On the greyish-yellow pebble beach by the shore, there was a simple little dock. A few thick wooden stakes were hammered into the shallow water, and alongside them, a long wooden bridge was constructed.
A small boat had already docked earlier, and a woman dressed as a scholar leaped off, glanced back at the trio without a word, tossed down the boat fare, and with a longsword on her back, strode away.
After disembarking, they followed the direction the woman had taken for a while, passed through a rocky canyon, and suddenly, the view opened up before them.
Lin Xin stood at the mouth of the canyon and looked down; in the basin surrounded by mountains in the distance, there stood a grey-white stone town. Hundreds of neatly arranged stone houses were packed densely together, all standard square boxes with small chimneys curving out from the sides.
The roads between the houses in the town were orderly, and occasionally, figures in pale yellow Taoist robes could be seen bustling about. But there were far more people dressed in various clothes, all with swords at their sides, both men and women.
"This is as far as I can go," Bo Yunzi patted Lin Xin on the shoulder, "I am no longer a named disciple, just an Outer Sect disciple executing tasks for the Sect, from here on out, you're on your own."
Lin Xin nodded, looking at Bo Yunzi as he was about to express his gratitude, only to see him turn and hastily leave the canyon, muttering something about another piece of Jade Money in hand.
Ji Lu glanced at Lin Xin.
"This is Tingjian Valley where the named disciples reside; I'll take you to register."
"Yes."
As the two made their way down to the town, Lin Xin noticed that this canyon wasn't the only entrance; there were five or six other points of ingress. Along the way, they encountered a few people, and Ji Lu greeted each of them.
As they were about to reach the town, two women in moon-white Taoist robes, clearly Qi Cultivation masters as well, each brought a young person with them. The four of them came from another entrance, and upon seeing Ji Lu, one of the women hurriedly lifted her hand and waved.
"Over here, Ji Blockhead!" The woman with a red mole at the corner of her mouth had a melon-seed face, a slender and graceful figure, and long hair with a white band tied around her shoulders, giving her a quite beautiful appearance.
Ji Lu's face turned red.
"I'm not Ji Blockhead!" he retorted.
"If it's not you, then who is it?" the two women giggled.
The woman with the red mole glanced over at Lin Xin.
"Ah, you're on a recruitment task too, not bad, we've also brought two new ones, let's register together."
Ji Lu, his face reddening, hung his head slightly and seemed to dare not look at the woman.
"Okay... okay."
"As expected of Ji Blockhead, just like sister described," the other woman couldn't help but laugh, "No wonder sister whispers someone's name every night. It really was a pity that I caught sight of him, haha..."
"Are you asking for a spanking, You Ling!" The woman with the red mole was a bit embarrassed and annoyed, raising her hand as if to hit someone.
Lin Xin watched from behind, wanting to laugh, while the other two newcomers, a boy and a girl, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The three new arrivals looked each other over and decided to stick together, following the three Immortal Masters into the town.
"Brother, where are you from?" The boy asked quietly with a fist and palm salute, his face youthful and cute, like that of a child.
"Red Pine City from the Great Yuan," Lin Xin added. "What's your honorable surname, brother?"
"No need for 'honorable,' my surname is Wang, with a single name Chong, Chong as in 'soar to the heavens.' Great Yuan, huh? That's quite far. However, this Miss Xiao Lingling is also from Great Yuan," the boy introduced himself.
"I am Lin Xin, Xin as in 'new and old,'" Lin Xin said with a smile. Hearing the introduction, he looked over at the girl beside him.
The girl looked about twenty, around his age, with big watery eyes that slanted upwards on both sides, giving her a slightly enchanting appearance. Fair-skinned and clearly a well-bred young lady, with black hair cascading over her shoulders, she even wore a white band tied in a bow at the back.
As martial artists tended to have good figures, she wore a white dress that accentuated her curvy figure; other than her slightly short legs, she had no obvious flaws.
"Great Yuan's Red Pine City, never heard of it... but I'm from the house of Prince Yu," Xiao Lingling said with a smile.
"I know of Prince Yu's house; it's quite a journey from our place, near the central Capital of Great Yuan," Lin Xin replied with a smile.
The three casually chatted about their martial arts experiences and the amusing stories from their journey, and soon they reached the forefront of the town. There was a long stretch of white stone steps leading upwards, and looking from the base of the steps, one could only see mist enshrouding the higher reaches, with no end in sight.
Alongside the steps were two huge stone walls covered in dense, various marks, seemingly all sword marks.
On the right side stood a small white stone tower; they entered the tower, where the horizontal division of the stone wall inside held all sorts of miscellaneous items, many of which were made of jade.
Behind a desk-like counter sat a withered old man, looking much like a eunuch, completely beardless.
"Registration, receipt of basic equipment," Ji Lu announced in a loud voice as he entered.
"Write your own names down, take what you need. Don't take more, you're well aware of the consequences."
The old man weakly pointed to a small book on the table, with each page astonishingly made of hard jade. It was already full with densely packed names.
The woman with the red mole and her companion went up and started writing directly on it with their fingers, and surprisingly, white characters appeared as they wrote.
It was quickly written, and Ji Lu also stepped up, swiftly writing down Lin Xin's name before leading the way with Bo Yunzi.
The so-called basic equipment was a white-wrapped package for each person to carry away.
Lin Xin picked one that looked slightly bulkier and lifted it.
After leaving the small tower, the two women took Xiao Lingling and Wang Chong aside to talk. Similarly, Ji Lu led Lin Xin to the side.
"From now on, you have to survive in this small town by yourself. This package contains enough provisions and drinking water for three days and the clothes for standard recognized disciples. For everything else, you'll have to figure it out on your own, whether through purchase, theft, or making it yourself, it's up to you. Recognized disciples are not restricted by the sect rules, with just one exception, you cannot kill a fellow sect member."
"And where will I stay?" Lin Xin asked, somewhat speechless.
"Find yourself an uninhabited small house. If you really can't find one, you can share with someone or seize another's dwelling, as long as you can defeat them," Ji Lu said indifferently. "We all went through this, it's a necessary path to adaptation."
"Is it possible not to stay in a house?" Lin Xin thought for a moment and asked again.
"Of course, it's possible, but here, the nights bring extremely cold freezing rain, capable of freezing a grown man to death, and the rainwater is poisonous, interfering with your practice of Inner Strength. If you can't find shelter, you'll die a horrible death," Ji Lu replied in a low voice.
"Actually, there are enough houses, but the locations and the houses themselves vary in quality. You'll understand later on," he added.
"What about food, drink, and other needs?" Lin Xin continued.
"There's a stone stele in the center of the town, where from time to time someone will write various notices and schedules. It includes a map of this place and the times for monthly Taoist Arts gatherings, among other things. You can ask around for someone who's familiar with it," Ji Lu said, patting Lin Xin's shoulder. "Your talent isn't exceptional, but you have the advantage of youth. To have developed Inner Qi at twenty and possibly to break through Qi Cultivation in ten years might be difficult, but reaching the Innate level shouldn't be a problem. If you're lucky enough to survive out there, you could build a career and achieve something significant. Work hard."
"Right," Lin Xin nodded firmly.
Ji Lu thought for a moment, then pulled out a copper token from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Xin.
"You are Bo Yunzi's disciple, if you encounter trouble, use this token to find me in the Elixir Hall. I won't promise much, but acquiring a few Essence Pills should be manageable."
"Thank you, Uncle-Master!" Lin Xin said joyfully, fully aware that this was Ji Lu giving him a favor on account of Bo Yunzi's status.
It made sense; accompanying Bo Yunzi on such a distant trip just to introduce a disciple with Inner Qi, their relationship had to be close.
Compared to that irresponsible uncle-master, this Uncle-Master Ji Lu seemed much more reliable.
"That's all for now. We shall meet again," Ji Lu said, turning around to see that the women with the red birthmark had already finished instructing and seemed to lack any special connection, making it all the more brief.
"Let's go, Ji the Simpleton," the woman with the red birthmark said with a smile as she turned and walked up the stone stairs. You Ling, the other woman, looked back at Lin Xin and the others.
"Take care of yourselves," they said before taking off, leaping into the sky towards the steps above, and vanishing into the mist at the top in the blink of an eye.
Left behind, Lin Xin and the others exchanged looks, all feeling somewhat helpless.
"Let's find a place to stay first," Lin Xin suggested.
"Right, it's best for the three of us to stick together since we are new here," Wang Chong nodded. "It sounds like this place might be a bit troublesome."
"I agree as well," Xiao Lingling added.
The three headed back into the town.
The White Stone Town's orderly white stone houses mostly had their stone doors firmly shut, and the town's streets were occasionally crossed by a few hurried people.
The trio walked around the edge of the town and found a clear stream with several large stone houses beside it, surrounded by stone walls about ten meters high, and divided into two floors. Faint smoke rose from the second floor and the sounds of music and women's laughter could be heard within.
"Fifth, fourth, third," Lin Xin read the inscriptions on the walls of these houses.
"These must be the best houses, already occupied," Wang Chong murmured.
"I made sure to ask about the situation before coming here; these stone houses aid in accelerating the cultivation of Inner Qi. Even the worst of these houses is faster than practicing by ourselves. So, we must vie for a stone house," Xiao Lingling said earnestly.
They walked along the stream, passing the fourth house and entering a row of villa-like double-story stone houses, each with a small walled yard.
The paths between the stone houses were eerily quiet, with hardly anyone around.
Whoosh.
As they passed by one of the double-story stone houses, its main door opened to reveal a stern-faced young woman stepping out. Clad in black, her long hair loose, she carried two longswords crossed on her back.
Upon glancing at the trio, she shut the door without a word, left the courtyard, and soon disappeared around a corner.
"Such strong cultivation..." Xiao Lingling paled, evidently frightened by the woman's gaze.