Chapter 282 - 271: Chenghua Sect, Han Chi County
CLANG!
The airship in flight suddenly let out a piercing hum as a pale yellow ripple shot out from its bow, vibrating in all directions.
"Junior Martial Uncle, what’s happening?"
"Are we under attack?"
The alarmed and uncertain youths began to ask questions.
"Relax, we’re just scaring off some airborne demon birds."
Junior Martial Uncle Wu raised a hand, signaling for everyone not to panic. "Besides cultivators and Spiritual Vessels, there are also some demon birds that can fly in the Cloud Layer..."
Halfway through his sentence, several gray-feathered, white-headed sparrows zipped past the side of the airship. Before anyone could get a clear look, they vanished from sight in an instant.
Junior Martial Uncle Wu retracted his gaze and said nonchalantly, "Those demon birds that just flew by are called Wind-drilling Sparrows. They are incredibly fast. With their pointed heads and shuttle-like bodies, their shape is like a javelin."
"If one of them hits you, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be injured. The airship just used its Array to drive them away."
Only then did everyone understand.
Zhao Lin gazed in the direction the Wind-drilling Sparrows had flown, thinking, ’The Xuanyuan Continent is full of Spiritual Birds and Demonic Beasts. They must be stronger than the strange beasts from the lesser world. I’ll have to study them properly after I join the sect.’
...
After flying for half a day, the group finally arrived at Han Chi County in Nanhe Province.
Han Chi County was nestled among towering mountains and precipitous ridges, a spiritually beautiful land guarded by seven peaks. The terrain was long and narrow, about forty *li* wide from east to west and over a hundred *li* long from north to south.
According to Junior Martial Uncle Wu, the Chenghua Sect had nine lesser worlds, and corresponding to them were nine provinces. The lesser world under the jurisdiction of Nanhe Province was the Han Red Realm, where everyone had come from.
Although the other four provinces didn’t have lesser worlds, many cultivators and mortals had migrated to them, and their scale was no smaller.
From its inception, Han Chi County was established to train young disciples from the Han Red Realm.
After many years of development, it now has over a thousand cultivators training here, with several Foundation Establishment cultivators presiding over it.
As they neared Han Chi County, the airship began to slow down.
"We’re here!"
Junior Martial Uncle Wu said, pointing to a valley not far ahead.
"We’ve finally arrived!"
Zhao Lin suddenly realized that just last night he was in another world, and in little more than half a day, he had arrived at the Chenghua Sect.
A line of poetry surfaced in his mind: ’Sitting on the ground, I travel eighty thousand *li* a day; patrolling the heavens, I gaze upon a thousand rivers.’
He focused his gaze, but all he could see was a vast white mist from an Array, obscuring any view of what was inside the valley.
Junior Martial Uncle Wu took out a jade tablet and shone it toward a certain spot in the valley. The mist immediately churned and parted to the sides, revealing a wide pathway.
The two cultivators in green robes on the vessel piloted the airship slowly into the valley. Once inside, they took a right turn and landed on a "landing pad."
"Landing pad" was Zhao Lin’s own term for it; it was actually a gigantic stone, on which five Flying Vessels of various shapes and sizes were already parked.
Zhao Lin felt a little strange. ’Why aren’t these Flying Vessels stored in a Qiankun Bag?’
’Could it be that the Xuanyuan Continent doesn’t have Qiankun Bags? Or perhaps they can’t hold an airship this large?’
Everyone disembarked and followed Junior Martial Uncle Wu along the path for several dozen *zhang*. The view suddenly opened up, revealing a world that looked like a paradise hidden from the mortal realm.
Several peaks stood tall and graceful, their green slopes lush with foliage. Dense forests and tall bamboo groves covered the land, with winding paths leading into their secluded depths. Clear springs and cascading waterfalls dotted the landscape.
The beauty of the scenery was enough to make one forget all worldly cares.
A few dozen more steps revealed several entirely Golden Red Apes chasing each other playfully through the woods in the distance, and a herd of Five-Colored Deer grazing on the grass by a river.
From time to time, enormous white egrets would fly past with a long cry, a cultivator with wide, flowing sleeves standing on their back, patrolling the area.
Under a vigorous, verdant pine tree, two white-haired old men sat across from each other, each holding black and white stones as they played a game of Go...
The youths clicked their tongues in amazement. They felt this scene was exactly like the Immortal Realm they had always imagined.
Junior Martial Uncle Wu intentionally slowed his pace, letting everyone admire the view for a little longer.
As they passed the pine tree, Junior Martial Uncle Wu exchanged an imperceptible glance with the two old men.
After the group had walked away, the two old men stood up at the same time.
The red-faced one among them roared at the sky, "Pack up all the Spiritual Birds! And those disobedient, curly-haired beasts—catch them all and lock them back in their caves!"
With that, he kicked over the Go board and yelled, "All this pointless window dressing! So flashy and superficial!"
The cultivator on the egret immediately answered and directed the Spiritual Bird to land. He then dove into the woods, scrambling to catch the Golden Red Apes.
But the apes refused to be caught. With a call to one another, they scattered in all directions.
In an instant, the tranquil and secluded forest was thrown into a chaotic mess, all traces of its celestial air gone.
The white-faced old man opposite him, however, remained leisurely and said calmly, "Brother Nie, you’re being too harsh. This isn’t all just window dressing."
"Only by making these new disciples feel a sense of aspiration can they be focused and courageous in their future cultivation."
The red-faced old man snorted. "Fine. It’s done, and that’s that."
Zhao Lin had been using his enhanced hearing to listen to his surroundings. When he heard the two old men’s conversation, he couldn’t help but grin to himself.
’I can’t believe that whole scene was staged.’
But he wasn’t disappointed. On the contrary, he felt it showed that the Chenghua Sect took its new disciples seriously.
Besides, it was just releasing a few Spirit Beasts to spruce up the place and having two old men pretend to play Go to create some atmosphere. There was nothing wrong with that.
Even without the Spirit Beasts and the old men, the environment here was still quite elegant.
Junior Martial Uncle Wu led the group on a winding path through the valley for a while, eventually arriving before a lush, green mountain ridge.
Many stone houses, almost identical in size and style, had been built here. They were arranged in a scattered yet orderly fashion along the mountainside.
"This is where the mortals of the county live."
Junior Martial Uncle Wu said, pointing at the stone houses.
The youths were greatly surprised to hear this. Someone asked, "Junior Martial Uncle, there are mortals living here too?"
Junior Martial Uncle Wu nodded and explained, "Of course. Not only are there mortals in the county, but they also outnumber the cultivators."
"Most of them are the mortal members of cultivator families who are willing to come and work in the county."
"They helped build the sect’s grand halls and the cultivators’ residences. They also handle the daily necessities of cultivators, like clothing."
"We cultivators can’t waste our time on such trivial, mundane matters."
"Of course, the sect doesn’t treat them poorly. They are regularly granted life-nourishing medicinal pills. While it can’t allow them to truly cultivate, ensuring they are strong, healthy, and live a long life is a simple matter."
As he spoke, they arrived before a large wooden building. The aroma of food wafted out from inside, and when the youths smelled it, their mouths began to water.
Junior Martial Uncle Wu smiled. "You must be tired after a day of travel. Eat something here first and rest for a while. Someone will come to get you later."
He paused, then added meaningfully, "Once you begin to cultivate, you can no longer eat mortal food. You haven’t opened your meridians yet, so eat as much as you can while you still have the chance."