Hua Xiran thought about how to guide her new disciple.
"How much do you know about the demon cultivation system?"
"I don't know anything about it."
"Well, let me explain…"
In the demon realm, many different species of demons exist, but they all have something in common they all possess a core.
"What's a core?"
"It's a little bead in their bodies that changes as they advance their cultivation. Some demons manifest physical changes to match the realm they are in. Take foxes, for example, their strength correlates with the number of tails they possess. Cores are what all demons possess; even you have one."
"Wha-what I have that inside me?!"
"Right now, you should be a Tier 1 Spirit Beast. Other than that I don't really know the rest of their realms or how its different for you since your a hybrid."
"Is it different since I'm a hybrid?"
"Yes, the demons in the demon realm start as feral beasts when they reach spirit awakening, they form intelligence, and then once they reach a certain realm, they take a humanoid form, but look at you, you already have both since you were born."
"So, there is no difference between beasts and demons?"
Hua Xiran heard this she broke out into laughter.
"Hahahaha, Don't say that to them, they'll beat you to death. In the beginning, they may have been beasts, but after advancing, they separated themselves from them. They take that as an insult to be compared on the same level as beasts."
A long time ago, the demons in the demon realm began as mere animals. They formed cores and progressed to have intelligence and a human form. They started their society and clans. Producing the next generation over a long time, their children now start with having cores that they just need to activate, unlike their ancestors who had to create one. So when the demons are compared to mindless instinct-driven animals, not only demons, but anyone would get offended.
What's the big deal? Humans started from monkeys!
Bai Shuying, with her modern knowledge, thought they were overreacting.
"If you want to know more, there are books in the Yin-Yang Sutra Pavilion, so help yourself. You possess a core and human spiritual roots, your core seems to be activated, you just need to awaken your spiritual roots."
"What happens if I awaken my spiritual roots?"
"You'll make leaps and bounds in cultivation, your fox and human bloodline seems to be in harmony, which is quite rare, in texts it is said hybrid bloodlines conflict, leading to weak physiques, defects, or sometimes early death."
Shit! Why does the world hate hybrids so much?! Could it be due to my excellent potential trait?
"It will be more difficult; you need to cultivate both systems, so you need an abundant amount of resources compared to a person in a single system."
Bai Shuying gulped.
I'm just a poor abandoned girl! What wealth do I possess?!
"Don't sweat it, as long as you excel well, the sect will cover it after all the sect invests in the talented."
Hua Xiran took a token and an anklet and gave them to Bai Shuying.
"Master, what are these?"
"The token is a proof of identity. If anyone stops you, just flash this to them, as for the anklet, it will hide the fact you're a hybrid."
"Wow! Master, thank you!"
Bai Shuying jumped with joy.
"For now, you can explore the sect, but make sure you go to the Yin-Yang Sutra Pavilion to take out some cultivation and combat techniques. I usually allow freedom in what you want to do. If you have any questions, come to me."
Tears welled up in Bai Shuying's eyes ever since coming into this world it was a first that someone showed such care for her.
Hua Xiran, seeing this, rubbed Bai Shuying's head. Bai Shuying, lost in her feelings, did not notice the predatory gaze of Hua Xiran.
"Meilin, come in!"
Su Meilin entered the room.
"Oh, yeah, master, what's your name?"
Hua Xiran looked at Su Meilin, who had a smile on her face.
She's playing pranks again.
"My name is Hua Xiran, the Yin-Yang Sect Master."
Bai Shuying felt that she had heard wrong and rubbed her fox ears, believing they were clogged.
"Master, I think I heard wrong. What position are you?"
Hua Xiran and Su Meilin giggled at the reaction.
"Yin-Yang Sect Master."
Bai Shuying's jaw dropped.
Taking the back door is so scary! How did I end up the sect master's disciple?! So unscientific!
Bai Shuying started to question the world.
…
Hua Xiran and Su Meilin were in a discussion, leaving Bai Shuying with her fox ears and tail hidden to wander around the sect.
Bai Shuying walked around she noticed the sect was different from what she thought.
The great authors described the sect as a den of sexual deviants, with bottom lines non-existent, and public displays of obscenity.
If Hua Xiran did not reform the sect, it would be exactly as Bai Shuying thought, but now it is more restrained and cleaner, excluding the style of clothes they wear.
Bai Shuying was lost in her thoughts.
While rumors were spreading that Su Meilin had come back with a girl and had taken her to her residence. This shocked many disciples as Su Meilin always kept a distant and cold attitude towards them; after all, who did not want to make friends with the personal disciple of the sect master?
Unknown to Su Meilin, she has a group of secret admirers in the sect who like her cold facade.
Bai Shuying suddenly found herself in what seemed to be a botanical garden, plants of different types growing here and there. She wandered around lost until she ran into someone.
A woman with gray hair tied into a bun, wearing a long robe that covered her body to her calves, her feet were bare, she possessed emerald eyes, and had few wrinkles on her face show casing her age.
Why are all the women I meet barefoot?!
What caught Bai Shuying's attention was the plants the woman was watering.
Wow! Those look amazing!
The flowers were brimming with vitality and gave off fluctuations of multiple colors.
"What kind of flowers are they?"
The woman was not surprised by Bai Shuying, she sensed her presence the moment she entered the garden.
"They are a species of life flowers, due to the energy they emit, it looks as if it's brimming with vitality, hence the name life."
Bai Shuying stood admiring the flower.
Due to her past as a farm boy and her merging with Bai Shuying, led her to develop a fondness for plants.
Bai Shuying looked at the woman and asked.
"Excuse me, elder, what's your name?"
"My name is Hua Qingyan. Who are you? I've never seen you before."
Bai Shuying remembered what her master told her and took out the token, showing Hua Qingyan.
"My name is Bai Shuying, Elder Hua. This is my identity token."
Elder Hua was surprised.
When did that little girl take another disciple?
"Are you interested in the garden?"
"Yes, the garden is amazing! I wonder who created it? The layout and the flowers were taken care of meticulously, you can tell how much love they put into it."
Elder Hua smiled.
This is the first time someone has complimented my garden.
Elder Hua was disappointed, everyone is so busy that they never take the time to appreciate their surroundings. The garden is something she worked on from a young age to show the Yin-Yang Sect members to enjoy the beauty of life, not just the carnal pleasure. No one visits, not even her daughter. Even so, she takes care of it, maybe somewhere in her heart, she was hoping a person would show up and appreciate it.
So, when Bai Shuying showed up and expressing her heart felt admiration Elder Hua thought it was all worth it.
"I created the garden."
"Wow, you did! Can you give me a tour?"
"Sure."
Elder Hua and Bai Shuying spent their time going through the garden, Elder Hua enthusiastically explained each flower and Bai Shuying expresses her admiration and thoughts. The two avid gardeners had an endless discussion.
Bai Shuying noticed she spent too much time here and needed to go to the Yin-Yang Sutra Pavilion and asked Elder Hua for directions.
"Elder Hua, I have to go, but I'll come and visit again!"
Elder Hua watched her leave with a smile on her face.
Bai Shuying only thought she was just a regular elder, but Hua Qingyan was a grand elder who even the sect master had to bow their head to; after all, who can go against their mother? She also possessed a vital role in the sect; the herbs she grows are used by the alchemists to create pills, and the produce from her garden feeds the Qi Condensation and foundation establishment sect members. Truly, Bai Shuying is creating a terrifying network of people.
…
Bai Shuying finally made it to the Yin-Yang Sect's Sutra Pavilion, a grand structure in the form of a pagoda with three levels. Disciples were entering and exiting, not as many as the libraries she had seen in her previous life.
Bai Shuying climbed the stone steps and entered the pagoda. At the center of the open floor stood a large circular table, within which sat an old man with a long, silver-streaked beard, quietly absorbed in a book. On either side of the room, elegant curved wooden staircases spiraled upward to the next level. Beneath the stairs, grand double doors opened into an expansive chamber lined wall to wall with towering bookshelves. Inside, disciples moved with quiet purpose, selecting tomes from the shelves, their robes brushing softly against the polished floor.
Bai Shuying made her way to the front of the table. She observed the old man for a moment, and then the book covering his face. An old brown paper book with the title' '36 Postures Everyone Should Know'.
Could that be a martial arts book? Wow!
"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me?"
Qin Xuan, who was absorbed in his book, snapped out of his trance by the soft voice, annoyed that he was interrupted, placed the book on the table, and looked at the girl who was bothering him.
When he saw a cute red-haired, sky-blue-eyed girl, his annoyance vanished. He responded to Bai Shuying's question with a kind voice and a small smile.
"What do you need help with?"
She showed her token to the elder in charge. When the elder saw the token, his eyes trembled for a moment.
This is a token for the sect master's disciple! When did she accept a new one?
Bai Shuying tilted her head and said.
"...Elder?"
"Cough, Are you a new disciple?"
"Yes, I recently just joined."
"I see. My name is Qin Xuan, an inner elder in charge of the Yin-Yang Sutra Pavilion. Since you're new, I'll give you an explanation about the Sutra Pavilion."
Elder Qin raised his hand and pointed at the door to the right.
"The right side is for men."
He then pointed to the door on the left.
"While the left side is for women."
He then turned his focus back onto Bai Shuying.
"The first floor contains paper books, while the second floor has jade slips. With your token, you have access to everything except the third floor."
The first floor was split into three sections. The center portion contained books about anything from common subjects, such as cooking, to complicated subjects such as history. On the left are books geared towards women, while on the right are books geared towards men.
The second floor was a repository of profound knowledge, housing martial arts manuals, cultivation techniques, elemental spells, and more, all meticulously preserved within jade slips. In the cultivation world, the preservation of knowledge is sacred. Even if a sect were to fall and its disciples scattered, its legacy could endure through these slips, waiting to be discovered by a destined soul who might one day revive its name. Unlike parchment or scrolls, jade slips do not decay with time; they are nearly indestructible, infused with the creator's spiritual energy to safeguard the wisdom within. The floor itself mirrored the structure of the first: divided in half, with one side reserved for male cultivators and the other for female disciples, maintaining tradition and balance within the Yin-Yang Sect.
The third floor could only be accessed by the sect master and elders.
Bai Shuying expressed her gratitude to the kind elder.
"Thank you for the explanation, Elder Qin."
Elder Qin smiled and replied.
"You're welcome."
Bai Shuying entered the left side on the first floor and picked books at random, and flipped through them. Due to her great comprehension, it was easy for her to memorize and digest the information.
Hahahaha, this is what it feels like to be a top student!
Bai Shuying picked another random book, which happened to be the same book Elder Qin was reading. Curious, she flipped through it.
Ahhh! My eyes! What weirdo would leave this here?! That pervert Elder Qin was reading this in the open?!
The book Bai Shuying read belongs to a thriving industry that continues to expand by relying on the basic carnal desires of the animal species known as humans.
The quality is so bad, too!
If Elder Qin knew Bai Shuying not only called him a pervert, but despised his taste, he would have pulled his beard and thought.
What does a little girl like you know?! I am a cultured scholar!
Bai Shuying threw the book away and criticized the book. Compared to the modern world, the book was very primitive to her. Bai Shuying was not much for the 3d world, but a member of the 2d fan club, but even then, she only viewed erotically drawn figures, never anything beyond that; she was ultimately pure with only stained toes.
Bai Shuying made her way to the second floor. Her eyes started to spin at the sheer amount of jade slips, not knowing where to start.
Let's take guidance from the great works I have read, they have never steered me wrong!
Bai Shuying recalled all the great works she had read and knew which technique she should first get.
A movement art! All great protagonists perfect the art of retreat!
Bai Shuying browsed the shelves she felt her sixth sense activate towards a certain jade slip.
Wow! It had this kind of function too! This trait, worth two points, was a steal!
She picked the jade slip and read the name engraved on it.
"Hmm, Lotus… Steps."
Name sounds pretty okay, not flashy!
Bai Shuying took the jade slip and placed it onto her forehead, like how she saw what other disciples on the second floor did, and soon, information poured into her mind.
Wow! To think I would experience information being poured into my head. Hmm, what an interesting movement art.
Bai Shuying placed the jade slip back and looked for a combat technique.
It has to be a sword technique!
Bai Shuying rummaged through sword techniques, hoping her sixth sense would activate again. When she grabbed a jade slip, her trait reacted. She picked the slip and placed it on her forehead.
"Thousand Lotus Bloom?"
Do I just have an affinity with lotuses?
Bai Shuying now looked for a cultivation technique.
Members of the Yin-Yang Sect practiced the Yin-Yang Fusion Scripture, which Bai Shuying will not and cannot practice.
Hua Xiran did not tell Bai Shuying the cultivation art Su Meilin practiced; instead left her to choose one from the Sutra Pavilion.
Su Meilin is the only member of the sect who practices the cultivation art, Two Moons, the female version, while the male version is Two Suns. The principles of the two cultivation techniques are Yin replenishes Yin, or Yang replenishes Yang. This was a technique Su Meilin accidentally practiced.
Unlike Hua Xiran, who was forced to practice the Yin-Yang Fusion Scripture when she possessed a pure Yang physique, Su Meilin, who possessed the pure Yin physique, practiced the Two Moons cultivation technique; the only caveat with this is that she can only do so with one partner.
Su Meilin does not know this, and Hua Xiran will not tell her. Hua Xiran supplies her Yin items, and Su Meilin believes she just needs to use these. Now that Bai Shuying appears, Hua Xiran plans to have Bai Shuying help them resolve both their problems.
Bai Shuying could not find one that could activate her trait until she spotted a dirty piece of jade sticking out from the bottom of the shelf. The moment she placed her hand on it, a ringing sensation happened in her mind.
Hahahaha, here it is!
She picked the jade slip and wiped it with her hand, and pressed it on her forehead. Information about the Blooming Lotus cultivation technique appeared in her mind.
Another one about Lotus!
Bai Shuying finished what she needed to do, prepared to leave the Sutra Pavilion, but before she left, she looked at Elder Qin, who had that book in his hand, and thought.
A person without taste. Not as cultured as I was.
When Elder Qin felt Bai Shuying's gaze, he thought.
Why do I feel the little girl is looking down on me?
Bai Shuying hurried back to Su Meilin's residence to show off her choices.