Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Bright Void Sect
「Evening.」
The Qi Refiners from the various Immortal Sects left with their respective disciples.
Unlike the others who left in groups of various sizes, Zhu Ju followed Shen Youx alone.
While possessing an Immortal Sect Token didn’t guarantee entry, not one of the successful candidates chose to join the Bright Void Sect.
That seemed to say it all.
"Don’t overthink it."
Noticing the odd look on Zhu Ju’s face, Shen Youx couldn’t help but advise him.
"The Immortal Path is long; you can only rely on your own strength."
"If your talent is insufficient, you won’t amount to much even in a Major Sect. And the Bright Void Sect’s legacy is far from weak."
"Let’s go!"
"Follow me back."
With that, he executed a Lightweight Body Technique, leaping dozens of feet and shooting off into the distance.
Zhu Ju hurried to keep up.
The techniques of an Innate Qi Refiner seemed similar to those of an Inner Qi Martial Artist. Both involved circulating their internal power to execute various Methods.
The only difference was their ability to draw upon the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy.
This greatly increased the power of an Innate Qi Refiner’s techniques.
Just like now.
Shen Youx barely seemed to exert himself. With a light tap of his foot, he shot forward dozens of feet.
Zhu Ju had to use all his strength just to keep up.
Shen Youx explained as they traveled, "Within the Dazhou Territory, there are three major Immortal Sects, over a dozen smaller Immortal Sects, and dozens of cultivation Noble Families. The three major Immortal Sects are the Profound Clarity Sect, the Cyan Cloud Sect, and the Jade Void Sect. Of these, the Jade Void Sect is the most powerful."
"About three hundred years ago, a few Jade Void Sect Elders had a falling out with the Sect Leader of their generation. They broke away to form their own school, which became our Bright Void Sect."
"The Bright Void Sect has Three Veins: Dragon Head, Flying Phoenix, and Celestial Sword. The founder of each vein was an Elder from the Jade Void Sect."
"So our Bright Void Sect also possesses a long and storied immortal lineage!"
’So that’s the connection between the Bright Void Sect and Dazhou’s number one Immortal Sect.’ With this realization, Zhu Ju casually asked, "Senior Brother, which Immortal Sect backs the Dazhou Royal Family?"
"I heard that the current chaos is because their backing Immortal Sect collapsed, forcing the Dazhou Royal Family to turn to the Demon Sect."
"..." Shen Youx glanced back at him and said sullenly,
"The Jade Void Sect."
Hm?
Zhu Ju’s expression stiffened.
So...
’It wasn’t just the Dazhou Royal Family. The Bright Void Sect’s own backer was gone too!’
’And with its own strength failing, it was likely caught in the fallout, causing the Sect to decline. No wonder nobody wanted to join.’
"Hmph!"
Reading his expression, Shen Youx snorted. "You’ve already joined the Bright Void Sect, which makes you one of our disciples. If you betray the Sect, the punishment is the obliteration of your Divine Soul!"
"You’re worrying too much, Senior Brother." Zhu Ju gave a dry laugh.
"I wouldn’t dare."
"You’d better not dare!" Shen Youx said.
"I am a Qi Refining Fifth Realm Cultivator, and I have made progress with my Celestial Spirit Body. I suggest you don’t get any funny ideas."
"We’re here!"
He let out a low cry, and his body shot forward like a gale, covering a good hundred meters before he gently touched down.
A hundred meters!
Zhu Ju watched from behind, dumbfounded.
A leap of a hundred meters—how was that any different from actually flying?
’So this is what an Innate Qi Refiner can do. It’s truly incredible, completely beyond the scope of a Mortal.’
*
*
*
Contrary to what Zhu Ju had imagined, the place where the Immortal Sect Disciples lived was not some paradise brimming with spiritual energy.
It was a small, unremarkable mountain village.
Inside a crude wooden house.
There were already four people inside. One wore a long robe similar to Shen Youx’s, who must also be a Bright Void Sect disciple.
The other three were dressed in various styles.
"Senior Brother!"
"You’ve returned."
"Mm."
Shen Youx waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the three people in the room. A trace of helplessness flickered in his eyes.
"Only three?"
"Yes." The other Bright Void Sect disciple sighed.
"You know our situation, Senior Brother. Anyone who knows anything about the Immortal Sects won’t choose us."
"And the ones who are ignorant enough to join will struggle to accomplish anything."
"Hmph!" Shen Youx snorted.
"It’s their loss."
"Zhu Ju!"
"This is your Senior Brother Cao Lei. Address him as Senior Brother Cao."
"Senior Brother Cao," Zhu Ju said, clasping his hands in a salute.
"A pleasure." Cao Lei’s eyes narrowed into a smile.
"So young, yet your Qi is so condensed. That’s the mark of successful Body Forging, which happens to be a good match for the Methods of our Dragon Head Lineage."
"That’s right." Shen Youx grinned.
"Zhu Ju is only twenty, yet he has already mastered Qi Circulation and has a solid Hard Skill Foundation. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of snatching him away from Old Songx."
"Oh?" Cao Lei raised an eyebrow.
"Mastering Qi Circulation at twenty... that’s rare, truly rare!"
’Actually, nineteen.’ Zhu Ju thought with a smile, but didn’t bother to explain. Even the other three new recruits were now looking at him with surprise.
"Alright."
Shen Youx pulled over a chair and sat down.
"Now that you’ve joined the Bright Void Sect, there are some things I need to make clear."
"Due to the turmoil within the Jade Void Sect and the invasion of the Demon Sect, our Sect previously suffered grievous losses among our Disciples while resisting the demons. Right now, the Dragon Head Lineage doesn’t even have a single Dao Foundation Cultivator to preside over it. The situation is, admittedly, not great."
’Dao Foundation? That must be the Realm after Innate Qi Refiner,’ Zhu Ju mused.
"That’s the bad news." Shen Youx scanned the new recruits and continued.
"The good news is, because our Sect contributed so much to the resistance against the Demon Sect, our Disciples are no longer required on the front lines. You only need to handle miscellaneous tasks in the rear."
"This means you can focus on your Cultivation in peace."
As soon as he said this, the heavy atmosphere in the room lifted, and Zhu Ju and the others visibly relaxed.
’Given the choice, who would want to go to the front lines? Even Immortal Sect Disciples suffered heavy losses; one can only imagine how dangerous it is. An Inner Qi Martial Artist would be nothing but cannon fodder.’
"The Cultivation of our Dragon Head Lineage focuses on Refining Gang and Condensing Evil."
"The Celestial Spirit Heart Method is only taught to Core Disciples, so only the Earth Evil Mysterious Skill is available for you to cultivate. In truth, neither Celestial Spirit nor Earth Evil is inherently superior. The Celestial Spirit Heart Method simply consumes far more resources, while the Earth Evil path is easier to start. Upon reaching Great Success, either can be used to establish a Dao Foundation. If one day you can merge Celestial Spirit and Earth Evil, you can even walk the Golden Core Path."
Shen Youx clapped his hands, clearly not wanting to dwell on the subject. He changed tracks, saying,
"However, to cultivate the Earth Evil Mysterious Skill, it’s best to dissipate your original Method. Are you willing to do so?"
What?
Including Zhu Ju, the expressions of all the new recruits changed drastically.
"This is the standard practice for all Immortal Sect legacies."
Shen Youx’s gaze swept over them as he said calmly,
"Unless you are the descendant of an Immortal Sect Disciple, the Method you practice is bound to be incompatible with our Sect’s legacy."
"If you don’t dissipate your old one, how can you convert to the new one?"
"S... Senior Brother?" The oldest of the four, a middle-aged man, asked, his expression twisting.
"Isn’t there any other way?"
"Of course there is." Shen Youx spread his hands.
"You can continue to practice your original Method while also cultivating the Earth Evil Mysterious Skill. By integrating the Evil Qi into your Cultivation, your Method will naturally transform into the Earth Evil Mysterious Skill. This could take as little as ten or twenty years, or as long as sixty."
"However, if you do it this way, your Cultivation progress will be extremely slow. I urge you to consider your choice carefully."
"If you choose to perform Dissipating Energy, I can stand watch and protect you. Not only will it not harm your foundation, but you can even use the dissipated power to temper your Physical Body. With your experience, it shouldn’t be difficult to cultivate back to your current Realm."
"I’ll choose the second option," the middle-aged man said without hesitation.
"I have practiced martial arts for over forty years and only just managed to reach the Innate Realm. To dissipate my cultivation and start over... that’s something I simply cannot accept."
Even if dissipating his cultivation wouldn’t harm his foundation, it would likely take him more than twenty years to get back to his current Realm. By then, he would be in his seventies or eighties. That was a price he couldn’t bear to pay.
"Me too!"
The only woman in the group nodded in agreement.
Shen Youx sighed at this but wasn’t surprised.
This was standard procedure for all Immortal Sects. It was also why Martial Artists with no prior connections found it so difficult to make any progress after reaching the Innate Realm.
Resources were one reason.
Time,
was another—and so much of it was wasted!
After all, hadn’t he seen countless people join an Immortal Sect, spend ten or twenty years just to open One Acupoint, only to return to the Mortal world, their hopes and bodies broken, to live out their days in a common gang or search for some other fleeting opportunity?
Zhu Ju remained silent. He certainly wasn’t going to switch techniques before he’d even seen the Immortal Sect’s Cultivation Technique.
The origins of his Five Peaks True Form Force were mysterious; it wasn’t necessarily any weaker than the Bright Void Sect’s legacy.
As for the last person...
The man’s eyes darted about, his expression relaxed. He seemed to have expected this all along, and merely gave a faint smile.
’This person must already be cultivating the Bright Void Sect’s techniques. His parents, or perhaps his master, must be Disciples of the Sect.’
"That’s all for now."
Shen Youx stood up.
"Cao Lei will arrange your next steps. All of you just need to focus on your Cultivation and your duties."
"Zhu Ju!"
"Come with me to get your things."
Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up, and he hurried to follow.
He hadn’t forgotten the reward he’d been promised for joining the Bright Void Sect.
The Innate Pill!
A Spirit Pill that could increase one’s chances of breaking through to the Innate Realm by thirty percent, which only the major Immortal Sects knew how to refine.
