The Undying Immortal System

After the competition, I didn't join anyone in a big celebration. I didn't take part in any grand winner's feast. I simply walked home.

On the way, I was stopped by Deacon Ma.

"Follow me."

He took me once more into the forests surrounding the city. The more I visited this place, the more disturbing the landscape became. The fact that we only ever walked in a perfectly straight line and that there were never any hills or valleys on the path felt more unnatural the more I was exposed to it.

After a short walk, a building appeared in front of us. It was a normal building. It had gray-brick walls and a traditional ceramic tile roof. It wouldn't have looked out of place in the sect or back in Dragon Gate City, but this perfectly normal building was standing in the middle of a dense forest.

Deacon Ma guided me inside, and the sounds of the forest disappeared.

Inside the building was a small, quiet reception room with a long wooden counter dividing the space in two. Manning the counter was an older-looking man in a deacon's robes.

He looked up from a stack of papers as we approached. "Oh, hello, how can I help you?"

Deacon Ma spoke before I could even open my mouth. "New disciple for the outer sect. He needs to be registered and given his new jade and robes."

"Name?"

This question was asked to me, but Deacon Ma quickly provided the answer before I could respond. "Su Fang."

The man picked up some of the papers he had been looking at earlier and shuffled through them. "Here it is. Su Fang. Registered as an in-name disciple to Elder Mu. Is that correct?"

"Yes," answered Ma.

The man cleared his throat and looked me squarely in the eyes.

"Su Fang, you are allowed to choose any elder who will accept you to be your master. You may also choose to have no master at all." The deacon waved dismissively at Ma. "While he may wish to quickly sweep you up, it is your choice to make. Do you wish to be registered as Elder Mu's in-name disciple, or do you want to take an opportunity to see if a different master would be a better fit?"

I had considered the possibility of this happening earlier. While I wasn't entirely happy with the treatment provided by Elder Ma, he had helped me boost my affinity. That was a huge debt that needed to be repaid.

"I will stay with Elder Mu, deacon."

"Listen for a moment. This is not a decision to be made lightly. Few would appreciate a disciple who abandons one master for another, so after you make this decision, it will not be something you can change easily. I do not know what promises Deacon Ma has made on behalf of Elder Mu, but as an in-name disciple, the resources and training provided to you will be limited. It would be better to find a true master, even if they are weaker than Elder Mu."

Deacon Ma scowled at the other man, but he held his tongue. There seemed to be rules in place that prevented him from stopping this conversation. Even if they were just social conventions, not true rules, Deacon Ma was hesitant to break them.

"I understand, deacon. Thank you. I still wish to follow Elder Mu."

"Very well. Here is your identity token as an outer sect disciple. Place a drop of blood on it now so that it recognizes you. After that, no one else will be able to use it."

He handed me a palm-size jade token similar to the one I had been wearing as a nominal disciple. The only difference was the character 外, outer, was carved into it. I took a small knife from the deacon and cut the tip of my finger, allowing a small drop of blood to drip onto the jade. The blood quickly vanished, and I felt a small, nebulous connection form between me and the jade.

I replaced my old jade token with this new one and was now officially marked as an outer sect disciple for the first time.

"Here are the robes of an outer sect disciple. Wear them from now on," he said, handing over a folded pale blue hanfu.

After I took them, Deacon Ma grabbed my shoulder to guide me out.

"That's enough, let's go."

The door opened, and I stepped out, but I was not greeted by a quiet forest. The entire place had transformed into a small mountain village. A low wall surrounded a collection of a dozen or so small brick buildings.

I looked to my right and saw the mountain where the core of the sect was located. Before, all I had seen was a blanket of trees covering nearly everything. Now, the trees had all disappeared. Instead, the mountain appeared to be little more than a series of rocky outcroppings with tall gray-brick buildings standing atop each cliff. Worn, carved stone paths crisscrossed the mountain to connect a series of small enclaves, and one large road led down to an opening in the village's wall.

After staring at the scene for several moments, I turned my head to the left.

I saw the city I had lived in for so many years. Only a small line of sparse trees separated this village from that city. Standing where I was, I could see no sign of the ancient forest that I had walked through three separate times.

Deacon Ma chuckled slightly. "Welcome to the Twin Mountains Sect. Let's get going."

The deacon led me on a zig-zagging trail up the mountain. The path that had been carved into its face was long and winding, but it wasn't too difficult a climb. At several places where the path became too steep, it transformed into a small set of stairs to help ease our passage.

As we walked, I studied my surroundings to get a better feel for my new home. Almost no vegetation grew on the mountain, with only a few hardy scrub plants occasionally appearing.

While the main path was wide and clearly marked, we passed several small side branches that led to parts unknown. At almost every branch, the smaller path would have a red paifang arch marking its entrance.

As we passed one of the arches, Deacon Ma pointed to it. "Those mark the domain of an elder. You should never pass through an archway without the express permission of one of the residents."

There was no talk of penalty or punishment, and he did not say why I should not do so. It was simply a rule.

A little past halfway up the mountain, Deacon Ma finally took one of the side branches. We passed under an arch and entered the domain of Elder Mu. Along this smaller side path, there were several openings into the mountain. These were not simple caves but hand-carved openings into purpose-built rooms within the mountain.

Between these large openings, there were several sets of stairs leading to a network of smaller cave openings above and below us. In total, I spotted roughly three dozen entrances, but there were likely more.

Deacon Ma led me out onto a bluff that jutted from the mountainside. From this vantage, I could see the small village we had just left, the city I had lived in for several years, and River Rock, the town that served as a gateway into the sect.

Looking at River Rock, I could see the square where all the hopefully young men and women had gathered for the sect's disciple selection. Two paths led away from it. One path went straight into a dense forest while the other was a very short path to another large plaza. That plaza was the place where I took the alchemy test. Two paths also split from that plaza. One of them curved around and led back to River Rock while the other led to the sect's city.

Each time I had walked any of those paths, it felt like I had been teleported to a brand-new location, but from here, I could see that I had just walked a short path less than ten meters long. Everything else had been an illusion.

I looked at the second path leading away from River Rock. It looked like it led into a dense forest, but I was sure that wasn't the case. Likely, this outer sect badge had only allowed me to see through the illusions that existed on the Alchemy Peak. I was still blocked from seeing the Martial Peak.

At the edge of the bluff stood a large, two-tiered brick building. Similar to those I had seen in the village, it was built from gray bricks and had a yellow ceramic roof. However, the wooden supports and door of this building had been carved into a variety of designs, such as dragons and phoenixes.

Deacon Ma took me into the building, through a small antechamber, and into a somewhat disorderly office. Paper and bamboo scrolls were scattered everywhere, and nearly every flat surface was covered with them. Behind a desk stacked with parchments, Elder Mu sat studying a book.

The deacon gestured for me to sit across from the elder and then left the room and closed the door behind him.

I waited there for over ten minutes before Elder Mu closed the book he was reading and put it on the desk between us.

"You don't have a proper spirit fire. This is a problem."

He studied me with narrowed eyes.

"To concoct Rank 2 and above pills, you must have a spirit fire, but you only have a fire seed. This should be better, but no one in this sect can teach you how to control it. It is only possible to claim a fire seed after you have entered the ruler tier, but even a Martial Lord would still have a tough time surviving the process. This means that no one in the entire sect has any experience with them."

I waited for him to continue, but it seemed like he was waiting for me to speak first.

"What can I do?"

"I will give you this." He tapped the book he had just set down. "It has some information on controlling fire seeds, but it isn't perfect. This is not a technique scroll. It's more of a journal from someone learning to use a fire seed. While it should help, it will still take you time to learn to use the fire seed properly, and that is a problem. Until you learn to control it, you will not be able to compete against the other disciples in the outer sect. You need to be able to create at least mediocre Rank 2 pills if you want a chance to make a name for yourself."

Learning that I would need to control the seed from this type of journal was a bit disappointing, but I would find a way to manage it. Even if it took me longer to 'make a name for myself,' I didn't care overmuch. I would just do what I needed to do and rise as far as I could.

My main concern was that I wouldn't be able to learn a complex skill from a simple journal. Without a proper technique scroll, I wasn't sure I would have the information needed to do it. If not, I would have to hope that my remaining credits would be enough for the System to help me out.

After giving me the book, Elder Mu changed the topic of the conversation.

"You have lived in the city of the nominal disciples for several years now. What do you think of it?"

I didn't know what he wanted to hear, so I spoke honestly.

"It feels like a prison. It's a big place, and it provides everything the people need, but those who live there are stuck there. After so many years, many don't even think about the outside world anymore. The cultivation techniques they're taught coerce them to be obedient workers, and they lose the desire to learn and grow."

Elder Mu nodded. "And what about the sect rules? Have you considered them? No fighting. No bullying people for resources. No physical confrontations at all. Have you noticed how there are no fighting techniques in the Technique Hall? Have you noticed that no one even talks about fighting?"

I paused to carefully consider this. I, myself, hadn't thought about fighting or improving my martial strength since I left the Su Clan. Part of the reason had to be my negative experiences in the clan, but was that all? I had largely adopted the viewpoint of most nominal disciples, and none of them seemed to even think about fighting either.

This seemed… strange. All I needed to do was learn to cultivate and practice my alchemy, I knew that, but it felt a bit off that I hadn't even considered learning to defend myself.

"Why? Why don't you train us to fight? Is it just so we don't rise up against the sect? I don't think that would happen even if you did."

He looked me straight in the eye. "Because this is the path the leaders of the Wastes have chosen for it."

He paused briefly to let me consider, but I didn't have the knowledge to understand his meaning, so he continued.

"There is a saying. 'Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. There is the Jianghu.' In the outside world, the Jianghu is a simple fact of life. No matter where you go, you will always find people fighting against each other to succeed. In some places, that will be through martial conflict, but in others, it will be through political maneuvering. No matter what form it takes, it is the Jianghu, the struggle to survive."

His stony face cracked, and he gave a wry chuckle. "But not in the Wastes. There is no such struggle here. It is impossible for anyone at the level of Martial Lord or stronger to enter the Wastes, and it is impossible for anyone to ascend to that realm while inside it. This means there are no powerful demon beasts to harass the locals, and there are no overly powerful threats to young cultivators. It is a perfect little garden for growing low-level herbs and training the next generation."

Elder Mu pointed to an old map hanging on the wall. In its center was a large, empty area. The entire place only had three marked dots. 'The Twin Mountains Sect,' 'Dragon Gate City,' and 'The Verdant Fields Sect.' Around this empty area were several nations with countless dots marking important locations.

"The powers surrounding the Wastes have turned it into a playground, and to protect this… resource, they have worked hard to stop the Jianghu from infecting it. The sect's city for nominal disciples is a pure expression of this desire to eliminate the Jianghu. You may pity those who have chosen to live there and never strive for more, but they are safe there. Those people would never survive the Jianghu."

Was this also the explanation for the actions of the Su Clan? While the Wastes might be protected from 'infection,' if that protection didn't extend inside the sect, it likely didn't extend to the Su Clan either. The Twin Mountains Sect provided a place for those who couldn't survive in this world to live and prosper, but the Su Clan had simply decided to ruthlessly discard those who could not survive the Jianghu.

"You, however, were able to overcome this… gelding and become an outer sect disciple. You are now part of the true Twin Mountains Sect, and this mountain does not have the protections from the Jianghu that the rest of the Wastes have. You will now be part of the struggle. Inside the sect, it is still tame, and as your in-name master, my presence will shield you from the worst of it, but you will still need to strive for advancement."

I nodded. I could see potential benefits to needing to struggle to advance. So far, the only thing pushing me forward was a personal desire to improve. I didn't care much about competing, but if it helped me improve, I would do my part.

"Does this mean I will be taught fighting techniques?"

"No, you walk the Dao of alchemy. That must be your focus. The Jianghu isn't simply about martial combat. To rise to the top of this sect, you must compete with others in alchemy. While you will now have access to a limited selection of martial skills, do not let them distract you from this core mission. If you try to learn everything, you will learn nothing."

He took a deep breath and looked deep into my eyes. "The more you compete in the sect and the better you do, the more credit I receive and the higher I will rise. I have recruited several disciples like you, but if Manager Chen is to be believed you may be the most influential. If your efforts earn me enough credit, I will reward you. If they do not, I will discard you. If you hinder me, I will kill you. That is the deal I am offering. Do you understand?"

I nodded solemnly. I didn't care much about competing against the other disciples. That wasn't important to me. I just wanted to improve my cultivation and alchemy. However, I owed Elder Mu a debt, so I would do my best to repay it.

"Deacon Ma serves as my eyes and ears in the city, so he cannot attend to you any longer. He will introduce you to the new contacts you should use instead."