Zhou Shu was speechless upon hearing the female cultivator's words, but there was no need to dwell on them.
He didn't linger, heading for Yaofeng Garden.
Yaofeng Garden, the residential area for newly admitted outer disciples, was located just sixty miles west of Xichen Courtyard, making it quite close.
This was a thoughtful arrangement. New disciples lacked spirit stones, forgot about spirit beasts for transportation, and were reluctant to use talismans when traveling. Therefore, it was placed closest to Xichen Courtyard.
The name Yaofeng Garden, similar to Xichen Courtyard, Xuexiang Garden, and others, was quite elegant and quaint. It was all given by Yuan Heyin and still used today.
Zhou Shu didn't use the magical talisman. He wanted to read the jade slips distributed by the Heyin Sect on his way.
The slips detailed the Heyin Sect's rules, terrain, and other aspects, and also explained the disciples' advancement and benefits.
In a sect like the Heyin Sect, contribution was the most important thing, exchanging for almost everything within the sect.
While outer disciples could accumulate contribution points, the only thing they could redeem was inner disciple status. Only inner disciples could redeem this for the sect's elixirs, magical artifacts, and other resources.
"To exchange for elixirs, or to ask the elders to refine them, you must first accumulate contribution points and become an inner disciple. It's only 100,000 contribution points, and you have to reach that before you turn thirty. It's not easy."
After the age of thirty, even if you have enough contribution points, you can't redeem yourself to become an inner disciple. As you age, the sect will no longer actively cultivate you.
Zhou Shu pondered.
As they walked slowly, a small area of low-rise buildings appeared before them. It resembled the shanty towns of the market town, though much neater and cleaner. Each house was separated by a distance of seven or eight feet. In front of each house stood an extremely tall sycamore tree, swaying in the wind.
"You're walking so slowly!"
a booming voice called out. Zhu Dashan approached quickly, with the arrogant Li Aojian standing beside him.
Zhou Shu bowed, "Hello, Senior Brothers."
Zhu Dashan looked at Zhou Shu, "Brother Zhou, all the new outer disciples live here. We entered together, and since we're both independent cultivators, we should live close together so we can look after each other. What do you think?"
Li Aojian raised his head slightly, "Junior Brother Zhu is right. If we live close together, Junior Brother Zhou can always ask me questions, and I'll be happy to help."
Zhou Shu smiled and nodded, "Okay, I have no problem."
Building good relationships is essential in a new place, and he had no ill feelings towards either of them. Zhu Dashan was indeed simple and unpretentious, and while Li Aojian was incredibly proud, he seemed to be quite good and quite interesting.
Both of them showed a hint of joy. Zhu Dashan pointed to a nearby building and said, "That's perfect. Brother Li and I will stay in Rooms B1 and B3, and you can stay in Room B2, okay?"
Zhou Shu nodded. "Then I'll go take care of it. Bye for now."
Zhu Dashan's face was filled with excitement. "If you have time later, why don't we go out for a walk? I heard the Heyin Sect is quite large, with many places worth visiting."
Li Aojian and Zhou Shu shook their heads almost simultaneously. "That's not necessary. In three days, the new disciples will take on miscellaneous duties, so we need to prepare."
Zhu Dashan looked rather regretful. "Okay. But I don't have anything to prepare. I'll just give this beautiful body away to someone."
Hearing this, Zhou Shu felt a chill and quickly turned away.
Entering the residence, there was only a futon and a stone table. The layout was extremely simple, with no formations.
However, Zhou Shu had come prepared, having brought along several simple formations, which he set up to make the place look presentable.
He then pulled the small scroll from his bag and placed it in a corner of the room.
Xiao Gun held his temper for a long time, shaking his head in discontent. It wasn't until Zhou Shu gave it a spirit stone that it obediently rolled away, clutching the stone and lying motionless.
"Eat, eat, all you know is eat! This is the 107th one, remember this,"
Zhou Shu glared at it resentfully.
After a day without drawing talismans, his hands felt restless. He pulled talisman materials from his storage bag and quietly began to draw.
Time slipped by quietly, and three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
In the Xichen Courtyard's general affairs hall, dozens of newly inducted disciples gathered, awaiting their assignments.
Zhou Shu, like the others, wore the outer disciple's azure robe, his eyes searching the crowd.
"Strange! Why don't I see Sun Hedao? Has he changed?"
Zhou Shu was quite surprised. Now that Sun Hedao wasn't around to cause trouble, he felt a little lost.
In the center of the hall stood a Foundation Establishment cultivator in his forties, surveying the crowd below, his face slightly solemn. Beside him hung a half-foot-high lottery holder, with dozens of jade sticks swaying constantly inside.
The Heyin Sect had many chores, such as feeding spirit beasts, managing the medicine garden, mining, and so on. For outer disciples, if they could be assigned easier chores, such as managing the medicine garden, it wouldn't take up too much time and energy, freeing up time for cultivation and personal matters. If the garden manager was pleased, they could even receive certain benefits.
However, if they were assigned chores like mining or patrolling the demon hunting area, the situation would be disastrous. Not only would they have to spend a lot of time and energy, but they might even put their lives in danger.
Everyone wanted the best.
The Heyin Sect was very straightforward. To prevent cheating and personal gain, they directly implemented the seemingly fairest method: drawing lots.
"Everyone, be quiet."
The cultivator pressed his hands. "I'm Liu Anmin, one of the people in charge of assigning chores. The types of chores and how they're assigned are clearly spelled out in the sect's rules. If you have any questions, please wait until we've drawn lots. Let's begin the drawing now."
Liu Anmin said affably, "You're all new disciples, some of you even just becoming cultivators. Of course, we won't give you any chores that are too difficult. Don't worry, the chores this time are all very easy. It doesn't matter who draws first; I'll just pick whatever I want."
He pointed casually at the crowd, and a cultivator responded with a subtle smile.
He stepped forward, casually pulled a stick from the holder, and quickly walked away.
He stole a glance at the jade sticks and felt a surge of ecstasy. "Hey, it really is a month of managing the medicine garden. Big Brother was right, the spirit stones weren't wasted."
Zhou Shu, a meticulous observer, couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
Fairness at the top wasn't always the same down below. If the stewards used some trickery, like imbuing a trace of spiritual energy on the sticks, the drawing of lots would be anything but fair.
"Come in one by one, don't rush. Everyone gets a chance,"
Liu Anmin said with a satisfied smile as he called out the names. The monthly chores were his biggest source of income.
"What are you staring at? Steward Liu called you."
Zhu Dashan gave Zhou Shu a naive nudge.
Zhou Shu was slightly startled. He'd been called first; there must be something fishy going on.
Zhou Shu said nothing more, stepping forward. But as soon as his hand touched the stick holder, a jade stick flew towards him and was thrust directly into his hand, without him even having to draw.
Liu Anmin looked at him and urged, "Alright, get down quickly. We're waiting back there."
Zhou Shu nodded and looked at the jade stick in his hand.
"In the Mist Crystal Iron Mine Cave on Lengwu Mountain, mining for one month rewards you with 600 contribution points."
As expected, Sun Hedao said, "You still haven't forgotten me."
Zhou Shu couldn't help but shake his head.