Chapter 40: Life in the Inner Sect
After calming the future “Fire Cloud Mouse,” Lin Jing stepped into the alchemy room inside his cave residence.
The walls of the room were lined with millennium-old cold stones to regulate the temperature, while an old alchemy stove sat in the center. Below the stove, a blazing fire connected to the earth's depths. Apart from that, the room was barren.
“This cave... feels a bit ancient,” Lin Jing muttered.
“Elder Shen said this was the best available cave. Is that true...”
Lin Jing activated the Fire Control Technique jade slip and absorbed its thods into his mind.
With his previous experience creating the Thousand Changes Illusion Technique, he found the basic fire-controlling spell relatively simple to grasp.
He ford a hand seal, and on his first try, successfully used his Qi to draw the earthfire upward. However, the flas nearly scorched the nearby Pine Leaf Mouse, which leapt aside, its fur standing on end.
“Chirp!”
As sparks flew, the Pine Leaf Mouse glared at Lin Jing with a furious expression. Attempted pet-murder! Fortunately, it was unsuccessful.
“Sorry about that! It’s my first ti; I’m still getting the hang of it,” Lin Jing apologized. “But if you learned fire techniques, you wouldn’t have to fear fire anymore.”
The Pine Leaf Mouse protested—did he think it was that foolish?
“Alright, it won’t happen again. A little practice, and mastering the entry-level Fire Control Technique should be no problem. Let’s take a break and explore outside,” Lin Jing said, trying to console it.
Outside the cave, Lin Jing first headed to the Harvest Pavilion branch on Danxia Peak.
Unlike the outer sect's Harvest Pavilion, which sold basic spiritual crops like Immortal Beans and Spiritual Beans, the offerings here were of a higher tier.
“Fire Cloud Chili? The Beast Taming Sect doesn’t have that.”
Unfortunately, Lin Jing’s desired Fire Cloud Chili was not in stock.
As they left the pavilion, the Pine Leaf Mouse perched on his shoulder looked noticeably relieved—no spicy food today. But its relief was short-lived.
Lin Jing had left Danxia Peak and climbed to the highest peak of the Beast Taming Sect: the Inner Sect Mission Hall.
The missions here were far more advanced than those in the Outer Sect. Most revolved around slaying monsters and demons. Even Senior Brother Ouyang’s undercover mission in the Demon Sect was likely issued here.
“I’d like to post a mission: ‘Search for Fire Cloud Chili Seeds,’” Lin Jing announced as he inserted his request among the sea of high-level missions.
“A new face?”
The one in charge of the Mission Hall wasn’t a disciple but rather a Foundation Establishnt bird demon resembling a magpie. It was one of the elders’ spirit pets, tasked with managing the hall.
Legend had it that this magpie would sing a “Good Luck Song” whenever a disciple left for a mission, wishing them safety. Whenever soone failed to return, it was said to weep bitterly.
“Senior, I am Lin Jing, a newly promoted Inner Sect disciple from Danxia Peak,” Lin Jing introduced himself respectfully.
“Hmm, based on the timing, the Inner Sect trials just ended,” the magpie demon nodded. “Posting a mission requires one Spirit Stone. What’s your mission’s reward?”
“Spirit Stones,” Lin Jing replied. While the storage pouch he’d acquired from the Snow Plains Cultivator didn’t contain anything valuable, it did hold basic currency like Spirit Stones. The rest, such as beast blood, had been gifted to his senior brothers and sisters. The remaining Spirit Stones could now fund the Pine Leaf Mouse’s chili indulgence.
After completing the task, Lin Jing left the Mission Hall satisfied. On the way back to his cave, he stopped in front of the Pill Tower on Danxia Peak.
The Pill Tower was essentially Danxia Peak’s exclusive Scripture Pavilion. Unlike the main Scripture Pavilion, which stored various techniques, the Pill Tower housed countless pill recipes for Danxia Peak disciples to study.
“Now that I have the alchemy room and the Fire Control Technique, the best way to learn alchemy is through hands-on practice. Let’s grab a couple of basic pill recipes,” Lin Jing told the sullen Pine Leaf Mouse on his shoulder.
“Chirp...” It wasn’t interested in eating chilies.
“Relax, I won’t force you. Once Elder Black Bear experints with it and proves it safe, I’ll handle the fire-breathing myself,” Lin Jing assured the mouse, feeling he was too kind to let his pet suffer.
Upon entering the Pill Tower, Lin Jing found its guardian wasn’t human either—it was a Foundation Establishnt rabbit demon with red eyes.
“Are you the newly admitted Lin Jing from Danxia Peak?” the rabbit demon asked.
“Senior recognizes ?”
“My Beast Tar is Elder Shen, and she inford about you. She ntioned that if you ca to the Pill Tower, I should help you select suitable pill recipes for practice. But I didn’t expect you so soon,” the rabbit demon said. “Have you morized the Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna? Have you mastered the Fire Control Technique? And you’re already looking for pill recipes?”
Lin Jing nodded. “I’ve completed morizing the flora encyclopedia and have grasped the basics of the Fire Control Technique.”
“As expected of a genius valued by Elder Shen,” the rabbit demon nodded approvingly. “The first floor contains basic pill recipes suitable for the Qi Refining stage and first-tier pills. The second floor holds more advanced recipes, such as various types of Foundation Establishnt Pills, which require contribution points to access.”
“I’ll stick to selecting two from the first floor,” Lin Jing replied.
“Go ahead and choose. I’ll offer my advice afterward,” the rabbit demon said, rolling a piece of tobacco and sitting back leisurely to smoke.
Lin Jing stood silently for a mont. A smoking rabbit demon?
He covered the Pine Leaf Mouse’s curious eyes and started perusing the first floor’s pill recipes.
Replenishing Pill... Lin Jing had consud plenty of these before. They restored spiritual energy and were universally applicable across all cultivation realms, though their recipes varied by grade.
Beast Strength Pill, which temporarily granted the physical strength of a fierce beast to the user.
Fasting Pill...
Huh? Contraceptive Pill?
Lin Jing paused, spotting sothing familiar. Wasn’t there a “Contraceptive Technique” as well?
Next to it were other recipes, including Arousal Powder and Hypnotic Pill.
Lin Jing’s mouth twitched. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he’d wandered into the Harmony Sect instead of the Beast Taming Sect.
“Senior, I’ve made my selection,” Lin Jing said after a while, bringing two pill recipes to the rabbit demon.
“The Replenishing Pill... A solid beginner’s choice. Perfect for practice,” the rabbit demon said. Then it frowned. “But why the Hypnotic Pill? What do you need that for?”
“I recomnd the Beast Strength Pill instead. Your Pine Leaf Mouse is too fragile, and as a Beast Tar, so are you. A Beast Strength Pill can grant you the strength of a tiger or elephant during battle!”
“More importantly... Beast Strength Pills sell much better!”
“The Hypnotic Pill induces hallucinations, blurring the line between illusion and reality for a ti,” Lin Jing explained. “I’m currently studying Illusionary Path techniques, so I thought ingesting a few myself might provide so inspiration.”
“I see. That makes sense. Choose as you wish,” the rabbit demon conceded.
Returning to the cave with the recipes, Lin Jing flopped onto his bed, leaving the Pine Leaf Mouse to sort through the storage pouches.
Exhausted from his recent efforts and overuse of his ntal energy, Lin Jing finally took so ti to rest.
In his dream, he saw himself swallowing a Golden Core while the Pine Leaf Mouse cut open the path to ascension with a single leaf. Together, they beca the only cultivators in the Ancient Celestial Kingdom to ascend successfully to the Immortal Realm.
But before they could explore the Immortal Realm, they were knocked unconscious and bound, dragged off to mine in so celestial cave...
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