40: Nine Peaks

Huai Ziyi: "Those are Inner Sect Disciples. You must bow when you see them, and whatever you do, do not offend them!"

"The Sect's Rank system is very strict; don't end up dead without even knowing why!"

As he spoke, he took the lead and began to bow to that Inner Sect Disciple.

Then, the group continued on their way.

Gu Changan and the others passed through the clouds smoothly, without feeling the slightest bit of fatigue.

The Formation steps of the Tianji Platform from before were much harder to traverse than the steps here.

After passing through the clouds, the scene above suddenly opened up.

Not far away was a massive valley, and in the center of the valley was a huge Formation platform.

Surrounding the platform were nine peaks, encircling the entire valley in the middle.

Outer Sect Disciple Huai Ziyi stood at the edge of the platform and began to introduce: "This is the Star-Gazing Square of the entire Sect!"

"Clouds and mist surround the area all year round."

"The ground is paved with cyan-black ink jade, engraved with Innate Eight Trigrams Formation runes."

"At night, the Formation runes will emit a faint blue shimmer, absorbing the starlight from the sky."

"It's daytime now, so it's not very obvious."

"The purpose of this Formation is to help Disciples with their daily deductions of basic hexagrams."

"Do you see those eighteen white jade pillars on the side?"

"They surround the entire square. On every path leading to a peak, there are two stone pillars beside it."

"Each stone pillar is engraved with complex star-track patterns, and they are integrated with the entire square."

"This is also the Great Deduction Formation within the Sect. Large-scale events, sacrifices, or divination activities are all held here!"

Gu Changan and the others were quite shocked as they looked at the massive square before them.

Huai Ziyi felt a sense of satisfaction seeing their expressions.

"Do you see that massive peak in the very center?"

"That is Xuanji Peak, the residence of the Sect Master, various Elders, Inner Sect Disciples, and True Disciples!"

"The peaks on the left are, in order, Formation Peak, Heavenly Pill Peak, Heavenly Artifact Peak, and Menial Service Peak."

"On the other side are Heavenly Treasure Peak, Heavenly Spirit Peak, Heavenly Beast Peak, and Heavenly Human Peak."

"The entire Sect has a total of nine major peaks."

"Aside from the Xuanji Peak I just mentioned, I will introduce the rest to you one by one."

"Formation Peak is also called Heavenly Formation Peak; it is the place for learning and creating various Formations."

"Naturally, it also includes our Tianji Pavilion's special Magical Artifact, the Divination Life Plate."

"The Divination Life Plate is unique to our Tianji Pavilion, combining the characteristics of Formations and Formation Plates."

"Practicing the Cultivation Technique of our Tianji Pavilion can greatly increase the success rate of deductions and reduce the difficulty of divination!"

"Heavenly Pill Peak needs no further explanation; it is the place for refining various Medicinal Pills. If you need Medicinal Pills, you can go to Heavenly Pill Peak to request or refine them."

"However, the requirements are very difficult and are not something you should consider for now!"

"Heavenly Weapon Peak is the place for learning to create and practice with various Magical Artifacts and Magic Treasures!"

"The one near the entrance is Menial Service Peak. Menial Service Peak is close to the path down the mountain, which is convenient for their daily lives."

"All the menial servants of the entire Tianji Pavilion live there. If they have an Opportunity, they can also become Outer Sect Disciples."

"Without an Opportunity, they will stay up there for their entire lives, contributing to the whole Sect!"

"Their figures can be seen on all nine major peaks. Don't be too surprised if you notice them in the future!"

Gu Changan and the others nodded quickly.

Huai Ziyi pointed his right hand towards the peaks on the right.

"The one near Xuanji Peak is Heavenly Treasure Peak, which is the main trading hub of the Sect."

"There are permanent shops there, as well as squares for various stalls."

"When you want to trade things in the future, you can go there; it's relatively safe and stable!"

"However, some Elders in the Foundation Establishment Stage or Golden Core Stage also live there."

"They neither want to go to the other peaks nor do they get along well with the main peak's lineage, so they live on Heavenly Treasure Peak!"

"Remember, you must not offend the Cultivators on Heavenly Treasure Peak either!"

"Who knows if you might one day offend a Foundation Establishment Cultivator or a Golden Core Cultivator?"

"The two peaks next to it are Heavenly Spirit Peak, where various exotic flowers and rare plants are grown, along with various precious Spirit Medicines."

"Beside it is Heavenly Beast Peak. Above the mountainside, various Spirit Beasts are raised; below the mountainside, various wild beasts are kept."

"These two peaks can be considered Forbidden Grounds of the Sect!"

"Let's just say, these two peaks generally don't allow people to enter easily unless they have a Sect warrant!"

Gu Changan and the others nodded quickly: "Senior Brother Huai, we remember!"

Huai Ziyi smiled and said: "That's good!"

"The last peak is Heavenly Human Peak, which is the residence for us Outer Sect Disciples."

"Because there are many Outer Sect Disciples on Heavenly Human Peak, the entire Sect's Mission Hall and Merit Hall are all located here."

"This makes it convenient for Outer Sect Disciples to go out and perform missions!"

Gu Changan asked curiously: "Senior Brother Huai, is each peak self-governing?"

"That is to say, does each peak have a Peak Master?"

"For example, if we do Sect missions and accumulate enough contribution points, where do we exchange them for rewards?"

Huai Ziyi looked at Gu Changan with some surprise: "Every peak naturally has a Peak Master!"

"But they are not people we can just casually discuss!"

"The Divine Sense of the Nascent Soul Stage can cover the entire Sect. Be careful not to say the wrong thing, or you won't even know how you died!"

Gu Changan and the others shuddered in fear. The Peak Masters are at the Nascent Soul Stage?

This answer flashed through their minds!

Huai Ziyi: "Each peak only has a basic Merit Hall, responsible for the exchange of some basic Cultivation Techniques and treasures."

"If you want to exchange for better treasures, those for the Foundation Establishment Stage and above or the Golden Core Stage and above..."

"...you will need to go to the main peak, Xuanji Peak!"

"There is a Treasure Pavilion there, as well as a Scripture Pavilion and some special buildings."

"For example, the Sect's Law Enforcement Hall and Elder Pavilion are both there."

"You will slowly come to understand all this in the future!"

"Come, I'll take you to Heavenly Human Peak first to handle the formalities for you Outer Sect Disciples!"

Gu Changan and the others wanted to ask more, but seeing Huai Ziyi leave ahead of them, they knew he didn't want to say any more.

Gu Changan and the others could only follow Huai Ziyi to the Outer Sect Disciple Merit Hall on Heavenly Human Peak.

Huai Ziyi stepped forward: "Senior Brother, I've brought the newly admitted Outer Sect Disciples to collect their Sect benefits!"

Gu Changan and the others observed and found that behind the counter was an elderly Outer Sect Disciple with a somewhat arrogant expression.

"Why are there only four of them?"

"Where are the others?"

Huai Ziyi stepped forward and bowed: "Senior Brother may not be aware, but some accidents occurred during this Sect trial."

"It is said that Cultivators from the Blood Fiend Alliance invaded!"

"So there are only these four Outer Sect Disciples!"

"The Elder in White Robe is aware of this!"

The elderly Outer Sect Disciple was startled upon hearing this. Since when has the Blood Fiend Alliance become so powerful?

They even fought their way into the Sect?

Then, hearing that the Old Daoist in White Robe knew, it meant it was sanctioned; there might only be these few Outer Sect Disciples this year!

"Alright, you all come forward!"