Su Yang had helped pack Zhao Qingyao’s belongings.
Naturally, he knew what was inside.
Apart from silver and Ningyuan Pills, there should only have been some jewelry in the bundle.
Su Yang was certain that before yesterday, the bundle had not contained this mirror.
So Zhao Qingyao must have put it in yesterday.
But why would she put a mirror in the bundle?
Su Yang picked up the palm-sized bronze mirror and examined it closely.
The mirror had a simple, ancient design. Not a speck of verdigris marred its surface, and its bronze body gleamed with a warm, muted golden sheen. Its back was covered in intricate patterns.
The mirror’s surface was bright and clear, reflecting his face quite sharply.
But no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary bronze mirror.
After pondering for a moment, he shook his head.
“Qingyao must have put it in by accident. I’ll keep it; I could use a mirror, anyway.”
Su Yang put the bronze mirror back in the bundle, then checked the other belongings. They were all familiar items.
After tying the bundle shut again, Su Yang closed his eyes.
He hadn’t slept at all last night, so he might as well rest for a while.
......
Meanwhile.
Aboard the flying boat from Bihu Mountain.
Zhao Qingyao stood at the edge of the deck, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.
“Junior Sister Qingyao, what are you thinking about this time? Don’t tell me you still can’t forget your husband?”
Mu Ling asked teasingly.
Zhao Qingyao came back to herself and shook her head.
“You’re joking, senior sister. I’m not one to dwell on the past. I’m just worried about my cultivation from here on.”
“Why think so far ahead?” Mu Ling pursed her lips.
“You have a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Reaching the golden core realm won’t be difficult, and the Nascent Soul realm is within reach. If even you are fretting, how are the rest of us supposed to live?”
Zhao Qingyao paused, then nodded slightly. “You’re right, senior sister. I was being too sentimental.”
Mu Ling smiled and leaned against her shoulder.
“That’s a good girl.”
“By the way, do you still have the bronze mirror I gave you yesterday? Let me use it.”
Zhao Qingyao nodded, but in the next instant, her expression stiffened.
“I think I left that bronze mirror at the inn.”
She immediately apologized profusely, but Mu Ling didn’t mind.
“I only wanted to check my hair. It’s fine if it’s lost. I just picked the little thing up on a whim at the marketplace, and it wasn’t worth more than a few spirit stones.”
......
After flying for more than two hours, the green-leaf magical artifact finally reached the gates of the Qingyang Sect.
It was a vast expanse of mountain ranges.
The Qingyang Sect occupied several peaks.
The green-leaf magical artifact passed through an invisible barrier and soon landed on a mountain peak.
As soon as it landed, two middle-aged cultivators hurried over to greet them.
But the inner sect steward had no intention of speaking with them.
“All servant disciples, get down. This is where you’ll be staying from now on.”
Once all the servant disciples had disembarked, the green-leaf magical artifact rose into the air again, flew farther and farther away, and vanished from sight.
The many servant disciples exchanged glances, then turned to look at the two middle-aged cultivators who had come over.
The middle-aged cultivators, who had just been deferential to the inner sect steward, now wore entirely different expressions.
The taller one lifted his chin, his brows and eyes full of arrogance.
“My name is Ding Yue. I’m the spirit field manager of Cuiling Peak.”
The short, fat man also held his chin high, looking down on everyone.
“My name is Pang Yue, and I manage the spirit woods of Cuiling Peak.”
“Greetings, stewards.”
As servant disciples, they all knew their place and greeted the two men respectfully. Su Yang was no exception.
Pang Yue was pleased with their attitude.
“This batch of servant disciples seems reasonably sensible. Come on, follow Brother Ding and me.”
Ding Yue and Pang Yue led the way.
Su Yang and the others followed behind.
After roughly the time it takes to burn one incense stick, a sprawling compound came into view.
A wooden plaque hung above the compound’s entrance.
It bore the words “Servant Court.”
“This will be your residence from now on.”
Ding Yue stopped and turned to face them.
“Now that you’ve joined Cuiling Peak, rules are important.”
“Remember: servant disciples must not wander off or fight among themselves...”
He went on at length about the rules for servant disciples.
When he finished, Pang Yue continued.
“You need to remember those rules, but there’s one more important than all the others.”
“You must never offend an inner sect disciple. It’s best to turn around and go the other way as soon as you see one.”
“Inner sect disciples have noble status. If you incur their displeasure, you could be killed and no one would care.”
The group exchanged glances and nodded.
Standing at the back of the crowd, Su Yang took a deep breath.
Inner sect disciples.
Only by becoming an inner sect disciple could he gain some control over his own fate.
Ding Yue said nothing more.
He led everyone into the Servant Court.
He headed for the largest room.
Inside stood a large wooden table, with writing brushes, ink, and ledgers on top.
Ding Yue went over and sat down.
“Come over and register your names.”
The group came forward in turn, and Ding Yue recorded each of their names.
After the registration, Pang Yue took a stack of booklets from a nearby shelf.
He handed them out to everyone.
“This is the 《Qingyang Breathing Technique》, the most basic cultivation method in the sect.”
“Though you’re servant disciples, you’ll still be tested on your cultivation. After three months, anyone who hasn’t reached Qi Refining, Second Layer, will have to leave the mountain.”
After the cultivation techniques had been handed out, Ding Yue picked up another booklet.
“Next, we’ll assign your duties.”
Pang Yue added:
“Our Cuiling Peak is mainly responsible for the spirit fields and spirit woods. The work in the spirit fields is easier, while the spirit woods are considerably more exhausting.”
Ding Yue nodded slightly. “We’ll start assigning duties now. Come forward when you hear your name.”
“Sun Zheng.”
A lanky young man stepped forward.
Ding Yue didn’t even look up.
“You’ll work in the spirit woods. Chop down twenty spirit ironwood trees a day.”
Sun Zheng’s expression changed at once.
Knowing how difficult spirit ironwood was to chop, he hesitated for a moment, then took a spirit herb from his sleeve.
“This is a spirit herb I happened to find. I thought it might have fallen from your belongings, steward.”
Ding Yue finally looked up, his eyes lighting up.
“A Dewdrop Grass, a first-tier Low-Grade spirit herb. Its quality is decent.”
He shot Pang Yue a meaningful look, and Pang Yue immediately understood.
“Sun Zheng looks diligent. He doesn’t need to chop spirit ironwood; send him to tend the spirit fields instead.”
Sun Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and thanked them repeatedly.
The people behind him understood.
One after another, they rummaged through their bundles.
The second young man offered a low-grade spirit stone.
Ding Yue accepted it with a smile and assigned him to the spirit fields as well.
The others offered whatever they had: spirit stones, spirit herbs, and one even brought out a spirit pill.
Ding Yue exempted that person from servant duty on the spot.
Watching this, Su Yang felt his heart sink.
Aside from the Ningyuan Pills, he had nothing to offer.
But the Ningyuan Pills had been left to him by Qingyao. He couldn’t give them away.
Soon, it was Su Yang’s turn.
Ding Yue waited, but after a while, he realized Su Yang had nothing to offer.
His expression darkened at once.
“Su Yang. A Five-Element Spiritual Root? What’s the point of cultivating with a useless Spiritual Root?”
“You’ll chop spirit wood. Let’s make it forty trees a day.”
Forty trees—twice as many as the other servant disciples.
It was practically impossible to finish.
“Steward, this...”
Su Yang tried to plead his case, but Ding Yue cut him off.
“What do you mean, ‘this’? Are you unhappy with the assignment?”
“You’re a good-for-nothing with a Five-Element Spiritual Root. Getting into the Qingyang Sect is already a tremendous blessing. And now you’re being picky? Take a good look at yourself!”
Pang Yue joined in with a sneer.
“Steward Ding is right. You’re a good-for-nothing who wastes resources. Did you really think you had a choice?”
Su Yang understood.
He hadn’t offered them a bribe, so both stewards were displeased.
This was both a warning to him and a way to make an example of him to the others.
He felt deeply humiliated, but could only accept it in silence and step aside.
After assigning the remaining people their duties,
Ding Yue pointed to the farthest corner of the courtyard.
“Su Yang, you’ll stay over there. Everyone else can choose for themselves.”
Su Yang didn’t humiliate himself further. He silently made his way to that room.
He had no way to fight back right now.
All he could do was cultivate and grow stronger.
The room was spartan, practically dilapidated.
Su Yang sat calmly on the bed and took out the booklet for the 《Qingyang Breathing Technique》.
After reading it once,
he began cultivating according to its instructions.
First, he had to sense spiritual energy.
He made good progress with this step. In about a quarter of an hour, he sensed the spiritual energy.
Next, he had to guide the spiritual energy and turn it into spiritual power.
Su Yang carefully guided the spiritual energy along the path described in the cultivation technique.
At first, everything went smoothly.
But after the spiritual energy completed one circuit,
it suddenly slipped out of his control, deviated from the cultivation technique’s path, and began moving along an entirely new route.
Su Yang was startled, thinking something had gone wrong.
But after the spiritual energy completed one circuit along this new route,
the spiritual power that formed inside him was far greater than before.
After one full cycle,
Su Yang opened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief.
This was definitely not the cultivation speed one could achieve with the 《Qingyang Breathing Technique》.
Then,
his gaze was drawn to the bundle beside him.
It was glowing!