On the afternoon of the third day, Gu Ningyun heard Martial Uncle Lu's voice transmission.
“Put on your disciple robes and come to the front to gather.”
Gu Ningyun put away her jade slips and glanced out the window.
Unlike the calm, wave-free scene at noon, long-necked white birds occasionally flew through the layers of clouds outside.
Their meter-long wings stirred the air as they glided gracefully past her eyes.
Fearing she might be late for the gathering, Gu Ningyun suppressed the awe in her heart, took a set of disciple robes from her storage bag, and changed into them.
These outer sect disciple robes were smooth and soft in texture and snow-white in color, with silver silk thread outlining cloud patterns on the fabric and a green belt at the waist.
The robes automatically adjusted to the appropriate size once worn. Gu Ningyun performed a few yoga moves and found that they did not hinder her movement at all.
Arriving at the bow of the flying boat, she saw Martial Aunt Yang holding a book. The two illiterate children were sitting in front of her, seemingly learning to read.
Seeing her come out, Martial Aunt Yang put away the book and waved the two children away. “Go change into your disciple robes first. I will teach you the rest of the common script once we reach the sect.”
Since everyone had not yet arrived, Gu Ningyun remembered the birds from earlier and leaned over the edge of the flying boat to look out.
The view from the front of the flying boat was even more open, allowing Gu Ningyun to see the pure, flawless feathers of the birds more clearly.
Following the direction the birds had come from, Gu Ningyun looked toward the path the flying boat was taking. This single glance made her eyes widen in surprise.
Far ahead, atop layers upon layers of white clouds, many massive peaks were suspended, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. It was a true scene of an immortal realm.
A child’s exclamation sounded beside her. “Wow! Is that Xiaoyao? It’s so magnificent!”
Martial Uncle Lu said, “Yes, Xiaoyao is the largest sect in Yunzhou. It has 108 floating peaks, including four main peaks, 72 inner peaks, and 32 outer peaks. What you see now is a portion of the 32 outer peaks.”
The flying boat was very fast, and in the time it took to speak, those floating peaks drew even closer.
“Xiaoyao is protected by a sect-protecting array. Hold your disciple tokens in your hands. Once the array identifies that the token matches your own aura, it will not harm you.”
Passing through the ethereal clouds, Gu Ningyun saw the other flying boat that had returned with them change direction, flying toward the mountain ranges beneath the floating peaks.
“The mountains below belong to the exterior of Xiaoyao; that is where the handyman disciples live,” Martial Uncle Lu explained simply upon seeing their curiosity.
“Qixia Peak is just ahead.”
The flying boat flew past the mountains and landed on a massive plaza halfway up a floating peak.
After disembarking, the two seniors led them away from the plaza and into a large hall.
“This is the transmission point for Qixia Peak. In a moment, I will take you to Governing Peak, one of the four main peaks. All newly admitted outer sect disciples must first go to Governing Peak to record their aura in the Disciple Jade Register. Only then is your entry into the sect truly official.”
There were eight teleportation arrays set up in the hall. In front of each array was a stone platform with many neatly arranged indentations, each labeled with a name.
Martial Uncle Lu led them to one of the teleportation arrays and pointed to the first indentation in the first row of the stone platform. “Place your identity jade tokens here. Once the indentation glows, you can take back your tokens and wait inside the teleportation array.”
Gu Ningyun and the others followed Martial Uncle Lu’s guidance in turn. After everyone had been verified, Martial Aunt Yang cast a barrier over the five of them.
While the two seniors were verifying their own tokens, Gu Ningyun observed that their identity jade tokens were light blue.
Martial Uncle Lu stood within the array and performed several hand seals toward the stone platform. Gu Ningyun and the others traveled through a stable band of light and appeared in an even larger hall.
Leaving the hall and passing several lotus ponds, they arrived beneath a purple flower tree.
In front of the tree was a large hall called the Cloud Pavilion. Several other groups of people were already waiting in front of it, likely new disciples just like them.
Martial Aunt Yang waited with them under the tree while Martial Uncle Lu entered the Cloud Hall first. After about the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn, another group of disciples emerged from the hall, and only then did Martial Aunt Yang lead them inside.
As they stepped through the main doors, Martial Uncle Lu was already waiting for them.
Suspended beside Martial Uncle Lu was a massive, open, wordless book.
“This is the Disciple Jade Register. Line up and take turns pressing your identity jade token and your hand onto it. Remember, if you harbor any treacherous intent, you will be obliterated on the spot by the Disciple Jade Register. Once recorded in the register, you must never betray the sect. Otherwise, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, the Disciple Jade Register will find you. At that time, what awaits you will be the punishment of Punishment Peak.”
As if remembering something, Martial Uncle Lu paused, his brow furrowing as he said, “Once you enter Punishment Peak, even death will be a luxury.”
Seeing that their gazes were all firm, Martial Uncle Lu nodded in satisfaction and had them begin in order.
When it was Gu Ningyun's turn, she finally saw the words on the pages clearly.
The book read: The 11,680th Batch of Xiaoyao Outer Sect Disciples.
Gu Ningyun was stunned. Xiaoyao recruited disciples once every ten years, which meant that Xiaoyao had a history of at least 110,000 years!
It truly was a great sect with a long history and deep heritage.
She remembered that the Star-Moon Sect, which the original story's female lead joined, was the second-largest sect after the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect, yet it only had a history of eight thousand years.
She pressed her token and her hand onto the page. After feeling a sensation like mist passing over her palm, she pulled her hand away and saw a drop of blood merge into the page.
Behind the rows of neat names, a column of golden characters emerged from the blank space.
This line was similar to the engraving on her identity token: Qixia Peak | Gu Ningyun.
Behind this line, there was also a column of smaller characters—Guide: Yang Churan, Lu Heyun.
For some reason, seeing the simple word “Guide,” a flicker of awe rose in Gu Ningyun's heart. Beyond respect, she felt an extra layer of reverence for the two seniors.
After all five of them had finished recording their names, on the way back to Qixia Peak, Martial Aunt Yang said, “From now on, you are true disciples of Xiaoyao. The outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples of Xiaoyao are essentially the same and have the same privileges; the only restriction is your cultivation level. There are some things you cannot access if your cultivation is insufficient.”
“Xiaoyao’s recruitment has always been stricter than other sects. Only those with single or double spirit roots can directly become formal disciples. Of course, if there are exceptional individuals among the handyman disciples, they can later participate in the corresponding assessments to enter the outer sect and be recorded in the Disciple Jade Register.”
“As for you, the sect places all newly admitted formal disciples into the outer sect because the way we cultivate new disciples is different from the inner sect. For your current stage, the most important thing is to build a solid foundation.”
As Martial Aunt Yang spoke, she reached out and rubbed a child’s head. “And to grow properly, hahahaha! Look at your small frames; a demon beast could blow you over with a single breath.”
Gu Ningyun, who happened to be walking right next to Martial Aunt Yang: Her hairstyle had already turned into a bird's nest, and she had no power to resist the demonic claws.
Martial Aunt Yang released the fluffy head beneath her hand. “Only the outer sect has a dining hall. Make sure to eat your meals on time for these next few years and try not to take fasting pills. Eating spirit food is very beneficial for building your foundation.”
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