Chapter Twenty-Seven: An Eye-Opening Experience

Upon returning to the sect, Liao Chen summoned Jiang Qian and Qin Tian, and then introduced them, saying, "Ling'er, these are your two senior fellow apprentices, Jiang Qian and Qin Tian."

"Hu Ling'er pays her respects to both senior brothers!" Hu Ling'er immediately bowed with her hands cupped in greeting.

Jiang Qian looked at Hu Ling'er and was somewhat astonished. "Junior Sister Ling'er is so beautiful; you are almost like the legendary fairies of the Upper Realm!"

"Indeed, such beauty is rarely found in the mortal world!" Qin Tian, standing to the side, echoed with the air of a precocious child.

Flustered by her senior brothers' remarks, Hu Ling'er did not know how to respond. Observing this, Liao Chen smoothed things over: "Enough. You two take Ling'er to familiarize yourselves with the sect and arrange her living quarters."

"As you command, Master!" Jiang Qian and Qin Tian replied.

Jiang Qian and Qin Tian led the way. Along the path, they passed rows of Enlightenment Tea trees, all of the highest quality. This instantly made Hu Ling'er understand why her master had previously been so dismissive of her own White-Brow Spirit Tea; compared to this, her tea was not even in the same league.

Beyond the tea trees, to Hu Ling'er’s surprise, the sect possessed over a dozen Bodhi trees, also of supreme quality. What kind of sect could possess such a profound foundation? Hu Ling'er had never imagined that the master she had casually chosen possessed such resources. She could not help but ask, "Senior brother and sister, what is Master’s standing in the sect? And he calls himself the 'Invincible Ancestor'—is that true?"

Jiang Qian and Qin Tian laughed when they realized their junior sister was unaware of their master's position. Jiang Qian explained, "Junior sister, Master is the Sect Leader of the Morning Light Sect. As for him calling himself the 'Invincible Ancestor,' we had never heard him say that before, but if Master says he is the Invincible Ancestor, then he naturally is an invincible existence. From now on, we are the disciples of the Invincible Ancestor. You must cultivate diligently and not bring shame to Master!"

Hu Ling'er nodded. She finally understood the magnitude of the figure she had become a disciple of. She had heard whispers that the Morning Light Sect Leader might be an Emperor-level powerhouse. Since he dared to call himself the Invincible Ancestor, he must indeed be immensely powerful. After all, the sect did not only have her master; the former master of the Myriad Demon Mountains was also an Emperor-level powerhouse. The sect now had at least two such beings.

Next, Jiang Qian and Qin Tian showed Hu Ling'er the Dao Palace, the Trial Tower, the Sermon Hall, the Armory, the Sect Assessment Stairs, the medicinal fields, and more. Each location left Hu Ling'er stunned.

"First, the Dao Palace is nine hundred and ninety stories high. Each floor allows one to comprehend a different Dao, though one requires sufficient talent and strength to master them. The sect rules state that one must at least be at the Imperial Realm to enter," Jiang Qian explained.

"Regarding the Sermon Hall, our sect is incredibly powerful. Many predecessors ascended to the Upper Realm long ago, leaving behind vast quantities of top-tier cultivation techniques. Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow grade techniques are only fit to gather dust in the corners of the first floor. We have piles of Immortal-grade techniques; only God-grade techniques are worthy of being displayed on the tables for disciples to view. However, you need sufficient task points to exchange for them; otherwise, you can only browse the sub-Immortal techniques."

"Next, the Armory. The lowest quality weapons stored here are supreme-grade spirit weapons, followed by supreme-grade treasures and Dharma artifacts. Beyond that, it is rumored there are Quasi-Emperor weapons and even Supreme Emperor weapons, though no one in the sect besides Master and the two Emperor-level elders has ever seen a true Supreme Emperor weapon."

"The Trial Tower is also a restricted area. Disciples must pay task points to train there. Don't let its modest appearance fool you—its true height is concealed. I heard Elder Qinglong say that even with his Great Emperor-level cultivation, he could not clear the tower. It has nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine levels. Those below the Qi Sea Realm can only train up to the first thousand levels, with every major realm allowing a challenge of an additional thousand levels. My junior brother and I have tried, but even with all our efforts, it is difficult to pass the corresponding levels. So, junior sister, unless you have sufficient strength, do not attempt to challenge higher levels prematurely."

"As for the assessment stairs, I won't go into detail. Let’s head to the medicinal fields. The sect currently has four, and Master said more will be unsealed soon, so don't be surprised if more appear."

...

After showing Hu Ling'er the important sites, they led her to Peach Tree Peak, where Jiang Qian had previously lived alone as Liao Chen's only direct female disciple.

As a man, it was inconvenient for Qin Tian to linger on Peach Tree Peak, so he excused himself under the pretext of cultivation. Following Jiang Qian's advice, Hu Ling'er established her own cave dwelling nearby.

Jiang Qian also departed, leaving Hu Ling'er to practice. Hu Ling'er took out the pills her master had given her and was shocked to find they were two bottles of sixth-grade supreme-quality pills—truly extraordinary items. She sat cross-legged and swallowed the first supreme marrow-cleansing pill. A wave of heat surged through her, and she broke into a sweat, excreting foul toxins from her body.

She finally understood why her master had given her such a high-grade pill. Her innate 'Phantom Spirit Physique' manifested, radiating powerful spiritual fluctuations that even made Jiang Qian, who was observing from afar, feel inferior. Feeling a sense of shame, Jiang Qian decided she could not fall behind her new junior sister and began a frantic period of 'pill-popping' cultivation.

System: "Ding! Congratulations to the host's disciple, Jiang Qian, for breaking through to the first level of the Profound King Realm. Rewarding the host with 50 million cultivation experience points, 100 supreme-grade Thunder-Roar Swords, 1 million sixth-grade supreme-quality Foundation-Cultivating Pills, and 1 million sixth-grade supreme-quality Marrow-Cleansing Pills."

"Ding! Congratulations to the host's disciple, Jiang Qian, for breaking through to the second level of the Profound King Realm..."

"Ding! Congratulations to the host's disciple, Jiang Qian, for breaking through to the third level of the Profound King Realm..."

...

On the other side, feeling her senior sister's aura strengthening, Qin Tian also entered a state of rapid advancement.

System: "Ding! Congratulations to the host's disciple, Qin Tian, for breaking through to the first level of the Divine Ability Realm. Rewarding the host with 30 million cultivation experience points, 100 supreme-grade Thunder-Light Swords, 1 million fifth-grade supreme-quality Foundation-Cultivating Pills, and 1 million fifth-grade supreme-quality Marrow-Cleansing Pills."

...

Less than a day later, Jiang Qian had reached the peak of the Profound King Realm, and Qin Tian had reached the peak of the Divine Ability Realm. Seeing the time was ripe, they entered the Trial Hall. As Liao Chen's direct disciples, they did not need task points, a fact that made the other sect disciples envious and jealous. However, they were merely ordinary disciples; they could only become direct disciples by passing the assessments—a feat they currently lacked the strength to achieve.