"Gengzi Courtyard. This is the place."
After confirming that this was indeed his courtyard, Xu Changshou stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was a two-story building with wings spread like a wild goose, with five rooms on each floor.
Covered walkways ran along both sides of the building, with two pavilions at each of their two corners.
Flowers and plants grew in the courtyard at the center, which was clean and tidy.
At that moment, eight or nine boys and girls were chattering away in one of the pavilions.
"Huh? Another newcomer."
"Number ten."
"Just one more to go."
Seeing Xu Changshou enter, the boys and girls gathered around him.
Suddenly confronted by a group of children around his own age, Xu Changshou was a little taken aback. He had not expected this.
He looked them over. The youngest were ten, and even the oldest were only eleven or twelve.
They were all Qi Refining cultivators. The one with the highest cultivation was a quiet girl at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, one level above him.
Aside from her, the others ranged from the Qi Refining First Layer to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
The Ten Paths Formula included a minor spell called the Qi-Reading Art. It was very easy to learn: by channeling spiritual power into his eyes, he could see another person's cultivation.
Xu Changshou had mastered it as soon as he tried, which was how he could discern their cultivation levels.
Of course, the Qi-Reading Art only worked on cultivators within the same major realm. Someone in the Qi Refining realm could not discern the level of someone in the Foundation Establishment realm.
"Senior Brother, are you number ten?"
A bright-eyed boy spoke up. His cultivation was at the Qi Refining First Layer.
Xu Changshou nodded after a moment. "That's me. Fellow Daoists, I am Xu Changshou. Please offer me your guidance."
Imitating Zhang Zhengyuan's manner of speaking, Xu Changshou briefly introduced himself.
The bright-eyed boy spoke with easy familiarity. "I'm Jiang Xiaochuan, from the Danyang Jiang Family. Senior Brother Xu, let me introduce everyone. This is Senior Sister Ye Shanhua, from the Ye Family of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
As he spoke, Jiang Xiaochuan pointed to the quiet girl at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
"Hello, Junior Brother Xu." Ye Shanhua inclined her head slightly in greeting.
"Su Mo, from Su Family Fort."
"Han Zong, from the Three Star Mountain Han Family."
"Zhang Feixian, from the Shulong Commandery Zhang Family."
"Qian Yuanbao, from the Qian Family Village Qian Family."
"Shi Wantong, from the Great Chu Kingdom Shi Family."
"Lin Xian'er, from the Yuezhou Duke's Residence."
"Li Linhao..."
The others introduced themselves in turn, and Xu Changshou responded to each of them.
With a pang of inferiority, Xu Changshou realized that, aside from Li Linhao, every one of them came from a cultivation lineage.
No wonder Zhang Zhengyuan had told Liu Chuansheng that only those with backing and resources could reach Foundation Establishment.
It seemed the same held true even for ordinary Qi Refining cultivators. They might be Servant Disciples, but anyone who could enter the Green Immortal Sect to cultivate was probably no ordinary person.
Beneath a mighty sect like the Green Immortal Sect were many cultivation lineages.
An ordinary Qi Refining cultivator lived for around a hundred and fifty years, and the Green Immortal Sect had a rule allowing disciples to Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life at a hundred.
Once cultivators reached a hundred, they could leave the sect of their own accord.
Some returned home and nurtured their descendants, who would then enter the sect to cultivate.
Some did not even marry and have children until they Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life at a hundred. Over time, this pattern gave rise to cultivation lineages.
Xu Changshou had only been brought up the mountain by Zhang Zhengyuan through a chance mishap. Otherwise, he probably would never have escaped his fate as a cowherd.
"Senior Brother Xu, which lineage are you from?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked.
Hiss...
Why did he have to lift the one kettle that hadn't boiled?
Xu Changshou paused. "The Xu Family of Laiyang Commandery..."
He had meant to say "Xu Family Village in Laiyang Commandery," but when the words reached his lips, he forcibly swallowed the final word, "Village."
The Xu Family of Laiyang Commandery...
Everyone nodded slightly without commenting. Small lineages were as numerous as ants beneath heaven; it was perfectly normal not to have heard of one.
"Fellow Daoists, please carry on chatting. I'll go tidy up my room."
Xu Changshou cupped his hands slightly and headed upstairs. Jiang Xiaochuan immediately followed. "Senior Brother Xu, let me help you tidy up."
There were ten rooms in total. Rooms one through five were on the first floor, and rooms six through ten were on the second.
Xu Changshou's room was number ten, at the easternmost end of the second floor.
Every room had a restrictive formation that required an identity plaque to open.
Cultivators placed great importance on privacy, so even Servant Disciples had a right to it.
"Senior Brother Xu, I'll help you tidy up. May I enter your room?"
"Of course."
Only after receiving Xu Changshou's permission did Jiang Xiaochuan follow him inside.
Once inside, Xu Changshou glanced around. There was a bed, a cabinet, and a table. Bedding and toiletries were all provided, and everything was new.
Xu Changshou nodded in satisfaction. As expected of an immortal sect, even the Servant Disciples' accommodations were better than Wang Yuanwai's house.
In the past, being able to live in a room like this would surely have made Xu Changshou feel immensely happy. Now, however, he felt little.
In this single day, he had seen things he had never encountered in his entire life.
So immortals lived in the mountains. Houses could have several stories. Boats could fly among the clouds.
Every last bit of it battered the boy's view of the world, rapidly expanding his knowledge and understanding.
The room was very clean, with little to tidy. Xu Changshou swept the floor, wiped the table, and took the bedding out of the cabinet.
Jiang Xiaochuan bustled about helping him.
"Junior Brother Jiang, thank you."
"No need, no need. I'm in room nine, so we're neighbors. It's only right."
Room nine?
Xu Changshou could not help asking curiously, "Junior Brother Jiang, when did you arrive?"
"I only arrived yesterday," Jiang Xiaochuan replied.
"What about the others?"
"Senior Sister Ye and the others only arrived a few days ago, too."
"How did you get here?"
"Our elders brought us, of course..."
After chatting with Jiang Xiaochuan for a while, Xu Changshou learned that, unlike himself, who had been sold by Zhang Zhengyuan for three spirit stones, Jiang Xiaochuan and the others had entered through the normal process.
The Green Immortal Sect recruited Servant Disciples once every three years. Anyone who was at least ten and had attained qi sensation could be sent into the sect.
Xu Changshou asked curiously, "Junior Brother Jiang, aren't you disciples from major lineages? Why did you come here to be Servant Disciples, too?"
Jiang Xiaochuan gave a wry smile. "Senior Brother Xu, no matter how great your lineage is, you still have to start as a Servant Disciple when you enter the Green Immortal Sect."
"Besides, I don't count as a disciple from a major lineage. Our Danyang Jiang Family is only a small one."
Xu Changshou frowned and asked another question. "What kind of lineage counts as a major one?"
"Generally, a small lineage is one without a Foundation Establishment cultivator," Jiang Xiaochuan said. "A major lineage must have at least one powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator presiding over it."
"Ordinary small lineages don't have any powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators. But there is one person among us who comes from a major lineage."
"Who?"
"Senior Sister Ye Shanhua."
Ye Shanhua...
"What's her background?"
"Didn't I just introduce her? She's from the Ye Family of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
"The Myriad Treasures Pavilion?"
"You've never heard of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion?"
"Uh..."
Jiang Xiaochuan seemed a little surprised that Xu Changshou had never heard of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
Still, he did not keep him in suspense. "The Myriad Treasures Pavilion is quite something. They say that three hundred years ago, the Ye Family produced an extraordinary man named Ye Qingfeng. He was once an alchemist at Cinnabar Clouds Peak, a mighty Golden Core cultivator. He founded the Myriad Treasures Pavilion single-handedly..."
"That impressive..."
Xu Changshou silently reflected that Ye Shanhua was probably one of the Immortal Second-Generation Zhang Zhengyuan had mentioned.
Ye Shanhua was only ten this year, two years younger than him, yet her cultivation was one level higher. That alone spoke volumes.
If she were not an Immortal Second-Generation, how could she cultivate so quickly?
Before you continue