Chapter 100: Chapter 99: Cave Mansion

Only after the suffocating silhouette in the Profound Daoist Robe had completely vanished from view did the tense backs of the newcomers in the square seem to relax slightly.

The Outer Sect Steward from the General Affairs Hall who had been their guide now stepped forward once more. He offered no explanation for Junior Master Lü’s coldness, as if he had long grown accustomed to it, and methodically continued his duties. "Junior Brothers, form groups of twenty and stand as directed. We will lead you to your assigned Cave Mansions."

"Inside your Cave Mansions, you will find a Steward Black Robe and an Identity Token. This Token is intrinsically tied to your life in the Sect—communication, service records, and the accumulation and distribution of Merit all depend on it! You must keep it safe. If lost, you must immediately report to the General Affairs Hall and apply for a new one!" His gaze swept over the crowd with the warning of one who had seen it all, his voice growing a fraction deeper. "If you delay your duties or miss out on Merit, it will be too late for regrets."

The crowd was quickly divided. Lu Zhao was placed toward the back of a line and, along with nineteen others, followed a stony-faced, unsmiling Steward in a black robe, silently moving away from the magnificent main peak of the Sect.

They walked along a rather deserted and rugged mountain path toward the back of the peak, heading into the shadows of the range. The stone steps underfoot were rough, flanked by increasingly towering cliffs and a dense, ancient forest. Although the Spiritual Qi was still rich, the environment, compared to the previous grandeur of the main peak, undeniably gave off a desolate air of being relegated to the fringes.

At a bend in the mountain path, a man in one of the lines, who looked to be in his early thirties and wore a brocade-lined robe, his face still holding the confident traces of a disciple from some clan, finally seemed unable to suppress the sense of disparity and faint humiliation from being overlooked. He quickened his pace a few steps to approach the leading Senior Brother from the General Affairs Hall, forced a respectful smile, and asked tentatively:

"Senior Brother," he began, his voice tinged with an imperceptible hope, "is this it for our Entry Level... just being settled into our Cave Mansions? Don’t we need to go to the ancestral hall to burn incense and pay our respects? I heard that some Sects have very grand initiation ceremonies..."

The leading Steward from the General Affairs Hall didn’t stop walking, but upon hearing this, he abruptly turned his head. With a peculiar gaze—a mixture of surprise, pity, and a hint of ridicule—he sized the man up and down, as if trying to determine if he was mentally sound. The stare was as piercing as an Ice Cone.

A few breaths later, the Steward let out a barely audible sigh. His voice wasn’t loud, but it drilled clearly into everyone’s ears, each word spoken deliberately:

"That is a privilege reserved for—Official Disciples." After he spoke, he sharply turned his head back and continued up the mountain path without hesitation, leaving behind a crowd of shocked, embarrassed, and enlightened gazes.

The face of the brocade-robed man who had asked the question flushed red, then drained of color. The courage he had just mustered up, along with the last shred of a clan disciple’s pride, seemed to be crushed to dust by the brutally direct statement. The unspoken reality—that Outer Sect Stewards were not Official Disciples—left him choked speechless. His lips moved a few times, but ultimately, no sound came out.

The procession once again fell into a dead silence, an even heavier shadow casting itself over everyone’s heart because of those cold words.

The path led deeper, and the mountain terrain gradually flattened out. Entrances to Cave Mansions carved into the cliff faces began to appear. These doorways seemed unremarkable, but as they walked on, the swirling Spiritual Qi in the mountains grew ever more dense and pure, invigorating the senses.

Soon, a wide valley appeared ahead. Rows of uniform, simple yet sturdy stone Cave Mansions dotted the cliffsides and forests, arranged in a well-spaced, orderly fashion.

Lu Zhao’s keen eyes swept over the exposed rock patterns and the faint Spirit Light coiling around a few of the stone dwellings. Based on his discerning eye and long experience in the Bixia Marketplace, a single moment of Perception was all it took for him to be inwardly stunned.

’Tier One High-Grade! All of them!’

In Bixia Marketplace, a Spirit Vein Cave Mansion of this grade would cost at least forty Spirit Stones a month to rent! An ordinary Late-stage Qi Cultivator with no family backing would be completely unable to afford it.

After long deliberation back then, he had painfully given up on the luxury of a Tier One High-Grade dwelling, choosing instead to live in a cheaper but spiritually inferior Middle-Grade Cave Mansion to save Spirit Stones for Pills in pursuit of advancing his Cultivation.

This sheer number of uniformly high-quality residences... this was the magnanimity of a Golden Core Major Sect. This small glimpse alone was enough to be utterly shocking. Even with his awkward new status, the quality of the "basic benefits" for an Outer Sect Steward of the Sect gave Lu Zhao a new appreciation for the Bixia Sect’s profound foundation.

The leading Steward walked on without stopping, beginning to pause before each stone house to make his distributions.

"Xin 73, take your Token." A cold voice accompanied an iron token flying into someone’s grasp.

"Xin 110." Another person stepped forward.

The names and numbers were called out one by one, and the crowd gradually thinned, like seeds being scattered into their respective furrows.

"Xin 210." The moment the voice fell, Lu Zhao saw the Steward turn and hand him a Token. It was a heavy Black Iron Token, cold and solid to the touch. On one side, the word ’Steward’ was embossed, and on the other, the clear number ’Xin 210’. Below the number were a few minimalist lines, like a miniaturized Talisman.

"This Cave Mansion is yours." The General Affairs Hall Steward’s tone remained rigid. "The Cave Mansion Array is already active. It’s a Tier One Middle-Grade Defense Array. You can use this Token to control access. The Array costs six Spirit Stones a year to operate. If it needs replacing, go to the Merit Hall yourself, pay the Spirit Stones, and get a new Array Plate Core." He glanced at Lu Zhao. "If there’s nothing else, you may enter."

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for your guidance," Lu Zhao said, cupping his hands in a gesture of thanks out of courtesy, even though he knew the man was just performing his duties.

The Steward just gave a slight nod in return before heading straight for the next newcomer.

Holding the cold iron token, Lu Zhao took a deep breath. He channeled a sliver of Magical Power from his palm and pressed it onto the Rune on the back of the Token. The Token hummed softly and emitted a gentle white light, which shot accurately toward the center of the gray, seamless stone door before him.

The stone door shuddered slightly, letting out a low HUM, then slid silently inward, revealing a passageway wide enough for one person.

As the scene inside the cave came into view, Lu Zhao was momentarily stunned, then let out a soft, inward chuckle.

’Simple.’ That was the most direct impression.

It was no more than a dozen paces deep. At the far end was a grayish-blue stone platform that served as a bed. There was nothing on it save for a neatly folded set of clothes placed in the center. On the left and right walls, simple stone shelves had been carved out for storing miscellaneous items.

A jade pearl embedded in the ceiling provided the only illumination, emitting a steady, soft glow. The floor was smooth and clean, devoid of any decoration aside from the original chisel marks from when it was carved.

’Spartan?’ Lu Zhao didn’t feel that way. On the contrary, he could clearly feel an exceptionally active pulse beneath his feet, a warm current constantly welling up—it was the unique Spiritual Qi fluctuation of a Tier One High-Grade Spirit Vein!

This pure and abundant Spiritual Qi rose from the ground, silently suffusing his meridians. With every breath, he felt a profound sense of comfort spread through his entire body.

Compared to the Spirit Vein at the Bixia Marketplace, although this stone room was crude, the cultivation conditions within were far beyond what a Wanderer could ever imagine.

A Major Sect, even in its most remote corner, had its own foundation and grandeur.

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