Elder Huo and Xiao Wuji talked a bit longer before the elder pointed out Wuji's exhaustion and asked him to sleep while they waited for the disciples who went into the hidden realm.
This was a hidden realm they had rented from the Elder Alliance. It only allowed the entrance of cultivators at the Foundation Establishment and below.
It wasn't known to be especially dangerous, but since these were young inner and core disciples, they were given teleportation talismans for reassurance.
This whole operation wasn't cheap. It would only be worth it if the disciples' exploration bore fruit.
After waiting for three days, they were finally expelled by the hidden realm.
During these three days, Elder Huo continued to explain more things about the cultivation world to Wuji.
Cultivators used spirit stones when it came to high-value commerce, he said.
Spirit stones were made of spiritual energy that crystallized into these stones of differing spiritual energy density.
There were low, middle, and high grade spirit stones. Each respective increase was around 100 times the value of the other.
In the Bamboo Valley Sect, an outer disciple received two spirit stones a month.
Inner disciples received ten, while core disciples received one middle grade spirit stone.
Disciples could also earn spirit stones by doing labor or completing missions.
The elder also said that techniques in this world were cataloged and evaluated by the Elder Alliance.
There were different techniques for each level of immortal cultivation, but there were also scriptures that compiled a sequence of compatible techniques that may or may not be of the same origin.
The Elder Alliance rated techniques from one to five stars—legend says this is what inspired the United Treasure Pavilion to do the same for Daoist disciplines.
In the Bamboo Valley Sect, there were a variety of techniques of the Qi Gathering and Foundation Establishment stages, but there were more limited options for Golden Core and Nascent Soul.
The sect leader was at the Nascent Soul stage, so naturally, there weren't any Deity Transformation techniques.
But what was unique is that they had a Nascent Soul scripture, meaning a compilation of compatible techniques that reached the Nascent Soul stage.
Core disciples of the Bamboo Valley Sect could learn the Bamboo Unity Scripture, which could only be cultivated by those with Dao Treasures made of bamboo.
It's not that it was impossible to cultivate without a bamboo Dao Treasure. One just needed a piece of bamboo that was rich with spiritual energy for the first two stages, but for the Golden Core and above, no spiritual bamboo found in this realm was powerful enough—so a corresponding Dao Treasure was needed.
Hearing this, Wuji was concerned, "Wait, should I really join without a bamboo treasure? Isn't this unwise? Is there a sect with a jade or flute scripture?" Unconcerned about seeming like he was belittling their sect, Wuji voiced his doubts.
"You're right. That's why I said joining a sect is no small commitment. Not only are you choosing between righteous, neutral, and demonic, but you're also choosing which paths you can take in cultivation." Then Elder Huo seemed to think for a moment, "Well, for sects that I'm aware of, there isn't one that uses the flute, but there's one whose scripture involves music, the Peaks of Sound Sect. It's a medium-sized sect. As for jade-related scriptures, there's a large sect called the Wondrous Jade Sect who possesses more than one, but I'm not aware of any others."
"Elder, is there any way to join those sects?"
"Hah, I don't think so, Xiao Wuji. The Peaks of Sound Sect is on the other side of the continent, while the Wondrous Jade Sect is closer. But it requires higher levels of Qi Gathering for one to barely qualify as an outer disciple."
"So it is like that. Elder, can I successfully cultivate the techniques of the Bamboo Valley Sect?"
"Not to the level of Golden Core, but before that, yes. Although the techniques won't be heaven-defyingly compatible, they should be more than enough to reach the threshold of breaking through to Golden Core if you have the talent and will." Elder Huo gave an honest assessment. Thankfully, he wasn't overly prideful or brutal. Otherwise, Wuji might not have lived to hear his answers.
Especially in the neutral and demonic factions, there were many extremely brutal cultivators. Even in the righteous faction, there were those with no regard for human life that would kill for nothing.
The strong preyed on the weak, and the even stronger ones couldn't care less.
Unless you were talking about righteous and neutral cultivators killing people of their own sect or clan, of course—that was not tolerated unless they were the strongest in their organization.
As Elder Huo thought about how generous he was as a mid-level powerhouse, the disciples of the Bamboo Valley Sect were expelled from the hidden realm.
"How was your harvest, dear disciples?" Elder Huo especially looked at the weaker ones in a battered condition.
"Elder Huo, I found a jade slip that seems like a technique or scripture, but I can't read its contents." As Luo Bing pulled out a jade slip from her storage ring, it suddenly flew towards the Qingyu Flute and melted into it.
"What?" The disciples were put on alert, but Elder Huo quickly calmed them down.
"This is unusual, but sometimes there are scriptures that only manifest in compatible objects they must use to be cultivated. This is usually done when a scripture has no determined inheritors so that it isn't wasted." Elder Huo explained, "The founder of the Bamboo Valley Sect inherited our scripture with his Dao Treasure as well. Such ocurrences are rare, though. It seems like you're really blessed by the heavens, Xiao Wuji."
Since it was a technique that either required a flute or jade to be practiced, Elder Huo didn't confiscate it. But he still said, "Since you've taken something from our hidden realm exploration, I'm sure you don't mind joining our sect, right?"
Wuji obviously realized he couldn't just leave after technically taking something from them, so he gladly said, "Of course. I'm happy to join the Bamboo Valley Sect as long as I can practice this scripture."
Wuji didn't possess divine sense as he wasn't yet at the Foundation Establishment stage, but since the scripture melded into his soulbound flute, he skimmed through the information.
Here's what he surmised:
Myriad Jade Scripture
Final Stage: Nascent Soul
Requirements: Jade Dao Treasure, non-Dao resonant spirit jade is not sufficient to practice even the 1st layer.
1st Layer - Myriad Jade Mantra
Uses the Myriad Jade Mantra to temper one's divine sense before the Foundation Establishment stage with the feedback from the selected Jade Dao Treasure. This causes a permanent qualitative and quantitative change to the practitioner's divine sense.
2nd Layer - Jade Eyes
When establishing the foundation, condense one's divine sense into their eyes in a specific way to reforge them into Jade Eyes that can see through all tricks and lies.
3rd Layer - Jade Body
During the formation of the Golden Core, use a special method to resonate with your Jade Dao Treasure and attain the properties of jade. This purity acquisition makes one's body immune to poison and corruption while also increasing one's vitality, resilience, and regeneration.
4th - Jade Unity
When collapsing the Golden Core into the Nascent Soul, use one's divine sense to permanently connect and unite the soul and body into two resonating parts. This step makes any progress of the soul elevate the body and vice versa.
Cultivating these four techniques in tandem would generate a resonant effect that would elevate all of these effects as one progressed further in cultivation using compatible techniques.
It was likely part of the legacy of the one or the ones who built the hidden realm.
After the small incident, the other disciples explained their experience in the hidden realm one by one.
They weren't worried about getting their things stolen as none of them got something worth the risk of stealing.
But they did get some valuable items.
Some got pills, others got artifacts, while one of them even found what they suspected to be an unclaimed Dao Treasure.
It was surprisingly a bamboo sprout.
Since it was likely a Natural Dao Treasure, they had to get it appraised to make sure it wasn't just spirit bamboo.
If it was indeed a Dao Treasure, they could probably become a core disciple and practice the sect's core scripture.
"Alright, let's quickly go back to the sect. Just remember to return your teleportation talismans to the Mission Hall." Wuji was no longer surprised to see Elder Huo pull out a miniature boat that suddenly expanded to a size that fit all of them.
"Get in." He pulled them all in and instantly took flight.
Wuji was scared shitless.
Today, he discovered he wasn't into flying.
'I'll have to get used to it later.' He decided.
So he forced himself to go to the edge of the boat and 'relax'.
It worked. Once he had been scared for half an hour, Wuji finally calmed down a bit and somewhat enjoyed the rest of the ride.
It took a couple more hours, but they finally arrived back at the sect.
On the way, the disciples introduced themselves to Xiao Wuji and asked him some questions, too.
They quickly became a bit more familiar with each other, especially Sister Bing—who had a smile that screamed she knew something you didn't.
She said he owed her a favor for the scripture so she would be forced to keep a close eye on him.
'Shameless! Despicable! But I don't mind.' Wuji knew the effects of his beauty. He would be a fool to stress himself over it.
And it was harmless, after all... right?
'Yes, I won't be forced into anything in a righteous sect.' Wuji was not exaggerating.
One month before he tragically left the fishing village, a noble widow tried to buy him from the temple.
Yes, buy him.
Thankfully, the monks didn't mind making an enemy of the lady for him.
This made Wuji wake up to his devastating looks. What scared him the most was that this was happening when he was only 15.
Anyway, arriving at the Bamboo Valley Sect, Wuji could see the beautiful scene of bamboo growing to several meters tall along the margins of a river that split the valley between two mountains.
The greenery and the river made for a truly beautiful sight that enraptured Wuji's full attention.
On either side of the river stood the sect facilities of Bamboo Valley.
As they descended, Wuji steeled his heart.
He had never found something worthy of his dedication or ambition.
He had always felt a bit like a misfit and lost in life.
But now he found the ultimate goal—immortality!
'I will either achieve immortality or die trying!'