Ning Yu:
“At that time, my master was traveling outside with me. We heard that a vicious flood dragon had come ashore and flooded a famous village called Longevity Village nearby, causing countless casualties.”
“So he took me there, intending to slay the beast.”
“But when we arrived, we found him—severely wounded and on the brink of death, his eyes blood-red and crazed like a madman. He was about to self-destruct, dragging the entire village down with him.”
Yun Miao listened carefully to Ning Yu’s story and immediately thought of a grim possibility: “Flesh and blood… Longevity… The villagers—could they have all eaten dragon meat?”
“That’s right.”
Ning Yu continued, “No one knows why Mo Chi abandoned her child back then and left Black Jiao Ridge, nor why she, at the Qi Refining stage, ended up gravely wounded and near death close to that village.
“When the low-level cultivators living in seclusion there found her, her Inner Core was gone. But even so, the rest of a four-clawed flood dragon was still an incredibly rare treasure in the world.”
“So those low-level cultivators killed her.
“They were smart enough to realize that if news leaked out, they would lose everything. So they never thought about selling the corpse.”
“Instead, they covered it up with all their might and shared the leftover flesh with the villagers. On one hand, dragging the entire village into this mess; on the other, destroying the evidence as quickly as possible.”
She sneered coldly, “So everyone in that village ate flood dragon meat, even those old men without Spiritual Roots lived to be over one hundred and fifty years old by sheer luck. They were seen as auspicious elders by other villages.”
“At that time, Mo Aotian had just broken through Foundation Establishment Stage. He almost died at the hands of those Qi Refining cultivators and a village full of mortals.”
“My master stopped his self-destruction and brought him back to Xuantian Sect, basically saving his life.”
“But because of that incident, he deeply hated humans and was unwilling to stay in the sect, always making a fuss and wanting to leave.”
“But nowadays, he’s still only a three-hundred-year-old Jindan Stage cultivator. The Dragon Clan matures at five hundred years, so the flood dragon should be about the same. Calculating it, he’s actually about your age—still a wet-behind-the-ears kid.”
“These days, some people even dig out Jindan cultivators from their own kind. A four-clawed flood dragon to them is like a child holding a treasure in the bustling market—no, it’s more like a walking top-grade Ling Shi.”
“Anyone who sees it envies it; anyone who looks at it wants a bite. With someone like Mo Aotian… where do you think he can go?”
Ning Yu tilted her head and looked again, seeing the young girl in the blue robe lower her head in silence, her lively smile vanished. It seemed she was frightened by the harshness of the cultivation world.
She was quite satisfied with this.
After all, the purpose of telling this story was to make this naive fool realize the world’s dangers, so she wouldn’t end up like Mo Aotian when she ran wild outside the sect in the future.
But just then, the girl suddenly slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “I get it now!”
Ning Yu: ???
“What do you understand?”
On the other side, although Yun Miao felt Mo Aotian’s past was somewhat tragic, it was just a piece of storyline in a game for her.
So she didn’t brood over the cruelty of the world or the treachery of human hearts as Ning Yu hoped.
Instead, a bright idea flashed in her mind—this kind of plot… isn’t this a classic sign that a major side quest is about to begin?
She immediately opened the game panel. Sure enough, a new side quest slowly appeared in the task list: Find the killer who murdered Mo Aotian’s mother and help Mo Aotian get revenge.
The quest didn’t mention any rewards, just like the main quest that involved joining the Xuantian Sect. Yun Miao figured this was probably a feature of Wen Dao Three Thousand.
She recalled how, after clearing the Dengtianti, the level-up notifications and the reward of a Jipin Magical Treasure flooded the screen. She guessed this side quest’s reward would be generous too.
Maybe Mo Aotian would even be rewarded to her as a mount. Then why would she ride a Human-faced Owl? She could fly in the sky on a flood dragon!
Imagining that cool scene, Yun Miao’s spirits soared. So, facing Ning Yu’s question, she clenched her fist with determination.
“As the Sect Leader of Xuantian Sect’s beloved disciple and the next Sect Leader, I have the duty and responsibility to help every member of the sect! Therefore, I will help Mo Aotian find the killer and avenge Mo Chi!”
Ning Yu:
Ning Yu said nothing. She just stared ahead expressionlessly and unconsciously reached for the whip at her waist.
It was decided—if the Sect Leader really wanted Yun Miao to be the next Sect Leader, then she would lead the Disciplinary Hall in rebellion!
***
Too speechless to continue, Ning Yu didn’t say another word to Yun Miao. Bored, Yun Miao could only look down and enjoy the scenery.
From high above, apart from the flat mountaintop, the main peak was covered with lush greenery growing wildly. Many of Xuantian Sect’s core buildings were nestled within this vast forest.
The most eye-catching was a towering ancient tree over a hundred zhang tall. Its massive canopy almost reached the height of the mountain peak, casting a huge shadow over nearly half the mountain.
Many exquisite pavilions, corridors, and flying terraces were built upon this giant tree, hidden within the dense foliage, their shapes flickering in and out of sight.
Under White Deer’s orders, the Human-faced Owls swooped down from high above and landed on a thick branch of the ancient tree.
Everyone climbed down from the bird’s back.
The moment Yun Miao landed, she coldly pushed aside the flaming red lips of the owl beside her, parted the lush hanging leaves above, and followed Ning Yu along the branch deeper inside.
This branch was wider and flatter than an ordinary walkway, so there was no fear of falling—though looking down from such a height could make one dizzy.
Several height-phobic people quickly looked straight ahead, trembling as they hastened their steps. Luckily, their destination wasn’t far.
After a few steps, they saw at the branch’s end a three-story wooden building with a plaque bearing three large characters: Steward Hall.
The doors and windows on the first floor were wide open, revealing a person sitting in front of a wooden counter, head propped up, sound asleep.
Suddenly!
The third floor window was slammed open, and a woman with messy hair shouted furiously toward the sky, “Ahhhh, no one stop me! I’m going to burn all these damned documents! Burn the Steward Hall! Burn down the whole world!”
Yun Miao and the others were startled. Then two people appeared at the window, grabbed the woman’s arms, and dragged her away skillfully.
“No one’s stopping you. If you want to burn it, hurry up. I’ll gladly light the fire for you.”
“I’ll pour the oil.”
Ning Yu walked on steadily, calmly explaining, “The Steward Hall manages the sect’s internal affairs and controls its finances, so it’s a very well-paid position. If you meet the entry requirements in the future, you can apply to join.”
“But because they have so much internal work to handle, the people in the Steward Hall are very busy every day, and after a while, they tend to become a bit mad.”
“The Disciplinary Hall is located underground here, built around the roots of this tree. As the name implies, anyone who breaks sect rules will be sent there.”
“If that woman had really set fire to the Steward Hall just now, she would have been dragged into the Disciplinary Hall by disciples like me.”
She touched the whip at her waist, her tone indifferent: “Of course, arson is a minor offense.
The most severe crime is colluding with the Magic Cult, betraying the sect, or doing anything that harms the sect’s interests.
Once discovered, the lightest punishment is destroying the offender’s Dantian and Purple Mansion and expelling them. The worst is being executed on the spot after interrogation!”
“Several decades ago, a senior brother was caught colluding with the Magic Cult.”
“He was tough—my master hung him from the Disciplinary Hall’s main beam and whipped him for a whole hour before extracting all the information.”
“Afterwards, that senior brother—no, that traitor—was lowered down, his body covered in blood and flesh, barely breathing.”
“Out of gratitude that he once called me sister with a smile, my master personally crushed his skull to end his suffering. And according to his wishes, his body and his favorite flower seeds were planted in the Zhi Zhi Garden.”
Ning Yu couldn’t help but look at Yun Miao again: “Do you know what this story tells us?”
White Deer muttered quietly, “Tch, scaring children again.”
Yun Miao thought for a moment, her expression grave:
“This story tells us that if we don’t listen to you, you’ll accuse us of being traitors, hang us on the beam, whip us with chili-water-dipped whips for an hour, then slap our heads until our brains explode.”
Her tone grew darker:
“And when we die, you’ll bury our corpses as fertilizer and plant flowers on us. When spring comes, those flowers bloom and sway in the wind, and you’ll sit among them and sigh, ‘How beautiful~’”
Several timid disciples backed away, looking at Ning Yu with horror. They didn’t want to be hung up and whipped, nor slapped to death and turned into flower fertilizer!
Indeed, Ning Yu was trying to scare children: “…Don’t worry. As long as you don’t commit the crime of betraying the sect, the Disciplinary Hall will never treat you like that.”
She finished speaking and turned to enter the Steward Hall’s first floor, knocking coldly on the counter.
“Ding Sang Sang, I’ve brought new disciples to collect their stipends.”
Yun Miao and the others followed inside and saw that the interior was three or four times larger than it appeared outside.
Massive cabinets resembling medicine cabinets lined the walls, filled with hundreds and thousands of tiny drawers, densely packed and arranged so tightly it was dizzying to look at.
“You’re not going to wake this sleeping god with that, I’ll do it.”
White Deer gracefully strode into the first floor, pushing Ning Yu aside at the cabinet, then took a deep breath and boomed out with a rough, masculine voice that exploded through the room:
“Ding Sang Sang, the new junior brothers and sisters have all arrived. Could you act like a senior brother for once and get up to give them their stipends?”
“Otherwise, I’ll tell Elder Ge you’re withholding their disciple uniforms!”
Everyone’s ears buzzed from the volume, but the person facing the terrifying sound wave just lazily raised his head and yawned.
“Big Antler Deer, don’t talk nonsense. Why would I withhold disciple uniforms?”
Everyone looked curiously and saw Ding Sang Sang looked like a scholarly, pale-faced student.
Unfortunately, at this moment his eyes were heavy with sleep, lacking energy, and his pronounced inverted-eight-shaped eyebrows gave him a depressed air.
White Deer stomped twice: “Who knows? Maybe you think the fabric from the uniforms is good enough to make underwear out of, hurry up and give us the stuff, don’t dawdle.”
Ding Sang Sang yawned again, waved his hand, and several drawers behind him automatically opened. Several piles of items flew out and landed on the counter.
“All here, take a look yourselves.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he slumped over the counter and fell asleep again.
Ning Yu tapped the counter lightly, and one by one, simple but elegant bluish stone tokens floated in front of everyone.