Eternity Starts From His Seed

Completing their tour through the Public Commons, Xiao Panzi issued a warning to Bubai, "This is the last destination of our tour, but be warned... There are a couple of restricted areas in the sect that even I can't bring you to see. I'll just point out their directions, and it's best for you to be cautious in the future, lest you get punished..."

As the Xiao Panzi droned on with his warnings, Bubai listened attentively, committing the information to memory.

However, his gaze intermittently shifted towards Xiao Lan, who now walked in silence beside him, her hand still entwined with his. Normally, she would have withdrawn by now, but today she seemed preoccupied.

Bubai chose not to comment, finding solace in the cool softness of her hand. He didn't mind holding on a bit longer.

The sunset brilliance had already began to fade away by the time they returned to the Registration Pavilion.

Stepping into the pavilion, Xiao Panzi released a relieved sigh, stealing a glance at the duo holding hands behind him, mumbling to himself, "These two... not normal at all. But this really isn't a good sect to be in that sort of relationship."

As if catching wind of his words, Xiao Lan stirred, withdrawing her hand from Bubai's grasp, eliciting a glare from him directed at the retreating guide’s back.

Inside the Registration Pavilion, the same chubby man still sat at the counter, his head now resting on his hand, clearly on the brink of falling asleep. Xiao Panzi approached the counter, gently whispering to him, "Manager Qiao. Oi... Manager Qiao."

The chubby man roused from his daze, glancing around before fixing his gaze on Bubai. "Oh, finally back. The decision from above has come down; I've been waiting just for you!"

Standing up, Manager Qiao raised his fists, saluting politely, "Congratulations, Brother Mo, for officially becoming an Inner Disciple. In the future, please take care of this little one whenever you can."

As he quickly processed the situation in his mind, Bubai instinctively reciprocated the salute, saying, "Manager Qiao, it should be me saying that. Let's get along in the future."

"Naturally. Naturally. Haha..." Manager Qiao handed over an inner disciple token and a thin paper booklet, "This is your identity token. Keep it on you at all times, and make sure to immediately report to us if you lose it.”

He then pointed toward the booklet, “And this is the rule book of the sect, just in case Xiao Panzi forgot to tell you anything. Also, I made some notes on the last page regarding the upper echelon's decision on your resource allocation... well, it's best you check it later."

After Bubai hung the token on his waist, Manager Qiao passed a green jade slip to Bubai. “Fortunately, Brother Mo doesn’t have to sleep outside tonight. You were assigned an abode and you can use this jade slip to enter it.”

As Bubai took the slip, Manager Qiao gripped it firmly, leaning in and speaking in a softer voice.

“And... once you are able to, it’s best to refine the jade slip as soon as possible... to avoid others entering your place if you lose it. Some members of the sect have rather strange hobbies… I’m sure you want to avoid those...”

Strange hobbies? As a man of culture, he understood.

Ugg… another danger to keep an eye out for. Why must the jade slip require refinement and not something simple, such as recognizing the owner with a single drop of blood? Alas...

“Of course, if misfortune knocks on your door, you can try bringing it up to the Law Enforcement Hall in the Central Palace District, but... it’s best you can resolve it yourself.”

Bubai nodded, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Manager Qiao."

Releasing the jade slip, Manager Qiao nodded as he yawned, waving his hand towards the guide. “Xiao Panzi, I’ll leave it to you to take Brother Mo to his abode in the East District. The address is engraved on the jade slip, don’t get it wrong.”

“Yes, Manager Qiao.” Xiao Panzi bowed respectfully before gesturing for Bubai to walk first, “Young master Mo, please.”

Bubai nodded and walked alongside Xiao Lan, with Xiao Panzi a step behind despite being their guide.

As they approached the door, Manager Qiao hollered out a final reminder. “Brother Mo, whenever you are ready, feel free to come to the Registration Hall to view and register for a task. Remember, if you don’t complete a valid task within a year, you may be forced to take one.”

Bubai turned back and saluted silently, acknowledging the man’s good intentions.

Leaving the Registration Pavilion, Bubai was led through the now sparsely populated road, bathed in a dim red glow from lanterns hanging on the buildings.

On the way to his abode, his sensitive ears picked up faint whispers and muffled squelching sounds in the shadows, evidence of certain couples enjoying the night life.

Both Xiao Panzi and Xiao Lan also seemed aware of the nearby activity, but none of them went to investigate. After all, those who dared to stay out this late were at least inner disciples.

Soon, Bubai stood before a three-floor white tower. Glancing around, he felt fortunate not to see another white tower too close nearby. It was a good thing he didn’t become neighbors with the man who toasted him earlier.

He didn’t oppose the lifestyles of others, but it didn’t mean he would feel comfortable if he was on the receiving end of it.

Stopping his steps not far from the tower, Xiao Panzi bowed slightly. "I can only take you here. Just insert your jade slip into the key slot, and you should be able to enter."

Bubai saluted politely, saying, "Thank you for everything today."

"Oh. There’s really no need… Honestly, I'm not used to such politeness. After all..." Xiao Panzi shook his head, a wry smile on his face, before walking away.

Watching Xiao Panzi's back disappear into the shadows, Bubai couldn't help but glance over at Xiao Lan. "What does he mean?"

Xiao Lan's face remained expressionless as she responded in a cool voice, "Weren't you wondering what punishment the men receive in the sect?"

Bubai tilted his head, perplexed. "Huh? What does this have to do with this?"

Maintaining her nonchalant tone, Xiao Lan elaborated, "I heard from others while serving my previous master... Many abodes, pavilions, and even the palace require male servants. However, most didn't want another man mixed with their women. Then, there were men who were an eyesore to others... so they made the best of both worlds."

She cast a glance downward, fixing her gaze on little Bubai. Understanding her implication, Bubai felt a chilling sensation down there as he instinctively clamped his legs. "No way, the punishment is being a eunuch?"

Xiao Lan looked away, her blank face staring forward in silence, confirming his words. In that moment, Bubai finally comprehended the depth of Manager Qiao's warning.

He had one year. If he couldn't muster the strength to maintain his status as an inner disciple and complete a task, he might genuinely face such a severe punishment.

The old geezer won him an opportunity through the backdoor, but compromises were made, and clearly, he couldn't just relax and enjoy until the protagonist comes smacking on his door.

But one year… with his golden finger, as long as he had sufficient resources, it should be enough!

Gazing at his new residence, Bubai approached the key slot, sliding his jade slip into the slot.

Then he waited, his gaze fixated on the towering structure, waiting to see something interesting happening… but nothing happened.

Turning around, he looked towards Xiao Lan, only to see her cool, azure eyes dully staring at him, as if regarding a country bumpkin. Yet her iceberg face maintained an emotionless facade. In a monotone voice, she instructed, "You need to infuse a strand of Qi into the jade slip to activate it."

Bubai scratched his head awkwardly. "Er, Xiao Lan, you see... I'm just a mortal."

Xiao Lan's expression remained stoic, silently staring at Bubai, disbelief evident in her eyes.

"Haha," Bubai chuckled nervously. "Would you mind?"

Without a word, Xiao Lan approached, her fair, slender finger making contact with the jade slip. In an instant, a soft glow radiated from the jade slip, and the heavy door of the tower began to rumble open, unveiling a narrow corridor illuminated by the reddish glow of lanterns.

Bubai withdrew the jade slip and entering his new residence, with Xiao Lan trailing behind. Her steps faltered momentarily upon crossing the threshold, but she resumed her advance as if unaffected by the pause.

As they entered, Bubai noticed the key slot appearing by the entrance wall. It seems others wouldn’t be able to leave the tower without his key.

Rumble. Rumble. As the tower door rumbled shut behind them, they stood in the midsection of the dimly lit corridor, stopping before an obscure glass double door, its almost opaque material blurring the scene of the room beyond.

Grasping the flush pull handles recessed in the glass door, Bubai slid the doors apart, revealing a lavish semicircular room, and at its center was a small in-ground, rectangular pool with steps over the entire width.

Bubai peered at the barren pool, his eyes searching for the nonexistent fountain and water pipes, only to find two stalls. "Bathroom... but why is there no water?"

"Water is a precious resource in the desert, and users must procure it themselves. Most tower owners possess the means to carry or condense their own water with Qi. If you can't, you may hire a servant, provided you can afford it." Xiao Lan explained.

Bubai looked at Xiao Lan, imagining the scene of the bathing beauty. "Can you?"

Meeting his gaze, Xiao Lan replied with blank expression, "Enough to wash myself."

Ah, pity. Guess there wouldn’t be any swimming lessons anytime soon.

Sliding the double doors shut, Bubai turned around, sliding open the single door and peeked in, seeing an empty storage space, essentially a spare room.

Shutting the door, he resumed continued down the corridor and ascended the spiral sandstone staircase.

Ascending to the second floor, Bubai marveled at the well-appointed lounge decorated with opaque glass tables, chairs, cabinets, and even wool rugs. Approaching one side, he rolled up the woven straw shades and peered through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, taking in the night scene outside.

Lightly rapping the thick glass, Bubai couldn't resist asking, "Can't other cultivators just break in through this window?"

"You can break it from inside, but there is a tower barrier serving as an external shell to prevent others from disturbing inner disciples during closed-door training. When fully activated, it will require at least a Golden Core level strike to break it, preventing others from breaking in... or out." Standing beside him, Xiao Lan touched the glass, gazing vacantly forward in silence.

Bubai turned towards Xiao Lan, sensing her silent, gloomy mood as she lost herself in some unresolved memories. A woman being trapped within a tower, it could be imagined what atrocities happened.

Gently, he grasped her chin and turned her face towards him, "Forget about the past. You belong to me now."

Staring back at him, Xiao Lan’s purplish lips parted slightly as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she wordlessly bit her purplish lips as she turned and walked away, settling cross-legged on the rug in the lounge.

Well. Almost? Bubai raised a brow, before eyeing the staircase leading upward. "You're not going up with me?"

With eyes closed, Xiao Lan replied with an impassive face, "There's only the cultivation chamber left, nothing to see."

Bubai licked his lips, scanning the iceberg beauty up and down  "All the more reason to come with me."

Xiao Lan opened her eyes, her expression unchanged. "Go up first and see."

Playing hard to get? But this was unlike her usual personality. Did he missed something? Raising a brow, Bubai confidently ascended the stairs.

Upon reaching the top, he pushed open the ornate yellow jade door and surveyed the windowless, dome-shaped... bedroom.

At its center lay a solid block made from an unknown black quartz-like material, cushioned by a layer of wool. Red silky curtains cascaded from the ceiling, forming a canopy over the king-sized bed.

This was the cultivation chamber? Bubai had heard details regarding the normal, simplistic cultivation chambers prevalent in the orthodox sects and Ling City. But now, seeing this cultivation chamber, for a brief moment, he couldn’t help but doubt the validity of those claims.

“Or maybe this luxury is unique to cultivation chambers of this sect? Well, it’s a dual cultivation sect, I should’ve expected at least this much...” As Bubai stepped inside, wanting to see if there was anything special about the quartz bed, his sensitive ears heard the jade door behind him abruptly closing with a soft click.

Before he could react, a pair of soft hands covered his eyes. A hot breath tickled his ear, and a sweet, familiar voice teased, "Hehe... Guess who?"