Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 441 - 441 440 Taihao of Wei Country

441: Chapter 440 Taihao of Wei Country 441: Chapter 440 Taihao of Wei Country Hou Niao traversed the Poplar Forest, heading northward.

For this journey, he would take on the role of a parent traveling a thousand miles to visit relatives, but he couldn’t help wondering if Xintong would forgive him?

She was no longer a child after all, a woman in her twenties.

According to the traditions of the Jinxiu Continent, women of her age usually had several children already.

He felt somewhat uneasy; to be honest, he was not comfortable with such an identity, nor was he sure if he could play the part well.

From Xi’s words, he could sense her implication; even though he had long since let go, Xintong might not have.

If he could help the child, he was willing to make the trip.

In the vast sea of people, where causality intertwined, only one survived among the dozens in the Poplar Forest.

This was fate, as well as him repaying debts for his younger years’ lack of calmness.

……

Located in the Southwest, Wei Country was also a large country, with the Daoist lineage adhering to the Taihao Sect, commonly referred to as Wei Sect Taihao.

Of course, there were those narrow-minded enough to give it an unserious name, “Wei Tai Tai.”

It was a mockery of the double “Tai” in the full name of Wei Sect.

In the cultivation world of the Southwest, Wei Sect Taihao was a unique presence; well, actually, in the cultivation world of the entire Jinxiu Continent, they were a bit of an anomaly.

They were unique in that they never easily took sides; of course, that could also be interpreted as being skilled at fence-sitting.

Their Daoist lineage aligned closely with the Daoist Sects, yet historically, they always seemed to clash with them, displaying a strong tendency to form their own clique.

But they were equally disdainful of the Demon Sect, viewing it as a cancer of the Jinxiu Continent’s cultivation world and the source of chaos and unrest.

If they had to be categorized, they would likely be placed in the category of heterodox schools…

In fact, the classifications of Daoist lineages in the Jinxiu Continent were rather vague, with each containing elements of the other, and concepts constantly evolving.

At present, the definitions of schools in the Jinxiu Continent’s cultivation world were still unclear, still finding their respective interests and positions through mutual collisions.

A profound upheaval across the Continent was still needed to finally define the boundaries.

This was a process that a cultivation world must go through.

After all, while the Jinxiu Continent had a long history as a world for human survival, as a cultivation world, that history was still quite naive, in its babbling phase.

Proud and independent, while everyone else is intoxicated, I remain sober – this was the most accurate self-portrait of Wei Sect Taihao.

This attitude was also reflected in their approach to Daoist lineages; they were not particularly interested in the orthodox Daoist paths but instead had a special affection for some of the more unorthodox Daoist methods.

To the true Daoist orthodoxy, this was seen as a dangerous sign of deviation.

All of the heterodox schools, including the Demon Sect, deviated from the mainstream because of such obstinacy, just like the sword cultivation of Shan Sect, whose foundation was also from the Daoist Sect.

As a result of their extreme devotion to the sword, they are now seen as a paradigm of the Demon Sect.

Taihao was similar, but they were lucky that the direction they leaned toward wasn’t as harmful, so the orthodox Daoist Sects saw them as recoverable.

They were interested in divination, puppet mechanisms, formation domains, and so on.

In the world of cultivation, these three aspects stood out the most, thereby attracting countless youths from the continent who aspired to these fields.

What set Wei Country Taihao apart was their talent cultivation system, a truly centralized public school system, rather than one school per city; the advantage was that it boasted extremely robust teaching resources, which were beneficial for young people to receive the most comprehensive foundational education before and after entering the Dao.

There were three such public Daoist institutions within Wei Country, which might sound scarce, but each one was a grand public school with thousands of Daoist students, on a scale entirely different from other countries with only dozens or hundreds of students per school.

Hong Ye Daoist Academy, Starlight Daoist Academy, and Qianhai Daoist Academy—these three academies housed tens of thousands of Daoist students with exceptional talents, from Pulse-level to Bridge Connection, representing different ‘grades.’ However, this categorization was not based on age but rather on Realm.

When could they graduate?

There were two ways: one was to successfully ascend to the Tongxuan level, which naturally meant finding a destiny of one’s own, whether staying in Wei Country or returning home.

A Tongxuan Cultivator who had entered the Dao always had options.

However, those who achieved Tongxuan were the minority.

If Daoist students were still not able to ascend to Tongxuan by the age of twenty-three, they had to choose to leave on their own, known as ‘starting their own practice.’

The resources of the Daoist Academy were limited after all, and they couldn’t provide learning and research opportunities forever.

Red Leaf City, home to the Hong Ye Daoist Academy, was famous for the large maple forests surrounding it.

Each autumn, the mountains and fields turned a brilliant red, incredibly beautiful.

Red Leaf City was actually founded because of the academy, with the city forming after the academy.

All of the city’s buildings and facilities catered to the needs of the Daoist students, and over centuries, it became the sizeable city it is today, ranking as a mid-sized city within the Continent.

Outside the city lay vast Spirit Fields, an aspect of cultivation that the Taihao Sect excelled in—cultivating Spirit Plants and producing elixirs.

Spirit Plants differ from ordinary plants and require meticulous care that the average farmer couldn’t provide.

Students like those at the Hong Ye Daoist Academy were the best workforce, especially those from modest backgrounds who relied on work to subsidize their tuition and fees.

On the Jinxiu Continent, given the limited time since the resurgence of spiritual energy, there was virtually no chance of harvesting large quantities of plants in the wild.

Yet the development of elixirs was unstoppable, and so dedicated cultivation of Spirit Plants became popular across the continent.

Every country, every power, had invested in this area; it was the guarantee for the continuation of cultivation practices, as no one wished to be at the mercy of others.

Yet there were significant differences in cultivation levels and cultural attitudes, for instance, Shan Country, a neighbor of Wei Country, only perfunctorily engaged in cultivation.

It was also a characteristic of their Daoist lineage and the geographical and climatic environment.

The areas surrounding Red Leaf City were a crucial cultivation base for Wei Country, with fertile land, abundant spiritual energy, and strong ley lines.

Many unique Spirit Plants that were particular to the region brought tremendous profits to Wei Sect Taihao.

At the same time, they offered a way for students from ordinary families to support themselves with their own hands.

It was an early autumn evening, and before the sun set, combined with the mountain of maple leaves, it was as if the entire world was bathed in a light red hue—a breathtaking sight, along with the beautiful figures.

A line of women traversed the fields, each carrying a large bamboo basket on their backs—this was the fruit of their day’s labor.

Some Spirit Plants couldn’t be stored in a subspace immediately after being picked and required a series of extremely intricate processes.

So, even though they were cultivators, what they were doing was not much different from ordinary mortals.

Cultivation wasn’t always about the vastness of the stars and sea; for most people, it was a struggle at the bottom layer.