Chapter 523: New Member Benefits

"Senior Pi, welcome to the Xinghai Sect's territory."

Following the direction of the Xinghai Sect's female disciple, Wang Sheng saw a cluster of buildings on a mountain floating among the clouds. Several great palaces and layered pavilions were hidden within the radiance of the mountain's defensive array, each one impressive in its own way.

Upon a more careful look, he noticed that the celestial gate of the Xinghai Sect was on the peak of the tall mountain. Not far from it was Xinghai City, an enormous city that served as the Xinghai Sect's foundation. It had a population of hundreds of thousands, among which were tens of thousands of unaffiliated practitioners who lived in it year-round to explore the ancient battlefield.

The ancient battlefield had been around for over a hundred thousand years; it had seen countless unaffiliated practitioners come and go. However, though their numbers had slowly declined, many of those who had initially come seeking treasures chose to remain when they felt that their breakthroughs were hopeless.

Eventually, they left behind descendants with different levels of aptitude. Over time, semi-mortal and semi-immortal cities were founded on the thirteen qi-rich planets, making them quite lively.

Humans, fiends, and immortals mixed freely in Xinghai City, and most of its residents who didn't have an utterly hopeless aptitude stepped onto the path of cultivation. They had enough ways to survive, which meant they didn't have to risk their lives venturing onto the ancient battlefield while their cultivation was still low.

Wang Sheng gazed at Xinghai City for a while, having never seen a city for cultivators of such scale. A small city with only several thousand living beings had already felt lively to him.

From a distance, mountains seemed to be cradling it on three sides, and a river bordered it on the fourth. Around the city were farmlands and orchards. There were even celestial pet breeding farms. Wang Sheng could not help but find it fascinating.

Before long, they arrived at the mountain's defensive array. A ten-meter-tall pale stone gate rose ahead.

The female disciple said softly, "Senior Pi, please wait here for a moment. I will retrieve the entry talisman."

Wang Sheng cupped his hands. "Thank you."

She stepped gracefully into the array, her dress fluttering. Soon, she returned with a jade talisman.

Wang Sheng entered the array with it and returned it afterward, a hint of doubt rising in his heart. "If that talisman fell into the enemy's hand, wouldn't this array become meaningless?"

The female disciple blinked, then smiled. "It only works in this specific place, and disciples who can already enter the array have to retrieve it first."

"What if a sect member were attacked and their talisman stolen?"

"

Um...

The array is currently in standby mode to conserve Spirit Stones, so a talisman alone is enough to enter. During emergencies, the array can be switched to a stronger mode that would require both a talisman and the activation method. "The array completely bars everyone from entering or exiting at its strongest state, but it's only ever used in wartime."

After listening to her very detailed explanation, Wang Sheng nodded slowly.

Once within the array and past the gate, a completely different scenery greeted him. He gazed around the area, finding the sect's infrastructure fairly impressive. A great palace stood at the center of the front mountain, surrounded by over a dozen palaces, while the rear mountain was filled with rows of pavilions and houses that were divided into several regions.

Ahead, eighteen celestial soldiers, divided into two groups, stood in formation on opposite sides. They all gave Wang Sheng welcoming expressions.

Celestial soldiers were usually at the Ascended Immortal Realm or the Primordial Immortal Realm, and most were initially unaffiliated practitioners. However, old celestial gates often raised their own celestial soldiers from childhood.

Different celestial gates had different strengths, and the power of their celestial soldiers varied accordingly. While the Celestial Wind Sect guarded its blood mines with elite celestial soldiers entirely composed of late-stage Ascended Immortals to mid-stage Primordial Immortals, the Xinghai Sect's gate guards were mostly mid-stage or late-stage Ascended Immortals, and they also served as the sect's vanguard.

Directly ahead were two hundred to three hundred steps that led to the main palace of the Xinghai Sect. Looking up felt like staring at a celestial palace suspended in a sea of clouds. Even from afar, the pressure it gave off struck heavily.

This place... isn't so bad. It's quite grand, and if I can get hold of it someday, it can be the perfect foothold for Earth's cultivation world.

Wang Sheng couldn't even imagine how the female disciple would react if she knew what was on his mind.

She didn't bring a wolf into the sect, at least. After all, wolves simply harmed and devoured. On the other hand, he was trying to come up with a way to take over the Xinghai Sect and turn it into his very own powerful organization without bloodshed.

He would use its shell to help Earth's cultivation world come out of the Realm of Exiled Immortals.

If only Yaoyun were here, he could have discussed with her how to proceed.

The two climbed the steps and soon reached the palace entrance. Dozens of celestial soldiers guarded and patrolled the area, most of them glancing at Wang Sheng as he passed.

It was already the final day of the sect's recruitment. No one expected another cultivator to be brought straight to the main palace.

At the palace doors, the female disciple bowed politely. "Senior, the vice sect master is waiting for you inside. You may enter on your own."

Something's wrong.

Several celestial soldiers near the door watched him with playful eyes, seemingly expecting a show. Even the female disciple looked slightly uneasy, her gaze wavering.

Wang Sheng nodded calmly, having already sensed some trickery inside the palace. Refusing to be careless, he stood still at the palace door for several seconds, clearly hesitant.

After a short moment, he made up his mind. He looked at the dim room beyond the doors and murmured, "I have no enmity with the Xinghai Sect. You guys wouldn't harm me."

Fortune favored the bold. Nothing in this world came without risk.

Hence, he stepped over the threshold, which was one chi tall, and entered the palace. A faint mist drifted into his nose.

Instinctively, Wang Sheng closed his eyes and steadied his mind, only to feel the ground tilt. He then subconsciously took two steps forward, felt himself pass through a curtain of water, and heard flowing water surrounding him.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a refined cave with the curtain of water behind him. Streams curled around its edge, and pale-blue drapes covered its stone walls. Several landscape paintings and two or three portraits of court ladies adorned the place.

To his left stood a folding screen blocking what seemed to be a low couch. To his right was a pavilion draped on all sides with curtains of pink gauze.

Inside the pavilion was a small pool, within which an alluring figure sat with her back to him. As the gauze swayed, the silhouette seemingly appeared and vanished. She had skin like polished jade, long hair that cascaded like a waterfall, and enough curves to stir the imagination.

Wang Sheng's eyes showed a hint of uncertainty. He walked forward a few steps, then stopped. His spiritual sense issued a faint warning, allowing him to break free of his confusion.

With gentle light surrounding her, the woman in the pool seemed to slowly turn. For some reason, a wave of lustful thoughts filled his mind.

However, as a cultivator, he cares about far more than just purity. He had been a dedicated scholar of adult cinema in his previous life, and in this life, he had trained remarkable self-control while spending time with his senior sister.

Wang Sheng eliminated his impure thoughts and immediately sensed that this was all a setup.

The Xinghai Sect was clearly testing him. This was likely some kind of charm art meant to shake his Dao Heart, then coax information out of him.

In that case, it was better to play along.

The gleam in Wang Sheng's eyes faded. He stood by the pool, quietly watching the alluring woman in the water.

It was calm, yet also a bit thrilling.

Upon taking a closer look, he noticed that under the water, the woman had a serpentine tail for a lower body. She looked stunning, her features delicate and naturally flawless.

Although he admired Xu Xian[1], he had no intention of imitating him. As a welcome, this wasn't such a bad scene.

Soon, thin strands of mist curled around him. He lowered his mental defenses and stood still as a lightning longsword manifested deep within his heart.

Without him noticing, the fiend immortal in the water had fully turned around, revealing jeweled upper-body armor made of multicolored scales. After she gave him a once-over, he heard a soft, airy voice in his mind.

"

Who are you?

"

"Pi Kachew."

"What is your purpose in joining the Xinghai Sect?"

"I want a quiet place to cultivate. If I go to a major sect like the Celestial Wind Sect or the Fengli Sect, someone of my middling cultivation won't receive much attention. The Xinghai Sect probably offers better treatment."

The fiend immortal in the water nodded lightly and asked, "What art do you cultivate?"

"Pure Yang Art, Thirty-Six Dragon-Slaying Slashes."

"Do you have any Daoist partners?"

"Yes... My senior sister. She made a mistake during cultivation, which has delayed her ascent to immortality. Right now, she's still cultivating with our master. Once I've made a name for myself here, I will bring her over."

"Oh? You seem loyal," the fiend immortal murmured. "Look into my eyes."

Wang Sheng gazed up and immediately met her light-blue double pupils. She was quite close to him now.

A strange gleam flickered in her eyes, making him dizzy, but the lightning sword in his heart trembled, reducing the dizziness into a faint ache. Such charm arts could not confuse the Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent.

Wang Sheng's acting was flawless. His eyes grew even more vacant, revealing not a single crack in his facade.

The immortal instructed, "Forget our conversation, walk back to the palace entrance, and remain there until I call you. Once I do, the illusion will shatter, and you will recall nothing."

So this is all an illusion.

"

Mm...

" Wang Sheng lowered his head and walked back past the water curtain. He then closed his eyes and stood still.

At last, someone ahead called, "Pi Kachew."

Wang Sheng jolted. He opened his eyes, glanced around, and was immediately drawn to the immortal he had seen in the illusion. She was now in the center of the palace, seated on the high square platform before Wang Sheng. Her tail was coiled under her.

Fire basins burned around her. He waited a moment, then stepped forward and raised his head to face her. She was in a veil and a plain dress. From what he could see, the illusion earlier hadn't altered her appearance and figure.

Wang Sheng cupped his hands. "Greetings, Vice Sect Master."

The red-lipped fiend immortal looked at him with a hint of appreciation. "

Mm.

Daoist Master Pi, are you willing to serve as a Dao Protector of the Xinghai Sect?"

Though he looked pleased, he still asked, "Oh? What exactly does a Dao Protector do?"

"Cultivate in the mountains, mostly," the fiend immortal replied calmly. "Since you're already close to the True Immortal Realm, you shouldn't wander about. As a Dao Protector, or simply Protector for short, you may choose a place to cultivate. The sect will provide you with a residence, give you attendants, and pay for all your expenses.

"You will also receive Spirit Stones monthly and may freely read the immortal arts in the sect's Daoist repository. In return, we only hope that when the Xinghai Sect faces difficulties, you'll take up arms and help us."

Wang Sheng nodded solemnly. "My cultivation may be shallow, but I value loyalty. Now that I have joined the Xinghai Sect, I will rise or fall with it. Sacrificing myself for it is another matter entirely, though. After all, the Celestial Wind Sect or the Fengli Sect can swallow the Xinghai Sect whole at any moment."

"Good. Attendants, take Daoist Master Pi to the mountains."

From behind the platform, a female Primordial Immortal with beautiful eyes stepped forward. "Yes, Vice Sect Master."

Smiling gently, she bowed slightly to Wang Sheng. She had clearly witnessed the illusion earlier. Wang Sheng's answer about bringing his Daoist partner over once he succeeded had impressed the female cultivators.

"This way, Protector Pi."

Wang Sheng asked, "I'm in? Just like that?"

The veil on the platform moved slightly, as though the fiend immortal smiled. "Do you have other concerns?"

Wang Sheng smiled. "No, no. I was just expecting some kind of test. Joining the Xinghai Sect feels too easy. What if someone with ill intentions manages to slip in?"

"Do not worry, Protector," the vice sect master replied with great confidence, even some pride.

Wang Sheng was speechless. He had personally experienced her illusion and charm art. Due to his heavenly tribulation's protection, they were ineffective against him.

Perhaps the Xinghai Sect was already full of spies.

1. The male protagonist of the famous Chinese folk tale

The Legend of the White Snake.

☜