to grow.

Having only just entered the Qi Induction Realm, he did not know any cultivation arts or techniques. He did not even possess basic common sense.

Under such circumstances, facing an Inner Sect disciple who was about to enter the Spirit Platform Realm—

He would have no chance of winning. He was not about to walk into a trap.

"Interesting! If you don't have one, then you don't have one. This is merely a mortal town under the sect's jurisdiction. Someone will lead you up the mountain later."

"There are quite a few others traveling with you. Wait here for a while!"

After briefly explaining things, the administrative office worker told Zhou Feng to wait to one side.

"I'd like to ask a few questions. Would that be alright?"

Zhou Feng directly took out a Blood Pill and placed it before the man.

The moment the administrative office worker saw the Blood Pill, his eyes lit up.

Afterward, Zhou Feng learned a great deal of information.

For instance, why the Outer Sect was called the Gu Cultivation Den.

What Outer Sect? The so-called Outer Sect was merely a nicer name. In reality, it was a Gu Cultivation Den.

What it cultivated was Flesh Gu!

Zhou Feng never could have imagined that the Flesh Gu he had personally fed before used Outer Sect disciples like them as its main source of feed.

That was right! He had heard correctly!

Although Flesh Gu could devour anything, if one wanted it to grow quickly—

The best feed was actually humans!

And cultivated humans at that. Among them, those at the ninth level of Body Tempering produced the best results.

What Outer Sect? What Outer Sect disciples? They were nothing more than feed.

The Outer Sect was a massive breeding ground, and every Outer Sect disciple was mobile feed.

Zhou Feng finally understood! Why did the people at the Hall of Receiving Merit always look at him as though he were already dead whenever he collected Blood Pills?

Why were there practically no cultivation arts available? Why was the Adamantine Great Strength Fist already considered the best cultivation method?

And why did the stationed disciples completely disregard Outer Sect disciples like them?

They always looked impatient.

"Right! Old Wan must know something!"

Zhou Feng suddenly came to a realization. Weren't Outer Sect disciples said to have only three years to cultivate?

Once those three years were up, the sect would reclaim them.

But Old Wan did not look young. Why had he been able to remain in the Outer Sect?

It turned out that this so-called three-year limit only applied to feed like Zhou Feng.

If they failed to break through to the Qi Induction Realm, they could only become feed.

How could Bloodthirsty Gu, which allowed people to casually break through to the ninth level of Body Tempering, be planted in just anyone?

All of this had only been to raise feed?

The things Zhou Feng had previously known that did not make sense now seemed to be explainable all at once.

Because every Outer Sect disciple lived inside a lie.

Why had Xiong Dan not returned to the Outer Sect to cause him trouble after breaking through and becoming an Inner Sect disciple?

Clearly, he did not want to return to a place as hellish as the Outer Sect.

All of it sent a chill down Zhou Feng's spine.

The true source of disciples for the Three Gu Sect was actually the various mortal towns built along the mountainside.

There were many such mortal towns, and they had lived under the Three Gu Sect's control for countless generations.

They were extremely familiar with Gu insects, possessed a certain foundation in cultivation, and also had a strong sense of identification with the Three Gu Sect.