Fuli Heaven, Cloudsea Hanging Mountain, the Duo'e Sect.
Wreaths of mist drifted between jade steps and exquisite terraces, while rare flowers and wondrous herbs adorned the sweeping, interlocking eaves. In the distance, overlapping peaks lay shrouded in hazy immortal light.
Now and then, cultivators riding Dharmic Treasures or spirit beasts streaked through the clouds as streams of light. It was a magnificent immortal realm, untouched by the slightest trace of worldly dust.
Anyone entering this place for the first time would have been spellbound, convinced they had arrived in an immortal paradise.
Chu Mo, however, did not agree.
The summit of an immortal peak had been sliced off, leaving a broad, level clearing.
Chu Mo stood in the clearing with a group of strangers in assorted clothes, waiting for the initiation ceremony with mixed feelings. Gazing straight ahead, he silently wondered:
Is this really a respectable sect?
"Come forward and register your names in this Disciple Registry, and you shall become disciples of the Duwe Sect. From this day onward, you may tread the immortal path and seek eternal life through the Dao."
The speaker stood with his hands behind his back, his wide sleeves patterned with clouds and accented with ink-dark flourishes. Every word carried an air of immortal grace. He looked down at the differently dressed figures below, a gentle smile on his lips.
A stir rippled through the crowd, but no one dared step forward first. Chu Mo shrank back slightly. He had no intention of being the bird that stuck its head out.
Just then, a man in splendid robes summoned his courage and pointed a trembling finger at the "Disciple Registry." "Immortal Master, I-"
"Excellent. Those who cultivate immortality should possess such courage. Since you have volunteered, junior brother, you may register first."
Approval crossed the blue-robed man's face. Looking at the splendidly dressed man who had spoken, he smiled. "My name is Jiang Yunya. You may simply call me Senior Brother Jiang."
"No, I wasn't-" Cut off, the splendidly dressed man flushed bright red.
Following the direction of his finger, Chu Mo looked at the so-called "Disciple Registry"—a long, black banner shimmering with eerie light.
Its surface was neither cloth nor silk, densely etched with bizarre, blood-colored markings. It breathed out ominous black mist, with layers of human silhouettes faintly shifting within, utterly at odds with the immortal scenery around it.
Chu Mo swallowed. For a fleeting instant, he seemed to see terrifying ghostly faces peering through the banner at the crowd with greed and malice in their eyes. His scalp immediately prickled.
Despite the broad daylight, waves of cold coursed through his body.
Why does this "Disciple Registry" look so much like the Myriad Souls Banner from novels in my previous life?! he cursed inwardly. Have I stumbled into some demonic sect?
At that thought, Chu Mo's handsome face turned somewhat pale.
He was not originally from this world. One day in his previous life, while he was playing games at home, a heavy truck had plowed straight inside.
Chu Mo had no idea how the truck had made it to the second floor. In any case, when he opened his eyes again, he had transmigrated into a world resembling ancient times.
After finally managing to adjust to life there, he had been sent here with a large group of people, to this immortal sect called the Duo'e Sect.
He had thought he would soon ride a sword upon the wind. Now, however, something seemed very wrong...
"Do not misunderstand, junior brother." Jiang Yunya's smile deepened, his gentle voice interrupting Chu Mo's thoughts.
"Our sect's roster is a projection of a supreme True-Form Dharma Treasure called the [Darkworld Grotto-Scenery Banner]. Only a Spirit Transformation Dao Lord may wield its true form."
Looking down at the crowd, Jiang Yunya reached out and gently stroked the banner's surface.
"Junior brothers, the path of immortal cultivation is strewn with dangers and hardships. You contend with others and with heaven itself. Battles for supremacy and unexpected disasters are commonplace. If you perish one day, a century of bitter cultivation goes flowing down the river. Would that not be a pity?"
"Out of compassion for its disciples, our sect poured its heart and blood into refining this Dharmic Treasure. Leave your names upon this banner, and even if misfortune befalls you and your fleshly bodies perish, a spark of your true spirit will remain undimmed.
With this precious banner protecting you, you may turn to soul cultivation. Escape the suffering of reincarnation and continue along the great Dao of eternal life! Keep conquering the heavens for our Duwe Sect!"
"This is an immense grace the sect bestows upon its disciples. Freed from all worries about the future, you may devote yourselves wholly to the Dao."
Fuck, it really is a Myriad Souls Banner! Chu Mo's heart went half cold.
Pretty words aside, wasn't it essentially a Myriad Souls Banner from the novels of his previous life? What respectable sect used something like this as its Disciple Registry?
Even in the storybooks down in the mortal world, this thing was standard equipment for demonic cultivators.
Panic filled Chu Mo. Even putting aside whether he could escape Jiang Yunya, who wore his smile like a tiger hiding its fangs, Cloudsea Hanging Mountain floated at some unknown height in the sky. There was nowhere to run.
"Register quickly, junior brother. Do not disappoint the sect's good intentions."
The eerie light lent Jiang Yunya a sinister cast as he pointed at the splendidly dressed man. "It would not do to delay the proceedings."
Everyone around the man immediately retreated, leaving him alone at the front. He wanted to cry but had no tears, bitterly regretting having stepped forward.
Yet sensing the faint threat emanating from Jiang Yunya, he could only grit his teeth, steel himself, and approach.
"Wooo... wooo..."
Chu Mo stared fixedly at the splendidly dressed man as the previously faint wailing grew louder and louder.
Suddenly, a hideous, pitch-black head thrust out of the banner and bit down on the man's hand.
He cried out in pain. Bright red blood flowed from his wound into the banner, shifting several times before forming two tiny characters-[Wang Quan].
"I... I'm all right!" Wang Quan hastily felt himself all over. Discovering that he was still alive, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yunya waved him aside, then slowly swept his gaze across the crowd. Their hearts trembled, and they hurried forward, not daring to hesitate any longer.
As for resisting Jiang Yunya? They had seen him reduce a man-sized boulder to powder with a flick of his finger. Resisting him would be no different from seeking death.
Chu Mo watched everyone step forward one by one to leave their names on that "Myriad Souls Banner," as though lining up to collect their deaths. A jumble of emotions churned inside him.
In the end, he could only imitate those before him and offer his finger to the hideous ghost head.
A sharp pain struck, and an icy current swept through Chu Mo's body in an instant. His hands and feet turned cold, as though something had been taken away.
Before he could examine what he had lost, Jiang Yunya's voice reached his ears. "Next."
I'll just have to take it one step at a time, Chu Mo told himself as he moved aside.
His gaze flickered, and he glanced above Jiang Yunya's head, where a string of yellow symbols floated.
[Level 7 · Duo'e Sect foot soldier]
Beneath the symbols were two long bars, one red and one blue, followed respectively by the unusual symbols [100%] and [87%].
Once registration was complete, Jiang Yunya summoned someone to lead Chu Mo and the other new disciples to their lodgings.
Watching the black-robed figure leading the way, Chu Mo rubbed his arms and shivered. The temperature seemed to have dropped considerably along the route.
"This courtyard will be your lodging. Choose your own rooms." The black-robed figure stopped, pushed open a courtyard gate, and pointed toward several rooms.
Then, with a flick of a finger, several streaks of light landed in their hands.
Chu Mo looked down. He held a bamboo scroll bearing the title "Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method" and something folded from yellow paper into the shape of a copper coin.
The yellow-paper coin was round with a square hole, with "Duo" and "E" inscribed on its left and right sides. Its texture was fine and smooth. It did not feel like paper, but rather like a piece of yellow jade.
"This is called a Spell Coin. It is the currency used within the sect and a resource for cultivation. This 'Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method' teaches you to gather and ingest qi. Study it diligently, and do not disappoint the sect's generosity."
The black-robed figure spoke with their back turned, their flat voice carrying a peculiar, sinister chill.
"Shao Ling thanks you, senior brother," said a poised young woman to the left, dressed in a pale purple gown. "May I ask your name, senior brother?"
"Senior brother? Heh." The black-robed figure chuckled coldly, malice gleaming in their eyes.
"Only after condensing your first wisp of true qi and entering the Qi Refining First Layer will you qualify as a Servant Disciple. You can call me senior brother then.
"Besides, you have only thirty days. If you fail to refine true qi within thirty days..."
Before the words had finished, Chu Mo saw the figure's head abruptly twist a hundred and eighty degrees. Their neck stretched more than ten feet, bringing their deathly pale face right before his eyes!
"Heh... then enter the banner and switch to the Soul Path! Try not to die before your thirty days are up!"
Icy breath washed over his face, the pale features starkly clear. Chu Mo froze, his heart nearly stopping. Only after the black-robed figure withdrew their head and floated away could he breathe again.
The words [Level 3 · Weak Yin Spirit (yellow name)] floated above the figure's head.
Chu Mo withdrew his gaze and glanced at his new neighbors. Shao Ling had yet to recover from the fright, while Wang Quan's expression shifted uncertainly, his thoughts unreadable.
The yellow names [Level 0 · Duo'e Sect reserve foot soldier] and the health bars beneath them stood out conspicuously above their heads.
He offered a casual greeting, then, without caring whether anyone heard, found a room and pushed the door open.
The room was extremely plain. Aside from a bed, a table, a chair, and a meditation cushion in the corner, there was nothing else.
What a shabby place. A shame about that grand house I painstakingly saved up for in the mortal world. Who knows who'll get that bargain now?
With that rueful thought, Chu Mo pulled out the chair, sat down, and unrolled the bamboo scroll. "So this is a legendary immortal cultivation method?"
As he recalled everything that had happened since he entered the sect, his eyes shifted through astonishment, worry, fear... before all those emotions finally became a burning eagerness.
Thinking of the cultivators' many wondrous powers, Chu Mo eagerly began to read.
"When primal chaos parts, heaven and earth grow clear; within the mystery, yin and yang appear. To seek long life, commune with the mystic female; gather the supreme essence through the heavenly circuit.
"To gather qi is to steal the essence of heaven and earth before their division, cleansing the body's filthy dregs of yin..."
An incense stick's worth of time later, Chu Mo's expression was grave. The farther he read, the more difficult and obscure the text became. Its phrasing was tortuous, and the circulation routes were incomparably complex. An ordinary person would struggle even to understand it...
The more he thought, the more his brain seemed to itch.
Helplessly, he set down the cultivation method. "To understand it thoroughly, I'd probably need at least ten days or half a month of study. But I only have thirty days to cultivate."
Cultivation in this world did not involve spiritual roots. In theory, almost anyone with a cultivation method could step onto the immortal path.
But that was only in theory. According to the scroll, gathering and ingesting qi was as easy as breathing for the gifted. Those with poor talent might spend decades unable to sense the Numinous Vitality present everywhere between heaven and earth.
If his talent happened to be poor and he failed to condense true qi in the time remaining, wouldn't he prove the saying, "Slack off in cultivation, and become brothers in the Myriad Souls Banner"?
Fortunately, there's another way. Relief stirred in Chu Mo's heart.
He shut the door tightly, returned to the table, pressed both hands onto the bamboo scroll, and silently commanded, Learn.
In an instant, a flood of cultivation knowledge concerning the "Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method" entered his mind. At the same time, a line of text appeared in his vision.
["Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method" learned]
With a thought from Chu Mo, an illusory panel unfolded before his eyes.
[Character information] Player: Chu Mo Race: Human Race Dao Path: Cultivator Level: 0 Cultivation method: "Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method" Skills: None Yin-Yang Jade: 3
On the panel's right was an [Inventory] made up of numerous slots. Some were empty; others contained icons of sabers, swords, dried meat, wound medicine, and other items, with quantities marked in their lower-right corners.
Something finally changed! Chu Mo was beside himself with excitement.
After all this time, the panel that had transmigrated with him had finally shown something different.
It was the player panel from the game Chu Mo had been playing before transmigrating, except that its contents had become extremely sparse, leaving it practically a blank slate.
The panel's Dao Path was his class, while Yin-Yang Jade served as revival tokens. After dying, he would revive within thirty seconds. He could hold a maximum of three, and one replenished every seventy-two hours.
Back in the game, however, once he used up his Yin-Yang Jade, he could buy more with in-game money. Now, he could only wait for it to replenish automatically.
Moreover, while he was in the mortal world, no matter how Chu Mo experimented, nothing worked except [Inventory] and [Yin-Yang Jade]. He could neither learn cultivation methods or skills nor gain levels.
He had joined martial arts schools and collected all sorts of martial arts, but the panel had shown no response, as though it thought them beneath its notice. Only today, after obtaining the "Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method," had he finally seen something different:
[Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method] [A basic method for gathering and ingesting qi, suitable for an extremely broad range of users. Learning it grants the Cultivator Dao Path.] [Learn?]
But what's going on with the names above everyone else's heads? Chu Mo's eyes flickered.
In the game from his previous life, names came in yellow, red, and green, indicating neutral, hostile, and friendly respectively. Yet from his lengthy observations, the mortals of Fuli Heaven had neither names nor levels displayed, only red health bars.
Jiang Yunya was the first person he had seen with both a level and a name.
As for the new disciples, only after leaving their names on the banner had they acquired the label "Duo'e Sect Reserve Grunt," along with the unprecedented level of 0.
In the game from his previous life, even stray dogs by the roadside had been level five or six.
"The red one's the health bar, so does the blue one represent true qi? And what does level seven mean? The seventh level of Qi Refining?"
According to Jiang Yunya's explanation, immortal cultivation was divided into numerous realms, including Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core... Jiang Yunya himself was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Chu Mo shook his head, clearing away the stray thoughts. His immediate priority was cultivation. He could slowly investigate everything else later.
He pulled the meditation cushion from the corner and sat cross-legged in the posture described by the method. Drawing his tailbone slightly forward, he held his spine straight as a string of copper coins, lowered his eyelids, and clasped the Spell Coin in his palm.
After a long, long time, Chu Mo began to dimly sense specks of spiritual qi outside his body. The sensation was especially distinct in his palm.
With a gentle tug, a wisp of spiritual energy rose from his palm, circled around the crown of his head, then sank into him as a warm current that coursed through his body.
[Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Method experience +1]