I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

Si Chen and his companions spent seven or eight days in Baihua City.

Those days had only one theme: eating.

Perhaps because Baihua City was home to so many female cultivators, the local food culture had a distinctive character — pastry shops and sweet soup stalls were everywhere.

Heishan and Chifeng, both committed carnivores, went from skeptical to utterly smitten in less than half a day.

"Brother! These things! These things called 'Snow Glutinous Rice Balls' — they're damn delicious!"

"So good!"

Heishan held one in each hand, his face smeared with white glutinous rice flour, the soft and chewy sweetness making his bear-like eyes squint with pure bliss.

Chifeng, meanwhile, had developed a particular fondness for a pastry called "Spirit Honey Thousand-Layer Flakes."

Each layer was thin as a cicada's wing, crispy and crumbling, with different floral-scented spirit honey spread between them. He savored every last crumb from his fingertips and offered a solemn review: "This item… is quite exquisite."

Si Chen also thoroughly enjoyed the delicate sweets — desserts had always been among his favorite things.

Li Tiezhu feasted alongside them, though his worldview continued to take a steady battering amid all that sugary sweetness.

The Inn where they were staying was near Manyue Pavilion, and was considered a property of the Harmonious Union Sect.

The innkeeper and staff, knowing Si Chen was the newly appointed Honorary Elder, waited on them hand and foot, sending a constant stream of the city's most famous pastries to their rooms.

That afternoon, the group had just returned from another sweep of the local food scene and were resting in the Inn's main hall.

Li Tiezhu's sharp eyes caught sight of a small bookshelf set up beside the front counter, lined with quite a few volumes. Guests passing through — men and women alike — would casually pick one up to browse, and some even bought them outright.

Curious, he wandered over to see what counted as a "bestseller" in this world.

One look nearly made him choke on his own saliva.

The most prominent spots on the shelf displayed several elegantly bound volumes with titles that got more explosive one after another:

"The Art of Communicating with Your Cultivation Partners: From Beginner to Ascension"

"Dual Cultivation for the First Time: A Hands-On Guide"

"After the Breakup, I Became a Better Version of Myself"

Authors listed: Harmonious Union Sect, Fairy Qingyun; Harmonious Union Sect, Scholar Lingxi; and others.

Li Tiezhu rubbed his eyes, convinced he was seeing things.

With trembling hands, he picked up "Dual Cultivation for the First Time: A Hands-On Guide."

He flipped it open — and the lurid illustrations he'd braced himself for never appeared. Instead, he found meticulous meridian flow diagrams and scholarly discussions on the complementary nature of different spiritual energy attributes.

There were also extensive passages emphasizing "unity of mind and spirit," "mutual respect," and "the critical importance of communication beforehand."

"This… this reads like a textbook?" he muttered to himself.

Still unconvinced, he picked up "After the Breakup, I Became a Better Version of Myself."

What he found inside left him even more dumbfounded.

The book offered detailed guidance on adjusting one's mindset after a relationship ended, how to reflect and review what went wrong, how to use time alone to improve one's self-worth… The core philosophy was positive and uplifting, brimming with encouragement.

"This… what even is this?" Li Tiezhu muttered. "A mental health guide for the Cultivation World? An emotional recovery tutorial?"

Finally, with deeply conflicted feelings, he opened "The Art of Communicating with Your Cultivation Partners: From Beginner to Ascension."

The very first line hit him like a truck:

"Three sentences to make your cultivation partners spend three hundred thousand Spirit Stones on you."

Li Tiezhu: "……"

That familiar energy instantly turned him to stone.

Steeling himself, he read on — and found that what followed was:

"First sentence: 'Darling, I feel like my bottleneck might be starting to loosen.'"

"Second sentence: 'I'm just missing one key ingredient…'"

"Third sentence: 'But never mind, I'll figure something out. I can't keep worrying you.'"

At the bottom of the page, a line of delicate, elegant annotations read: "Sincerity first, strategy second. When hearts are in tune and both parties give freely, that is the true Great Dao."

Li Tiezhu quietly closed the book, set it back on the shelf, and felt his brain needed a hard reboot.

This Harmonious Union Sect — from practical manuals to psychological guidance to "romance strategy" — their industrial chain was just too complete!

* * *

Time passed quickly, and word arrived from Lianyue.

She had reported to the Sect that Si Chen had agreed to serve as Honorary Elder and was willing to pay a visit. The news was met with tremendous attention and enthusiastic response from the Sect's upper echelons.

The Sect immediately issued orders for Lianyue herself to personally escort Si Chen and his companions to the Harmonious Union Sect.

"Elder, the flying vessel is ready and we can depart at any time."

Si Chen had no objections — he had already planned to visit the Harmonious Union Sect to consult its archives.

Heishan and Chifeng, hearing they were headed to a new place filled entirely with female cultivators, were quite intrigued.

Only Li Tiezhu followed along with complicated feelings, boarding the magnificent and comfortable Sect flying vessel.

Lianyue accompanied Si Chen and the others on the deck, watching the mountains and rivers blur past below.

She was in excellent spirits. The gaze she turned on Si Chen was full of reverence, tinged with a quiet pride of association.

When her eyes drifted to Li Tiezhu, who was peering around with wide-eyed curiosity, Lianyue seemed to remember something. She reached into her storage Magical Artifact and produced a volume so thick it could double as a brick, then held it out to him.

"Little Brother Tiezhu."

"Since you are Elder Si Chen's disciple, you're practically one of our own in the Harmonious Union Sect. This copy of the "Harmonious Union Sect Disciple Code of Conduct" — feel free to browse it when you have time. It'll be of great benefit for understanding the Sect, and for navigating the Cultivation World in general."

Li Tiezhu thanked her and instinctively took it. The moment it landed in his hands — thud — Goodness, the thing had to be at least three thousand pages!

He casually flipped to a page, curious to see just how proper the rules of the foremost righteous sect really were.

The clause that greeted him left him speechless once again:

"Article 214: When pursuing cultivation partners, 'chance encounters' must not exceed three per day; exceeding this limit constitutes harassment. Those who fail to heed warnings shall face a minimum of seven days of wall-facing reflection."

"Article 520: When cultivation partners whose relationship has broken down decide to separate, large shared assets — such as flying Artifacts and cave dwellings — must be divided fairly according to each party's actual contribution, with no malicious seizure permitted."

"Article 1314: On the anniversary of a partnership, it is recommended that sincerity take precedence; gifts should be given within one's means, and any form of comparison or one-upmanship is strictly forbidden."

"Article 2333: All forms of emotional coercion are strictly prohibited, including but not limited to statements and actions such as 'If you leave me I will destroy my own Dao foundation' or 'If you refuse to reconcile I will kneel here indefinitely.' Please cherish yourself and respect the choices of others."

Li Tiezhu's scalp prickled as he read.

This was no Sect code of conduct — this was clearly a comprehensive "Cultivation World Relationship Law" combined with a "Romantic Behavior Standards Manual!"

The core philosophy boiled down to two words: rules. Plus three more: protect the vulnerable.

Every preconception he'd ever held about the "Harmonious Union Sect" was shattered by the weight of this tome.

This Sect… seemed almost too proper for its own good?

"Sister Lianyue."

He couldn't help but look up and ask: "Does your Sect… get a lot of disputes?"

Lianyue seemed entirely accustomed to this sort of question, and covered her mouth with a light laugh. "When the rules are laid out clearly, many needless conflicts can be avoided. Isn't it better for everyone to keep their minds on the Great Dao?"

Li Tiezhu had no answer to that. He quietly closed the hefty tome, and felt his mental image of the Harmonious Union Sect as the "foremost righteous sect" had been thoroughly refreshed — in the most grounded, down-to-earth way imaginable.

As they chatted and laughed, the flying vessel gradually slowed and pierced through the cloud layer.

Days later, a breathtaking sight came into view.

Below them was not the pink-curtained, ambiguous boudoir they might have imagined, but a grand and magnificent complex of buildings nestled against mountains and beside flowing water.

Pavilions and towers were scattered in elegant arrangement among the graceful peaks, adorned with cascading springs and waterfalls, wreathed in drifting mist, with white cranes soaring through the air.

Most striking of all, the entire sky above the Sect seemed to be draped in the faint, slowly rotating silhouette of a great yin-yang taiji diagram, radiating a resonance of the Dao that was profound beyond measure.

The air was suffused with pure, dense Spiritual Energy, and a faint, soothing fragrance that calmed the heart and mind.

"Elder Si Chen, we have arrived." There was pride in Lianyue's voice.

"This… is the Harmonious Union Sect."