Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 406: Choice

The Zephyr Mountains.

This was a mountainous region in the center of Sageheart. It covered an area of around ten thousand square kilometers, with more than a thousand mountains of various sizes. The tallest of them all was the principal mountain of the Zephyr Mountains, Starsnatch Peak.

Starsnatch Peak was located in the eastern part of the Zephyr Mountains and stood 6800 meters tall. The summit was originally covered in snow throughout the year, except for a single lake known as the Moonlight Pond.

It was said that the Water Moon True Person comprehended the Dao here and ascended from the domain, leaving behind his texts for his descendants, who established the Basking Moon Sect.

This mountain was now the primary peak of the Basking Moon Sect, and a great formation had melted the snow and ice and made it spring throughout the year. From a distance, the peak surrounded by white clouds and snowy mountains made for an impressive sight.

Starsnatch Peak was circled by 19 mountains: the renowned 19 Star Mountains, the residences of the 19 Celestial Chiefs. Between Starsnatch Peak and the 19 Star Mountains were smaller mountains, and one of these stood out from the others. Its walls were so completely smooth that there was no way one’s feet could get any purchase on it, and it got sharper and sharper as one went up, like a sword thrusting out of the earth toward the heavens. This was the Divine Sword Mountain.

To be more precise, this was a sword turned into a mountain: the God-Conquering Merak Sword.

Beyond the 19 Star Mountains was a ring of three-hundred-some mountains. This was the primary mountain group, and it was where most of the Basking Moon Sect’s outer disciples stayed.

To the west of the primary mountain group was a large mountainous region dubbed the Nature Zone.

The Nature Zone was no residential zone, but a hunting zone. There were many fiends within, and they were bred there. Compared to the fiends the students usually faced, these were much stronger, with many of them being at the Transformation Level, and there was even the possibility of some being at Divine Division.

The Basking Moon Sect left these fiends for the specific purpose of training future generations, and they also treated them like herd animals, butchering some every year. If the Basking Moon Sect’s paradise was like a family’s private plot of land, the Zephyr Mountains’ Nature Zone was grazing land. Although it wasn’t as stable as the Basking Moon Sect’s paradise, it would often produce pleasant surprises.

Of course, those fiends also had a hunger for cultivators. When cultivators were out hunting, they were also being hunted by the fiends. Each side hunted the other for what they needed, which meant that a few cultivators would die every year.

But this was the path of cultivation. Even in an age of peace, one needed some enemies or misfortune to encourage one to constantly progress.

In fact, from a certain perspective, the difference between peace and chaos was that the former could control those cruel and dark things while the latter had completely lost control of them.

Tang Jie and the others flew toward the primary mountain group, led by the four disciples from the Selection Hall, with Wei Tianchong and Qi Shaoming acting as tour guides along the way. As True Inheritors, they knew the path to the Zephyr Mountains well. As for Liu Hongyan, she was only an appointed True Inheritor, but she had never had the chance to be formally accepted, so she was not familiar with the Basking Moon Sect’s main base.

“Ahead is the Welcome Peak. This is where the Basking Moon Sect’s main eastern gate is located, and it is also where new disciples go first to receive their assignments,” Wei Tianchong said as he pointed at a small mountain. “Where we go next will be decided there.”

“‘Where we go next’?” Shi Meng asked.

“Mm.” Wei Tianchong nodded. “It’s where we get split into halls. I think it’s better if Shaoming explains. Shaoming’s teacher, True Person Hongyang, is the master of the Ritual Hall, so he understands the rules of the Basking Moon Sect the best, and the Welcome Peak is under the Ritual Hall’s management. He’s the young master of that mountain, and we’ll be arriving there soon, so everyone had best get on his good side while you can.”

Qi Shaoming gave Wei Tianchong a little shove. “You talk too much.”

Everyone laughed.

Qi Shaoming began to explain the process to everyone.

Entering the Basking Moon Sect didn’t mean that one could cultivate every day. Each cultivator had their own position, with missions and duties that they needed to complete. The Basking Moon Sect had 16 halls, with many subdivisions and positions.

For this reason, the first thing new disciples needed to do was to select a hall.

“Doesn’t that mean that everyone will be too busy with work to cultivate?” Shi Meng asked. His greatest worry was of not having enough time to cultivate. If, upon entering the Basking Moon Sect, he would still be busy with various trivial matters that left him with no time to cultivate, what was the point?

“How could that be?” Qi Shaoming laughed. “In truth, whether it’s old or new disciples, everyone is free to do what they want.”

As he explained more, everyone gradually began to understand.

It turned out that the Basking Moon Sect used the contribution system that everyone was familiar with to balance work and cultivation.

The sect provided everything, and all living expenses were denominated in contribution points, supplemented by spirit coins. The missions issued by the various halls were the means by which one could obtain contribution points. For this reason, other than the disciples who were posted in security, disciples usually took missions from the halls they belonged to for contribution points, and for this, they only needed to guarantee that they had enough to live on.

Basking Moon Academy’s mission system was modeled on the Basking Moon Sect’s system, meant for everyone to get used to it.

The average Basking Moon disciple only needed to do missions for a month to obtain enough contribution points to pay expenses for a year.

In other words, after one month of work, they could spend the rest of their time cultivating.

What was there to complain about with such a wonderful job?

“I see!” Everyone was relieved after hearing Qi Shaoming’s explanation.

The Basking Moon Sect emphasized a society where there were more people than there was work. There were more than one hundred thousand Spirit Master disciples, with around ninety thousand being outer disciples and ten thousand being inner disciples. This was a huge labor force that possessed extraordinary abilities, yet there was little work to do. This extra time was used on cultivation and leisure. Even that one month of work entailed running off to some place to handle a particularly thorny problem or battle. The actual work might not even take a day.

But this was exactly why cultivators were willing to accept this lifestyle. Otherwise, who would be willing to make the arduous climb up if they were still running around with work once they were at the top?

Cultivators relied on their martial strength to suck the blood of the people and fatten themselves. The Basking Moon Sect consumed countless units of manpower, resources, and tribute to be able to reach this scale.

Thus, one was mistaken if they believed that cultivators had to rely on themselves to make money. Once they became official disciples, the spirit coins they received every month would far surpass their expenses. They were required to work primarily to restrain the lazy and indolent natures of cultivators and to habituate them into following the orders of the Basking Moon Sect. Otherwise, without even a sense of organization, the sect would exist only in name.

This was where contribution points came in. Many things in the Basking Moon Sect could not be bought with spirit coins, only contribution points. This prevented the disciples from using spirit coins to free themselves from labor. The Basking Moon Sect required experts who could diligently cultivate, but it would never have a need for experts who cared nothing for worldly matters.

Everyone understood after listening to Qi Shaoming’s explanation.

Someone thought of something and shouted, “Eh? I recall that Tang Jie got one thousand contribution points over the Stone Gate Sect matter, right? Doesn’t that mean that you won’t have to do anything for an entire year?”

Qi Shaoming laughed. “You only realized now? It’s not one year, but five years! If Tang Jie is willing to save a little, he might even stretch those one thousand points to six or seven years.”

“Contribution points are that valuable?” Everyone was shocked.

“That depends on how you spend them,” Wei Tianchong chimed in. “If you only want a cave estate to hide in, the lowest-level one will cost ten contribution points a month, and if you don’t hire a servant and go down the mountain yourself to buy your things, it will naturally be enough. But if you want to constantly better yourself, want to get onto higher floors or obtain the right to freely roam the sect and enjoy the various sights, then even ten thousand might not be enough.”

It was from Wei Tianchong’s explanation that everyone learned that many things in the Basking Moon Sect were linked to contribution points.

Learning new spell arts? It was perfectly fine, so long as one handed over the contribution points. With enough contribution points, one could even look through the Divine Firmament Sword Classic.

Wanted a cave estate with abundant spiritual energy? Perfectly acceptable, so long as you had the contribution points. The entirety of the Zephyr Mountains was circled by a great formation that controlled not only the danger levels, but also the spiritual energy distribution. Different cave estates would vary in the amount of spiritual energy they had access to, and there were five levels in all. The lowest level cost only 10 contribution points a month, and then 50, 100, 200, and 500. If one were willing to pay 3,000 contribution points, one could even live in the Basking Moon Sect’s thousand-year paradise for a month.

If one wanted to hear a True Person give a lecture, that took contribution points. Wanted to head to one of the sect’s hidden grounds? Contribution points. Even finding a spirit field in the Basking Moon Sect to plant crops required contribution points.

The Basking Moon Sect was very large, and the Basking Moon Sect was very rich, but any item or service here cost contribution points.

If Tang Jie scrimped and saved his one thousand points, he could go several years without a problem. But if he wanted to live his life and spend, he could easily spend it all in a few days.

The disciples all looked at each other.

Welcome Peak was close now, and Qi Shaoming said, “Alright, everyone, save the chatter. When you arrive, you should watch your mouth. The representatives from each hall have already arrived. According to the rules of the Basking Moon Sect, outer disciples aren’t allowed to select their hall. Give your card to the Ritual Hall disciple, and then you follow whoever calls out your name. Remember: regardless of whether you wanted to go to that hall or not, you’re not allowed to discuss it. For new people entering the sect, tact is of utmost importance.”

“Yes,” everyone solemnly replied.

They arrived at Welcome Peak.

Their first sight was a golden and resplendent palace.

In front of the palace was a square paved with gray stones edged by a fence made of jade. Farther out was a forest of pines and cypresses, and Immortal cranes flew through the air.

On the square, several dozen Basking Moon Sect disciples in moon-white robes solemnly stood in two rows, one on each side. These were the Ritual Hall’s disciples. The Ritual Hall sounded like a place that only managed rituals and etiquette, but it was also responsible for internal order and discipline, which was a massive boost to their authority. They were like the monitor students of Basking Moon Academy, bestowed with the privilege of punishing and even arresting any disciple that broke the rules or overstepped their bounds.

Several people stood in the center of the hall: the stewards from each hall, responsible for selecting people from this batch of new disciples. Getting one or two outstanding geniuses would be a great boon for the power of their respective halls.

Internal conflict had always been found throughout the world.

When Tang Jie’s group arrived, they were welcomed by a white-robed fatty. Before even looking at the others, he bowed to Qi Shaoming and said, “Zhou Jinghai pays respects to Young Master Qi and pays respects to all the other students.”

Qi Shaoming coldly said, “Zhou Jinghai, the Basking Moon rules say to pay respects to seniors before juniors, so why have you paid respects to me before the four senior brothers from the Selection Hall? In terms of seniority, they should come first! You are a prime steward of the Ritual Hall, and you still commit such an error?”

Zhou Jinghai paled, and he hastily said, “Yes, yes, it was this lowly one’s mistake. Senior Brothers, please forgive me.”

Qi Shaoming was no Wei Tianchong. He had been cultivating under Li Hongyang these last few years, and his talent and diligence had won him Li Hongyang’s favor. This was precisely why Zhou Jinghai had chosen to flatter him on his entry into the sect, but alas, he had failed. Li Hongyang highly valued etiquette and ritual, and Qi Shaoming was very much a stickler for the rules, so how could he allow someone from the Ritual Hall to commit such an error? That would essentially be making himself a target for criticism. Zhou Jinghai’s flattery had failed, and he was filled with remorse.

The leading Selection Hall disciple smiled. “It’s fine. Our task of guiding the selected disciples is over. We must now trouble Senior Brother Zhou to take them to the various halls.”

“You are too polite,” Zhou Jinghai solemnly replied.

He would not repeat his mistake. Turning serious, he shouted, “All outer disciples, hear me! Stand in a line, and when your name is called, step forward. The rest of you, come with me!”

A large number of students got into a line and waited to be selected.

Tang Jie and the others followed Zhou Jinghai into the palace. There were ten-some people sitting within, but they weren’t as grim as those outside. Relaxed and casual, they nodded and smiled at the newcomers.

Once they were inside, Zhou Jinghai said, “All of you are the best of the best from your Basking Moon Academy class. Upon entry, you will officially be inner disciples, so you may choose which hall to join. But once you join a hall, you cannot change your choice without good reason, so be cautious with your selection. These are all prime stewards from the various halls. If you have any questions about the halls, you may ask them. Let me introduce you all. This is Dan Xin of the Storehouse Hall, this is Zhou Qiong of the Blood War Hall, this is Yue Chen of the Commerce Hall, this is Su Yang of the Canon Hall…

He introduced every person inside the palace.

14 people had followed Zhou Jinghai inside. Ten of them were the top ten disciples, and the remainder were Tang Jie, Wei Tianchong, Qi Shaoming, and Liu Hongyan.

There were 18 halls and 14 students, more options than there were takers. This was why, unlike those cold voices calling names outside, the 18 prime stewards were all smiles as they introduced the advantages of their respective halls.

Their words were truly eye-opening.

The Basking Moon Sect had eight inner halls and eight outer halls, and they each had their own exciting points. To take the Ritual Hall for example, outsiders thought that it was just the hall that managed ritual and etiquette, but it was actually also responsible for monitoring the disciples, which gave it great authority. On the same principle, everyone believed inner halls like Storehouse, Agriculture, Formation, and Medicine were pointless, not realizing the advantages they possessed. Putting aside everything else, a pavilion near the water would be the first to obtain the moon, and many items would go through these halls first.

One could say that the eight outer halls derived their benefits from the outside while the eight inner halls took the benefits from themselves. In short, they each had their ways.

Of course, one couldn’t talk about this out in the open, but there were many ways of hinting at it. In short, they implied that the disciples wouldn’t lose out if they chose one of the inner halls.

As an example, Dan Xin of the Storehouse Hall smiled and said, “Everyone knows that the Storehouse Hall manages all the treasuries, but they don’t know that we also manage the granaries, the medicine warehouses, tool warehouses, and all other storehouses. Some items, when kept too long, will inevitably be damaged and no longer usable, so they have to be thrown. But in fact, they’re not completely useless, and throwing them away is such a great pity. Which is exactly why we need disciples to strictly check on them.”

While he was saying that disciples were needed to strictly check on these items, what he was actually saying was that there was fortune and wealth to be had here. Moreover, since the Storehouse Hall controlled all the important storehouses of the sect, one could say that it had access to any kind of resource, and if one wanted a resource, one only needed to guard said storehouse. It was also a very easy job, with one only having guard duty for one month per year, and this came with a set number of contribution points. Of course, a significant number of items discarded that month would end up belonging to the disciples on guard that month.

There were similar situations in the other halls. Even the Vanguard Hall and Blood War Hall boasted about the benefits they could provide.

Zhou Qiong of the Blood War Hall said, “The surrounding mountain regions are often tyrannized by fiends. My Blood War Hall is under the Combat Department and serves as the main force, so we naturally cannot spend every day doing nothing. When there is no war going on, we need to find those fiends and do battle with them. Battles are bound to consume a lot, and resupply will be needed, and there is also much to gain from the battlefield.”

As expected of someone from the Combat Department, he was a rather blunt speaker, telling everyone that joining the Combat Department would maximize the number of times one could join teams to clean out fiends in the mountains. While this was somewhat risky, the reward was commensurate with the risk, and there was also the logistics support and whatever could be gained from the slain fiends.

The disciples all exchanged glances.

In truth, most of them thought of the Basking Moon Sect as a transcendent and aloof place. Upon entering the sect, they expected a family atmosphere, and their days to be spent doing missions or cultivating, a carefree and easy life.

It was never in their thoughts that there would be a struggle over which hall they would choose. It was like these stewards had taken them for prey, and these predators were fighting over who got the chance to eat.

As they wondered what to do, Qi Shaoming laughed and said, “If everyone is finding it hard to make a decision, I will go first to set an example. My teacher is Li Hongyang, the chief of the Ritual Hall. I am an untalented disciple and cannot go anywhere else, so I will remain at the Ritual Hall.”

He stood next to Zhou Jinghai.

Liu Hongyan spoke next. “True Person Yuliu took me as a disciple, so I will join the Law Hall.”

She stood next to the prime steward from the Law Hall.

Wei Tianchong scratched his head and said, “My master told me differently. He said that it will be hard to grow next to a tall tree and wanted me to select a hall on my own, but it had to be one of the eight outer halls, as only then would I have a chance to do battle outside. Moreover, I could select any of them except the Service Hall.”

Everyone was speechless. Sure enough, a favored disciple was treated completely differently from an unfavored disciple.

But a disciple like Wei Tianchong truly needed to be tempered in the outside world.

After some thought, Wei Tianchong said, “I choose the Tribute Hall.”

Three people had made their choice, so the other disciples stopped standing on ceremony and began to make their own choices.

Cai Junyang chose the Vanguard Hall, one of the three halls under the Combat Department and also the most dangerous of the combat halls. The Vanguard Hall led the charge in every battle, so they received the greatest monthly allocation. It wasn’t strange that he would choose this hall, given his personality, as it was only here that he could use the Hundred Tribulations Passage Tang Jie had given him.

Li Yunfan, an outstanding student of the same class, chose the Service Hall. It was also a hall that experienced frequent combat, but it had more freedom.

Heng Wei, the student who was famed for his formidable defense, went to the Selection Hall.

The elite students of this class of Basking Moon Academy had soon made their choices. Only Tang Jie was left.

This was the most outstanding student of his class, with a recommendation from Ming Yekong. Everyone was anxious to see where he went.

Zhou Qiong of the Blood War Hall couldn’t help but shout, “Tang Jie, join my Blood War Hall. I’ll give you a squad and give you hunting privileges in the Zephyr Mountains!”

A newcomer becoming a squad captain was extremely rare.

Another person said, “I’ve heard that Tang Jie is skilled in formations, so you should join my Formation Hall to study formations. Tang Jie, don’t underestimate my hall. Researching formations costs a lot of resources, and only my Formation Hall can provide them.”

“Then it would be better to join my Medicine Hall. Only with resources can one have cultivation level, and with cultivation level, one can have everything!” a white-bearded man proudly said. Surprisingly, nobody spoke up after him. After all, the Medicine Hall had the vast majority of the top-class medicines in Sageheart, so offending him would make one’s life very uncomfortable.

As everyone was talking up their halls, Tang Jie suddenly chuckled and said, “This one appreciates everyone’s kindness, but I have already made up my mind. I choose…”

Everyone stared at Tang Jie.

“The Secret Hall!”

Secret Agent Tang Jie, coming through!