Chapter 71: Formal Entry into Xuanbing Sect
On the other side, Ruan Xing looked at the neat buildings vaguely visible among the green rocks and trees on the outer peak and began to ponder.
Finally... we have a sect.
She didn't plan to leave the mountain gate again until she reached the late stage of foundation building. She thought it should be safe enough here and she would not be attacked by evil cultivators again.
However, Ruan Xing still planned to simulate it once he became familiar with the environment.
One was to see if the Xuanbing Sect would be attacked by evil cultivators when she was twenty-three years old, and the other was to find out what realm she could eventually reach if she stayed in the sect and practiced diligently.
In order to avoid encountering any bloody plots of bullying and exclusion by sect disciples, Ruan Xing did not walk around randomly. He just flew around on his sword to take a look at the scenery of the outer peaks, and avoided people he met first.
After waiting for an incense stick of time, she saw Senior Brother Qin and Zhao Fengchun coming to find her on a flying sword.
There was no look of distress on their faces after being punished. Instead, Zhao Fengchun smiled at her with gratitude.
Ruan Xing was confused.
Senior Brother Qin said meaningfully: "Fellow Daoist Ruan can fly a sword."
Ruan Xing had no intention of hiding it any further. He had only made an excuse to reach the sect safely. Hearing this, he said without any guilt, "I only know a little bit. My skills are not as profound as yours, Senior Brother Qin."
Senior Brother Qin snorted, "Follow me."
Led by him, the three of them went to the treasure pavilion together. Halfway up the mountain, they jumped off their flying swords and landed on the open space in front of the busy gate.
After entering the door and walking to one of the counters, Senior Brother Qin asked Ruan Xing to take out one of the two jade tablets and hand it to the old monk sitting behind the counter.
The old monk picked up the jade token and used his spiritual sense to identify it. He smiled and said, "A six-year-old who has reached the ninth level of Qi training. It seems that our sect will have another new genius. Congratulations, fellow Taoist. Please wait for a moment."
The old monk pushed open the wooden door behind him, went in for a while and then came out again with a tray in his hands.
On the tray were two sets of clothes that were the same as those of the other disciples, two pieces of thin paper, two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, and ten low-grade spirit stones.
"This is the monthly salary of the sect, as well as the basic resources for new disciples. From now on, you can come to the treasure pavilion every month to receive a bottle of Qi Gathering Pill and nine low-grade spirit stones." The old monk had a kind smile on his face. "I wonder if Junior Sister has any requirements for housing?"
Zhao Fengchun whispered to Ruan Xing, "Dingziyuan is where ordinary low-level cultivators and servants live together. From Cziyuan onwards, they are single-person residences, and there is a spirit gathering array for cultivation. The closer you are to the center of the array, the higher the concentration of spiritual energy. Cziyuan needs to pay six low-grade spirit stones per month for the spirit gathering array. Jiaziyuan needs thirty low-grade spirit stones per month. I live in No. 168 in Yiziyuan, and I need fifteen per month. Generally, I pay every three months."
I didn't expect that I still had to pay rent after arriving in the Immortal Cultivation World...
But it's okay. In name, the accommodation is free, but the fee is the spirit gathering array. If you don't want to pay even a spirit stone, you can just live in the T-shaped courtyard.
But monks realize that they are different from ordinary people. Even if they are short of money, they are still proud in their hearts and definitely do not want to live together with servants.
Ruan Xing thought about it. The ticket money for entering the secret realm had already been refunded to her. With the new monthly salary from the sect, she had sixty-one low-grade spirit stones.
After paying the rent for Yiziyuan, there will still be sixteen left.
Moreover, even Zhao Fengchun, who is at the fourth level of Qi training, has to work hard to earn money to live in the Yi Courtyard. Presumably, the effect of the Spirit Gathering Array is extraordinary, and most of the high-level disciples gather in the Yi Courtyard.
"Okay, then I'll live in Courtyard C. I'll pay for one month first. Thank you." Ruan Xing said firmly.
Are you kidding? Is she the kind of person who can practice on her own? She has been in the Qi training stage for almost a month and has never sat properly for a day.
Spiritual stones are not only currency and cultivation resources to her, but also points and life.
If there weren't no single rooms in the mixed-living T-shaped courtyard, she would have wanted to live there.
They were silent for a moment and looked at her in surprise.
I never expected that a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi training would choose to live in the Bing Courtyard.
However, the old monk did not say anything. After taking the six spirit stones from the tray, he handed the tray to Ruan Xing and said, "The location of your residence will be sent to the jade card later."
After leaving the treasure house, Zhao Fengchun couldn't help but say, "Ruan...Junior Sister."
She seemed a little uncomfortable with this title, but Senior Sister Ruan Xing had been calling her "Senior Sister" for several days and had even given her the Qi Gathering Pill. Now that they were from the same sect, it would seem unkind if she still called her fellow Taoist. She could only overcome this on her own.
"You may not understand the significance of the spirit gathering array when you practiced alone at home in the past. When you stay in an environment with rich spiritual energy, one day of practice is equivalent to three to five days of practice for others. Even when you break through, your chance of success will be higher than others. When I first entered the outer sect, it took me two years to practice to the third level of Qi training. After living in the Yiziyuan, I broke through to the fourth level of Qi training in less than a year, and I have already touched the threshold of the fifth level. I estimate that I will be able to practice the fifth level of Qi training by next month at the latest. You are more talented than me. Since entering the Tao early has restricted the growth of your spirit bones, you should not waste this talent. You should form a pill and reshape your body as soon as possible."
Zhao Fengchun looked serious.
Ruan Xing knew that this girl was not a shrewd person. Based on her own experience and thoughts, she was doing it for Ruan Xing's own good. Her heart softened and she smiled and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister Zhao. I understand. However, I have just joined the sect and I am short of money. I don't have that many spirit stones to be your neighbor. I will think of a way to earn some spirit stones first."
On the way, she had asked Qin Yi about ways to make money in the sect. Qin Yi could naturally think of her having the ninth level of Qi training but not the ninth level of Qi training wealth. This was also the unspeakable embarrassment of many cultivators with ordinary backgrounds but good talents. Therefore, he interrupted the conversation and said, "The canteen should be open for dinner at this time. You have been running around for half a day. Aren't you hungry?"
Qi training cultivators have not yet been able to give up grains. In the past few days, Ruan Xing had been eating fasting pills, which had no taste and were dry, just like chewing chalk. Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up, "Okay, let's go eat. I want to try the food in our Xuanbing Sect."
"Okay." Zhao Fengchun responded, turned around and said to Qin Yi: "Brother, don't we have to redo the sect mission this month? Can we invite Junior Sister Ruan to come along? She has a higher level of cultivation and will definitely be more useful than me."
Qin Yi nodded, "Okay, but you are very useful, don't underestimate yourself."
"That's great." Zhao Fengchun exclaimed happily.
"What sect mission?" Ruan Xing leaned forward and asked curiously.
Zhao Fengchun smiled and pursed his lips. "Outer sect disciples are required to complete a certain number of sect tasks each month before they can receive their monthly salary. If they fail to complete a certain number of tasks for three consecutive months, they will be expelled from the sect. The number is determined based on their cultivation. Junior Sister Ruan, you are at the ninth level of Qi training, so you should complete one upper yellow level or five lower yellow level tasks."
After a pause, she continued, "Originally, you didn't need to complete the sect's missions in the first month, but you just said that you were short of money. After completing the missions with us and earning contribution points, you can exchange them for spirit stones or elixirs. By the way, we can also teach you how to accept missions in the sect and get paid."
"So that's how it is." Ruan Xing nodded. She had originally been thinking about researching how to earn contribution points in exchange for martial arts techniques. It would be great if Zhao Fengchun was willing to help teach her.
However, for the sake of caution, Ruan Xing still asked, "What mission are you going to do?"
If she needed to leave the sect, she would not go, for fear of encountering evil cultivators. Not only would she lose her life, but her fellow disciples would also suffer.
"It's not confirmed yet." Qin Yi continued, "But there are only a few days left until the end of the month. Together with several other junior brothers and sisters, we need to complete a yellow-level top-level mission. I will go to the sect hall in the next two days to see if there is a suitable one. If nothing goes wrong, it should be to kill monsters."
Killing monsters requires leaving the sect, and Ruan Xing immediately lost interest. "Forget it, I don't really want to go out for the time being."
Qin Yi said calmly: "Okay, come with me to the Zongwu Hall tomorrow to see if there are any tasks that meet your requirements."
The dining hall for outer disciples was on the outer peak, and there were fixed food boxes for people to pick up. The three of them received their food, and they had no intention of returning to their residence. They found a table and sat down to eat. In the food box was a bowl of rice, a plate of seasonal vegetables, a plate of steamed meat, and a bowl of egg drop soup, all of which were mortal food without spiritual energy.
The prices of those spiritual rice and monster meat are very expensive, and it is impossible for them to be provided to outer disciples for free in the cafeteria. In addition to purchasing them with their own spiritual stones, they may be able to enjoy the sect's share of spiritual rice only after reaching the foundation-building stage and entering the inner sect.
There were many servants and disciples below the third level of Qi training in the dining hall, sitting sparsely to eat.
Seeing Ruan Xing seemed to have doubts, Qin Yi took the initiative to explain: "Generally, in order to have more time to practice, we choose to eat more fasting pills. At most, we will come here to eat a few times when we are greedy or don't want to spend spirit stones on fasting pills. In addition, many high-level Qi training disciples don't want to stay here, so they will ask the servants to bring the food to their residence."
The arrogance of monks... is understandable.
Ruan Xing pointed at a few young Qi training level 1 cultivators who looked about 13 or 14 years old in a corner of the dining hall and asked, "What about those? Are they also new disciples?"
Looking in the direction she pointed, Qin Yi thought for a moment, "It seems to be the few mortals with spiritual bones that were recruited from the surrounding towns last year. This will appear from time to time in the sect's missions. Recruiting a disciple with spiritual bones will give five contribution points."
"Wow, then did I also earn five contribution points for you?" Ruan Xing asked in surprise.
Qin Yi didn't say anything. Zhao Fengchun said a little embarrassedly: "Um, this mission is on me..."
After all, Ruan Xing was looking for her in the first place. Although Qin Yi also helped, how could he possibly compete with Zhao Fengchun for her.
"Outer disciples have to earn all their resources on their own, and practice on their own. Won't they go astray? I'm afraid many mortals don't understand the content of the Qi training formula."
"How can I figure it out by myself?" Qin Yi said incredulously: "If one can reach the foundation-building stage just by blindly practicing the Qi training formula, then everyone would be a genius."
Ruan Xing was a little embarrassed. She just practiced blindly by imitating the Qigong formula...
"There are fixed-time classes for guiding Qi into the body taught by senior brothers and sisters, which are free for all disciples. There will also be various courses for improving cultivation, practicing techniques and breaking through realms. These require contribution points to exchange for the qualification to attend the classes. By the way, teaching is also a sect mission, which meets your requirement of not wanting to leave the sect, but with your image, there probably won't be many people who will sign up for your class."
People still have the stereotype that a mature teacher is a good teacher.
Just like old Chinese doctors, the older they get, the more popular they become.
However, strength can break through stereotypes. If she can make most outer disciples think she is very powerful, then there will definitely be people who will listen to her classes.
This sect mission can be included as an alternative...
Suddenly, Ruan Xing felt his jade token flash with green light and vibrate.
She took out the jade token to check, and Qin Yi reminded her: "Maybe the residence has been arranged."
Sure enough, when the spiritual consciousness probed in, it saw No. 391, Bingziyuan.
"That's true." Ruan Xing nodded.
Zhao Fengchun also took out his jade token, "Since it's ready, Junior Sister Ruan, let's leave spiritual power marks on each other so that it will be convenient for us to communicate in the future."
Isn’t this just adding friends to expand your list?
Ruan Xing readily agreed to Zhao Fengchun's friend invitation.
Under Zhao Fengchun's expectant gaze, Qin Yi also took the initiative to exchange the jade token's spiritual power imprint with Ruan Xing.
The meal was almost finished, and the three of them stood up to leave. Ruan Xing also went back to take a look at his new residence.
"Is it better than what you have at home?" Zhao Fengchun blinked curiously and smiled shyly, "I seldom leave the sect, and I haven't eaten at home for more than three years."
The big pot dishes were always mediocre, but Ruan Xing said tactfully, "It's OK. Why don't you go home if you miss home? The sect doesn't seem to restrict freedom."
She has been in the world of immortal cultivation for almost a month, and most of the cultivators she has met are not the type who would sever their ties to worldly affairs once they enter the immortal world.
This makes it even more difficult to evaluate the way Liuyang Academy recruits inner disciples.
"I'll go back and take a look after I've established my foundation." Zhao Fengchun clenched his fists, his eyes flickering with longing, "I'm afraid that when I go home, I won't have the fighting spirit to practice hard."
"Then I wish you can build your foundation as soon as possible." Ruan Xing said sincerely.
The three separated after entering the residential area.
Qin Yi's residence was also in Yiziyuan, not far from Zhao Fengchun.
After their explanation, Ruan Xing had a general understanding.
Number 1 to 50, Jiaziyuan.
Number 1 to 200 in Yiziyuan.
Numbers 1 to 400 in Bingzi Courtyard.
There is no number in Dingziyuan.
More than 700 outer sect members were scattered in this residential area. It might seem that the 650 houses around the spirit gathering formation were not enough to accommodate them, but in fact, cultivators at the first or second level of Qi training could not earn a stable monthly rent of six spirit stones, so the Bing Courtyard was not fully occupied.
Living in the Jiazi Courtyard are two outer sect elders in the foundation-building stage, some disciples from aristocratic families, and some inner sect disciples who are about to build their foundation.
For example, Xie Huai, who made Ruan Xing feel inexplicably dangerous.
He lived in Jiaziyuan, far away from Ruan Xing's residence, which made her feel a little at ease.
At least you don't have to worry about encountering them when you go out.
Pushing open the door, the inside was bright and clean, probably having been cleaned by the servants. There were two rooms, a bedroom and a quiet room, and the area was not large, probably less than five square meters in total.
Ruan Xing opened her arms and threw herself onto the bamboo couch in the bedroom. The smooth woven surface felt cool. She squinted her eyes comfortably and began to practice circulation, opening all the pores in her body to breathe in the fresh spiritual energy brought by the spirit gathering array.
Well...it did feel better than when she was in town, but not as good as the spiritual energy at the top of the mountain in the Hanshan Secret Realm.
I saw several comments saying that it is hard to imagine how big a 5 square meter house is. You can refer to Hong Kong's low-rent housing, the prototype is this
Thanks to sisi88 for the monthly ticket~
(End of this chapter)
