Life in the Inner Gate

After soothing the future Firecloud Mouse, Lin Jing entered the alchemy room inside his Cave Abode.

Millennium cold stone was embedded in the walls of the alchemy room, regulating the temperature inside. Beneath an old alchemy stove in the center of the room, a passage connected to the blazing flames deep underground.

Apart from that, there was nothing else.

"This Cave Abode... looks pretty old."

"Elder Shen said this was the best of the remaining Cave Abodes. Was that really true...?"

Lin Jing activated the jade slip for the "Fire-Control Formula," absorbing the method of controlling flames into his mind.

Having created "Myriad Transformations" himself, Lin Jing found this basic fire-control spell's use of true qi extremely simple.

He formed a seal with one hand. On his very first attempt, he easily drew up the underground fire with his true qi. He merely came close to burning the Pineleaf Squirrel watching nearby, without causing much damage.

"Squeak!"

As flames scattered in all directions, the Pineleaf Squirrel leaped aside and glared furiously at Lin Jing.

Pet beast murder!

Attempted!

"Sorry. It was my first try, after all, so I'm still a little clumsy," Lin Jing said. "But if you learn fire spells, you won't have to fear fire anymore."

The Pineleaf Squirrel protested. Did he think it was stupid?

"All right, it won't happen again. With a little practice, mastering the basics of the Fire-Control Formula shouldn't be hard. Let's go look around first," Lin Jing continued soothing it.

Leaving his Cave Abode, Lin Jing first visited the Cinnabar Glow Peak branch of the Harvest Pavilion, which had branches throughout the sect.

Unlike the outer gate's Harvest Pavilion, this one no longer sold basic spirit crops such as spirit rice and spirit beans.

"Firecloud Chili? The Beast Taming Sect doesn't have anything like that."

Unfortunately, the Beast Taming Sect had no stock of the Firecloud Chili Lin Jing needed.

After they left the Harvest Pavilion, the Pineleaf Squirrel on Lin Jing's shoulder was in high spirits. It seemed it wouldn't have to eat chilies after all. But its smile soon vanished again.

Lin Jing... walked from Cinnabar Glow Peak to the Beast Taming Sect's highest peak, arriving at the Inner Gate Mission Hall.

The missions at the Inner Gate Mission Hall were more advanced than those at the outer gate's Mission Hall. Missions to slay monsters and vanquish demons were everywhere. Senior Brother Ouyang had probably accepted his mission to infiltrate a demonic sect here.

"I'd like to post a mission: 'Find Firecloud Chili seeds.'" Amid a pile of advanced missions, Lin Jing inserted one that looked very much like an outer gate mission.

"Hmm? A new face?" The supervisor of the Inner Gate Mission Hall was no longer a disciple, but a bird demon in the foundation establishment realm that looked very much like a magpie.

It was one of the pet beasts belonging to the elder in charge of the Inner Gate Mission Hall and watched over the place on its master's behalf. Supposedly, whenever a disciple left the sect on a mission, it would sing them a line of its "Good Luck Song," wishing them a safe return.

Whenever a disciple failed to return safely after hearing its song, someone would see it with tears streaming down its face.

"Senior, I am Lin Jing, a newly promoted Inner Gate disciple of Cinnabar Glow Peak."

"Judging by the timing, the Inner Gate Examination did indeed just end," the magpie spirit said. "Posting a mission costs one Spirit Stone. What reward are you offering?"

"Spirit Stones," Lin Jing said. Although the Snowfield Cultivator's Storage Bag hadn't contained anything particularly valuable, it had held some basic cultivator currency. He had given the beast blood inside to his senior brothers and sisters, so he might as well use the remaining Spirit Stones to treat the Pineleaf Squirrel to chilies.

After posting the mission, Lin Jing left the Mission Hall, thoroughly satisfied. On his way back to his Cave Abode, he stopped again in front of Cinnabar Glow Peak's Pill Tower.

The Pill Tower could be considered Cinnabar Glow Peak's exclusive scripture pavilion. Unlike the Inner Gate Scripture Pavilion, which housed all sorts of spells, this place contained a collection of pill formulas for Cinnabar Glow Peak's disciples to consult.

"We already have an alchemy room and the Fire-Control Formula. The best way to learn the Alchemy Art is through practice, so let's pick up a couple of basic pill formulas," Lin Jing told the deeply dejected Pineleaf Squirrel lying on his shoulder.

"Squeak..." It didn't want to eat chilies.

"Don't worry, I won't force you. Once I've tested it on Elder Black Bear and confirmed there are no side effects, I'll breathe fire myself." Lin Jing felt he was still kindhearted. He couldn't bear to see his pet beast suffer.

When they reached the Pill Tower, its keeper wasn't human either, but a red-eyed rabbit demon in the foundation establishment realm.

Lin Jing shook his head. The outer gate had been fine, but why did entering the Inner Gate feel like walking into a demon den? There were more demons than people.

"You're Lin Jing, the new arrival at Cinnabar Glow Peak?"

"You know me, Senior?"

"My Beast Tamer is Elder Shen. She told me about you. She said that if you came to the Pill Tower, I should select suitable pill formulas for you to practice with. I didn't expect you to come so soon, though," the rabbit demon said. "Have you finished memorizing the flora section? Have you learned the Fire-Control Formula? Why are you in such a hurry to find pill formulas?"

Lin Jing nodded. "I've finished memorizing the Complete Compendium of Flora, and I've mastered the basics of the Fire-Control Formula."

"As expected of a genius Elder Shen holds in such high regard." The rabbit demon nodded in satisfaction. "You may freely choose from the basic pill formulas on the first floor. They're all formulas and techniques for refining first-tier pills suitable for the qi refinement realm."

"The second floor contains more advanced pills, such as the various types of Foundation Establishment Pills. Those require sect contribution points to exchange."

"I'll just choose two from the first floor," Lin Jing said.

"Pick them yourself first, then I'll give you some advice!" The rabbit demon rolled a cigarette, sat back down leisurely, took a puff, and exhaled white smoke.

At the sight, Lin Jing fell silent.

Why was this rabbit demon smoking, too?

He covered the curious eyes of the Pineleaf Squirrel on his shoulder, keeping it from watching.

Then he began examining the pill formulas on the first floor himself.

Spirit-Replenishing Pills... Lin Jing and his companion had eaten quite a few of those. They replenished magical power and could be considered usable across all cultivation realms; only the formula differed for each tier.

Beast Power Pills allowed cultivators to temporarily possess the strength of a Demon Beast.

Fasting Pills...

Hmm? Contraception Pills?

Lin Jing spotted something familiar again. There seemed to have been something called the Contraception Art before.

Beside the Contraception Pills were Mating Powder and Soul-Ensnaring Pills.

His mouth fell slightly open. Had he not known this was the Beast Taming Sect, he would have thought he had wandered into the Union Bliss Sect by mistake.

"Senior, I've made my choices."

A little while later, Lin Jing brought two pill formulas over for the rabbit demon senior to examine.

"Spirit-Replenishing Pills. Hmm, the most basic of basic pills. Very suitable for introductory practice."

"Soul-Ensnaring Pills... why did you pick these?" the rabbit demon asked.

"I suggest you choose Beast Power Pills. Your pet beast, the Pineleaf Squirrel, is too frail, and Beast Tamers themselves are also very frail. Keep some Beast Power Pills on hand and swallow one in battle, and your body can possess the might of tigers and elephants!"

"Most importantly... Beast Power Pills sell better than Soul-Ensnaring Pills!"

"Soul-Ensnaring Pills cause those who take them to experience hallucinations for a time, leaving them unable to distinguish illusion from reality," Lin Jing said. "I've been researching Illusion Path Spells recently, so I wanted to take a few Soul-Ensnaring Pills myself to get a feel for it."

"I see," the rabbit demon said. "That makes perfect sense. Go ahead and choose those, then."

Taking the pill formulas with them, Lin Jing and his companion finally returned to their Cave Abode. The Pineleaf Squirrel went to take stock of the contents of the two Storage Bags, while Lin Jing fell straight into bed and went to sleep.

He had been far too busy lately and had overworked his brain. Now he needed a proper rest.

In his dream, Lin Jing dreamed that he swallowed a golden core while the Pineleaf Squirrel cleaved open the path to Ascension with a single leaf, and the two became the only cultivators on the Heavenly Origin Continent to successfully ascend to the Immortal Realm.

This Immortal Realm... before they could take a closer look, they were knocked unconscious, tied up, and sent into an immortal cavern to mine.