Chu Huaixu looked at the booklet, completely puzzled.
He refused to believe it and flipped another page.
The result was the same—this page also had only two words:
From the handwriting, the first and second pages didn’t seem to be written by the same person.
This left Chu Huaixu thoroughly bewildered.
“What the hell, these two are playing a double act or something.”
Chu Huaixu continued flipping and discovered there was nothing more.
“That’s it?” He became even more confused.
The Dao Gate was vast, with many outer sect disciples.
Even if the Dao Gate had strict requirements and only accepted one in ten thousand talents, the population of the Eastern Continent's Mirror Country was still enormous.
With so many enrolled disciples, it shouldn’t be that only this few chose it, right?
“Is it because its name isn’t as flashy as other methods?” Chu Huaixu wondered.
“That shouldn’t be it either.”
After all... that sword was right in the Dao Gate!
In the Dao Gate, the practice of swordsmanship was highly popular.
As long as a cultivation method had the word “sword” in it, there was no reason for it to be so unpopular.
Chu Huaixu was honestly afraid he might be the third lab rat...
“But no matter what, this cultivation method has the highest compatibility with me—93%.”
“If the system deems it fine, then it must be fine.”
Anyway, for him, so-called cultivation methods were just something to dump Experience Points into.
With that in mind, Chu Huaixu tossed the booklet aside and picked up the jade slip.
As a seasoned player, he had a certain level of understanding of the cultivation system in the Xuanhuang Realm.
In the past, the Qi-Opening Stage didn’t even exist.
The human body had nine orifices, which were used to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Some people were born with all nine orifices open—like that long-legged beauty next door.
Some were born with none open—like the current Chu Huaixu.
For someone like Han Shuangjiang, a natural prodigy, the Qi-Opening Stage was just a formality.
It could be understood that her nine orifices were merely clogged with some bodily impurities. All she needed to do now was use a cultivation method to cleanse those impurities.
It wouldn’t take long for her to reach the Great Completion of the Qi-Opening Stage and then begin advancing to the First Realm!
Many years ago, only those born with all nine orifices open could cultivate, and everyone started directly from the First Realm.
So, back then, the threshold for cultivation was extremely high, and cultivators were very rare.
Until... the sudden rise of the Dao Ancestor!
The Dao Ancestor, invincible among mortals, discovered the secret of the body’s nine orifices and refined the Qi-Opening Pill.
Upon taking the Qi-Opening Pill, one could unblock previously sealed orifices.
The so-called Qi-Opening Stage cultivation methods were actually used to assist in absorbing the pill’s medicinal power.
By operating the cultivation method, the effects of the medicine would be enhanced, and absorption would be faster.
The world honored him as the Dao Ancestor because he created the Qi-Opening Pill and established the Qi-Opening Stage.
Without him, many people would never have had the chance to become cultivators.
In Chu Huaixu’s current Storage Token, there was a Qi-Opening Pill, which had been distributed for free by the Dao Gate to all enrolled disciples.
“Gotta say, the benefits of a major sect are truly good,” he thought.
“Some smaller sects even make disciples pay for their own Qi-Opening Pills.”
After taking out the Qi-Opening Pill, Chu Huaixu swallowed it in one go, then laid out the jade slip in front of him.
“【Ding! Do you wish to learn the cultivation method—《Sword Refining Art》?】” He heard the system prompt.
Was that even a question?
"Then, let’s begin cultivating!"
Ask-Dao Peak was the main peak of 【Mountains Beyond Mountains】.
The Dao Gate’s grand hall stood at the summit of Ask-Dao Peak.
At this moment, there were six people inside the grand hall.
Sixth Elder Li Chunsong was among them.
The person sitting at the Sect Master’s throne was none other than the current Sect Master of the Dao Gate—Xiang Yan.
This man didn’t have the slightest bit of immortal bearing; he looked fierce and hideously ugly, and he was bald.
Just from appearance, he was vastly different from what one would imagine a Dao Gate Sect Master to be.
On both sides of the hall sat four others: First Elder Lu Pan, Fifth Elder Zhao Shuqin, Ninth Elder Nangong Yue, and Tenth Elder Chu Yinyin.
Sixth Elder Li Chunsong stood at the center of the hall, constantly rubbing his hands, his face flushed and spirits high, clearly in the grip of gambling addiction, pondering how to lay the groundwork before making a bet with his fellow disciples.
"The people Little Martial Uncle asked me to pick up, I’ve already brought them back," Li Chunsong cleared his throat and said.
Tenth Elder Chu Yinyin immediately asked, "Who?"
It was rather strange—while all the high-ranking members of the Dao Gate appeared middle-aged, only this Tenth Elder Chu Yinyin looked like a girl in her early teens, no more than thirteen or fourteen, her body not even fully developed.
But in fact, she was already thirty-two.
This had to do with her cultivation method and Spirit Embryo.
Li Chunsong glanced sideways at her and said directly, "Matters above the Seventh Realm aren’t for a Sixth Realm like you to ask about."
The moment he said this, everyone laughed.
Chu Yinyin frowned, angrily slapping the small table beside her chair.
"What’s that supposed to mean, you gambling addict? Looking down on me?"
Li Chunsong immediately put on a fawning smile. "I wouldn’t dare, Little Martial Sister. But this matter has been classified by Little Martial Uncle as the sect’s top secret. You know the sect rules—only those above the Seventh Realm are allowed to know."
"You’re using sect rules to shut me down?" Chu Yinyin was still unwilling to back down.
This forced Li Chunsong to seek help, turning to First Elder Lu Pan. "Senior Brother, you’re the Enforcement Elder. Say something, will you?"
The stern and imposing Lu Pan lifted his head; the wrinkles on his forehead were so deep they looked like they were carved by a knife. Read full story at novel[f]ire.net
"According to sect rules, that is indeed the case," he answered seriously.
"Nice, really nice! All of you ganging up to bully me!" Chu Yinyin stood up directly.
Dao Gate Sect Master Xiang Yan raised his hand and pressed down slightly, signaling her to calm down.
This bald man wasn’t just ugly—his voice was also terribly unpleasant, sounding like a squealing rubber chicken.
"Little Martial Sister, you’ve always been too lazy. Your talent is the best among us. Both Master and Martial Uncle said that your cultivation path will surely surpass ours, but you just don’t cultivate seriously."
Chu Yinyin looked down at her own body upon hearing this and became even more displeased. "Cultivate for what? Look what I’ve become from all this cultivation!"
She glanced around at everyone, furious. "Fine, if you won’t say, then don’t. I don’t even want to hear it anymore! I’m leaving!"
She strode quickly to the entrance of the grand hall, then stopped and turned back.
"You really won’t tell me?"
All her senior brothers and sisters stayed silent, only smiling at her in unison.
Only then did Chu Yinyin stomp off, truly leaving this time.
Ninth Elder Nangong Yue was a gentle-looking woman, not particularly beautiful, but with a notably ample chest.
She shook her head and chuckled. "Little Martial Sister really... even at her age, her temper is as immature as her appearance."
"She’s always been , hasn’t changed a bit," said Fifth Elder Zhao Shuqin, spreading his hands.
"Her unique cultivation method is one thing, but it’s mostly due to her natural disposition," said First Elder Lu Pan.
No sooner had he finished speaking than he suddenly exclaimed softly, "Eh? Still eavesdropping outside?"
As the Enforcement Elder, he was in charge of sect rules.
He waved his hand, casting a soundproofing formation that sealed all sound within the hall from leaking out.
"Now she’s really gone," Lu Pan smiled slightly after probing outside with his divine sense.
Sect Master Xiang Yan cleared his throat and, in his grating voice, said, "Alright, let’s get down to business."
Sixth Elder Li Chunsong knew it was his turn to speak.
"Following Martial Uncle’s instructions, I brought back two people from Biyou Terrace in the Wumeng Mountains."
"The man is named Chu Huaixu, and the woman is named Han Shuangjiang."
"This Han Shuangjiang is something else—guess what her Spirit Embryo is?" He tried to build suspense.
The others said nothing, simply staring silently at him.
"You’re all so dull!" Li Chunsong was dissatisfied.
"Her Spirit Embryo is on par with the Dao Ancestor’s Pure Yang Body! She has the Body of Profound Yin!"
Everyone was shocked. "What!"
The Body of Profound Yin—she actually had the Body of Profound Yin!
Ninth Elder Nangong Yue crossed her arms beneath her chest, the ample flesh pressing against her arms. "Say... if it’s the Body of Profound Yin, could it be recognized by it?"
Everyone paused for a moment. "It?"
But they quickly realized what Nangong Yue was referring to.
A sword left behind by the Dao Ancestor.