Before long, a short figure descended from the sky.
"Have you been slacking off again? Is the herb store managed properly?" Ma Xuedong asked sternly.
"Um... I overslept and forgot," Jiu Mingming muttered, hanging her head like a defeated hen.
"We'll deal with that later." Ma Xuedong scolded, his tone filled with disappointment. "This is your new junior brother, Ling Yun. Show him around the sect."
"If he has any complaints, you'll be in big trouble."
Jiu Mingming glanced at Ling Yun, her eyes lighting up. He was indeed a very handsome man.
"Don't worry, Master; I'll make sure Junior Brother feels right at home."
"Master, I'll take my leave now," Ling Yun said, bowing.
"Go on. Remember, if you need anything, you know where to find me."
Jiu Mingming led Ling Yun around, explaining the basics as they walked. First, Spirit Grass Peak had thirty thousand disciples. Outer disciples were primarily responsible for the lowest level of work, like catching bugs, hauling water, and cooking. Inner disciples handled challenges that the outer disciples couldn't resolve, such as dealing with a Cave Heaven Realm spirit insect queen or quelling disturbances.
As elite disciples, their main responsibility was diplomacy and, generally, they didn't have to manage the herb shop. If anything needed handling, they could simply instruct the inner disciples to take care of it.
"Junior Brother, do you have a Daoist companion?" Jiu Mingming asked.
"My focus is on the path to immortality. I haven't given it much thought," Ling Yun replied, easily seeing through her intentions.
Jiu Mingming was overjoyed to hear this—if her junior brother was unattached, she still had a chance. Because of her cultivation technique, she had been stuck in a youthful form, earning the nickname "Bottle Gourd" among Sword Sect disciples.
Despite being hundreds of years old and never having been in a relationship, men usually avoided her due to her petite stature, barely reaching four and a half feet.
"Junior Brother, here's your residence," Jiu Mingming said, leading him to a serene, fragrant area surrounded by flowers and birdsong.
"Just a drop of blood here, and this place will recognize you as its owner."
Jiu Mingming rummaged through her storage ring and handed Ling Yun a black token.
"Thank you, Senior Sister," Ling Yun said, accepting the token.
Jiu Mingming beamed with happiness, her eyes nearly squinting shut.
"By the way, Senior Sister, I haven't seen our eldest senior sister around," Ling Yun asked.
"Oh, she's out on a sect mission and won't return for another two months," Jiu Mingming replied.
"A sect mission?"
"Yes, all sect disciples are required to complete at least one sect mission per year. Failing to do so results in severe punishment."
She counted on her fingers thoughtfully. "But you don't have to worry, Junior Brother. As a new disciple, you have until next year to complete your mission."
Ling Yun wasn't particularly concerned. Staying within the sect all the time wasn't ideal for personal growth. Only by venturing out into the vast world could one encounter more opportunities.
"It's getting late, so you should rest. I'll give you a tour of the sect tomorrow."
"Alright."
Reluctantly, Jiu Mingming left. Ling Yun pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the token, feeling a strange sense of connection. With a thought, the defensive formation around the residence dissipated, allowing him to enter.
The spirit energy inside was significantly richer than that in regular inns, thanks to a high-level spirit-gathering array. After a quick bath, Ling Yun began to inspect his recent gains.
"Upper-grade Profound-level artifact—the Golden Crow Sword!" This was the gift Ma Xuedong had given him as a greeting. Additionally, there were seven thousand low-grade spirit stones, a hundred mid-grade spirit stones, and some healing pills.
The Golden Crow Sword had a dark golden blade, with the hilt shaped like two sunbirds intertwined. Even in the dim light, the blade's sharpness was palpable.
"It's time to break through."
After two months of steady accumulation, Ling Yun felt that the time was right. He took out a top-grade Foundation Building Pill and swallowed it. With his past experiences, this breakthrough went smoothly.
"Only one level this time? It seems my body has developed some resistance to the pills."
He took two more top-grade Foundation Building Pills and tossed them into his mouth. With no restrictions on these pills, he could consume as many as he liked.
In the entire cultivation world, Foundation Building Pills usually maxed out at the upper grade, while top-grade ones were unheard of.
"Break!"
After two hours, Ling Yun whispered to himself as he successfully reached the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment realm. Having broken through two levels in one night, he was exhausted but kept himself awake long enough to gather the scattered spirit energy in his dantian before finally falling into a deep sleep.
He woke lazily around noon the next day.
"Oh no, I overslept."
After freshening up, he found Jiu Mingming outside his cave residence, amusing herself by catching butterflies. It looked like she'd been waiting for a while.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Senior Sister. I had a moment of insight last night during my cultivation and ended up sleeping late."
It felt rude to make his senior sister wait for him right after joining the sect.
"That's no problem at all," she replied.
Jiu Mingming leaned closer and sniffed him. "Junior Brother, I can tell you've had a breakthrough. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Senior Sister. Just luck, really."
Ling Yun smiled, keeping his guard up internally. This Jiu Mingming was no simple character.
With his divine body protecting him from prying, others shouldn't have been able to detect his breakthrough unless their cultivation was far higher, or he revealed it himself. Jiu Mingming was neither of these.
A strange glint appeared in Jiu Mingming's eyes, but it vanished quickly.
As they walked, Jiu Mingming explained the basic benefits of being an elite disciple. Each month, elite disciples received three thousand low-grade spirit stones, ten fasting pills, and two Vajra Talismans. They also had access to the Technique Pavilion to choose one technique up to the upper profound grade.
"Aren't there any Earth level techniques?" Ling Yun asked, surprised.
For a sect as grand as the Sword Sect, it was surprising that disciples could only cultivate Profound level techniques.
Jiu Mingming looked at him, bemused. "Earth level techniques aren't as common as grass on the roadside, Junior Brother. There are only three lower Earth level techniques in the entire Sword Sect, and only elders are eligible to cultivate them."
Ling Yun now understood just how remarkable his system rewards were.
"Please wait," a female disciple suddenly called out, blocking their path.
"I'm Huang Doukou, an elite disciple from the Artifact Refining Peak. I wanted to—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she noticed Jiu Mingming smiling beside Ling Yun, and her voice faltered.
"Well? Go on, why did you stop?" Jiu Mingming asked with a grin.
"My apologies! Excuse me!" Huang Doukou's face turned pale, and she fled as if she had seen a ghost.
"Senior Sister, everyone seems to be afraid of you," Ling Yun observed with a smile.
Along the way, every disciple kept their distance from them. Clearly, this was not normal.
"Who knows? Maybe I remind them of their mother."
Jiu Mingming's reaction only confirmed Ling Yun's suspicions. This second senior sister was far from the simple-minded person she appeared to be.
As the two chatted and laughed, an unexpected visitor arrived at Moon Spirit City.
Inside an inn, a woman dressed in a black dress with a distinctive black flame tattoo on her forehead stepped forward. Her slender, fair leg peeked out from her dress, and her tall, elegant figure drew admiring stares from many young men passing by, who couldn't help sneaking glances at her.
"The Bi and Mei families really are useless, unable to capture a single young man."
"They say that Ling Yun is quite the beauty—even more attractive than the top beauty in Fengdu."
"Maybe he's already been caught. Who knows, he could be locked in some dungeon right now, with women taking turns 'heh-heh'-ing him."
In the inn, various loose cultivators chatted freely, even letting out bursts of laughter now and then.
"No one gets to bully my precious disciple but me," Li Rou murmured, setting down her wine cup and leaving the inn.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, the gossiping cultivators' bodies exploded without warning, meeting an untimely end.
The next day, shocking news spread through Moon Spirit City: both the Bi and Mei families had been completely wiped out.
Over thirty thousand people from the two families combined had been slaughtered, all with horrifyingly gruesome fates.