Heavenly River City lay at the center of the five great aristocratic clans. It bustled with voices and dazzled the eye with its wares, though everything sold there cost far more than in other cities.
Tang Yao wore a white half mask. She was, after all, the young lord of Heavenly River City. Walking down the street to run away like this was still a little too conspicuous...
"Boss." She approached a shop and asked, "How many Spirit Stones for the teleportation array to Profound Heaven City?"
"Eight mid-grade Spirit Stones for a one-way trip. I can give you a discount on the return journey." The shopkeeper smiled. Seeing the young gentleman's expensive clothes, his tone grew particularly friendly.
Little did he know that this was Tang Yao's most "presentable" outfit.
Eight mid-grade Spirit Stones.
Tang Yao felt her Storage Bag. She only had fifty mid-grade Spirit Stones to her name. She wanted to cough up blood.
Just then, a youth in a fitted black outfit approached, cradling a catlike spirit beast in his arms.
Having just overheard the conversation between the shopkeeper and Tang Yao, the youth could not help speaking up.
"What?! Holy shit! Eight mid-grade Spirit Stones for one trip? Why don't you just rob people?!"
Somewhat startled by the sudden voice, the shopkeeper turned toward the youth in displeasure and snapped, "Don't take it if you can't afford it! What are you yelling here for?"
The moment he finished, his expression changed, and he smiled obsequiously at Tang Yao.
"Young master, would you like to take it now? I guarantee you'll reach Profound Heaven City in no time."
The youth: "?"
Watching the shopkeeper's face-changing act, he grew so angry that his ears reddened. He snorted. "I only have six mid-grade Spirit Stones. Will you let me ride or not? If not, I'll check somewhere else."
Their argument lasted an incense stick's worth of time.
Finally, the shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. After mulling it over, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, go ahead. Remember to bring me more customers when you come back."
Watching this unfold, Tang Yao suddenly piped up, "Boss, give me the same 'package' as him. I'll bring you customers later too."
The shopkeeper's stomach began to hurt at Tang Yao's words.
Why was a perfectly fine young gentleman taking lessons from this brat?!
But having set a precedent, he could hardly object. In the end, he charged Tang Yao six mid-grade Spirit Stones as well.
Tang Yao and the youth entered the teleportation array one after the other.
The world spun. Tang Yao felt a little dizzy, just like getting carsick, but it was over in an instant.
They successfully arrived in Profound Heaven City. Before Tang Yao could take a closer look at this city named after the Profound Heaven Sect, a voice stopped her!
"Hey, I just saved you two mid-grade Spirit Stones. How about we split those two evenly? One for you, one for me."
Tang Yao: "...?" What was he trying to pull?
Wearing the expression of an old man squinting at his phone on the subway, she gave the youth behind her an indescribable look.
The youth wore dark robes and a high ponytail. The white cat in his arms had fallen asleep, and he looked back at her with a beaming smile.
"We split them evenly, okay?"
Tang Yao had never imagined that one day, someone would actually try to pry money out of her.
No! Absolutely not!
Tang Yao began dangling promises. "Brother, I'm about to sign up for the Profound Heaven Sect. Once I become a talisman cultivator, the money will come pouring in!"
"Are you really going to miss out on a connection with a future talisman cultivator over one mid-grade Spirit Stone?!"
Sure enough, the youth's eyes lit up at the mention of the Profound Heaven Sect, and he grew excited. "I'm going to the Profound Heaven Sect too! Let's go together. Neither of us knows the place or anyone here, so we can look out for each other. I don't want that mid-grade Spirit Stone anymore."
Perhaps he had become too excited, for he woke the cat in his arms as well.
"My name's Chu Song. What's yours?"
The name Chu Song sounded so familiar. Then she remembered: Jiang Yueyan's little fanboy. The Chu Household was one of the five great aristocratic clans, a lineage of beast cultivators for generations.
The Chu Household was much like the Tang Household-brothers in misfortune, with neither in any position to laugh at the other. One was a household of sword cultivators who spent every Spirit Stone they earned repairing their beloved "wives," while the other was a household of beast cultivators who fed all their Spirit Stones to their precious "children."
Logically, the Beast Taming Sect would have been the best choice for Chu Song.
Why insist on coming to the Profound Heaven Sect? Tang Yao promptly sized Chu Song up. Then the creature in his arms might not be a cat. Perhaps it was something like a tiger.
If she remembered correctly, the Chu Household's guardian spirit beast for generations had been the divine beast White Tiger. But White Tiger had been injured a hundred years ago and had not appeared in a long time.
"You're from the Chu Household? Why are you going to the Profound Heaven Sect?" Remembering that he was Jiang Yueyan's little fanboy in the novel, Tang Yao changed her tone and feigned sudden realization. "You have a crush on Jiang Yueyan?!"
"Like hell I'd have a crush on a man! Stop making things up! You could say that to the cut-sleeve from the Tang Household! Why are you saying it to me?!" Chu Song looked ready to die rather than suffer this slander.
Tang Yao: "..."
Unconcerned about embarrassing himself, Chu Song admitted frankly, "My household can't even keep the pot boiling. I'm here to steal their teachings. Once I've learned them, I'll go to the Beast Taming Sect!" The youth snorted after saying this. "What's your name?"
Tang Yao: "..." What was her name? Her name was Tang Yao, the damned cut-sleeve he was talking about.
No, that wasn't the point. Was this person an idiot? Who announced right off the bat that they were here to steal teachings?
This was her fellow teaching thief?
Tang Yao took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again, sorting out what to say. "I'm the same as you. I'm from the Tang Household. Don't misunderstand-I'm not that cut-sleeve. I'm just from a side branch!"
"But brother, isn't entering the sect so openly a little unwise? What I mean is, you're from the Chu Household's main line. Too many people have seen you. You need to change things up, or everyone will know you're leaving as soon as you've stolen their teachings."
Chu Song nodded, fully agreeing with Tang Yao. His Spirit Root was a mutated Lightning Spirit Root, and for the Profound Heaven Sect's talisman cultivation, a Lightning Spirit Root was the best!
Getting in would be possible, but getting out would not be so easy.
So Chu Song asked again, "Then, Brother Tang, what brilliant advice do you have? You're from one of the five great households too, after all. I imagine some people have seen you as well."
Still wearing her mask, Tang Yao lowered her eyes and head, pretending to sigh. "There's no other choice. To steal their teachings, I've decided to dress as a woman."
She certainly could not go in looking like this. If Jiang Yueyan saw the lecher who had molested him turn up, he might blast her into flowers blooming all over the ground with a talisman.
Chu Song wore an expression of horror and admiration. For the sake of giving his lineage enough money to feed their spirit beasts, he would go all out. "Brother Tang, count me in!"
Tang Yao: "?" Wait, what?
This brother was way too ruthless!
What Tang Yao did not know was that, after their identities were exposed later, recording stones of the esteemed Beast Taming Sect personal disciple Chu Song during his cross-dressing days would sell out completely.
Two lovely figures quietly appeared before the Profound Heaven Sect's gates. Tang Yao felt little pressure; she was a woman to begin with, after all. Now she wore a pale green, waist-cinched dress and a low bun, with waterdrop earrings dangling from both ears. A bamboo-style crystal ornament was pinned in her hair, and dark green hair ribbons danced in the wind. Her black eyes were lively and clear.
"Brother Tang, I never imagined you'd look so good dressed as a woman!"
Chu Song wore a pink-and-white flowing fairy dress. His formerly high ponytail had been undone, leaving his dark hair cascading down his back, with a peach blossom hairpin tucked into his bun. Bright-eyed and white-toothed, he excitedly patted Tang Yao on the shoulder.
"You're not bad yourself, Brother Chu."
The two began admiring each other. Truly, there was not an ugly person in this cultivation world.
A cup of tea's worth of time later, their turn came in the line for registration and Spirit Root testing. The senior brother responsible for testing Spirit Roots glanced at them, then motioned for them to place their hands on the Spirit Testing Stone.
Tang Yao stepped forward. She had thought it through repeatedly: if she tested her Spirit Roots directly, the various elements would mix together, producing a low-grade Spirit Root result just like the original owner's.
In this situation, using Spiritual Qi of a single attribute would break the deadlock.
Tang Yao drew Ice Spiritual Qi from her Spirit Root and slowly placed her hand on the stone.
In an instant, the Spirit Testing Stone erupted with dazzling blue light, as though frozen in ice, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.
The stone displayed: high-grade Ice Spirit Root, Qi Refining Ninth Stage.
At the result, the corners of her lips lifted slightly.
Her gamble had paid off.
The people around her drew sharp breaths and whispered among themselves, while the senior brother in charge of the new recruits lit up and exclaimed excitedly, "A mutated Ice Spirit Root! Quick, fetch Elder Ling!"
After speaking, the senior brother kept his eyes fixed on Tang Yao, as though afraid she would run off to another sect.
Having steadied himself, the senior brother cleared his throat. "Junior sister, wait over to the side for now." Then he called to the line, "Next, keep coming!"
Chu Song was next.
The instant he placed his hand on it, the Spirit Testing Stone erupted with purple lightning. An intense presence of thunder and lightning rushed toward them, covering the Spirit Testing Stone, and another stir swept through the crowd.
Heaven-grade Lightning Spirit Root, Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
Another mutated Lightning Spirit Root! And heaven-grade at that! This young lady looked so young, yet she had already reached Foundation Establishment. The Profound Heaven Sect had struck treasure this time!
What the Profound Heaven Sect's talisman cultivators loved most were mutated Spirit Roots. When Spiritual Qi took physical form, they could enhance the explosive power of talismans.
The senior brother's voice began to tremble. "A Lightning Spirit Root! Our sect actually has a heaven-grade Lightning Spirit Root among this intake! Junior sister, go wait beside the junior sister before you. Elder Ling, who's in charge of the new recruits, will be here shortly."
Before long, Elder Ling, who oversaw the new recruits, hurried over. His blue-green robes fluttered in the wind, and his eyes shone brightly.
"What are your names?" Elder Ling asked Chu Song and Tang Yao.
They certainly could not give their real names.
The question silenced Tang Yao and Chu Song. After the two pondered for a moment, Tang Yao spoke first. "Her name is Chu Xiaohua."
Chu Song: "...?" Excuse me?
Not to be outdone, Chu Song replied, "Her name is Tang Xiaocao."
Elder Ling stroked his beard, somewhat at a loss for words, but forced out some praise. "Mm, good. Fine names."
Just then, he focused his gaze for a closer look.
This Chu Xiaohua was actually using a transformation Law Artifact. Though its grade was not low, he had still seen through it at a glance.
Never mind. What if it was some hobby of the child's?
Genius youths were bound to have a few little quirks. Better not expose him.
Elder Ling changed the subject and said with a smile, "Your Spirit Roots appear only once in a hundred years in the cultivation world. I believe you should achieve good rankings in the new recruit trial!"
"The top three new recruits this time will become personal disciples. With next year's sect tournament coming up, we still haven't filled all the personal disciple places."
If they had not been short on personal disciples, he would have wanted to take one as his own disciple. Talented talisman cultivators had grown increasingly scarce in recent years!
Tang Yao was not particularly keen to become a personal disciple. She only wanted to slip into the inner sect, learn a little about talisman cultivation, then make her getaway.
Chu Song shot Tang Yao a look. He had the same idea. This business could not bear the light of day, after all, so keeping a low profile was best.
Before long, a senior brother came to take them to the new recruits' lodgings.
Their exclamations never stopped the entire way!
It was nothing but a chorus of "wow"!
The spiritual power here was incredibly dense. Even a weed seemed to contain spiritual power, giving off a faint glow!
What shocked the two most was that even the damn toilets the sect provided for disciples below the Foundation Establishment Realm were built from Radiant Stone!
The two country bumpkins stared so hard their eyes nearly fell out.
They had to learn talisman cultivation well!
A sword cultivator who did not want to become a talisman cultivator was not a good sword cultivator/beast cultivator!