Chapter 117 - 106: Moyun Sect Outer Sect Disciple

Chapter 117: Chapter 106: Moyun Sect Outer Sect Disciple

Li Yuanjun did not give Zhao Zuo any trouble, letting him leave after a few more sighs.

Zhao Zuo walked toward Moyun Mountain. The Moyun Market was situated at the foot of the mountain, so as he continued toward the peak and stepped into the mist-shrouded Grand Array, the temporary token in his hand grew slightly warm.

It was as if he had stepped from one world into another, passing through an invisible barrier to behold Moyun Mountain in its entirety. It stood like a colossal, natural wall upon the earth.

Beneath the azure sky, it towered like a majestic giant over the world, its waist wreathed in clouds and rosy light. Bathed in sunlight, it resembled a celestial wonderland.

The mountain rock was steep and hard, like heavy armor. Yet, someone had used Great Magical Power to carve a flat, five-meter-wide road into the cliffs, which coiled its way up the peak like a giant python.

The mountainside was shaded by a dense forest of lush, green trees. Ancient, towering trunks reached for the clouds, their branches heavy with leaves. Charming Spirit Beasts could occasionally be seen scurrying through the woods. At the edge of the forest stood neat rows of courtyards enclosed by red brick walls.

Although the mountain path was steep, it posed little challenge to Zhao Zuo. He covered about three meters with every stride, yet it still took him nearly half an hour to finally see the Moyun Sect’s main gate.

In front of the main gate sat a huge boulder. It must have been protected by an Array, because Zhao Zuo could see no marks left by wind or sun on its surface. Instead, dozens of irregular slashes crisscrossed the boulder’s face, forming the name "Moyun" in two large characters.

Zhao Zuo only glanced at it for a moment before he felt a wave of Sword Intent wash over him. It wasn’t lethal, but an immense, vast pressure. It was just enough to convey its power and extinguish any thought of resistance, but not so strong as to make one lose their composure.

Further beyond were two black stone pillars, each about fifty meters tall. They were similar to the pillars in the Moyun Workshop, only nearly twice as large. They towered into the clouds, their surfaces carved with intricate patterns. Though they emitted no Spiritual Light, staring at them for too long inspired an incredible sense of oppression.

Zhao Zuo tore his gaze away and set foot on a flight of bluestone steps. After climbing for another five hundred meters, his view suddenly opened up to a platform several hundred square meters in size. A dozen or so Moyun Sect Outer Sect Disciples, both male and female, were standing there.

"Are you a new disciple for the Earth Fire Hall?" one of them immediately asked, running over enthusiastically to lead Zhao Zuo in another direction.

"Ah, man, Senior Brother Liu beat us to it again..." the other disciples lamented. They earned Contribution Points for waiting here to collect temporary tokens from new disciples. It wasn’t a lot, but at least it was safe.

"My surname is Liu, and my given name is Heng. And you are... Junior Brother?"

Though the man wore a cyan Taoist Robe, it failed to conceal his bulging muscles. His bare arms were thick and powerful, and his face was sturdy and honest, with thick eyebrows and large eyes.

"I am Zhao Zuo."

The two briefly introduced themselves. Liu Heng was over a decade older than Zhao Zuo and had been an Outer Sect disciple for more than twenty years. He, too, had earned his discipleship by forging Spirit Iron in the Moyun Market.

His current Cultivation was at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, and he was a very warm and enthusiastic person.

"By the way, Junior Brother Zhao, may I see your temporary disciple token?" Liu Heng asked.

"No problem."

Zhao Zuo took the temporary disciple token from the Storage Bag at his waist and handed it to Liu Heng.

"Yep, this is it." Liu Heng infused the token with his Mana to inspect it.

"Don’t blame me for being so cautious, Junior Brother. A few years ago, someone was caught forging temporary tokens and selling Outer Sect disciple statuses. So... we have to be thorough with our checks," Liu Heng explained, handing the temporary token back to Zhao Zuo.

"I can’t believe someone would actually do that. What happened to them?" Zhao Zuo asked, slightly surprised. ’I never thought people in the Cultivation Realm also resorted to forgery for huge profits.’

"That person... he’s now the Head Senior Brother of the Earth Fire Hall, ranked as the fourth True Inheritance disciple. No, wait, he should be the third True Inheritance disciple now," Liu Heng explained.

’The third True Inheritance disciple...’ Zhao Zuo figured the man must have a powerful backer.

"Our Head Senior Brother... how should I put it? He’s very unpredictable, but also easy to get along with. You’ll understand when you meet him."

Liu Heng went on to explain the general layout of the Moyun Sect’s Outer Sect. For example, he mentioned the Ministry of Affairs Hall, which was responsible for issuing missions. It was also where new disciples had to go first to receive their identification tokens and monthly stipends.

He also pointed out the residential area for Outer Sect Disciples. The remaining major locations were the Shenxiao Hall, the Punishment Hall, the Core Heart Hall which was responsible for Pill Medicine refining, and finally, the Library Pavilion.

The Library Pavilion, notably, was a building shared by the Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and even True Inheritance disciples.

The Earth Fire Hall, however, was unique. A row of communal Artifact Refining Chambers had been built over the Earth Fire Spirit Vein. All disciples of the Earth Fire Hall used these chambers, with no distinction between Inner and Outer Sect status.

Through his explanations, Zhao Zuo gained a general understanding of the Moyun Sect. For example, the ninth day of the ninth month was the date of the Grand Competition for the Outer and Inner Sects, where the top ten contestants would be decided through combat and receive lavish rewards.

However, since disciples from the Earth Fire Hall and Core Heart Hall spent most of their time honing their respective crafts, their combat abilities weren’t exceptional. As a result, the top ten spots were usually dominated by disciples from the Punishment and Shenxiao Halls each year.

After walking a while longer, they came upon another giant boulder by the side of the road. Carved upon it in a few powerful, sweeping characters was an inscription that emanated a turbulent Sword Intent.

"An Immortal must follow their heart and defy the heavens!"

"An Immortal must understand that principle is the edge of the sword!"

Seeing the curiosity in Zhao Zuo’s eyes, Liu Heng voluntarily explained.

"These are the precepts left behind by our First Founder."

Zhao Zuo nodded. They walked further into the Moyun Sect for a while before another black boulder appeared, upon which five large words had been carved with Sword Intent.

"Master, your words have merit."

In other words: "Teacher, you’re right."

"This is the precept left by the Second Founder. He was the First Founder’s disciple."

Next came the precept left by the Third Founder.

"Senior Brother, Master, your words have merit!"

"..." Zhao Zuo felt the lofty image of a Golden Core True Man completely shatter in his mind.

Zhao Zuo didn’t see any other founders’ precepts along the rest of the path. According to Liu Heng, the remaining ones were located in the Inner Sect Disciples’ area. One would likely have to become an Inner Sect disciple to have the honor of viewing them.

The two of them walked for another quarter of an hour.

"Junior Brother Zhao, the Ministry of Affairs Hall is right ahead," said Liu Heng.

Inside the Ministry of Affairs Hall, Zhao Zuo authenticated his identity with his Mana Seal, handed over his temporary disciple token, and in return received his official one. He was also given two cyan Taoist Robes, his starting two hundred sixty-seven Contribution Points, and a book of sect regulations that all Outer Sect disciples were required to memorize.

After leaving the Ministry of Affairs Hall, the two headed for the Outer Sect disciples’ residential area.

"Junior Brother Zhao, times have changed. You’d better memorize those sect rules thoroughly," Liu Heng said in a hushed voice, hesitating for a moment and glancing around cautiously.

"Why is that?"

"A while ago, the First Chief Disciple, Senior Sister Chen, successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment and became the new head of the Punishment Hall. On that very same day, the second-ranked True Inheritance disciple died."

"After that... a wave of purges began. Most of the disciples who had ever violated the sect rules were caught up in it. More than eighty of them died, and a dozen or so had their Cultivation crippled. Even Stewards and Elders were implicated. In the end, the Sect Leader himself had to personally step in to put a stop to it all." Liu Heng’s voice was not only hushed, but also trembling with fear.

Within the entire Moyun Sect, not a single disciple was unafraid of Chen Xiaorong.

And under certain conditions, that fear could transform into resentment.

Zhao Zuo fell silent at his words. He suddenly understood what Chen Xiaorong was pursuing: absolute adherence to the rules and absolute fairness.

She tolerated no compromises, delivering thunderous punishment to anyone who undermined the rules and fairness.

He also understood now why Chen Xiaorong had told him she had many enemies within the Moyun Sect.

’A path like that is bound to make many enemies.’

"I understand. I’ll be sure to read the sect regulations carefully."

Zhao Zuo bid farewell to Liu Heng and pushed open the gate to his own courtyard. He had initially planned to offer Liu Heng ten Spirit Stones as thanks for his guidance, but his offer was met with a firm and righteous refusal.

"Accepting bribes is a violation of the sect rules."

...