"Medicine King Peak?"
When Chen Jinshu heard she had been assigned to the outer sect of Medicine King Peak, her expression lit up with unconcealed joy.
This was, without a doubt, the most suitable peak for her—and the one she had secretly hoped to join all along.
The Xuanming Sect had five major peaks in total. Medicine King Peak specialized in cultivating spirit herbs and training alchemists. Most of its disciples possessed wood-aligned spiritual roots. The other four peaks were Tianyue Peak, Yanlie Peak, Longxiang Peak, and Bishui Peak.
Tianyue Peak was home to many disciples with metal and earth roots. Yanlie Peak focused on fire-root disciples and was also the sect's center for refining tools and weapons.
Longxiang Peak had disciples with a variety of roots and was the most powerful of all the peaks. Bishui Peak mainly housed disciples with water and wood spiritual roots.
Truthfully, all five peaks were powerful in their own right, each with its own unique and prized heritage.
But in terms of suitability, Medicine King Peak was unmatched. In addition to being assigned spiritual farmlands to tend—which only required a regular offering of spirit stones as tax—disciples could also learn superior alchemy techniques.
"That concludes the list of outer sect disciples for Medicine King Peak! Next, the miscellaneous servants!"
"Sang Zigui, average results—assigned as a servant!"
"Wei Yifan, average results—assigned as a servant!"
…
"Only twenty outer sect disciples were accepted?" Chen Jinshu couldn't help but marvel inwardly, but after glancing at the cultivation levels of the surrounding servant disciples, she understood why.
Among the twenty outer sect disciples selected for Medicine King Peak, the first five had dual spiritual roots and were at the third layer of Qi Refining. The remaining, like her, had triple roots and had reached the fourth layer.
In contrast, all the servant disciples were only at the first or second layer of Qi Refining.
Considering there were five peaks total, it made sense that each one would only take in a limited number of outer sect disciples. Before long, four of the five peaks had already announced their lists.
Now, it was the turn of a Golden Core cultivator from Bishui Peak to announce theirs.
"That concludes the outer sect disciple list for Bishui Peak. Now, the servant disciples—"
"Chen Qiaozhen, low scores—assigned to Bishui Peak as a servant!"
…
"Ding Nanlian, low scores—assigned to Bishui Peak as a servant!"
A familiar name suddenly reached Chen Jinshu's ears.
She turned toward the group of servant disciples—and indeed, there stood Chen Qiaozhen, now assigned to Bishui Peak.
"She actually came to participate in the Xuanming Sect's disciple intake?"
As far as she remembered, Chen Qiaozhen had been betrothed to a direct descendant of the Wang family. Had she refused the marriage halfway through, like Jinshu did?
But no—the thought was dismissed almost as soon as it arose.
Chen Qiaozhen's father, the Grand Elder, was no easy man. He would never allow his daughter to back out of a marriage, let alone flee to join the Xuanming Sect's recruitment.
There was only one logical explanation: Chen Qiaozhen had run away from her engagement.
As for the details, Jinshu had no way of knowing.
At that moment, Chen Qiaozhen looked over as well, but the pride that once filled her gaze was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her eyes looked… untroubled, as though nothing weighed on her heart.
Utterly unfamiliar.
"Strange. Why does it feel like she's become a different person?"
Suppressing her curiosity, Jinshu followed the Medicine King Peak disciples as they departed. Soon, Chen Jinshu and the other new disciples were brought by Master Liu Shang to the peak's main hall—the Medicine King Hall.
Perched at the summit, the hall was surrounded by lush vegetation and rare herbs. The air was thick with medicinal fragrance, the environment serene.
The architecture resembled that of Tianyue Peak's main hall, but the interior was dominated by soft jade-green hues. The walls were built from massive stone slabs and square-cut rocks…
"Welcome to Medicine King Peak! Our peak is responsible for supplying spirit pills and herbs to the entire Xuanming Sect, making our position unique and respected."
"Every outer sect disciple must first learn the fundamentals of spiritual botany. Elders will periodically teach basic alchemy techniques, followed by an alchemist certification test—"
"Of course, Medicine King Peak has strict rules. Only certified alchemists may participate in refining spirit medicines for the sect."
"Remember this: Only those with the alchemist title are allowed to sell pills privately. Without that title, any private dealings—should something go wrong—will be your responsibility alone. The sect will also punish the offender severely."
As she listened, Jinshu was surprised by the number of rules, especially the restriction on privately selling pills without certification. If she wished to profit from alchemy, she first had to become an official alchemist.
"Alright! Servant disciples, follow Zhu Xu!"
"Outer sect disciples, follow your Senior Brother Xiao Kun!"
"Understood, Elder!" Chen Jinshu bowed along with the others and moved to join Xiao Kun's group.
Xiao Kun, the outer sect's senior disciple, greeted them with a bright smile. He wore a raven-blue robe, his hair bound with a jade crown from which two graceful ribbons trailed down, giving him an air of effortless elegance.
"Greetings, junior brothers and sisters! I'm Xiao Kun, senior of the outer sect at Medicine King Peak. If you have any questions in the future, don't hesitate to come to me!"
"Greetings, Senior Brother Xiao Kun!"
"Well then, time is short. Let's go select your dwellings! Only outer sect disciples are granted private courtyards."
"Each residence has unique features. Choose the one you like best."
As they descended the mountain, Xiao Kun explained various sect rules while leading them first to the Administration Hall, where they received disciple ID tokens and monthly stipends.
Then, they proceeded to the Ju'an Hall, responsible for housing and spirit field assignments.
"There are about a hundred residences left. You can choose based on your spiritual roots," said Senior Brother Qian Yidong from Ju'an Hall, smiling.
"I have gold, fire, and wood roots—wood being my primary focus. Could you help me choose a suitable residence, Senior Brother?" Jinshu asked as she subtly handed him two spirit stones.
It wasn't much, but it was a gesture of goodwill. Just as Xiao Kun had advised earlier—those in charge of Ju'an Hall knew each residence well. A small token of appreciation could earn you a better spot.
"No need to be so polite, Junior Sister! There are indeed a few places ideal for wood-root cultivators," Qian replied with a dimpled smile.
"There's Bamboo Grove Courtyard—it has a lush green spirit bamboo inside and a peaceful atmosphere. Then there's Ink Fragrance Residence, with a wood-pear tree whose scent fills the entire yard. Or Ink Plum Courtyard, which features a rare dark-red winter plum—elegant and secluded…"
After describing five different options, Chen Jinshu chose Ink Plum Courtyard for its isolation and suitability for quiet cultivation. The other five residences were quickly taken by nearby disciples—benefiting from her indecision.
"Next, we'll assign your spirit fields. Each outer sect disciple will manage between three to six mu of spiritual farmland, depending on cultivation level."
"Ah, what bad timing! A large batch was just handed out earlier. There are only plots left in Frost Pool Garden, Verdant Garden, and Chrysanthemum Garden. You'll have to pick from those," Qian said as he opened the registry, sighing with regret.
Medicine King Peak was the largest of all the sect's peaks, but most of the high-grade spirit fields had long been claimed by the Golden Core elders for growing rare herbs. Only first- and second-tier fields remained for disciples to cultivate.
"I'll take three mu in Chrysanthemum Garden—please register me!"
"I want three mu in Verdant Garden!"
The moment Qian finished speaking, disciples rushed to claim plots, not wanting to miss their chance.
Chen Jinshu wasn't too particular about her field—it was mainly for covering up her true cultivation space. Somewhere remote would be ideal.
But before she could choose, only the Frost Pool Garden was left.
Frost Pool Garden featured a large icy spring, its waters clear and chilling. It was suited only for growing cold-type herbs, making it far more difficult to work with.