Chapter 3
Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Way of the Demon Sect
-----------------------------------------------------------------
When Lu Yang walked out of the meditation chamber, he found someone was already waiting for him outside the door.
Lu Yang’s heart skipped a beat. The man was dressed in a black Daoist robe, his expression grim and sinister. It was the very same black-robed Daoist who had assigned him to the Harmonious Union Hall!
“Greetings, Senior Brother.” Lu Yang hurriedly bowed.
“You’re quite something. A real talent.”
The black-robed Daoist said with a grin, “I originally heard that Yu Suzhen had lured a very capable young man into her room, and that a breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm was just around the corner.”
“I didn’t expect that venomous woman to actually fail.”
As he said this, the black-robed Daoist looked at Lu Yang with a peculiar gaze.
Three days. Three whole days!
Yu Suzhen's cries could be heard even outside the meditation chamber. Though the black-robed Daoist considered himself worldly and experienced, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of admiration.
If this boy survives, he is destined to become a pillar of the Saint Sect!
“Follow me.”
The black-robed Daoist, named Liu Xin, was a formal disciple from one of the Four Inner Sect Peaks, Heaven Mending Peak. He was responsible for guiding newly promoted registered disciples and explaining the sect’s affairs.
“The Four Outer Sect Halls and the Four Inner Sect Peaks correspond to one another.”
On the way, Liu Xin explained to Lu Yang with great interest, “Aside from the Sacred Fire Cliff where the Sect Master resides, our Saint Sect is primarily centered around the Four Inner Sect Peaks.”
“Since you came from the Harmonious Union Hall, you will naturally enter my Heaven Mending Peak. I’ll take you to have your name updated in the register first.”
Having a guide was something Lu Yang couldn't have hoped for more. “Thank you, Senior Brother Liu.”
“It’s merely my duty.”
Liu Xin said nonchalantly, “After updating the register, I’ll take you to the other three halls. The benefits of being a formal disciple are considerable; you can think of them as perks provided by the Saint Sect.”
“According to the rules, each formal disciple can only receive them once.” At this point, Liu Xin's expression turned a bit wistful. “Once you enter the Inner Sect, if you want to obtain things of the same level again, you’ll have to complete missions issued by the Saint Sect and earn Contribution Points to exchange for them.”
Lu Yang frowned. “Contribution Points?”
“It’s the currency issued by the Saint Sect,” Liu Xin explained. “Junior Brother, after you update the register, you should be able to see them through your Disciple Token.”
His curiosity piqued, Lu Yang followed Liu Xin to update the register.
The process was quite simple. It basically involved moving the Life Lamp he had lit upon joining the sect from the outer sect area to the inner sect area.
Afterward, Lu Yang infused a wisp of his true qi into the token at his waist, and a line of text immediately appeared on it:
“Formal Disciple, Lu Yang.”
“As a formal disciple, the Saint Sect grants you 50 Contribution Points for free. Contribution Points can be used to exchange for spirit stones, cultivation methods, magical artifacts, cultivation abodes, etc.”
“Upon entering the Inner Sect, you will need to pay Contribution Points to rent a cultivation abode. The rent is 30 Contribution Points per month. Of course, you may also choose to purchase a cultivation abode. As a newly promoted inner sect disciple, you can enjoy a 20% discount on the down payment if you purchase one within ten years.”
—There were more than a dozen pages of such introductions.
After reading it all carefully, Lu Yang came to a conclusion: “This Inner Sect is all about money!”
With Contribution Points, you could roam the world; cultivation methods, pills, and treasures were all available. Without Contribution Points, you couldn't take a single step; you couldn't even afford an abode.
At the same time, Lu Yang also learned what Liu Xin meant by "perks."
After being promoted to a formal disciple, every registered disciple could use their Disciple Token to select one magical treasure, one pill, one companion spirit beast, and one dual cultivation cauldron from the Treasure Refining Hall, Pill Refining Hall, Beast Taming Hall, and Harmonious Union Hall, respectively, without paying any Contribution Points.
“Looking at it this way, they really are perks.”
With a thought, Lu Yang used his Disciple Token to open the list of exchangeable items for Contribution Points. Lines of corresponding text immediately appeared.
Cultivation methods, magical artifacts, pills, spirit beasts, and cauldrons—the cheapest ones all required 100 Contribution Points.
In contrast, the rewards for missions within the Saint Sect were pitifully small, all in the single digits, with very few reaching double digits.
From this, it was clear that the free four-item set for promotion to a formal disciple was worth at least 400 Contribution Points, which was a huge sum for a formal disciple.
While he was pondering, Lu Yang had already followed Liu Xin to the Treasure Refining Hall.
The person who received them was named Chen Hao, a deacon of the Treasure Refining Hall and reportedly a formal disciple himself. Being a deacon was his mission.
According to Liu Xin, these fixed-position missions were the most profitable in the Inner Sect. Not only did they offer a lot of Contribution Points, often enough to support a formal disciple on their own, but they were also stable, a coveted iron rice bowl. Unfortunately, there were too many contenders and too few positions; without connections, it was impossible to get such a mission.
“Senior Brother Liu? It’s been a while.”
Walking into the Treasure Refining Hall, Lu Yang noticed Chen Hao first sized him up before turning to Liu Xin with a warm greeting, “Bringing another new disciple over?”
“That’s right.”
Liu Xin grinned, his words carrying a hint of suggestion, “Since you know, why don’t you hurry up and bring out the finest artifacts in the Treasure Refining Hall for Junior Brother Lu to inspect?”
“Right away!”
Chen Hao nodded eagerly and led them into the inner courtyard of the Treasure Refining Hall. As they walked, however, Lu Yang frowned in surprise.
“This… is a disciple’s meditation chamber, isn’t it?”
Shouldn’t they be going to a warehouse or a similar place to retrieve an artifact?
Chen Hao first looked confused, then it dawned on him, and he laughed heartily. “Junior Brother Lu, you may not know, but all the best artifacts are right here.”
As his voice fell, the three of them stopped in front of a cultivation room.
“The junior brother in this room is a veteran. He was a registered disciple in the outer sect for three years. A pity he’s a bit stubborn and went astray in his cultivation method…”
After saying that, Chen Hao pushed the door open directly.
Lu Yang then saw a Daoist sitting on a cattail hassock in the center of the room, his eyes tightly shut, muttering to himself as if in a dream.
“I’m succeeding… I’m about to succeed…”
Then, Chen Hao formed a hand seal. The Daoist in the room abruptly opened his eyes, and a look of wild joy appeared on his previously dull face.
“Haha! This Daoist Lord has succeeded!”
Boom!
Before he could finish his sentence, his entire body exploded. Flesh and blood scattered through the air, then reversed course, all of it merging back into the skeleton left in his place.
In a short while, a living person had vanished.
In his place, a “bone sword,” as crystalline as jade and perfectly segmented, landed gently on the hassock, still glowing with the dazzling light of a magical artifact.
Chen Hao walked over, picked up the “bone sword,” and handed it to Lu Yang, saying with satisfaction, “The magical artifact ‘Bone Jade Sword’ is considered a superior item in the *Book of a Hundred Treasures of the Cavernous True*. This junior brother was indeed a talent. His cultivation was profound after so many years of hard work, otherwise the spiritual light of the artifact wouldn't be so pure.”
Lu Yang was speechless.
Looking at the Bone Jade Sword in Chen Hao’s hand and recalling the events of his previous life, Lu Yang felt a chill seep into his bones, gaining an ever-deeper understanding of the Primal Saint Sect’s ways.
It could be summed up in eight words: The weak are prey for the strong; everything has its use!
The sect spends resources to cultivate you registered disciples, so you must create value for the sect. If you can't create value, the sect will help you create it!
If you break through and get promoted to a formal disciple, then everyone is happy.
If you can't break through, the sect won't support you for a lifetime for free. Naturally, they will recoup the resources they invested in you to ensure the sect doesn't suffer a loss.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Primal Saint Sect, some disciples were clouds, and some were water. They simply did different things. All were talents; there were no wastes.
“This is truly… a sect that lives up to its name.”
Lu Yang closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. Thinking about the Book of a Hundred Lives as his safety net, he had already regained his composure by the time he opened his eyes again.
“Junior Brother has a fine temperament. Truly an outstanding talent!”
On the other side, seeing Lu Yang calm his emotions so quickly, a flash of surprise crossed Liu Xin’s eyes, and the smile on his face grew even wider.
Next, Lu Yang followed Liu Xin to the Pill Refining Hall and the Beast Taming Hall, where he received a “Qi Supplementing Pill” and a “Human-faced Owl.” The former could nourish true qi when consumed, while the latter was like a carrier pigeon, generally used by formal disciples to send messages to one another.
It was only when they reached the final item, the cauldron, that Liu Xin seemed troubled.
“Junior Brother, you broke through too quickly.”
Liu Xin shook his head and said, “You just joined the outer sect and reached the Qi Refining Realm in a single day. That’s too fast. The cauldrons reserved by the Harmonious Union Hall haven’t arrived yet.”
“How about you wait a few days, Junior Brother?”
Lu Yang, of course, didn’t care about any cauldron. He immediately cupped his hands and said, “I will follow Senior Brother’s arrangements.”
Liu Xin laughed heartily, then took out a jade slip and stuffed it into Lu Yang’s hands. “This is the secret true art of our Heaven Mending Peak. Take it back and cultivate it well.”
Lu Yang took the jade slip and immediately circulated his spiritual sense to examine it.
The next second, an incredibly complex cultivation method appeared in his mind.
*Innate Dao Scripture*