"Changshou, pack your things. It's time for us to leave!"
Xu Changshou had just returned home when he saw Zhang Zhengyuan standing in the courtyard.
"Are we going to the Green Immortal Sect?"
Xu Changshou grew excited.
"That's right!" Zhang Zhengyuan nodded.
"I'll go pack!"
Xu Changshou rushed into the house and came out moments later with a small cloth bag slung across his body.
He only had two sets of clothes-one to wear and one to carry-so there was little to pack.
"Quick, husband! The immortal is leaving! Stop him!"
"Come on, come on!"
Wang Yuanwai pulled Wang Xu-shi over to Zhang Zhengyuan and dropped to his knees, bowing his head to the ground. "Please grant me a chance at immortality, honored immortal."
"Boundless Heavenly Venerable!"
Zhang Zhengyuan uttered the invocation, then flicked his finger, sending a yellow talisman into Wang Yuanwai's hand.
"Just this..."
Both Wang Yuanwai and Wang Xu-shi were rather dissatisfied.
They had seen yellow talismans before. They could turn into fireballs.
After eating their food and living in their house for months, he was giving them just one fireball. What a bully.
The couple nearly cried.
"This is a Fireball Talisman. It can save your life in a crisis. Using it is very simple-just tear it open. Goodbye!"
With that, Zhang Zhengyuan led Xu Changshou away at a brisk pace.
"Thank you, honored immortal. Thank you..."
Though dissatisfied, Wang Yuanwai and his wife dared not say anything more. They kept kowtowing toward Zhang Zhengyuan's retreating back.
Seeing the couple like that, Xu Changshou felt both pity and a satisfying release of resentment.
Before long, master and disciple had left Xu Family Village far behind.
Zhang Zhengyuan stopped in the wilderness, pointed northwest, and said, "The Green Immortal Sect is three thousand li in that direction."
Three thousand li? That far?
Xu Changshou was secretly astonished. A distance of three thousand li was beyond anything he could comprehend.
In his entire life, he had never traveled more than a hundred li from Xu Family Village.
"Master, hurry and bring out your flying sword. Let's fly to the Green Immortal Sect on it."
Xu Changshou looked at Zhang Zhengyuan expectantly. He had heard that immortals all had flying swords. With his immortal bearing and Daoist dignity, his master had to be a senior figure in the Green Immortal Sect. Surely he had a flying sword too.
"Uh!"
Embarrassment filled Zhang Zhengyuan's face. He swept his wide sleeve and said solemnly, "The path of immortal cultivation is strewn with thorns. The Great Dao is difficult-more difficult than climbing to the blue heavens. Though I possess a flying sword, I cannot fly you back on it."
Xu Changshou scratched his head. "Why not?"
Zhang Zhengyuan said gravely, "You're still young. I fear that seeing a flying sword would disturb your state of mind and hinder your future cultivation."
"You make a good point, Master. Your disciple has learned his lesson."
Xu Changshou hurriedly cupped his hands. He thought his master was right-this was a deliberate attempt to temper his character.
Only after seeing that he no longer pressed the matter of the flying sword did Zhang Zhengyuan breathe a sigh of relief. "Let's go!"
Zhang Zhengyuan strode forward with long, swift steps. Xu Changshou had to jog to keep up.
Half a month later, they finally reached the foot of the Green Immortal Sect's mountains. Master and disciple had eaten in the wind and slept beneath the stars, drinking mountain spring water when thirsty and hunting wild game when hungry. Both were cultivators, so they had not gone hungry.
"My disciple, we've arrived. This is the Green Immortal Sect."
"This is the Green Immortal Sect?"
Xu Changshou frowned and looked up. A majestic peak soaring into the clouds stood before him. Mist wreathed its mountainside, shrouding most of the mountain and hiding everything from view.
"Where's the Green Immortal Sect? Why can't I see it?"
"Over there!"
Zhang Zhengyuan pointed to a patch of thick mist halfway up the mountain. Xu Changshou nodded thoughtfully. "So the Green Immortal Sect is in the clouds. It truly is a sacred sanctuary of immortals."
"This is the Green Immortal Mountain Range. The mountain you see is called Front Gate Peak. It serves as the Green Immortal Sect's mountain gate."
Good heavens!
Such an enormous mountain was only the gate? How vast must the Green Immortal Sect be?
Xu Changshou's mouth fell open.
"Come. I'll take you through the mountain gate."
Zhang Zhengyuan led Xu Changshou up the mountain. The path was steep, but it posed no difficulty for either of them.
They soon reached the mountainside. Zhang Zhengyuan took Xu Changshou by the arm and stepped onto a narrow path veiled in mist.
Once on the path, Xu Changshou saw nothing but mist in every direction.
He could only let Zhang Zhengyuan pull him along its twists and turns.
"We're here!"
As Zhang Zhengyuan's voice fell, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
Xu Changshou looked out. They had emerged above the clouds, whose flat expanse stretched as far as the eye could see, concealing the earth below.
In the distance, layers of mountain peaks rose one behind another, with rosy light billowing around them.
Every peak had buildings. Some stood halfway up the mountainsides, some on flattened summits, and others floated among the clouds.
Pavilions, terraces, towers, and halls crowded together like scales on a fish, too numerous to count.
Green flying boats traveled throughout the mountains, trailing streams of light. Some carried three to five people, some a dozen or so, and others several dozen.
"Master, look! Boats that can fly! How amazing!"
Xu Changshou stared, dumbstruck.
Zhang Zhengyuan's expression remained composed. "These are the sect's public flying boats. They're mainly a means of transport for Qi Refining disciples, and they're free."
"That's wonderful!"
Xu Changshou nodded to himself. With these flying boats, all the disciples could move freely around the sect, going wherever they wished. Otherwise, climbing down one peak and up another would take a day even for nearby destinations, and three to five days for distant ones.
"Changshou, let me give you a brief introduction to the Green Immortal Sect.
"The Green Immortal Sect has seven main peaks. They are:
"Great Unity Peak.
"Cinnabar Clouds Peak.
"Scarlet Fire Peak.
"Green Ink Peak.
"Heavenly Pivot Peak.
"Eight Trigrams Peak.
"Fengdu Peak."
"Most of the sect's important figures reside on these seven peaks. Great Unity Peak is the cultivation seat of the sect's senior leadership.
"Cinnabar Clouds Peak is the cultivation seat of the alchemists.
"Scarlet Fire Peak is the cultivation seat of the artifact refiners.
"Green Ink Peak is the cultivation seat of the talisman masters.
"Heavenly Pivot Peak is the cultivation seat of the puppet masters.
"Eight Trigrams Peak is the cultivation seat of the formation masters.
"Fengdu Peak is the cultivation seat of the corpse-refining lineage."
"Master, you're from Great Unity Peak, right?"
Xu Changshou asked, already convinced that Zhang Zhengyuan was a senior figure in the Green Immortal Sect.
"Ahem!"
Zhang Zhengyuan gave two dry coughs, ignored Xu Changshou's question entirely, and continued, "Of the seven main peaks, Great Unity Peak has the richest spiritual energy, followed by the alchemy peak, then the artifact-refining peak and the other four."
"Besides the seven main peaks, there are another dozen or so, including Luminous Grace Peak, Steward Peak, and Gathered Excellence Peak."
"Our destination now is Steward Peak. Steward Peak is the sect's general administrative office. Matters such as admitting new disciples, retiring older disciples, purchasing cultivation methods and supplies, and collecting monthly stipends are all handled there."
"I understand."
Xu Changshou nodded. His master meant to take him to register as a new disciple.
"Master, are we taking a public flying boat?" Xu Changshou asked eagerly.
"Yes!"
Zhang Zhengyuan nodded, then said cautiously, "Changshou, now that we're inside the sect, we can no longer address each other as master and disciple. Just call me senior brother."
"Huh? Why?"
Xu Changshou was surprised. He felt that Zhang Zhengyuan had changed since entering the sect. His lofty air and immortal bearing had vanished, replaced by wary caution.
"You'll understand later."
"I understand, Master."
"Still calling me Master?"
"S-S-Senior Brother Zhang."
"That's more like it. Junior Brother Xu, the flying boat is here. Hurry aboard!"
Before you continue