Carrying the three from the sect—Luan Shan, Yu Hua, and Zhao Yan—along with Qin Sang and the other eleven newly admitted disciples, the Moon-Crossing Raft retraced its path back toward the Yuanzhao Sect. The other rogue cultivators who had failed to make the top twelve were disbanded on the spot.
Besides Qin Sang and Ruan Nanfeng, another senior sister named Wu Liuyue had seized one of the spots, though her cultivation was only at the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement stage.
Had Liu Yi not died, Kuiyin Sect disciples would have accounted for a full third of the qualifiers.
Qin Sang watched several of his failed fellow disciples leave the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground with heavy hearts, wondering what grim fate awaited them.
Yet the person he worried most about was himself.
"From this day forth, you are disciples of the Yuanzhao Sect! You must abide by the sect's rules and never commit treason, on pain of death!"
Yu Hua lectured them incessantly on the rules of the Yuanzhao Sect, wearing an expression of righteous dignity. To Qin Sang's ears, it sounded thoroughly hypocritical.
"Upon entering the sect, you must first start as chore disciples to temper your character. Assigning these chores should have been handled personally by your Martial Uncle Du, but he was held up by urgent business today, so I have taken the liberty of stepping in."
With that, Yu Hua retrieved twelve blank wooden waist tokens from his mustard seed bag. Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, he pondered for a brief moment, took out one token, condensed spiritual power into a brush, and swiftly inscribed it in a single stroke before tossing it to Ruan Nanfeng.
"Ruan Nanfeng, you cultivate the True Method of Yin Fire. Go to the Fire Asbestos Chamber to tend the furnace."
"Kun Li..."
"Wu Liuyue..."
...
Yu Hua assigned them one by one, and none dared voice an objection.
Then Qin Sang suddenly heard his own name called.
"Qin Sang, since you cultivate a water-attribute method, go tend the spiritual fields in the Cloud-Moving Valley. Take this."
Under Yu Hua's watchful gaze, Qin Sang obediently responded, reached out, and caught the waist token. Flipping it over, he saw several lines of characters:
*Yuanzhao Sect Entry Disciple, Cloud-Moving Valley, Qin Sang.*
In the end, all twelve disciples were assigned to different locations. Ruan Nanfeng went to the Fire Asbestos Chamber, while Wu Liuyue was sent to Beast-Rearing Ridge. None sounded like positions of any consequence, and judging from Yu Hua's tone, these chores were quite demanding.
Recalling the disdainful tone of the youth in tight-fitting clothes when mentioning chore disciples, Qin Sang could not help but smile bitterly to himself. He had joined an immortal sect to pursue the Dao, yet here he was, relegated to menial labor. Not only was it grueling, but it would also eat up most of his cultivation time. Who knew how long it would take to claw his way out? No wonder the youth had looked down on it.
"Put your full effort into doing your duties well, and the sect will take notice. If you are diligent enough, it is not uncommon to be taken in as a true disciple by a senior brother in the Foundation Establishment stage."
Yu Hua offered a few words of encouragement. While he spoke, the Moon-Crossing Raft had already drawn close to the Yuanzhao Sect's mountain gate.
Right then, an escape light streaked out from the adjacent mountain forest. An emaciated old man in his fifties or sixties, looking somewhat anxious, approached them at high speed. Clad in a green Daoist robe, he flew toward them atop a single stalk of green bamboo.
"Senior Brother Du!"
Luan Shan quickly brought the Moon-Crossing Raft to a halt, joining Yu Hua in saluting the newcomer.
Zhao Yan bowed and addressed him as Martial Uncle Du, while Qin Sang and the others followed suit. They had already heard Yu Hua mention that this man was likely Du Siye, who had originally been tasked with assigning the new disciples their chores.
"Senior Brother Du, didn't you have clan business to attend to? Why the hurried return?" Yu Hua asked, curious.
Du Siye shook his head, sounding somewhat irate. "Junior Brother Yu, forgive the embarrassment. The young ones in my clan are utterly worthless. Making a mountain out of a molehill over a trivial hiccup nearly derailed my important business! I've already ordered them to reflect on their faults."
Yu Hua offered comforting words. "As the clan patriarch, running a household is no easy task, Senior Brother Du. There is no need to lose your temper over petty squabbles. Rest assured, I have already arranged placements for these disciples according to your instructions. Take a look and see if there are any oversights that require adjustment."
"Oh?"
After examining the disciples' waist tokens, the elderly Du's expression softened, and he praised, "Junior Brother Yu, every placement suits each person's traits perfectly. No adjustments are needed at all. I had only mentioned it in passing earlier, never expecting you to make the trip in person. You have my gratitude!"
After flattering Yu Hua, the elderly Du turned his gaze to Qin Sang and the rest. With a wave of his sleeve, countless miscellaneous items flew out from his mustard seed bag in a dense flurry that practically eclipsed half the sky.
"Take these entry-level magic tools. Some are for your cultivation, and some are for performing your chores."
Seeing several streaks of light shooting straight toward him, Qin Sang hurriedly reached out to catch them.
There was a dusty grey mustard seed bag and a booklet inscribed with *Five Elements Incantations*.
Among the magic tools was an ordinary-looking spiritual sword, merely of the low-grade magic tool rank. It was actually a flight-type magic tool, completely different from a sword cultivator's sword flight; it had merely been crafted in the shape of a blade, and its speed fell far short of the Void-Traversing Wind.
There was also a green Daoist robe, likewise a low-grade magic tool. Relying on it in combat was out of the question, but once worn, it repelled dirt and kept dust from clinging, making it rather practical.
A meditation mat woven from bamboo leaves was also included. According to Martial Uncle Du, it was woven from the leaves of a spiritual bamboo known as water-heart bamboo; sitting upon it during cultivation provided an exceptional calming effect.
Additionally, there was a magic tool that looked like a white cloud. Qin Sang glanced around and noticed that he was the only one who had received such an item.
...
With so many miscellaneous items, Qin Sang gathered an armful and sorted them neatly into his mustard seed bag.
By this time, the Moon-Crossing Raft had entered the Yuanzhao Sect. Luan Shan set them down in front of a compound of dormitories.
Qin Sang had heard that the sect master of the Yuanzhao Sect was not either of the two Golden Core Masters, but rather a Foundation Establishment cultivator. People like Du Siye and his peers had taken charge of the sect's mundane affairs after reaching Foundation Establishment, having grown old with no hope of further breakthroughs.
Qin Sang had thought he might catch a glimpse of the Yuanzhao Sect's sect master, but to his surprise, they were granted no audience. The moment they landed, Du Siye handed them over to several senior brothers and left without looking back.
Scores of scenic peaks, large and small, encircled a solitary peak that towered into the clouds. That was the Yuanzhao Sect's main peak, Yuanzhao Peak.
Treading upon his spiritual sword, Qin Sang followed a senior brother surnamed Zhu, nodding repeatedly as he listened to instructions regarding sect life.
It was said that the main peak was where the spiritual veins of the mountains converged, and the spiritual power within the sect was even denser than that of the Kuiyin Sect.
Senior Brother Zhu led Qin Sang on a long, winding route. Yuanzhao Peak and the surrounding mountains were dotted everywhere with restricted areas. Only when they skirted around to the rear of a peak did a vast complex of halls come into view.
"Junior Brother Qin, this is the Lecture Hall. Martial uncles and senior brothers frequently come here to hold lectures, discoursing on cultivation, as well as offering guidance on casting incantations and controlling magic tools. Sitting in on these lectures requires spirit stones, with the cost varying according to the lecturer's cultivation. Although your work is hard, your monthly stipend is quite generous, enough for you to attend several sessions each month."
Following Senior Brother Zhu's pointing finger, Qin Sang peered into the distance for a few moments before Senior Brother Zhu hurried him along.
"I've explained all the key locations in the sect to you. Now, let me take you to the Cloud-Moving Valley. You're in luck; the Cloud-Moving Valley lies within the inner sect. While the chores are a bit heavier, the spiritual power there is far richer than in the outer sect, and it's very close to the Lecture Hall. What's more, it's easy to run into sect elders there. Who knows? One of them might take a liking to you and accept you as a disciple, freeing you from this sea of bitter toil!"
Chapter 84