【Encounter at the Carefree Sect】
Dantai Jin remembered that day—the sky was a brilliant blue. His body had rotted away in the river, but by chance, he obtained a demonic artifact and crawled out of that place, regenerating a new form.
Five hundred years had passed. He had searched every corner of the Wailing River, yet he never caught a glimpse of Ye Xiwu's soul.
So, he chose to live.
Only by living could he hope to see her again someday.
After five centuries in the Wailing River, he emerged like a malevolent ghost—pale, broken, and powerless, collapsing onto the grassy shore.
He didn't know what kind of monster he was. His body had decayed completely, like mud on the ground, only to slowly reassemble itself. The only part he had protected with all his strength was his eyes, which could still perceive the colors of the world.
It was then that he first met Immortal Lord Zhaoyou.
The old man rode a donkey, passing by where he lay.
Dantai Jin watched the passerby with icy eyes. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants scattered around him, yet this old man approached undeterred.
Zhaoyou studied the tenacious will to survive in the youth and sighed. "The divination spoke of an anomaly in the southeast, foretelling either fortune or calamity. Little did I know it referred to you."
"Between the thought of life and death, all beings possess a spirit. Where do you come from? Do you have a home?"
The youth’s skeletal fingers dug weakly into the grass, but he remained silent.
For no particular reason, Zhaoyou felt a pang of pity for him. The boy’s eyes were cold and unfeeling, yet when the word "home" was mentioned, his blood-streaked gaze grew distant and lost.
Zhaoyou knew that only those who had wandered alone for most of their lives carried such a look in their eyes.
"From this day forth, the Carefree Sect shall be your home."
Dantai Jin heard him say those words.
That day, Zhaoyou took him back. Knowing the old man intended to save him, Dantai Jin abandoned his initial thought of killing him and seizing his treasures.
He was too weak. He needed a place to regain his strength and could not afford to recklessly unleash the God-Slaying Crossbow hidden within him.
As a child, he had heard the fable of the farmer and the snake. The farmer saved the snake, only to be bitten in return.
He saw himself as that snake, his cold eyes scrutinizing the land Zhaoyou led him across.
Dantai Jin lay on the donkey as Zhaoyou, holding the reins, sang a leisurely tune.
The song was unrestrained, carrying a soothing power. Dantai Jin held on for a while before drifting into sleep to the sound of the melody.
Without turning back, Zhaoyou summoned a brocade blanket out of thin air, draping it over the youth.
The donkey carried them through the riverside forest and up into the misty peaks of the Carefree Immortal Mountain.
"We’ve arrived."
Dantai Jin opened his eyes. For the first time in five hundred years, he had managed to sleep. Before him stretched a magnificent sea of clouds. At the foot of the mountain lay vast, orderly fields of medicinal herbs, lush and vibrant.
A persimmon grove stood nearby, its branches heavy with ripe fruit, none of which had fallen.
Noticing his gaze, Zhaoyou smiled and said, "Later, I’ll have Canghai pick a few for you to taste."
Further ahead, the entrance was also surrounded by thriving medicinal plants.
Several men rushed out, greeting them with joyous exclamations. "Master!"
"Master, you’ve finally returned!"
"Ah... who is this?"
Zhaoyou replied cheerfully, "A pitiful soul."
Several faces crowded in for a closer look. The leader was a slightly plump man with a hair crown and a gourd hanging from his waist. His brows drooped with concern. "Such severe injuries... It must be terribly painful."
Sympathy filled the eyes of the young disciples.Tan Tai Jin's dark eyes held a guarded wariness as he silently observed them. There were no truly good people in this world—the old man saving him must have ulterior motives.
Zhao You waved the other men away. "Go on, all of you, attend to your own tasks. Why are you crowding around him?"
The group bowed respectfully before dispersing with light laughter.
Zhao You led him into a room and gestured, summoning a massive wooden tub filled with steaming water. With a single-handed seal and an incantation, medicinal herbs flew in from outside, dissolving into the water.
Zhao You said, "This will be painful. I need to cleanse the decaying flesh—endure it for a while."
Tan Tai Jin sank into the tub, letting out a muffled groan.
Zhao You sighed softly. "If it hurts, cry out. It'll make it easier to bear."
But Tan Tai Jin remained silent, clenching his jaw. Through the window, he could hear sparrows chirping and the voice of the plump cultivator he had seen earlier directing other disciples—
"Zang Lin, fetch the spirit pills from Uncle-Master."
"Zang Shu, where are your clothes? You're about his size—find him a set."
"Zang Feng..."
"I know, I know. My room has strong spiritual energy, perfect for recovery. I'll clear it out right away. Senior Brother Zang Hai, no need to rush me."
"Brat!"
They burst into laughter together.
A faint smile touched Zhao You's eyes as he brewed a pot of tea. The delicate fragrance of tea filled the room, gradually overpowering the stench of decay from Tan Tai Jin's wounds.
The young man sat naked in the tub. Anyone else might have felt uneasy, but he showed no such concern—indifferent to his own nudity, wholly focused on absorbing the medicinal energy from the water.
From that moment, Zhao You understood.
This youth possessed remarkable resilience but lacked the ordinary sense of shame. He was destined to become someone significant.
Whether his future would be for good or ill depended entirely on fate.
The Carefree Sect excelled in divination. After years of wandering and training, Zhao You had returned and picked up this youth, taking him as his final disciple and bestowing upon him the name Cang Jiu Min.
Jiu Min—meaning "the nine heavens."
Once Tan Tai Jin's injuries had improved somewhat, on the day he offered tea in respect, Zhao You's gentle eyes took the cup. He patted the youth's head and spoke kindly, "At the beginning, everyone starts from different places. But Jiu Min, whether you choose good or evil, success or failure—it doesn't lie with the world, but within your own heart."
Tan Tai Jin lifted his gaze, inwardly scoffing but outwardly humble as he replied softly, "This disciple will remember your teachings."
He bowed deeply.
High in the heavens stands the White Jade Capital, With its twelve towers and five cities. The immortal strokes my head, Binds my hair, and grants me eternal life. [Note 3]
To Tan Tai Jin, the Carefree Sect was merely a stepping stone—a place to heal and enter the path of immortality. Coldly, he thought, They’ve raised a venomous snake without realizing it. They’ve seen me at my most wretched. Once this snake grows powerful, I could very well slaughter every last one of them.
Initially, that was exactly what Tan Tai Jin believed. But somehow, the situation began to veer off in an unexpected direction.
[Carefree Sect: A Bunch of Slackers and the One Overachiever]
Tan Tai Jin had always known what he wanted. Even as a mortal, he had admired the power of immortals. The day his body fully healed, he thought, Now is my chance to draw in spiritual energy.
Normally, a sect would provide a manual or some basic cultivation techniques.
So he went to find Zang Hai.
Zang Hai was mending clothes. Tan Tai Jin glanced at him briefly before looking away, speaking modestly, "Senior Brother Zang Hai, I've recovered. Master instructed me to learn the foundational techniques from you and the other senior brothers."
Zang Hai, his plump fingers holding the garment, bit off a thread and chuckled warmly. "No rush, no rush. Junior Brother, you're still weak. Cultivation is very—""Bitter, requires a robust physique."
Tan Tai Jin fell silent for a moment, glancing at the thread he had bitten off. "Understood."
Three days passed.
Tan Tai Jin: "Senior Brother."
"Alright, alright, I'll teach you today. Remember this."
Tan Tai Jin’s gaze grew heavy as he leaned in to listen.
"Close your eyes, sit with a tranquil heart, hold firm and calm your spirit. Knock your teeth together thirty-six times, embrace Kunlun with both hands. Strike the heavenly drum left and right, twenty-four times in all. Sway the celestial pillar gently, sway the celestial pillar...[Note 1]"
Tan Tai Jin, halfway through gathering his energy, paused and opened his eyes, speaking softly, "Senior Brother?"
Cang Hai tapped his head. "Don’t rush, don’t rush. Let me think. It’s been too long since I guided energy into the body—I’ve almost forgotten."
Suppressing his inner frustration, Tan Tai Jin revealed a faint smile on his jade-like, handsome face. "Alright."
A short while later, Senior Brothers Hai, Shu, Lin, and Feng gathered to teach their junior brother the chant for guiding energy into the body.
Stumbling and piecing it together, they reached, "After three repetitions like this, swallow the divine water nine times, gurgling as it goes down, and the hundred meridians will naturally harmonize.[Note 2]" At this point, disagreements arose.
Cang Hai: "That’s how it is. That’s how I remembered it back then."
Cang Lin: "No way, Senior Brother. I remember this line comes later."
Cang Feng: "Senior Brother Cang Lin is right. Senior Brother Cang Hai, have you forgotten it took you three years to guide energy into your body? Even the master thought your spiritual root might have been misjudged."
Cang Hai broke out in a cold sweat. "Hahaha, Junior Brother, don’t worry."
Tan Tai Jin watched them expressionlessly and, upon hearing this, smiled. "Alright."
A bunch of useless fools.
They spent three days piecing together the chant and finally compiled a small booklet on the third day.
The group surrounded Tan Tai Jin.
"Junior Brother, this time it’s correct, definitely correct. We even consulted Uncle-Master and Senior Sister Lan."
"Yes, yes, Junior Brother, hurry up and learn it."
Tan Tai Jin kept a straight face, barely suppressing a cold sneer. With great effort, he managed a shy smile. "Thank you, Senior Brothers. I’ve already comprehended it on my own."
He raised his hand, and a faint, elusive white energy appeared in his palm.
Hai, Shu, Lin, and Feng all exclaimed in admiration.
"Senior Brother, it’s time for me to build my foundation."
Cang Hai happily placed a hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations, Junior Brother. According to the sect’s rules, after successfully guiding energy, you get a three-month break."
Tan Tai Jin looked at their envious expressions and felt an overwhelming urge to slaughter them all.
"Heh."
They didn’t catch the sarcasm in Tan Tai Jin’s tone.
"Originally, we were worried, Junior Brother. Your timing isn’t great—in two months, we’ll be tested on the Carefree Heart Sutra. Even new disciples must recite the sutra from memory. Failing means punishment. If you have time, you can start memorizing it. It helps stabilize the spiritual body and calm the dao heart."
Fourth Senior Brother Lin Feng leaned close to his ear. "Don’t worry, Junior Brother. We’ll secretly transmit the answers to you when the time comes. You won’t be punished."
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
The Carefree Sect’s Heart Sutra was hundreds of pages thick. Reciting it word for word without error was an indescribable pain for all Carefree Sect disciples.
On the day of the sutra test, after silently reciting it once in his consciousness, Tan Tai Jin crossed his arms and coldly surveyed the entire examination ground. The Carefree Sect disciples, dressed in blue and white robes, were scratching their heads and ears, their faces twisted in agony.
It dawned on him belatedly just what an absurd sect he had joined.
Everyone was lazy, living carefree lives, and their spiritual roots were abysmal.Rather than this, it would be better to be expelled from the sect and seek another path.
He raised his hand and erased the previously drafted Carefree Heart Sutra from his consciousness.
A mocking smile curled at Tantai Jin's lips. How could a fierce beast keep company with a flock of sheep?
After Hai Shulin finished reciting silently, he secretly transmitted a voice message to Tantai Jin's consciousness. Ignoring these useless individuals, Tantai Jin gazed at the sky outside.
It was likely winter in the mortal realm, but the immortal sect's winter brought no snow. Beyond the curling immortal mist stretched vast, rolling mountains.
Those who failed the assessment would be punished at the Reflection Cliff in five days.
Though the Carefree Sect was lax in many ways, it was exceptionally strict with disciples who failed to recite the Heart Sutra—administering a harsh punishment of eighty lashes.
Tantai Jin removed the blue-and-white fish-patterned robes of the Carefree Sect and changed into black garments, awaiting the summons from the law enforcement elder.
The winter moon shone over the Carefree Immortal Mountain. As the warm winter moonlight illuminated the land, Tantai Jin leaned against the doorway, thinking of the person he had missed for five hundred years.
He did not know what immense power in the world could resurrect someone, but he was certain it was not a place like the Carefree Sect.
He waited for the summons and punishment, from the moment the moon rose until its light began to fade, yet no one came to discipline him.
Tantai Jin rose and made his way to the Reflection Cliff.
Beneath the murmuring waterfall, four people huddled together, sighing in despair.
Their backs bore several bloody whip marks, and they clicked their tongues, complaining, "Uncle Jingxin's strikes are as ruthless as ever. It hurts like hell."
Cang Hai patted his own bloodied back and then each of theirs, saying, "It's only twenty lashes each. Get up, change your clothes, and don’t let our junior brother find out."
"Ouch, it hurts, senior brother!"
The group stood up, using hand seals to change their attire.
Cang Shu remarked, "It's a good thing it wasn’t our junior brother who got whipped. We can take it—we’re thick-skinned and used to beatings from back in the day."
"Exactly, junior brother is still young and has a mortal body."
Cang Hai took a swig of wine from his gourd. "He’s only just recovered from his injuries. Back then, he was so badly hurt, lying there all alone. Even when Cang Feng cracked jokes, he didn’t laugh, his sorrow hidden in his eyes. Now that he’s our junior brother, even if we’re useless in other ways, we must protect him as best we can."
Tantai Jin watched the scene coldly before returning to his quarters, where he stayed awake the entire night.
As he had not yet achieved the state of fasting from grains, Cang Hai brought him a meal the next day. "Come, junior brother, try this—I just learned how to make braised lion’s head meatballs."
Noticing his black attire, Cang Hai asked, "Hey, junior brother? Why aren’t you wearing the disciple robes?"
Tantai Jin picked up his chopsticks and poked at the meatball, crushing it. "I don’t like white."
The lion’s head crumbled under his chopsticks.
"Black is good too. Junior brother looks dashing in black," Cang Hai said with a cheerful laugh. "I’ll embroider the fish pattern on your clothes later. As members of the Carefree Sect, we should have our emblem."
Tantai Jin remained silent, lowering his gaze as he took a bite of the lion’s head.
Cang Hai’s cooking was tender and soft, melting in his mouth.
Tantai Jin murmured softly, "Alright."
Later, Cang Hai added silver fish patterns to all of Tantai Jin’s black garments, even on his boots.
It was the first time in five hundred years that Tantai Jin had tasted the feeling of being respected.
The following year, during the recitation of the Carefree Sect’s Heart Sutra, Tantai Jin finished reciting silently and lifted his eyes to the vast sky. In his consciousness, he could hear his senior brothers chattering, transmitting the correct Heart Sutra to him.
These "useless" individuals didn’t seem quite so detestable after all.
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