The new day slowly dawned over the mountain peak, with the first rays of sunlight covering the landscape in a peaceful morning. However, this silence was abruptly shattered by a voice that echoed through the air, awakening the new disciples of the Infinite Dao Sect.

“All disciples, gather in the courtyard to receive your basic items and cultivation techniques!”

As soon as the voice resonated, nine figures emerged from the cave mansions located at the lower part of the peak, where the external disciples’ courtyard was situated.

Despite being positioned lower on the peak, the spiritual energy quality there had been condensed to match the level of a Foundation Establishment stage spirit vein. The only difference between the upper and lower sections of the peak was the purity of the available energy.

The disciples quickly assembled in front of Elder Zhao, who had been assigned as their overseer.

“Good, everyone is here.”

Seeing that all nine had arrived on time, Elder Zhao nodded in satisfaction before retrieving nine storage pouches from his waist and tossing them—one to each disciple.

The disciples caught the pouches with curiosity and soon realized they were extraordinary.

Even without being able to test them immediately, they could tell that the material was far firmer and more durable than any storage pouch they had ever seen. However, when they tried to probe the interior with their spiritual energy, they were shocked to find nothing. It seemed like an ordinary pouch.

No matter how much they tried, they couldn’t even sense or touch the restrictions of the pouch—something all storage pouches normally had. Doubt began to creep in.

Was there really a storage function inside? Or was this just a reinforced pouch?

Normally, when a high-level cultivator placed restrictions on a storage pouch, even if a Qi Refiner couldn’t break them, they could at least detect them.

But with these pouches, it was as if there were no restrictions at all—just a simple piece of fabric in their hands.

If it hadn’t been given to them by an elder himself, they would have assumed it was some kind of prank.

“These pouches have powerful restrictions and exceptional durability. Only Golden Core cultivators can perceive their true complexity, and only Foundation Establishment-level attacks can destroy them. To use them, just drop a single drop of blood onto them. That will bind them to you as their master.”

Elder Zhao explained with an amused smile as he watched the frustration on the disciples’ faces as they struggled to force their spiritual energy into the pouches to no avail.

These pouches were the joint creation of Ting Zao and Xuan Zhen, who had used synthesized refinement and formation inheritances to craft them.

They were anything but ordinary.

Holding her pouch, Xiao Ling looked at it in surprise.

‘Could it really be true?’

Hesitating for a brief moment, she decided to try. She manipulated the energy in her veins to create a small cut on her finger, letting a crimson drop of blood fall.

As soon as the drop landed and touched the surface of the purple storage pouch, glowing runes emerged, surrounding the blood and absorbing it completely.

‘It really is!’

She nodded to herself, convinced.

‘This is definitely not a normal storage pouch. This must be the mythical process of an artifact recognizing its master.’

Since she had only heard of this in stories, she had no idea how the process actually worked or why it required a cultivator’s blood.

What Xiao Ling didn’t know was that the process was actually quite simple.

A cultivator’s blood carried their spiritual energy signature. This signature, when interacting with refined energy from the same cultivator, did not create repulsion.

And what the storage pouch was doing was absorbing this blood and tuning its formations to recognize the spiritual energy of its new owner.

From now on, when Xiao Ling tried to insert her spiritual energy into the pouch, the formations would identify her and allow access normally.

After one final glow of the runes, the blood vanished completely.

Elder Zhao, seeing that everyone had completed the binding process, resumed his explanation.

“Now you may explore the inside of your pouches. Inside, you will find your sect robes.”

The disciples quickly checked the contents and found that, alongside several spirit stones, there lay beautifully crafted gray robes.

As they pulled them out, they noticed something surprising.

The robes were incredibly light and had a soft, warm texture—almost like holding a heated cloud.

However, the real surprise came with Elder Zhao’s next words.

“These robes are Founder-Tier artifacts, but since you are still at the Qi Refinement stage, it is currently impossible for you to use artifacts of this level.”

“What?!”

The disciples’ eyes widened, and some couldn’t help but exclaim as they held their robes much more carefully, their hands trembling slightly.

“But don’t worry about not being able to use them.”

Elder Zhao stroked his thick black beard and continued, smiling as he saw the shock in the disciples’ eyes.

“These artifacts are not simple. They are filled with formations. Drop a single drop of blood on the robes, and they will adjust to your strength level. As your cultivation grows, the restrictions will gradually loosen automatically.”

A silence fell over the courtyard.

Then, shock exploded among the disciples.

“W-What?!”

Some exclaimed in disbelief, their eyes wide and their bodies trembling slightly from excitement.

They had never touched anything so valuable in their lives.

And now, these artifacts belonged to them, which made their excitement soar even higher.

However, among the nine disciples, Xiao Ling did not share the same enthusiasm.

Looking at the beautiful gray outer disciple robe in her hands, her mind was restless.

‘The sect we joined… is probably not ordinary at all…’

“The robes have self-cleaning functions and a certain degree of self-repair. However, if they are too damaged, you will need to spend contribution points to request repairs. They can also withstand, as an emergency measure, a few blows from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but do not rely on that. After all, you do not have enough energy to sustain this function for more than one or two hits.”

Elder Zhao began listing the features of the robes, and with each word, the disciples became more and more shocked at the sect’s wealth.

It was providing such powerful artifacts even to its outer disciples.

Some looked at their robes and couldn’t help but wonder how many spirit stones they would be worth if sold.

Of course, this thought was fleeting.

No cultivator in their right mind would sell their own life-saving treasures.

On the path to immortality, wealth would never be more valuable than one’s own life.

Even more so when these artifacts belonged to a Golden Core sect, and they were definitely not desperate enough for money to go seeking their own death.

Even so, Elder Zhao gave them a warning.

“Once bound by blood, the artifacts will lose all their functions if not activated by their rightful master’s spiritual energy. So don’t even think about selling them—it would be useless. Only the sect’s elders can remove the binding on these robes.”

His tone was stern, and his sharp gaze swept over the disciples, making it clear that this was not up for discussion.

The disciples were startled and instinctively held their robes even more carefully.

For many of them, these artifacts would likely accompany them for a long time.

‘With these robes, I no longer need to worry about being ambushed by those people…’

Xiao Ling felt a mix of relief and excitement, and without hesitation, she let a drop of blood fall onto the fabric.

As soon as her blood touched the material, golden runes glowed softly and absorbed the drop.

For a moment, a chilling aura radiated from the robes, revealing their true power.

However, the energy soon stabilized, reducing itself to the level of a mid-tier Refiner-Tier artifact, compatible with her cultivation level.

‘It really is a Founder-Tier artifact… This sect is unbelievably wealthy!’

She gripped the robes firmly, feeling increasingly excited about her new life in the sect.

After ensuring that everyone had bound their robes, Elder Zhao continued.

“You are also entitled to a weapon of the same level as these robes. Later, inform me of your preferences so we can provide them.”

His words shocked the disciples even further, and he continued.

“Lastly, inside each of your pouches, there are one thousand spirit stones. This is the standard stipend for an outer disciple. Every month, you may come to me to receive it again. If you need more spirit stones beyond the stipend, you will have to complete missions for the sect and exchange contribution points for them.”

Elder Zhao kept his tone firm, and soon, there was a faint hint of warning in his voice.

“But be warned. From now on, 30% of the contribution points you earn from missions will go to the sect. This deduction will continue until the artifacts you received are fully paid off. The remaining 70% will be yours to invest in your cultivation.”

As he finished speaking, some disciples reacted in surprise.

A middle-aged man among them couldn’t help but exclaim—

“Wow!”

A young woman, the only other female disciple besides Xiao Ling, murmured in astonishment.

“The Infinite Dao Sect is really generous…”

The other disciples remained silent, but their expressions showed they were just as surprised.

They had been prepared to spend years in debt, tightening their belts, struggling just to survive.

But the sect had simply allowed them to pay gradually, without hindering their growth.

In fact, many of them had heard stories of sects where 70% of the disciples’ mission commissions were taken away.

The reasoning those sects gave was that maintaining a sect required resources, and to some extent, this was fair.

After all, a sect provided a safe environment for cultivation and protection against external threats. It was neither an orphanage nor a charity organization, and there were indeed operational costs.

But the Infinite Dao Sect, apparently, did not operate this way.

It was only asking them to pay off their own equipment—and seemingly, nothing more.

Aotian, who was watching their reactions, couldn’t help but feel confused.

‘Somehow… it feels like I’m being too generous. Some of them are literally on the verge of tears because of this.’

He narrowed his eyes, thinking.

‘I need to ask Rihai later how other sects usually operate…’

As some disciples seemed ready to ask questions, Elder Zhao raised his hand, cutting off any attempts to speak.

“I will answer your questions at the end.”

His voice was firm and direct.

“But before that, I have one last thing to give you.”

From his storage pouch, he retrieved a transparent crystal orb with a dark hollow at the top.

The disciples immediately fell silent, their curiosity piqued.

Even without knowing what it was, they instinctively felt that it was not something ordinary.

And so, without saying another word, they waited for Elder Zhao’s explanation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep