Sword Sect Little Demon Child, Three and a Half Years Old and Extremely Fierce

Third Senior Brother Su Ning poked my cheek: "Junior Sister, wake up, we've arrived."

I rubbed my eyes and climbed down from my senior brother's arms.

Then, I saw the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Yes, three large characters are carved on the mountainside:

Heavenly Sword Sect

The handwriting is vigorous and powerful, exuding an imposing aura; it's clearly carved by some legendary swordsman using his sword energy.

But my father said that this kind of writing is the most strenuous, and only cultivators who have nothing better to do do it.

Then the question is...

There's nothing around here except for these three words.

There were no palaces, no pavilions, no terraces, and no courtyards.

Only surrounded by mountains, shrouded in mist, and with dark caves in the mountain walls.

The holes varied in size and were arranged haphazardly, looking as if they had been pecked out by a giant woodpecker.

Or rather, it looked like it was stabbed randomly by a group of idle sword cultivators.

I looked up at the openings of the holes and fell silent.

Although the Demon Realm is a bit poor, the architecture of our royal capital is still quite beautiful, after all, the royal capital has a foundation spanning ten thousand years.

My father's demon palace... although the walls are drafty, the roof leaks, the doors don't close properly, and one of the stone lions has escaped.

But it is a proper palace, with walls, a roof, and doors, and stone lions at the entrance.

And here...

I asked with difficulty, "Where...do you usually live?"

Shen Qingchen pointed to the cave entrances: "Everyone has their own cave dwelling. Your cave hasn't been dug yet, but your senior brothers will help you dig one later."

Third Senior Brother Su Ning enthusiastically leaned over: "Junior Sister, do you prefer a south-facing or north-facing apartment? Do you want one with a balcony?"

Me: "...A cave dwelling can even have a balcony?"

Fourth Senior Brother Yan Chuan chimed in, "Of course! Mine comes with a small platform. You can practice swordsmanship there in the morning and look at the stars at night. It's just that it gets flooded when it rains, and you have to scoop it out yourself."

I:"……"

Fine.

I continued, "And what about food? Where will we eat?"

Fifth Senior Brother Murong Zhuo replied matter-of-factly, "Eat outdoors!"

He spread his arms wide, his face filled with delight: "When the weather is fine, being on the mountaintop, watching the sea of ​​clouds and admiring the bright moon, is so picturesque! When it rains, being in the cave, listening to the rain, and contemplating the way of the sword, is so romantic!"

Me: "...What about taking a shower?"

Sixth Senior Brother Gu Chenguang scratched his head: "There's a spiritual spring on the back mountain, feel free to wash there. But it's a bit cold in winter, you'll need to use your inner energy to protect yourself. Junior Sister, you don't have any cultivation yet, so your senior brothers will help you boil water in the winter."

Me: "...Where's the toilet?"

Su Ning: "We are all cultivators, a single Cleansing Dust Technique will solve the problem."

Me: "But I don't know the Cleansing Dust Technique."

Su Ning: "...Then just find a place to relieve yourself on the back hill. Remember to dig a hole and bury it, otherwise it'll attract flies."

I:"……"

I remained silent for a full ten breaths.

Then, remembering the important matter, he asked, "By the way, where is the sect leader? Should I go and pay him a visit?"

Shen Qingchen said calmly, "The sect leader is traveling abroad."

Me: "When are you coming back?"

Shen Qingchen: "He left fifty years ago, saying he would return a hundred years from now."

Me: "...So there are still fifty years left?"

Shen Qingchen nodded.

I:"……"

Very good. When I am fifty-three years old, I will be able to meet the sect leader.

I continued, "And what about the elders?"

Shen Qingchen: "The elders are all doing odd jobs outside."

I was puzzled: "Doing odd jobs?"

Su Ning explained, "The Grand Elder works as a zookeeper at the neighboring Spirit Control Sect, responsible for feeding, cleaning up after the animals, and grooming them. He gets free room and board, and can even pet spirit beasts for free and secretly bring back some spirit beast eggs."

Yan Chuan added, "The Second Elder works as a fire worker in the alchemy workshop at the Qingyun Sect, responsible for tending the fire in the alchemy furnace. It's said that he secretly learned quite a few alchemy techniques. Once he finishes his studies and returns, we'll have our own alchemy workshop."

Me: "Oh, so do you have a pill-refining furnace now?"

Yan Chuan: "No."

Me: "Where are the medicinal herbs?"

Yan Chuan: "No, not either."

Me: "...What should we put in the alchemy room?"

Yan Chuan was stunned, somewhat embarrassed, clearly having not considered this question.

Murong Zhuo interrupted the awkward silence: "Well, there's also the Third Elder, who works as a sweeping monk in the Zen sect. I heard they even give out monk's robes. The robes they've collected are enough for us to wear for ten years."

I looked down at my patched clothes.

Then I looked up and saw that my fellow students' clothes were also patched up.

Suddenly I felt that the Third Elder was the true savior of this sect.

Me: "Okay, what about the Fourth Elder?"

Gu Chenguang continued, "Fourth Elder... There is no Fourth Elder. The sect does have four elder positions, but only three have been recruited, and the fourth position has remained vacant."

Me: "Then why not cancel it?"

Su Ning: "Because the sect leader said that leaving the spots empty shows that our sect has room for development."

Yan Chuan: "It makes our future look promising."

Murong Zhuo: "It makes us seem low-key and reserved."

Gu Chenguang: "It makes us seem... so poor that all we have left is our limited perspective."

I understand.

It's about packaging the "inability to recruit people" as "strategic vacancy".

Su Ning added, "But there's also a second senior brother."

Yan Chuan: "My second senior brother is called Young Master Fu. He is 108 years old and in the late stage of the Golden Core realm. He is searching for spirit stone mines and has not returned for three years. He said he would come back to build up the sect once he found one."

I exclaimed in surprise, "You haven't been back for three years? Aren't you worried?"

Murong Zhuo: "I was worried, so I sent him a letter every month asking, 'Have you found the mine yet?' He always replied, 'Soon, soon.'"

Gu Chenguang: "Last month, I sent him a message asking if he needed some dry food, and he replied, 'No need, I'm eating dirt, you can have as much as you want.'"

I:"……"

Fine.

I counted on my fingers: "So, the Heavenly Sword Sect has a total of 7 disciples, 3 elders, and 1 sect leader. 11 people in total?"

The eldest brother nodded: "The core personnel are."

I tilted my head: "Are there outer disciples too?"

The eldest disciple shook his head: "No."

I pressed further, "Is it because you can't afford to raise them?"

The eldest brother nodded.

I understood: "I get it."

It turns out it wasn't that they didn't want to accept it, but that they couldn't afford it.

Just like my dad couldn't afford to support me.

------

Now that you've joined the sect, you should familiarize yourself with the environment.

Several senior brothers then began to show me around the sect.

Actually, it just involved circling the mountain a few times.

Shen Qingchen pointed to the tallest mountain: "This is the main peak, and the sect leader's cave is located on the top of the mountain."

I looked up and saw that the mountaintop was shrouded in mist, and I could vaguely see a cave entrance.

Outside the cave entrance... there seems to be a bird's nest.

It's a very large bird's nest.

Me: "At the entrance to the sect leader's cave... is that a bird's nest?"

Su Ning: "Yes, the sect leader hasn't returned for fifty years, and his cave has been occupied by a flock of spirit birds."

Me: "Why not chase the birds away?"

Yan Chuan: "Since the sect leader isn't coming back, the place is just sitting empty. The spirit birds can stay there and we can collect some eggs."

Murong Zhuo: "Those spirit bird eggs, each one can sell for 100 low-grade spirit stones! If we collect them once a month, we can exchange them for quite a few spirit stones!"

Gu Chenguang: "The sect leader said that sect resources should be used rationally. It's reasonable for the bird to lay eggs as compensation for occupying his cave."

Me: "That makes sense."

That makes perfect sense.

If my dad were this good at managing money, the Demon Realm wouldn't be so poor.

..............................

After visiting the sect (there wasn't much to see), my senior brothers started explaining information about the major sects in the cultivation world to me.

Shen Qingchen: "There are five major sects in the cultivation world. You must remember that."

I nodded: "Which five?"

Shen Qingchen: "The First Sword Sect! In terms of strength, it's number one in the cultivation world!"

He paused, then added, "But financial resources are also number one, number one from the bottom."

I nodded: "Yes, I can see that."

Su Ning: "Second is Qingyun Sect, skilled in crafting artifacts, refining pills, drawing talismans, and setting up formations. They are quite powerful and have the most wealth."

I said enviously, "Wow, that's really impressive."

Yan Chuan: "Third is the Spirit Control Sect. They are good at contracting spirit beasts and demon beasts, and raising spirit pets. Spirit pets are very expensive and powerful, so they are third in both strength and wealth."

I suddenly realized: "Okay, I understand."

Murong Zhuo: "The fourth is Zen Buddhism. Buddhas cultivate Pure Land Buddhism and practice Zen meditation. Their financial resources are unknown, but they are certainly very wealthy. It is said that they only convert people from the Yuan Dynasty."

I was taken aback: "The 'Yuan' in 'Yuanbao'?"

Murong Zhuo nodded: "That's right! Buddha saves all sentient beings, but they must first pay incense money."

Me: "...I understand."

Gu Chenguang: "Fifth is the Hehuan Sect, which focuses on dual cultivation. As for their financial resources... I'm not sure, but they're definitely not poor."

Shen Qingchen concluded: "Just remember these five major sects for now. You can memorize the other mid-level sects later."

Me: "Okay, got it."

Sword Sect: We can fight, but we're broke.

Qingyun Sect: They are skilled in crafting artifacts, refining elixirs, and drawing talismans; they are very wealthy.

Spirit Control Sect: They can control spirits and have some money.

Buddhism: Know how to chant scriptures, and act according to money.

The Joyful Union Sect: Cultivation is effortless when men and women work together.

Simple and clear.

After introducing the five major sects, they started digging holes for me.

They flew me halfway up the mountain and found a south-facing spot.

"The scenery here is beautiful," Suning said. "You can see the sunrise."

"The terrain is flat," Yan Chuan said, "so it won't flood too badly when it rains."

"There's a tree nearby," Murong Zhuo said, "that can provide shade in the summer."

"It's also close to the spiritual spring," Gu Chenguang said, "making it convenient for bathing."

Shen Qingchen nodded: "This is it."

Then they started digging a hole.

Now I understand why they say sword cultivators are the strongest.

Each of them wielded a sword and swung it several times at the mountain wall.

Stone chips flew everywhere, and dust billowed.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a cave dwelling was dug.

The cave entrance faces south and has a small platform, which serves as a balcony.

The cave was about ten square meters in size, perfectly square, with walls so smooth that you could see your reflection in them.

Suning also carved out a few small niches in the wall: "We can put things here, and we can put potted plants here. Although we don't have any flowers, we can leave them for now."

Yan Chuan dug a drainage ditch on the platform at the cave entrance: "This way, rainwater can flow out and won't accumulate on the platform."

Murong Zhuo brought a stone bed from his cave: "This is the one I used before, you can use it for now. I'll get you a wooden bed later."

Gu Chenguang brought over a quilt: "It's newly made. The cotton is wild cotton picked from the back mountain. It might be a bit stiff, but it's warm."

Shen Qingchen stood at the cave entrance, pointed his finger, and a sword aura was engraved above the cave entrance.

The three characters of 【扶颦居】 are written in a neat and orderly manner.

I looked at the cave dwelling, then at my fellow disciples, and my eyes welled up with tears.

Although this family was very poor, and although they lived in a cave.

But my fellow students would dig holes for me, move beds for me, and carve words for me.

This is the first time someone has been this kind to me since I left the Demon Realm.

I sniffed and said, "Thank you, senior brothers."

Su Ning patted my head: "Don't thank me, we're family now."