They zoomed out of the forest, and the demonic sect appeared, laid out before them. A huge snake skeleton curved up from the earth, ferocious and bizarre, hundreds of meters long. Its bones were as white as jade. The smallest of its vertebrae stood as large as a house, the larger ones bigger than the main square of Starbound Peak. The snake’s bones curled in on itself, reared up and ready to strike. Three coils overlapped, looping back over one another. The snake’s skull stood high above it all, fangs bared at the sky.

“Welcome to Black Asp Sect,” Gu Tian said happily.

Dark energy emanated from the snake bones, visible to the naked eye. The black energy spilled into the sky, staining the world around the snake’s skeleton with shadow.

Pointing, Gu Tian introduced Hui to the sect. “Lower level disciples like us live on the bottom coil. If you do well, you can progress to a mid-level disciple and live on the second coil. High-level disciples live on the third coil. The masters and other cultivators at fifth tier or over live in the snake’s neck. The Sect Master is the only one allowed on the snake’s skull.”

He lowered his hand. “There’s an outer sect as well, but as a death cultivator, you’ll start as a low-level disciple. You’re valuable, after all.”

“Valuable?” Hui asked, tipping his head. Erlan seemed pretty interested in this supposed death cultivator as well.

Gu Tian nodded. “Death cultivators are rare, since you have to revive as an undead and maintain your consciousness to become one, then cultivate from scratch all over again. Except for life qi cultivators, you have an inherent advantage over all other cultivators at your level. Death qi is hard to cultivate, but if you manage to advance, you’ll be able to stand atop the coils soon enough.”

Hui furrowed his brows. Er, you lost me there, elder brother. Stand atop the coils?

Noticing Hui’s confusion, Gu Tian nodded at the snake skeleton below. “All of us are ranked in absolute order. The stronger you are, the higher bone you can inhabit. If you cultivate to a higher tier, you can leap everyone at the same tier as you to climb to the lowest point of the next stage. If you want to advance within a stage, you can defeat the cultivator above you and take their bone.”

“Oh,” Hui said. As expected of a demonic sect! What a bloodthirsty way of managing their disciples!

“There are 108 vertebrae. In other words, there can only be 108 inner sect disciples at a time. That’s how our sect chooses the best of the best, so we don’t waste any resources on weak, unworthy disciples.”

The competition must be intense… Hui glanced down nervously. The outer sect must be a ruthless place, with so many people competing for 108 slots! And I’m going to be in the Qi Gathering section, the lowest, most competitive section? Ah! This small disciple has made many mistakes today!

But on the other hand, isn’t this an excellent opportunity to rebuild my death qi? Hmm… I think I’ll stay for a while, after all. Eventually, I’ll be able to go on quests outside the sect, and then I can make my escape!

Speaking of… Hui cleared his throat. “Elder brother, at what stage are we allowed to leave the sect?”

“Hmm? Your Master can take you out on missions whenever they please. If you mean alone, not until you’re fourth realm, at least.”

Fourth realm? Fourth realm! I’m not even that far along in my ordinary cultivation, let alone my death qi cultivation, which has fallen this far!

Don’t lose hope, Hui! I snuck out of the righteous sect. I’m sure I’ll find a way to sneak out of the demonic sect, given enough time!

But not until after I rebuild my death qi cultivation.

“If you want to go out on missions, work hard and catch the eye of a master. I know Erlan has his eye on you already, though…” Gu Tian fell silent.

“Though?” Hui prompted.

Gu Tian shook his head. “Forget I said anything.”

Hui nodded obediently. I don’t want Erlan as my master, anyways. He’s too strange. I don’t like him. Though I’m not sure I’ll like any of the demonic masters. They are demonic, after all.

Probably best if this small cultivator keeps his head down and doesn’t stick out. All I want to do is replenish my death qi. Once I have enough, I’ll escape, one way or another.

As Hui thought to himself, Gu Tian’s shuttle zoomed down toward the bottom of the snake skeleton. Black rock fused into the base of the skeleton. Buildings had been carved from the black rock, and downtrodden cultivators in ragged robes walked around warily. Several bore wounds or disfigurements. Strange auras, markings, or symbols circulated around some of the cultivators as well, adding to the bizarreness of the scene.

The cultivators eyed Hui up as the shuttle descended. A few smirked. One spat derisively.

A shiver traveled up Hui’s spine. They’re looking at me like I’m meat. Meat! If I’m not careful, I’ll be carved up!

Ahh, this small cultivator never wanted to be a demonic cultivator!

Gu Tian led the way toward one of the buildings carved from black stone. Hui followed him. An old man with long, white hair and a long, white beard sat at the back, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Before him, a jade slip, a set of black robes, and a bone token laid on the ground.

Gu Tian gestured for Hui to cross to the man. Somewhat tentative, Hui approached the sleeping man.

When nothing happened, he knelt and gathered the items. As he gathered the bone token, a voice sounded. “Name?”

Hui glanced at the man. His eyes remained shut, his mouth firmly closed, but the voice still echoed in the room.

“Er, er, Xie Hao,” Hui said, almost forgetting his own false name.

The man let out a breath, the first motion he’d made since Hui had entered the room. Hui waited. When nothing else happened, Hui cupped his hands and retreated.

Gu Tian raised his eyebrows at Hui. “Huh.”

“What?” Hui asked.

“Master Jing almost never asks new disciples their names. It seems as though you’ve caught more than one expert’s eye.” He smiled at Hui.

Hui managed half a smile back, nervous more than anything. I don’t want to catch anyone’s eye! Let me collect death qi in peace!

“Can I see your bone token?” Gu Tian asked.

Hui handed it over obediently.

Gu Tian investigated it for a moment, then handed it back with a smile. “Vertebra 108. I remember that room. I was glad to see the end of it!”

“Ah?” Hui asked.

“You’re the target of the entire outer sect in there. A huge target has been painted on your back, Xie Hao. It’s an excellent chance to show your strength! Ah, but it does get tiring after a while.”

Hui forced a smile. Ah. The last thing I wanted. Hmm, I suppose I need to climb up the snake’s skeleton quickly so I can live my peaceful life and peacefully gather death qi!

Gu Tian continued to lead the way up to the very last vertebra in the snake’s tail. It touched the ground, fused into the stone. He nodded for Hui to take the lead again, and Hui stepped onto the snake.

The second he did, qi rushed into his body. Hui furrowed his brows and circulated his qi desperately. His dantian swirled, boiling with power. Stretched thin, his death qi struggled to mask his qi.

As suddenly as the qi had jolted up, it vanished. Hui opened his eyes and shook his head, slightly disoriented.

“Qi gathers in the snake’s skeleton. If no one’s lived in a vertebra for a while, it’ll rush into you all at once like that. It’s not often Vertebra 108 has so much qi… it must have been openly disputed! Ah, but you’re lucky. This vertebra has the least dense energy of all the vertebra. You shouldn’t expect such a rush again, as long as you’re in Vertebra 108.”

Hui’s smile grew distorted. Gu Tian, I know you’re being helpful, so why does every word you say rend my heart deeper?