Chapter 40
Chapter 40: The Righteous Path of the Southern Ridge Mountains
Ye Liuyun carefully sensed the changes within her body. The life force contained in this pill was so potent that, let alone a small wound, it could probably pull a person back from the gates of the underworld, even if they only had a single breath left.
Of course, pills of this kind were not unheard of in the cultivation world; they were just likely to be extremely expensive.
"This pill is nothing special, not as interesting as the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Pill from before." Ye Liuyun recorded the pill's composition and named it the Rebirth Pill.
"My advice is that you shouldn't always use the Myriad Elixir Immortal Cauldron for alchemy," Lin Qingyou said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Using it occasionally is one thing, but if you use it for alchemy every day, the people of the Yunxia Sect will probably be driven mad by you."
Ye Liuyun walked to the window and glanced outside. When she saw the verdant scenery stretching out before her, she too felt it was necessary to be a bit more restrained.
"Alright, I'll just fuse new types of pills occasionally. For my regular practice, I'll stick to refining conventional pills," Ye Liuyun said with a peculiar smile. "I'm just wondering about one thing. What do you think the sect's reaction is right now?"
"What other reaction could there be? They're naturally bewildered," Lin Qingyou replied casually.
Ye Liuyun stopped synthesizing medicinal ingredients, and the Yunxia Sect finally quieted down. Her first day as an official disciple thus passed.
On the second day, Ye Liuyun dutifully went to the outer sect's Dao Lecture Hall to listen to an outer sect elder impart his cultivation insights. There was one such class every month. Ye Liuyun could have chosen not to go, but she couldn't remain completely detached from others forever.
Only by integrating into the normal life of a cultivator could she avoid drawing attention. Those who were watched by the sect were typically mavericks.
After becoming an official disciple of the Yunxia Sect, Ye Liuyun truly began to understand this world.
First, the world where her Tang Kingdom was located was called Shenzhou, and the Tang Kingdom was a nation in the eastern part of Shenzhou.
The Tang Kingdom was vast and divided into five regions: Xichuan, the Southern Ridge Mountains, Zhongzhou, the Northern Plains, and the Eastern Wastelands.
The Yunxia Sect was a Low-tier Sect in the Southern Ridge Mountains. In the cultivation world of the Tang Kingdom, there was a very clear hierarchy of sects.
Setting aside the sects in other regions, let's just talk about the Southern Ridge Mountains.
The overlord of the Southern Ridge Mountains was called the Taishang Ganying Sect. All sects in the Southern Ridge Mountains had to obey the commands of the Taishang Ganying Sect.
The Taishang Ganying Sect was also known as a Superior Sect. Below the Taishang Ganying Sect, there were four Mid-tier Sects: the Yun Sect, the Sword Sect, the Dao Sect, and the Flower Sect.
These four were the strongest Mid-tier Sects in the Southern Ridge Mountains, and the Yunxia Sect was a Low-tier Sect within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence.
In other words, the Yun Sect was the Yunxia Sect's direct superior. However, the relationship between these sects was only nominally subordinate; it wasn't a true hierarchical relationship.
Every sect was independent. As long as you paid the required tribute to your designated superior sect at regular intervals, the superior sect would not interfere with your affairs unless something major occurred.
Of course, the Southern Ridge Mountains certainly had more than just these sects. There were also Demonic Path Sects. These Demonic Path Sects were the natural enemies of the Righteous Path Sects, constantly engaged in open and secret struggles. However, because Demonic Path cultivators were excessively brutal and not recognized by the cultivation world, their power was not as great as that of the Righteous Path, and they could only operate in the shadows.
Within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence, the Yun Sect was undoubtedly the strongest. However, its position was not immutable. If the Yun Sect's power were to decline in the future, a Low-tier Sect could, according to the rules of the cultivation world, challenge the Superior Sect. If they won, they could usurp its position as the overlord of this region.
What did the cultivation world value most? Cultivation resources, of course. And the amount of cultivation resources one had depended on one's status.
Not all sects were qualified to be called Superior, Mid-tier, or Low-tier. Within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence, there were more than a dozen sects of various sizes.
However, only four sects had received the Yun Sect's recognition and could be called Low-tier Sects. The rest could only be described as Unranked.
The four Low-tier Sects within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence were the Yunxia Sect, the Xixia Sect, the Yanxia Sect, and the Zixia Sect.
These four sects held the largest territories within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence and possessed a series of privileges that other sects did not. Of course, if the Yunxia Sect's strength were to decline one day, it could similarly be replaced by another Unranked sect.
Furthermore, the sects in these regions had to undergo a reshuffling every so often.
The Southern Ridge Mountains held a competition for the Mid-tier Sect positions once every five hundred years. All Mid-tier Sects could participate, and the top four would receive a conferment from the Taishang Ganying Sect. The same was true within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence, where a competition for Low-tier Sect positions was held once every hundred years.
The Yunxia Sect had held its position for over a thousand years. If Yun Tian could successfully break through to the Four Extremes Secret Realm, then the Yunxia Sect would gain the qualification to challenge the Yun Sect, but it would be nothing more than a qualification.
Moreover, the territories of all Mid-tier and Low-tier Sects were fixed. If you were successfully challenged and defeated by another sect, you would have to move out of the area and rebuild your mountain gate elsewhere.
Because the cultivation world had established such a set of rules, the relationships between the sects were not very good. For example, the Yunxia Sect frequently had friction with the other three sects, as well as with the Unranked sects.
Additionally, Lin Qingyou was not a cultivator who had achieved immortality in this era, nor was she from the Tang Kingdom. Therefore, she herself was not familiar with the situation in this part of the Tang Kingdom.
Ye Liuyun could only acquire much of her knowledge from the Yunxia Sect. After becoming an official disciple, there was a great deal she needed to learn.
She needed to understand which sects were hostile, which were relatively friendly, what taboos existed, and what matters required attention.
This was because after becoming an official disciple, she might frequently have to go out on missions. A cultivation sect would not raise you for nothing.
When the need arose, you might have to pay with your life.
However, there was a strict rule in the cultivation world: the world of immortals must not arbitrarily interfere in the lives of ordinary mortals, nor should they disturb them without reason.
Even if it was necessary to enter a mortal town or city, cultivators had to conceal their identities, not swagger through the streets, and not attack mortals without cause.
Cultivators had a duty to aid mortals and help them resolve various troubles that mortals could not handle, such as yao infestations and the Demonic Path.
Across the Shenzhou Continent, besides the Human Race, there was also the Yao Race. The Yao Race were the natural enemies of humans. They dwelled in deep mountains and swamps. If you were unlucky enough to encounter a yao, your chances of survival were slim to none.
As for the Demonic Path, its appearance within the line of sight of a Righteous Path Sect was no small matter; it would most likely result in a large number of casualties.
Although those of the Demonic Path also cultivated, they had no scruples. They were unscrupulous and capricious in their actions. Massacring mortals was a common occurrence among Demonic Path cultivators.
How was a cultivator defined as being part of the Demonic Path? It was simple: anyone who did not abide by the rules of the Righteous Path was considered part of the Demonic Path.
In their daily lives, they were no different from normal cultivators; they could only be identified by their actions.
The Righteous Path had a wanted list. Generally, those on the list were Demonic Path cultivators. Righteous Path cultivators who killed them could receive a bounty from the Immortal Alliance.
The leader of the Southern Ridge Immortal Alliance was, naturally, the Taishang Ganying Sect.
This kind of monopolistic situation also had its drawbacks. What were they? In the history of cultivation in the Southern Ridge Mountains, there had been many cases of sects that were originally of the Righteous Path being labeled as Demonic Path by the Immortal Alliance and then annihilated.
In truth, many sects were aware of this. It was a deliberate ploy by the superior sects to consolidate their own positions.
Take the Yun Sect, for example. The Mid-tier Sect before them was called the Tian Sect. This Tian Sect was labeled as Demonic Path by the Taishang Ganying Sect and was besieged and destroyed by the entire cultivation world of the Southern Ridge Mountains.
But the Tian Sect had committed no demonic acts. Their only mistake was concealing the fact that they possessed multiple cultivators in the Divine Transformation Secret Realm.
Under normal circumstances, a Mid-tier Sect was only allowed to have one cultivator in the Divine Transformation Secret Realm, and it had to be officially recorded.
So, one should never think that a superior sect would allow your power to expand indefinitely. Once you reached a certain level, they would suppress you. This was the true nature of the cultivation world.
After learning of these matters, an uncomfortable feeling began to grow in Ye Liuyun's heart.
Fortunately, Ye Liuyun was not truly a young girl. She knew very well that any world with people would have a dark side. If you did not want to be controlled by others, you had to become stronger. There was no other way.
***
New Terms List:
神洲 - Shenzhou (Place Name)
西川 - Xichuan (Place Name)
中州 - Zhongzhou (Place Name)
北原 - Northern Plains (Place Name)
东荒 - Eastern Wastelands (Place Name)
太上感应教 - Taishang Ganying Sect (Organization Name)
上级宗门 - Superior Sect (Title/Rank)
中级宗门 - Mid-tier Sect (Title/Rank)
下级宗门 - Low-tier Sect (Title/Rank)
云宗 - Yun Sect (Organization Name)
剑宗 - Sword Sect (Organization Name)
道宗 - Dao Sect (Organization Name)
花宗 - Flower Sect (Organization Name)
不入流 - Unranked (Title/Rank)
夕霞宗 - Xixia Sect (Organization Name)
烟霞宗 - Yanxia Sect (Organization Name)
紫霞宗 - Zixia Sect (Organization Name)
邪道宗门 - Demonic Path Sect (Organization Type)
仙道宗门 - Righteous Path Sect (Organization Type)
妖族 - Yao Race (Race)
仙盟 - Immortal Alliance (Organization Name)
天宗 - Tian Sect (Organization Name)