Chapter 34:Heaven One Residence
The barrier of the sect-protecting formation silently closed behind Qi Tian.
"Stay together. Don’t fall behind," Pei Yi called from the front.
Qi Tian followed the flow of people, making his way slowly up the mountain.
Qian Duobao squeezed his way over to Qi Tian.
"Brother Qi, that spy was really going to strangle you! You scared the hell out of me! How come you didn’t move at all? Your face didn’t even go pale."
Qi Tian replied calmly, "I was scared stiff."
"..."
Qian Duobao gave him a dubious look.
"Then why did the elders take you to the back of the hall and have you undergo the Heart-Questioning Stone test alone?"
This time, Qi Tian didn’t tease him. He answered honestly.
"They asked me about my spiritual root."
Seeing that Qi Tian had no intention of saying more, Qian Duobao wisely shut his mouth and didn’t ask any further.
The group rounded a ridge, and the view suddenly opened up.
A sprawling cluster of densely packed courtyards stretched along the mountainside. Gray tiles and blue-gray stone formed row after row of buildings, layered one above another. Every so often, disciples hurried past between them, their footsteps brisk.
Pei Yi stopped and turned around.
"This is where the outer sect disciples live."
He raised a hand.
More than a dozen senior disciples immediately came forward from the rear and led most of the new disciples—the ones who had failed to reach the three-hundred-and-thirty-third step of the Heaven-Ascending Stairway—deeper into the courtyards.
Only forty-four new disciples remained where they stood, including Qi Tian, Qian Duobao, and Lin Ye.
Pei Yi said no more. He led the remaining group onward along the main path.
The farther they climbed, the denser the spiritual energy in the air became.
After rounding another bend, the view opened up once more.
They had reached the upper section of the mountainside.
Amid the swirling clouds and mist, individual residences stood scattered in an orderly fashion, some built beside spiritual springs, others nestled against ancient pines. The ground was paved with blue jade bricks, with spiritual herbs growing naturally between the cracks and giving off a faint, refreshing fragrance.
Compared with the densely packed courtyards of the outer sect, this place seemed like an entirely different world.
"This is where the inner sect disciples live."
Pei Yi’s gaze swept across the group before pausing on Lin Ye.
"Lin Ye."
The youth in coarse hemp clothes looked up, his back straightening instinctively.
"For now, you’ll live here as well. Once the Sect Master returns and makes his decision, you’ll move to the personal disciples’ quarters."
Lin Ye nodded.
"All right, Senior Brother Pei."
Just then, the female disciple who had reached the Half-Step Foundation Establishment stage suddenly walked toward Qi Tian.
She cupped her fists.
"Junior Brother Qi, my name is Mu Qingxuan. Back in the Heart-Questioning Hall, I was careless and let that spy take advantage of the situation. I’m sorry."
Qi Tian smiled and waved it off.
"Miss Mu, don’t worry about it. I’m fine anyway."
The corners of Mu Qingxuan’s lips lifted slightly, like ice melting beneath the first touch of spring.
"From now on, you should call me Senior Sister."
Qi Tian felt a strange discomfort.
He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he was supposed to call a little girl who hadn’t even reached Foundation Establishment "Senior Sister"?
But his expression remained unchanged. He simply cupped his fists.
"All right, Senior Sister Mu."
Mu Qingxuan nodded and said nothing more.
Pei Yi glanced at the sky and called out,
"Tomorrow, gather in the courtyard at the Chen hour. Don’t be late."
With that, he and Mu Qingxuan turned and continued up the mountain path toward the summit, soon disappearing into the clouds and mist.
Qi Tian watched their retreating figures.
Only then did he realize—
So the two of them were both personal disciples.
An elder disciple stepped out from the crowd, a stack of parchment maps in his hands.
"My name is Chen Yuan." He began handing the maps to the new disciples. "These are maps of the inner sect residences. There are a thousand individual residences in total, divided into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow districts. Any residence marked with the character ’Vacant’ is available for you to move into. Choose one yourselves."
After distributing the maps, Chen Yuan and several other senior disciples headed into the inner sect residential area.
Qian Duobao eagerly unfolded his map. He took one look and clicked his tongue.
"Brother Qi, look. There are plenty of vacant residences in the Yellow district, and quite a few in the Profound district too. But the Heaven and Earth districts... they’re completely full!"
Qi Tian glanced over. Sure enough, that was the case. Among the dense markings on the map, every residence in the Heaven and Earth districts was marked "Occupied," while the Profound and Yellow districts were sparsely dotted with "Vacant" markings.
Qian Duobao’s fingertip landed on two adjacent vacant residences, and his face lit up.
"These two! Profound Twelve and Profound Thirteen. They’re right next to each other!"
The two followed a paved path of green jade for roughly fifteen minutes before Qian Duobao was already panting.
"I’m exhausted. We finally made it—"
Before he could finish, the wooden door of Profound Twelve creaked open.
Lin Ye stood in the doorway, dressed in his coarse hemp clothes. He froze for a moment at the sight of them, then nodded in greeting.
"Senior Brother Qi. Senior Brother Qian."
Qian Duobao hurriedly waved his hands, a broad grin spreading across his round face. "No, no, I couldn’t. Senior Brother Lin, we can’t possibly accept you calling us Senior Brothers."
He counted off the points on his fingers, explaining with complete conviction. "The sect’s rules are clear: status and standing come before seniority of entry. You’ve already been designated a personal disciple, so you’re unquestionably our Senior Brother. Even if we put that aside, say we’re all inner sect disciples who joined at the same time. You’re at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, while I’m only at the fifth. One cultivation layer higher makes you the Senior Brother. It’s certainly not based on age."
Lin Ye’s ears turned slightly red from the barrage of reasoning. He lowered his head shyly and murmured, "Senior Brother Qian, you’re joking..."
"Hey, hey, don’t!" Qian Duobao shrank his neck. "If you keep calling me Senior Brother, you’re giving me far too much credit."
He turned to Qi Tian and scratched his head. "Brother Qi, we were a step too slow. Let’s find two vacant residences next to each other."
Technically, he should have called Qi Tian Junior Brother Qi. But Qian Duobao knew better than anyone that Qi Tian was definitely not simple. He didn’t dare call him "Junior Brother." Brother Qi was the safer choice.
Qi Tian shook his head, his gaze falling toward the edge of the map.
"No need. I’d like to find somewhere a little quieter. You get some rest. See you tomorrow morning."
Qian Duobao didn’t make a fuss. He waved and entered Profound Thirteen.
"All right. I’ll rest first, then. See you tomorrow!"
Qi Tian walked off alone and found a flat stone to sit on. He spread out the map and studied it carefully.
Suddenly, his gaze stopped at the very top of the Heaven district.
There, all by itself, was a single residence marked:
Heaven One.
Beside it was a conspicuous character:
Vacant.
"Heaven One is vacant?"
Qi Tian frowned.
The Heaven district already had the densest spiritual energy among all the inner sect residences, and Heaven One stood at the very highest point, overlooking the entire residential area. Why had no one chosen it?
After pondering for a moment, he rose and followed the path marked on the map.
The mountain path wound upward. The higher he went, the denser the spiritual energy became.
After turning past the final stone steps, the view suddenly opened up.
A secluded residence stood alone atop the highest ridge.
The entire structure was built from white jade stone, its upturned eaves resembling immortal cranes spreading their wings. A spiritual spring bubbled gently before the entrance, with several stalks of spiritual bamboo growing beside it. They swayed softly in the breeze, producing clear, jade-like chimes as their leaves brushed together.
A faint layer of cloud-like mist enveloped the entire residence.
Under the moonlight, it looked like something straight out of an immortal realm.
Qi Tian stood before the door and drew a deep breath.
"Hard to imagine that a place like this is actually unoccupied."
He pushed the door open.
The interior was spotless, without a trace of dust. Elegant, exquisitely carved furniture filled the room.
Qi Tian raised a hand and lit the spirit-stone lamp.
Meanwhile, outside the Heaven Eight residence.
Chen Yuan was leaning against the doorframe, chatting with several fellow disciples about all sorts of amusing incidents from today’s recruitment ceremony. He was talking animatedly, one story after another, keeping the whole group entertained.
Suddenly, Chen Yuan slapped his forehead.
"Ah! I forgot to tell them... Don’t choose Heaven One!"
A disciple beside him laughed dismissively.
"They’re all newcomers who just entered the sect. They should have some sense. They won’t go choosing Heaven One."
"True..."
Chen Yuan instinctively looked up toward the top of the ridge.
Under the night sky, a lone white-jade residence stood at the highest point.
Inside it, a single spirit-stone lamp had quietly lit up.
Like a solitary star fallen from the heavens, its faint glow stood out sharply against the darkness.
Chen Yuan’s face suddenly changed.
"Oh, no!"