John happily followed Elder Ragur out the way they had entered. He had accomplished his first goal of entering the sect. Although it wasn't official, John wasn't concerned about being unable to pass the entrance exam in three months. In the meantime, he could start building up connections and gather information on how to get home.
After leaving the massive palace, the Elder and John walked back to the drake, which was still patiently waiting within the large courtyard. Elder Ragur said some words to the drake, and it took off to the sky without them. Its powerful wings created strong gusts of winds that billowed the robes of all those nearby.
"The Enforcement Hall grounds are not too far from here. We will walk, and I will show you some of what this sect has to offer," Elder Ragur said to John as he started walking forward.
John nodded his head in agreement and quickly followed behind. Many curious gazes stared at John, having never seen him before. It took John and the Elder some time to exit the massive courtyard, at which point the Elder led John down what appeared to be one of the main roads of the sect.
The road was nearly fifty yards wide. Thousands of cultivators were walking in in every direction, and powerful beasts, almost similar in power to the drake were present as well, acting as carriage mules or powerful mounts.
Massive buildings lined both sides of the road, and most of them sported the signature color scheme of white, gold and blue that the sect seemed to prefer. Each building exhibited grand designs on both the exterior and interior, and John was awestruck at the level of craftsmanship, which was much higher than back home.
The buildings covered a wide variety of businesses and purposes, from trade halls, medicinal shops, libraries, weapons halls, martial halls, trial halls and more. Each building was bustling with activity.
Powerful cultivators passed by John constantly, and he finally felt the weight of joining such a sect.
'Im probably the weakest person here, in terms of cultivation. However, with the Qi density of this place, I'm confident that I'll be able to catch up in no time.'
John was not dismayed by his weak cultivation. He had the Immortal Asura Body, which only seemed to be limited by his ability to obtain human blood essence of high enough quality. The main limiter of his cultivation was his essence cultivation, which held back his Immortal Asura Body.
However, Celestial Soulrend had given him the Primordial Extermination Lightning cultivation technique.
'Although I haven't cultivated the Primordial Extermination Lightning cultivation technique yet, I'm sure its beyond amazing. My essence cultivation should start soaring rapidly, and all I'll need to focus on is obtaining some more human blood essence...but I should have enough to reach the Qi Condensation Realm.'
John's Immortal Asura Body dantian was already at the peak of Mist Creation, and he had obtained the bodies of both Dylan and the other Crimson Valley Sect boy. Both were also at the peak of Mist Creation, and John was sure that this blood would allow him to advance once more.
His eyes lit up as he thought about what advancing a major realm could possibly mean.
"The last time I advanced a major realm, the palace realm gifted me with the drop of blood, which improved my Immortal Asura Body. Since there are more drops, I'm certain that another one will be gifted when I advance to the Qi Condensation Realm. Also, I haven't had time to figure out what, or who, is inside the holy gate. But I need to ask him some questions soon.'
The holy entity had appeared when Celestial Soulrend had tried to read his memories. John was certain that the aura that entity projected was identical to the holy gate, and figured that it lay behind it.
'If there's actually something as profound as that holy entity within the holy gate...what does that mean for the sinister gate…'
He shuddered at the thought. The sinister gate projected an aura nearly as powerful and profound as the holy gate, but was completely evil. The thought of something actually being inside the gate gave John the chills.
'I suppose I'll find out when I get stronger.'
John snapped out of his thoughts and started listening to Elder Ragur, who was explaining the various buildings and their purposes as they passed them. The two of them walked for nearly ten miles, all while passing grand buildings along the way.
'And this is just one of the main roads of the sect, not to mention the other main roads and hundreds of minor roads. This place is massive!'
Although he had seen the massive sect from the sky, being down on the ground finally gave him the perspective on just exactly how massive it was. Despite walking for over ten miles, he had only seen a fraction of the sect.
"This road we just walked down is one of the main trade hubs. Anything you want, from pills, weapons, techniques, clothes, pets, and more can be found here. You can exchange either spirit stones for them, or exchange contribution points," the Elder explained.
"Elder, what are spirit stones..and contribution points," John asked.
The Elder tapped his forehead slightly and responded. "Ah, I forgot you're not from around here. Spirit stones are crystals of pure Qi. In certain locations, when the Qi in the air gets dense enough, it condenses into spirit essence, which is liquid, and eventually spirit stones, which is a solid crystal. Spirit stones are used as the main form of currency in the cultivation world. They can be used for cultivation at higher levels, and also to power formations and other wonderful things."
John's eyes lit up at the mention of such an amazing thing, but quickly dimmed.
"I don't have any spirit stones," John grumbled miserably, causing Elder Ragur to chuckle slightly.
"There's also contribution points. You can earn those by accomplishing various tasks for the sect, at which point you'll be awarded a certain amount of contribution points. You can trade these for any item in the sect, if you have enough of them."
John's eyes lit up once more, but were quickly dimmed once more by the following words of the Elder.
"Unfortunately, you are only a worker, and not an official disciple of the sect, and so you can only be paid with money. Only once you become an official disciple can you start earning contribution points."
He continued to follow the Elder as they walked towards the Enforcement Halls. Elder Ragur started explaining various things, like the disciple ranks.
"There are various ranks of disciples. The lowest ranks are the outer disciples, then inner disciples, and then core disciples. Each rank up gets more benefits, making each disciple yearn to advance. This competition brings out the best in everyone, and ensures our sect stays strong. Finally, there are direct disciples, which are the direct disciples of the powerful Elders of the sect. They have the most status out of all the disciples, and enjoy the greatest benefits."
"Do you have a direct disciple?" John asked curiously. Given Elder Ragur's powerful cultivation, John figured many would climb over each other for the opportunity.
"Haha, I do not. Unfortunately, I am not strong enough to obtain a direct disciple, according to the sect rules."
This statement shocked John greatly.
"But...you're at the peak of Meridian Forging. Just how strong does an Elder have to be to have a direct disciple?"
Elder Ragur chuckled once more.
"One has to be in the Heaven Tribulation Realm, and only then are they considered Elders of enough status to have the right to raise a direct disciple."
'Heaven Tribulation Realm? I've never heard of it, but from the sounds of it, it's directly above Meridian Forging. This place is amazing!'
John suddenly thought of Leah and Elliot.
"Elder, you mentioned that Leah and Elliot are out on a mission, so I cannot visit them. However, I'm curious, what status do the two of them have in this sect?"
When he had met them, both Leah and Elliot had been fourteen like him. Despite that, their cultivations were at the middle Qi Condensation Realm, which astonished John.
'Surely at that age and cultivation, even within the Holy Lands, their status must be great.'
"Hmm? Let me check." The Elder once again pulled out the same item he had last time, which was a jade piece.
'I guess this jade piece records the status and whereabouts of every disciple, but I can't be sure.'
John waited for a moment before the Elder put away the jade piece.
"According to the disciple logs, the two of them are outer disciples."