Chapter 9

Looking down at the crowd below, Chu Jinxuan continued to speak.

"I believe everyone already knows that after stepping into the immortal sect, things are not always smooth sailing. Although we are among the best of this generation, the resources provided by the sect are far from enough for our cultivation. We need to obtain them on our own.

There are tens of thousands of outer sect disciples now. For us newcomers to secure a place in the outer sect, we need to unite.

I, Chu Jinxuan, may not be the most talented, but I have awakened a high-quality spirit vein and am willing to be the leader for all of you, my junior brothers."

Chu Jinxuan was not being modest, as he had his own confidence. High-quality spirit veins naturally cultivate faster, and his birth was also higher than everyone else's.

Although everyone starts on the same line when entering the immortal sect, there are always some people with enough conditions to stand out even from the same starting line.

After finishing his words, Chu Jinxuan waited for everyone's response without speaking.

The people below began to whisper to those around them, and Chu Jinxuan did not interrupt, just silently watching.

Han Xiaoshu noticed when he arrived that there were not many people tonight, only about twenty to thirty, indicating that apart from himself, who had a special wood spirit vein, the others at least had medium-quality spirit veins.

This was clearly a move to sweep everyone up.

The little fat guy beside him glanced at Han Xiaoshu.

Han Xiaoshu gave him a gesture to stay calm and not speak, as he was also waiting.

Seeing that the time was right, Chu Jinxuan gave Xu Ping a nod.

"I am willing to follow Senior Brother Chu. As a member of the royal family, he still thinks of everyone, which is truly admirable."

"I am also willing."

"Senior Brother Chu has a high-quality spirit vein and can certainly lead us to carve out a place for ourselves in the outer sect."

Seeing Chu Jinxuan's nod, Xu Ping immediately understood and spoke, with a few others quickly agreeing.

Immediately, everyone in the room began to express their support, though some remained silent.

"Senior Brother Chu, may I ask what we need to contribute?" a young man not far from Han Xiaoshu asked.

Others who had not spoken also looked at Chu Jinxuan.

"You don't need to contribute anything. I don't need any of you to do anything; instead, I will offer you benefits."

Hearing this, Han Xiaoshu was a bit puzzled but quickly understood. He wanted to create his own force, and the ones he would exploit were not them but the low-quality cultivators.

Others who were still confused also looked at Chu Jinxuan.

"I need all of you to help me form a group, a group for us newcomers to stand against the elders in the outer sect."

Everyone understood at this point. They were to be his enforcers.

But not everyone could be an enforcer. First, you needed at least a medium-quality spirit vein to even catch his eye.

Those with low-quality spirit veins would likely be cannon fodder.

Han Xiaoshu felt a bit sad. Indeed, wherever there are people, there is a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and intrigue). Although they had entered the immortal sect, it was even more brutal than the jianghu.

Some had not even begun their immortal path and were already being used as pawns.

"I am willing to serve Senior Brother Chu."

Those who were still hesitant also agreed with Chu Jinxuan's proposal after understanding the implications.

Han Xiaoshu and the little fat guy also followed the crowd.

After all, it's better to have a strong backer than to face everything alone.

As long as he wasn't used as a tool, he was happy to be at ease.

In his previous life, he had seen too much and did not want to be a saint or help low-quality cultivators without reason.

If not for his wood spirit vein, he might have been one of those cannon fodder.

If they didn't want to be used as pawns, they needed to work harder to show their value. When their strength reached a level where they could look at others on equal terms or even look up to them, they could take control of their own lives.

The path to immortality was just giving them a bigger stage to perform on, though this stage was more cruel than the mortal world.

Chu Jinxuan nodded in satisfaction after getting everyone's response. He knew that just with his words, it was unrealistic to completely win them over.

But once everyone was on the same boat, they would have no choice but to follow.

He clapped his hands, and servants began to bring in trays of food.

They came to each person and placed the food on their tables.

It was a series of exquisite dishes and a pot of fine wine.

Although the dishes were exquisite, Han Xiaoshu did not feel any spiritual energy in them, suggesting they were just ordinary food, albeit beautifully presented.

"These are delicacies carefully prepared by imperial chefs from the capital," Chu Jinxuan said, introducing the dishes to everyone.

Han Xiaoshu's face fell. Can't you do something practical?

All this show, what's the use? It would be better to give us more spirit fruits, which he had mentioned earlier.

Seeing the little fat guy eating happily, he was speechless.

Actually, Han Xiaoshu had misunderstood Chu Jinxuan. The spirit fruits, while adding a dozen points of spiritual energy to Han Xiaoshu, did not have the same effect on others.

It is well known that consuming spiritual items requires refinement, and the process inevitably leads to some loss.

Only a small portion of the spiritual energy can be absorbed.

For others, the spirit fruits were not as effective, and eating too many would be difficult.

This made sense.

Unfortunately, Han Xiaoshu did not know this.

"Xiao Shu, hurry up and eat. It's really delicious, not worse than what you cook," the little fat guy urged, seeing that Han Xiaoshu had not touched his chopsticks.

"Okay, you eat first. I ate too many spirit fruits and am a bit full."

"You should have said to eat less. Now you won't have the pleasure. If we could always eat like this, it would be great," the little fat guy said, feeling a bit sorry for Han Xiaoshu.

Han Xiaoshu ignored the fool and picked up his chopsticks to start eating. The food was indeed quite good.

Actually, Han Xiaoshu really wanted to ask Chu Jinxuan.

Is this it? No more spirit fruits?

But with his thick skin, he didn't dare to ask.

During the meal, everyone toasted and chatted, and some even toasted Han Xiaoshu, learning that he had awakened a wood spirit vein.

If everything went as planned, Han Xiaoshu would be assigned to the spirit herb garden tomorrow, where many of the sect's medicinal herbs were grown, used for cultivation and healing.

Building a good relationship with him now would be useful in the future.

Han Xiaoshu responded to their toasts but did not make any promises, as some things should not be spoken aloud, or they would be hard to retract.

In the end, Han Xiaoshu drank quite a bit and was a bit unsteady on his feet on the way back. If not for the little fat guy supporting him, he might have ended up anywhere.

When they arrived at the temporary quarters, Xu Ruo Yan was already waiting outside, seemingly for a long time.

"Why are you here?" Han Xiaoshu asked, a bit puzzled.

"I came to warm the bed for you, Young Master."

Xu Ruo Yan's words completely woke Han Xiaoshu up. How could he warm the bed? He had never received such treatment before.

In his previous life, he had only warmed beds for others.

Seeing Han Xiaoshu's shocked expression, Xu Ruo Yan burst out laughing.

Realizing her indiscretion, Xu Ruo Yan quickly apologized.

Han Xiaoshu shook his head and said, "It's fine, you can go back. I'm used to living alone."

With that, Han Xiaoshu entered the house alone.