Vessel of Worlds

Andy and Jian Xin'er touched down on a broad, flat boulder at the western summit of Xianglu Peak. Before them lay a garden bursting with color and birdsong, with wisps of cloud drifting through and giving the scenery a dreamlike, half-hidden quality.

"That's an illusion formation the old man set up," Jian Xin'er said quietly. "If you just walk straight in, you'll be trapped inside it."

"Right. Let's send a message first." Andy nodded—he had already noticed the garden wasn't real.

Jian Xin'er produced a Message Talisman, whispered a few words to it, and tossed it into the garden. It streaked in on a thread of red light and vanished.

Moments later, spiritual light rippled through the garden and the scene shifted entirely. The flowers and songbirds were gone. In their place stood a massive stone gate over ten zhang tall, with the words "Administration Hall" inscribed across its lintel. The two of them stepped through.

Inside, they entered a great hall furnished with wooden desks, chairs, and counters. A towering stone screen, seven or eight meters tall, stood at its center, its surface covered in beautiful, swirling veins of color. There was no one in sight. Andy looked around carefully and realized that the entire Administration Hall had been constructed inside the mountain peak itself—a hollowed-out cavern more than twenty zhang high. No sunlight reached the interior, but embedded in the ceiling were seven or eight fist-sized moonstones that bathed the entire hall in clear, even light.

Moonstones were a type of mineral cultivators used for illumination. A small infusion of spiritual power would keep one glowing for a long time. Andy owned a few himself, though they were all the size of soybeans. He had never seen moonstones this large—they were surely worth a considerable sum.

Beyond the moonstones, Andy also noticed a faint, unusual fragrance in the air. After a few breaths, his mind felt noticeably sharper and more alert. This was no ordinary sandalwood.

Jian Xin'er noticed him sniffing and explained: "That's a special spirit incense that Administrator Ma had brought in from a neighboring country. It's called Mind-Clearing Incense. They say it benefits a cultivator's spiritual sense—regular exposure can actually strengthen it over time."

Now that they were inside the Administration Hall, she naturally wasn't going to call him "that old Ma."

"Heh, Junior Niece Jian is quite right. This incense is exclusive to my hall—you won't find it anywhere else in the Taixu Sect. Would either of you like to purchase some to try?" A clear male voice came from behind the screen, and out stepped a bald old man of fifty or sixty, sporting a half-black, half-white beard over three cun long. His small, triangular eyes were sharp and alert, giving an impression of shrewd experience.

Andy read the man's spiritual fluctuations—they were powerful enough that he couldn't gauge the exact cultivation level, only that it was well above early Foundation Establishment. That alone told him the gap between them was enormous. This had to be the "old Ma" Jian Xin'er had mentioned.

"Junior Andy, paying respects to Uncle Ma."

"Xin'er greets Uncle Ma."

Both offered formal bows. The old man waved them off, then addressed Andy directly: "Junior Niece Jian mentioned in her message that you're a new disciple looking for an assignment. Is that right?"

"Yes, and I would be grateful for your guidance, Uncle," Andy said promptly.

The old man's brow furrowed, his expression turning stern and righteous. "Assignments for outer-sect disciples are allocated by the sect based on each individual's aptitude and specialties. You need only wait one month and the assignment will come to you. There's no need to make a special trip here. If everyone came looking for shortcuts, the whole system would fall apart."

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Andy blinked, then glanced at Jian Xin'er. She gave him a subtle look. He reached into his robe, produced a jade-green spirit stone, and set it on the wooden desk. Then he bowed again and said: "Uncle is absolutely right. It's just that my aptitude is so poor, I'm worried I won't be able to handle whatever the sect assigns me, and I'd only end up causing problems. I was hoping Uncle might offer some guidance so I could find a duty within my abilities."

Both the old man and Jian Xin'er stared when they saw what Andy had placed on the desk—a mid-grade spirit stone.

Jian Xin'er thought: Brother Wugen is being far too generous. A dozen low-grade spirit stones would have been more than enough. A mid-grade stone?

The old man, however, was delighted. His stern expression softened considerably, and his voice rose by several degrees in warmth: "Well, there's certainly something to what you say. Assignments should indeed be matched to each person's strengths, to ensure the sect's affairs are handled properly. What sort of duty did you have in mind?"

Andy had his answer ready. "I'd like something that doesn't take up too much time, with a private cultivation chamber. My aptitude is so poor that I can only make progress through long hours of diligent meditation. Ideally, I'd like to work in the alchemy hall—assisting with pill refining while picking up some knowledge of alchemy on the side. Does the sect have anything like that?"

"The alchemy hall?" The old man gave a rueful chuckle. "That's a difficult one, I'm afraid. The Taixu Sect has only a single dedicated alchemy hall, used primarily by several of the sect's elders. The staff there are all the elders' trusted people—there's simply no suitable position for you." He glanced at the spirit stone on the desk. "However, if what you need is a private cultivation chamber, there is one duty that fits that requirement. Tell me—do you have any knowledge of artifact forging?"

"Artifact forging?" Andy was taken aback.

"Indeed. The sect is currently short a few artifact disciples. If you become one, you'll not only have the opportunity to receive guidance in artifact forging from one of our dedicated Foundation Establishment artifact masters, but each disciple is also assigned their own private forging chamber. As long as you complete your forging assignments on schedule, the rest of your time is yours to spend in the forging chamber however you wish—meditation included." The old man could see Andy's interest growing and laid out the details one by one.

"Does the forging chamber come with a protective formation? I'm easily distracted during cultivation—I'm most afraid of being disturbed." This was Andy's chief concern. He regularly used high-grade spirit stones during cultivation. If the formation was as flimsy as the one at his stone dwelling in Newcomer Valley, a passing high-stage cultivator might detect the massive spiritual energy from a high-grade stone, and Andy would face some very uncomfortable questions.

"No need to worry about that." The old man stroked his beard with a smile. "The forging chamber formations were established by the sect specifically for this purpose. Both artifact forging and pill refining require long, uninterrupted stretches of time, and accidents during the process must be contained. Once you seal the door of a forging chamber, it's completely cut off from the outside world. It would take several Core Formation elders working together to force their way in from outside."

When Andy heard that the forging chamber's formation could keep even Core Formation cultivators out, his mind was made up on the spot. "In that case, I'd like to take on the artifact disciple assignment. Would Uncle be able to arrange it?"

"Easily done. Go home and study some artifact forging texts, and within a month you'll have your formal assignment." The old man was in an excellent mood—he had satisfied the young man's request with minimal effort and earned himself a mid-grade wood-attribute spirit stone in the bargain.

"Thank you, Uncle. We'll take our leave now. Senior Uncle Sun asked Xin'er to send his regards," Jian Xin'er said, ready to depart. The incense had been pleasantly invigorating at first, but after this long she was starting to feel slightly hazy. She didn't want to stay any longer.

"Hmph, that old Sun remembering to send me regards? That was your own idea, wasn't it?" The old man didn't even look up, too busy admiring the jade-green spirit stone in his hand.

Jian Xin'er gave an awkward little smile. She and Andy offered a final bow and left the Administration Hall side by side.

"Brother Wugen," she said once they were outside, "the White Deer Archive is on Bailu Peak, to the south. That's where the sect stores its texts and records. You can go there to read and borrow materials—just show the black token you were issued. I need to head back and tend Senior Uncle Sun's medicinal garden. If that Bai fellow went and complained about me, I'll be in for a scolding." She paused. "Oh—do you know where to buy pills within the sect? I've saved up some spirit stones and I'd like to trade them for pills that can help my cultivation."

"So Brother Wugen really does have money to burn," she laughed. "Every six months or so, the sect's disciples get together somewhere for a small-scale trading meet. The last one was not long ago, so you'll have to be patient. When the next one comes around, I'll bring you along."