Chapter 1

"Ah... Curiosity really shouldn't be too heavy, especially in the world of cultivators where human hearts are no longer as pure as they once were..."

Bai Jin looked melancholic, holding a spade and digging the soil in the spirit plant garden, one shovel at a time, creating a pit about half a meter in diameter and nearly a meter deep in front of him.

He then took off the ring with silver patterns on his left middle finger, hesitated for a moment, and threw the ring into the pit, covering it with the soil he had dug up.

What he threw into the pit was not lost love, but a storage ring.

Bai Jin wasn't particularly heartbroken over the ring itself; storage rings weren't particularly expensive. What truly pained him were the magical artifacts and spirit stones stored inside.

But he had to hide the ring, because his true identity was that of a demonic child from the Hehuan Sect.

Now, he had been forced to infiltrate the prestigious Xingluo Sect, and if his identity were to be exposed, being flayed and torn apart to feed the demonic beasts would be considered a light punishment.

A cartload of magical artifacts and a pocketful of spirit stones were things Bai Jin, who claimed to have lost his family in a great calamity during his childhood and had no choice but to become a bandit, couldn't explain.

To reduce the risk of exposure, Bai Jin took advantage of his master's meditation on nature, before dawn, and without even daring to use any spells, he grabbed a spade and began to destroy evidence.

Only by hiding the storage ring and not using the secret techniques of the Hehuan Sect did Bai Jin feel that the risk of his identity being exposed could be reduced by at least seventy percent.

"Phew..."

Bai Jin exhaled, wiping away the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, and shook his head with a sorrowful expression: "Regret..."

He had originally been slacking off in the Hehuan Sect, but the demoness sisters said they wanted to form a group to tour the Boding Tower in the Da Yan Kingdom for half a month, and then go to the elegant Wanhuaguan to listen to the performances of the courtesans.

However, just as they arrived at a border town in the Da Yan Kingdom, Bai Jin planned to go to the treasure appraisal shop to buy snacks, but he saw a group of people performing a ritual on the roadside out of curiosity and joined the crowd to watch.

Bai Jin made eye contact with a gaunt, bony old man on the stage.

Just that one glance in the crowd made Bai Jin feel dizzy. When he came to his senses, he had already completed the tea ceremony and become the chief disciple of Suiming Daoist, the head of Wenyao Peak...

Only later did Bai Jin realize that the Xingluo Sect cultivators weren't performing a ritual; they were setting up an array!

They were raising lantern-shaped magical instruments into the sky to form a detection barrier...

Through the barrier, they could detect demons and eliminate them with force, exterminate evil with a single sword, and capture talented children to bring back to the sect...

This array was called the 'Lantern Ritual,' and it was also known among the Hehuan Sect's demonic cultivators as the 'Scraping the Earth Array.'

Bai Jin was detected for his talent, which is why he became a cultivator of the Xingluo Sect at lightning speed.

He almost regretted it to the point of turning green with envy...

Although the Xingluo Sect was a prestigious and righteous sect, it was more famous for its current sect leader, known as the 'Heartless Immortal.'

Originally, no one remembered his name or Daoist title.

People only remembered his heartlessness and terrifying power.

The Heartless Immortal's entire life was defined by the word 'kill.' He would slaughter entire families and exterminate all life within a hundred miles, more ruthless than any demonic cultivator.

To be called the Heartless Immortal by demonic cultivators, the madness of the Xingluo Sect's leader was evident.

Bai Jin didn't want to be turned into a spirit lamp, so he got up earlier than the rooster, dug the earth more fiercely than a cat, and hid the ring that symbolized his demonic sect identity.

But this only reduced the risk of exposure; it didn't guarantee complete safety.

Bai Jin had been plotting all along, hoping to escape the human hell that was the Xingluo Sect.

Currently, everything was not in place, and he had no plans to rely on his fellow disciples, who were either playing in the Boding Tower or enjoying life in the Wanhuaguan...

By the time they realized their junior brother was missing, it would be time to return to the Hehuan Sect!

Bai Jin had full confidence in his senior sisters, but relying on the Hehuan Sect's demonic cultivators to have a sense of responsibility was like relying on his own charm and figure to win over the 'Heartless Immortal' and become the new head of Wenyao Peak in the Xingluo Sect.

...

"Junior brother, how can you do such a menial task as watering the spirit plant garden and the medicinal fields? Leave it to your senior brother!"

Bai Jin, carrying a spade, walked leisurely toward the summit of Wenyao Peak. As he passed the halfway point, the disciples who had just woken up saw him and immediately looked at him as if he were a precious treasure.

They swarmed around him, some helping him carry the spade, others massaging his shoulders, and some even shaking him like a coquettish girl, pouting.

Although Bai Jin had only recently joined the sect and was still a young teenager, his talent and strength were outstanding, and he was highly favored by the head of Wenyao Peak.

He was one of the few disciples who could enter the summit's 'Emerald Courtyard.'

"Stop your disgusting behavior! If you have something to say, just say it directly. Don't make the atmosphere weird!"

Bai Jin's face was full of disgust as he shook off the troublesome senior brothers who clung to him: "If you want my help, you need to understand a few things. Otherwise, even I, your junior brother, will find it difficult to help you..."

The senior brothers in front of him, even if they didn't say it, Bai Jin knew exactly what they wanted.

Although the Xingluo Sect taught basic cultivation methods, to learn the skills of the heads of each peak, one had to pass various tests arranged by the head.

The test on Wenyao Peak was simple: climb from the halfway point to the summit and reach Suiming Daoist to receive the head's personal guidance.

One could leap from a registered disciple to an elite disciple.

If a registered disciple couldn't become a full disciple within a certain period, they would be assigned to the outer sect to handle external affairs.

At that point, enjoying the sect's resources and cultivating without worries would be impossible.

They all longed to become full disciples, but the climbing test on Wenyao Peak was incredibly difficult!

Wenyao Peak was only about six miles high, but the true test was not physical strength but knowledge and cultivation strength.

From the halfway point upward, the path was filled with poisonous plants and various types of plants with different effects, as well as fierce demonic beasts.

To receive Suiming Daoist's guidance, one had to either demonstrate talent in knowledge, using it to avoid all poisonous plants and know the weaknesses of the demonic beasts, or rely on raw strength to fight from the halfway point to the summit's 'Emerald Courtyard.'

The senior brothers surrounding Bai Jin were all academic failures. They wanted to obtain from Bai Jin the distribution map of the demonic beasts and the types and quantities of the plants with different effects, so they could prepare the necessary tools to counter them and secure their full disciple status.

They pestered Bai Jin as soon as they saw him, hoping to get some information from the naive junior brother.

After all... Suiming Daoist was a powerful cultivator skilled in alchemy and spirit plant cultivation, a quasi-immortal in the cultivation world. No one could ignore her guidance, nor could they ignore her connections!

"Ah... I really want to formally become a disciple and be a spirit child by Suiming Daoist's side!"

Unfortunately, they all underestimated Bai Jin's intelligence.

Bai Jin was a straightforward person from the Hehuan Sect, with feelings and righteousness. Without money, what was the point of anything!