Chapter 304: Chapter 302: Ancestor Bai’s Registered Disciple
In a jade-green pool, Spirit Fish leaped and jumped, all desperately swimming toward the center of the spring.
At the center of the Jade Pool was an Eye of the Spirit Spring, the spot where the Spiritual Qi was most abundant.
Living in the water, the Spirit Fish could clearly sense this. Naturally, they moved toward the environment most beneficial for their growth and for raising their tier.
’Even fish know to strive and compete, to say nothing of people...’
A Spirit Fish happened to leap right into Bai Zichen’s palm. He tossed it into a wooden bucket a hundred feet away.
Perhaps because of their vigorous swimming, the flesh of these nameless Spirit Fish from the Jade Pool was firm and springy, with a sweet aftertaste.
After trying one on his first day here, he had taken a liking to its texture and now enjoyed one every day.
Grilled, steamed, salt-baked... over the past few days, he had already tried it in every style he could think of.
’A Core Formation Cultivator from the Corpse-Driving Sect set up a Soul Shifting Array deep within Black Mountain, using a Corpse Refining Technique to perform a method similar to possession... What a pity about Song Lian. If he hadn’t died, he would have been a fine prospect, with a good chance of reaching Foundation Establishment Perfection.’
After reading the information on his Sect Token, Bai Zichen felt it was a shame for the True Disciple he had once tried to rescue.
The Corpse Stiffs that appeared outside Feiyue Lake were all the work of a Core Formation True Man from the Corpse-Driving Sect.
According to the investigation, he was likely the White-Haired True Man who had disappeared over a hundred years ago, his lifespan already nearing its end at the time.
The Corpse Refining Technique could indeed turn oneself into a Corpse Stiff, preserving the body after death and maintaining one’s Core Formation combat power.
But a Corpse Stiff with a scattered soul, no memory, and no consciousness could hardly be called a reincarnation.
So, based on the sect’s ancient texts and his own years of research, this White-Haired True Man had combined it with the Corpse Refining Technique to create a Secret Technique similar to the possession performed by Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
First, he would find a suitable location to transform himself into a half-corpse state. Then, he would consume an elixir to enter a state of feigned death, devoid of all life force but with a lingering sliver of Divine Thought.
At the same time, he set up a Transformation Array and spread a Relic Treasure Map to a predecessor’s ruin that he claimed to have discovered, all to attract other cultivators.
Any cultivator who entered would be led to this place by a Silver Armored Corpse to undergo the transformation.
This continued until Song Lian appeared, finally providing a subject who met the White-Haired True Man’s standards.
Using the Secret Technique, he transformed Song Lian into a Golden Armor Corpse, fusing their Divine Senses in the process to achieve the effect of possession.
Because both the White-Haired True Man and Song Lian were in a half-corpse state and not living beings in the truest sense, the Secret Technique surprisingly did not immediately trigger a backlash from the Heaven and Earth Dao.
He succeeded in transforming the White-Haired True Man into a Golden Armor Corpse possessing Spiritual Wisdom, but in another sense, he had failed.
During the fusion, the White-Haired True Man’s Divine Sense dissipated along with Song Lian’s, resulting in a Golden Armor Corpse that merely possessed both of their memories.
As a Corpse Stiff, its mind was filled only with the urge to kill and destroy, far outweighing its Spiritual Wisdom.
Once the transformation was complete, it led the Silver Armored Corpses in a charge toward Feiyue Lake, the nearest populated area.
The day after Ten Thousand Immortals Creek was taken, Master Ge Cang returned to Black Mountain and dealt with the horde of Corpse Stiffs.
Through Soul Search and tracing the clues, he was able to piece together the general sequence of events.
Currently, Bai Zichen was stationed at Ten Thousand Immortals Creek, while Wei Dao patrolled Hejian County to stabilize the situation and reassure the populace.
Ten Thousand Immortals Creek, the former Mountain Gate of the Ghost Spirit Sect and now a branch of the Qingfeng Sect, had fewer than a thousand resident cultivators.
There were too many resource points that needed to be occupied. Wei Dao had already conscripted over a thousand people from local Cultivation Families who were eager to align with the Qingfeng Sect, but their forces were still stretched thin.
They could only grant the less important resource points, those the Qingfeng Sect looked down upon, as rewards to the Black Mountain Cultivation Families that had joined the campaign.
As long as these families tributed half of their annual harvest, these Spirit Fields and Medicine Gardens could bear their names.
Wei Dao even planned to dispatch some of the thousand disciples who had remained at Ten Thousand Immortals Creek.
He only gave up on the idea because any further reduction in numbers would affect the operations of Ten Thousand Immortals Creek.
After all, Ten Thousand Immortals Creek itself had dozens of peaks and vast Tier Three Medicine Gardens that required maintenance, nearly half of which contained plants that would be mature enough to harvest in the coming years.
There were also over a dozen sites of Earth Vein Yin Sha, which on average could produce one portion of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, Profound Yin Gang Sha, each year.
Additionally, there was a Tier Two Blood Jujube Forest and Tier Two Blood Transport Beasts—assets that were also highly beneficial to the Qingfeng Sect’s cultivators and required manpower to manage.
Caring for both the Spirit Plants in the Medicine Gardens and the Spirit Beasts was a weak point for the Qingfeng Sect.
To avoid any mistakes, the cultivators assigned to these tasks had no choice but to work day and night, putting in double the effort.
They were terrified that the areas they were responsible for would yield no harvest, which would mean not only missing out on the promised hefty Contribution Point rewards at the end of the year but also being penalized.
"True Man, today’s dish is Double Pepper Spirit Fish, made with two types of Tier One Chilis from the Medicine Garden... Please have a taste and see if it’s to your liking."
Bai Zichen was taking inventory of the spoils from the Ghost Spirit Sect’s storehouses and deciding how many Foundation Establishment Pills to put up for sale this year when two disciples arrived outside the Jade Pool to pay their respects from a distance.
"Come closer."
Bai Zichen set aside the thick scrolls. The fragrant aroma of the Spirit Fish wafted over, and his appetite was piqued.
"Have you been the one making the Spirit Fish these past few days?"
"Replying to the True Man, it was all this disciple’s handiwork... I enjoy fine food, so I often cook some Spiritual Cuisine for myself."
Huo Feiyan lowered her head, wondering what Ancestor Bai thought of her cooking.
Bai Zichen took two bites. ’At least it’s ten times better than my own cooking,’ he thought.
"Lii Guizhen, you’ve been in the Sect for over a decade now, haven’t you?"
"This year marks the thirteenth year."
Lii Guizhen’s voice trembled, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"With your aptitude, it’s rare to see someone aim for a distant goal when a closer one is available... However, a cultivator with a Thunder Spiritual Root would have a brighter future under Brother Ge. How about I put in a word with him and recommend you give it a try?"
Lii Guizhen came to pay his respects every day. How could Bai Zichen not know his intentions?
’He has a Thunder Spiritual Root and seems to have a decent instinct for combat. He’s barely qualified to be my disciple.’
However, considering the long term, he felt he should ask one more time to prevent any future regrets.
"This disciple only wishes to enter your tutelage. In thirteen years, my resolve has never wavered in the slightest."
Lii Guizhen dropped to his knees abruptly. Understanding the implication in Bai Zichen’s words, he began to kowtow repeatedly.
"In that case, you may become my Registered Disciple for now... After a ten-year period, if there are no issues, you can be promoted to an Inner Chamber Disciple."
"Disciple Lii Guizhen pays his respects to Master."
Lii Guizhen’s greatest wish had been fulfilled. He didn’t care whether he was an Inner Chamber Disciple or a Registered Disciple; pure ecstasy flooded his face.
"And you," Bai Zichen said, turning to the star-struck Huo Feiyan at his side. A thought crossed his mind, and he asked, "I was the one who performed your Spirit-Guiding Introduction all those years ago. We can consider it fate. Are you willing to enter my tutelage?"
The little girl from back then, with her two pigtails sticking straight up and a face as cute as a porcelain doll, had now grown into a graceful and mature Female Cultivator.
In terms of aptitude and talent, Huo Feiyan was certainly not qualified to be his disciple.
But everything depended on fate. It just so happened that Bai Zichen was in the mood to accept disciples today, and since he was already taking one, he might as well take two.
Moreover, he had known the girl since his Qi Refining Stage, and he was the benefactor who had set her on the path of cultivation.
Accepting Huo Feiyan as a disciple now would be a way to bring this karmic connection to a close.
’Huo Feiyan’s aptitude might be poor,’ he mused, ’but could she be any worse than Tong Huan?’
At the very least, she had excellent cooking skills and could prepare Spiritual Cuisine for her master. That was a talent in its own right.
"Of course, I’m willing! Thank you, True Man... no, thank you, Master, for your immense kindness."
Huo Feiyan was so excited she was at a loss for what to do, her eyes turning red.
She had fantasized about it before, but after seeing that even a cultivator with Lii Guizhen’s aptitude had been unable to become his disciple for so long, her hopes had faded.
When she saw Lii Guizhen being accepted as a Registered Disciple moments ago, she had only felt envy and never imagined it would happen to her.
She never expected happiness to arrive so suddenly; she, too, had become Ancestor Bai’s Registered Disciple.
After the sect war, was there any disciple who didn’t know that Ancestor Ge was at Core Formation Perfection and could attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm at any moment?
Ancestor Bai was already at the Mid-Stage Core Formation, and his cultivation progress was divine, even surpassing that of Ancestor Ge in his younger days.
His combat power was equally unmatched; under his Sword Light, dealing with the Core Formation True Men of the Ghost Spirit Sect was as easy as slicing melons and chopping vegetables.
The younger disciples were already dreaming of the day when the two Ancestors would successfully reach the Nascent Soul Realm, making the Qingfeng Sect the number one sect in Liang Country.
"Before now, I had only one disciple, Tong Huan, who is now your Senior Brother. Lii Guizhen, you will be second, and Huo Feiyan, you will be last. I have no other requirements for you. I will pass on to you the same words I gave Tong Huan when he became my disciple: Remember your heart, respect your home, and never fail the Sect."
Bai Zichen looked at the young man and woman before him. He had suddenly gained two new disciples. ’Fortunately, they’re only Registered Disciples for now, so I don’t need to put too much effort into teaching them,’ he thought.
"Guizhen, take the Celestial Xin Sword. Feiyan, take the Willow Leaf Sword. This is a tradition in my lineage. If a disciple of mine, Bai Zichen, doesn’t even have a Flying Sword, what would people say if word got out?"
After performing a deep bow, Lii Guizhen and Huo Feiyan respectfully accepted the treasures bestowed by their master.
He had said he didn’t want to teach them, but now that they were his Registered Disciples, he still had to fulfill his duties as a master.
He took out the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror and shined it on them, instantly displaying their Human Meridian Maps. It was both convenient and effective.
No matter how learned and experienced a cultivator was, how could their teaching experience with Low-Tier Cultivators compare to the Spiritual Wisdom accumulated by the Celestial Principle Sect over tens of thousands of years and millions of disciples?
If the Divine Capturing Treasure Mirror could work on Core Formation True Men, then the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror wouldn’t just be the Celestial Principle Sect’s legacy Supreme Treasure; even a Super Major Sect on the level of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect would be tempted by it.
That was why, even though the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror was currently only a Low-Grade Magical Treasure, it had always occupied a place in Bai Zichen’s Dantian Sea of Consciousness and was now also being nurtured by his Pill Qi.
"Guizhen, the Magical Power in your body is frenzied and fierce, and you have hidden injuries in several of your meridians... You recover quickly now because you’re young, but as they accumulate over time, they will become a hidden danger."
Bai Zichen only needed a single glance at the Human Meridian Map to reach this conclusion, without any need for detailed analysis.
"Later, go to the Transmission Hall and pick up a Body Refining Technique to cultivate alongside your main one. Choose the Nine Revolutions Condensing Evil Scripture to increase your physical strength. This might not be necessary for others, but your Thunder Element Spiritual Power is too tyrannical. You must plan ahead, or the Core Formation tribulation will be just as difficult to pass."
He had originally thought of suggesting the Five Crystal Glaze Body, but then he remembered that not everyone was like him, able to quickly master the first two layers during the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Rather than waste time on that, cultivating the Nine Revolutions Condensing Evil Scripture was a much more suitable choice.
"Thank you for your guidance, Master. I’ll start cultivating this Body Refining Technique right away."
Lii Guizhen nodded eagerly, his heart filled with admiration.
’As expected of a master whose talent shakes the past and present,’ he thought. ’He could see my flaws and deficiencies at a single glance. No other Core Formation True Man could possibly have such sharp insight.’