A new world, a new cage

Though the disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect habitually schemed against one another, they still observed the most basic rules.

If a fight broke out between Outer Sect Disciples, the lighter punishment was a deduction of sect contribution points. In more serious cases, they would be locked up on Seclusion Cliff—a place that could cost them their lives.

Thanks to Steward Cui's warning, Lin Mo had already anticipated the mockery.

He simply let it blow past his ears and left it behind.

Besides, most of those who mocked him had risen from the ranks of servant disciples themselves.

Their potential ran dry at the second or third level of Qi Refining at best. Having seen the end of the road ahead, they began spending their days fishing in muddy waters, doing just enough to scrape through the sect's annual Sect Examination.

They, too, were objects of ridicule, so their only outlet was to vent their resentment on Lin Mo, who was weaker than them for now.

They had completely forgotten: wasn't the Lin Mo of today exactly who they had once been?

The Sect Affairs Hall handled nearly all the sect's affairs and occupied an entire palace, lavish and imposing.

Yet the moment he entered, the clamor blew all the peace and serenity of an immortal sect beyond the highest heavens.

It reminded Lin Mo of visiting the market with his parents as a child. Dozens of people crowded inside, all fighting over tasks that paid more and were easier to complete.

Their tongues clashed like spears and swords, and vulgar words rang out incessantly.

The disciple handling affairs merely sat high in a chair behind the counter, watching coldly as though enjoying a grand performance.

Those entrusted with specific duties in the Sect Affairs Hall were all higher-ranking Outer Sect Disciples, quite different from the fellows promoted from the Servant Disciples' Courtyard who nearly came to blows over paltry tasks.

After a moment's thought, he put on a smile and approached respectfully.

"Senior Brother, may I ask how I should go about becoming a Spirit Plant Farmer?"

As he spoke, Lin Mo discreetly passed over a small pouch.

It was heavy.

The disciple needed only a light squeeze to tell how many spirit stones it held. A rare hint of a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded. "Have you taken a liking to any particular Spirit Field, Junior Brother?"

Though the sect's Spirit Fields were broadly similar, there were subtle differences.

Even an inconspicuous detail could have a considerable effect on the harvest.

With five spirit stones paving the way, Lin Mo might not receive the best field, but at least he would not be assigned the worst.

Lin Mo cupped his hands. "I'll leave everything to your judgment, Senior Brother."

He knows how to read the room.

The man looked up at him, raised his eyebrows, and smiled. "I was wondering who it was. So it's Night Pot Boy. You're a lucky one, aren't you? You actually passed the assessment and became a cultivator in those last few days? I heard you've been helping Liu Xianzong lately. As it happens, the plot beside his is still empty. It's in a good spot, so I'll put you in charge of it."

As he spoke, he took Lin Mo's identity token, fetched a formation compass, and gently touched the token against it.

A light flashed and vanished, and he handed both the identity token and the Formation Disc to Lin Mo.

"Your identity token is now bound to the formation. Remember, if you damage this Formation Disc, you'll have to pay for it."

That one favor was all five spirit stones could buy.

Lin Mo had not expected much more. After a moment's thought, he asked another question. "Senior Brother, may I ask... how can I obtain sect spirit liquid?"

What he needed most right now were liquid Heavenly Treasures.

Failing that, spirit fruits that he could mash up and stuff through the mouth of the gourd would do.

That was the foundation of Lin Mo's cultivation.

"What? You've only just joined the outer sect, and you're already coveting the sect's spirit spring water? Fine, I'll tell you. You have to exchange sect contribution points for it."

"One contribution point per drop."

The disciple waved impatiently, leaving Lin Mo no choice but to cup his hands and take his leave.

Holding the Formation Disc, he went to find Liu Xianzong first.

Liu Xianzong was delighted to hear that Lin Mo had become an Outer Sect Disciple and that his Spirit Field was right beside his own.

He took Lin Mo to meet the steward of the spirit plant garden, and they did not finish all the handover procedures until nightfall.

Liu Xianzong prepared a few simple dishes, saying they were to celebrate Lin Mo's success.

"Little Lin... oh, I should call you Junior Brother Lin now."

Liu Xianzong was a decent cook. Though the dishes were merely ordinary mortal food, both men enjoyed the meal.

"This was your first day as an Outer Sect Disciple. How did it feel?"

Lin Mo set down his chopsticks and shook his head.

"Back when I was still a servant disciple, I thought the Servant Disciples' Courtyard was a cage. I thought that once I became an Outer Sect Disciple, a new world would open up before me, with a far broader future. But now, it doesn't seem to be that way."

"I've only... moved from one cage into another."

A new world, a new cage.

Liu Xianzong could not help looking surprised.

He had never expected Lin Mo to say something like that.

Then he burst into laughter.

"You've hit the nail on the head! The world of cultivation is one enormous cage that no one can escape!"

Late that night, Lin Mo returned to his little courtyard and, as usual, checked on the spirit plant that had already borne one crop of fruit.

This plant was called the Fire Spirit Fruit. It could temper the spiritual energy within the body and ranked in the upper middle among ninth-grade spirit plants, the lowest grade.

The Spirit Field assigned to him, meanwhile, was planted with Golden Coin Grass of the same grade.

It was highly effective at tempering the body.

But he had only planted the Golden Coin Grass that day, so he probably would not have a chance to bring any home over the next few days.

Disciples regularly patrolled the spirit plant garden. If any registered seeds or spirit plants went missing, they would immediately seek out the person responsible, and the punishments were severe.

After stuffing those two Fire Spirit Fruits into the gourd earlier and drinking them with spirit spring water, Lin Mo had felt a slight improvement in his aptitude. His cultivation was a little faster than before.

For him, this was undoubtedly a shot in the arm.

"I need to start saving spirit stones quickly. Now that I'm an Outer Sect Disciple, I need not only cultivation supplies but a cultivation method, too. If I'd known about that, I'd have given him two fewer spirit stones this morning. It hurts just thinking about it."

The impoverished Lin Mo was already regretting it, but it was too late.

He poured out half the spirit spring water and Fire Spirit Fruit mixture in the gourd, whose spiritual energy concentration had already reached its peak. Then, after a moment's thought, he crushed the last Fire Spirit Fruit as well, stuffed it through the gourd's mouth, and swallowed it with the spirit spring water.

That one fruit would not fetch much of anything anyway.

Raising his cultivation as quickly as possible was what mattered most.