High-end residences with golden bricks paving the floors and snow-white walls.
Divided into different areas according to the nine peaks, outer and inner disciples lived mixed together. As for the nine twisted peaks of the Reverse Blood Sect, only true disciples and elders were qualified to establish cave residences there.
These were already at the Golden Core level or preparatory core-forming direct disciples of the sect, their status vastly different.
Steward Duan, riding a jade fork-like flying artifact, took Wang Yu to his new residence, briefly explaining the situation at the base of the nine peaks.
"The official name here is [The Ten Reverse Blood Markets]. The nine peaks correspond to nine markets. The extra market contains the sect's public buildings."
"The Administration Hall, Mission Hall, Scripture Depository, Technique Transmission Hall, Lecture Hall, Enforcement Hall, Alchemy Hall, Artifact Refining Hall, First-Grade Treasure Vault... etc. Buildings essential for the sect's operation are basically all here."
"Your destination is [Coldblood Market], affiliated with True Disciple Su's 'Ice Snow Pavilion'. Those are all disciples serving the master, colleagues to each other, with quite fierce competition."
"As a former spirit slave with a Waste Spiritual Root, being excluded is inevitable. True Disciple Su won't stand up for you over minor matters. Remember that."
Wang Yu understood inwardly but scorned the fat man's act of bullying others by flaunting his master's power. The words seemed caring but were actually a warning not to think helping the true disciple once would make him memorable.
Only through him could one contact True Disciple Su; there was no way around it—he had to relay the messages.
Offend him, and suffer the consequences.
Of course, no matter his inner thoughts, Wang Yu's outward demeanor was always impeccable.
He appeared properly instructed, which pleased Fatty Duan considerably.
Upon truly entering the Coldblood Market area, Wang Yu felt the spiritual energy density comparable to a mid-grade second-tier spirit vein and was pleasantly surprised.
Just being on the main street provided an environment suitable for breaking through to Foundation Establishment—how rare.
Although he could rely on the Placement Rack to overcome that barrier, spiritual energy supply would always be insufficient. Breaking through major realms required absorbing vast amounts of external spiritual energy to complete the transformation.
Otherwise, one would need to use large quantities of spirit stones to meet the spiritual energy demand.
The feedback from the Placement Rack was the cultivation gains after cycles of major circulations; it couldn't instantly satisfy massive spiritual energy needs.
Therefore, the Placement Rack could only free him from the daily spiritual energy requirements of cultivation, not the rebirth-like transformation during major realm breakthroughs.
Although the Reverse Blood Sect was a demonic path force, its environment was not lacking at all.
There were ten pavilions in the Coldblood Market, representing the spheres of influence of the ten true disciples, varying in size.
The Ice Snow Pavilion was one of the tallest spirit pavilions, with thirty-six floors. It stood like a sky-scraping tower piercing the clouds, protected by formation arrays—quite luxurious.
With Steward Duan leading the way, Wang Yu entered directly.
He seemed to be a notable figure in this Ice Snow Pavilion. An inner disciple with a purple blood waist token at the first-floor counter proactively approached, grinning from ear to ear, nodding and bowing.
"Brother Duan, what wind brings you here?"
Respectful, with a touch of flattery.
Steward Duan looked at him down his nose, his face almost parallel to the ceiling. "You are... Zhao Shang?"
"It's me. I'm honored Brother Duan still remembers me."
"Enough small talk. This is Wang Yu. Personally promoted by True Disciple Su from spirit slave to outer disciple. Arrange accommodation for him. He'll serve in the Ice Snow Pavilion from now on."
He emphasized the words "spirit slave" particularly clearly.
Zhao Shang thought for a moment, glanced at Wang Yu's distinctive appearance, and chuckled lightly. "Brother Wang, no need to feel inferior. Although the proportion of promoted spirit slaves on Coldblood Peak isn't high, there are some among fellow disciples from other peaks."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhao, for your consolation."
"No need for that." Zhao Shang waved his hand. "Since you've joined under True Disciple Su, let me first introduce you to the Ice Snow Pavilion."
Steward Duan abruptly interrupted, "Wang Yu is in your hands. I have matters with the spirit slaves; I'll take my leave first."
"Alright—"
After he left, Zhao Shang quickly spat and cursed, "Trash acting all mighty because of his master's power! What a piece of crap, damn it!"
His attitude, completely unconcerned about Wang Yu's presence, truly stunned Wang Yu.
After cursing, Zhao Shang looked at Wang Yu and got straight to the point. "I'll speak frankly. Duan Ping got his position through connections—his blood relation to True Disciple Su's maternal clan. Otherwise, the steward position for the spirit slaves wouldn't have gone to him."
Wang Yu wore an ingratiating smile, offering no comment.
This attitude made Zhao Shang nod inwardly before he continued. "Normally, anyone bringing in a new member must pay a full greeting gift to secure a room in the Ice Snow Pavilion."
"Since you were personally appointed by True Disciple Su and come from a spirit slave background, I assume you don't have many good things on you. You can stay in an Essence-Qi Chamber on the tenth floor."
Wang Yu nodded repeatedly. Zhao Shang then took out an ice-blue token, tapped it against Wang Yu's waist token, and handed him a small booklet.
"The rules, details, and information about the Ten Reverse Blood Markets are all recorded here. Study them yourself later. I won't keep you company."
"Alright, thank you..."
Before Wang Yu could finish, Zhao Shang had already left, returning to sit behind the first-floor counter with his eyes closed, clearly slacking off.
Wang Yu didn't mind. As he walked towards the stairs, he opened the booklet and began studying it.
The Ice Snow Pavilion had thirty-six floors. The top floor was True Disciple Su's room. He rarely stayed there but often invited friends to host banquets and enjoy the view on the top floor.
Floors two to nine were large banquet venues, capable of accommodating two thousand people simultaneously, filled with tables and chairs. There were also many private rooms and quiet chambers for conversations.
Floors ten to thirty were the [Essence-Qi Chambers] prepared for members under his command. They were equipped with two types of first-grade formations: 'Spirit Gathering Array' and 'Mind-Calming Array'.
The former gathered and purified heaven and earth spiritual energy, making it very docile by the time it reached the cultivator. The latter calmed the mind, replenished mental energy, and quickly restored vigor.
This allowed Qi Refining cultivators to perform more major cycles of their techniques in the early stages. Over time, their cultivation speed would be much faster than ordinary cultivators.
To be fair, the benefits here were quite good.
There were twenty entire floors, each with thirty [Essence-Qi Chambers], all with the same effect. The Ice Snow Pavilion was the core of True Disciple Su's faction, but not everyone could live here.
The surrounding dozen or so streets were within the faction's territory, inhabited by outer disciples. Those who could enter the pavilion were almost all inner disciples.
This was enough to show how much importance was placed on Wang Yu.
As for floors thirty-one to thirty-five, these were the [Second-Grade Essence-Qi Chambers] that True Disciple Su had invested great effort to build. Those residing here were all Foundation Establishment cultivators. There were relatively few at this level, with only two rooms per floor.
Foundation Establishment cultivators had already risen above the lower ranks and were considered the lower-middle core strength of the Reverse Blood Sect. They also possessed more than one asset, often having private cave residences within the Ten Reverse Blood Markets, and were qualified to serve as sect stewards.
That was the general layout of the Ice Snow Pavilion. But there was another rule closely related to contribution points.
Namely, the pavilion had the qualification to issue tasks on behalf of the Mission Hall.
However, it would take a fifty percent cut of the reward as a handling fee for accepting the task.
(End of Chapter)