39: Oath

Fang Huai had no other choice but to follow the instructions and take the vow.

He felt an invisible constraint settle upon him, and just thinking about the consequences of breaking it caused a piercing pain to shoot through his Sea of Consciousness.

Feng Wuwang waved his hand, signaling the two to step back, then pointed at Luo Heng and another Cultivator:

"The two of you have rendered great service by introducing new blood to the Ascension Society. Starting this month, your supply of blood jade leaf will be increased."

He paused, then suddenly raised his voice, which echoed throughout the great hall:

"Currently, the Corpse Fiend Sect is in a precarious situation, suffering defeat after defeat against the Profound Sword Sect; we are living on borrowed time!"

"In these chaotic times, only strength can guarantee a foothold!"

His voice carried a power that bewitched the hearts of men:

"What we can do is recruit more people to join the Ascension Society. Only then can we distribute more blood jade leaf, and only then can we cultivate faster."

"When the day the Profound Sword Sect finally attacks arrives, whether we are fighting against the Cultivators of the Profound Sword Sect or fleeing the Sect, we will have a chance to survive."

"And in the future, we might even be able to attain the Foundation Establishment body and touch the edge of Core Formation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a Cultivator asked: "Hall Master, can we really reach Foundation Establishment, can we really achieve Core Formation?"

Feng Wuwang's eyes swept across the crowd, and a wave of pressure descended: "Is there any such thing as being born with Foundation Establishment or Core Formation?"

"We Cultivators must struggle against the heavens for our fate! Once you have entered the Ascension Society, you and I can all achieve True Immortal!"

The crowd was dead silent, and then an astonishing Aura erupted: "Once you have entered the Ascension Society, you and I can all achieve True Immortal!"

"There is no such thing as being born with Foundation Establishment or Core Formation!"

"Sooner or later, we will trample those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots and dual Spiritual Roots under our feet!"

"..."

The crowd was stirred up; everyone clenched their fists, and some even wept, repeatedly saying:

"We are willing to go through fire and water for the Ascension Society!"

Fang Huai secretly clicked his tongue; Feng Wuwang's rhetoric for inciting the masses was practically a top-tier version of a pyramid scheme from Blue Star.

However, since the atmosphere had reached this point, it would be unreasonable for him not to shout along:

"I desire Immortal Ascension, to look down upon all living things!"

Seeing that the effect had been achieved, Feng Wuwang waved his hand, and the crowd gradually quieted down.

"You two newcomers, state your names and the mountain peaks you belong to."

"Fang Huai, Skinning Peak."

"Liu Ye, Beast Taming Peak."

"Since you have joined the Ascension Society, you must abide by the rules of the Ascension Society. Members must live in pairs to support each other and share information."

"Liu Ye, you shall live with Junior Brother Cheng Rui. Decide where you will live yourselves."

Liu Ye followed the direction of Feng Wuwang's gaze and saw a round-faced, bearded male Cultivator smiling and gesturing at him, causing him to involuntarily swallow hard.

"I..."

"Do you have an objection to my arrangement?" Feng Wuwang's tone suddenly turned harsh.

"No, none at all." Liu Ye felt like dying.

"Fang Huai..."

Hearing Feng Wuwang call his name, Fang Huai instantly tensed up.

He prayed to every god and Buddha he could think of, hoping that there wouldn't be a second Senior Brother Cheng Rui.

"Junior Brother Fang, I have arranged for you to live with a Disciple from Skinning Peak who is currently out on a mission. He should return to the Sect around the time of the next monthly meeting."

"You will have to make do for the time being. If you encounter any tricky matters, you can seek help from Junior Brother Luo Heng."

Hearing this, Fang Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At least for this month, he wouldn't have to face that new roommate whose background was unknown.

...

The monthly meeting of the Ascension Society did not last long.

After Feng Wuwang asked about everyone's recent situation, he ordered people to distribute the blood jade leaf for the month and then dismissed the members.

Fang Huai imitated Luo Heng, striking the wall heavily three times and then lightly five times, and the familiar sand vortex appeared above his head.

After sealing his seven orifices, he leaped up and entered the vortex.

The world spun around...

When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the Miasma Valley, but the location where he appeared was not beside the withered tree and blue stone.

He took advantage of the night to dash quickly toward the exit, but unexpectedly, a wave of pressure suddenly descended, sealing his entire body's spiritual power, while at the same time, a giant net descended from the sky.

"An immortal capturing net?"

Fang Huai was shocked; how could someone be carrying an immortal capturing net to catch people on the outskirts of the Miasma Valley?

"Which fellow Disciple is playing a prank? Official Disciples are forbidden from killing each other within the Sect; are you not afraid of being punished by the Law Enforcement Hall?"

"Is it that I am not afraid of the Law Enforcement Hall, or that you are not afraid?"

A figure walked out of the shadows, looking like a female Cultivator.

The female Cultivator was dragging a male Cultivator in her hand; after sensing the other person, he discovered that he was also a member of the Ascension Society.

Fang Huai swept his gaze over and couldn't help but frown.

【Jiang Miao】

【Eighth Layer of Qi Refining】

【Evil Qi Entering Body (White)】 【Corpse Fiend Possession (Red)】

After not seeing her for a few years, that woman who treated human life as nothing had appeared again, and she had already reached the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

The strange thing was, why would 【Evil Qi Entering Body】 and 【Corpse Fiend Possession】 appear on the same Cultivator?

Fang Huai originally thought these were two stages of Evil Qi invading the body, but now it seemed that was not the case.

"Fairy Jiang, long time no see." Fang Huai said.

"Who are you?"

Jiang Miao approached, lifted his chin with her index finger, and leaned in to sniff him: "Fang Huai? The Fang Huai I brought out of the Human Puppet Hall?"

"This Fang is indeed he."

Jiang Miao sneered: "I was camping out for the scum of the Ascension Society, I didn't expect to run into you."

"Back then, I thought you would be a capable Cultivator, I didn't expect you to also rely on this addictive stuff."

Jiang Miao came from the Sect Masters Lineage. Judging by her words, the Sect already knew about the existence of the Ascension Society and the blood jade leaf, and was secretly arresting members of the Ascension Society.

Jiang Miao was no fool; lying to her was tantamount to seeking death, so Fang Huai had to explain:

"Fairy Jiang, I boarded this pirate ship in a daze; my heart is loyal to the Sect."

"Loyal to the Sect? Then tell me, where is the gathering place of the Ascension Society?"

"It is at..." Fang Huai subconsciously wanted to say it, but felt a sudden, intense sense of mortal danger deep within his Sea of Consciousness, and immediately remembered the Vow Fiend.

He was shocked; fortunately, he stopped his words in time, otherwise he would surely have died.

He checked the labels on his body and found that 【Vow Fiend (Red)】 had automatically appeared.

"Fairy Jiang, I have been afflicted by the Vow Fiend; I truly cannot say it." Fang Huai explained.

"Vow Fiend?" Jiang Miao laughed, while a black light appeared at her fingertips, "Is it this thing? I know it too."

Fang Huai immediately had a bad premonition.

Seeing his expression change, Jiang Miao waved her finger, and the black light drilled into Fang Huai's Sea of Consciousness.

She laughed: "Now you swear, if you have genuinely joined the Ascension Society, may your soul fly away and your spirit scatter immediately!"

Fang Huai's heart pounded wildly; after calming himself down, he slowly spoke:

"I, Fang Huai, hereby swear that if I have genuinely joined the Ascension Society, may your soul fly away and your spirit scatter immediately."

After speaking, he suppressed his inner tension and looked Jiang Miao in the eye. Only when he was certain that the Vow Fiend would not trigger did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Boring."

Jiang Miao pouted: "This is the first time I've used the Vow Fiend. I thought I would be able to see how someone afflicted by the Vow Fiend dies, but it turns out you actually survived."

At the same time, she pressed her palm onto the head of the man tied up by the Immortal-Binding Rope: "Soul Searching Technique!"

"Ah!"

The man let out a miserable scream and immediately his soul flew away and his spirit scattered.

Jiang Miao did not search out any information and said in surprise: "I didn't expect that after being afflicted by the Vow Fiend, using the Soul Searching Technique would also trigger it. This is going to be difficult."