NCCnovel Chapter 14 Xuanwu Hall
Chapter 14 Xuanwu Hall
The Heming Sect is located in the deep clouds of this mountain range. The boundless formation separates immortals and mortals. Only those who hold the sect's token or know the password, or are led by someone, can enter. Otherwise, you will never find any trace of immortals even if you search for a lifetime in this mountain range.
Within the formation, towers and pavilions stand among the mountains, cranes circle in the sky, and occasionally spiritual pets and auspicious beasts disappear in the forest.
"Brush brush"
Disciples of the Heming Sect, dressed in uniform, stepped on flying swords and controlled spiritual treasures, and flashed by below.
On the flying boat, Gu Chi and the big black dog lay on the railings, exclaiming in amazement almost non-stop.
"boom"
The flying boat slowly stopped at a huge open-air square. Many people gathered in the square. Some were practicing swords, some were fighting and sparring, and some were laughing and talking about interesting things. At this moment, they all stopped what they were doing and looked towards the flying boat.
"It's Elder Cang Yun's flying boat. It seems he has returned from his travels."
"Look, there are people on the flying boat. They must be the talented young men that Elder Cang Yun found while traveling around the world."
Many people were whispering and pointing at the dozen or so young men and women on the flying boat.
"Elder Cang Yun's aesthetic taste isn't very good either. The looks of these junior brothers and sisters all seem quite mediocre."
"For cultivators like me, the most important things are our aptitude, talent, and understanding! Appearance? It's just a shell, what good can it do?"
Led by Elder Cang Yun, a group of people got off the flying boat. Feeling the eyes focused on them from all directions, many of them seemed a little at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Gu Chi and the big black dog walked at the back, stretching their necks to look around. How come there wasn't even a welcome ceremony for joining the sect?
Elder Cang Yun pointed to the eastern end of the square, where a green-tiled building nestled against an ancient tree stood. He said to the crowd behind him, "Go there and receive your sect membership gifts."
Upon hearing this, everyone trotted over and lined up to receive the Heming Sect's uniforms and tokens.
"The Dust Purification Technique", "Qi Breathing Method", "Heming Sect Disciples' Code of Ethical Conduct" and a storage bag..." Gu Chi and the big black dog also received the "Newbie Gift Pack" and were counting each item, laughing so hard that they couldn't stop.
The young disciple in charge of distributing the initiation items to the newcomers frowned slightly and said, "After you've collected your items, hurry to the sect's main hall to register and choose the branch you wish to join. These are just the basics for you. Your future will depend on your contributions to the sect."
"Thank you, senior brother, for reminding me."
Gu Chi smiled and nodded, and quickly changed into the uniform of Heming Sect. Needless to say, his temperament immediately improved.
"Junior Sister Gu." Chen Sheng had also changed into his clothes and walked towards her, taking the initiative to ask, "Would you like to report to the sect hall together?"
"We're on the way anyway, so let's go together." Gu Chi nodded, followed Chen Sheng with the big black dog, and walked down from the side of the square along a mountain path carved out of the cliff.
The main hall of the Heming Sect covers a large area and is solemn and magnificent. From a distance, it looks like an emperor sitting on a throne, giving people a sense of visual and psychological shock.
This is the busiest place in the entire Heming Sect every day. Countless disciples and elders come in and out, and the seventy-two jade stages in front of the hall gate have been left with footprints.
"Let's go, Junior Sister Gu."
Chen Sheng straightened his clothes, walked up the stairs and into the sect hall. His heart was full of excitement and his eyes were full of imagination and longing for the future.
The sect's main hall was bustling with activity, and the noise was as noisy as a chaotic vegetable market.
There's no way around it. This is the center of Heming Sect's affairs. If it were deserted with no one here, that would be truly abnormal.
"Junior Sister Gu, have you decided which gang you want to join?" Chen Sheng looked back.
Gu Chi shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about it yet."
She knew that Senior Brother Chen Sheng wanted to recruit her to join the White Tiger Hall, but the heavy workload of the White Tiger Hall went against her plans, so she was the first one to be excluded.
Chen Sheng nodded slightly, and without saying anything more, he said, "Well, then I'll go to the reception desk of the White Tiger Hall to register first."
"Lao Hei, look at these carved and painted beams and pillars, and then look at these gilded carvings. Every detail is handled so well..." Gu Chi stood in front of a black gilded pillar with the big black dog, admiring the dragon and phoenix carvings on it.
At this moment, a beautiful young woman passed by and suddenly stopped. She looked back at Gu Chi and the big black dog, and a look of confusion flashed across her bright eyes. She asked, "What are you looking at?"
Gu Chi looked back for the sound, but couldn't sense the other party's specific cultivation level. There were only two possibilities in this situation: the other party was either a mortal, or his realm of cultivation was much higher than hers, so that she couldn't sense it.
But how could a mortal appear in Heming Sect? Obviously, it was the latter possibility!
Gu Chi hurriedly bowed with the big black dog and said, "Greetings, Senior Sister. We are here to admire the carvings in the sect's main hall."
"What?"
The young woman was stunned for a few seconds, then looked up at the pillar in front of her, wondering if there was something mysterious about the gilded carvings on it.
She looked for a long time but found nothing. She cleared her throat and said, "Ahem, Junior Sister, you must know that time is money. It's better not to waste your precious time on such useless things."
"That's right, Senior Sister." Gu Chi bowed with a smile.
The young woman noticed that the man and the dog were both carrying various bags of varying sizes. Gu Chi, in particular, had two swords hanging from his waist that were over four feet long, almost as tall as a person, and very eye-catching.
"Are you a new disciple?" asked the young woman.
Gu Chi said: "Well, I haven't registered to choose a hall yet."
"When choosing a hall, you must choose the one that suits you best. Don't be careless. Although you can change it later, it will cost a lot of contribution points, which is really not worth it."
The young woman was quite outgoing and familiar, like an enthusiastic sister next door. Holding Gu Chi in one hand and the dog leash in the other, she introduced to them the differences between the five branches of the Heming Sect.
Among the five halls, the one with the largest number of members and the busiest business is definitely the White Tiger Hall.
The White Tiger is the main weapon and the sect's sword. It is not only used to exorcise demons and monsters, but also to do things that cannot be done openly, which need to be done secretly by this sword.
In addition, the White Tiger Hall is also a law enforcement hall, and has the right to directly arrest and interrogate people within the sect. Even if you are an elder, as long as you do not behave yourself, you will still be arrested and interrogated in the jail.
Gu Chi thought to himself, "Isn't this the Jinyiwei? They have to do all the dirty, tiring and offensive work."
"Don't think the right to directly arrest someone for questioning is that powerful. Without solid evidence, no one dares to casually arrest someone for questioning. If no evidence is found afterwards, there will be a heavy penalty."
"That's right." Gu Chi nodded repeatedly.
The young woman continued, "The busiest one is the White Tiger Hall, and the least popular one is the Black Tortoise Hall."
Gu Chi was puzzled. As far as she knew, wasn't the Xuanwu Hall, which oversaw the Spiritual Medicine Garden, the easiest of the five halls? Wasn't that an unpopular choice?
Seeing her thoughts, the young woman smiled and said, "You only see the ease of managing the spiritual medicine garden, but overlook the most important point. The growth cycle of spiritual herbs is very long."
The contribution value of Xuanwu Hall does not mean that you only need to complete tasks such as irrigating spiritual water and clearing weeds every day. It depends on whether the share of spiritual medicine you submit each year can meet the prescribed requirements. If the prescribed share requirements are not met, then a whole year's hard work will be in vain.
Furthermore, even if the amount of spiritual medicine handed in meets the requirement, the contribution value for the whole year is still less than that of other halls in a month.
"There were many new disciples like you who thought that after joining the Xuanwu Hall, they could easily earn contribution points by simply watering and weeding the herb garden every day. However, in the end, not only did they fail to meet the annual spiritual medicine quota requirements and earn no contribution points, they were also scolded by their superiors."
The young woman pointed to the Xuanwu Hall's reception desk not far away and smacked her lips as she said, "The few people in the Xuanwu Hall have already accumulated enough contribution points to switch to another hall, but because there are no new members joining, there's no one to take over. They can't change even if they want to. It's so miserable."
Gu Chi said, "I think Xuanwu Hall is quite suitable for me."
There are few people and she doesn't have to interact with outsiders much, which not only avoids conflicts with other disciples but also allows her to practice in secret without being disturbed. This Xuanwu Hall seems to be designed specifically for her.
"What? Junior sister, what did you just say?" The young woman scratched her ears, wondering if she had heard it wrong.
Gu Chi said: "Senior sister, don't worry about me. My big black dog and I have some experience in cultivating spiritual medicines. Xuanwu Hall is very suitable for us."
The young woman frowned and said, "Junior sister, you must think carefully. Once you enter the Xuanwu Hall, it's like entering a deep sea. It's easy to get in, but it's as difficult as climbing to the sky to get out."
Although it was only their first meeting, the young woman still liked Gu Chi very much. She didn't want to see her ruin her future and tried her best to dissuade her, but Gu Chi was determined to leave.
"Well, well, since you're so confident in yourself, I respect your decision. By the way, what's your name?"
"Gu Qing."
"Gu Qing...it's a nice name. My name is Le Huaxin, from the Qinglong Hall. If you have any questions or encounter any troubles in the future, you can come to me. I will support you."
Le Huaxin smiled brightly, then took out a talisman from her storage ring and handed it to Gu Chi, saying, "If you need anything, just transfer your magic power into the talisman and then crush it. I will be able to sense it."
Gu Chi was flattered. He carefully put the talisman away and thanked him solemnly.
"Then you should go to the Xuanwu Hall to register and report. I'll be leaving first."
"Okay senior sister."
Gu Chi and the big black dog watched Le Huaxin leave, then found the reception desk of the Xuanwu Hall, slammed one hand on the table, and said, "Elder, I want to join the Xuanwu Hall and manage the medicine garden!"
There was no one in front of the reception desk at the entrance of Xuanwu Hall, and people passing by didn't even bother to glance at it.
An old, withered man sat behind a desk. He slowly opened his heavy eyelids and said, "When did I get the position of elder? I'm your senior brother!"
Suddenly, his eyes widened. "What did you just say? You want to join the Xuanwu Hall?"
Gu Chi nodded and said firmly, "Yes, that's right. We want to join the Xuanwu Hall."
The skinny old man glanced at the big black dog beside Gu Chi and said, "Is this your spiritual pet?"
"No, it joined the Heming Sect with me. Look, it still has the identity token issued by the sect." Gu Chi showed the identity token of the big black dog and explained.
The skinny old man simply nodded slightly, took out two documents, and had one man and one dog place their fingerprints and paw prints on them. He then handed them two jade pendants and said, "This is the forbidden token of the medicine garden. Only those holding this token can enter the medicine garden."
"Thank you, senior brother!" Gu Chi held the jade pendant with a look of joy on his face.
"No need to thank me. I'm afraid you'll regret it soon." The skinny old man said meaningfully, his eyelids drooping. "Just hand over the elixir to the main hall at the entrance of Xuanwu Hall every year."
Following the guidance of the jade pendant, Gu Chi brought the big black dog out of the sect hall and came to a quiet and remote open mountain area. There were orchids, jade trees and all kinds of exotic flowers and plants that they had never seen before. The land was full of elegant fragrance, which made people feel refreshed.
"What a pure land." Gu Chi sighed.
The big black dog was attracted by a butterfly and ran out at once.
"Old Black, don't run around. Be careful of any forbidden traps!" Gu Chi quickly called it back.
According to the guidance of the jade pendant, the location of the medicine garden is on this mountain. Gu Chi injected his magic power into the jade pendant, and a soft light bloomed from the palm of his hand. There were complicated and mysterious array patterns emerging under their feet, and a glowing portal appeared from the void.
"Let's go, Old Black."
Gu Chi walked into the light gate with the big black dog, and a whole new world appeared before his eyes.
This is a secret place with mountains, water and lush forests. At the foot of the mountain is a green plain with hundreds of acres of fertile land and various magical herbs with elegant fragrance.
Deep in the ground, under a huge ancient tree that was glittering and crystal clear like a jade carving, there was a simple thatched hut. At this moment, on a stone bench in front of the hut, an old man with white hair burst into tears of excitement when he saw a man and a dog appearing in front of him.
"Old senior..." Gu Chi greeted politely.
"Senior is bullshit! Call me senior brother!!!" The white-haired old man flashed over and came closer. Looking at the tall man and dog in front of him, he felt like he saw his long-lost father, tears streaming down his face.
"senior……"
"Call me brother!"
"Uh... Brother, why are you crying?"
"It's nothing. I'm so happy to see you guys, I'm crying with joy!"
The old man patted Gu Chi's shoulder, touched the big black dog's head, and said in a trembling voice: "Good man! Good dog! From now on, this place will be handed over to you, do a good job!"
"Yes! We will!" Gu Chi nodded seriously.
The big black dog also held its head high, feeling as if it had been entrusted with an important task.