Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When a person enters the Vault of Providence, their physical body would be left behind. That was more or less what Lu Ye was feeling after channeling his Spiritual Power into the seed.
In fact, the feeling was stronger compared to when he entered the Vault of Providence. Everything looked exactly the same as it was in the real world. He felt like he was physically standing wherever he was right now.
First things first, Lu Ye tried to sense his physical body. After he confirmed that a link existed, he relaxed and examined his surroundings.
He was inside a small room right now. His senses told him that there was absolutely nothing in it besides him.
After searching around for a bit and confirming that it really was empty, he finally walked up to the door—the one and only exit of this room—and gave it a push.
Suddenly, a few lines of words appeared on the door like water ripples. It stated: “All who wish to enter the Rift of Illusions must pay fifty Contribution Points.”
Lu Ye furrowed his brow for a moment. 50 Contribution Points wasn’t cheap—his Inviolable was only 138 Contribution Points—but it also meant that the potential rewards lying behind this door were worth that much. Recalling what Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had told him earlier, Lu Ye prayed to find a leyline that produces all kinds of High-Grade and Top-Grade Spirit Stones behind the door.
Lu Ye gave the door another push and felt his Battlefield Imprint warming up a little. He didn’t inspect it because it was probably just the Heavens taking its toll. He felt the same thing when he was buying stuff in the Sanctum of Providence.
Lu Ye stepped through the door. What he saw froze him in his tracks.
Back in the real world, Lu Ye suddenly jolted back to reality. He was immediately assaulted by a powerful headache that felt like needles pricking inside his brain.
Shui Yuan had been watching over him this whole time. She asked concernedly the moment he came to, “Are you alright?”
Lu Ye shook his head. He felt like his brain was rattling inside his skull.
“So? What are the effects of this seed?” Shui Yuan asked curiously. For some reason, Lu Ye looked like he had just fought a battle—one he had lost no less.
Lu Ye told her everything he experienced, and Shui Yuan’s eyes widened in astonishment. “I’ve never heard of a seed with such an effect. Can I try?”
After receiving the Mystic Fruit’s seed from Lu Ye, Shui Yuan sat down on the ground and channeled her Spiritual Power into it. Just like him, her consciousness departed her body to somewhere, leaving her body behind.
Lu Ye dutifully watched over his senior sister despite his headache. Over time, it gradually faded into a mild, unpleasant feeling.
Two whole hours later, Shui Yuan finally exhaled and opened her eyes. She looked a little pale and tired as she returned the seed to Lu Ye. “This is a great seed. If you use it well, you’ll be able to improve your combat skills rapidly. That said, it wears out the user’s mind considerably. Be sure not to use it when you’re fatigued, or you might hurt yourself.”
“I know,” Lu Ye replied while putting away the seed. He could not claim that his earlier experience was a pleasant one—one might even say that his fifty Contribution Points had gone down the drain—but he could not deny that it was an amazing item.
It was as his senior sister said. If he used the seed well, he would be able to improve his combat skills rapidly. In fact, that was exactly what he needed right now.
Even better, the seed wasn’t keyed to one person only. Anyone could use it if they had the Contribution Points to spare. This was where its true value lied. ．
“Oh right, there’s something I need to consult with you about, senior sister. Remember that time we talked about recruiting associates? Some of the independent cultivators at the bazaar caught wind of the news and inquired about it.”
Shui Yuan replied, “You’re the Legate of the Outpost, so you do not need to consult me on this. Just do whatever you want.”
“Aren’t you afraid I might screw this up?”
His senior sister chuckled. “Before you came, the sect was a few years or even months away from being removed from the list of sects forever. It is thanks to you we are able to maintain the status quo. So yes, I trust in your judgment.”
“I understand.” That was all he needed to hear.
After he bid Shui Yuan goodbye, Lu Ye returned to the Outpost using the Divine Opportunity Column and sent out a couple of messages. Soon, Hua Ci and everyone were lined up in front of him.
Lu Ye looked at the five Crimson Sect disciples one by one before starting, “You might have already noticed, but we are the only disciples in our sect. In fact, I’m pretty sure we’re the smallest sect in the entire Jiu Zhou. That is why I’d like to start a recruitment drive. It is the only way the sect can grow further and have a future. Does everyone agree with me?”
Yi Yi immediately raised her hand and declared, “I agree!” Amber also growled in agreement. Lu Ye shot them both an approving glance.
Ruan Lingyu was Yi Yi’s best playmate, so of course she raised both hands in support of her. Even the stiff-faced Kong Niu had raised his hand in agreement.
Everyone turned to look at Hua Ci, and the medicine cultivator shrugged. “You’re the Legate. Just do whatever you want. You don’t need to consult our opinions, do you?”
“In fact, I do. I may be the Legate, but the sect belongs to everyone. I will not abuse my authority like a tyrant. Also… I would strongly advise you to fix your attitude, fellow cultivator Hua Ci.”
The serious rebuke caught Hua Ci completely off guard. “What did I do?”
Lu Ye looked at her seriously. “Have you forgotten that you’re the prolegate? From the moment the back of your hand was marked with the symbol of the Crimson Blood Sect, the sect’s honor and disgrace has become your honor and disgrace. It is your responsibility to develop the sect and share the Legate’s burden.”
Hua Ci thought for a moment before nodding in apology. “You’re right. I’m still behaving as if I’m still the queen of Mount Ying. My apologies.”
“I’m glad you can see that!” Lu Ye shot her an approving glance. “Since we are all in agreement, let us begin the Crimson Blood Sect’s recruitment drive right away! Prolegate Hua Ci, I want you to draft the plan and the necessary procedures as soon as possible. While there are a lot of independent cultivators at the bazaar who wish to join the sect, we cannot possibly accept all of them. It’s one thing to grow our numbers and another to have no standards, so please discuss among yourselves as to what these standards might be. Does anyone have a question?”
Hua Ci shot him a suspicious look. “I do.”
“Speak!”
“If I am going to spearhead the recruitment drive, then what are you going to do?”
Lu Ye answered without hesitation, “I am the Legate of the Outpost. In a sense, I am the face of the sect. Currently, I am only a Sixth-Order cultivator, while everyone else’s Legate is at least a Seventh-Order cultivator or higher. Therefore, my first priority is to increase my cultivation level to meet the standard as soon as possible. I’m sure you’ll all agree with me.”
Everyone stared at him, but Lu Ye continued as if he didn’t notice, “If we’re all in agreement, then let’s get to work immediately. Time waits for no one!”
While Hua Ci and the others were busy planning the recruitment drive, Lu Ye ran off to the training chambers not to cultivate as he told the others he would, but to install some Gathering Spirits.
Currently, everyone in the sect had a private training chamber of their own. Each chamber contained a Circle of Boon and three Gathering Spirits in total. This equipment ensured that everyone was cultivating at a highly boosted rate.
However, this equipment wouldn’t be enough when the independent cultivators joined the sect especially since independent cultivators were generally untalented and slow to cultivate. The only way to boost their cultivation speed was to install more Gathering Spirits.
One or few powerful individuals wasn’t enough to make a sect powerful. If the Crimson Blood Sect wished to become stronger, then they must improve themselves in every aspect. Ensuring their cultivation facilities could keep up with the demand was one such aspect, and it so happened that Lu Ye was equipped to deal with it.
While Lu Ye was busy constructing Gathering Spirits in the training chambers, the others had come up with the first draft of the recruitment plan and procedures in just half a day. Lu Ye thought it was a passable plan, though just in case he asked Hua Ci to bring it to Shui Yuan to iron out the details.
The next day, Ruan Lingyu hopped, skipped and jumped into the bazaar. A lot of independent cultivators greeted her warmly and even offered her delicious food.
Many of them were acquainted with Lingyu because she frequented the bazaar a lot. There was also the fact that she was a Crimson Blood Sect disciple.
There was a notice board at the entrance of the bazaar. It had been set up by the independent cultivators a long time ago to promote all kinds of things. There were resource hunt notices, party invitation notices, and so on.
After Lingyu had arrived at the entrance, she fished out a notice from a Storage Bag and slapped it on the noticeboard.
A female cultivator immediately asked when she saw this, “What’s this about, lil’ Lingyu? Oh no, did you lose a precious item or something?”
“What? Lingyu lost a precious item?”
“What is it? We’ll find it for you.”
The nearest independent cultivators immediately roused to action.
“No, I didn’t lose anything. This is the notice for our recruitment drive,” Lingyu replied while making sure that the notice was as pretty as it could be.
The female cultivator smiled. “I see. It’s a recruitment d…” she abruptly cut herself off and stared at the notice for a second. Then, she took off toward the Sanctum of Providence like her life depended on it.
Meanwhile, the rest of the independent cultivators had realized the same and ran up to the notice board. Ruan Lingyu was pushed away from the notice board immediately.
“The Crimson Blood Sect is recruiting!” Someone shouted in excitement. It didn’t take long before the word was spread to every corner of the bazaar.
Meanwhile, a couple of desks and chairs had been set up in front of the Sanctum of Providence. Hua Ci was sitting at a desk with a small book in front of her. Kong Niu sat to her right, and Yi Yi to her left. They were also holding a book of their own.
Chen Yu was standing at the side with a silly grin on his face. As the bazaar’s manager and the cultivator with the highest cultivation level in the bazaar, he was of course the first person to be registered in this recruitment drive. His name was listed on the first line and first page of Hua Ci’s book, followed by his background and cultivation level. He had stayed behind after registering to maintain order and to offer his opinion when applicable. It was because he knew many of the independent cultivators living in the bazaar to a good degree.
It wasn’t long before they saw a swarm of cultivators running toward them at full speed. The first person to reach them was the female cultivator who spoke to Ruan Lingyu a while ago. While panting heavily, she asked, “Is this the registration?”