Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 135: Onpeak Rules

The moment Xu Qing’s Foundation Establishment aura erupted out, and the sound of bells filled the Seventh Peak, three figures shot down from the top of the mountain.

If an outside Foundation Establishment cultivator tried to step onto the peak, the spell formation would block their path, not cause bells to ring. Then the formation would ask why that cultivator was visiting. If they had come to pay a visit to someone on the peak, that person would be notified. If that person agreed to see the visitor, then the spell formation would let them in. That was what happened when Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior came to visit Daoist Idlecloud. [1]

But for bells to ring like this meant only one thing: a sect disciple had arrived who hadn’t yet registered as reaching Foundation Establishment. Of course, enemy attacks were another matter entirely.

Not every disciple in Seven Blood Eyes would use the sect’s facilities set aside for Foundation Establishment breakthroughs. For one thing, such places were expensive. Also, most disciples who managed to claw their way up through Qi Condensation in such a chaotic world would have some ‘destined opportunity’ that would set them apart from the masses. Such situations weren’t uncommon. In a sect that focused solely on profit, trust was a rare commodity, therefore, about thirty percent of disciples would leave the sect for their Foundation Establishment breakthrough.

Such matters of ‘destined opportunities’ often involved going to distant ruins. In such cases, other disciples would usually notice if someone close to a breakthrough left, and could theoretically follow them to take advantage of the situation. However, that was heavily frowned upon. After all, if word got out, it could harm the reputation of Seven Blood Eyes.

Therefore, the sect was very strict about prohibiting internal fighting when it came to Foundation Establishment breakthroughs. Granted, it still happened, and in those cases, the Onpeak cultivators didn’t pay much attention, as whoever carried out such operations would plan them carefully. Few people would be foolish enough to try without doing so.

Of course, Xu Qing had carefully considered all of those factors before making his decision to leave the sect for his breakthrough.

A sharp whistling sound could be heard as the three figures from further up the mountain flew toward him. In the lead position was an average-looking man in a violet robe, with a round face. He was the very same cultivator who had led Xu Qing up to get his daoist robe when he first joined the sect. He was also the one who had given Xu Qing advice about his habit of holding his hand in a certain way, and had told him it was better to be a needle concealed in silk. Xu Qing felt a bit nostalgic seeing him. Back then, he hadn’t truly understood what it meant to be a needle concealed in silk. But after his experiences in Seven Blood Eyes, he knew firsthand how important it was. [2]

Xu Qing had learned a lot in Seven Blood Eyes. Clasping hands, he bowed deeply to the three cultivators. He was met with hearty laughter.

The round-faced cultivator landed in front of him and smiled warmly. “Xu Qing! I knew when we first met that there was something special about you. That’s why I gave you that advice. Now, look! You’re already someone I can consider a peer!”

“Many thanks for that advice, Senior,” Xu Qing said, clasping hands again.

“You don’t need to call me Senior. You’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator now, so we can call each other Elder and Junior Brother. Junior Brother Xu Qing, my name is Zhang Yunshi. From now on, just call me Elder Brother Zhang.” [3]

Looking down, Zhang Yunshi noticed the astonished Zhao Zhongheng. Being a shrewd individual, he could guess what was going on between Zhao Zhongheng and Xu Qing, but didn’t ask any questions.

“Junior Brother Xu Qing, shall we go up the peak?”

“If it’s no bother, Elder Brother Zhang,” Xu Qing replied, politely bowing his head. At the same time, he respectfully clasped hands to the other two cultivators flanking Zhang Yunshi.

Apparently, all Onpeak Foundation Establishment cultivators concealed their fluctuations, as he had no idea how strong any of them were. That included Zhang Yunshi. That realization made him more aware of keeping his guard.

These two obviously ranked lower than Zhang Yunshi; when they realized that Xu Qing and Zhang Yunshi knew each other, they smiled faintly and took their leave.

And thus, Zhang Yunshi took Xu Qing with him up the peak.

The trees on either side of the mountain path connected overhead like a canopy, and as the sea breeze drifted through the leaves, birds sang.

It sounded lovely, and also stirred Xu Qing’s memories, making him think back to the first time he’d walked this path.

“Junior Brother Xu,” Zhang Yunshi said, “I was the one who introduced you to Offpeak life in Seven Blood Eyes. Today, I’ll explain about Onpeak life. There are thirteen elders on the Seventh Peak, and all of them are Gold Core cultivators. Underneath them are the Foundation Establishment cultivators like us. There are currently more than 140 of us in total. After you register today, there will be exactly 149 Seventh Peak Foundation Establishment disciples.

“That seems like a lot, but it really isn’t. In total, Seven Blood Eyes has close to a thousand. That’s it. And remember that our sect is one of the four largest on the continent of South Phoenix. The point is that Foundation Establishment cultivators have a very high status. It’s the same everywhere in South Phoenix, including Seven Blood Eyes.

“After you register, you’ll start earning about 5,700 spirit stones per month. The exact amount changes every month depending on sect income and expenditures.

“As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you have the right to live on the peak. But you’ll have to spend your own money to get a mansion grotto. It’s the same with Foundation Establishment techniques. In Qi Condensation, you got them for free, but not now. That said, you do qualify to purchase any Foundation Establishment technique from the Hall of Scriptures and Magic.

“As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you have four privileges.

“The first privilege comes with two options. The first option is to develop your own harbor in the port! It can be a sect harbor or a public harbor. As the owner, you’ll split the profit from that harbor with the sect. That said, you’ll have to run the business, and you’ll need to provide the initial investment funds for the development. If you don’t want to have your own harbor, your second option is to lay claim to one of the streets in the capital city. All of the shops on that street will pay their rent to you. That option is easier than the first. All Foundation Establishment cultivators get to pick between one of these two options. Take your time to think about which one fits you best.

“The second privilege is that if any Offpeak disciple offends you, you can kill them on sight. However, you have to pay a fee of 10,000 spirit stones for the first person you kill. If you kill a second, you have to pay double, and so on. You can never kill someone without paying that fee, and the debt can never be wiped out.”

Although Zhang Yunshi explained this with a smile, it caused Xu Qing’s pupils to constrict.

“This rule is something that all Seven Blood Eyes Foundation Establishment cultivators have to bear in mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re outside the sect, or in it. You always have to consider whether or not it’s worth it to kill someone weaker than you. By the way, if it’s an Offpeak disciple from one of the other peaks, the fee is double.

“The third privilege is that you can pick two Offpeak disciples, or anyone else that you approve of, to be your attendants. They earn the right to live for free in the capital city, or they can practice their cultivation on the peak, registered under your name. Coupled with the third privilege is the right to teleport to any Seven Blood Eyes city for free. In addition, every year, you can distribute one hundred living permits for any Seven Blood Eyes city. Remember, in scavenger basecamps and other small towns, such permits are very expensive. And they are only available to people with a recommendation from a Seven Blood Eyes disciple.

“The final privilege is that you get protection from Seven Blood Eyes. Because of that, no Gold Core cultivator from the outside would dare try to kill you. In fact, assuming you pay enough spirit stones, not even a Nascent Soul cultivator would dare cut you down. Actually, if you offer enough spirit stones as a reward, the sect will even help you go out and kill people like that.

“Something you must remember is that, while Offpeak disciples are like wolf pups, Onpeak cultivators are a pack of lone wolves!

“You don’t need to worry about Gold Core cultivators harming you in the sect. Outside the sect, you’re on your own. But here in the sect, a Gold Core sect member who kills a Foundation Establishment disciple has to pay an initial fine of 1,000,000 spirit stones. It’s the same for a Foundation Establishment cultivator who kills another Foundation Establishment cultivator. And the fines double for every subsequent kill. Just like the fines I mentioned before, such debts can never be wiped out. Also like I mentioned before, it’s a situation of determining whether killing that person is really worth it.”

Zhang Yunshi was still smiling, but his words made it clear what the Foundation Establishment position and Onpeak brutality were all about.

“What are my responsibilities?” Xu Qing asked.

“Responsibilities?” Zhang Yunshi chuckled. “All of us here worked hard to fight and kill our way up from among the Offpeak disciples. It was all our own effort. Therefore, we owe no responsibilities to the sect. If you want to stick around, you can make money. If you want to leave, no one will try to get you to stay. That said, the missions posted by the sect offer handsome rewards, so people usually scramble to finish them. If you want to save up a lot of spirit stones, earning some extra on the side always helps.

“Now, if enemies harm our interests and interfere with our long-term profit, we will step in. After all, as long as Foundation Establishment cultivators are careful, we can live a very long time. So maintaining our monthly income is important.

“Of course, it’s always possible that enemies will try to buy you off. And you’re free to accept such offers if you want. But consider: do you really think our enemies are stupid? For one thing, they know that buying off one or two of our cultivators wouldn’t be worth it. If they wanted to make any such operation work, they would need to buy off a lot of us. In fact, it would cost so much money that, in the end, it wouldn’t even be worth it.

“Full-scale wars with our enemies can actually be quite profitable, as you learned in the Grand Competition, so our cultivators generally flock to join in the fighting.

“The Onpeak elders know that disciples are wolf pups, so they don’t worry much about overseeing us. Everything comes down to profit. The ones the leadership really care about are the conclave disciples, who enjoy the best aspects of the sect. They really try to give them a unifying force and sense of belonging.”

Thanks to Zhang Yunshi’s explanation, Xu Qing understood a lot more about Onpeak life in Seven Blood Eyes. At this point, they were about halfway up the peak.

“You came at a bad time. Normally, new Foundation Establishment cultivators get to offer greetings to the peaklord. But all seven peaklords went out to sea recently. I guess something big is going on.

“Grand Elder and Second Elder are gone as well, which means Third Elder is in charge right now. After you offer greetings to him, I’ll take you to get your mansion grotto and show you the Hall of Scriptures and Magic.”

Just then, Xu Qing spotted Third Elder’s grand hall, which he had been to before. In fact, there was a familiar figure sitting cross-legged outside: it was none other than Honor Guard Li, who worked closely with Third Elder. [4]

Upon opening his eyes and seeing Xu Qing and Zhang Yunshi, Honor Guard Li smiled faintly. “I had a hunch the bells were ringing because you reached Foundation Establishment.”

Xu Qing clasped hands politely. Honor Guard Li was also masking his fluctuations. However, from what Xu Qing remembered of being around him, he was likely in Foundation Establishment, and strong within that level.

He’s probably got a life flame, Xu Qing thought, though he remained calm and collected.

“Go on in. The elder’s waiting for you.” Honor Guard Li looked from Xu Qing to Zhang Yunshi. Zhang Yunshi shrugged his shoulders and backed up a few steps to wait.

Xu Qing took a deep breath and walked into the hall for the second time. He sensed the same thing he had last time. As soon as he stepped in, he felt mountain-toppling, sea-draining force coming from the person seated cross-legged on the other side of the hall.

But this time, he was able to see the old man clearly. Third Elder had age spots on his face, and wore a violet daoist robe embroidered with gold. His face was completely expressionless as he looked at Xu Qing. When their gazes met, Xu Qing’s mind spun. The elder’s eyes seemed to pierce through him like lightning, allowing the elder to see everything about him. Thankfully, the life lamp was hidden by his shadow, and the elder didn’t detect it.

“Greetings, Third Elder.” Xu Qing said, inclining his head, clasping his hands, and bowing deeply.

“You’re so young, but you’ve already opened two dharma apertures. Impressive.” Then Third Elder said something that struck Xu Qing to the core. “So, you’re the one who took the Spirit Breath Lamp from the Merfolk?”

1. Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior visited Daoist Idlecloud in chapters 70-71. ☜

2. The conversation with the round-faced cultivator about a needle concealed in silk was in chapter 51. ☜

3. Zhang Yunshi: Zhang is #3 on the list of the 100 most common Chinese surnames. It’s the same surname as Zhang San. Yun means “cloud” and Shi is a title word that can mean a lot of things, including “soldier, scholar, gentleman.” Madam Deathblade said that this name made her picture “an older guy with glasses, probably a scholar.” ☜

4. Honor Guard Li, and also Third Elder, last appeared in chapter 110. ☜

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