The Flying Crane flapped its wings, dove down, and landed on the Bluestone Plaza.
As a gale swirled, an old Daoist immediately came forward and led it aside.
"Outer Sect?"
"Yes."
"Go register your name at the Qi Gong Institute."
The old Daoist was in his fifties, but unlike the Mortal Servants of the Outer Sect, he didn't appear frail. On the contrary, he had a youthful complexion and white hair, and his vitality was abundant.
Jiang Yi performed a Daoist salute.
"Excuse me, Senior, which way is the Qi Gong Institute? This is my first time here, so I don't know the way."
The old Daoist glanced at him sideways, not wanting to engage.
After all, the gray Daoist Robe of an Outer Sect Mortal Servant was enough to reveal his status, making him lose all interest in conversation.
But he saw that Jiang Yi was quite young and fair-skinned, with a faint, jade-like luster between his brows. He didn't look like one of the short-lived cattle and horses who toiled away in the workshops.
The old Daoist paused for a moment and asked an extra question:
"Which Servant recommended you?"
"I was recommended by Marshal Yang of the Red Flame Peak's Quenching Room to come to the Inner Peak and attend the Preaching Elder's lecture."
Jiang Yi said in a steady voice.
'Yang Xun from Red Flame Peak?'
'So he's a Mortal Servant with connections, as I thought.'
The old Daoist's expression softened, and he pointed a finger.
"Go that way. There's a courtyard. Just have a word with the Daoist at the gate. Oh, and the Elder usually arrives around Wei Hour. You'd best get there during Si Hour to grab a seat, or else you'll have to stand and listen."
Jiang Yi thanked him, then immediately thought:
'Just like attending a professor's lecture. Seats are in high demand.'
Following the old Daoist's directions, he did indeed see a small courtyard with green tiles and white walls nestled in a corner of the plaza.
The main gate was half-open, and a middle-aged Daoist was leaning against it, dozing off.
'These 'Senior Brothers' of the Inner Peak all seem quite lazy and carefree, as if they're here for retirement.'
Pondering this, Jiang Yi slowly approached and called out softly:
"Excuse me... Senior Brother, is this where Outer Sect Mortal Servants register?"
The middle-aged Daoist must have been having a pleasant dream, as he was quite annoyed at being disturbed. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Go, go, go! Go over there and write your name yourself! Don't bother me!"
Jiang Yi gave a pleasant smile and said, "My apologies for bothering you, Senior Brother."
He then leaned over the long table set up at the entrance, took the brush, and wrote down his name and origin: "Jiang Yi, Quenching Room, Red Flame Peak."
He had figured it out. The Inner Peak's attitude toward Mortal Servants was basically, 'Those stinking outsiders are here to beg from us.'
While it wasn't outright loathing, there was a clear sense of disdain.
After registering, Jiang Yi returned to the old Daoist and cupped his hands.
"I would like to ask you, Senior, where does the Preaching Elder usually set up the altar to teach the Dharma?"
He didn't come empty-handed. As his words fell, several large, red talisman coins floated lightly into the old Daoist's hand.
When an Outer Sect Mortal Servant entered the Inner Peak, they were naturally in an unfamiliar place, completely in the dark.
He wondered how many cold shoulders He the Venerable had endured back in the day just to figure things out.
"See those stairs? Climb all the way to the top. You'll know you're there when you see a stone stele about thirty feet high."
The old Daoist deftly pocketed the talisman coins and cleared up his confusion.
Finally, perhaps because he saw that Jiang Yi knew how to behave, he added:
"I can see you're a sharp one, so I'll give you an extra piece of advice. Be smart when you pick a seat. Don't be a fool and touch the cushions at the front."
Jiang Yi's heart went cold. 'The Inner Peak must be a place with a strict hierarchy as well,' he thought. 'A slight transgression could lead to a fatal disaster.'
He performed another Daoist salute. The talisman coins for directions hadn't been wasted; they had bought him a valuable warning.
'Compared to the Outer Sect, with its murky Qi Mechanism and the clamor of a vegetable market, the Inner Peak is indeed much more serene.'
Jiang Yi ascended the stone steps. After walking for about an hour, the view before him suddenly opened up.
He let out a long breath and strode onto the wide, flat ground with his head held high.
Beside him stood a wide, eye-catching stone stele tens of feet high. On it was inscribed the single word 'Guanlan.'
'The bell that rings every day, urging the Mortal Servants of the Outer Sect Four Peaks to work, comes from here.'
It was just past Si Hour, so there weren't many people around, only a few scattered figures. Judging by their attire, they were all in gray robes.
'They must be the more ambitious Mortal Servants from the Outer Sect.'
Jiang Yi stood silently at the back, his gaze traveling straight across a distance of several dozen zhang to a nine-foot-high platform, around which were placed items like a Copper Chime, bells, and drums.
Further up was the Magic Altar, constructed from five-colored earth, with a single cattail cushion placed in the center.
Below the platform were seats, with about a hundred cattail cushions of various rattan and grass materials laid out for the Inner Peak Disciples and the Outer Sect Mortal Servants.
Jiang Yi found the most inconspicuous corner and sat down.
As Wei Hour approached, the crowd gradually grew, and a clamor arose.
"Elder Xu only holds a session once every ten days. He really makes us wait!"
"Indeed, indeed. I heard Senior Brother Xu has had a run of bad luck lately."
"Just a while ago, he killed a Mortal Servant on Red Flame Peak and had to pay a lot of talisman coins in compensation..."
Jiang Yi looked up. The Inner Peak Disciples were all dressed in Profound Robes. Every one of them was full of vitality, their eyes gleaming with Essence. They were like a pack of tigers and wolves, imposing and formidable.
They sat below the high platform, occupying the front cushions, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.
Others kept their distance, not daring to approach, as if a clear dividing line had been drawn.
However, the first two rows always remained empty. They were clearly the exclusive seats for the "Eldest Senior Brother" and "Eldest Senior Sister."
'These intricate rules of hierarchy and status are everywhere.'
Jiang Yi noted silently, then lamented:
'Not yet eighteen, newly arrived at the Inner Peak, and I'm like a common lackey.
'I can only hope that the next time I come, I'll be able to get a little closer to the Magic Altar.'
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The Copper Chime was struck, its long, resonant sound waves spreading in all directions.
Everyone's expression turned solemn, and all chatter ceased in unison.
An old man with a gaunt face and a long beard that hung to his chest arrived, riding the wind. He slowly descended onto the high platform and sat cross-legged on the cattail cushion.
This was none other than the sect's Preaching Elder. His surname was said to be Xu, and he was one of the foremost "big shots" of the Inner Peak.
"Last time, I, this old man, spoke of the customs and traditions of the Dongsheng Continent and the jungle Dharma Lineage of the Ximizhou Continent... Today, I will not lecture on the law or the Dao, but on antiquity and history, so that you may know what our Yanfu Vast Land is truly like."
Elder Xu's voice was loud and resonant, full of vigor, like a lion's roar, containing immense power.
It made the many Disciples and the few Mortal Servants below hold their breath and Mute their voices.
Jiang Yi glanced at the first two rows before the platform and saw the cushions were still empty. He thought:
'They haven't even arrived, yet no one dares to touch their seats. The hierarchy truly is strict.'
He cleared his mind of stray thoughts and focused his full attention on Elder Xu's history lesson.
'After spending several hundred talisman coins, I can't afford to slack off!'
"The Yanfu Vast Land, according to legend, is the ancestral land of ten thousand heavens and ten thousand Daos. It has survived numerous great calamities and cataclysms without being destroyed."
"It is said that in an era even more ancient than the Former Ancient Era, there were far more than just the Four Directions Continent..."
Elder Xu rambled on as usual, delivering a long, nostalgic speech, which could be boiled down to a single sentence.
'Our Yanfu Vast Land was once glorious!'
'A total fluff lecture.'
Jiang Yi complained inwardly.
"Then why are only the Four Directions Continent left?"
An Inner Peak Disciple asked.
This was one of the benefits of sitting in the front row—being able to have the Preaching Elder answer one's questions.
If a Mortal Servant from the back rows had spoken up and interrupted, it would have been called "insolent transgression." They would undoubtedly be punished.
"There are many different accounts of this matter, and no consensus has been reached. I, this old man, will only speak of the most widespread theories."
"One is that a great war occurred, and the Immortals, Buddhas, Demons, and Monsters, along with All Saints Daoist Monarchs, shattered the world. Earth, fire, water, and wind re-formed, leaving only the four continents."
WHOA!
Everyone gasped. For a Qi Cultivation Junior Cultivator, it was truly hard to imagine.
Just what kind of Great Divine Techniques could sink continents and shatter the sun and moon with a single raised hand?
"There is also another theory, which claims that during the Great Annihilation, All Saints Daoist Monarchs fought with all their might to protect the Yanfu Vast Land, preserving the Four Directions Continent..."
When Elder Xu reached this point, his tone was clearly mocking. He obviously didn't believe it.
"And finally, there's a rumor that before the Former Ancient Era, near the Middle Ancient Era, a titan of the Demon Dao defied the Celestial Lord and forcibly tore a continent away from the Yanfu Vast Land, fleeing beyond the heavens."
Hearing this, Jiang Yi's expression turned strange. 'That's quite literally "uprooting one's home and leaving the country."'
"For some unknown reason, this act prompted many Daoist Monarchs to follow suit. You took a piece, I took a piece, and so the Yanfu Vast Land was left with only the Four Directions Continent... Of course, this sounds more like a joke and is not to be believed."
Elder Xu then answered a few more questions, slowly steering the topic back to the Nanzhan Continent.
"Lastly, let me tell you about the 'War of the Daoist Lineages.' Don't be fooled into thinking that today's Yanfu Vast Land only has the Four Great Daoist Lineages of 'Immortal,' 'Demon,' 'Monster,' and 'Buddha.'"
"In reality, back at the beginning of the Former Ancient Era, about 128,400 years ago, there was a world-shakingly brilliant Supreme Dharma Lineage that nearly established a fifth Daoist Lineage and created another continent."
This grand opening immediately captivated everyone. Regardless of whether they were Inner Peak Disciples or Outer Sect Mortal Servants, all looked toward Elder Xu on the high platform with expectant eyes.
This left the Elder quite satisfied, and he said slowly:
"It is said that 128,400 years ago, a Dharma Lineage used the 'sword' as its foundation to prove its Dao and ascend to its rightful place."
"It arose from the east, cleaved open the Great Void, passed through our Nanzhan Continent, and charged toward the Ximizhou Continent to challenge the Great Powers of the Buddhist Dao for supremacy."
"How exactly it unfolded, you and I cannot know, but from the bits and pieces that have been passed down through the ages, we can roughly surmise the outcome."
"It ended with the annihilation of the 'Sword Dao' and a pyrrhic victory for the 'Buddhist Dao.' I've heard that fragments of the golden bodies of Celestial Bodhisattvas and Arhats were scattered all across the Ximizhou Continent."
"Tens of thousands of years ago, many seniors of the Demon Dao risked sneaking over to 'pan for gold' and made a fortune."
"However, although the 'Sword Dao' was extinguished, it had, after all, achieved its rightful place and written a glorious chapter in the history of the Yanfu Vast Land."
"Even after 128,400 years have passed, among all the weapons in the world today, still only the 'sword' can be used to enter the Dao, and its killing power is unparalleled."
"This is the rich gift the Sword Dao left for All Cultivators, and it is also where the profound mystery of a 'Daoist Lineage' lies."
The crowd listened, utterly captivated, only snapping back to their senses when the clear, lingering sound of the Copper Chime rang out.
When everyone looked up again, the high platform was already empty.
A Daoist Child below the Magic Altar chanted in a drawn-out voice:
"The lecture is concluded!"