A Face Full of Sympathy

The Three Gu Sect had established a disciple training system long ago.

Countless mortal towns dotted the Gu Mountain range, and these towns were the foundation of the Three Gu Sect.

Nearly every one of these towns had a martial arts school specifically meant to train genuine Outer Sect disciples.

These Outer Sect disciples would not have Gu insects planted within their bodies.

Instead, they would wait until they had successfully drawn in qi and entered the Inner Sect before receiving their Gu insects.

Moreover, the Gu insects planted in them would be of better quality.

The Three Gu Sect's ability to stand firm was definitely not maintained through martial force alone.

After hearing all this, Zhou Feng fell somewhat silent.

People like him, who had clawed their way up from the Gu Cultivation Den, had been planted with Gu insects of far too poor a quality.

That would limit their potential.

But that was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that he had not joined any small group.

That meant he could not accept many sect missions.

Especially missions that earned spirit stones; they had long since been divided up among the various small groups.

As they chatted, the clerk asked another question.

"Do you really not have a token? It won't be easy to get by alone in the Inner Sect!"

"No! Thank you for clearing things up!"

Zhou Feng still insisted that he did not.

The man did not press the matter further.

After waiting for a while, Zhou Feng headed toward the Inner Sect with a group of people.

"That over there is the Myriad Gu Tower! You few will go there later to have Gu planted!"

"Beside it are the Scripture Repository, the Hall of Receiving Merit, and the Hall of Transmitted Skills!"

"Besides those, there's the Pill Tower, Artifact Tower, and more. You'll learn about them later!"

"Oh, right! A notice will come down shortly about which elder you'll be joining. You'll be informed then!"

After entering the Inner Sect, the treatment was completely different from that of the Outer Sect.

They were immediately assigned someone to guide them and explain various matters.

The person explaining things to them was named Zhao Yang. Throughout the entire time, he only paid attention to the first two among them.

He showed little interest in the others.

Still, he nodded at them in greeting, because they all had tokens from the Flying Eagle Society.

Zhou Feng, on the other hand, was subtly excluded because he had nothing.

He did not care much about that. He was already used to being alone.

What concerned him more was how he should proceed from here.

Could the Gu insects inside his body be removed?

"Once you officially become an Inner Sect disciple, you'll have one chance to choose a cultivation method! You'll also be qualified to exchange for various medicinal pills and magical artifacts!"

Zhou Feng's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing that.

To be honest, cultivation methods were what he craved most right now.

There was no helping it. His lack of cultivation knowledge was truly frightening.

Zhou Feng desperately wanted to understand how to cultivate, as well as all the various matters related to cultivation.

"If you have time, it's best to read more books on the first floor of the Scripture Repository and learn about the surrounding forces!"

"Things haven't been very peaceful lately! The White Bone Monastery and the Five Ghosts Sect have been quite restless!"

In the end, Zhao Yang still gave them a piece of advice.

After waiting a while, the results of which elder they would join came down as well.

Everyone in their group except Zhou Feng was assigned to the Second Elder.

As for Zhou Feng, he was assigned to the Grand Elder.

It should be mentioned that the Three Gu Sect had a total of nine elders. The Grand Elder through the Fifth Elder all belonged to the Bloodthirsty Gu lineage.

The Sixth Elder through the Ninth Elder belonged to the Five Poisons Gu lineage.

Each elder occupied a mountain peak within the Gu Mountain range.

They were currently on the main peak. Soon, someone would take them to their respective peaks.

"The Grand Elder?"

When they heard that Zhou Feng had joined the Grand Elder's lineage, expressions of sympathy immediately appeared on everyone's faces.

Zhou Feng's brows furrowed slightly at the sight.

Although he had guessed that there was probably some problem with the Grand Elder's lineage.

He had no choice but to follow them to Bitter Bamboo Peak, where the Grand Elder resided.

Bitter Bamboo Peak was the mountain peak where the Grand Elder of the Three Gu Sect lived.

Why had those people looked so sympathetic when they heard Zhou Feng had been assigned to Bitter Bamboo Peak?

Because the Grand Elder living on Bitter Bamboo Peak was famously obsessed with ascetic cultivation. Every disciple who joined Bitter Bamboo Peak had to become an ascetic cultivator just like the Grand Elder.

That meant that aside from cultivation, you could not enjoy anything else at all.

Every year, the Grand Elder would personally assess all his disciples.

Those who failed the assessment would be eaten.

Eaten in the literal sense, and in front of the other disciples at that.

Normally, no one would choose to join the Grand Elder's lineage. After all, most newly promoted Inner Sect disciples had already decided which elder they would join.

Only people like Zhou Feng, who had crawled up from the Gu Cultivation Den, would be assigned to the Grand Elder's lineage.

Besides that, the other elders would also send some disciples to Bitter Bamboo Peak.

Because the Grand Elder had declared that Bitter Bamboo Peak had to receive at least a hundred new disciples every year.

Aside from being an ascetic cultivator, the Grand Elder was also a battle-crazed madman. The other elders simply did not want to face that lunatic.

So they could only send some scapegoats to Bitter Bamboo Peak.

After arriving at Bitter Bamboo Peak, a muscular man came down from the mountain to receive Zhou Feng.

"Huh? There's only one person this time?"

"Junior Brother! Come with me! I'm your Senior Disciple Brother!"

Wang Ming stuck out his tongue and licked his upper lip, strands of saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.

His expression made it seem as though he regarded Zhou Feng as a delicious meal.

It sent an involuntary chill down one's spine.

Seeing Wang Ming like this, Zhou Feng's eyelid twitched slightly.

That especially undisguised look made him extremely uncomfortable.

No wonder those people had looked so sympathetic when they heard he had been assigned to the Grand Elder's lineage.

What kind of people were these?!

On the way up the mountain, Zhou Feng walked ahead while Wang Ming, who had come to receive him, kept following behind him, drooling all over the ground.

The feeling of having a thorn in his back nearly made him attack.

Even more terrifyingly, everyone else they encountered along the way also looked like starving wretches.

When they saw him, this newcomer, their eyes lit up as well.

Before long, Senior Disciple Brother Wang Ming brought him to his residence.

"The cultivation method we practice on Bitter Bamboo Peak is the Demon Devouring Art! These are the first three levels. Once you cultivate further, you can ask Master for the rest!"

"And this is a bottle of Origin Blood Pills, personally given to you by your Senior Disciple Brother! Remember to cultivate well!"

Senior Disciple Brother Wang Ming swallowed, took out a bottle of Origin Blood Pills, and placed it on the table.

He looked like a wolf telling a sheep to eat well.

After saying that, Wang Ming did not linger long before leaving.

But the look in his eyes before he left made it seem as though he wanted to swallow Zhou Feng whole.

"What is going on? The people on this mountain..."

Zhou Feng frowned deeply, goosebumps rising all over his body. No matter how he looked at it, it all felt incredibly strange.