Chapter 18: Laws of the Abyss Pit Sect
The Abyss Pit Sect Rulebook opened with a brief rundown of the sect's origins—something Lordi Payne had already heard a snippet off from the old crone during the kowtow respect rites, so he skipped it.
The next part listed the benefits for outer sect disciples. Beyond cultivation, and the items picked up at the Affairs Hall, outer sect disciples could freely choose one Skill subject to learn, Smithing, Alchemy, Fulu-crafting, Gardening spirit plants, or Beast-taming. Each skill required attending classes at the corresponding mountain peaks.
As for art techniques, the Bone Tempering Art was a basic one taught to all disciples at the outer sect, much like how the Payne Clan used it to train their youngsters. Each 15 days, a Foundation Stage cultivator would visit one of the mountain peaks to deliver a lecture on the intricacies of the Bone Tempering Art. These lessons were open to all outer sect disciples, so all you had to do was make your way to the designated peak, find a spot in the open-air classroom, and listen as the cultivator explained the key points of the technique.
The mountain he based, Ghost Shade Peak, was one of the outer sect's many peaks. Each had an Affairs Office managing its operations.
Besides the function of arranging housing, in the Affairs Office there's a building called the Pavilion of Myriad Arts, stocked with techniques and spells prepped by the Abyss Pit Sect for outer disciples. The Bone Tempering Art was there, free of charge, but everything else required spirit stones.
Another building called the Tower of Hundred Treasures, offering Dao Gears, Dao Fulu, pills, and other essentials for cultivation and combats. They accepted spirit stones, or you could trade with finished goods or raw materials after identification.
Lastly, the Spirit-Gathering Grand Array. Laid down by an inner sect Elder skilled in Dao Formations when the peak was first colonized, it harnessed Ghost Shade Peak's terrain—aligned with the stars above and the earth's veins below—to condense spiritual energy to the max. It was the ultimate cultivation hotspot on the peak.
The rulebook suggested, though: the cost to use the array was steep expensive. Best saved for breakthroughs, not daily use.
Lordi Payne skimmed through at flash speed until he reach the core content of the rule book.
Taking a deep breath, he leaned in eagerly—only to see, in stark black and white: "We Sect strictly forbids challenges to fight in private among disciples. Violators who strike first, regardless of reason, will be fined as follows based on the crime severity,
for menial handyman disciples, 30 to 100 D$t (D grade spirit stones) fine;