"That's right. Lisa is a demonic cultivator."
Alice nodded, completely serious.
Himeko fell silent.
Alice went on:
"Lisa's cultivation art is called the Karmaflame Soul-Burning Method. She commands karmic fire—burning the souls of living beings to strengthen that fire, and in turn that karmic fire feeds back into her own cultivation."
"That's how she managed, in such a short time, to advance from mid-stage Refining Essence into Qi all the way to nearly reaching the peak of Refining Essence into Qi."
"Not long ago, she obtained half the souls of the demon god Osial and his wife. Once she finishes refining them, she should break through before we head to the Nine Nether."
Himeko's eyes flashed, shock plain in them.
"Devouring… souls?"
"No wonder demonic cultivators fall into the demonic path and become public enemies."
"If you let people like that run rampant, they'd be a disaster even worse than the Honkai."
"But… Elder Alice, Mount Shu is a righteous sect. Why would you allow Miss Lisa to cultivate a demonic art?"
Alice waved a hand, unconcerned.
"The Sect Master approved it. He's said more than once: power itself is neither good nor evil, and techniques are not inherently righteous or demonic."
"So long as you can hold fast to your own will, even a demonic art can be used to slay monsters and protect the world."
"As for Lisa, all of us trust her will. She won't do what shouldn't be done."
"Besides, she's not the only demonic cultivator in Mount Shu."
Himeko stared at Alice, startled.
"There are more?"
"Of course."
Alice spread her hands.
"You remember that blond kid, looks all sunny and cheerful, right?"
Himeko thought for a moment, then understood.
"The one following Elder Barnabas?"
"Yep. Tartaglia."
Alice grinned.
"That guy cultivates the Reverse-Blood Demonic Blade. Once that blade leaves its sheath, it only kills, never wounds. If you're cut at all, your blood essence gets sucked away, and you're as good as dead."
"His blade can continuously devour blood essence and grow stronger, more solid."
"Also, that guy is a complete battle maniac."
Himeko recalled Tartaglia's face—a bright, sunshine-like big kid.
She hadn't expected him to actually be a smiling, unhinged battle freak.
Cultivators really were… strange.
"And then there's Hu Tao, the one who gave you the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor card."
Alice continued:
"She's a ghost cultivator. She commands ghosts and spirits. She and Lisa split Osial and Beisht's souls between them."
"She's… a ghost cultivator?"
Himeko's expression twisted.
A ghost cultivator, running a funeral business…
And people still dared book packages with her?
Weren't they afraid their buried ancestors would get dug up and drafted as ghost generals?
"In short, anything the Sect Master permits is fine by us. We all trust them."
"Of course, I'm telling you this so that, if you join Mount Shu in the future, you'll know to avoid sparring with them whenever possible."
"Demonic and ghost cultivators have… very tricky methods."
Himeko nodded solemnly.
Alice pointed into the distance, to the peak opposite Great Bamboo Peak.
"That's Wind-Returning Peak. They handle artifact forging. There's no peak lord for now, and they don't have many disciples."
"But Cloud Retainer is quite capable when it comes to forging artifacts. Ningguang's violet-gold gourd was forged by Cloud Retainer and later enhanced by the Sect Master."
"Just a few days ago, it was used to capture Osial. Worked pretty well."
Himeko blinked.
"Violet-gold gourd… as in that one from Journey to the West?"
"You've read Journey to the West too!"
Alice's eyes lit up. She looked a little smug.
"That was my idea—copying the Taishang Laojun's Violet-Gold Red Gourd. The replica turned out great."
Himeko gave her a long, complicated look.
"Elder Alice, your imagination is really something."
"You flatter me."
Alice laughed, then pointed at another peak.
"That's Chaoyang Peak. It'd be better to let Venti introduce that one. He's the acting peak lord there."
Venti, who'd been hovering nearby, blinked and spread his hands.
"No need, really. There's not much to say about Chaoyang Peak. We don't have many disciples, and we mainly focus on formations—not exactly flashy."
"Tch… don't listen to him downplaying it."
Alice rolled her eyes.
"Chaoyang Peak specializes in formation arts. This guy's a formation master. The Twenty-Eight Constellation Demon-Subduing Array, the Heavenly Gang Sea-Covering Array, Gathering Qi Formations, Seven-Star Guardian Formations, and so on—"
"He's good at all of them. Used well, formations let the weak defeat the strong. They're very impressive."
Venti waved both hands quickly.
"Eh-heh, low profile, low profile…"
Alice pointed onward.
"That's Luoxia Peak. No peak lord yet—only a senior disciple, Baisheng. Luoxia Peak focuses on the beast-taming path."
"They command spirit beasts in battle, but the peak has only just started that path. It'll be a long time before they have major accomplishments."
Compared to the others, Luoxia Peak was weaker—for now.
But that was normal. Cultivating, breeding, and training spirit beasts took time.
Starting from scratch was always slow.
Once the later stages arrived and Luoxia Peak's efforts blossomed—spirit beasts roaring, ten thousand beasts marching in unison…
In terms of momentum and large-scale warfare, Luoxia Peak would be unmatched.
There simply wasn't a weak vein among Mount Shu's Seven Veins.
"These are the four auxiliary branches of the cultivation world, and also the four auxiliary paths of Mount Shu," Alice explained.
"Though they all still fight well, compared to the true main battle peaks, they're far behind."
She lifted Himeko's gaze to the three most distant peaks.
"The one on the left is Little Bamboo Peak. No peak lord yet, but the next one's already decided: Shenhe, bearer of the Pure Yin Body."
"Little Bamboo Peak specializes in curses and talismans. Their offensive power is tremendous."
"They also have very comprehensive capabilities overall—support talismans, suppression talismans, all sorts."
"And, importantly, only women can join Little Bamboo Peak…"
Himeko froze, suddenly a bit more interested in that one.
"Next to it is Dragonhead Peak—the home of the Disciplinary Hall."
Alice's tone grew proud.
"Dragonhead Peak currently has the most people of any of the Seven Veins. Its peak lord, Zhongli, is the strongest under the Sect Master."
"The Disciplinary Hall has three enforcement elders. Every disciple who joins Dragonhead Peak becomes an enforcement disciple."
"They're extremely powerful and are responsible for overseeing the conduct of Mount Shu's disciples and crushing external threats."
"If anyone slanders Mount Shu, or moves against one of our disciples, Dragonhead Peak is the first to respond and suppress them."
"Dragonhead Peak is Mount Shu's frontline army in any external war."
"Also, the Disciplinary Hall's rule is: Mount Shu's disciples can only be judged by Mount Shu. No one else."
"Even if a disciple commits a grave crime, only Mount Shu may punish them."
"Anyone else who tries… is provoking Mount Shu."
Himeko exhaled softly.
"What a domineering stance…"
Alice just smiled, neither admitting nor denying it. Finally, she pointed to the tallest peak in the very center.
"That's Tongtian Peak—Skyreaching Peak. It's the most important of the Seven Veins."
"There is no peak lord there. The Sect Master himself presides over Tongtian Peak. The sect's main hall, the Demon-Sealing Tower, the Scripture Pavilion—those all stand there."
"Its defenses are the strongest. If war ever breaks out and even Tongtian Peak is affected, that means the other six peaks have already fallen."
"Tongtian Peak is the symbol of Mount Shu—the seat of authority."
"And also the pinnacle of the sword."
"Mount Shu is also called the Mount Shu Sword Sect for a reason. Everyone on Tongtian Peak is a master of the sword, unmatched in sword arts."
She paused, then looked at Himeko, whose eyes were filled with yearning.
"But joining Tongtian Peak is also the hardest. Unless there are special circumstances, only those whose sword dao is strong enough can enter."
"Tongtian Peak is personally overseen by the Sect Master. Naturally, its strength is unmatched."
"It only has a single inner elder at mid-stage Refining Qi into Spirit—Furina."
"But Tongtian Peak doesn't need elders to prove its strength."
"Of Mount Shu's three divine physiques, Klee of the Crimson Emperor Heaven-Burning Body is the Sect Master's direct disciple. Lumine of the Glazed Sword Heart and Paimon of the Starbody are both disciples of Tongtian Peak."
"They inherit the Sect Master's two immortal-grade arts."
"Beyond that, you've got core disciples like Ganyu at early Refining Qi into Spirit, Sword-Body Keqing, Heavenly Enchantress Yae Miko, and Xingqiu, who developed a sword-heart after the fact."
"Then there's Furina—Heaven-Spirit Root, who passed all nine levels of the Heart-Testing Array, inheritor of the King's Path."
"The disciples of Tongtian Peak are all stronger than the last, geniuses one after another."
"That's why Tongtian Peak is called Mount Shu's final line of defense."
"If some war breaks out that even Tongtian Peak can't hold back, then Mount Shu is finished."
As Alice spoke, the burning light in Himeko's eyes gradually faded.
Looking at the towering Tongtian Peak, she sighed.
The inner sect of Mount Shu was where geniuses gathered.
Tongtian Peak was where monsters congregated.
She didn't have the confidence that she could ever meet that standard.
Still…
She wasn't picky. Just getting through the mountain gate at all would be an incredible stroke of fortune.
"By the way, Himeko, are you good with a sword?" Alice suddenly asked.
Himeko thought for a moment, then countered:
"What exactly do you mean by 'good with a sword,' Elder Alice?"
"Mm… how to put it…"
Alice pondered, then clapped her hands.
"I mean having real attainment in sword dao—your own insights, maybe even your own sword path."
"Like Keqing and Xingqiu on Tongtian Peak. They're sword dao experts."
"That's why their sword-riding arts are among the strongest."
Himeko could only smile wryly and shake her head.
"Then I'd say I'm not. My specialty is the greatsword, but my 'sword dao' is a kill-on-sight style I developed on the battlefield."
"All my opponents were huge Honkai beasts. I doubt it counts as 'refined.'"
"But I do have a student who's skilled with the sword. And… our class monitor's martial arts are impressive."
"They might have a shot at joining Tongtian Peak someday."
Alice nodded thoughtfully, then smiled.
"That's fine. From the look of you, if you join Mount Shu, you'll probably end up on Dragonhead Peak with us."
"You don't seem suited for the four auxiliary paths of pills, formations, artifacts, or beasts. And Little Bamboo Peak focuses on spellcraft—you don't look like the type to bury herself in spell theory."
Listening to Alice seriously analyze her strengths, Himeko couldn't help smiling brightly.
"Then I'll be in your care from now on, Elder Alice."
"Heh! You've picked the right thigh to cling to. In Mount Shu, everyone has to give me some face."
Alice tilted her chin proudly. Venti chimed in with a grin:
"Eh-heh, of course. Elder Alice's daughter is the Sect Master's one and only personal disciple. A classic case of 'the mother rides the daughter's coattails.'"
"Venti!!!"
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