"6th level of the Qi gathering realm!...", Tang Chen was in disbelief.

A normal person would only be able to reach the fifth level of Qi gathering by barely surviving the fusion of one's Natal Gu, but his Elder Brother was able to bear it and still add another breakthrough.

What he had heard was that, he would need several years before he would be able to perfect the Qi gathering realm.

Every level required a large amount of time to cultivate and break through, not to mention the special condition of needing souls.

However, here they were breaking the norms.

"We have only three months before the blood moon ceremony, But it's enough. Three months is enough for us to advance to the Foundation Establishment realm as long as we have the spirit stones." Tang Bai says as he re-adjusted his outer sect robe.

However Tang Chen became curious, It would be a serious problem if their cultivation level was too low as the event speaks volumes on its difficulty.

In short, he had to have the strength to protect himself first, before he could even think of protecting his big brother.

Tang Chen trailed behind Tang Bai as he left his hut and soon saw light outside. It should be approaching daybreak.

The sky was indeed bright and The sun had just risen.

"It has been a whole night. But It clearly felt like a moment." Tang Bai mutters lightly.

"Let's quickly finish with today's chores and return, I got the materials for your breakthrough."

After that, He led the way toward the outer sect's cemetery. To him, the place was very quiet, and it was the best place to avoid many issues while making spirit stones.

At the worst case scenario, they would clean the tomb exteriors if they can't find any tasks

[Ding!]

[10 Infamy points-->33 infamy points.]

A smile suddenly spread across Tang Bai's face...

_______

Tang Bai's POV,

While we were walking towards the Ji Duty Hall to pick up a task, after all our spirit stone stash was running low quite fast, a slightly high-pitched male voice sounded from behind us, "Ah Brother Tang Bai, it's a pleasant surprise to see you on your two feet again".

I and Tang Chen paused for a second before looking behind, a fat-looking teenager in outer sect disciple robes was running towards us. He was more reminiscent of a merchant than a demon cultivator, his brown hair with wheat-colored skin and honey-brown eyes that narrowed lightly whenever he smiled.

For a second I felt amused about how the guy reminded me of a mixture between a sloth and a hippo, all at once, "If it isn't Brother Shu, We haven't laid eyes on you for a month, what hole did you crawl out of this fine morning"

"Greetings Brother Shu Zheng" Tang Chen greeted with a rare smile on his face. Shu Zheng had been the one who helped Tang Chen carry the half-dead Tang Bai when he was beaten by Ma Dong and Co.

Shu Zheng simply snorted lightly while rolling his eyes at me, "You really... Have you heard of the upcoming Blood Moon ceremony?"

"Hmm, there have been rumors. So I have an idea of what it involves" I responded as lightly as I could manage.

"The Blood Moon Ceremony doesn't just involve our Blood River Sect. In fact, it involves all the other Demon Sects in Dual Sanctum..." Shu Zheng began speaking as though he had rehearsed his lines frequently but was cut with a "We know" from me.

"..." An awkward silence hung in the air as he scanned My teasing smile.

A few seconds more, I simply said "Fine, I won't say anything else. Continue"

Shu Zheng cleared his throat after a few seconds and said, "Well, the host this time is the Asura Cult. It ranks second in the top 5 demon Sect, just below the Blood Moon Cult and is bloody beyond our imaginations. Death is more than 80% certain when they host, more than half of the outer sect and even inner sect disciples that go through the Blood Moon ceremony with them don't come back alive. In the past half a century, our Blood River Sect has not been performing well in these event and have been unable to gain any substantial resources."

"If it is so dangerous, then how does the sect pick the disciples that go to it? A normal disciple would be extremely wary of such a trial." Hearing this, Tang Chen asked with a frown.

"Hehe. Pick?, all outer disciples must go through it at the same time. It's scary but as long as one can return alive, there are many benefits beyond your imagination. From what I know, a majority of the older generation of each of the six valleys had experienced the blood moon ceremony at least once, if not more. Thus, I believe there must be a way to survive it." Shu Zheng replied without much thought.

"Oh, I see. Thank you for sharing your knowledge." After he finished, I who had been silent for a while thanked him noncommitedly.

"Haha. It's nothing, after all we survived the slavers together." Shu Zheng laughed as he winked.

I smiled in response but I couldn't help sneering in my mind, I could almost smell his purpose. I turned around like I intended to leave and Shu Zheng panicked.

"Wait!"

"Yes, brother Shu?"

Shu Zheng awkwardly scratched the back of his neck before saying," I wanted to know if you guys would love to join us during that time, Senior Wang Shan will protect us as long as we all work together"

I looked at him strangely and looked at Tang Chen quizzically before saying, "What do you mean? Why would your Senior Wang Shan want two useless boys like us"

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Eh? I heard you were very powerful and..."

A sharp glint flashed across My eyes as I felt a crazy smile creep up my face without any intervention from me, "What was that brother Shu? I didn't hear you properly".

"N...no...nothin...g" Shu Zheng was frightened for some reason, this was the first time he had seen me like this.

I approached Shu Zheng in order to further test this trait, "Eh? I could have sworn you said you wanted to use our past relationship to get us to follow this senior brother and receive some rewards."

Immediately my right fell on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, Shu Zheng flinched and began to sweat profusely...

[Name: Shu Zheng

Cultivation level: 2nd level of the Qi Gathering Realm.

Cultivation techniques: Blood Mountain Jue

Martial techniques:

Affiliation: Blood River Sect(outer sect disciple)

Talent: Commerce (III).

Gu: Heart Nourishing Gu

Prowess:

Loyalty: 41% (Friendly)]

I calmly watched his status while thinking,

Without much stress, We left the shaking mess and Tang Chen's had been plastered with a frown. He's probably upset from learning the fact that Shu Zheng wanted to use us for his own gain.

________

Soon we arrived at Ji Valley's Duty hall.

It was a massive hall with black marbled floors and brown-painted walls, built in a circular manner.

There were many people entering and exiting the Duty hall and thus the waiting line went by quite fast. Soon, we both entered the hall.

Before me was a bald, middle-aged man wearing a black Deacon's jacket over his red robes.

[Name: Long Mu

Cultivation level: Triadic Star Realm(Initial)

Cultivation techniques: Blood River Art, Clear Heart Blood, etc.

Martial techniques: Unholy Stance, Bone heart Method, etc

Affiliation: Blood River Sect(Deacon), Long Clan(Member)

Talent: Clear Management.

Gu: Fiery Scale Gu, Grieving Worm Gu, Zen Worm Gu

Prowess: 86,688

Loyalty: 0% (Interest)]

It was a new deacon in charge of the duty hall today and I didn't have much Spirit Stones to bribe the new deacon with today, So I obediently gave my nameplate to the Deacon and said:

"I am the new disciple in charge of the outer section of the cemetery and I'm here to pick up the Chore."

"Oh, I see. Unfortunately, It's already occupied for the next week. Let me see what chores are still available." The bald deacon seemed to be extremely friendly, with a bright smile and after receiving his nameplate, he quickly started flipping through the thick books before him.

While he was busy, I couldn't help asking "Senior, what happened to Senior Deacon Cao?"

"Hmm?, He died last night on his way to his abode. Anyway, The available chores that are suitable for new disciples are harvesting spirit spider silk in the Catacombs and Soul herding in the west Soul Valley. Which one would you like to choose junior?" After a few seconds, the Deacon looked up again and said these to me without batting an eye.

"What? Senior perhaps there's a mistake, that doesn't sound like what a peak Qi gathering realm cultivator can handle much less new disciples" I began suspecting I heard him wrongly and Tang Chen looked white despite his calm appearance.

The deacon was obviously sending them to their deaths as the only ones to handle such a task were probably those core disciples, also how can a deacon die so casually?

"Hooh? So you are calling me a liar? Or perhaps I'm blind?"His expression looked, even more, friendlier as he spoke.

"No senior" I replied quickly while calmly bowing a little in front of him.

"I know it must be tough, but I have an alternative." The bald deacon seemed to have been expecting their reactions and spoke with a hint of mystery.

According to My previous understanding, these Sect Chores that were always available were along the lines of standing guard somewhere or patrolling a particular area and not what he had just heard.

"Then... I'll listen to your alternative." Even though I was still a bit confused, I could only suppress my confusion and choose what wouldn't lead to certain death.

"It's nothing much, I just need you to pick up something for me and it must be completed within three days or else the chore will be counted as incomplete and there will be consequences." Hearing his answer, the bald deacon held up Tang Bai's nameplate and pressed it down onto a certain page in the book beside him.

"The information would be transmitted to your minds when you leave the sect"

After taking back the nameplate, I left while in thought after the deacon did the same thing with Tang Chen's nameplate. Suddenly, I realized that the deacon seemed to know us and possibly our previous arrangement with the previous deacon after brushing a bit of favor.

I looked at the deacon once more and saw that there was another disciple talking to him, the man had an indifferent expression, unlike when he was speaking to us.

When his gaze turned, Tang Chen spoke solemnly, "Something doesn't seem right and there must be a lot of danger involved in this task".

"Chen'er. It's great that you feel the same. So I wasn't imagining things." with such words we walked out of the hall.

Right after we got home and got some hard bread and rice, we headed straight for the gates. Three days wasn't a long time and we still didn't know the nature of the task, so there was no time to delay...

Upon reaching the Sect's gate, I picked up a map of the surrounding area and wasn't stopped by the guards.

Upon leaving, the task information appeared in their minds and it seemed pretty simple.

They were to collect a package from another deacon in charge of a merchant town close by. It was because it sounded simple, that it made me more worried and vigilant.

Following the instructions on the map, we found a post house in the large city built beneath the sect. It wasn't hard due to the way the buildings were meticulously planned, following specific principles of urban design and layout. laid out on a grid system with well-defined streets, marketplaces, and administrative centers. This facilitated efficient movement, trade, and governance within the city despite how it was Sprawling across the landscape like a behemoth, the metropolis simply swallowed the horizon whole.

This City within its ancient octagon walls were steeped in history, whispering tales from centuries ago. with a population exceeding millions, it buzzed with ceaseless activity. It is extremely lively for something being governed by demonic cultivators. The mortals shuttled back and forth while going about their business and if you looked well enough, you would find that they actively avoided anyone who looked like a cultivator of any sort. Though it's unlikely to find an Orthodox cultivator here, unless he's a spy.

Surrounded by dense forests, the city was an island of urbanity in a sea of wilderness.

The posthouse had several carriages and They usually transverse the next three cities in a particular direction, so we took the one that would get us to Gunzheng Town for 10 low-grade spirit stones.

This was the first time coming outside since I came to this world, so I couldn't help myself.

The surrounding scenery was a sight to behold, the Towering trees gave an oppressive feeling when you stared at them for too long. It had taken us over an hour to exit the city gates but we were well on their journey now.

But while I was watching the scene outside absentmindedly, a cough suddenly sounded from beside me.

The cough wasn't loud but the sudden appearance startled me, Luckily there were no changes in my expression so I quickly turned my head.

Beside me was a dark-skinned elderly man in khaki brown robes, He had somehow been next to me the entire time but I didn't notice. The elder's body was slightly bent as he was holding a smoking wooden pipe, his other hand rested on his ominous-looking cane as He emotionlessly appraised the two brothers.

"new disciples?"The Elder said, his eyes lingering on their gray robes for a second.

Even though the elder didn't look like much, he gave them a sense of pressure to the point where I answered without any thought, "Yes, Senior is?".

[Name: Han Shu

Cultivation level: ???

Cultivation techniques: ???

Martial techniques: ???

Affiliation: Blood River Sect(Sect Master), Han Clan(Patriarch), Chungsong City Lord.

Titles: Blood Worm Venerable, Master Blood River.

Talent: ???

Gu: ???

Prowess: ???

Loyalty: 0% (Amused)]

"Hoo?, how could those Duty Hall people send out new disciples like you? Well... It seems your strengths are better than most new ones, Not bad, Dual spirit roots and you both seem to be practices that cursed technique...hmm, whatever, I don't know why it's still there.

But you guys..." The Elderly man coldly said as his eyes scanned them with interest before shaking his head, he blatantly ignored my question. After dusting some ashes off his wooden cigar, he closed his eyes.

This scene made me stunned for a while.

"What are you looking at?." Han Shu said one more sentence impatiently and turned around without waiting for a response.

I simply looked away while having such thoughts, I signaled for Tang Chen to do the same as well and the latter looked away.

The small episode didn't seem to bother the other passengers, they were already aware of me and Tang Chen's identities, after all they are all living under the jurisdiction of the blood river sect. They simply have to avoid making much contact if possible...

______________

Thirteen hours later, the Carriage arrived at Gunzheng Town. The Sect master and a few other passengers had already made their stops at different locations while they also got new passengers as well.

We and a couple with Baskets for backpacks were the only ones left from the original passengers.

By the time we got down, the carriage left immediately as well.

It was already evening but the Merchant town was still heavily active. Shops and street stalls were still open, so we set out to find an Inn first before checking if it was too late to find the Deacon by this time.

Soon we were directed to a Modest looking building with a sign that read [Brown Orchid Inn]. We quickly approached the facility and made our way in, only for something to come flying out the double doors with a wail.

"Hmph" A thick woman with a short build, snorted loudly while dusting her palm, her messy apron and hair tied into a bun made it obvious that she worked here. She glanced at the thing she just tossed out like she wasn't done with it but when she noticed us, a smile spread across her face like it was a lie "welcome to Brown Orchid Inn, Home away from Home".

Hearing her words, the guests inside burst into laughter, saying things like 'Madam Wang is at it again' or 'to think she said the same thing to that poor fella before' etc.

The smile on her plump face twitched a few times.

Meanwhile, I was more interested in what she said. It sounded like something you would hear back on earth, I looked at what she threw out and found out that it was actually a person!

A pale faced youth with his eyes rolled back, obviously passed out, he had bruises or cuts in every visible location and a broken nose. After clearing my throat, I took the time to check her status just in case.

[Name: Wang Chiyan

Cultivation level: 4th level of Foundation building realm.

Cultivation techniques: Art of the Carrion Mule

Martial techniques: steps of the Carrion Mule, Adept Gale fists etc.

Affiliation: Gunzheng Wang Family(Matriach)

Titles: Madam Wang.

Talent: Thick skin and Bones

Gu: Boned Cow Gu

Prowess: 12,290

Loyalty: 0% (interest)]

Seeing such details, I quickly cupped my hands and bowed a little in greeting while speaking,"Greetings Madam Wang, I would like to get a room for me and my brother here".

This was obviously someone worth befriending...