Chương 4: Valley of Immortal Seedlings

The next days went by quickly for Lin Yi. After they left Old Pine Town on the flying boat, they visited three other towns or villages. The travel time by flying boat was around half an hour, and the visits to the towns and villages were the same. During their stay, the newly accepted disciples weren't allowed to leave the ship. Only when they entered the Dang Prefecture Capital several hours later were they sent to the properties of the Charging Bull Sect.

During the two-day stay there, Lin Yi learned a few things from his senior brothers and sisters stationed in the city. The properties in the city were not a true branch of the sect, but more like a small outpost. It was used to temporarily shelter disciples on their journey, like Lin Yi and his group, and to house a small contingent of disciples or elders stationed here. The group of sect members stationed here was responsible for enforcing the sect's interests throughout the region.

Every official governed capital had one of these 'overseers'. County Capitals had mostly third stage Qi Condensation Outer Court Elders or older Inner Court Disciples. From a senior brother, Lin Yi also learned that in every Prefecture Capital, a Foundation Establishment Dao Master was stationed. But these sect elders never really appeared, and Lin Yi had not seen one in his time here. Among the disciples, it was even rumored that one of the sect's Golden Core Perfected Ones oversaw the Luan Province Capital.

The senior disciples didn't mention much about the sect structure itself. They said that most things would be taught to them once they entered the sect proper. They still talked about some minor things. Like, that each of the five prefectures of the Luan Province had an Outer Court branch overseeing them.

With the branch in the Luan Prefecture itself, the smallest, as it was more of a fallback for descendants of the sect's higher-ups, and a temporary place for the truly talented newly accepted disciples, till they entered the Inner Court, which is also at the same location in the Luan Prefecture, and the sect's headquarters at the same time. In the Inner Court lives the sect's highest echelon.

A further 'Core Court' apparently does not exist in the Charging Bull Sect, other than like most sects in Lin Yi's previous life's novels, which were divided into outer, inner, and core parts. The Dang Prefecture Outer Court branch, along with the whole prefecture, was the most eastern of the five branches. And while it was not the weakest, it had the worst spiritual environment. But not by much. From what Lin Yi could infer, the whole Luan Province might not be the most suitable location for immortal cultivation.

Still, a senior disciple said that the Charging Bull Sect is still one of the strongest sects in the Huang Kingdom. After the second night in the prefecture capital, the sect's housing capacity neared its limit. Every day, Elder Dou and other Sect Elders brought many new disciples, and it was finally decided that the current batch would be transported to the Outer Court. On this journey, they also flew on a flying ship. But the difference between Elder Dou's ship and this one was enormous.

While Elder Dou's ship could hold dozens of people and was only one big open boat, this one was more like a small flying cruise ship. It could transport hundreds of people and had even personal cabins and a few community rooms. Though they didn't have much of a chance to explore, as the journey only lasted an hour or two, most new disciples, like Lin Yi, were still nervous and didn't mingle much with each other. At the end of the journey, they were called together by a senior disciple currently on duty.

Soon after, they landed and were escorted down from the ship. As Lin Yi looked around, he noticed that they were on a landing platform surrounded by fog. Only the flying ship, the new batch of around two hundred disciples, and a few senior disciples could be seen. A little creepy. For a moment, Lin Yi thought they were not to join an orthodox immortal sect, but were new sacrifice for some demonic cult. He even started to panic and frankly looked around.

But after thinking the situation through, he calmed down a little bit. In cultivation stories, many sects have formations that protect and veil the sect's grounds. Maybe this was part of the formation or some other protective measure. In the next moments, Lin Yi calmed down further, and his predictions came true. From the fog emerged an old man. He looked like a classic xianxia elder, with white hair, a long beard, and wearing expensive-looking robes. Lin Yi felt an even stronger aura from him than from Elder Dou.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. One of the senior disciples went towards the old man and gave him a round artifact. It looked like a bigger version of the Spirit Discerning Pearl Elder Dou had. Lin Yi was too far away to hear what they said to each other, but after a few sentences, the senior disciple retreated, while the old man turned his gaze towards the batch of new disciples.

"Greetings, young friends. My name is Bai Wushang, an Elder of this Outer Court branch. You can call me Elder Bai or Grandpa Bai. I will initiate you now properly into the sect. Don't be scared." Elder Bai then waved his hand above the storage pouch on his waist. From the pouch, countless small metal plates flowed out and hovered around the elder. From his brow, a long paper page materialized. Light flickered between the big pearl and the page before the pearl flew into the storage pouch.

Then, with another wave of his hand, the page released a scanning light, similar to the Spirit Discerning Pearl's light, and enveloped the entire batch of new disciples, Lin Yi included. Next, the various plates flew to their group, and before each new disciple, one plate hovered. Before Lin Yi too, a plate hovered, as he picked it from the air. It was relatively big for his child hands. The moment he picked it up, he also noticed that the fog around the landing platform vanished.

He and the other disciples who picked up the plate looked around in wonder. What they saw was a big mountain valley. Some distance away from the landing platform, they could see various buildings, courtyards, and what looked like training areas. There was also a river flowing through the valley. From time to time, flying species of several types could be seen, or other disciples walking around. Thick fog, not unlike the previous one, veiled the upper parts of the surrounding mountains.

Lin Yi even felt a supernatural energy in the air. Maybe that is the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. With wide eyes, Lin Yi inspected the plate. It was made of a silver metal and felt cool but also warming at the same time in his hand. On the front, he could see the characters for 'Charging Bull'. Once he flipped it around, he saw the character for 'Disciple'. It was an identification tag.

"This is your sect identification. Always have it on your body. It will prove that you are a member of the Charging Bull Sect. It also contains your personal information, qi signature, and sect-relevant information, like Sect Points and housing." Elder Bai's words echoed through the open area as he continued.

"These sect plates are linked with the various magical tools and magical artifacts of the sect, like this sect register artifact." He pointed at the long paper page.

"All the tools and artifacts that can read your identification plates are called management artifacts. They are managed and supervised by our sect suppressing magical treasure, which is currently housed in the Inner Court."

"Our Outer Court branch also has a sect suppressing magical artifact that is subordinate to the main suppressing treasure. So, you don't need to worry about someone stealing or changing your information wrongfully." Elder Bai returned the paper page artifact to the spiritual space between his brows and continued speaking.

"Once you enter the Qi Condensation Realm, you will be able to use your identification plate properly. With it you can use your Sect Points and access the map for the sect grounds, alongside other things. But you will learn more about that in the following days."

"Now follow me!" Elder Bai turned around and led the group on a walking path towards an area of buildings. While walking, he explained where they were.

"This is the Valley of Immortal Seedlings of the East River Mountain Range, the sect ground of the Dang Prefecture Outer Court. New disciples, like you all, who have not yet entered the immortal path and are new to the world of cultivation are taught the basics of the world and cultivation."

"Once you succeed in attaining the first stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and learn enough about the cultivation world, you will be assigned to the various branches of the Outer Court."

"Examples are the Alchemy Valley, Artifact Mountain, the various Spiritual Fields, Formation or Talisman Grounds, or even the Spirit Beast Mountains and Valleys." Each disciple listened carefully. These places are their future homes. They were still full of nervousness and excitement for the future. After the elder's explanation, they arrived at a complex of buildings. In the middle was a big building surrounded by several courtyards. Elder Bai turned to the group and said.

"This is your home for the near future. It belongs to your batch of disciples till you leave for the different sect divisions." He pointed at the building in the middle and then at the surrounding ones.

"This is your Community Residence. There you will be taught by senior disciples or elders about cultivation and the immortal world in general. I will also be found there for most of the day. It is also the place where you can pick up your Essence Pills and other necessities, like clothing and so on, and contains a small library."

"The surrounding courtyards will be your living quarters. Each courtyard has twenty single rooms. Starting from tomorrow, you will be given a schedule, which I advise you all to follow. Gather at the Community Residence tomorrow morning, one hour after the morning bell rings." With a wave of his hand, the sect plates started to escape their hold and hover in the air.

"Your identification plates will lead you to your courtyards and rooms. Now, disperse." Lin Yi looked in amazement at his sect plate as it slowly flew towards one of the courtyards, while he followed it. Along with nineteen other plates that arrived, the doors opened automatically. He greeted his fellow disciples and future neighbors, who followed their own plates, with a nod. He noticed that You Lei and Lang Mo, from Old Pine Town, were among them.

Lin Yi's sect plate started to fly through the open garden, in the middle of the courtyard, towards a room in the northwest part. He quickly followed it and soon arrived at a door. The same scene before the courtyard followed. When the plate neared the door, it opened automatically, and a small dorm room could be seen. After the sect plate returned to his hand, Lin Yi walked into the room and closed the door behind. After a quick inspection, he saw that the room was kept simple, but quite spacious.

One made bed, a meditation cushion, a small desk with a stool, and a wardrobe. Beyond another open door was a small bathroom, but there was no shower or similar, only a circle. I hope this will be explained tomorrow by the teachers. Lin Yi thought as he yawned. When they left the flying ship, he was already a little sleepy, and the short walk did not help much. He could feel the limitations of his young child's body.

So, without thinking much, he jumped out of his clothes and slipped under the covers of the bed, awaiting the next day.