After I returned from the cave with the good news from Guan Jin, I had rushed straight to Wang Ren to inform him. Hearing that he would also be able to enter the Blossoming Heavens, Wang Ren was overjoyed. How could he not be?

This was the first stage where all of the most talented cultivators of the era would clash. For those with their eyes set on the peak, this was an opportunity to show their strength.

Of course, the temptation of treasure and ancient, lost techniques had great appeal too. Especially for me. In fact, if not for Second Elder Li telling me that there could be lost healing arts inside the Blossoming Heavens, I might not have gone.

The two weeks passed by in a blur. I thought that it might drag on with how excited I was, but actually I ended up being so busy that I barely even had time to think.

What we managed to accomplish in those two weeks almost surpassed everything from arriving on Million Flowers Celestial Peak until the start of this period of waiting. To begin with, Wang Ren and I finally agreed on a layout for the sect's future.

Until now we'd only built houses at random and then had the grasping life palace as a central gathering spot. However, if the sect was to grow large in the future, that would develop into pure chaos.

We needed to plan for the future to set ourselves up for success. To be honest, I knew little about these matters. I just let Wang Ren take charge.

Despite his brutish appearance he was actually extremely intelligent and educated. With advice from Second Elder Li about feng shui and the optimal placement of certain areas, he was able to devise a layout for the sect on the mountain.

There would be a large area for disciples to live near the base of the mountain, with plenty of space to expand as we recruited new disciples. The houses which were already built would remain that way, allowing the original group to reside near the peak.

While Wang Ren initially raised concerns, I told him that as I had uprooted their lives in Three River City, the least I could give them was a place of honour and a comfortable house. I wouldn't boot them down the mountain to uphold meaningless face.

He consented eventually. The next important area was going to be the healing hall. This would be where all the sect's patients from outside would be treated. For now it would just be me, Xiao Cui, and the newly recruited Feng Mei working there.

I hoped in the future I could develop healing arts to teach new students. In my mind I pictured a scene similar to a hospital from my old world, only far more advanced through the use of qi.

This building would be around the middle of the mountain, denoting its importance. Additionally we would construct a series of halls in order to run the various administrative functions of the sect, which would be closer to the top of the mountain. These included places for legislation, storing artifacts and resources, celebrations, and more.

Additionally, there was to be a sparring ground and training hall built close to the disciple's residences. While the Grasping Life Sect was primarily a healing sect, of course we would have those who cultivated the martial path, such as Wang Ren and Teng Sheng.

Additionally, at the very base of the mountain we would reserve space for any mortals to live in future, when we grew large enough that we needed them as workers and servants. Xiao Cui had also taken charge of tending to the spirit rice, saying that it would be a great way to occupy her time until I had created a technique for her.

Once this was decided, the twins Yu Bao and Yu Jin accompanied Wang Ren and Teng Sheng in order to begin construction of these grand projects. The first buildings were constructed with the local wood, but thanks to the Golden Leaf Consortium we now had plenty of building materials such as marble, iron, various hard stones, and even some jade for decorations!

While that was going on, I told the second elder that he should begin teaching formation arts to anyone who wished to learn them, since he was growing rather bored doing nothing. I would occasionally listen in on his lessons, but most of my time was spent researching cultivation methods and trying to delve into the mysteries of this world.

During those two weeks, things started to get really busy too. We built the healing hall first, as we expected a few patients to begin trickling in, but I never expected the tidal wave of people that arrived within the first week.

Hundreds of people from the nearby towns and villages had rushed to the mountain when they heard that there was a great healer living there! Not only to get treated, many simply wanted a chance to meet me or even simply see me at work.

There were also those who desired to join the sect, either because they had been rejected by the other sects or simply because it offered a better chance at life than they could have in the towns below.

Of those, we ended up recruiting quite a few new disciples. In total, by the time I was preparing to leave, the sect had swelled to almost a hundred people!

There were also hundreds more who we had to reject because they lacked the talent to cultivate. Most of those people also had nothing to offer the sect as mortals, so they were forced to return home dejected.

Whenever I wasn't testing people's aptitude, overseeing the construction work, or researching cultivation, I was constantly busy healing the wounded and the sick. The load was too great for me to handle alone, so of course I had little Cui and Feng Mei assisting me.

This was my first chance to see Feng Mei at work. I had to admit that her skills weren't entirely fabricated, but the level of 'healing' that she displayed was far from adequate. Even compared to the methods of my old world, she was lacking.

Although, given the near absence of adequate healing arts in the Celestial Jade Empire, even her meagre skills were enough to deal with most of the patients we received. Xiao Cui, having been trained by me in mortal healing methods, was able to swiftly deal with any patients that didn't require my advanced touch.

Even though we barely charged for our services, the sheer quantity of patients that came through our doors meant that we were making a lot of money. To me, who had an entire mine of high quality, gold affinity spirit stones under my feet, it wasn't worth mentioning, but to Xiao Cui and Feng Mei it was a staggering amount.

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Unfortunately, most of the cases I dealt with were far from complex or advanced enough to challenge me. My cultivation barely shifted and I didn't feel as if I was learning much in that regard.

However, that actually pleased me. If there were high quantities of cultivators requiring treatment of a level that only I could provide, I would be worried about leaving the sect in the hands of the two capable girls. Given that it was mostly mortals in need, they should have no troubles whatsoever.

Time flew by in this manner and soon the day came for Wang Ren and I to depart for the Blossoming Heavens. I was a little worried to leave my disciples alone, but they all told me not to think about such things and only focus on success in the secret realm.

I stood beside my reliable Senior Brother underneath the gate at the base of Million Flowers Celestial Peak. Opposite us were Xiao Cui, Feng Mei, Yu Chun, Du Wen, the Yu twins, and Teng Sheng.

The newly recruited disciples weren't privy to this private farewell, although I had given them a few inspiring words earlier that day. I wanted to give a proper goodbye to the people I was closest to before leaving.

After all, while I was confident in my abilities, who knew what could happen. This was a chaotic event, the first major sign that the golden age of the era approached. Death was possible at any time.

"Little Cui, my first disciple. Truly you have grown well since that first day we met. I entrust the healing hall to your good hands, along with Feng Mei. Teach her well," I said with a big smile.

A tear glistened in the corner of her eye and she rushed forward to hug me. "Don't die, Master! Or I'll never forgive your corpse," she sobbed.

"Ha, don't say such inauspicious things," I chuckled, rubbing her head.

"Feng Mei, remember what I've taught you. Learn well from your Senior Sister Cui and cultivate diligently. Yu Bao, Yu Jin. Follow Teng Sheng's example and become the pillars for the other disciples."

They all nodded firmly. Although they were the most recent additions to this core group, they were ingratiating themselves well. I thought they would be an important part of our sect in future.

"Teng Sheng, you know what to do. I told you the method to safely destroy your cultivation. Make sure to record everything you observe!"

"Yes, Sect Leader. I won't let you down," he replied with a nod.

Although he hadn't advanced a single star yet and I doubted he would be able to reach Peak Body Tempering before I returned, who knew what might happen in my absence. I had told him to write down everything he felt during his cultivation so my experiment could continue even when I wasn't there.

"Yu Chun, Du Wen. I am glad you are no longer cooped up in that house of yours. Remember there will always be a place for you at my side, whatever happens. If you wish to leave the sect and return to the world, that is fine too. Miss Yu, don't tease anyone too badly while I'm gone," I said, chuckling with mirth at my little joke.

"Hmph, there's no one as fun to mess with as you," she replied, while Du Wen simply nodded.

With my goodbyes said, there was nothing more keeping us from the road. Wang Ren also said his own farewells and then we departed, leaving Million Flowers Celestial Peak behind.

"Sect Leader Zhao, I am not sure I ever expected this moment to come. However, I am glad that you are the person I can explore such a crazy event with. Whatever gets in our way, we will cut it down and reap the rewards!" Wang Ren declared boisterously once we were on the road.

"Senior Bro- Wang Ren, don't tempt fate," I replied with a grin. "Although, you are right. There is no one in this world I would rather experience this Blossoming Heavens beside. With us together, who can stop us?"

"That's the spirit! No one indeed."

****

"Why didn't you take up the second elder's offer to travel with the group from the Li Clan?" Wang Ren asked on the second day of our travels. "It would have been a lot safer."

"Yes and no," I replied. "If we were with them we might have the protection of a lofty core forging master or even a nascent soul sage, but we would also be exposing ourselves to our mortal enemies and leaving ourselves in their hands. If the Li elders decided to betray us, we would be stuck, surrounded by hungry lions on all sides."

Wang Ren nodded at my explanation, understanding the logic. "A man must make his own destiny," he agreed.

"Indeed. And this way we get to travel at our pace. There is about a week until the secret realm opens, but we don't need to rush. Once we get to that Black Horn City we can use the transport array to reach the capital city in an instant."

"I'm quite excited for that. Even the Cloudy Falls Sect didn't have their own transport arrays, since they would ruin the energy flows of the natural formations surrounding it," Wang Ren said, a childish grin on his face.

"Interesting," I replied, somewhat saddened by that discovery. I had hoped that perhaps in the future we might be able to have a transport array in the sect, but that might disrupt the natural formation formed by the flowers.

Although we were far from being wealthy enough to afford such an extravagance. Even with the spirit stone mine beneath the mountain, I would have to beggar myself a dozen times over to have a transport array installed.

It wasn't only the initial cost of such a thing that was a problem either—every time it was activated it would drain a few dozen spirit stones to power itself. Forgetting about dreams of the future, we returned to idle chatter as we made our way towards Black Horn City.

The time passed as we laughed and joked. Both of us could travel many times faster than a mortal or practitioner using our qi. The countryside turned into a blur as we ran.

The first two nights we stayed in inns at two towns we passed by on the journey, but on the third night we hadn't spotted another settlement by the time the sun began to set. I wasn't too worried about camping in the wilderness, but it was riskier than pushing on to find somewhere secure.

"What do you think? Do you know if there are any places close by or should we stop here?" I asked Ren.

"It's still early. Let's keep going until the Jadewind Star rises in the northeast. Travelling after then would be too dangerous. We can't afford to run into a group of awakened or enlightened beasts in the dark," he replied.

I nodded. His plan made sense. Many dangerous beasts grew more active under the cover of darkness and even with our combined strength, taking on a large group of powerful beasts would be a risk I wasn't willing to take right now.

Any injuries might delay us to the point that we missed our chance to enter the Blossoming Heavens. Even though we weren't in a rush, we were still travelling last minute compared to the other powers in the continent.

From what Second Elder Li told me, many of the major clans and sects would send detachments out to camp by the entrance weeks or even months in advance. This gave rise to conflicts, due to the countless rivalries between said powers.

Actually, he'd told me with mirth that almost a third of those hoping to enter would die before the secret realm even opened! This world was bloodthirsty. I had known that already, but it was vicious moments like this that hammered it home.

I glanced at the night sky, noticing that the bright green Jadewind Star was almost at its zenith. How a star moved during the night, I wasn't sure, but most used it to navigate.

At that moment, we crested the peak of a hill and a sprawling valley stretched out before us. I swivelled my gaze across it, seeking a place that we might camp for the night.

However, when my eyes reached the centre of that valley, I spotted a cluster of flickering lights. Straining my sight I realised it was a small, walled city situated on the bank of a river that ran through the valley.

"Looks like the heavens are on our side, Ren," I said with a smile.

"Good. I hate camping. A soft mattress is one of life's great luxuries," he replied with a serious expression. "Let's go."

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