Chapter Ten: Entering the Maoshan Sect

This coffin was crafted from thousand-year-old yinwood, a magical treasure capable of changing size at will. For a corpse, it was a rare and invaluable item. Take it; inside, there is already an iron corpse. Once you have mastered the Maoshan secret arts, you may claim it as your own. Enough, I won’t delay your journey into the mountains any longer. Go now.

As the Maoshan guide spoke, he waved his great hand, opening a door in the void. Before Zhang Xiao could react, he was swept through the portal.

Zhang Xiao felt his surroundings shift and blur. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing before a temple gate.

With a heavy groan, the temple doors began to open. Two elder Taoists emerged. Their attire was not only different, but starkly so: one was dressed in a robe of gold-threaded jade, crowned with a purple-gold Taoist cap, his appearance resplendent beyond compare. The other wore plain linen robes, straw sandals on his feet, a simple dust whisk in one hand, his hair secured with a wooden hairpin.

Despite the second elder’s simple attire, his presence felt even weightier to Zhang Xiao than the splendidly dressed Taoist. Zhang Xiao hurried forward and bowed deeply. “Disciple Zhang Xiao comes to pay respects to the mountain.”

“Hahaha, truly a fine talent. With the gates newly opened, our Maoshan among the Five Great Sects is the first to draw such a gifted disciple—what a blessing.” The lavishly dressed Taoist scrutinized him and continued, “I am Kongxuan, Head of Maoshan. This is Kongling, our sect’s enforcer. The two of us practice divergent arts: I focus on the Way of the Corpse God, while Senior Brother Kongling specializes in artifact and alchemical arts. Though both fall under Maoshan’s secrets, our guidance will differ. Tell me, whom do you wish to take as your master?”

Zhang Xiao looked at Kongxuan. Though he was inclined to apprentice under the master of the Corpse God path, his intuition insisted that Kongling was even more formidable. He weighed his options and finally, trusting his instinct, knelt before Kongling. “I wish to take Master Kongling as my teacher.” With that, he respectfully knocked his head nine times upon the ground.

“Heh, I didn’t expect this child to be so perceptive, discerning the hidden truth,” Kongxuan remarked, slightly helpless. He had intended to persuade Zhang Xiao, but the disciple’s decisive act of formal obeisance left him no choice but to yield.

Kongling merely smiled faintly, touched Zhang Xiao’s forehead with a finger, and suddenly Zhang Xiao’s mind was filled with the Supreme Lunar Mystical Sutra. “This scripture is the Maoshan’s foundational law. Whether your focus is on the Corpse God path, or on refining artifacts or pills, you cannot do without this sutra.”

Turning his palm, Kongling revealed a bone ring. “This is a wondrous treasure with a world inside—it can hold a small mountain. Take it as your storage. I see you carry a Lunar Stone; within the ring is a Solar Stone, a token of your initiation.”

Zhang Xiao accepted the ring with deep respect. “Thank you, Master.” Kongling nodded. “From now on, the Headmaster will arrange your training. If you have questions in your cultivation, come to the Hall of Endless Mechanisms.” With that, Kongling’s figure dissolved into a wisp of azure light and vanished into the mountain gate.

Kongxuan could only offer a wry smile. What sort of master gave gifts and left his disciple to self-study? He turned to Zhang Xiao. “Your master is always like this. Still, a Solar Stone is no ordinary gift—it shows his regard for you. If you have questions in cultivation, you may seek my help as well. Though I am no match for your master in alchemy and artifact forging, in cultivation I am nearly his equal.”

“My thanks, Headmaster,” Zhang Xiao replied, bowing deeply. He was then assigned quarters in a bamboo grove behind the mountain. There were no houses—everything had to be built by his own hand, and meals required a trek to the sect’s dining hall.

Had he apprenticed under Kongxuan, Zhang Xiao would have lived in the grand halls of Maoshan. But since he had chosen Kongling, this was his lot.

Still, the peace suited him. Zhang Xiao constructed a simple bamboo hut and bed, cleared a piece of land for a courtyard, and found himself quite content with his handiwork. When all was in order, he sat to cultivate the Supreme Lunar Mystical Sutra.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. After a day’s cultivation, Zhang Xiao opened his eyes, his brows furrowed. The scripture was incomplete. It had seven stages: Spirit Nourishment, Qi Guidance, Mind Condensation, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Pill Formation, and Infant Transformation. The secret arts were fragmentary: in the Corpse God path, one could only refine up to Silver Corpses; in alchemy, only up to Foundation Establishment pills; in artifact forging, only up to Spiritual Treasures, not true magical artifacts.

Why was it incomplete? Zhang Xiao pondered long but found no answer. Three days later, when another disciple entered the mountain, inspiration struck. In his previous life, the sect had inner and outer disciples. The strength of the outer disciples varied greatly, some even surpassing those within. It was said those in the outer sect had been among the first to join, yet for unknown reasons were relegated. There must be some test; fail and one would be demoted to the outer sect.

Understanding this, Zhang Xiao redoubled his efforts. By day, he cultivated the Supreme Lunar Mystical Sutra; by night, he secretly practiced the Prajna Zen Canon. Three months passed in a flash, and Maoshan, once quiet, was now bustling.

Emerging from his hut, Zhang Xiao’s aura was unlike his peers—who were marked by a certain yin softness—his was gentle and balanced, thanks to the Buddhist arts he practiced. Glancing at his attribute sheet, he was already level 25, with all three attributes above 200. He gently struck a bamboo stalk with his left hand. The stalk stood unmoved, yet the leaves cascaded down.

Clearly, he had reached the Qi Refinement stage of the Supreme Lunar Mystical Sutra. Likely, no one in the sect surpassed his cultivation, a feat owed to the assistance of the Prajna Zen Canon. The greatest flaw of the Supreme Lunar Mystical Sutra was its overwhelming yin energy, forcing practitioners to pause often to neutralize its effects. But the Prajna Zen Canon, a supreme Buddhist scripture of radiant harmony, rendered the yin energy harmless and even beneficial.

He had reached the second level of the Prajna Zen Canon, but the third remained beyond reach. The difficulty was that unlike other arts, it could not be improved with pills; only diligence advanced it, and each level was ten times harder than the last. He wondered if he would ever master it.

Suddenly, three resounding bell tolls rang from the Maoshan Grand Hall. Zhang Xiao knew this was a summons and hurried over. He was not alone; as he drew near, the crowd thickened. Upon entering, he saw several hundred people gathered, yet the vast hall was not crowded.

The Headmaster, Kongxuan, had not yet arrived. While they waited, the disciples chatted quietly among themselves.

“Did you hear? Senior Brother Wang entered the Mind Condensation stage yesterday and even tamed an Iron Armored Corpse.”

“So fast? Amazing! I’m still at Spirit Nourishment.”

“Who isn’t…”

Though the voices were low, the numbers made the hall a cacophony. Suddenly, a crisp “Silence!” thundered through their ears, startling all into immediate quiet. Only then did they realize that Kongxuan had somehow seated himself upon the Headmaster’s throne, with Kongling, Maoshan’s enforcer, at his side.

“Maoshan Rule Seven: No whispering in the Grand Hall. Offenders will be expelled. As this is your first offense, you are forgiven. There will not be a second,” Kongling announced coldly, his tone utterly devoid of warmth, sending a chill through the crowd.

Seeing order restored, Kongxuan rose and declared, “One month from today, the Maoshan Grand Competition will be held. The champion will receive a magical artifact and the title of Founding Disciple, with authority to supervise and assign other inner disciples. The second to tenth place will receive a spiritual treasure and be exempt from the Founding Disciple’s authority. Those ranked eleventh to one hundred will be assigned to the various courtyards to manage affairs. The rest shall be ordinary inner disciples. The bottom three hundred will be expelled to the outer sect as stewards.”

His words stunned everyone. Were it not for Kongling’s intimidating presence, the hall would have erupted in chatter.

“Master, may I ask the content of the competition?” A man in Taoist robes stepped forward to inquire.

Kongxuan smiled. “Wang Xu, I see you’ve reached Mind Condensation. The competition will be martial combat. Do you have further questions?”

“Thank you, Master. I have no more questions.” Wang Xu bowed and stepped back.

Zhang Xiao felt a surge of unease. He had anticipated a test, but not that it would be martial combat rather than pure cultivation. He had focused solely on his training, neglecting the secret arts, and had not yet bonded with his Iron Corpse. With only a month, would he be able to catch up?

“Any more questions? If not, you are dismissed,” Kongxuan concluded. Some disciples asked questions, but Zhang Xiao paid them no mind, already strategizing how best to raise his combat strength in the month ahead.