The Bright Moon Hangs High

After selecting their living area, the two began to inspect the scattered wooden cabins. These cabins weren’t locked, as this wasn’t the mortal world where locks held much meaning. A simple push opened the doors, revealing remnants inside—mostly useless daily necessities, though not an excessive amount of trash.

They chose two cabins that were relatively close, separated by approximately twenty meters. These were the closest two available.

Bai Lan felt that the outer sect disciples who had previously resided here must have been solitary or exceedingly cautious individuals.

As he prepared to clean the room’s contents, Bai Lan noticed a slip of paper on the table, causing him to pause in surprise.

It appeared to be a message left by the previous occupant.

A message? Bai Lan murmured, momentarily stunned before he picked it up to read.

The note read: ‘Hello, junior sister who comes after me. My name is Liu Ruoying. I am about to leave this place. I’ve lived here for a century, and suddenly departing feels a little sad, but there’s nothing for it. My aptitude is simply too poor; I couldn’t achieve Foundation Establishment even after a hundred years…’

After reading the message, Bai Lan let out a soft sigh. He carefully folded the paper and put it away, recognizing it as more than just a note from the previous occupant.

It was also a message of concern from an elder to a junior. Beyond the greeting, it cautioned future residents to be careful while living and cultivating on Eternal Blossom Island, especially regarding other outer sect disciples.

For despite being female cultivators, and appearing harmonious on the surface, the schemes they enacted in secret were often more vicious than those of male cultivators.

The outer sect disciple named Liu Ruoying, whose message this was, had evidently witnessed too many treacherous power struggles. This was why she had moved to such a secluded location.

Staying far from others naturally meant fewer troubles, but it also brought solitude. The note contained many details, and Bai Lan was certain that this girl, Liu Ruoying, possessed a kind heart; otherwise, she would not have left such a thoughtful message for those who followed.

For instance, the previous occupant of Xue Linglong’s cabin had left no message, nor anything behind. In stark contrast, the occupant of Bai Lan’s cabin had left many items, including blankets and quilts freshly washed before their departure.

Everything was meticulously clean; even the flowers on the windowsill had been pruned.

For Bai Lan, achieving Foundation Establishment would certainly not be difficult. Once his Chaos Body fully integrated and he began cultivating, it would be effortless. Therefore, he had no need for these items.

After a moment of thought, he gathered the items and made his way to Xue Linglong’s cabin. Upon arriving, he discovered that Xue Linglong’s chosen dwelling was completely empty, which suited his purpose perfectly.

“Linglong, here, take these,” Bai Lan said, handing the blankets to Xue Linglong. “These were left by the previous occupant of my cabin, and they’ve all been washed. Your room is empty, so you should need these.”

Xue Linglong paused, intending to refuse, but Bai Lan cut her off.

“Don’t refuse,” Bai Lan insisted. “I don’t need these things.” With that, he placed the items directly onto the bed.

“Oh, well, thank you, Senior Sister Bai Lan.” Xue Linglong ultimately did not refuse, accepting the items. Though their interaction was brief, she had already formed a general understanding of Bai Lan’s character.

“You must be tired from your journey to Eternal Blossom Island,” Bai Lan said with a smile. “Go on and get some good rest. Don’t worry, I’m here. If anyone comes, I’ll call you.”

At the mention of rest, Xue Linglong truly felt the weariness settle in.

“All right, then I’ll take a nap soon,” Xue Linglong replied. “But, Senior Sister Bai Lan, aren’t you tired?”

Bai Lan shook his head, then turned and departed.

Truth be told, being called ‘Senior Sister’ by a young girl was incredibly disorienting for a man. In his previous life, children of Xue Linglong’s age would have addressed him as ‘Uncle’.

Time slowly drifted by. Back in his own dwelling, Bai Lan reluctantly changed into the outer sect disciple attire, feeling a strong sense of awkwardness and resistance in his heart.

Yet, once he put it on, perhaps due to the higher temperatures on Eternal Blossom Island, the outfit felt significantly more comfortable than his previous clothes. However, it offered no sense of security, even less so than the Disciple Attire of the Fallen Immortal Pavilion he had worn before.

I’m doomed! I’m becoming even more perverse, Bai Lan lamented, gazing up at the sky. Touching this silken material, I actually find it comfortable. Ah, heavens! How much longer must I endure such days?

“What’s wrong? Why are you calling me? Is something else the matter?” Just as he was complaining to the heavens, Yun Yao emerged.

After all, the ‘heavens’ Bai Lan referred to was precisely her; the Heavenly Dao was universally known as the ‘heavens’.

Bai Lan then remembered that the ‘heavens’ was right beside him. Alas, she couldn’t actually help him with this particular predicament.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Bai Lan said. “Just keep an eye on our surroundings for me. If anyone approaches, give me a warning. I’d like to rest for a bit too.”

Yun Yao nodded. Following that, Bai Lan glanced at the wooden bed, then lay down upon it.

Yet, the moment he lay down, Yun Yao’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Congratulations, Bai Lan, for joining a cultivation sect for the first time! You’ve gained 1 point of Life Experience.”

“Congratulations, Bai Lan, for making a friend for the first time! You’ve gained 1 point of Life Experience.”

…

As soon as Bai Lan closed his eyes, a barrage of notification sounds flooded his ears, quite noisy. It seemed that during this trip, Bai Lan had completed many ‘first-time’ actions.

“Hey, hey, Yun Yao,” Bai Lan interjected, cutting off her notifications. “You don’t need to remind me every single time. Just tell me when I want to know how many experience points I have.”

“Alright, I understand,” Yun Yao replied with a chuckle. “I’ll remind you once a day then. From the moment you met Xue Linglong until now, you’ve accumulated a total of 12 points of Life Experience.”

“12 points? What can 12 points even do?” Bai Lan mused. “By the way, is your reward system modeled after the game reward mechanisms on our Earth?”

He felt increasingly as though he were playing a game.

“Something like that,” Yun Yao confirmed. “Feel free to browse the treasury; as long as you have enough experience points, you can exchange them for anything with me.” After this reminder, Yun Yao fell silent, entering a state of dormancy.

With the notification sounds gone, silence instantly descended upon his ears. During this period, quite a few outer sect disciples, having passed their assessments, came to inspect the cabins here.

However, they were all very cautious at this time. They merely glanced at the sign on the door, confirmed it was occupied, and then departed. Every outer sect cabin had a sign displaying two large characters: ‘Occupied’.

Every house had one. After Bai Lan and Xue Linglong discovered these signs, they promptly hung them on their cabin doors.

Time quickly transitioned into night. Perhaps because he had slept too long during the day, Bai Lan naturally awoke around seven in the evening.

“Ah…! Oh! That feels good. Is it evening already?” Bai Lan muttered, looking at the dimly lit room.

He then opened the door and stepped out. Since the cabin’s main door faced the sea, opening it revealed the shimmering blue ocean, and, notably, an immensely colossal moon hanging at the horizon.

This world’s moon was significantly larger than Earth’s. As the moon slowly ascended from the sea’s horizon, it instantly brought a particular verse to Bai Lan’s mind.

The bright moon rises over the sea, its light shared across the vast expanse.

Alas, at this moment, he was utterly alone. He sat down by the door and retrieved the cultivation method provided by the Luoshen Sect.

The cultivation method required for all outer sect disciples was called the Hundred Flowers Technique. It was the most fundamental cultivation art of the Luoshen Sect, a very low-grade, first-rank technique.

In this world, cultivation arts were divided into nine ranks and thirty-six stages, alongside divine abilities and immortal techniques. This Hundred Flowers Technique was merely the most elementary of them all.