Chapter 1

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

The Immortal Destiny Sect, located to the east of the Qing Continent, occupied a large mountain. From afar, it looked verdant like a green bamboo. According to the current strength classification standards of the world of cultivation, it was an out-and-out 5th Grade sect.

Since the establishment of the Cultivation Alliance a decade ago, the grading of sects had become standardised. Of the nine grades, 1st Grade sects were supreme. Each could be said to be the hegemon of a continent, and there were naturally nine in the Nine Continents. Their sect masters were generally of the Tribulation Realm. Conversely, 9th Grade was the lowest. It was okay as long as a sect met the registration criteria and was recognized by the Cultivation Alliance, even if the leader only has the lowest Qi Refining cultivation base.

It should be said that before the Nine-Grade Standards, cultivators who were not well informed could only judge the strength of a sect by the prowess of their name. People would oftentimes be too intimidated to even touch sects with names such as “Imperious Heaven”, and afterwards discover that it was just a small sect consisting of a dozen people. Or, if the name was unbearably vulgar, for example, “Big Sword Sect”, other sects’ disciples and elders would come in the hundreds, just to get harshly beaten up; it was really bullshit!

To become a 5th Grade cultivation sect, the sect master had to be at the Nascent Soul Realm or above and the combined number of disciples and elders needed to exceed 500. In addition, the sect had to occupy at least one spiritual vein that could support the cultivation of disciples.

Such middle-class sects were not as strict as those continental behemoths, where one had to be searched all over the body when entering, nor were they like the weeny 9th Grade sects, whose total members could be counted on both hands. Rather, they would be in a period of vigorous development and would frequently enrol disciples from outside.

Whether it was a mortal with no cultivation base or a cultivator already on the path to immortality, as long as one met the standards, it would be possible to enter the sect.

Of course, this did not mean that there was no barrier to entry. For example, the scene that was playing out at the registration office at the foot of the mountain was good proof of the fact.

“What did you say! The registration fee is ten low-grade spirit stones? To cultivate, you even have to pay up first!” Ye Xing shouted, with a painful expression on his face.

As a dignified Mahayana Immortal, would it be possible to be constrained by spirit stones?

In fact… that was exactly the case. When practicing the Nine-Nine Profound Arts, the amount of resources consumed daily was frightening. If it were seen by a few Tribulation Realm elders, perhaps they would have been directly shocked delirious. Now, with his cultivation completed, Ye Xing’s remaining assets only amounted to a few dozen low-grade spirit stones.

Poor! ‘Money-Burning Art’ was not a name given in vain, otherwise, there would have been no need for that old fart to become enemies with those Tribulation Realm big shots.

Or is necessary to “improve” my aptitude, and use the identity of a genius to enter the sect? Although it was not in line with the plan of keeping low-profile, at any rate, I can’t have my future cultivation path ruined by merely ten spirit stones.

“You’ve signed up for the sect’s Disciple Examination, of course there’s a fee. Also, the fee’s not refundable if you fail.” The Qi Refining female disciple in charge of the registration process explained mechanically, similar situations could be seen almost every day. The people with the most questions were invariably the low-level self-taught cultivators without any money. Her indifferent expression always conveyed one sentence: What cultivation can you do without money!

“If you pass the entrance examination, you will directly become an outer disciple, under the responsibility of a designated elder. Those with high talents and rapid improvements will be able to enter the inner sect, with the possibility of a splendid future.”

After a slight pause, she continued.

“Of course, not everyone has the talent to become immortal. There is another type of disciple in the sect, responsible for various laborious duties on a schedule. Although they don’t have an elder in charge, they can also attend lectures regularly, and will be remunerated according to their completed tasks.”

Ye Xing got angry just listening to her. What did she take himself for? He was here to experience the life of cultivation, not to do hard work!

“There is no fee to sign up for such work, but one still needs to be assessed. At present, those lacking workers include the Immortal Medicine Hall responsible for growing medicinal herbs, the Forging Hall that creates spirit treasures, the Mountain Development Hall in charge of construction and demolition of halls and temples…”

The female cultivator reported a series of names, choking back the words in Ye Xing’s mouth.

Sigh, life wasn’t easy these days, cultivators without money couldn’t even enter the mountain gate. The cultivators with early preparations obediently paid up the fees and were led by some people to conduct assessments. Those who remained frowned in deliberation; they were all cultivators who were definitely not rich.

Evidently, everybody could discern the difference. One type was a full-time student and the others was a working part-timer. Could their treatment be the same? However, most people still honestly chose different jobs to apply for. After all, it didn’t matter if you were a full-timer or a part-timer, if you couldn’t get in, it was better to just go back to where you came from.

It costs a tremendous amount to cultivate all the way. Even if it wasn’t a method like Ye Xing’s Money-Burning Art, it was inevitable to encounter various expenses. “If you want to concentrate on cultivation, you must have financial support”: this was the main theory of the cultivation world in recent years.

Ye Xing wasn’t actually reluctant to pay those ten low-grade spirit stones. The registration fee was paid, as long as there weren’t any dirty tricks, he would become an outside disciple no matter what. However, if he wanted to experience life, he had to change his mentality. If I truly only had the cultivation base of the first level of Qi Refining, what choice would I make?

Sure enough, making money is the most important! That Mountain Development Hall isn’t bad, although it requires physical work like moving bricks, the salary isn’t low, and it’s basically a perfect match for my own physique-refining technique…

Just when Ye Xing couldn’t control his crusher arm and was about to sell his body to the Mountain Development Hall, he couldn’t help but be startled by a crisp and pleasant female voice suddenly coming from the mountain.

“Am I late? Why are there so few people left?”

Accompanied by a fragrant breeze, a woman in black clothes and pinned raven hair slowly floated down from the sky, touching the ground barefoot.

*Swallowing saliva…*

The female looked to be only in her blossoming youth, at most one or two years older than Ye Xing, but she had a very sexy body. Her black clothes were fitted close to her body, and her pure white neck and collarbone were all presently revealed. Her jade leaf pendant was like a touch of greenery, below which were the high mountains. The high-split skirt exposed slender legs; even without the slightest adornment, they were enough to make people unable to shift their gaze.

In this split second, Ye Xing thought about a lot of things. For example, after practicing with the master, the number of girls that he had seen could be count with his toes; evaluating the photos of beauties with his master; rolling dice to determine whether the choice of school was correct…

“Senior Sister!”

The female cultivator got up and saluted, the other person was obviously her senior by a bit. The one called ‘Senior Sister’ also returned the courtesy.

“I still want to recruit a few people for the Immortal Herb Hall. Sigh, if there still aren’t any newcomers, we won’t be able to complete the tasks next month.”

Ye Xing nodded. Following the doctrine of “Girls first, moneymaking second, cultivation third”, he already knew where he would go.

“Senior Sister, I want to join the Immortal Herb Hall!”