That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.
Cloud Mist Sect's mountain-protecting formation, as fragile as paper, was incinerated by Scarlet Sun Demon Sage's True Sun Fire!
In an instant, the main hall of the peak, the core treasury, and other structures were utterly flattened in earth-shaking booms—
Leaving nothing but a colossal palm print, a hundred zhang deep, its edges smooth as a mirror!
Not a single disciple managed to let out a scream before they were reduced to ashes!
Jiang Ling did not linger. His figure appeared above Jade Sword Sect, and history repeated itself.
Jade Sword Sect's vaunted sword formation was shattered with a single slap from Black Rock Demon Lord, who was eager to claim credit.
Stripped of its Nascent Soul ancestor and elite forces, Jade Sword Sect was completely wiped out before Jiang Ling and his three disciples even had a chance to strike.
Jiang Ling's creed was simple: Either don't do it, or do it to the bitter end.
From that day on, Cloud Mist Sect and Jade Sword Sect were erased from the Northern Border Wasteland of the Canglan Realm!
Their sect resources were plundered to the last scrap, their treasuries falling into Primordial Beginning Sect's hands.
The news spread like a hurricane across the Northern Border Wasteland!
Great and small sects alike were struck with terror and uproar!
"Cloud Mist Sect is gone? Flattened with a single palm?!"
"Jade Sword Sect too! Sword Gate Mountain is just a ruin now?!"
"Hisss! Only a Nascent Soul powerhouse could do this—not a mere ordinary one!"
"The aura lingering in that palm print is terrifying, as if it bears the might of heaven!"
"Primordial Beginning Sect! Unfathomable, untouchable!"
"That Sect Master Jiang! He's been hiding his strength all along!"
"Hurry! Prepare rich gifts! Go pay homage to Primordial Beginning Sect! We must not offend them!"
All doubt and contempt melted away in the face of absolute power, replaced by fear and reverence.
Overnight, Primordial Beginning Sect's name rose from a dying ragtag sect to a mysterious, ferocious force guarded by a Nascent Soul powerhouse, its prestige shaking the entire Northern Border Wasteland.
After this battle, peace finally returned to Primordial Beginning Sect's mountain gate.
One after another, loose cultivators and children from small clans came to seek mentorship, drawn by its fame. Though their talent was still lacking, the sect's population finally broke forty, inching toward the Eighth-Rank threshold.
[Sect Information]
Sect Name: Primordial Beginning Sect
Sect Rank: Ninth-Rank
Sect Reputation: Famous Far and Wide
Sect Population: 41 (Disciple information viewable at any time)
Sect Territory: Ten li radius (Absolute defense against all below Heavenly Immortal Realm within the immortal formation's coverage!)
Sect Buildings: 1 Main Hall, 1 Disciple Dormitory, 1 Low-Grade Spirit Gathering Formation, 1 Low-Grade Scripture Pavilion, 1 Jade Capital Platform, 1 Martial Arts Field
Sect Real Estate: 400 mu of spiritual fields, 3 spiritual spring eyes, 5 low-grade spiritual veins, 1 middle-grade spiritual vein
Sect Assets: 500,000+ low-grade spirit stones, 80,000+ middle-grade spirit stones, 120,000+ top-grade spirit stones, 90,000,000+ taels of silver, 500,000+ taels of gold, numerous heavenly materials & earthly treasures, numerous magical & spirit artifacts, 1 magic treasure
Sect Points: 9000
Eighth-Rank Sect Upgrade Requirements: Sect population reaches 100, 500 Sect Points (deducted upon upgrade).
Reward: Sect territory expanded to a hundred li radius (Absolute defense against all below Heavenly Immortal Realm within the immortal formation's coverage!)
Host is urged to upgrade the sect as soon as possible.
Host Feedback: Host's strength is 100x the total cultivation of all sect disciples.
"Tsk tsk," Jiang Ling muttered, "Sure enough, murder and arson bring wealth and glory. A mere Seventh-Rank sect has this many spirit stones—how many must a Sixth-Rank, Fifth-Rank, even First-Rank sect have?"
Thinking of those world-dominating sects, envy dripped from the corner of Jiang Ling's mouth like saliva.
But his smile faded quickly, his thoughts drifting to the refugees he'd seen in Blackstone City a few days prior.
The mansions reek of wine and meat, while on the roads, frozen bones lie unburied.
The old saying was truer than ever.
When the beast tide struck, none of the sect outposts in Blackstone City had suffered the slightest harm; they'd continued recruiting disciples every day as usual.
The City Lord's Mansion had been filled with song and dance, the city entry fee collected without pause.
The only ones to suffer were the common people—and the poor loose cultivators who couldn't even afford the entry fee.
It reminded him of himself, scraping by in the Border Wasteland for eight hundred years.
"One day," he said, his voice carried far and wide on the gentle breeze, "I will bring peace to this world. Not a single coin will be charged to enter the cities under Primordial Beginning Sect's rule! I, Jiang Ling, keep my word!"
Beneath the mountain gate archway, the two gatekeepers, who had curled up again for a nap, twitched their ears. Their lips seemed to twitch, then they fell back into slumber.
At the top of the main hall, the golden rooster performing a one-legged stand against the rising sun stumbled, nearly tumbling off its perch.
Even if you were a true immortal descended to the mortal realm, seeking peace in this dog-eat-dog world was nothing but a fool's dream.
Hua Yuntian had just collected his contribution points and stepped outside when he heard Jiang Ling's words. A sneer curled his lips instantly.
Everyone craved cultivation, yet resources were finite. To attain immortality, to live forever—it was a fight to the death, you or me. Peace in this world? Impossible.
He suspected Jiang Ling had let power go to his head. Having just destroyed two small sects, he'd forgotten his own place.
In the days that followed, an odd tension hung over Primordial Beginning Sect.
The new disciples were filled with reverence for the senior brother who pecked people's behinds at the slightest provocation. They'd tried to get close to the second senior brother, only to find Hua Yuntian with a permanent scowl, as if everyone owed him hundreds of spirit stones.
As for the third senior sister, they'd heard she was a child—but she was nowhere to be seen day or night.
Left with no other choice, the disciples fell in line behind Jincancan, obeying its every command.
Thus, Senior Brother Jincancan's position grew more unshakable by the day, and its cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
The fiery-tempered Jincancan had never taken a liking to the pretentious second senior brother Hua Yuntian, whose cultivation crawled forward at a snail's pace.
It thought the man was nothing but a poser, wasting their master's precious resources.
And so, Senior Brother's daily "affectionate supervision" of the second senior brother began.
When Hua Yuntian stood on the Jade Capital Platform with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, reminiscing about his glory days in his past life and lamenting his fall from grace in this one...
Slap!
A golden wing slammed into the back of his head without warning—not hard, but infinitely humiliating!
Chirp!
Quit the melodrama! Get back to cultivation!
Hua Yuntian: "...!!!"
He clutched the back of his head, his handsome face turning crimson with rage, his body trembling. "You damned chicken! I'll fight you to the death!"
He charged forward with a roar, only for Jincancan to dodge easily, slapping him flying several zhang with a single wing, leaving him covered in dust and disgrace.
When Hua Yuntian stood at the gate of the Ten Thousand Immortals Abode, trying to impress a new female disciple by explaining the secrets of cultivation, striking the pose of a wise elder...
Thud!
A sharp beak pecked his protruding rear with pinpoint accuracy!
Oww!
Hua Yuntian hopped around clutching his behind, all pretense of dignity gone.
Chirp chirp chirp!
Stay away from the female disciples!
Keep posing and I'll peck you to death!
Jincancan held its head high, its eyes sweeping over him in disdain.
Hua Yuntian: "Jincancan! I %$&*@#!..."
A picture of impotent rage.
Jincancan's attitude toward the new third senior sister Ye Qingshuang, however, was an entirely different story.
Though it still thought their master had been desperate to take in a spirit-rootless little girl, the child was cold, yes—but she never caused trouble. She spent all day clutching that tattered doll and cultivating in silence, which made her slightly more tolerable in Jincancan's eyes.
It was just that her cultivation technique was far too overbearing. In a mere few days, she'd already advanced to the second layer of Qi Refining.
The cost? Ten mu of the original hundred mu of spiritual herbs had withered away without a sound.
Their master had grieved so much he'd nearly cried—but in Jincancan's opinion, when it came to cultivation, the third senior sister was at the very least better than that poser second senior brother, who'd been stuck at the third layer of Qi Refining for eternity!
Solidifying one's foundation was important, but going overboard was a one-way ticket to demonic possession.
As for Hua Yuntian, tormented endlessly by the senior brother, his sense of frustration hit a new high every single day.
He couldn't win a fight, he couldn't win an argument, and when he complained to the master, all he got was a half-hearted peacemaking.
"Aww, Can Can's just doing this for your own good, pushing you to cultivate harder!"
He had no choice but to channel all his rage into frantically circulating the Nine Revolutions Mystic Origin Art, desperate to break through soon and avenge his humiliation!