Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 14: Grand Micro Sect – New Disciple, Yu Chanyi

Chapter 14: Grand Micro Sect – New Disciple, Yu Chanyi

A cup of turbid wine, three sticks of burning incense.

Yu Chanyi knelt on a cushion, waiting to pay respects to her master.

Beside her, Wu Xi Lan handed her a cup of wine: “Pour out this wine, and you will officially be a disciple of the Inexhaustible Sect.”

Yu Chanyi stared fixedly at the palm-sized white doll placed on the altar for a long moment, uncertain: “Pay respects… to it?”

The doll had round, black eyes, a chubby face, and an upturned mouth, looking like a child’s toy utterly adorable.

She had tested it; from this white doll, she couldn’t sense any fluctuation of spiritual power at all. It was just an inanimate object, a simple doll.

Was this the sect leader of the Inexhaustible Sect?

“Mm!” Wu Xi Lan nodded emphatically. “It was made from fur that fell off our master. Anyway, the old man isn’t here he’s always wandering the world so just treat it as going through the motions.”

Yu Chanyi: “…” A white doll made from their master’s fur? Then what exactly was their master?

Never mind, it wasn’t too important. She could refrain from being curious.

Wu Xi Lan continued: “Master likes picking people up for the sect. Before you, he brought back a junior brother. I’ve already informed Master about his new disciple using the Sound Transmission Stone. Master said that when he returns next time, he’ll prepare an initiation gift for you.”

Yu Chanyi didn’t care much about the gift; being allowed to join the sect was enough. Following Wu Xi Lan’s instructions, she poured out the wine and kowtowed three times, completing the initiation ceremony.

On her first day in the sect, Wu Xi Lan took her around the sect’s territory to familiarize her with the environment.

But the Inexhaustible Sect’s tiny plot of land was so small that she became familiar with it in the blink of an eye.

Four rooms and one medicine field that was the entirety of the Inexhaustible Sect’s assets.

As for people, including Yu Chanyi, there were only four in total.

One master who was rarely home and whose whereabouts were unknown, Wu Xi Lan who was responsible for planting herbs and refining pills, and another senior brother who was equally elusive.

According to Wu Xi Lan, the second senior brother was picked up by their master. He wasn’t one of the Ancient Remnants but a homeless cultivator.

He shared the same habit as their master neither liked staying in the sect.

Most of the time, only Wu Xi Lan was present in the Inexhaustible Sect.

Now, with Yu Chanyi added, there were two people.

Yu Chanyi had no objections to the sect’s current state; in fact, she was quite satisfied.

More people meant more gossip and prying eyes, which would only hinder her actions. Although the Inexhaustible Sect was extremely small, it had few rules, and Yu Chanyi found it rather comfortable and liberating.

Wu Xi Lan assigned Yu Chanyi an empty room and prepared clothes for her.

Wu Xi Lan chose clothes based on what Yu Chanyi was wearing a cool black, simple and clean.

As if discovering something amusing, Wu Xi Lan suddenly laughed: “You and our junior brother both like wearing black. Maybe… I should change my clothes to black too, so our Inexhaustible Sect can have a sect uniform.”

After a moment’s thought, Wu Xi Lan shook her head and dismissed the idea: “No, no, all dark and gloomy Master definitely wouldn’t like it.”

Imagining the entire sect dressed in black, Wu Xi Lan couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

After receiving the clothes, Yu Chanyi released her shadow and swallowed an Aura Concealing Pill, feeling much more at ease.

At night, Yu Chanyi lay in bed, eyes open, staring at the roof beams as if lost in thought.

This is the Flame Continent, where the Inexhaustible Sect lies at the foot of the Sword Inheriting Sect’s mountain.

When she was still Lu Chanji, she always felt the path from the Sword Inheriting Sect down the mountain was endlessly long. Whenever Lu Wenshu descended, it would take an eternity for him to return. Now living in the valley, she felt surprisingly close to the Sword Inheriting Sect.

She could return anytime she wished.

But not yet. She hadn’t made complete preparations. Appearing before Lu Wenshu now wouldn’t allow her to accomplish anything against him and might instead alert the enemy, potentially putting herself in danger.

Setting aside the gap in their cultivation levels, even if she currently possessed the ability to easily defeat Lu Wenshu, she absolutely couldn’t just silently eliminate him.

Currently, cultivators across the Great Ocean Ten Continents revered Lu Wenshu as the Champion of the righteous path, regarding him as their banner, inspiration, and role model. If she were to kill him quietly, other cultivators would likely view her as a criminal, spare no effort to dig her out to avenge Lu Wenshu, and mourn his fall.

She would never allow such a thing to happen. She wouldn’t leave Lu Wenshu with a good reputation, even in death.

Lu Wenshu had raised her for thirteen years, wearing that unchanging gentle mask the entire time, never once letting it slip for a single moment.

How patient he was.

Haste breeds chaos.

Meals should be eaten bite by bite; roads should be traveled step by step.

The more you desire something, the more you must conceal yourself and bide your time.

This was what Lu Wenshu had taught her over thirteen years.

She could wait another thousand years, two thousand, three thousand she could afford to wait.

Before truly standing before Lu Wenshu, there were still matters to plan.

Drowsiness washed over her, and Yu Chanyi closed her eyes, falling asleep.

She slept very lightly, so lightly that the slightest rustle of grass in the wind could wake her from her dreams.

The next day, as soon as she heard the rhythmic clinking of the stone mortar, Yu Chanyi immediately awoke.

She got up and went to the Medicine Hut, where amidst swirling mist, Wu Xi Lan was refining elixirs and pounding herbs.

After their brief conversation yesterday, Yu Chanyi had learned that the Inexhaustible Sect’s livelihood relied entirely on Wu Xi Lan’s Medicine Field.

Their master and senior brother were rarely home, completely neglecting the sect’s survival. As the senior sister, Wu Xi Lan shouldered the sect’s responsibilities alone, refining elixirs and pounding herbs, sometimes selling Spirit Herbs, sometimes selling Elixirs, earning some Spirit Coins to sustain the sect’s daily needs.

Yu Chanyi sat beside her and asked, “Senior sister, are these medicines for our own use or for selling?”

“Good morning, little junior sister,” Wu Xi Lan said. “Some for our own use, some for selling.”

“If sold, how much can they fetch?”

Wu Xi Lan thought for a moment and said, “This batch I’m refining is Beauty Preservation Elixirs. If successful, probably about fifty Spirit Coins.”

Fifty Spirit Coins? Yu Chanyi didn’t understand market prices and asked further, “Then, can that buy a sword?”

Wu Xi Lan paused her herb-pounding, looking at her with profound, inscrutable eyes. “A sword? What do you need a sword for?”

“I want to become a Sword Cultivator.”

Wu Xi Lan fell silent for a moment, then said with difficulty, “You… why do you want to become a Sword Cultivator too?”

“I want to win the First Prize in the next Sword Debate Tournament. I want to become famous throughout the world.” Yu Chanyi looked up at her, each word spoken with resolute clarity, not concealing her ambition and desire in the slightest.

Her eyes shone brightly with some intense emotion. Ambition alone couldn’t fully describe it it was richer, yet difficult to discern what lay in her gaze beyond mere ambition.

The Sword Debate Tournament was the first step Yu Chanyi had designed for herself to approach Lu Wenshu.

To tear open Lu Wenshu’s blood-stained disguise before everyone and ruin his reputation, she first needed to draw all eyes toward her, ensuring everyone could see and hear her.

Penglai’s Sword Debate Tournament, held once every century, was an event that drew the attention of all cultivators across the Great Ocean Ten Continents.

If Wei Shengming could seize the championship of the Sword Debate Tournament, and Lu Wenshu could do the same, there was no reason she couldn’t.

In this life, she refused to remain obscure; she wanted every cultivator in the Great Ocean Ten Continents to know her name.

Wu Xi Lan: “…”

Wu Xi Lan remained silent for a long while before speaking, “Truly, the newborn calf fears no tiger. Little junior sister, it’s not that I mean to discourage you, but I’ve heard the path of a Sword Cultivator is incredibly difficult. Though they fight fiercely and appear dashing and imposing, the toll is heavy, and they’re often impoverished.”

“Take my little junior brother, your senior brother, for example. He also wanted to become a Sword Cultivator, but he doesn’t even have a suitable sword.”

“Even if we set that aside, obtaining a sword is one thing, but the cultivation techniques for Sword Cultivators are exceedingly rare. If you wish to become a Sword Cultivator, you must first join a sword-focused sect, like the Sword Inheriting Sect.”

If Yu Chanyi were to change her mind now and seek to leave the Inexhaustible Sect to join another, Wu Xi Lan wouldn’t stop her though it would mean dashed hopes and some heartache.

Unexpectedly, Yu Chanyi showed no signs of being deterred. Her expression remained placid, her tone equally calm as she stated, “Since I’ve already joined the Inexhaustible Sect, I am its disciple.”

Seeing that Yu Chanyi had no intention of leaving the Inexhaustible Sect, Wu Xi Lan felt somewhat reassured, but she still worried on Yu Chanyi’s behalf.

She said, “What good Sword Way manuals does our Inexhaustible Sect have? The best manuals are usually created by major sects and kept secret. Moreover, with their abundant resources, their disciples are nurtured with rare treasures. That’s why the first prize of the Sword Debate Tournament has always been won by disciples of major sects. For tens of thousands of years, there has never been an exception.”

“The Sword Inheriting Sect and the Grand Micro Sect go without saying; at the very least, it’s always been Wind Breath Valley. I’ve never heard of any cultivator from a minor sect or school taking first place in the Sword Debate Tournament…”

Yu Chanyi said nothing more.

But she did not change her mind.

For an ordinary cultivator to practice the sword, joining a major sect was indeed necessary.

Yet, the advanced cultivation techniques of the Sword Inheriting Sect so secret that even inner disciples rarely had a chance to see them had once been placed on her bookshelf, within easy reach, for her to peruse at will.

Back then, unable to practice the sword, Lu Wenshu had never guarded against her.

She remembered every move and stance from those manuals.

Now, the only thing she lacked was time time to clear the blockages in her Spirit Veins and cultivate her Spiritual power.

After her conversation with Wu Xi Lan, Yu Chanyi began contemplating how to create a Puppet Doll.

Back at Azure Peak, the wood for Puppet Dolls had been divine timber that Lu Wenshu brought from the Deng Forest, already saturated with spiritual energy. Using it made crafting Puppet Dolls twice as effective with half the effort, yielding excellent results.

Now, without such fine materials on hand, the Puppet Doll didn’t need to be intricately made or lifelike.

Yu Chanyi merely fashioned a rough outline, giving the Puppet a vague human shape. It had no face, no facial features, but its hands for working were fully formed. Though the joints could only move simply and couldn’t perform complex actions, they were sufficient for tasks like watering and fertilizing.

After making three puppet dolls in one go, Yu Chanyi directed them to start working.

Now that she had no more mountain spider silk and couldn’t immediately find a substitute thread to control the puppets, Yu Chanyi manipulated their shadows cast on the ground to indirectly control their movements.

Puppets were lifeless objects without souls, making it effortless to manipulate their shadows.

The three puppet dolls trembled as they began moving. Though their motions were stiff, they carried out their tasks methodically.

In no time at all, the work that had given Wu Xi Lan such headaches was completed by Yu Chanyi’s puppets.

After the puppets finished watering, Yu Chanyi called back one that was more finely crafted with flexible finger joints to help Wu Xi Lan pound herbs.

Suddenly finding herself with free time, Wu Xi Lan sat by the medicine furnace watching the fire.

She stared blankly at the wooden puppet working diligently for quite some time, completely mesmerized. Suddenly turning with intense focus, she looked directly at Yu Chanyi and declared with determination: “Little junior sister, don’t worry! Once I’ve saved enough spirit coins, I’ll buy you a sword!”

She absolutely, absolutely couldn’t let Yu Chanyi leave the Inexhaustible Sect.

Having finally found someone who could help her with work, she would keep her little junior sister even if it meant selling off their master.

Since her little junior sister’s puppets were so useful, they could cultivate more medicine fields in the future, plant more spirit herbs, and earn more spirit coins.

So what if she was a sword cultivator? Wu Xi Lan refused to believe that with the entire sect’s resources, they couldn’t support one sword cultivator.

Yu Chanyi was momentarily stunned, then sincerely replied: “Thank you, senior sister.”

–

After staying at the Inexhaustible Sect for five days, Yu Chanyi and Wu Xi Lan had cultivated another new medicine field.

The newly turned soil was moist and loose. After the puppets finished tilling the land, they only needed to wait for planting.

With nothing to do for the moment, Yu Chanyi set up a small table by the field and sat drinking tea.

Wu Xi Lan didn’t have suitable seeds on hand, so she had purchased some from another cultivator, who promised to deliver them today.

As the two drank tea while waiting, the person soon arrived.

“Fellow Daoist Li, come on in!” Seeing the person outside the Inexhaustible Sect, Wu Xi Lan waved to him.

Fellow Daoist Li had a very kind face, with boyish features that made him look quite young.

He walked to the spirit field, placed the seeds on the small table, and asked: “A newly cultivated field? Can you manage it all by yourself?”

Wu Xi Lan replied: “Naturally not by myself, but now I have my little junior sister with me.”

The surnamed Li cultivator glanced at Yu Chanyi, then bowed and asked: “This fellow daoist is…”

“A newly enrolled disciple of the Inexhaustible Sect, Yu Chanyi,” Yu Chanyi greeted him.

Cultivator Li nodded, then left the Inexhaustible Sect.

He left quickly without exchanging many words with Yu Chanyi, but after he departed, Yu Chanyi kept staring at the spot where he had stood, as if lost in thought.

Finding this strange, Wu Xi Lan asked: “What’s wrong, little junior sister?”

“Nothing, nothing really.” Yu Chanyi hesitated for a moment before asking: “Senior sister, who is this Fellow Daoist Li?”

Wu Xi Lan answered: “Him? Just a minor rogue cultivator, without sect or affiliation. His cultivation cave is also in this valley, but he lives in seclusion and rarely shows himself. I’ve bought seeds from him before and only became familiar with him after repeated transactions. He’s quite decent though – gives generous discounts to regular customers. Buying seeds from him is really cost-effective.”

A minor rogue cultivator without sect or affiliation, huh…

Yu Chanyi’s gaze fell upon the spot where Fellow Daoist Li had just stood the freshly turned soil was loose and damp, leaving clear footprints where one stepped. The soles of Fellow Daoist Li’s shoes bore a pattern of seven stars encircling the moon, a rather distinctive design.

If memory served, the footwear of the Grand Micro Sect featured precisely this pattern. Yu Chanyi had seen it before.