CHAPTER 72
Secret High Order: The Kush Heavenly Realm's Cultivation Order.
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"I am too weakly insignificant right now, dancing in the palms of the unknown as a pawn on a chess board" she whispered to the ceiling. "Playing around won't save me. Only by growing stronger can I flip the board and escape these schemers and probably return back home..."
But there was one insignificant problem.
Lu Xie sat up, frowning.
"How do I go about it?"
The energy and cultivation system of this world was complex—alien, even to her. Even with Alia's memories, her understanding was fragmentary.
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Kush Heavenly Realm~
The Seventh Courtyard~
...
Since Alia had never been inducted before her "accident," her understanding of cultivation was purely theoretical.
Lu Xie sat cross-legged on her bed, assuming a meditative posture. She closed her eyes, diving into the fragmented library of Alia's mind to draw a comparative analysis.
'First, I need to map this world's power system against what I know.'
She muttered the name of this dimension: "The Kush Heavenly Realm."
Based on Alia's memories, the hierarchy was strict and brutal.
First, The Mortal Warrior!
Those who have just awakened their Innate Spirit and Mythical Attributes.
This was where Lu Xie stood.
Similar to the Body Augmentation Stage from the Nine Heavenly Realms cultivation system.
The Mortal Lord & Mortal Monarch!
This was the standard rank for most disciples in the Coven.
The Mortal Lord being equivalent to the Qi Condensation and Refinement and the Mortal Monarch being equivalent to the True Qi Stages.
Then the Mortal Sovereign!
Elites such as the six other Yogis had attained this level before the age of twenty.
Equivalent to the Baptismal Stage.
Lu Xie sighed, opening one eye to stare at the ceiling.
'The gap is massive.'
She was a Mortal Warrior. They were Mortal Sovereigns. There were two entire Great Realms separating them. If they fought today, they would only need to sneeze to finish her off.
She closed her eye again to finish the list.
The Sage!
The minimum rank to become an Elder within the coven.
Sage Lords!
The ranks of the Demonesses, like Lela and Anthara and the Lords like Valia and Rava.
The Sage King
The rank of the Priestess and the Priests and likely the High Priestess as well .
As for The Sage Emperor!
A legend. The Coven had never recorded a Sage Emperor in its history.
'So, the hierarchy is established,' Lu Xie mused. 'I am at the bottom of the food chain. And I have six months to climb three Great Realms to survive the Holy Gan Valley. Simple.' Lu Xie scoffed in sarcasm.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Her concentration was broken by a series of soft, rhythmic patterns against her bedroom door.
Lu Xie didn't move. Her breathing remained steady.
"What is it?" she asked calmly. She already knew who it was.
The door creaked open. As expected, Trisha stepped in with a glass terrarium in hand, moving with a silence that shouldn't belong to a mere maidservant. She offered a courteous bow, before placing the glassy structure on a furnished table close to Lu Xie.
"Young Miss... did you register for the First Grade Mission?" Trisha asked humbly, her eyes lowered.
"Hmm... And?" Lu Xie asked, her tone neutral.
"Demoness Menlela sent word," Trisha reported, her voice devoid of judgment. "She requests that you see her as early as possible tomorrow. She... seemed intrigued by the news."
Trisha paused, waiting for a reaction. When none came, she bowed again.
"I will be leaving now. You can rest, Young Miss."
Trisha turned, her movements fluid and precise. She reached for the door handle.
"Trisha."
The maid froze.
"You have done well," Lu Xie said softly.
Trisha's shoulders stiffened imperceptibly before she relaxed. She turned back, offering a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes—a smile that was polite, practiced, and perfectly vacant.
"Thank you, Young Miss."
She closed the door with a soft click.
Lu Xie stared at the glass terrarium for a long time.
Her relationship with Trisha had improved, especially after their chaotic encounter with Valia. They had formed a strange sort of camaraderie.
But Lu Xie was not blind.
'She knows too much.'
Trisha had supposedly joined the Coven less than a month ago. Yet, she navigated the complex labyrinth of the Coven's Halls without ever asking for directions. She knew the political dynamics between Valia and Lela. She knew exactly which missions were safe.
And just now... she had known exactly when Lu Xie stopped meditating.
'She moves too quietly for a servant,' Lu Xie noted, her eyes narrowing. 'Her footfalls have no weight. She breathes in a rhythm that conceals her presence.'
Lu Xie knew Trisha was reporting to Lela. That was fine; Lela was her Guide. But Lu Xie suspected Lela wasn't the only one Trisha was reporting to.
'A double agent? Or just a highly trained spy embedded in the Coven?'
Lu Xie shook her head, dismissing the thought for now. 'As long as she is useful, I will keep her. If she bites... I will crush her.'
"Pffh!" Lu scoffed at herself being bost full. It seemed she had not only regained her memories before her regression back at the Endless Catacombs, she had gained her ego back as well.
She turned her attention to the wooden prize now in her hand.
The Wooden Bead.
Lu Xie held the storage artifact between her fingers, observing the intricate carvings.
'This world's spatial arts are surprisingly advanced,' she mused.
In the Nine Heavenly Realms, a storage artifact required a complex mental seal to open. Here? It was open access. Even a Marefolk could use it.
However, the trade-off was quality. The internal space was tiny, barely a few cubic meters.
"Let's see what Mr. Nineteen Sons sent me." Lu Xie mocked Valia.
With a flick of her wrist, she unscrupulously dumped the bead's contents onto her bed.
Clatter! Clink! Thud!
A small mountain of items rained down.
Lu Xie's eyes widened slightly.
Piles of Crystalline Bronze, Silver, and Gold coins shimmered in the lamplight. These were the currencies of the mortal world, but they held trace amounts of Qi.
But what caught her attention most were the, fist-sized Colorful Gemstones resting atop the pile, pulsing with a chaotic but potent energy.
"Chaos Stones!"