Chapter 3: Demonic Sect Style

When Lu Yang stepped out of the quiet room, he discovered that someone was already waiting for him outside the door.

Lu Yang was startled. He saw a man dressed in black Taoist robes with a sinister expression—it was the black-clad Taoist who had previously assigned him to the Hehuan Hall!

"Greetings, Senior Brother," Lu Yang said, hurriedly bowing.

"You are quite impressive; you are a talent."

The black-clad Taoist said with a smile, "I originally heard that Yu Suzhen had lured a very capable young man into her room, and that his breakthrough to the Qi Refining stage was imminent..."

"I didn't expect that poisonous woman to have failed."

As he spoke, the black-clad Taoist's gaze toward Lu Yang became strange.

Even though the black-clad Taoist considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, he couldn't help but feel a hint of admiration at this moment.

If this boy survived, he would surely become a pillar of the Saint Sect in the future.

"Follow me."

The black-clad Taoist's name was Liu Xin. He was an official disciple of Butian Peak, one of the four inner peaks, responsible for receiving promoted registered disciples and explaining sect matters.

"The four outer halls and the four inner peaks correspond to one another."

On the way, Liu Xin introduced the sect to Lu Yang with great interest. "Aside from the Sacred Fire Cliff where the Sect Leader resides, our Saint Sect is centered around the four inner peaks."

"Since you are coming from the Hehuan Hall, you will naturally enter my Butian Peak. I will take you to update your registry first."

With someone to guide him, Lu Yang was more than willing: "Thank you, Senior Brother Liu."

"It is merely my duty," Liu Xin said calmly. "After the registry is updated, I will take you to the other three halls. The benefits of being an official disciple are quite significant; consider it a welfare package from the Saint Sect."

"According to the rules, each official disciple can only claim this once." At this point, Liu Xin's expression turned somewhat wistful. "Once you enter the inner sect, if you want to obtain items of the same level, you must complete tasks issued by the Saint Sect and earn contribution points to exchange for them."

Lu Yang frowned. "Contribution points."

"They are the currency issued by the Saint Sect," Liu Xin explained. "After you update your registry, Junior Brother, you should be able to see them through your disciple token."

Driven by curiosity, Lu Yang immediately followed Liu Xin to update his registry.

The process was very simple; it essentially involved moving his Life Lamp, which he had lit upon entry, from the outer sect area to the inner sect area.

Subsequently, Lu Yang channeled a wisp of true qi into the token at his waist. A line of text immediately surfaced on the token

"Official Disciple, Lu Yang."

"As an official disciple, the Saint Sect grants you 50 free contribution points. Contribution points can be used to exchange for spirit stones, cultivation techniques, magical tools, cultivation caves, etc."

"Upon entering the inner sect, you will need to pay contribution points to rent a cultivation cave. The rent is 30 contribution points per month. Of course, you may also choose to purchase a cultivation cave. As a newly promoted inner disciple, if you purchase a cave within ten years, you will enjoy a 20% discount on the down payment."

—Such introductions spanned a full dozen pages.

After reading them carefully, Lu Yang reached a conclusion: "This inner sect is all about money!"

With contribution points, one could travel the world; cultivation techniques, pills, and magical treasures would be available at one's fingertips. Without them, one could not move an inch, unable even to afford a place to live.

At the same time, Lu Yang learned what the "welfare" Liu Xin mentioned actually was.

Every registered disciple, upon being promoted to an official disciple, could use their token to select one magical treasure, one pill, one companion spirit beast, and one Dao companion from the Treasure Refining Hall, the Alchemy Hall, the Beast Taming Hall, and the Hehuan Hall, respectively—all without paying any contribution points.

"Looking at it this way, it really is a benefit."

With a thought, Lu Yang opened the exchange list via his disciple token, and rows of corresponding text appeared.

The cheapest cultivation techniques, magical tools, pills, spirit beasts, and Dao companions all required at least 100 contribution points.

In contrast, the rewards for tasks within the Saint Sect were pitifully low, mostly single-digit contribution points, with very few reaching double digits.

It was evident that the free "four-piece set" provided upon promotion was worth at least 400 contribution points, which was a massive sum for an official disciple.

While lost in thought, Lu Yang arrived at the Treasure Refining Hall with Liu Xin.

The person in charge of receiving them was Chen Hao, a deacon of the Treasure Refining Hall. It was said he was also an official disciple, and serving as a deacon was his assigned task.

According to Liu Xin, these fixed-position tasks were the most profitable in the inner sect. Not only did they provide many contribution points—often enough for a single task to support an official disciple—but they were also stable, essentially a "iron rice bowl." Unfortunately, there were too many people and too little "porridge"; without connections, one could not obtain such a task.

"Senior Brother Liu? It has been a long time."

Entering the Treasure Refining Hall, Lu Yang noticed Chen Hao sizing him up before looking at Liu Xin and saying warmly, "Bringing a new disciple again?"

"Indeed."

Liu Xin grinned, his words implying something: "Since you know, why don't you hurry and bring out the finest magical tools in the Treasure Refining Hall for Junior Brother Lu to inspect?"

"Right away!"

Chen Hao nodded eagerly and led them into the inner courtyard of the hall. However, as they walked, Lu Yang frowned in surprise.

"Is this... a disciple's cultivation quiet room?"

To collect magical tools, shouldn't they go to a warehouse or something similar?

Chen Hao initially looked puzzled, but then he realized and laughed loudly, "Junior Brother Lu, you don't know? The best magical tools are all kept right here."

Before he could finish, the three stopped in front of a cultivation room.

"The Junior Brother in this room has a very long seniority; he was a registered disciple in the outer sect for three years. Unfortunately, he was a bit narrow-minded and took a wrong path in his cultivation technique..."

As he spoke, Chen Hao pushed the door open.

Lu Yang saw a Taoist sitting on a prayer mat in the center of the room, eyes tightly shut, muttering to himself as if lost in a dream.

"It's working... I'm going to succeed..."

Immediately after, Chen Hao performed a hand seal. The Taoist in the room snapped his eyes open, and his originally dull face instantly erupted with wild joy

"Haha! I've done it!"

Boom!

Before his voice could fade, his entire body exploded. Flesh and blood flew everywhere before recoiling and merging into the skeleton left behind on the mat.

In an instant, a living person had vanished.

In his place, a "bone sword," crystal clear as jade and segmented with order, landed gently on the prayer mat, radiating a dazzling spiritual light.

Chen Hao stepped forward, picked up the "bone sword," and handed it to Lu Yang, saying with satisfaction, "The magical tool 'Bone Jade Sword.' It is considered high-grade even in the *Book of a Hundred Treasures*. This Junior Brother was indeed a talent; after years of bitter cultivation, his power was profound, otherwise the spiritual light of the tool wouldn't be this pure."

Lu Yang: "..."

Looking at the Bone Jade Sword in Chen Hao's hand and recalling the experiences of his past life, Lu Yang felt a bone-chilling cold. He understood the ways of the Saint Sect even more clearly now.

To summarize it in eight words: The strong prey on the weak; use everything to its fullest!

The sect spent resources to nurture you registered disciples, so you must create value for the sect. If you cannot create value, the sect will create it for you!

If you break through and become an official disciple, everyone is happy.

If you fail to break through, the sect cannot support you for free forever; they will naturally reclaim the resources invested in you to ensure the sect does not suffer a loss.

Thus, in the eyes of the Saint Sect, some disciples were clouds and some were water—they simply performed different roles. All were talents; there were no wastes.

"This truly is... a sect that lives up to its name."

Lu Yang closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Remembering that he had the *Book of a Hundred Generations* as a fallback, he regained his composure when he opened his eyes.

"Junior Brother has such great temperament; truly a man of talent!"

On the other side, seeing that Lu Yang had calmed down so quickly, a flash of surprise crossed Liu Xin's eyes, followed by an even brighter smile.

Subsequently, Lu Yang followed Liu Xin to the Alchemy Hall and the Beast Taming Hall, receiving a "Qi Replenishing Pill" and a "Human-Faced Owl," respectively. The former could nourish true qi upon consumption, while the latter acted like a carrier pigeon, used by official disciples to transmit messages.

It wasn't until the final item, the Dao companion, that Liu Xin ran into a difficulty.

"Junior Brother, you broke through too quickly."

Liu Xin shook his head. "You've only just joined the outer sect, and you've reached Qi Refining in a single day. Your speed is too fast; the Dao companion reserved by the Hehuan Hall hasn't arrived yet."

"Why don't you wait a few days, Junior Brother?"

As for a Dao companion, Lu Yang certainly didn't mind. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "I will follow Senior Brother's arrangements."

Liu Xin laughed heartily, then took out a jade slip and pressed it into Lu Yang's hand. "This is the secret manual of my Butian Peak. Take it back and cultivate well."

Lu Yang took the jade slip and immediately channeled his spiritual sense to examine it.

In the next second, an extremely complex cultivation technique flooded his mind.

*The Primordial Taoist Book*