Slowly but surely, the endless plains around Samuel were transformed into a full-blown sect, spanning millions of square kilometers. Samuel had never seen a sect before, but he was sure this must be one of the biggest that existed.
[This is the Heavenly Peach Sect, a perfect 1:1 replica of the sect the Old God of Dual Cultivation once led. The only thing missing here are the disciples, and that's where you come in. I'll give you a Sect Master's token, which allows you to teleport anywhere within the sect at will.]
With a flash, a reddish-pink token adorned with a peach-shaped decal appeared in Samuel's hand.
[Would you like a tour of the sect to see everything that has become yours?] the system asked.
"Of course! I need to know my own sect, right?" Samuel answered with a wide grin.
[Alright then, focus your mind on the token, and you'll see an interface like mine. Just select the first one on the list, and we'll start the tour.]
When Samuel focused on the token, a UI opened with a long list.
[Alchemy Hall, Array Hall, Beast Hall, Cultivation Caves, Dining Hall, Disciple Dorms, Mission Hall, Sect Master's House, Scripture Hall, Training Hall, Weapons Hall, Plantations]
"Alchemy Hall," Samuel said, and instantly found himself standing in front of a gigantic hall.
The hall was traditionally Chinese in style, with a sweeping roof and intricately carved wooden beams. Despite its large size, the place had an aura of peaceful solitude, perfect for the alchemical refinement that would take place within. Unbeknownst to Samuel, this tranquillity was maintained by a formation.
Inside, the hall resembled a long corridor with rooms to the sides every twenty meters. These rooms were alchemy chambers. Samuel entered one and immediately noticed the space was well-designed for the craft.
His knowledge extended beyond just cultivation; he was well-versed in various auxiliary professions, including alchemy, beast taming, weapon forging, and more.
Each alchemy room featured a single furnace in the center. At the back, there were distilleries on wooden tables for brewing potions and pills that required fermentation. Adjacent to these were shelves filled with an assortment of herbs, minerals, and even metals. Samuel recognized many lower-level items in abundance, but others, with only a few items each, were beyond his immediate understanding. These were likely ingredients that could only be used after reaching the first five realms.
Along the left wall were more wooden tables, outfitted with mortar and pestles, measuring scales, and even recipe scrolls. On the right wall, shelves lined with empty bottles awaited the concoctions that would fill them.
Next to the door were four colored switches: blue, green, red, and brown. These switches allowed the room's environment to change.
The blue switch adjusted the floor to feature small waterways, creating a soothing atmosphere of water energy to balance out the fiery energy required for pill refinement.
The green, red, and brown switches altered the room to exude more earth, fire, or air energy, respectively, depending on the needs of the alchemist.
[So, do you like your new sect?] the system asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course! I love it, especially the Alchemy Hall. The way you can tailor the room's energy is incredible—it will definitely help with refining better pills." Samuel was genuinely impressed. If the rest of the sect was as well-equipped as this, recruiting disciples would be no problem at all.
[Then let's move on to the Array Hall.]
When Samuel arrived at the Array Hall, he was greeted by a massive structure that resembled a gigantic cube, its tiled roof sweeping upward. Inside, however, the entire building was just one large room.
On the farthest wall, an ever-changing array was displayed. As Samuel focused on it, he recognized some arrays but also saw many he'd never encountered before.
"What even is this?" Samuel asked, puzzled. "It seems so much stronger than any array I've seen, but also completely harmless."
[This is the Cosmic Array. It draws upon the vastness of the universe and encompasses every array that has ever existed. If you wish to study a particular array, it will display just that, but otherwise, it will continuously cycle between them.]
"That's way too powerful for just anyone to access. How do you keep people from abusing it?"
[Well, it's not exactly rare in the higher realms. Most sects of this size will have one, so arrays aren't very effective in one-on-one combat. Everyone is familiar with them.]
Samuel nodded, understanding that the cosmic array was more of a tool for knowledge than for combat.
Next, they visited the Beast Hall, which turned out to be just a large stable. The Cultivation Caves were set within a towering mountain, with small caves inside, each furnished with nothing but a simple mat. The caves, however, had a significantly higher concentration of Qi.
The Dining Hall featured a cafeteria with an array behind the counter that could conjure any meal one could imagine, completely free of charge. The Disciple Dorms were luxurious, with separate courtyards for outer, inner, core, and elder disciples. Each level up in rank meant more space and additional luxury items.
The Mission Hall was an empty hall with several boards for posting missions that disciples could undertake in exchange for contribution points.
Samuel's favorite stop was the Sect Master's House. He'd never seen a residence of such grandeur before. The house had everything one could wish for: a private cultivation room, an indoor swimming pool, a hot spring, entertainment facilities, and more. The concentration of Qi here was even higher than in the cultivation caves.
The best part, however, was the bedroom. The bed was so large that a hundred people could sleep on it without even touching each other. Of course, that wasn't the intended purpose of the bed.
Samuel also took the opportunity to acquire some clothes, finally putting an end to his nakedness while exploring the sect.
The Scripture Hall was like a massive library, containing any technique one could imagine. The Training Hall had vast fields for sparring and targets for precision training. The Weapons Hall was a replica of the Alchemy Hall, except with anvils instead of furnaces. Lastly, the Plantations featured fields equipped with arrays designed to accelerate crop growth.
[Now that you've seen the entire sect, it's time to recruit a disciple. If you go to the Mission Hall, you'll find a trapdoor that you missed during your earlier scan of the building. In the basement, you'll discover a giant array that can take you to any realm.]
When Samuel returned to the Mission Hall, he found the trapdoor and descended into the basement. The room was simple, made of stone, but it contained an interface with an endless list of destinations. Each destination was marked with a difficulty level, indicating how challenging it would be for Samuel to survive there.
Each location also had three counters: B, T, and BT.
"What do the B and T stand for?" Samuel asked, wanting more information.
[B represents Heavenly Beauty, T stands for Heavenly Talent, and BT is both Heavenly Beauty and Heavenly Talent. Heavenly Talents are the most common, while Heavenly Beauties are the rarest.]
"Wait, wouldn't Heavenly Beauties with Heavenly Talents be the rarest?"
[In an ideal world, yes. However, in many realms, beauty is often something someone needs strength to protect. You can imagine what would happen if you had no strength but did have beauty.]
"I see…" Samuel understood now.
He decided to ask the system for a suggestion on where to go.
[Let me scan quickly.] The system paused for a moment before returning with its recommendation. [Choose the Qianyue Realm, Yan Country, and Yongheng City. What you need now is a Heavenly Talent disciple who is still a mortal. These types are rare, but they will help you quickly grow your strength.]
Samuel selected the Qianyue Realm, which had an "Easy" difficulty rating. The list then expanded to various countries, and after choosing Yan Country, he selected Yongheng City.
The world around him briefly went dark before he found himself standing in an alley, alone. The city around him was bustling with life, and as he stepped out, people stared at him for a brief moment before continuing on their way.
Oh right, I'm handsome now. How could I forget? Samuel chuckled to himself. Hopefully, my future disciple doesn't mind handsome men. Wait—where do I need to go again?
[Don't worry, we can communicate through thought. You need to go to Tian Lian Fang, or Sweet Lotus Bakery, as it's called in English.]
"Alright, let's go then!" Samuel thought, setting off to find the bakery. His quest for his first disciple had begun.