Chapter 20: Chu Ran

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Chu Ran

The next day, Sui Sui woke before the sun had even risen. As he sat up, memories of the previous night slowly returned, causing him to pause for a moment.

He had actually fallen asleep halfway through the blood-feeding.

"..."

He had no idea how everything ended after that. Hopefully, Yizhou hadn’t found him too troublesome.

Since he was already awake, Sui Sui decided to start his day earlier than usual. He headed to the common washroom, quickly freshened up, and changed into another set of Wenjian Sect robes. The uniform he had worn yesterday remained neatly folded beside his bed, he had originally intended to wash it, but then another problem presented itself.

"...How do people even do laundry here?"

His first instinct was naturally to wash it by hand, just as he would have in his previous life. However, this was the cultivation world so there was probably a much easier method.

He decided he would ask Shi Qing about it later.

Fortunately, his family had prepared plenty of spare uniforms before sending him to the sect, so he didn’t have to worry about running out of clothes anytime soon.

After finishing his preparations, Sui Sui stepped out of his room.

He didn’t have any particular destination in mind. Since he had only recently arrived at Wenjian Sect, he decided to spend the morning familiarizing himself with the areas accessible to probationary disciples. After all, if he intended to stay here for a long time, it wouldn’t hurt to learn the layout of the sect as soon as possible.

Unlike inner disciples, probationary disciples had relatively few places they were permitted to enter. Most of the important cultivation grounds, training pavilions, and elder residences were strictly off-limits unless they had obtained special permission.

One of the first places Sui Sui came across was the Mission Hall.

The hall was bustling with both probationary and inner disciples coming and going, many gathered before several large wooden boards covered with jade slips listing various sect commissions.

Unlike inner disciples, probationary disciples did not receive a monthly allocation of cultivation resources from the sect. Whether it was spirit stones, contribution points, pills, or cultivation materials, everything had to be earned through their own efforts.

The Mission Hall existed for exactly that purpose.

Here, disciples could accept tasks issued by elders, other inner disciples, or even the sect itself in exchange for contribution points. Those points could later be exchanged for cultivation resources within the sect.

Most of the commissions weren’t particularly dangerous. Some involved cleaning public areas around the sect, maintaining mountain pathways, or repairing damaged buildings after disciples sparred a little too enthusiastically. Others required tending the medicinal fields, feeding spirit beasts, gathering common spiritual herbs, or capturing low-level demonic beasts that wandered too close to the sect’s territory.

Of course, more difficult missions offered greater rewards, but those were generally reserved for disciples with higher cultivation.

Sui Sui silently memorized the location, sooner or later, he would probably have to come back here.

Continuing along the stone pathway, he eventually arrived at another large building. This was the Assembly Hall.

Unlike many other places within Wenjian Sect, the Assembly Hall was open to every disciple regardless of rank. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, elders would personally conduct sect-wide lectures, sharing their understanding of cultivation, martial techniques, alchemy, formations, talismans, and many other topics.

For experienced cultivators, most of these lectures simply served as a review.

For disciples still in the Qi Refining Realm—especially probationary disciples—they were priceless opportunities. Listening to higher level elders explain even the simplest cultivation principles could save years of trial and error.

Unfortunately, today wasn’t the first or the fifteenth so the spacious hall remained quiet, with only a handful of disciples passing through.

After leaving the Assembly Hall, Sui Sui eventually found himself standing before a vast valley enclosed by wooden fences. This was the Spirit Herb Garden.

Nearly all of the medicinal herbs required by the sect’s alchemists were cultivated here before being refined into pills.

Rows upon rows of neatly arranged spiritual plants stretched across the valley, each plot carefully separated according to the herb’s attributes and growth conditions. Some required constant sunlight, while others thrived only in damp, shaded environments. A few particularly delicate herbs were even grown beneath protective formations that regulated temperature and spiritual energy.

Of course, probationary disciples were only allowed to enter the outer gardens. The herbs cultivated there were relatively common and primarily used for basic pills consumed by Qi Refining cultivators. The inner gardens, where precious century-old and millennium-old spiritual herbs were grown, were heavily guarded and inaccessible to ordinary disciples.

Many of the commissions posted in the Mission Hall involved caring for these outer herb fields. After all, although tending spirit herbs sounded easy, it was tedious work that required patience and attention to detail—qualities that many disciples lacked.

After wandering around the sect for quite some time, Sui Sui finally decided to leave the Spirit Herb Garden. Just as he stepped onto the stone pathway outside the entrance, a group of disciples suddenly blocked his path.

There were more than a dozen of them.

Most wore the light blue robes reserved for inner disciples, the edges of their sleeves embroidered with fine golden threads that distinguished them from ordinary probationary disciples.

A few probationary disciples stood among them as well, but judging from the way they positioned themselves, it was obvious they were merely following the lead of the inner disciples.

At the front of the group stood a young girl whom Sui Sui had never seen before.

She looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. Dressed in the elegant robes of an inner disciple, she possessed delicate features and an innocent appearance that could easily deceive anyone meeting her for the first time. The corners of her lips even curved into a gentle smile, making her seem approachable at a glance.

Unfortunately, appearances were often deceiving.

The moment she opened her mouth, the mockery hidden beneath that sweet smile became impossible to miss.

"Well well, heard that a certain someone returned to the sect, what? Still didn’t learn your lesson?" Hearing the words come out from the girl’s mouth, Sui Sui instantly knew who this person was.

it was Chu Ran and her underlings.