Chapter 408: Chapter 262: Kouxian Gate (2)

The Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect had numerous mountain peaks, and each one had its own Dining Hall, mainly responsible for feeding the Outer Sect disciples.

As for why they weren’t responsible for the Inner Sect disciples’ meals, it was, of course, because they weren’t worthy.

Outer Sect disciples were completely incapable of preparing the Spiritual Food meant for Inner Sect disciples anyway.

Before Zou Feng left with the Spirit Chef team from Taian Mountain, Gongsun Jinghong and Teng County also successfully passed through the Kouxian Gate.

Their luck wasn’t great, or perhaps they simply lacked any aptitude for the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation, so they were both assigned to the Foreign Affairs Hall.

As the name suggested, disciples of the Foreign Affairs Hall were mainly responsible for the Immortal Sect’s external business.

The Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect had a vast number of tasks and countless chores that needed to be done. From the Inner Sect disciples on up, everyone was busy with Cultivation and had neither the time nor the inclination to handle trivialities.

These chores and trivial matters naturally fell to the Outer Sect disciples, who served as gofers.

Since many of these tasks required leaving the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, the level of danger was unpredictable.

With good luck, you could go out on errands hundreds or even thousands of times without a single thing happening. With bad luck, you could get killed the moment you stepped out.

So, even though positions like Spirit Plant Cultivator, Alchemy Child, and Flute-playing Boy didn’t sound very glamorous, they were at least relatively safe.

Upon learning about the situation in the Foreign Affairs Hall, neither Gongsun Jinghong nor Teng County looked very happy.

The danger of running errands was one thing, but the main issue was that frequent travel would seriously interfere with their Cultivation.

This was completely different from what Gongsun Jinghong and Teng County had imagined. They thought that once they entered the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, all they would need to do was focus on their Cultivation.

They had even imagined living in the same courtyard as Zou Feng, continuing the shameless, steamy life they had led on the Flying Celestial Ship.

But in reality, they had been dreaming.

The kind of life where one had a degree of freedom and only needed to focus on Cultivation was a privilege reserved for Inner Sect disciples.

However, even for Inner Sect disciples, the Sect set a time limit. If they couldn’t advance further, they too would have to face difficult choices.

The Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect wouldn’t support idlers forever. Those who reached their time limit in the Inner Sect without advancing had to choose to become Inner Sect Stewards, Elders, or take on other positions and start contributing to the Immortal Sect. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

To continue focusing solely on Cultivation, you either needed a powerful backer or had to become a Core Disciple—or even a True Disciple.

The only silver lining was that they and Zou Feng had all been assigned to Taian Mountain, so it wouldn’t be a huge effort to see each other.

When they weren’t away on business, they could see him every single day if they went to the Dining Hall.

It was worth noting that after living together in that tiny room for ten days, Gongsun Jinghong and Teng County had actually gotten along surprisingly well.

Both women had a bit of a wild streak, and they happened to hit it off.

It was the first time Gongsun Jinghong had ever met someone like Teng County—a woman who was clearly smitten with Zou Feng, yet could smile while watching her and Zou Feng practice the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill.

Sometimes, when she saw that Gongsun Jinghong and Zou Feng were tired from their practice, she would even bring them tea and water, and use a towel to wipe the sweat from their brows...

Gongsun Jinghong was more than happy to befriend such a peculiar woman.

As for Su Qingyu, Bai Chen, and the others, they were assigned to Celestial Bright Mountain.

Although Su Qingyu had a Spirit-Flesh Constitution, it was still a far cry from a Spirit Bone, so she didn’t qualify to enter the Inner Sect directly.

Still, she was considered a hot commodity in the Outer Sect and was granted the privilege of focusing on her Cultivation without being forced to take on a job.

Of course, this privilege would only last for three years.

Before the group set foot on Taian Mountain, a Steward distributed the Sect Tokens that were essential for every disciple of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect.

The tokens were activated by binding them with a drop of blood.

Some of their personal information had already been uploaded to the Celestial Dao Cauldron and put on record when they passed through the Kouxian Gate.

The token was incredibly useful, comparable to a smartphone for immortal cultivators.

Whether you wanted to select a Cultivation Skill or buy Elixirs, Spiritual Artifacts, or other items, it could all be done through the token.

The currency used for transactions was "Immortal Fate," which circulated within the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect.

To Zou Feng, this was the same as the "Contribution Points" that frequently appeared in the web novels he had read in his past life.

It was just called something different here.

"Outer Sect disciples receive a fixed five points of Immortal Fate per month. If you feel that’s not enough, the Sect has plenty of ways to earn more. You can find out about those things on your own!" the Steward said casually after handing out the tokens.

"Oh, right. Your living quarters on Taian Mountain have already been assigned. You can find them on your tokens."

At that moment, Zou Feng didn’t immediately check where he would be living. Instead, he wanted to see what he could buy with the five points of Immortal Fate that had just been deposited.

The result was exactly as he’d expected.

If he only wanted to buy worldly goods, five points of Immortal Fate a month would be enough for him to live like a tycoon in the Mortal Realm.

But if he wanted to buy any of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect’s Immortal Skills or Daoist Arts, even the lowest-grade ones would require him to save up for about a year, spending nothing.

However, now that they were Outer Sect disciples, the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect wouldn’t just leave them with nothing to learn.

The most basic skill in the Immortal Sect, the "Energy-Introducing Technique," was naturally free of charge.

The Outer Sect also had Skill Transmission Elders who would hold classes at set times, specifically to explain the Energy-Introducing Technique or answer basic Cultivation questions.

Furthermore, although positions like Spirit Plant Cultivator, Alchemy Child, and Spirit Chef required work, taking them on was equivalent to learning those skills for free.

Besides, even without purchasing any Immortal Skills and Daoist Techniques, relying solely on the Energy-Introducing Technique, it was theoretically possible for someone with decent Talent and a strong work ethic to cultivate to a Realm beyond a First Grade Martial Artist.

In other words, the Spiritual Energy Realm.

In fact, the process of becoming a First Grade Martial Artist was all about shaping one’s body into a Spirit Body, which was better suited for using the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi as a foundation for Cultivation.

That was why First Grade was also known as the Spirit Body Realm.

If an Outer Sect disciple couldn’t advance to the Spiritual Energy Realm within ten years, they would lose their eligibility to become an Inner Sect disciple and have to make a new choice, unless there were extremely special circumstances.

So, the entry requirements for the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect weren’t actually that high; reaching the True Qi Realm was enough.

After all, there had been many cases of people who were mediocre at practicing Martial Arts and barely scraped their way into the True Qi Realm, only to find themselves soaring to new heights when they started cultivating the Energy-Introducing Technique or other Daoist Arts.

Although Zou Feng had not yet reached First Grade, that was only because he had practiced too many different Cultivation Skills.

Even though he had fused his Cultivation Skills, the process had been too quick and reckless, meaning the chaotic nature of his foundation wouldn’t disappear completely overnight.

But with no side effects to worry about, there was no cause for concern. Once he advanced to First Grade, he would simply forge an even more ridiculously powerful Spirit Body.

Su Qingyu’s Calamity Body and Luo Yingning’s Spirit Bone were, in essence, both types of Spirit Bodies.

The only difference was that their Spirit Bodies were innate, making them more powerful and giving them greater potential. It was very difficult for a cultivated Spirit Body to surpass them.

In any case, Zou Feng wasn’t the least bit worried about advancing to First Grade.

If he really set his mind to advancing to First Grade as quickly as possible, he figured all he would need was another ten days of practicing the Kan and Li Skill with Gongsun Jinghong.

’But since I’m already in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, and I’m not plagued by any side effects, why not be a little greedier and forge an even stronger Spirit Body?’

’A moderate, balanced Daoist Art like the Energy-Introducing Technique isn’t enough. I need to practice at least two or three more Immortal Skills and Daoist Techniques with nasty side effects and create a Spirit Body that ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to attempt.’

So Zou Feng wasn’t in a hurry. Inside the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, as long as he didn’t accept duels initiated via the Sect Token and didn’t go looking for trouble, he wouldn’t have to worry about his safety.

Musing on these things, Zou Feng followed the navigation on his token and arrived near the Taian Mountain Dining Hall.

His official position was Spirit Chef, but as a newcomer, he would certainly have to start with menial tasks in the back of the kitchen.

He couldn’t even dream of being a Head Chef.

Zou Feng didn’t mind. For one, he was no stranger to kitchen grunt work. For another, he never planned on becoming the Head Chef of an Outer Sect Dining Hall anyway.

’After all, with the List of Gods, it won’t be long before I become an Inner Sect disciple.’

Besides, no matter how skilled he became as a Spirit Chef, it could only ever be a side gig.

’Maybe in the future, after I enter the Inner Sect or become a Core Disciple, I can see about opening a private kitchen to earn some extra Immortal Fate.’