A Thought Through Eternity

Chapter 72 - The Sect’s Rules

After a few days, a rumbling sound resounded from within the pill-refinement room that Bai Xiaochun was in. Bai Xiaochun walked out with a woeful expression on his face.

“Refining Grade One medicine pills has nearly been perfected, but how can the Grade Two medicine pill be this difficult…” Bai Xiaochun groaned. These days, other than cultivating, he was also refining medicines. The herbs he had stashed were almost all consumed. He originally planned to try and refine a Grade Two spirit medicine, but realised that the difficulty had multiplied, and even if he was extremely cautious, he still kept failing.

Every attempt, he would discover a large amount of issues, and after solving them, even more would arise.

He sighed gloomily, walking out of the Medicine Refinement Pavilion. When he raised his head, he immediately noticed that there were actually quite a lot of people sitting cross-legged outside. These people were seated in groups of three or four people. A total of more than a dozen of people were seated, the majority of whom were youthful girls, none of which he had met before.

They were all beautiful young women. Each of them was attractive in their own way and were similar in terms of their good looks. When the bevy of young women noticed Bai Xiaochun, their eyes sparkled.

All these females were accompanied by elders. These elders too were pleasantly surprised when they noticed Bai Xiaochun and quickly stood up. A group of people quickly flocked to Bai Xiaochun.

“Stop, What’re you… trying to do?” Bai Xiaochun stared with his mouth wide open, unable to understand the circumstances as he subconsciously stepped back.

“Fellow Bai, this old man is Zhao Tianhai. Zhao Yiduo is my nephew. Haha, Fellow Bai is a young hero and is a fine-looking man as expected!”

“Fellow Bai is a like a dragon and phoenix among men, with extraordinary valiance. One look and I can tell that you are a roc in the clouds, a man with limitless future in this lifetime. Hoho, this old man is Sun Yunshan. These are young clanswomen from my Sun Clan. Is Fellow Bai lacking in maidservants that he can call upon by his side?”

“Fellow Bai, this old man is Zhou Tian. When I saw Fellow Bai, I could already sense your heroic spirit blow against my face as if I had seen a future pillar of ourEastern Range cultivation world. It feels like we are old friends meeting for the first time. Have a look at the women by my side and see how they are. Every single one of them is one of my Zhou Clan’s treasured pearls...”

Countless voices were vying to be heard. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes widened and backed away again. After listening for a long while, he only understood that these people were here to present their young clanswomen to him...

But he had no idea why. All these women before his eyes were quite beautiful, quite a few matched his taste. With all these women delivered to him on a silver platter, if he were to reject them all, it would appear that he was not giving them any face. This made Bai Xiaochun quite wary.

However, he was crafty when it came to dealing with people and did not reveal the thoughts in his heart. With a smile on his face, he made small talk with the representatives of the cultivator clans that had approached him and quickly excused himself.

Before he could even return to his residence, he came across various people demanding his attention along the way. All of them had similar purposes - presenting their young clanswomen, resources and countless goods.

“What is the big deal! Could it be that they have investigated my origins and discovered an extraordinary immortal? Could it be that I, Bai Xiaochun, am not an ordinary civilian and I… I, Bai Xiaochun, am actually someone with a background as large as the heavens? Heavens, even I didn’t know these things!” Shock gripped Bai Xiaochun’s heart as he lost himself in various fantasies and conjectures as he hurried to his courtyard. When he returned to his residence, he was once again surrounded by a group of people from the cultivator clans who were waiting there. Every single one of them had an eager look in their eyes, as if so long as Bai Xiaochun nodded his head, anything was possible!

Especially all those girls, all of them huddled around Bai Xiaochun’s side, glaring at one another; pushing and shoving each other around.

This scene caused Bai Xiaochun’s scalp to go numb. He was stuck in the middle of all of them, surrounded by softness and some even pulling his clothes. While gripped with anxiety, a cold humph suddenly arrived from the side. Hou Xiaomei glared with puffed cheeks as she angrily moved forward, tearing the girls away from Bai Xiaochun.

“Get off, get off!”

“What in the world are you people doing? This is the Spirit River Sect’s Scented Cloud Mountain. Do none of you aunties know any modesty? All of you, get off. And you, you are so skinny that you look like a lentil, what’re you getting all excited for? And what about you, you fat sow. Get off!” Hou Xiaomei’s angry voice sounded as she approached, pushing away all the girls surrounding Bai Xiaochun.

She was fuming with anger. She was without a doubt petite, but it seemed as if her strength knew no boundaries. Under this barrage of words, those girls immediately stopped. Hou Xiaomei put her hands on her waist with a scowl. Her words were most vicious, aimed at their Achilles’ heels.

Bai Xiaochun took the opportunity to quickly escape to his courtyard. When he looked down, he was shocked to discover his clothes disheveled.

“That was scary!” Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. Still shocked, he raised his head to look outside. Hou Xiaomei was standing at the gate and arguing heatedly, one against dozens of people.

In the end, those representatives from the cultivator clans could not watch any further, and one by one, they all left under her persuasions. Before leaving, they cupped their fist to Bai Xiaochun, saying that they will come visit again another day.

Not until dusk arrived did silence arrive at the gateway. But one look into the distance revealed many representatives sent by cultivator clans sitting cross-legged nearby.

The cultivator clans’ representatives all had their own means to be allowed to stay there, no one could chase them away.

Bai Xiaochun felt that something big must have happened, so after seeing the outsides quieten down, he pulled Hou Xiaomei inside.

Hou Xiaomei was incomparably daring and resolute toward outsiders, but after being pulled by the arm by Bai Xiaochun, her face immediately flushed red. She felt her small head become dizzy and obediently went along with Bai Xiaochun, allowing herself to be pulled to his side.

“B-Big brother Xiaochun, there are a lot of people here, what are you doing…” Hou Xiaomei muttered, whispering softly just like a mosquito.

(ED note: Hou Xiaomei uses gēgē here, a rather intimate way to address an older brother)

“Huh?” Bai Xiaochun blanked out when he saw Hou Xiaomei act in such a way. Surprised, he slapped Hou Xiaomei’s face. Seeing Hou Xiaomei still hadn’t returned to normal, he slapped her again.

“What is the matter with you?”

Hou Xiaomei snapped out of her daze and stomped her foot in embarrassment when she realised that she had misunderstood Bai Xiaochun. She threw a jade slip at Bai Xiaochun and quickly ran out with her head lowered.

Seeing Hou Xiaomei run away, Bai Xiaochun was at loss as he took a look at the jade slip Hou Xiaomei had left behind. After using his spiritual energy to scan the jade slip, his eyes suddenly widened and he inspected it once again. After a long time, he went into the courtyard and sighed deeply.

“Honourable Clan…”

This was the jade slip that Hou Yunfei had allowed Hou Xiaomei to send. There were some things that she really couldn’t say out loud, as such, she had relayed the temptations of Bai Xiaochun’s status as an Honourable Disciple toward the cultivator clans, resolving his confusions. Lastly, she also vaguely mentioned that their Hou Clan was also extremely interested in Bai Xiaochun’s blood descendants and hoped that… they would possess half of the Hou Clan’s blood.

Thinking of Hou Xiaomei’s appearance just now, Bai Xiaochun placed a hand under his white chin, a gleam slowly appeared in his eyes. His attention was not placed on Hou Xiaomei, but rather how the whole matter was like a gift granted to him by heavens!

“I never imagined that, ah… I initially thought that the reward that I received for my contributions this time was useless. Only my status as the Sect Head’s Junior Brother made me stand out from the rest in the sect. I never thought that my status as an Honourable Disciple that I took no notice of was actually so highly regarded outside the sect!” Bai Xiaochun licked his lips, his heart beating wildly.

“Simply choosing my partner and so many resources would be given to me for free… There is hope for immortality!” Bai Xiaochun chuckled as the gleam in his became brighter. He was initially worried that refining Grade Two spiritual medicine consumed too much resources and he wouldn’t be able to sustain himself. But now, there were suddenly so many people vying to send him people and presents as per his wishes.

“It is really a pity. If only I could have all of them…” While Bai Xiaochun was mumbling to himself, an idea suddenly flashed across his mind.

“That is right, why wouldn’t I have it all!” Bai Xiaochun let out a dry cough and returned back inside of his cabin. He did not rest throughout that night as he pondered about this matter. On the morning, he went outside in high spirits. When he opened the courtyard’s door, he discovered there were already many clansmen waiting outside from long ago.

“Fellow Bai…”

“I pay my respects to Fellow Bai. This humble one goes by the name Laozu from the Feng Clan, and has come for a visit…”

Everybody began talking and countless voices were raised. Bai Xiaochun raised his chin and flourished his small sleeve.

“Alright, come in clan by clan if you have any matters to discuss.” Bai Xiaochun spoke with a smile on his face, pointing toward a random clan. That cultivator clan’s representative immediately beamed and quickly went in, bringing the young clanswomen by his side together with him.

Not long later, he left along with those young clanswomen, his expression revealed him contemplating about the gains and the losses. The surrounding representatives of their respective cultivators clans watched on worriedly, and one by one, they all quickly sent messages back to their clans.

In this manner, another clan went in. Slowly, the clans went in one by one until a whole day had passed and Bai Xiaochun had met dozens of the cultivator clans’ representatives.

He neither picked nor rejected any of the young clanswomen. He told each and every one of them that he needed to think this matter through as it was too important to not consider it twice. He had also repeatedly rejected those so-called gifts presented at the first meeting.

“I, Bai Xiaochun, walk and sit with my back straight. Since I have not decided as to whether I would establish a connection with your esteemed clan through marriage, then it is really inappropriate to accept these gifts.” Bai Xiaochun spoke these words to every single clan that visited him.

The more he said those words, the less any of the cultivator clans’ representatives would blunder as to really take away the gifts presented at this first meeting. Hence, one by one, they became polite to the point of even saying that if they were unable to become relatives by marriage, then they could at least be friends. Only after Bai Xiaochun dropped his resistance did he accept those gifts.

These representatives of the cultivator clans were naturally no fools and could see through Bai Xiaochun’s words, and realised that in reality, he was waiting to see all of the clans before selecting the one which suited him the most.

But this matter was already within their expectations. They were not afraid of sending gifts. The only thing they were afraid of was Bai Xiaochun not picking one at all. Therefore, when the next day arrived, not only did the representatives not decrease, but they conversely increased. A lot of the cultivator clans had even brought some young clanswomen not necessarily as partners. After all, even a maidservant could warm the bed. As long as it resulted in a blood descendant, all they needed was for Bai Xiaochun to recognise it as his child.

These cultivator clans that came to visit Bai Xiaochun were all competing against one another using the first-meeting gifts they presented. On the receiving end, Bai Xiaochun was getting nervous. In the end, even if he wanted to reject, the other party would think that he was looking down on their clan.

“Alright, I will accept… How can I not accept?” Bai Xiaochun received them for about seven-eight days in a row and had already gotten used to seeing a group of people waiting for him once he opened the gate every morning.

This continued until three days later… Bai Xiaochun opened the gate in the morning just like usual and stiffened. There was not a single person outside the gate… It was completely empty and when he raised his head to look out into the distance, that didn’t change.

Only some five-coloured phoenixes were floating in the distance. Those phoenixes were Elder Zhou’s treasured pets and would usually circle around the Scented Cloud Mountain every day, especially in the morning when they would dance together in the air. It was very beautiful and a lot of disciples marveled at them.

Bai Xiaochun rubbed his eyes and felt that there must have been something wrong with the way that he opened the door, so he opened it once again but the result was still the same. Only then did he come to his senses.

“What’s going on?” Bai Xiaochun hastily walked out in surprise, looking for Hou Yunfei to inquire and discover the answer.

“Senior Uncle Bai… The Sect Head, as your Senior Brother, he announced to all of the cultivator clans that… according to the sect rules, you can’t take a partner within a hundred years. So… everyone had no choice but to leave.” Hou Yunfei sighed and looked at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun was stunned as he felt deeply wronged in his heart.

“This has destroyed my income and ruined my marriage…”

Hou Yunfei did not know whether to laugh or to cry. He suddenly seemed to remember something, and with a serious expression on his face, he slowly spoke.

“Xiaochun, I heard from my friends on the Green Peak Mountain that there was some conflict between you and Shangguan Tianyou? Qian Dajin does not matter because the sect has also resolved it discreetly, but Shangguan Tianyou is not easy!”

“What is not so easy? He’s a generation older than me?” Bai Xiaochun had already been in the Spirit River Sect for many years. He had long since understood the sect’s ways of governing the disciples. They prohibited any killing between one another and encouraged them to help and compete with one another. As for the general management, each mountain had its Elders with the Ancestors helping with its overall management. There was also the Law Enforcement Agency that served as deterrence and the Sect Head who supervised them all.

However, combined with the smaller areas, the Southern and Northern parts of the Spirit River Sect together would result in tens of thousands of people. Naturally, it was impossible to supervise all the fights and conflicts between disciples or those that had a lot of wicked thoughts. However, they strictly adhered to the rules when it came to rewarding and punishing. If there was anyone who overstepped the boundaries, the punishment would be extremely severe!

The sect naturally knew all about the feats, herbal achievements and valiance in combat that Bai Xiaochun had, and they regarded him highly. However, they would not pamper him. Even if there were people ridiculing him or provoking him, no one who would jump out and stop them… Not a single disciple had this kind of treatment before. Regardless of whether it was Shangguan Tianyou or Bai Xiaochun, it was all the same.

Therefore, even though Bai Xiaochun had never seen Shangguan Tianyou. Even though Shangguan Tianyou was very arrogant, holding the lofty title of a Heaven’s Chosen, he was still hailed as a Young Master by inner sect disciples while being an outer sect disciple himself. In the end, Bai Xiaochun still payed him no attention.

Hou Yunfei pondered for a moment before continuing to speak.

“Shangguan Tianyou’s ambitions are very big. His goal is to one day enter the Legacy Order. That is why he has been suppressing his cultivation so that he does not break through. He has been waiting for the specially appointed divide between the Inner and Outer Sect from which the eighth level Qi Condensation Heaven’s Chosen from the South Bank and the North Bank will compete against one another. He wants to enter the Inner Sect with the status of the top disciple which would allow him to chase after the Legacy Order in the future. If not, he would have long since applied for the promotional exam to the Inner Sect. After all, once one reaches the eighth level of Qi Condensation, they would most likely succeed in the trial and become an inner sect disciple.”

“No matter what, he must enter the Legacy Order? I heard from Xu Baocai that Zhou Xinqi and Lu Tianlei also have this kind of aspiration.” Bai Xiaochun was slightly shocked.

“Even though Legacy Disciple titles is on the same level as your Honourable Disciple title, it has a different hierarchy in the Spirit River Sect. The Spirit River Sect is different from the other sects because it has two hierarchies. One to govern over the Sect, and the other to constantly increase one’s position in the sect by the accumulation of hard work!

Up to the third level of Qi Condensation are handymen, from there up to the eighth level of Qi Condensation are outer sect disciples, and after reaching the eighth level of Qi Condensation, one can apply for the Inner Sect promotional exams. After they succeeded, one is promoted to an inner sect disciple.

If one reaches the Foundation Establishment stage… then one can become a Foundation Establishment Elder and even hope of becoming an Ancestor of a mountain. If one reaches the Golden Core powerhouse after two sixty year cycles, then they would be the sect’s Grand Elder, protecting and governing the Sect. These are all part of the first hierarchy.

There is also the second hierarchy, the Legacy Order!

There is only one way to enter the Legacy Order… Breaking through to the Golden Core stage within two sixty year cycles. From there, one can detach himself from the mundane. They would achieve a position in the cultivation world after breaking through for the Sect, obtaining even larger resources as well as accumulating… the true reality beneath the surface!

To only use two sixty year cycles to reach the Golden Core is way too difficult… In the current generation, the one with the highest potential was Li Qinghou, therefore, the sect regards him very highly!” There was an expectant look in Hou Yunfei’s eyes as he told Bai Xiaochun all the news as if he was his own clansman.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. This was the first time that he had heard of the Legacy Order. This conversation had also given him a clearer understanding of the sect. Even after he left, he still thought about the matter for a long time.

“Legacy Order?”

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4th guaranteed chapter of the week.

Translated by: Nat

Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch

Translated by XianXiaWorld