141 Sect Leader Fang (1/2)
Nearly two weeks passed as Ed meditated upon his water mana. He failed to split it from his other mana, but his overall control still managed to make improvement. During the journey, he had occasionally opened his eyes to check on his surroundings, but there was nothing particularly interesting to see. They passed through many ordinary villages and cities, just like the ones he had passed on the way to the Fire Dragon Sect. Only Beijing itself had been somewhat interesting due to its size and it being the capital of China. But even there, things were very old-fashioned, causing him to lose interest rather quickly.
Having gone west from Beijing, they passed through rough hilly terrain covered in forest. Fortunately, the area was regularly kept clean by the Purple Origin Sect, so they ran into no mutants during the journey, though they did see some ordinary deer and even a leopard.
After traveling for nearly two hours through the rough terrain, they reached a mountain that stood over 2,000 meters tall. The base of the mountain was covered in a strange mist that stopped them from peering inside. The wedding procession continued forward anyways, sticking to a paved path on the east side of the mountain that led to the top. Even with the rough terrain, it didn't take them very long to climb it.
As they moved up the mountain, the mist seemed to disappear, though it was still visible in the air just a bit away from the mountain itself. There were many crude huts along the lower reaches of the mountain, with cultivators often meditating nearby.
”Those are outer sect members.” Tai explained as he pulled his horse near Ed.
”Outer sect members?” He questioned.
”Right.” Tai nodded. ”Most sects have similar structures, though the setups vary. The Purple Origin Sect assigns the lowest class members to the outskirts of the mountain. If they want to live the high life, then they'll need to earn their way to becoming an inner sect member so that they can join the inner sect. Other than that, there are usually core sect members that are made up of the greatest geniuses that will likely take on the mantle as the next generation of sect elders and leaders.”
”It sounds like a pretty simple hierarchy.” Ed replied.
”True.” Tai agreed. ”But internal politics of sects are a mess more often than not. Especially at the Purple Origin Sect, where the seven other sects basically compete against each other. There are various cliques, and invisible fights are always going on behind the scenes. Try not to make any enemies while we're there.”
”Sure.” He nodded, not feeling too concerned over it.
Soon, they reached the upper portion of the mountain, and the looks of the mountain did a complete 180. It wasn't quite a city like the Fire Dragon Sect, but it was much livelier than the lower part of the mountain. There were paved tile paths leading to various buildings, many of which were restaurants or training halls. Crowds of cultivators happily chatted, sparred, or meditated. In the distance, individual houses could be seen in rows. They looked ancient in style, appearing like four separate buildings joined together in a square. The arched roofs were decorated in colorful green and red tiles, with the walls being pure white.
”Each of those buildings has a courtyard and other buildings inside.” Tai explained. ”They're fairly convenient for housing guests and parties.”
”I see.” Ed nodded.
The wedding procession continued even higher until they came near the peak. The entire way up, not a single sect member had interrupted them. It seemed that they recognized the Fire Dragon Sect symbols and didn't want to get involved in whatever big events were on their way.
Suddenly, the wedding procession stopped in front of a large building near the very top of the mountain. Four purple walls stood in front of them, a tall guard tower sitting at each corner. Beyond the walls was a tall castle, appearing like a wide pagoda. Purple roof tiles decorated the building at several different levels, as if someone had stacked multiple buildings atop each other. Even farther behind the castle was the very peak of the mountain, where a giant marble statue of a muscular man stood. The statue held a giant axe and appeared as if it was going to cleave the mountain in half. The sun was just starting to set, painting the castle and statue in a purple light.
Suddenly, the drums picked up tempo as the trumpets blew loudly. The wedding procession announced their presence in style as the music steadily grew louder.
The front gates of the castle walls slowly swung open, revealing an old man with sharp features. He had a long white beard and wore simple robes that were a mix of light and dark purple colors. He held his head high and had his hands crossed behind his back. His aura radiated authority and demanded respect.
'The hell?' Ed wondered. Even from where he sat outside the gates, he could feel an unusual pressure that seemed to just exist from nothing. Looking around himself, he saw that the other wedding procession members were involuntarily kneeling towards the old man. Only Ed, Tai, Huo, and some of the stronger espers were able to resist.
”Old man!” The old man shouted. ”The hell kind of game are you playing?!” He questioned.
”Old man?” Huo frowned. ”You're the old man, old man! Who are you calling old man?!”
”Obviously you're the old man, old man!” The old man grinned.
Huo returned the grin. ”Alright, enough joking, Chonglin. I've come today to discuss something important.”
”Really?” Fang Chonglin's eyes widened in surprise as he examined the wedding procession. ”I couldn't tell. I just thought you came to steal my good wine and gorge yourself on my good food.”
”Nonsense!” Huo shouted. ”In fact, I've brought plenty of good wine and delicacies with me today!”
”Oh?” Chonglin rubbed his long beard as he turned to the west and stared at the setting sun. An awkward silence enveloped the area as he stood silently like that for nearly a minute.