14. The Taiwei Sect

A cup of murky wine, three sticks of incense burning.

Jade Cicada Garment knelt on the meditation cushion, waiting to formally accept her master.

Beside her, Wu Xilan handed her a cup of wine: “Once you finish this cup, you’ll be officially a disciple of the Endless Sect.”

Jade Cicada Garment stared for a long while at the tiny white doll on the table, unsure: “Swear… to it?”

The doll had a pair of large, glossy black eyes, a round face, and an upturned lip, resembling a child’s toy—utterly adorable.

She had already tried—there was no spiritual energy fluctuating in this white doll. It was just an inanimate object, a simple doll.

Could this really be the sect leader of the Endless Sect?

“Mm!” Wu Xilan nodded firmly. “It’s made from hair fallen from the master. Anyway, he’s not here; he’s been wandering the world for years. Just treat this as a formality.”

Jade Cicada Garment was speechless: a white doll made from the master’s hair—what kind of person was that master?

No matter, it wasn’t a matter of great importance. She could remain indifferent.

Wu Xilan continued, “The master likes to recruit people into the sect. Before you, he brought back a junior brother. I’ve already informed the master about your acceptance via the voice transmission stone. He said when he comes back, he’ll prepare a gift for your initiation.”

Jade Cicada Garment didn’t care much about the gift; just being accepted into the sect was enough. Following Wu Xilan’s instructions, she downed the wine and kowtowed three times—thus completing the master-acceptance ritual.

On her first day as a disciple, Wu Xilan took her on a tour within the sect’s territory to familiarize her with the environment.

But the Endless Sect was so small it was familiar in the blink of an eye.

Four rooms, a patch of medicinal fields—that was all the sect’s property.

There were four people in total, including Jade Cicada Garment.

A master who was rarely home and seldom seen, Wu Xilan who took care of planting herbs and refining pills, and a senior brother also rarely seen.

According to Wu Xilan, the second senior brother was picked up by the master. He wasn’t an ancient descendant but a displaced cultivator.

Like the master, he had the same habit of not liking to stay in the sect.

Most of the time, Wu Xilan was the only one in the Endless Sect.

Now, with Jade Cicada Garment here, there were two.

Jade Cicada Garment had no complaints about the sect’s current state; she was actually quite satisfied.

More people meant more noise and distractions, making things more complicated. The Endless Sect was small but had almost no rules, so Jade Cicada Garment enjoyed a sense of freedom and ease.

Wu Xilan assigned her an empty room and prepared clothes for her.

The clothes were modeled after what Jade Cicada Garment wore—cool black, simple and refreshing.

Wu Xilan suddenly smiled as if she found something amusing: “You and the junior brother both like black clothes. Maybe… I should change mine to black too, then the Endless Sect would have its own sect uniform.”

After thinking it over, she shook her head: “No, no, no. All black would look too grim. The master definitely wouldn’t like it.”

The thought of the entire sect dressed in black made Wu Xilan chuckle to herself.

After getting her clothes, Jade Cicada Garment freed her shadow and swallowed a Spirit Concealment Pill, calming her heart considerably.

At night, she lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring at the beams, lost in thought.

This was Yan Continent; the Endless Sect was nestled at the foot of Sword Bearing Gate.

Back when she was Lu Chanji, she always felt the road from Sword Bearing Gate to the foot of the mountain was very long, and Lu Wenshu’s return from the mountain always took a long time. Now living in the valley, she felt much closer to Sword Bearing Gate.

Whenever she wished, she could return to Sword Bearing Gate at any time.

But not yet. She wasn’t fully prepared. If she confronted Lu Wenshu now, she couldn’t do anything to him; it might even alert him and endanger herself.

Not to mention the gap in their cultivation. Even if she had the power to easily defeat Lu Wenshu, she could never kill him quietly.

Cultivators across the Ten Continents of the Vast Sea revered Lu Wenshu as the leader of the righteous path, a banner and model.

If she silently killed him, others would see her as a criminal and seek vengeance on her behalf, mourning his fall.

She would never allow that to happen. Not even a good reputation in death would she leave for Lu Wenshu.

Lu Wenshu had supported her for thirteen years, maintaining that unchanging gentle mask without ever dropping it for a moment.

How patient he was.

Haste breeds chaos.

Meals must be eaten one bite at a time, and the road must be traveled step by step.

The more you want something, the more you must endure and lie in wait.

This was what Lu Wenshu taught her over thirteen years.

Another thousand years, two thousand years, three thousand years—she could wait.

Before truly facing Lu Wenshu, she still had plans to make.

Sleepiness came over her; she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

She slept lightly—any slight breeze or rustle could awaken her.

The next morning, upon hearing the rhythmic pounding of the stone mortar, she immediately woke.

Rising, she went to the herbal hut, filled with swirling smoke, where Wu Xilan was pill refining and grinding herbs.

From their brief talk the day before, Jade Cicada Garment knew the Endless Sect’s livelihood depended entirely on Wu Xilan’s herb fields.

The master and senior brother were rarely home and paid no mind to the sect’s affairs. As the eldest sister, Wu Xilan shouldered the sect’s responsibilities alone—refining pills, grinding herbs, sometimes selling spiritual herbs or pills for spirit coins to maintain daily operations.

Jade Cicada Garment sat beside her and asked, “Senior sister, are these herbs for your own use or for sale?”

“Good morning, junior sister.” Wu Xilan replied, “Some are for ourselves, some we sell.”

“How much can you get from selling?”

Wu Xilan thought for a moment: “This batch I’m refining is a Rejuvenation Pill; if successful, about fifty spirit coins.”

Fifty spirit coins? Jade Cicada Garment didn’t understand the market, so she asked, “Can that buy a sword?”

Wu Xilan paused her grinding and looked at her with deep eyes: “A sword? Why do you want a sword?”

“I want to be a sword cultivator.”

Wu Xilan was silent for a moment, then said with difficulty, “Why… do you want to be a sword cultivator?”

“To win first place at the next Sword Competition and make my name known throughout the world.” Jade Cicada Garment looked up at her, each word resolute, revealing no concealment of her ambition and desire.

Her eyes glowed brightly with some emotion beyond mere ambition—complex and hard to discern.

The Sword Competition was Jade Cicada Garment’s first step in her plan to confront Lu Wenshu.

She needed to tear apart Lu Wenshu’s blood-stained facade in front of everyone, disgrace him utterly, but first, she had to attract all eyes, have everyone look to her and hear her speak.

The Sword Competition at Penglai, held once every hundred years, was a grand event watched by all cultivators across the Ten Continents of the Vast Sea.

The champion could be Wei Shengming or Lu Wenshu—there was no reason she couldn’t be one either.

This life, she would no longer remain unknown; she wanted every cultivator across the Ten Continents to know her name.

Wu Xilan was speechless.

She stayed silent for a while before saying, “You’re truly a fearless newborn calf. Junior sister, I don’t mean to discourage you, but I’ve heard that the path of a sword cultivator is difficult. Although fights are fierce and it looks glamorous, the cost is great and they’re often very poor.”

“Take my junior brother, your senior brother—he wants to be a sword cultivator but doesn’t even have a decent sword.”

“Even if a sword is easy to get, the sword cultivator’s heart method is very rare. To be a sword cultivator, you must first join a sword-cultivating sect, like Sword Bearing Gate.”

If Jade Cicada Garment wanted to quit the Endless Sect and join another, Wu Xilan wouldn’t stop her—only disappointed.

But Jade Cicada Garment didn’t waver; her expression remained calm, her tone equally steady: “Since I’ve joined the Endless Sect, I am a disciple of the Endless Sect.”

Seeing she had no intention of leaving, Wu Xilan felt somewhat reassured but still worried.

She said, “We don’t have good sword cultivation manuals in the Endless Sect. Good manuals are often created by large sects and kept secret. They have strong backing and nurture their disciples with the finest materials. The Sword Competition’s champion has always been disciples of large sects—without exception for thousands of years.”

“Not to mention Sword Bearing Gate or Taiwei Sect, even the worst is Wind Breath Valley. I’ve never heard of a disciple from a small sect winning first place…”

Jade Cicada Garment said nothing further.

But she did not change her mind.

Normal cultivators wanting to practice swordsmanship must join a large sect.

But the secret advanced heart methods of Sword Bearing Gate, kept from even inner disciples, were already on her bookshelf, within reach for her to peruse.

At that time, she couldn’t practice sword cultivation; Lu Wenshu never stopped her.

She remembered every move in the manuals.

What she lacked now was only to break through the blockage in her spiritual veins and spend time cultivating her spiritual power.

After talking with Wu Xilan, Jade Cicada Garment began pondering how to make a puppet doll.

Previously, at Qingfeng, the puppet dolls were carved from divine wood that Lu Wenshu had taken from Denglin, already saturated with spiritual energy—making the dolls highly effective.

Now, lacking such materials, the dolls didn’t need to be exquisite or lifelike.

Jade Cicada Garment made a roughly human-shaped doll without facial features or details. The hands were complete but the joints only moved simply, unable to perform complex actions. But for watering and fertilizing, it was sufficient.

She made three puppet dolls in one go and sent them to work.

Without mountain spider silk, she couldn’t find suitable threads to control the puppets, so she manipulated their shadows on the ground to control their movements.

Puppets were lifeless; controlling their shadows was effortless.

The three dolls shivered and moved; their actions were stiff but methodical as they worked.

In no time, the troublesome tasks that gave Wu Xilan headaches were finished by the puppets.

After watering, Jade Cicada Garment had one with more refined hand joints help Wu Xilan grind herbs.

Wu Xilan suddenly had free time and sat by the stove, watching the fire.

She stared at the wooden puppet working mechanically for a while, entranced, then turned to Jade Cicada Garment with sharp eyes and determinedly said, “Junior sister, rest assured, once I save enough spirit coins, I’ll buy you a sword!”

She absolutely couldn’t let Jade Cicada Garment leave the Endless Sect.

Finally, she had someone to help with the work. Even if she had to sell the master, she would keep the junior sister.

With such useful puppets, they could cultivate more spiritual fields, grow more spiritual herbs, and earn more spirit coins.

Sword cultivation, after all—she didn’t believe the entire sect couldn’t support a sword cultivator.

Jade Cicada Garment was startled, then sincerely said, “Thank you, senior sister.”

—

After five days at the Endless Sect, Jade Cicada Garment and Wu Xilan had cultivated a new patch of medicinal fields.

The freshly turned soil was moist and loose. After the puppets finished tilling, they waited to sow seeds.

With nothing else to do, Jade Cicada Garment sat at the field’s edge, setting up a small table to drink tea.

Wu Xilan had no suitable seeds on hand and bought some from other cultivators, which were to be delivered today.

As they drank tea and waited, soon someone arrived.

“Daoist Li, come in quickly.” Seeing the visitor outside, Wu Xilan waved him in.

Daoist Li looked familiar, with a baby face appearing very young.

He approached the spiritual field, placed the seeds on the small table, and asked, “Newly cultivated field? Can you manage it alone?”

Wu Xilan said, “Not alone, but now I have my junior sister.”

Daoist Li glanced at Jade Cicada Garment, then bowed and asked, “And this Daoist is…?”

“New disciple of the Endless Sect, Jade Cicada Garment.” Jade Cicada Garment greeted him.

Daoist Li nodded and left the Endless Sect.

He left quickly and didn’t speak much with Jade Cicada Garment, but after he left, she kept staring at the place where he had stood, seemingly dazed.

Wu Xilan found it odd and asked, “What’s wrong, junior sister?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Jade Cicada Garment hesitated, then asked, “Senior sister, who is Daoist Li?”

Wu Xilan replied, “He’s a small-time wandering cultivator, no sect or school. His cave is also in this valley. He usually keeps to himself and is rarely seen. I bought seeds from him before, and we got familiar after a few transactions. He’s a decent person, generous with discounts for regulars. Buying seeds from him is a good deal.”

A wandering cultivator with no sect or school...

Jade Cicada Garment’s gaze fell on the spot where Daoist Li had just stood—the freshly turned soil was soft and moist, and his shoes left clear footprints.

On the soles were patterns of Seven Stars arching over the Moon, quite distinctive.

If she remembered correctly, the shoes of the Taiwei Sect bore exactly this pattern. She had seen them before.