Chapter 291: Chapter 290: Selecting a Maid (First Update, Please Subscribe)
The shadows of trees envelop Miscellaneous Peak, with flowers and grasses intertwined. There’s a medicine garden, spirit fields, and a palace, creating an elegant and unique atmosphere.
The peak is daunting, with clouds winding around it.
Though named Miscellaneous Peak, it truly centers around an area approximately a thousand square kilometers, gathering about five hundred thousand servant disciples here.
In the Mortal World, servants clean, wash, do laundry, and handle various miscellaneous tasks.
Yet in a Cultivation Immortality Sect, things are different. When clothes are dirty, or rooms have stains, a single Dust Cleaning Talisman makes everything spotless; for dust on great halls, roads, and mountain peaks, a Foundation Establishment cultivator uses a spell to clean it all. Other heavy tasks are handled by powerful puppets.
Thus, servant disciples do not engage in menial chores.
Upon arriving, servant disciples primarily study, learning fundamental cultivation knowledge, basic talisman making, basic array formation, basic breeding, basic beast taming, basic alchemy, basic artifact refining, among other disciplines; they must also acquaint themselves with human relationships and basic sect industries.
After three years, assessments are conducted. Those fit remain and become Outer Disciples, while those unfit are dismissed.
To stay, one must have notable aptitude and fast cultivation speed; alternatively, possessing a particular skill can compensate for slightly lesser aptitude, leading to retention.
Nearing Miscellaneous Peak, one can perceive abundant Spiritual Qi due to a Fourth Grade Spirit Vein beneath, enriching the area with dense Spiritual Qi, facilitating rapid cultivation.
At the age of nine, he sought to join Dan Yang Sect as a servant disciple, valuing the dense Spiritual Qi here.
Under such conditions, unless one’s aptitude is abysmally poor, reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining by age thirty is not challenging;
But in areas with sparse Spiritual Qi or on a Second or Third Grade Spirit Vein, reaching the ninth layer by fifty would already be considered fortunate.
Beyond other benefits, the sheer abundance of Spiritual Qi here draws countless disciples eagerly.
Arriving here, he sees a small town where various cultivators are selling Talismans, Elixirs, Secret Manuals, Spirit Medicines, each with varying cultivation levels.
Unlike other peaks, filled with Immortal Qi and the serene beauty of secluded orchids,
This place is rich in mundane allure, akin to a Mortal World’s small town.
Servant disciples here generally have Three Spirit Roots or better, with many even having Dual Spirit Roots, or Anomalous Spirit Roots.
A mere glance reveals over thirty with Dual Spirit Roots or Anomalous Spirit Roots.
In some regions, Dual and Three Spirit Roots are considered prodigious and rare. Yet in Chu Country, given the large population, they are not exceptional.
The two figures move stealthily, transforming into ordinary cultivators entering the town.
They roam casually, sipping fine wine, savoring candied gourds, listening to melodies, as a once ethereal Mental Realm gradually gains traces of secular flavor.
At a certain restaurant, on the third floor, under Sect Leader Sun’s enthusiastic invitation, seven or eight dishes are served consecutively, cooked with Spirit Medicines, Spirit Rice, and Spirit Beasts. The dishes may not boast high grades, yet they’re impeccably fragrant, appealing, and delectable.
While tasting a piece of vegetarian meat, Lu Xuanji nods in approval.
"Not bad, not bad, the taste is quite good!"
"If you find the taste good, please savor more!" Sect Leader Sun laughs.
"Sure!"
"Let’s make a toast!"
"Yes, a toast!"
After a satisfying meal, the two continue their walk.
They walk until they reach the Miscellaneous Hall.
"Old Qian, I’m here!"
Nearing the entrance, Sect Leader Sun calls out loudly.
"Sect Leader, I’m here, you’re still as boisterous as ever!" At that moment, an old man appears, hair disheveled like a nest, his Daoist robe washed to a near white, clearly not changed for a long while; his breath faintly alcoholic, holding a large gourd, embodying a shabby, timeless appearance.
"No need to say much, this is Elder Lu, you understand... no need for me to elaborate, right?"
Sun Beiwang says.
"Naturally so." Old Qian nods, "Come, sit inside my hall for a while!"
"Alright!"
Saying so, the three enter the grand hall.
From outside, the hall appears ordinary, but inside it is rather spacious.
Elder Qian takes out a token, beginning to transmit messages.
Simultaneously, he lights an incense stick as long as a finger, smoke curling softly, burning swiftly.
Moments later, about a dozen female cultivators arrive, followed by additional arrivals, soon numbering three hundred.
"Time’s up!"
Old Qian proclaims, waving his hand, the great doors closing directly.
"Those who haven’t come, there’s no need to come now!"
At the closed door, Old Qian says, "This is the newly appointed Golden Core Elder Lu, here to select close maids from Miscellaneous Peak. Regarding its significance, you all understand, there’s no need for me to elaborate. Those willing may stay, those not willing may leave freely without any compulsion!"
"You have ten breaths to decide... ten breaths to choose!"
The present female cultivators, faces blushing, comprehend the implications of being a Golden Core Elder’s personal maid.
Once a choice is made, there is no turning back.
Yet, all are silent, none retreating.
"Very well, your resolutions remain, may your decisions prove wise!" Old Qian remarks, "Allow this old Taoist to prattle a little, female cultivators who are not virgins, eliminated directly!"
With a wave of his hand, over a dozen female cultivators are expelled from the hall.
Old Qian continues, "Female cultivators of lacking beauty, eliminated directly!"
Disclosing a compass, it covers those present.
Soon, atop some female cultivators’ heads, a white light rises, a force expelling over fifty more.
"As for choosing among the remaining, leave it to the senior fellow!"
"Certainly!"
Lu Xuanji stands, looking down at the female cultivators below.
There are over two hundred remaining, all possessing beauty scoring at least eighty-five points. Over a hundred have Three Spirit Roots, more than fifty have Dual Spirit Roots, and over twenty hold Anomalous Spirit Roots. Regarding backgrounds, some hail from prestigious Purple Mansion Clans, others from Golden Core Clans of noble stance;
These female cultivators exhibit outstanding talents, potentially advancing to Foundation Establishment, even to the Purple Mansion, with a slender hope for the Golden Core.
In the outside world, they would be perceived as goddess-like figures, attracting numerous admirers.
Yet here, they offer themselves for his selection, to become his personal maids, his closest companions.
Possibly sharing his bed, determining their fate.
They may gain much, but also lose much.
Of course, they can opt out, free from force, but none do.
This is the authority of a Golden Core!
...
PS: The second update will follow shortly.