Finally, I can relax

The Profound Cherry Tree did not originate from the Human Realm, so the Heavenly Dao of this world could not perceive its true origin.
Since even the Heavenly Dao was unaware of its origins, Bai Lan naturally had no way of discerning them either.

The two of them then continued toward the Disciple Market and wandered around for a while.

The market itself was not particularly large.
It contained only a handful of shops, all established and operated by the Luoshen Sect.

These shops mainly sold pills, magic treasures, talismans, and other items necessary for cultivators.

All purchases required sect contribution points.

Contribution points could be obtained by completing missions or by donating spirit stones.

Within the Luoshen Sect, contribution points were the only currency in circulation.

Most of the items sold here were suitable for cultivators below the Golden Core realm, with quality generally reaching only the third grade at most.

Not a single treasure reached the fourth-grade level.

Aside from the shops run by the sect, there were also several stores rented out by individual disciples.

Cultivators, after all, had different specializations.
Not every cultivator focused solely on combat.

Some cultivators specialized in auxiliary professions such as artifact forging, alchemy, and talisman crafting.

Although these cultivators still practiced cultivation, their combat strength was usually somewhat weaker.

However, these professions were extremely profitable.

Of course, becoming an artifact forger, alchemist, talisman master, or formation master also required talent.

High cultivation talent did not necessarily mean one had talent for auxiliary professions.

Unfortunately, most people were unaware of their own aptitudes and often needed fortunate opportunities to discover them.

Along the way, any inner sect disciples who encountered Bai Lan and Luo Yuyan—regardless of faction—would stop and greet them if their status was lower.

The inner sect placed far greater emphasis on hierarchy than the outer sect.

Since Direct Disciples held a status equivalent to sect deacons, it was natural that ordinary disciples treated them with great respect.

After browsing the market, the two arrived at the Immortal Spirit Pavilion.

This pavilion was considered the most lively place in the inner sect.

It served as the designated arena where disciples from various factions of the Luoshen Sect could spar and compete.

The structure itself was a massive open-air pavilion with multiple levels and extremely imposing architecture.

Many inner sect disciples moved in and out of its entrances.

Luo Yuyan continued explaining things to Bai Lan.

After finishing her explanation, the two of them entered the pavilion.

Immediately inside stood a massive jade tablet.

Golden characters were engraved across its surface.

Bai Lan examined it carefully and soon realized that it was a list of names.

She immediately guessed that this was the ranking list for disciples who had competed in the Immortal Spirit Pavilion.

The person ranked first was someone Bai Lan recognized immediately.

It was her Senior Sister Ximen Xue.

Ximen Xue was publicly acknowledged as the strongest disciple of the Luoshen Sect’s current generation.

This title had been earned through real combat achievements, not empty praise.

Furthermore, the rankings of the Immortal Spirit Pavilion came with rewards.

According to the monthly results, the first-place disciple received one thousand spirit stones.

Second place received nine hundred spirit stones.

Third place received eight hundred spirit stones.

The higher one’s ranking, the greater the reward.

However, disciples ranked below one hundred received no rewards at all.

After listening to Luo Yuyan’s detailed explanation, Bai Lan entered the martial arena.

The arena consisted of nine levels, meaning there were nine different battle platforms.

There were two modes of combat.

The first was naturally one-on-one sparring.

The second was multi-person combat.

Multi-person battles could be two-versus-two or three-versus-three team battles.

The results of multi-person battles were not recorded on the jade tablet rankings.

However, participants were required to place wagers.

If someone lost, the items they wagered would become the victor’s spoils.

No one should assume that female cultivators lacked competitive spirit.

However, because today was the assessment day for outer sect disciples to advance into the inner sect, disciples from every faction were observing the trials within their own branches.

As a result, the Immortal Spirit Pavilion was unusually quiet and almost empty.

Luo Yuyan spent nearly an hour leading Bai Lan around the Luoshen Sect and showing her all the important locations.

Only after finishing the tour did she bring Bai Lan to the residence of the Immortal’s Abode.

Direct Disciples did not live in the same residences as ordinary disciples.

Bai Lan would live together with Ximen Xue and Luo Yuyan inside a beautiful pavilion built on the edge of a cliff.

Those who had reached the Foundation Establishment realm could fly up to the pavilion.

Those who had not reached that realm could only climb the stairs.

“Alright, we’ve finished looking around. Junior Sister, this will be our home from now on,” Luo Yuyan said with a smile.

“I live on the first floor, Senior Sister lives on the second floor, and the entire third floor belongs to you.”

Bai Lan nodded.

She then turned to look out over the Luoshen Sect from their position.

From the cliff—more than one hundred meters high—the view was extremely wide and unobstructed.

Of course, many similar residences existed throughout the Luoshen Sect.

Almost all Direct Disciples, elders, and deacons of every faction lived in elevated places.

This was also a visible symbol of their status.

“Understood, Senior Sister,” Bai Lan said.

“You probably still have other matters to attend to, right? You don’t need to keep accompanying me.”

Luo Yuyan paused for a moment.

After thinking briefly, she said nothing more.

She simply reminded Bai Lan of a few things before returning to the Immortal’s Abode.

She indeed had other matters to deal with.

The affairs of the Immortal’s Abode were far from finished.

Not long after Bai Lan became a Direct Disciple of the Immortal’s Abode, Xue Linglong from Tianyin Pavilion also easily became a Direct Disciple of her faction.

After all, her position had already been predetermined.

The assessment process was merely a formality.

The Luoshen Sect consisted of five major factions.

Each faction had its own representative color.

The Immortal’s Abode used white.

Tianyin Pavilion used lotus pink.

Canglan Hall used azure blue.

Tianxiang Garden used pale green.

Luoshen Palace used purple.

Therefore, one could easily determine which faction a disciple belonged to simply by looking at the color of their clothing.

After Luo Yuyan left, Bai Lan climbed up to the third floor.

Each room there was protected by a formation.

To open it, one needed to use an identity jade token.

It worked somewhat like a hotel key card from Bai Lan’s previous life.

After entering the room, Bai Lan looked around.

The decorations were very exquisite.

However, the style was somewhat overly feminine.

The room also contained a bathing pool equipped with a water-drawing formation.

This meant there was no need to manually fetch water.

It would truly be ridiculous if cultivators still had to draw water themselves.

Bai Lan activated the formation.

Soon the bathing pool filled with water.

Only then did she realize that she had not taken a proper bath since arriving in this world.

Cultivators generally did not need to bathe.

A simple circulation of spiritual power could cleanse the body completely.

‘The water is already prepared. It would be a waste not to bathe,’ Bai Lan muttered to herself.

She then began removing her clothes.

However, as she undressed, Baiyu—who had been hidden on her body—suddenly woke up.

Before Bai Lan could react, the small creature leapt directly into the water.

The little creature clearly loved water.

When they had lived near the sea before, it had often jumped into the ocean to play.

Yet despite planning to bathe, Bai Lan hesitated when she was down to her final layer of clothing.

She instinctively hugged her body, a shy expression appearing on her face.

There was truth to the saying that a woman’s skin was made of water.

When Bai Lan had still been a man, she rarely showed even a hint of embarrassment.

But now that she was a woman, perhaps because her skin had become so fair and delicate, a faint blush would instantly appear on her cheeks whenever she felt awkward.

‘It’s not your first time. Why the hell are you shy? Are you still a man?’ a mocking voice in Bai Lan’s mind scolded her.

Encouraged by this internal provocation, Bai Lan gritted her teeth.

She removed the final piece of clothing and stepped into the pool.

Then she leaned back against the edge of the bath.

“Ah… bathing really is comfortable,” Bai Lan sighed as she closed her eyes.

“They say a woman’s body is made of water, and that really seems to be true. The moment I entered the water, it felt like my entire body melted into it.”

In truth, Bai Lan had never imagined that bathing could feel so comfortable.

More precisely, bathing as a woman felt completely different from bathing as a man.

This was probably because a woman’s skin was far more sensitive.

As she lay quietly in the water, she felt the water gently caressing her body like soft cotton.

It was also possible that Bai Lan had been under too much tension recently.

Now that she had finally relaxed, the sensation became especially soothing.