Yingxian Pavilion

Gu Fan followed Wang Jingxuan step by step into Yingxian Pavilion. As soon as he stepped inside, he smelled a refreshing fragrance that was like pine and sandalwood, which immediately calmed his excited mood.

Looking around, the Yingxian Pavilion is simply furnished. In the center sits a Taoist priest with white hair and a youthful face, sitting cross-legged on a futon with his eyes closed. In front of the priest is only a three-legged, two-eared incense burner with a beast-face design. A wisp of moon-white smoke rises from the incense burner and drifts in all directions.

Wang Jingxuan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother Xu."

The Taoist slowly opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his ruddy face: "Junior Brother Jingxuan has arrived. Has a new budding immortal joined the sect?"

Wang Jingxuan nodded, stepped aside to let Gu Fan stand behind him, and replied, "As Senior Brother said, today a disciple named Gu Fan has successfully completed the Qi Refining stage. I would like to trouble Senior Brother to register him and include him in the Lingxiao Sect."

The Taoist priest surnamed Xu looked behind Wang Jingxuan and met Gu Fan's gaze.

Gu Fan felt that the Taoist's eyes were as bright as stars, and dared not look directly at them. He quickly bowed and said, "Disciple Gu Fan greets Senior Uncle."

Seeing Gu Fan's handsome figure, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, the Taoist nodded slightly and said, "Not bad, not bad. I am Xu Zhengfeng, the Master of Yingxian Pavilion. You may call me Senior Uncle Xu."

"Yes," Gu Fan replied, bowing.

Xu Zhengfeng took out a palm-sized golden command arrow from his sleeve, wrote a few lines of words with his finger, and with a wave of his hand, the command arrow turned into a golden rainbow and flew out of the pavilion, disappearing without a trace.

Then, he reached out and grabbed from the air, and a jade scroll appeared, which was spread out in front of him. He recorded Gu Fan's information into it, and then ordered Gu Fan to press his palm print, leaving a trace of his energy. Finally, he took out a white jade ring and handed it to Gu Fan.

"This is your outer disciple identification document; do not lose it."

Gu Fan took the jade ring with both hands, feeling a warmth upon touching it, and then tucked it into his bosom.

Xu Zhengfeng put away the jade scroll and chatted with Wang Jingxuan for a few more minutes, talking about the recent events in the sect. Gu Fan stood by his side, just listening to the gossip, until a fair-skinned, handsome young man walked into Yingxian Pavilion.

The man, dressed in a black Taoist robe, exuded an elegant demeanor as he stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Disciple Chen Suzhen has come to pay respects to my two senior masters."

Both nodded in acknowledgment. Wang Jingxuan stood up and said, "Now that this matter is settled, I will return to the lower courtyard first. I will come to bother you again, senior brother, another day."

"Take care, junior brother."

Xu Zhengfeng watched Wang Jingxuan leave, then turned to Chen Suzhen and said, "This disciple has been promoted from the lower academy to the outer sect today, so you will be in charge of receiving him."

Chen Suzhen bowed and accepted the order. She first took out a golden command arrow from her sleeve and returned it to Xu Zhengfeng. Then she smiled and cupped her hands to Gu Fan, saying, "I am Chen Suzhen. Congratulations on becoming a disciple."

"Gu Fan greets Senior Brother." Gu Fan quickly returned the greeting.

Then, Chen Suzhen led Gu Fan out of Yingxian Pavilion and down the mountain. When they reached the middle of the mountain, there was another pavilion called Fengxian Hall.

Inside the Fengxian Hall, there were rows of chests and cabinets. Surrounding the chests and cabinets, a gaunt old Taoist priest in a blue robe was examining a Taoist book in his hands. He did not raise his head until the two approached.

Chen Suzhen stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Uncle-Master Zhao, I have been ordered to guide the new disciples into the sect and have come to receive my allowance."

Uncle Zhao, with a stern face, remained engrossed in the Taoist texts, and reached out a hand.

Chen Suzhen turned to Gu Fan and reminded him, "Identity token."

Gu Fan immediately realized what was happening, took out the jade ring from his pocket, and handed it to Uncle Zhao. Although he was curious about what kind of Taoist book had captivated this uncle so much, he did not dare to use his Myriad Manifestations Eye to investigate rashly, given the lessons learned from the past.

Uncle Zhao withdrew his hand, rubbed the jade ring a few times, seemingly to distinguish its authenticity, and with a flick of his sleeve, a breeze arose, and the chests and cabinets in Fengxian Hall opened one after another, and the items inside flew out and were displayed in front of everyone. They were a small gray sword, two porcelain bottles, one green and one white, five jade stones that radiated spiritual energy, a white jade slip, five Daoist robes in red, yellow, white, brown and black, a white jade boat that Gu Fan was familiar with, and finally a black cloth bag.

"What color Taoist robe does Junior Brother like?" Chen Suzhen asked, pointing to the five Taoist robes.

Gu Fan was slightly taken aback; it turned out that not all five Taoist robes were given to him.

Perhaps because he possessed a fire-elemental spiritual root, Gu Fan found red more pleasing to the eye, so he pointed to the red one.

Chen Suzhen nodded, picked up the black cloth bag, put the red Taoist robe into the bag, and explained to Gu Fan how to use the bag.

Gu Fan knew perfectly well that this cloth bag was the famous storage bag.

After Gu Fan took the bag and collected the rest of the items along with his identity token, Chen Suzhen led him out of Fengxian Hall.

From beginning to end, the gaunt Uncle Zhao never raised his head to look at the two of them.

After leaving Fengxian Hall, Chen Suzhen explained, "Uncle Zhao has always been devoted to Taoist practices and dislikes dealing with people. Please forgive him, Junior Brother."

Gu Fan repeatedly said he dared not.

Then, a small boat flew out of Chen Suzhen's storage bag. It was emerald green and shaped like a willow leaf. After landing, it rapidly grew larger, and the two boarded the boat and rode the clouds into the sky.

Soaring high into the sky, Gu Fan finally had the mind to properly examine the Lingxiao Sect.

The Yunjie Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, with spiritual energy swirling in the air like clouds and mist. More than a dozen peaks stand side by side, surrounding the central, towering peak. There are waterfalls and springs, exotic flowers and rare herbs, mythical beasts galloping about, white cranes spreading their wings, and thousands of auspicious rays and rays of light.

Standing on the willow-leaf boat, Gu Fan was completely captivated by the beautiful scenery.

Chen Suzhen turned her head and saw Gu Fan's expression. She smiled slightly, as if she had expected Gu Fan's reaction. She slowed down the speed of the willow leaf boat and let him enjoy it.

After a moment, Gu Fan came to his senses and exclaimed, "This is truly a blessed land of immortals."

"That's natural."

Chen Suzhen nodded slightly, quite proudly saying, "Our Lingxiao Sect is a great sect with a history of thousands of years. Such a beautiful scene is second to none in the entire Eastern Continent. New disciples are all amazed when they see this scene upon entering the sect."

After speaking, Chen Suzhen pointed to three of the mountain peaks: "These three mountain peaks are the residences of the outer disciples. Junior Brother Gu came from the lower academy and belongs to Lingxi Peak."

Gu Fan's heart stirred, and he asked, "What is the significance of the other two mountain peaks?"

Chen Suzhen countered, "I suppose you also know that those with superior spiritual roots can directly enter the outer sect?"

Gu Fan realized: "Could these two mountain peaks be the residences of those disciples with superior spiritual roots?"

Chen Suzhen nodded, pointed to the one in the middle of the three peaks, and explained, "This one is called Shenxiu Peak, which is where disciples with superior spiritual roots cultivate. As for the other one, it is called Qingyun Peak."

At this point, Chen Suzhen gave a barely perceptible hum, her tone serene: "Those disciples who come from families of cultivators, or who have elders cultivating within the sect, cultivate on this peak. These disciples are different from you and me; most of them rely on taking Qi-opening pills to draw Qi into their bodies, and they rely on their generations of cultivation to look down on us. Junior brother, you should have less contact with such people in the future."

Gu Fan was stunned for a moment: So, our Lingxi Peak has nothing at all?