"This is awesome! How can such a place be hidden right under our noses? The time we spent crossing from the side of the mist wasn't that long, so how come such a great place exists behind such a small barrier!? Is the Immortal Demon Sect inside of a Magical Space Realm!?"
Fatty Yuan asked with his eyes glittering with curiosity.
The old man again laughed before answering his question, "What you just said is only half correct. The Immortal Demon Sect is not inside a Magical Space Realm, but the place called servant's quarters is inside a Magical Space Realm. We just made it look like you were on the foot of the mountain, but that's just an illusion."
The old man laughed, and Fatty Yuan and the other two were shaken to their core. Hearing what the old man had just said, the three of them were plagued with confusion, 'We were inside a Magical Space Realm? I never even noticed.'
The old man laughed before abruptly stopping as he looked over the horizon, "The three of you now have the medallions, but you are not yet fully recognized. You must first go through the trial of the Illusory Heart Mirror and be judged. Only after passing can you three be called official sect disciples of the Immortal Demon Sect and choose a Core Technique in the Martial Pavilion."
Ace's heart which should have calmed down, thumped vigorously once more. Ace had finally done it and entered the Immortal Demon Sect, and after the Illusory Heart Mirror judges his mind and heart, his first Martial Skill will be eventually be given to him.
"Oh, it seems like it's time for me to go. Can you young'uns do this old man a favor and not tell anyone you saw me here? If someone ever asks who guided you, just say it was Observer Yu, okay?'
The old man left in a hurry as he quickly jumped off the nearby cliff. Seeing someone jump off a cliff startled Ace, so he hurriedly went to check what happened to the old man, but after he did, Ace saw no sign of the old man.
"Did he die?" asks Greed.
Ace only shook his head and didn't answer because he didn't know the old man's current condition after he jumped off a cliff at this height.
Ace checked to see if the old man was okay and realized just how high they currently were.
"I think we are a couple of hundred meters from the ground below." Ace said to himself.
At this moment, Ace and the others heard a loud screech coming from above them; they turned their heads and looked up and saw a beast casting a giant shadow over their heads.
The Magical Beast's whole body starting from its Lion head all the way to its snake tail, was about 20 meters long, and as for its unfurled giant wings, its length from one tip to the other seemed to be even longer; the feathered beast from before reappeared and this time it was much bigger.
Fatty, Greed, and Ace were all level 1 Core Formation practitioners, and the thought of taking this giant beast was nothing but a pipe dream,
So, they did the only thing they could do to preserve their life.
Run!
The three of them didn't waste time and were about to make a mad dash when they heard someone's voice from the back of the feathered beast.
"Do not try to run away and add any more inconveniences to me; you guys are the new people advancing to become outer sect disciples, correct?" It was a woman's voice coming from the beast.
"I-Is the Magical Beast talking?" Fatty Yuan said with a shaking voice.
"No, it's from someone else."
Ace's eyes reflected the light coming from the sun, but he clearly saw the young girl coming down to get them. The feathered beast landed, and a girl dismounted the feathered beast then said to Ace and the other two.
"Yeah, Fatty, try to at least keep your wits you. Do you think someone with a beautiful voice as mine would be a monster?"
The girl spoke loudly, and the beast behind her whimpered, "Ohhh, little girl, I didn't mean it like that. You are the most beautiful of-"
The three youths saw the girl acting a 180 to the beast made them smile.
"The hell are you three smiling about!? Are you looking down on me or something!? HUH!?"
The three felt a chill going down their spines, "N-no!"
"Well, anyway, who's the observer who guided you here? He should be here with you until I come and pick you up."
No one answered until Ace took a step forward.
"I-it was Observer Yu, the one who guided us was Observer Yu."
"Observer Yu? That makes sense; Observer Yu doesn't like to be bothered by this kind of activity." The pretty young lady looked at the three of them from head to toe and then said, "Well, you guys are lucky to have all your limbs still intact. But Observer Yu should be finishing his assignment of observing mortals by now, so he should be happy; that makes sense. You guys are lucky indeed."
The pretty young lady started talking to herself, and Ace wondered why he felt something was laughing at him from afar.
"Hey, you three, I don't have much time, so get on already."
The pretty young lady ordered the three, and Ace and the other two complied obediently. The four climbed the back of the Magical Beast. Seeing the three of them get on, the pretty young lady got on as well and instructed the giant feathered beast to go.
Strong winds blew the surrounding dust with a flap of its gigantic wings; the feathered beast screeched and flew up the sky carrying four people on its back with ease. The three inexperienced youths almost fell from its back.
"Make sure to hang on tightly!" Shouted the young lady.
"Are you both okay back there?" Ace asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it, Greed is having a slight problem, but it won't get him blown off by the wind."
The one who answered was Fatty Yuan.
Ace heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Fatty. Ace slowly tried releasing his grip on the feathered beast's fur but kept his head down.
In front of him was the pretty young lady who was leisurely sitting on the feathered beast's back without caring for the world and the three passengers struggling behind her.
His movement was slow, but Ace was finally able to sit up straight and finally saw what the young lady was seeing. The green ocean of trees below him was breathtaking.
"Brother Yuan, Brother Greed, lift your head and watch this with me." Ace was in awe of what he saw, and he wanted to share it with his companions… with his sect brothers.
Fatty and Greed didn't want to lift their heads. However, Ace's voice pulled them up.
How his eyes glittered at what he saw opted them to sit up straight and witness what he saw.
The two of them tried sitting up straight, and the first person after Ace who was able to do it was Greed.
Fatty didn't want to be outdone by the two of them and pushed his fear down and copied them.
It was just the normal act of sitting, but the three felt like they had accomplished something, and the beautiful scenery around them was their prize.
"This is so awesome, Brother Ace. With the wind hitting my face and flying this monster, I feel like some kind of a General going to battle, alas a fat General." Fatty Yuan let out self-deprecating laughter.
"Don't worry about it; who said someone with your physique cannot become a great General like those in the legends? Elder Liu also has a round body, but he's now in a position that can someday become a part of the Eleven Peak Elders, and we also have Great Elder Shi, who's already a part of the Peak Elders."
The one who said those encouraging words to Fatty was the pretty young lady who had been quiet. This young lady had seen many young boys and girls who could become outer sect disciples by being a servant, but most of them did not have the chance to enjoy their travel and were already in fear of dying when they got on her friend's back.
Being a cultivator requires a steady heart and strong willpower that doesn't waver in front of danger; although it was a small matter for her to sit like this on the of her partner for these three, it was something that they only got to experience. It makes her happy to see someone could appreciate the beauty she held dear to her.
'At least they're not screaming.'
With a smile, the pretty young lady ordered her beast companion to go already. The flight didn't take long before they reached a populated area. There were buildings that house cultivators built below, while some facilities like a place where youths were constantly seen training and sparring.
This place was the outer area of the sect where outer sect disciples resided; both their lodgings and food were provided here. The beast landed in front of a black palace known as the Judgement Palace.
The three climbed down the feathered beast and thanked the pretty young lady.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
The three of them were once again in synch.
"Just wait here for a while, and you guys will be met by a member of the Punishers. When you meet them, you just have to show your medallions that Observer Yu gave you, and they would take you to the Elder in charge." The pretty young lady explained.
Once again, the three thanked her in synch.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
"Yeah, yeah, my name is Luo; the three of you look promising enough, so I will give you some advice if you want to advance to the inner sect conquer the Demon Rankings." Luo's words were surprising as she had just explicitly said that these three juniors who have not even received the baptism of the Illusory Heart Mirror will one day enter the inner are and become inner sect disciples.