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Xie Xu had also finished reading the manual by now. He called the others to follow Xie Jiuniang together.
There were benefits to climbing the mountain early. They could go to the Immortal Crane Garden first, spend a spirit stone to rent an immortal crane as a mount, and head to the outer sect.
The Immortal Crane Garden was located behind the Dongxu Hall.
The group used qinggong[1]Swift Foot Technique and reached the location in half a quarter-hour.[2]Half a quarter-hour: This is a literal translation of the Chinese phrase “半刻钟”, which refers to a unit of time equal to 15 minutes. In this context, it means they reached the … Continue reading
They weren’t the only clever ones. Some new disciples were already renting immortal cranes from the garden keeper. These people likely had family members in the sect who had informed them about some of the entry procedures in advance.
It was Xie Jiuniang and the others’ turn.
Xie Jiuniang took out thirteen spirit stones. “There are thirteen of us.”
The garden keeper collected the spirit stones and opened a corner of the gate. “Go in by yourselves. Which immortal crane is willing to take you depends on your ability.”
“Thank you.” Xie Jiuniang quickly led the group inside.
They happened to see over a dozen disciples being given a hard time by the immortal cranes. A few people had already mounted the cranes and flown into the air.
Xie Jiuniang quietly instructed, “Take out a Qi Nourishing Pill and say you want to go to the Fourth Peak. As long as they eat it, it means they agree.”
Xie Siniang nodded and immediately rushed towards the nearest immortal crane. She took out a Qi Nourishing Pill, and the crane tilted its head to glance at her before lowering its head to eat the pill. It then gestured for her to sit on its back.
Xie Siniang was extremely excited.
The others saw this and immediately followed suit.
Xie Jiuniang smiled. Spending thirteen spirit stones and giving them a little tip was a way to repay them for their protection at the mountain gate.
Xie Jiuniang also found an immortal crane.
The group of thirteen took off together.
Some people had seen the Xie family’s younger generation feed something to the immortal cranes and quickly took out pills to do the same.
One spirit stone for one ride was just the sect’s fee. The immortal cranes also needed to earn extra money.
A bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills could be bought for five spirit stones, and a bottle contained ten pills. The immortal cranes’ fees weren’t expensive. Of course, if you didn’t have Qi Nourishing Pills, Spirit Gathering Pills would also work, as long as you were willing to part with them.
In the air, the field of vision suddenly expanded. Green mountains, clear waters, and towering peaks met the eye. A gentle breeze brushed against their faces, putting them in a pleasant mood.
Xie Siniang excitedly shouted, “Hahaha, I finally entered a major sect! Wow, the scenery is so beautiful! Hahaha, even the wind blowing here is fragrant.”
Xie Xu and the others felt a bit envious. They were equally thrilled about successfully entering the sect, but as men who considered themselves upright and dignified, how could they shout and scream like girls? It would be embarrassing.
Compared to their excitement, Xie Jiuniang’s demeanor suddenly changed. She wrapped her arms tightly around the crane’s neck. Seeing the crane flying leisurely, she started chattering with her little mouth, “Little immortal crane, if you fly faster and surpass everyone in front, I’ll give you a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills.”
“Chirp?” The immortal crane’s intelligence was equivalent to a five or six-year-old child. It understood Xie Jiuniang’s words and turned its head to look at her.
Xie Jiuniang took out a pill bottle and opened it, letting the crane smell the medicinal fragrance. “I’m not lying to you. Inside are Spirit Gathering Pills, much more valuable than Qi Nourishing Pills. As long as you take me to the Fourth Peak of the outer sect first, this entire bottle will be yours.”
The immortal crane let out a clear chirp and happily spread its wings, flying vigorously as if injected with chicken blood.
It surpassed one person after another.
Xie Siniang exclaimed in surprise, “Xiao Jiu is flying so fast!”
Xie Xu said, “She must have done something again.”
The others nodded.
After leaving the family, the image of the obedient and cute Xiao Jiu had become blurry. The current Xiao Jiu’s tricks were too many for ordinary people to imagine.
The few disciples flying at the front suddenly became anxious when they saw someone overtaking them. They had elders in the sect and knew some information in advance.
The Tianxu Sect’s outer sect occupied over a hundred mountain peaks, equivalent to a medium-sized sect in the cultivation world. This was also one of the foundations of a major sect.
All new disciples entering the Tianxu Sect were outer sect disciples, even those who were exempt from the assessment. However, they would be assigned to another mountain peak and wouldn’t compete for resources with the disciples who had taken the assessment.
Of course, there were exceptions in special circumstances, such as Xie Ying, who had a single spiritual root. But the entire cultivation world might not produce one in a hundred years.
Upon entering the sect, the first resource to fight for was the area with dense spiritual energy on the disciples’ residence mountains, such as high-grade cultivation caves and spirit stones.
The outer sect had ten mountains for disciples to reside in.
One mountain was specifically reserved for genius disciples exempt from the assessment. That mountain peak was called Qianlong Peak[3]Qianlong Peak: Literally means “Hidden Dragon Peak.” and had the best spiritual energy in the outer sect.
The other nine mountains were only numbered, from First Peak to Ninth Peak, in a ninety-year cycle.
For example, this year, Xie Jiuniang and the others would reside on the Fourth Peak. Ten years later, new disciples would be assigned to the Fifth Peak. Twenty years later, it would be the Sixth Peak… Ninety years later, new disciples would return to the Fourth Peak.
Why ninety years?
The truth was both gentle and cruel. Cultivators who couldn’t break through to the Foundation Establishment stage had a lifespan of just over a hundred years. Ninety years was the longest period given by the sect.
When the ninety years were up, the mountain would be cleared, and the elderly would also have to move and find another place.
According to the sect’s rules, in the first year, whoever reached first could occupy the best resources, and how much they could occupy depended on their ability.
They wanted the immortal cranes to fly a bit faster, but no matter what they said, the cranes continued to fly leisurely. Let alone catching up to Xie Jiuniang, they were so anxious that they almost fell off several times.
Until they could no longer see Xie Jiuniang’s back, they had no choice but to accept their fate. They hoped that Xie Jiuniang could show some mercy and not occupy all the high-grade areas.
Was Xie Jiuniang that kind of person?
The immortal crane landed directly on a large platform halfway up the Fourth Peak of the outer sect.
“Little immortal crane, this is the reward we agreed on. Take it!” The moment Xie Jiuniang’s feet touched the ground, she tossed the pill bottle to the crane and ran up the mountain, slapping Agility Talismans on her legs. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from sight.
The immortal crane caught the pill bottle with its beak and shook it. A glimmer of doubt flashed in its eyes, and it shook it again.
Huh? One? A bottle of pills should have ten, right?
“Chirp!” The immortal crane let out an angry chirp. The human brat had actually deceived it!
“Chirp, chirp…”
“Chirp!!”
Xie Jiuniang ran too fast, and the crane couldn’t catch her. It could only suffer a silent loss. However, it would complain when it returned. It would make sure the brat couldn’t ride an immortal crane again.
Xie Jiuniang secretly used her divine sense to observe. Seeing the crane leave, she wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead.
“Oh my, that scared me.”
The whole bottle was indeed what she promised. Xie Jiuniang hadn’t lied. It just so happened that the bottle only contained one Spirit Gathering Pill. There was no problem with that, right?
Xie Jiuniang took out three formation plates and occupied the three caves with the best spiritual energy on the Fourth Peak. She then leisurely went to the area above the only waterfall and took out ten protective formation plates, activating them to their maximum size, covering the twenty most fertile spirit fields.
She also went to the bottom of the waterfall and occupied the spot with the best scenery. It wouldn’t be bad to build a bamboo house there in the future.
By the time Xie Jiuniang finished her busy work, the second disciple had just arrived.
They hurriedly rushed to the three best caves, only to find that formations had been activated. They could only curse and leave, heading for the second-best ones.
However, the second-best ones were occupied by people who came after him…
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☕️ Available Chapters: 📚
Chapters 41-45
Chapters 46-50
Chapters 51-55
Chapters 56-60
Chapters 61-65
Chapters 66-70
References
Katra1212[Translator]
Hi I'm Katra! Translator by day, lemon aficionado by night. Secretly suspects a past life as a citrus fruit. Squeezing the joy out of language, one word at a time.🍋