Echo Lake—one of the hidden jewels of the Azure Origin Dao Sect—lay in the hilly borderlands between outer and inner sect.
To the north sprawled a vibrant forest, while nearby, clusters of peaks of all shapes and sizes huddled beneath the shadow of Voidshade Peak. Cypresses as old as legends crisscrossed the land, spilling their roots among mountain springs and fog-veiled waterfalls. Below one such cascade shimred Echo Lake, a water mirror vast and mysterious.
Echo Lake was not just wide—it was deep. Its broad shallows, splashing and sunlit, had long been claid by the inner sect’s female disciples as their private playground.
They liked to frolic, gossip, and cool off in those placid, shallow waters.
For anyone with a love of fish, though, it was a disappointnt. The real prizes—the fish, perhaps the lurking lake monsters—dwelled in the blue-black depths of the southern end. As always, the true fishing was far from the giggles and splashing laughter.
Ethan eyed the map.
"System, you just love giving trouble, huh?"
[...]
The system, of course, was silent as stone.
He smirked.
"But it doesn’t matter now."
With his current status and strength, Ethan could wander through Echo Lake’s busiest banks unchallenged—swaggering even—and nobody would dare say a word. Opinions? Let them have opinions. In this world, as he’d learned, power was identity.
Of course, he wasn’t interested in ogling the so-called "beautiful scenery." Two eyes, nose, mouth—what’s the thrill? Even dancing naked, it was just more skin and noise.
His mind slid the system panel away with a thought. Grabbing his familiar gear—barrel and rod—he headed for his tiny mountain ho.
Once inside, Ethan opened the cold jade bottle, letting blue fla soar out. The spirit-fire, once larval, had grown surprisingly docile under his watchful hand. With a little discipline, Blue was now an eager, bright-eyed creature, bobbing about excitedly.
Ethan fished out the fla jade from his storage ring, holding it up with a smile.
"This’ll be your food. Eat well, grow quickly," he teased, tossing the fiery stone skyward.
Blue fla landed atop the jade, wings fluttering, beak alight, and began absorbing energy contentedly.
Satisfied, Ethan stepped outside and studied his courtyard’s defenses. Eight formations, inside and out, already shimred on command, but paranoia nudged him to plunder his treasure store for more.
Low-level, high-level, basic or esoteric, he layered them all.
Thirty-six formations in total—enough that even if soone at Lyralei’s level ca, he’d have ti to react before anything broke through. To the untrained eye it was a humble yard; in truth, a fortress of spirit-arrays and formations.
With his property secured, Ethan checked the map for the quickest way to the Peak.
The fire jade and purple chalcedony he already possessed would keep blue fla fed for now, but he knew the truth: true transformation would demand much, much more. Liana, with her mastery of dicinal plants and her connections atop the peak, was his best shot.
Besides, he was finally at the gateway to the peak of the third stage of the Celestial Jade Physique Scripture. Each stage took exponentially more resources than the last. The road ahead was one paved with sweat, patience, and, he was learning, gold.
He sighed quietly.
"This scripture is a monster. If the system weren’t their, even ten years with the sect’s best would’ve barely gotten past the First level."
Rather than use the phoenix-feathered flying treasure in his ring, Ethan strolled down the path. He liked to walk. Half an hour later, mountains lood before him.
Unlike other peaks, the Peak wasn’t a single spire but a range crowned with four main summits.
The central peak, tallest and proudest, soared so high that its tip brushed the clouds. Ethan paused at the base, admiring the gate: a wide arch of flawless white jade, two mighty characters etched in gold so vibrant they seed to ripple on sight. Their carved lines danced with a dragon’s energy and a phoenix’s grace.
He nodded appreciatively. "So this is wealth. The other Peaks must envy this so much."
Beneath the gate, stone stairs stretched skyward—broad, clean, almost military in their precision. Blue-robed disciples bustled up and down the stairs, their white-trimd sleeves and furnace crests marking them as the Peak’s discipels. In the crowd, Ethan also spotted disciples from other peaks, so gawking in wonder, so haggling at market stalls near the base.
The peak, after all, wasn’t just rich in dicines and rare plants. It was the business heart of the sect: its treasure pavilions and auctions renowned, its open markets a magnet for traders. Here, people ca as much to barter as to train.
Ethan followed the throng, his eyes drinking in the spectacle.
This was his first ti at the Peak, and the map, rudintary as it was, gave only the broadest outlines.
"Where does Liana live anyway?" he wondered, glancing at the ever-changing sea of faces around him.
He decided to ask for directions.
Spotting two Peak disciples by the market entrance, he strode over.
"Excuse ," he called. The two turned, eyeing him up and down.
"And you are?" one asked warily.
Ethan asked. "Two junior brothers, do you know where junior sister Liana lives".
Before the one who spoke could answer, a thin-lipped youth with a nervous energy, interrupted.
"Junior Sister Liana? Who’s asking? And dressed like that, too. Which peak sent you—a wandering toad hoping to eat swan at?"
Ethan blinked, montarily speechless.
He glanced at his simple blue robe—practical, clean, but nothing fancy. Had it really beco so easy to draw suspicion with plain clothes around here?
Still, he felt more amused than angered. It seed the world had grown pricklier during his decade beside the Mirror Lake.
"Look, don’t get ahead of yourself," Ethan replied, narrowing his gaze and biting back a grin. "I just wanted directions. No need for labels."
A/N:
Extra Chapters
100 power stones - 1 Extra Chapters
200 power stones - 2 Extra Chapters
Capsule - 1 Extra Chapters
Massage Chair - 3 Extra Chapters
Luxury Car - 5 Extra Chapters
Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters
....
Thanks for the Inspiration capsule: @Achillios
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