Chapter 42 Part 1

Senior Brother Fang was a Golden Core Cultivator who excelled at commanding demon beasts.

His master was a disciple of the Palace Lord, a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and one of the managers of Flowing Firefly Island where the demon beasts resided. Therefore, Senior Brother Fang had also been stationed on Flowfire Island long-term, handling the daily management and nurturing of the sect’s demon beasts.

This was the information Le Qingping had told Xie Linlang.

After Xie Linlang expressed his willingness to work as a menial disciple under Senior Fang, Le Qingping smiled and shared some details about Senior Fang. She also mentioned where she lived and invited him to visit her courtyard sometime.

Shen He took the opportunity to introduce himself, saying that since he was a friend of Senior Sister Le, he was also Shen He’s friend. If Xie Linlang needed to refine any pills, he should just come find him at the Pill Room.

Xie Linlang nodded with a smile and exchanged sect tokens’ rune papers with Shen He. This way, if he wanted to contact Shen He within the sect, he could simply send a rune flying crane.

However, such flying cranes carried the risk of being intercepted or opened.

Senior Brother Zheng stood to the side with a displeased expression. Once Le Qingping and Shen He left, he smiled at Xie Linlang and said, “Flowfire Island where Senior Fang is stationed is a great place. They raise the demon beasts needed by our palace there—some provide mounts for disciples, some help disciples search for heavenly treasures and earthly riches, and some have molted parts that can be used directly in medicine. If you can win the favor of those demon beasts, you might even receive gifts from them, which you could sell for quite a few spirit stones.”

Xie Linlang feigned delight. “Really? Then I must thank Senior Brother Zheng for recommending me.”

Senior Brother Zheng replied, “How does that compare to Senior Sister Le bringing you into Silent Night Palace? She really has an eye for talent. Speaking of which, how did you meet Senior Sister Le?”

Xie Linlang had anticipated that Senior Brother Zheng would ask. He gave Senior Brother Zheng a charming smile. “We both took a fancy to the same cultivator. In our competition, I lost to her, and that cultivator became Senior Sister Le’s fat sheep.”

Senior Brother Zheng’s expression stiffened slightly, and his body leaned back a bit.

Xie Linlang let out a long sigh, his brows and eyes filled with frustration and confusion. He even deliberately lifted his gaze and blinked at Senior Brother Zheng, putting on a pitiful look. “I still don’t understand where I lost, so I wanted to come to Silent Night Palace. Could Senior Brother Zheng perhaps enlighten me?”

Senior Brother Zheng nearly twisted his body behind the Mission Hall’s desk. He hurriedly shoved several jade slips at Xie Linlang. “I don’t know. I’m not close with Senior Sister Le, haha, not close at all.”

But Xie Linlang did not leave. He kept staring at Senior Brother Zheng and pressed on. “What are Senior Fang’s preferences? Since it’s my first time meeting him, should I bring a gift? Will he dislike me? Might he deliberately trip me up? How can I win his favor…”

Senior Brother Zheng was hounded into a corner. He quickly signaled the on-duty cultivator with his eyes, then said he had cultivation to attend to and slipped away through the Mission Hall’s back door with swift steps.

The on-duty cultivator blocked Xie Linlang from chasing after him. Xie Linlang could only sigh again before turning to the guarding cultivator with eager anticipation. This cultivator was straightforward and directly handed Xie Linlang a document on Flowfire Island.

He also leaked an interesting piece of information to Xie Linlang.

“Senior Brother Zheng has worked here for nearly a century. He looks like a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but which Foundation Establishment Cultivator who has lived a hundred years looks this young?”

Xie Linlang’s heart stirred at the words, but in his view, Senior Brother Zheng was just a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He could not see through Tribulation Transcendence or Mahayana Cultivators. Could Senior Brother Zheng possibly be a senior at those realms? Impossible!

“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother.”

Xie Linlang took the pile of jade slips and left.

The courtyards allocated by Silent Night Palace to new outer disciples were at the outermost edge, not far from where Shen He had lived before. Now that Shen He was an inner disciple, he had his own quiet chamber in the Pill Room and no longer needed to return to the outer courtyards.

But Pang Sanxian still lived there. Considering that his grandfather needed care from the Pang Family Restaurant, Shen He occasionally returned to stay.

Xie Linlang followed the token’s markings to his assigned courtyard. It was still a square-shaped courtyard with rooms on all four sides, all occupied except for a small quiet chamber in the farthest corner.

Xie Linlang unlocked the quiet chamber’s door. The inside was fairly clean. He inserted the token into the door slot, activated the protective formation, and entered the chamber.

The standard furnishings in the quiet chamber included a soft couch, a set of table and chairs, a square Spirit Field Basin, and a wardrobe.

Qi Refining Stage cultivators still needed to eat grains to sustain themselves, so the quiet chambers for Qi Refining disciples came equipped with a soil basin for growing spirit grains.

Shen He’s previous quiet chamber had one too, where he had planted some improved berries to satisfy his cravings.

Xie Linlang had no need for it. After inspecting it, he sealed the Spirit Field Basin away.

He sat on the soft couch and took out the jade slips Senior Brother Zheng had given him, quickly scanning their contents.

First were some sect introductions and rules, such as the major sect classes Shen He used to attend frequently, the places outer disciples could go and the map layouts, how to collect monthly supplies, and how to take missions at the Mission Hall to earn more demonic stones, class hours points, and contribution points.

Next was an overview of Flowfire Island, where Xie Linlang was headed. Silent Night Palace was located on a peninsula extending into the sea. To the south of the main island, various small islands were scattered thickly, like pearls strewn across the ocean, spreading gradually into the depths.

Flowfire Island was a small island about eighty kilometers from Silent Night Palace—not too far.

From Silent Night Palace’s east gate, after about ten li, there was a dock. Sea turtles ferried back and forth between the dock and Flowfire Island every three days. However, seniors above the Golden Core Stage mostly flew directly there, while only Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples needed to ride the sea turtles.

Flowfire Island had a Sea Heart Hot Spring. Hot seawater surged out and cooled into green crystals resembling drifting fireflies at night, hence the island’s name.

These green crystals could soothe the restlessness of demon beasts, especially powerful great demons whose deep cultivation made it hard to suppress their demonic nature. Living in nests built from Flowfire Crystals allowed them to remain more rational and calm, and also aided their cultivation speed.