Bao Gu stepped out of the Soul Chasing Pavilion’s master’s vehicle and joined the waiting members of the Xuantian Sect.
Zi Tianjun asked Bao Gu, “Is everything taken care of?”
Bao Gu nodded gently and replied, “I just settled the account for asking the Soul Chasing Pavilion for help.”
Zi Tianjun responded with a “Hmm” and said, “Let’s go!”
He then summoned a magical artifact made from the bones of a flood dragon.
The flood dragon bones were the main material, infused with the blood, flesh, and soul of the acting sect leader, Chen Jue, making it resemble a real flood dragon.
Chen Jue’s cultivation had already reached the early stage of transformation, and now that he had been refined into a spirit tool fused with the flood dragon bones, the combination of the two was terrifyingly powerful.
Bao Gu could clearly feel its might, as if facing a ferocious beast from the wild; the sensation was even stronger than when she faced the flood dragon demon.
Initially, Bao Gu had little fondness for Uncle Chen, the acting sect leader.
She felt that he had personal motives in the matter of the Ancient Token, favoring his disciple Nanyi and plotting against her senior sister.
He had also made a poor judgment in accepting Nanyi as a disciple to cultivate as a future sect leader.
As the acting sect leader, he was unfair and unclear.
However, after the recent battle, her respect and admiration for Chen Jue grew, as he willingly transformed into a spirit tool to protect the Xuantian Sect.
If it were her, she would also have her own selfish motives for her senior sister, but in the face of the sect’s greater good, she could never do what Uncle Chen did—abandon his physical body to endure the torturous process of becoming a spirit tool to safeguard the sect.
When Bao Gu saw Chen Jue appear, she respectfully cupped her fists in greeting.
The disciples of the Xuantian Sect bowed their heads and cupped their fists in salute, collectively shouting, “We pay our respects to the acting sect leader!”
The flood dragon nodded slightly, and its massive tail swept up the gathered disciples onto its back.
Zi Tianjun, Feng Yi, and Nanshan Yijian leaped onto the flood dragon’s back.
The flood dragon spiraled in the air, letting out a long, resonant roar that tore through the spatial barriers, carrying the members of the Xuantian Sect away into the void.
What is sect honor?
What is a sect?
In the past, Bao Gu thought of the sect as a home, a big tree, a place to settle down and find shelter.
Now, with the sect’s mountain gate destroyed, sitting on her Uncle Chen’s back and leaving with her fellow disciples who had also survived the calamity, she gained a new understanding of the sect.
The sect is made up of fellow disciples who practice, compete, and sometimes harbor small schemes, but when faced with danger, they are willing to risk their lives to protect one another.
They are not blood relatives, yet they share honor and disgrace, life and death.
She had lost the Xuantian Sect’s residence, but the presence of her fellow disciples and elders made her feel that they were her roots; wherever they were, that was her place of safety and survival.
She could rebuild the Xuantian Sect with them.
After this battle, the Xuantian Sect’s residence was utterly destroyed, and the ties that had bound them for so many years were gone.
This was a heavy and unbearable loss, but it could also mark a new beginning for the Xuantian Sect.
In the past few days, Bao Gu had been tormented internally, and now she was exhausted.
She needed to rest and adjust her state.
She consumed two third-tier spirit fruits and circulated her energy for a full cycle, bringing her condition to its peak.
When she opened her eyes, she found that, at some point, Uncle Chen had already brought them out of the void and was soaring above the clouds.
Above her was a clear starry sky, with a bright moon hanging high, and the thick clouds below looked like an endless giant blanket.
Bao Gu had never reached such heights in her life.
Perhaps it was because they were flying high and far away, or maybe it was because she had replenished her energy, but the heavy weight that had pressed on her heart suddenly felt much lighter, and her thoughts became as clear as the starry night sky.
She didn’t know where they were headed, but she was sure that her Grandmaster and the others had a plan.
As the sun rose, Chen Jue, carrying the members of the Xuantian Sect, suddenly swooped down.
As they passed through layers of clouds, Bao Gu saw the vast green land stretching endlessly beneath them.
With the rapid descent, she saw rolling hills that resembled a sleeping dragon and rivers winding like white ribbons between the green mountains.
Gradually, the hills beneath them grew taller and more magnificent, with many birds soaring above and the sounds of beasts roaring from within.
The rivers widened, rushing and roaring as they flowed between the mountains.
The closer they got to the ground, the more Bao Gu could feel how fast Chen Jue was moving.
She felt as if she were an arrow shot from a bow, about to plunge straight into the hills below.
Terrified of becoming a puddle of flesh, she clung tightly to the row of bony spikes on Chen Jue’s back and shouted, “Uncle Chen, slow down—ahhh—”
Fluffy clouds rushed past her, and the scenery before her blurred by in an instant.
Bao Gu felt dizzy and quickly closed her eyes, not daring to look.
After a few moments, Bao Gu felt Chen Jue come to a stop.
She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing that Chen Jue had halted above the treetops, while her fellow disciples had already dismounted from his back on their flying swords.
Bao Gu patted her chest to calm her racing heart and let out a long sigh, summoning her flying sword to hover in the air and surveying her surroundings.
All she could see were vast mountains, with towering ancient trees and moss beneath her feet.
Zi Tianjun ordered, “Rest in place.
Feng Yi and Niu Tianbao, go check the surroundings.”
Feng Yi and Elder Niu took their leave.
Bao Gu looked at Zi Tianjun and asked, “Grandmaster, are we going to settle down here?”
Zi Tianjun informed Bao Gu that this was just a temporary resting point, and selecting a permanent residence for the sect required utmost care and consideration.
The terrain, mountain formations, spiritual veins, and any potential threats to the sect’s existence all needed to be thoroughly examined.
Just like the mountain range they were currently in, although it was far from human habitation and there were no visible cities or villages, they still needed to investigate whether there were any other sects, demon cultivators, or powerful beasts in the area.
Even though the forest appeared lush and peaceful, they had to confirm whether there were any other dangers, such as the stability of the mountains, the presence of spiritual veins, or the likelihood of landslides or earthquakes.
It only takes a moment to destroy a sect, but rebuilding one requires years, decades, or even longer.
Bao Gu understood that the Xuantian Sect needed to recuperate and that avoiding conflicts with other sects was a wise choice, which is why they had come to this remote mountain range.
In these uninhabited mountains, wild beasts were everywhere, and the appearance of demon beasts or demon cultivators was not surprising at all.
Rebuilding a sect requires substantial financial support; otherwise, they wouldn’t even be able to set up basic protective formations, teleportation arrays, or simple cultivation sites.
Although cultivators can practice anywhere, a sect’s residence must be laid out in a way that is conducive to cultivation and gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
These are the most basic and also the most resource-intensive requirements.
Having been in the Xuantian Sect for so long, she knew how poor it was; otherwise, her Grandmaster and Uncle Feng wouldn’t have disregarded their dignity to dig up the Lingyun Ancient Peak without leaving anything behind.
With the destruction of the Xuantian Sect’s foundation, their arrival here was not just a relocation but also an escape from disaster.
What lay before them was not simply the phrase “revive the sect,” but first finding a space to survive and establish themselves before they could talk about revitalizing the sect.
Zi Tianjun utilized the surrounding terrain to take out some array materials and set up a simple defensive formation.
The disciples of the Xuantian Sect gathered materials on-site, cutting down some large trees to build wooden houses for shelter from the wind and rain.
In less than half a day, the disciples of the Xuantian Sect cleared a large area and organized it neatly, using the felled trees as building materials.
The male disciples took on the heavy work of constructing the houses, while the remaining three female disciples went into the forest to hunt some wild chickens, rabbits, and deer to set up a fire for cooking.
After all, most of the surviving disciples of the Xuantian Sect were still in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages and needed to eat.
Bao Gu gathered around the cooking fire and saw a pot of clear water boiling with wild game, unable to resist tossing in some spirit herbs.
The two female disciples nearby were stunned when they saw Bao Gu throw spirit herbs into the pot of boiling meat.
One girl, around seventeen or eighteen, snapped back to reality and exclaimed, “Hey, what are you doing…” She rolled up her sleeves and reached for the ladle, wanting to scoop it out, but upon seeing that the spirit herbs had been boiled in the broth, she realized there was no way to retrieve them for alchemy.
She clutched the ladle in dismay and shouted at Bao Gu, “You can’t waste spirit herbs like this!”
Seeing her senior sister’s anxious expression, Bao Gu replied, “How can you drink the broth without adding spirit herbs?”
The girl retorted, “Don’t you know spirit herbs are meant for alchemy?”
Bao Gu countered, “You can drink soup too.”
As she spoke, noticing there was too much meat and broth, she felt the few spirit herbs were insufficient and added another ten or so into the pot.
The girl was so furious she nearly hit Bao Gu with the ladle.
She shouted, “Bao Gu, are you trying to annoy me on purpose?
Don’t think I won’t dare to hit you just because you’re the deputy peak master of Lingyun Peak!”
Another girl quickly pulled the ladle-wielding girl back and said, “Hong Shao, didn’t you see how skillfully she tossed in the spirit herbs?
Our deputy peak master is treating us to spirit herb soup; shouldn’t we be grateful?”
After saying that, she snatched the ladle from Hong Shao’s hand and stirred the spirit herbs into the pot.
Bao Gu then took out some seasonings she had stored in her bag and handed them over, saying, “Add some salt and ginger. I have some green onions, but they’ve been in my storage bag for several months; I’m not sure if they’re still good. What’s your name, senior sister?”
The girl replied, “Hua Sheng.”
She took the ginger and salt Bao Gu handed her and added some to the pot.
Upon hearing the name, Bao Gu felt it was familiar, and looking at the girl, she thought she looked familiar too.
After a moment, she asked, “Hua Sheng, have we met before?
You look familiar, and your name sounds familiar too.”
Hua Sheng glanced at Bao Gu and said, “I’m a disciple of Zhuo Yun Peak.”
Hearing Zhuo Yun Peak, Bao Gu immediately thought of its peak master, Fan Tuan, and then recalled that Fan Tuan had a rather formidable direct disciple who had once barged into Lingyun Main Peak to search for the Duobao Spirit Monkey and nearly got struck down by her senior sister.
That disciple was named Hua Sheng.
She exclaimed, “Hey, Hua Sheng, we really have met before.”
However, she noticed that Hua Sheng seemed different now, less delicate and arrogant, and more approachable.
Hua Sheng replied, “Yeah, we’ve met many times.”
She looked at the wild game and spirit herbs in the large pot, then turned to Bao Gu and said, “I’ve never boiled spirit herbs into soup before; how do you control the heat?”
As she spoke, she handed the large ladle to Bao Gu.
Bao Gu rolled up her sleeves and took the ladle, saying, “I’ll do it!”
She was most skilled at making spirit herb meat soup!
Making this soup brought back some memories of her time in the small wooden house at Lingyun Peak.
She stirred the meat broth, continuously adding spirit herbs based on the heat and color of the soup.
Before long, the originally simple pot of clear water boiling with wild game was filled with a rich aroma of spirit herbs, making the disciples of the Xuantian Sect, who were busy with hard labor nearby, frequently glance at the pot, each one swallowing their saliva.
Life as a cultivator is already tough, with most food being bland.
Now, a pot of meat, especially one infused with over a hundred flavors of spirit herbs, was enough to tempt even those who weren’t hungry.
Once the meat soup was ready, Bao Gu set down the ladle and called out, “Dinner’s ready—” As soon as she finished speaking, she saw her fellow disciples gather around, their eyes nearly falling into the pot, each one smiling and thanking Bao Gu, Hong Shao, and Hua Sheng.
Seeing her fellow disciples’ hungry eyes, Bao Gu quickly shouted, “No stealing!”
She found a bowl she had tossed into the corner of her storage bag and filled it to the brim, then looked around at her fellow disciples, squinting her eyes and smiling, saying, “I’ll go first!”
Then she added, “You all please!” and tossed the ladle into the pot, stepping away from the large pot.
The group of male disciples surrounding the pot exchanged glances, and after Hua Sheng and Hong Shao each filled a bowl, they surged forward, pulling out their rarely used magical artifacts.
Eating the fragrant meat, drinking the delicious spirit herb meat soup, and chewing on the meat-flavored spirit herbs, the flavors washed away the lingering bitterness of their previous hardships, and the atmosphere among everyone grew lively again.
Bao Gu sat to the side, finishing her meat soup, and saw her fellow disciples starting to chat and laugh, unlike the morning when they were solely focused on work, which lifted her spirits considerably.
The sect’s residence was gone, but they still needed to eat, life had to go on, and cultivation must continue.
Zi Tianjun, who was setting up the protective formation, and Nanshan Yijian, who was sitting nearby with his eyes closed in meditation, were also served a bowl of steaming meat soup.
This meat soup, made with a large amount of third and fourth-tier spirit herbs, was beneficial for the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples, while for them, it was more about enjoying the flavor and sharing a meal with the younger disciples.
After waiting for Zi Tianjun to finish his soup, Bao Gu approached him, sitting next to the pile of wood that had been cut to make beams, and called out, “Grandmaster,” handing him some spirit herbs and precious medicines she had tucked away in her storage bag while everyone was busy working in the morning.
Zi Tianjun glanced at the storage bag Bao Gu offered but did not take it.
He said, “You’ve already contributed enough to the sect; keep it for yourself.”
He then asked, “Where’s your little fox? Why isn’t it out to eat?”
Bao Gu replied, “It’s staying in the Blood Oath Token; you don’t need to worry about it, Grandmaster.”
Zi Tianjun nodded and said, “The matter of the mountain guardian old lady has nothing to do with it.”
Bao Gu knew her Grandmaster was worried that she might blame the mountain guardian old lady for any misfortune that befell her little spirit fox.
She said, “The mountain guardian old lady can’t control Xiao Ling’er. Grandmaster, please accept this storage bag.”
Seeing Bao Gu insist, Zi Tianjun reached out to take the storage bag and peeked inside, instantly shocked, exclaiming, “This—” He knew Bao Gu had encountered great fortune and gained a lot in the Ancient Ruins, but he never expected her to produce so many rare herbs and medicines!
There were over a hundred spirit herbs aged over a thousand years and twenty precious medicines aged ten thousand years!
His hand trembled as he held the storage bag; just one of those ten-thousand-year precious medicines could be exchanged for several thousand top-grade spirit stones.
How many cultivation resources and materials needed to rebuild the sect could this bring back?
Twenty ten-thousand-year precious medicines—was there any major force in the Xuanyue Ancient City that could produce this many?
Bao Gu smiled and said, “Not enough? There’s more!”
Zi Tianjun was left speechless.
Bao Gu wouldn’t tell Zi Tianjun that she had an entire field filled with ten-thousand-year precious medicines, where thousand-year spirit herbs were as common as grass, and hundreds of years old spirit herbs were practically seedlings.
The value of things lies in their rarity!
If she brought out too many precious medicines at once, they would lose their value.
She even thought about how the flood dragon demon would react if it faced the current resource-poor cultivation world and remembered the entire field of medicines she had taken away—would it spit blood in anger and rush back to Xuanyue Ancient City to find her?
Tsk, the Xuantian Sect was on the verge of being exterminated, and now there was no one left.
If the flood dragon demon found her and the Xuantian Sect, it would probably cry in rage!
Bao Gu thought about the mountain guardian old lady still being with the Xuantian Sect; if the flood dragon demon couldn’t find her and found the mountain guardian old lady instead, wouldn’t that be the end for her?
Bao Gu pondered and said, “Grandmaster, we must not let anyone from Xuanyue Ancient City know where we are until we have the strength to defeat the flood dragon demon. Hurry and tell Uncle Feng not to mention it to Master Lü and the others.”
Upon hearing Bao Gu’s words, Zi Tianjun immediately understood.
He pointed at Bao Gu, unable to find his voice for a long time.
After a while, he sighed, “Bao Gu, if you could make just a little more progress in your cultivation, it would be perfect.”
Five spirit roots, all five spirit roots intact!
Even though Bao Gu was the chosen successor of the Xuantian Ancestor and had so many fortuitous encounters and cultivation resources, just thinking about her cultivation speed made him want to cover his face and cry!
When would Bao Gu’s Xuantian Jade Mansion in her dantian be opened?
Bao Gu pouted and dryly said, “Grandmaster, no one is perfect; can’t you lower your expectations a bit?”
Zi Tianjun sighed heavily and fell silent.
The disciples of the cultivation sect were all capable and strong, building houses faster than stacking blocks.
In the morning, they cut wood, leveled the ground, and laid the foundation; by the afternoon, they began constructing houses.
By evening, they had built a circle of wooden houses around the cleared area.
Although the wood was made from freshly cut trees, after the water attribute disciples extracted the moisture and the fire attribute disciples baked it at high temperatures, the wood was nearly as dry as charcoal.
Under the exquisite swordsmanship of the Xuantian Sect disciples, every piece of wood and every pillar was shaped so well that even an old carpenter would feel ashamed to see it.
After dinner, Bao Gu moved into her new house.
The room was small and had no furniture, but fortunately, the floor was made of wooden planks.
Bao Gu took out the tiger skin she had stored and used one as a mat, another as a blanket, and rolled up a third to use as a pillow, making do with her sleeping arrangements.
She then set up a small formation to block detection, marking her new residence.
The next day, before dawn, Bao Gu was awakened by a knock on the door.
She got up, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and walked to the door, opening it a crack to peek outside while asking, “Who is it?”
As soon as she spoke, she saw her Grandmaster standing at the door with a stern face.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her fellow disciples sitting cross-legged in the yard, and upon counting, she realized everyone was present.
She quickly said, “Grandmaster, please wait a moment.”
She hurriedly closed the door, tidied her messy hair, and rushed out to find dozens of eyes from her fellow disciples all fixed on her, many of them struggling to hold back laughter.
Bao Gu frowned, looking innocently at her Grandmaster.
What was going on?
Zi Tianjun could no longer contain his anger and shouted, “Have you forgotten to get up for morning lessons just because we’ve changed locations? Everyone is practicing day and night, and as a five-spirit-root cultivator, you actually… slept in! You’re sleeping in during morning lessons!”
Morning lessons?
What morning lessons?
Bao Gu felt even more confused.
After thinking for a moment, she quietly said, “Grandmaster, there are no morning lessons at Lingyun Peak.”
At this, all the disciples sitting in the yard burst into laughter.
Zi Tianjun’s face turned green!
A voice from the crowd called out, “Bao Gu, today is the first day of the month!”
The first day?
The first and fifteenth were for lessons in the Transmission Hall.
Bao Gu suddenly realized, gasping, “Oh no!” and quickly ran to sit cross-legged at the back of the Xuantian Sect disciples.
Seeing Bao Gu so frightened that she even called out “dad,” the disciples of the Xuantian Sect erupted in laughter.
Bao Gu curled up in her seat at the back, her face flushed with embarrassment, wishing she could find a hole to burrow into.
How was she supposed to know that today was the first day and she needed to get up early for morning lessons?
She wasn’t someone who often slept in; she could hardly remember the last time she had a good sleep.
After finally getting a chance to sleep soundly, she ended up in this embarrassing situation—how mortifying!
There were no morning lessons at Lingyun Peak, and Bao Gu had never attended any classes at the Transmission Hall either.
