It hadn't looked very big from a distance, but once he actually stepped inside, he realized the Outer Sect disciples' district was ridiculously vast.
Even a single main street stretched farther than the eye could see.
All kinds of palaces lined both sides, joined together in sprawling clusters.
He picked a street and headed down it. Half a day later, he still hadn't reached the end.
After winding around several bends, he unfortunately got lost again.
Luckily, people were coming and going everywhere, and no one cared who he was. That actually made him breathe a sigh of relief.
Chun Xiaobai wandered aimlessly around the outer district, drifting wherever his feet took him.
Before long, he reached a small mountain.
At its foot stood a huge boulder several yards tall, carved with three large, scrawling characters-Cinnabar Glow Peak.
Two disciples stood guard beside the entrance to the mountain path, their expressions solemn.
Every disciple who wanted to go up the mountain had to produce an identity token for their inspection.
"Could this mountain be where they cultivate?"
Chun Xiaobai rubbed his chin, pondering.
The areas he'd just wandered through included the Task Hall, which issued missions, the Merit Transmission Hall, which taught basic cultivation methods, and the Merit Hall, which exchanged pills and magical artifacts...
Those places were probably all public areas anyone could visit.
But this mountain, which required an identity check to enter, was most likely the private area where disciples lived and cultivated.
"Looks like I'll have to go up a mountain if I want to enter the Dao."
He watched carefully. The Command Tokens those disciples presented looked much like the bronze Command Token he'd seized from the Storage Bag.
Then he found a deserted corner and, with a thought, took the male disciple's identity token out of the Storage Bag.
The Command Token felt cold in his hand. The front bore the character for "green," while a line of small lettering was engraved on the back-Green Bamboo Peak · Wu Liang.
"Yep, this is the thing. I just don't know whether they'll check my face."
Chun Xiaobai muttered inwardly.
To hell with it!
I'll take a gamble!
If it doesn't work, I'll just say I found the Command Token and came to return it.
Having made up his mind, he took a deep breath and continued forward, pretending nothing was amiss.
Before long, he found Green Bamboo Peak, the mountain named on the Command Token.
But to his surprise, disciples streamed back and forth at its foot, and there weren't any guards stationed there to inspect identity tokens at all.
Chun Xiaobai froze. "Am I really this lucky?"
And so Chun Xiaobai swaggered into the crowd and went straight up Green Bamboo Peak.
He had only reached halfway up when the view suddenly opened out before him.
Exquisite little courtyard homes had been built along the mountainside, neatly staggered among emerald bamboo and green trees.
He could vaguely make out disciples in green robes coming and going between the courtyards.
The air was noticeably fresher than at the foot of the mountain, too. One deep breath made every pore on his body relax of its own accord. The comfort was indescribable.
"These must be the legendary immortal abodes."
He took out the bronze token and examined it closely, but couldn't find anything indicating where Wu Liang's abode was.
Of course, even if he knew, he certainly couldn't sneak over there. If the actual owner came back, his cover would be blown on the spot.
Fortunately, Green Bamboo Peak was enormous. At a glance, there had to be eight thousand of these abodes, if not ten thousand, packed together like a honeycomb.
Suddenly, he noticed a young fellow walking toward him.
Chun Xiaobai reached out and snatched him over.
"Brother, do you live around here too?"
The disciple jumped in fright and gave Chun Xiaobai a wary look. Only after seeing that he wore the same sect's robes did he nod.
"Yes."
He tried to keep walking, only to discover that Chun Xiaobai still had an iron grip on his arm and wouldn't let go.
"This ki... ahem, my abode has a bit of a leak."
Chun Xiaobai cleared his throat and spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "May I ask where I need to register if I want to switch abodes?"
The disciple looked Chun Xiaobai over, then asked in puzzlement, "Are you new?"
Chun Xiaobai filed away "new here" as an all-purpose excuse and immediately climbed the pole he'd been offered, nodding.
"Yes, yes, yes. I passed the assessment the day before yesterday and only joined Green Bamboo Peak yesterday."
"No wonder!" Understanding immediately dawned on the disciple.
"You don't need to register to switch abodes. Just pick any courtyard you like, go knock on the door, and issue a challenge."
"If you can beat him, the courtyard is yours. If you can't..."
He paused, then kindly warned him, "If you can't win, get ready to spend six months to a year laid up in bed."
"Uh!!!"
Chun Xiaobai froze for a moment, then wild delight surged through him!
Damn it, I knew it! I'd definitely gone to the wrong place before!
This is where this Great King belongs.
He quickly let go and thanked the disciple.
Then he rubbed his hands together and began looking around.
The abodes here looked pretty, but they were far too densely packed, practically pressed against one another like a housing complex.
With so many people, there wouldn't be enough spiritual energy to go around, which would seriously affect cultivation speed.
He looked toward the mountaintop and noticed that the higher he went, the grander the abodes became, and the farther apart they stood, with more than ten meters between them.
Since I can take whichever one I want, I should grab the best location!
With my martial arts, all I have to do is pick someone weaker and knock him flat with one punch.
Chun Xiaobai rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming green with greed. Without another word, he took off toward the mountaintop.
"Hey! Junior brother!"
Seeing the direction the fellow was racing off in, the disciple's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly shouted at the top of his lungs,
"The senior brothers up there are all at late-stage Qi Refinement or the peak of Qi Refinement! You can't go there!"
But Chun Xiaobai was like a wild beast that had just broken free of its cage, his head filled with the thrill of seizing territory. He vanished in the blink of an eye. How could he possibly hear the warning?
The closer Chun Xiaobai got to the summit, the fresher he found the air along the way.
He didn't know whether this was the legendary spiritual energy, but the higher you stood, the farther you could see. The feng shui had to be better than those places down below!
He charged straight to the summit in one go.
There, right in the center, stood an enormous complex of towers and terraces, imposing and magnificent.
Above its main entrance hung a huge plaque bearing three gilded characters in bold, soaring calligraphy: Peak Master Hall.
"Hmm, this must be where the boss of this mountain lives."
Chun Xiaobai knew his limits well enough not to go over there. Instead, he turned his gaze a short distance to the left, where several detached courtyards shimmered beneath faint green shields of light.
"This one's nice. Looks like it even comes with one of those legendary formations!"
One look tells you it's grand, classy, and top-of-the-line!
He rubbed his hands together and ran straight over, looking like Pigsy spotting a pretty young woman.
Soon, he arrived in front of an abode. A hazy gray curtain of light shrouded it, preventing him from making out exactly what lay inside.
He pinched his chin and pondered.
Judging by that fellow Wu Liang's abilities, as long as he could weather the first wave of spells and find a chance to close in, a punch backed by his three thousand jin of strength could knock them flat even if ten of them came at once.
And if he added a suitable weapon...
Chun Xiaobai felt around at his waist and pulled out the purple-gold Command Token the woman in the red dress had given him. He hefted it in his hand. It had some serious weight.
"One smack with this 'brick' should pack ten thousand jin of force, right?"
Yep, that'll work!
With everything ready, he stepped forward and raised his hand to knock on the gray barrier-bang, bang-sending ripples like waves across its surface.
Soon, the gray barrier flickered, and a round, chubby young man stepped out.
Once outside, the fatty narrowed his eyes, glanced at Chun Xiaobai, and started walking past him.
"What the hell? Is he looking down on this Great King?"
Chun Xiaobai immediately flared up. He stepped sideways, blocked the fatty's path, and raised his chin.
"You fat bastard, this Great King is taking over your turf!"
Before you continue