Chapter 3: The Style of the Demonic Sect

When Lu Yang stepped out of the quiet room, he discovered that someone had already been waiting outside for quite some time.

Lu Yang was startled. The person waiting was dressed in a black Daoist robe with a sinister expression. It was none other than the Black-robed Daoist who had assigned him to the [Joyous Union Hall]!

“Greetings, Senior Brother.” Lu Yang hurriedly bowed.

“You are very good. A true talent.”

The Black-robed Daoist said with a narrowing smile, “I originally heard that Yu Suzhen had lured a capable young man into her room and that her breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm was just around the corner…”

“I never expected that venomous woman would actually fail.”

As he spoke, the black-robed Daoist looked at Lü Yang with a peculiar gaze.  

Three days, a full three days!  

Yu Suzhen’s cries could even be heard outside the meditation room, and even though the black-robed Daoist considered himself experienced and knowledgeable, he could not help but feel a bit of admiration at this moment.  

Even though the Black-robed Daoist considered himself experienced and knowledgeable, he couldn’t help but feel a touch of admiration at this moment.

If this child does not die, he will surely become a pillar of the Saint Sect in the future.

“Follow me.”

The Black-robed Daoist’s name was Liu Xin. He was a formal disciple of the [Heaven-Mending Peak], one of the Four Inner Peaks, and was responsible for guiding newly promoted honorary disciples and explaining sect matters.

“The Four Outer Halls and the Four Inner Peaks correspond to one another.”

On the way, Liu Xin introduced the sect to Lu Yang with great interest. “Aside from the [Sacred Fire Cliff] where the Sect Master resides, my Saint Sect is primarily composed of the Four Inner Peaks.”

“You came out of the [Joyous Union Hall], so naturally, you will join my [Heaven-Mending Peak]. I will take you to update the register first.”

Having someone to guide him was exactly what Lu Yang wanted. “Many thanks, Senior Brother Liu.”

“It is merely my duty.”

Liu Xin said indifferently, “After updating the register, I will take you to the other three halls. The benefits for a formal disciple are quite substantial; consider it welfare distributed by the Saint Sect.”

“According to the rules, every formal disciple can only claim this once.” Speaking of this, Liu Xin’s expression turned somewhat melancholic. “Once you enter the Inner Sect, if you want to obtain items of the same tier, you must complete tasks issued by the Saint Sect to earn Contribution Points to exchange for them.”

Lu Yang frowned. “Contribution Points?”

“It is the currency issued by the Saint Sect,” Liu Xin explained. “After Junior Brother updates the register, you should be able to see it through your disciple token.”

Curious, Lu Yang immediately followed Liu Xin to update his registration.

The process was very simple. It essentially involved moving the Life Lamp he had ignited upon entering the sect to a different location—shifting it from the Outer Sect area to the Inner Sect area.

Afterward, Lu Yang infused a wisp of True Qi into the token at his waist. A line of text immediately floated up from the token:

[Formal Disciple: Lu Yang]

[As a formal disciple, the Saint Sect gifts you 50 Contribution Points. Contribution Points can be used to exchange for Spirit Stones, cultivation techniques, spiritual artifacts, Cave Abodes, etc.]

[After entering the Inner Sect, you must pay Contribution Points to rent a Cave Abode. The rent is 30 Contribution Points per month. Of course, you may also choose to purchase a Cave Abode. As a newly promoted Inner Sect disciple, if you purchase a Cave Abode within ten years, you can enjoy a 20% discount on the down payment.]

—Introductions like this went on for over a dozen pages.

After reading it carefully, Lu Yang came to a conclusion: “This Inner Sect only cares about money!”

With Contribution Points, you could go anywhere; techniques, pills, and treasures were all available. Without Contribution Points, it was impossible to move a single step—you couldn’t even afford a place to live.

At the same time, Lu Yang learned what the “welfare” Liu Xin mentioned was.

Every honorary disciple who advanced to a formal disciple could use their disciple token to select one spiritual artifact from the [Artifact Forging Hall], one pill from the [Alchemic Refinement hall], one Companion Spirit Beast from the [Beast Taming Hall], and one Dao Companion from the [Joyous Union Hall]—all without paying any Contribution Points.

“Looking at it this way, it really is welfare.”

With a thought, Lu Yang opened the exchangeable items list via his disciple token. Rows of corresponding text immediately appeared.

The cheapest techniques, artifacts, pills, Spirit Beasts, and Dao Companions all cost at least 100 Contribution Points.

In contrast, the rewards for tasks within the Saint Sect were pitifully small, mostly offering single-digit Contribution Points, with very few reaching double digits.

From this, it was clear that the “Free Four-Piece Set” for promoting to a formal disciple was worth at least 400 Contribution Points—a huge sum for a formal disciple.

While he was pondering, Lu Yang had already followed Liu Xin to the [Artifact Forging Hall].

The person responsible for receiving them was named Chen Hao, a Deacon of the [Artifact Forging Hall]. He was reportedly also a formal disciple, and serving as a Deacon was his assigned task.

According to Liu Xin, this kind of fixed-post task was the most profitable in the Inner Sect. Not only did it yield a lot of Contribution Points—often enough for one task to support a formal disciple entirely—but it was also stable, practically an “iron rice bowl.” Unfortunately, there were many monks and little porridge— without connections, one simply couldn’t get such a task.

“Senior Brother Liu? It’s been a long time.”

Walking into the [Artifact Forging Hall], Lu Yang noticed that Chen Hao looked him over first before turning to Liu Xin and speaking warmly, “Bringing another new disciple over?”

“Indeed.”

Liu Xin grinned, his words seeming to carry a hidden meaning. “Since you know, why not quickly bring out the finest artifact in the [Artifact Forging Hall] for Junior Brother Lu to inspect?”

“Right away!”

Chen Hao nodded eagerly, then led the group into the inner courtyard of the [Artifact Forging Hall]. However, as they walked, Lu Yang frowned in surprise.

“This… these are cultivation quiet rooms for disciples, right?”

To fetch an artifact, shouldn’t they go to a warehouse or something similar?

Hearing this, Chen Hao looked puzzled at first, then suddenly realized and laughed loudly. “Junior Brother Lu doesn’t know—the finest artifacts are all right here.”

Before his voice had even faded, the three of them stopped in front of a cultivation room.

“The Junior Brother in this room has very old seniority. He was an honorary disciple in the Outer Sect for three years. Unfortunately, he was a bit stubborn and went astray in his cultivation technique…”

After speaking, Chen Hao pushed the door open directly.

Lu Yang then saw a Daoist sitting on a meditation cushion in the center of the room. His eyes were tightly closed, and he was muttering to himself, seemingly trapped in a delirium.

“I did it… I’m going to succeed…”

Immediately afterward, Chen Hao formed a hand seal. The Daoist in the room abruptly opened his eyes, and a look of wild ecstasy surfaced on his previously dull face.

“Haha! I, the Daoist Lord, have succeeded!”

BOOM!

Before his voice fell, his entire person detonated with a loud boom. Flesh and blood flew through the air, then surged backward, completely merging into the skeleton that remained in place.

In moments, a living person had vanished.

Taking his place was a “Bone Sword,” crystalline like jade with orderly segments, which gently landed on the cushion, radiating a dazzling artifact luster.

Chen Hao stepped forward, picked up the “Bone Sword,” and handed it to Lu Yang. He said with satisfaction, “The artifact [Bone Jade Sword]. It counts as high-grade even within the Book of One Hundred True Treasures. This Junior Brother was indeed a talent. After cultivating bitterly for so many years, his internal power was profound— otherwise, the artifact’s spiritual light wouldn’t be this pure.”

Lu Yang: “…”

Looking at the [Bone Jade Sword] in Chen Hao’s hand and associating it with his experience in his previous life, Lu Yang felt a chill penetrate his bones. He gained a deeper understanding of the Primordial Saint Sect’s style.

It could be summarized in eight words: The weak are prey to the strong; make the best use of everything!

The Sect spends resources to raise you honorary disciples, so you must create value for the Sect. If you cannot create value, the Sect will create it for you!

If you break through and advance to a formal disciple, everyone is naturally happy.

If you cannot break through, the Sect cannot possibly support you for free forever. Naturally, they must recover the resources invested in you to ensure the Sect does not operate at a loss.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Primordial Saint Sect, some disciples are clouds, and some are water. They simply have different uses. All are “talents”— there is no trash.

“This really is… a Demonic Sect true to its reputation.”

Lu Yang closed his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air deeply. Thinking of the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] he had as a safety net, he regained his composure when he opened his eyes again.

“Junior Brother has a good temperament. Truly a man of striking appearance and talent!”

On the other side, seeing Lu Yang calm his emotions so quickly, a flash of surprise passed through Liu Xin’s eyes, followed by an even brighter smile on his face.

Following that, Lu Yang followed Liu Xin to the [Alchemic Refinement Hall] and the [Beast Taming Hall], receiving a [Qi Replenishing Pill] and a [Human-Faced Owl], respectively. The former could nourish True Qi after consumption, while the latter acted like a carrier pigeon—where formal disciples generally used them to transmit messages.

It wasn’t until the final item, the Dao Companion, that Liu Xin ran into difficulty.

“Junior Brother, you broke through too quickly.”

Liu Xin shook his head and said, “You just joined the Outer Sect and refined Qi in a single day. The speed is too fast. The Dao Companions scheduled by the [Joyous Union Hall] haven’t arrived yet.”

“Why don’t you wait a few days, Junior Brother?”

Lu Yang naturally didn’t care about a Dao Companion, so he immediately cupped his hands and said, “I will follow Senior Brother’s arrangements entirely.”

Liu Xin laughed heartily, then took out a jade slip and stuffed it into Lu Yang’s hand. “This is the secret transmission True Art of my [Heaven-Mending Peak]. Take it back and cultivate it well.”

Lu Yang took the jade slip and immediately circulated his spiritual consciousness to inspect it.

In the next second, a cultivation technique, complex to the extreme, imprinted itself into his mind.

[Primordial Dao Scripture]

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