Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

After leaving the Seven Mysteries Sect, Murong Fan flew on his sword, passing by the lake where he used to practice—the place where he had learned his first spell, Fireball Technique. Overwhelmed with thoughts and reluctance, he finally stopped.

He looked down at the lake, his reflection clearly visible in the water, the real person and the phantom gazing at each other from afar. Reflected in the water was his past, a past he could never return to. Familiar things, familiar people, ultimately could not escape the changes of time.

The paths of immortals and mortals are separate, and his heart is preoccupied with the unattainable future. Though his resolve to follow the Dao is firm, the path to immortality is elusive. Where should he go next, and what should he do? He should escape the mortal world, not asking about the way back, for the future remains as uncertain as a flower in water or the moon in a mirror.

Cultivators may seem to be above mortals, detached from the mundane world, but the world of cultivation may be even more cruel. Looking into the water, Murong Fan finally understood: "What you hold dear in your heart must be upheld; only by forging ahead can you live up to the desires of this life."

He slowly withdrew his gaze, the ripples on the lake gradually subsided, and the reflection shattered into countless points of silver light. Murong Fan sighed softly, and the flying sword beneath his feet suddenly accelerated, transforming into a streak of azure light and disappearing into the clouds.

Arriving at a tavern in Lanzhou, he settled down. During the meal, he overheard several cultivators discussing cultivation. A middle-aged cultivator loudly proclaimed, "In the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom, the Seven Great Sects are revered. Among them, the Hidden Moon Sect, Yellow Maple Valley, Spirit Beast Mountain, Pure Void Sect, Blade Transformation Valley, Heavenly Palace Fortress, and Giant Sword Sect are collectively known as the 'Seven Sects of Yue Kingdom,' each possessing its own spiritual vein and having been passed down for thousands of years..."

Murong Fan traveled at a leisurely pace, and his experiences along the way became increasingly rich. From then on, he was no longer as lost and confused as a headless fly, but had a clear direction to move forward.

The setting sun, like blood, dyed the withered grass of Tainan Valley a warm gold. Murong Fan, carrying a simple, coarse cloth bundle, stood at the entrance of the Tainan Small Gathering, his excitement beyond words. He had finally found this once-every-five-years trading event exclusively for cultivators.

It wasn't until he stepped into the venue that he truly understood that all his previous imaginings about the world of cultivation were nothing but delusions of a frog in a well. This small meeting brought him not only the news of the Ascension Order, but also his first lesson in cultivation: shattering illusions and facing the harsh realities of life.

The Tai Nan Small Gathering was not as grand as one might imagine, shrouded in mist and immortals. It was simply a flat, open area in the Tai Nan Valley, where seekers of the Dao sat or stood in twos and threes. Some wore jade pendants embroidered with sect emblems at their waists, while others, like Murong Fan, wore ordinary mortal clothes, their eyes filled with undisguised longing.

Murong Fan found a rock against the wall to sit down. Before he could even take out the dry food he had prepared, he heard the voices of several cultivators talking under the shade of a tree not far away. It was this conversation that shattered his original longing for the carefree life of a rogue cultivator.

The first to speak was a black-clad cultivator with a severed left arm. His robe was still stained with dark brown blood, and he twirled a half-broken spirit stone between his fingers. His voice was somewhat hoarse: "Have you heard? That rogue cultivator, Brother Zhang, who was transporting goods last month, was ambushed and killed in Yellow Maple Valley. All the spiritual materials and pills he had accumulated over five years were stolen, and his primordial spirit was even extracted and refined."

A young cultivator beside him frowned and chimed in, "Isn't this a common occurrence? We rogue cultivators aren't protected by any sect, so we're easy prey wherever we go. If we encounter disciples from sects who have come down for training, even if they don't rob us, they can easily frame us for trespassing on spiritual land and intercept and kill us. Those with better resources can't escape either; they'll either steal our treasures or kill us outright. If we have any talent or are female cultivators, we'll be captured and taken back to be used as furnaces or as laborers. We won't even have our own lives."

These words, like a block of ice, slid down the back of Murong Fan's neck. His hand, clutching the dry rations, tightened involuntarily, his knuckles turning white, and his throat bobbed. [Murong Fan's inner struggle: He had thought cultivating immortality was about carefree wandering, and that independent cultivators were even more unrestrained, but he never imagined it would be like running naked in a forest surrounded by wolves—the altar could offer sacrifices to all things, but without the protection of a sect, even the strongest power would only become a source of disaster.]

In the mortal realm, there are still laws and clan protections, and most people still uphold morality and etiquette; but in this lawless wilderness, the law of the jungle is the only ironclad rule. A rogue cultivator, separated from the protection of a sect, is like an infant without a protective umbrella walking in a forest teeming with wolves; any resource they possess could potentially bring them death. [Murong Fan's inner decision: He must join a sect. Only with the support of a sect can the altar truly grow into a towering tree.]

The discussion continued, and an old cultivator with a goatee sighed and said, "Who can argue with that? When I was young, I also wanted to be a rogue cultivator, but after ten years I was stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining—no spiritual materials, I had to pick up incomplete cultivation manuals, and I couldn't even find a safe spiritual place. If I wasn't careful, I would suffer a qi deviation. Unlike sect disciples, who have basic cultivation manuals, spiritual places, and elixirs as subsidies upon entering the sect, have teachers to guide them when they encounter bottlenecks, and have fellow disciples to accompany them on their training. It's so much better than being a rogue cultivator."

It was at this moment that Murong Fan heard the words "Ascension Token". It turned out that the Tai Nan Small Gathering was the place where several major sects in the surrounding area selected their outer disciples. Obtaining the Ascension Token was equivalent to obtaining the qualification for the entrance examination. As long as one passed the sect's test, one could officially become a sect disciple.

The cultivators said, "The Ascension Token may look like just an inconspicuous iron plaque, but it is a treasure that countless rogue cultivators and mortal seekers would fight tooth and nail for—with it, one has the protection to live in peace and the proper path to immortality."

After the cultivators left, Murong Fan leaned against the stone wall to sort out his thoughts. He thought that although there were tyrants and bandits in the mortal world, they could still rely on the government, but in the cultivation world, there was no place to reason.

The words of those cultivators were etched into his mind: "Rogue cultivators have no protection, so plundering, killing, and capturing are common occurrences. They have to fight for and find all resources on their own. There is no sect to back them up. If you get something good today, it may become someone else's spoils of war tomorrow, and you may not even be able to save your life."

This cruelty is deeply ingrained. Cultivating immortality is like rowing against the current; one must not only contend with the heavens for longevity but also vie with others for opportunities. However, the resources of the world are ultimately limited, and without strength and background, it is difficult to hold onto what one has gained.

Even if a rogue cultivator is exceptionally talented, without the support of a sect, it is difficult for them to go far: they can only buy incomplete versions of cultivation techniques, and the slightest carelessness can damage their meridians; the pills are often counterfeit and of poor quality, and taking them can easily cause poisoning; the spiritually rich cultivation grounds have been divided up by the major sects, leaving them only to go to desolate mountains and wilderness; when they encounter monsters while out training, they are isolated and helpless, with no one to rescue them—all of these factors make it difficult for rogue cultivators to make progress as good as sect disciples.

But it's different for disciples of sects. Sects have designated their own territories and set their own rules. As long as a disciple doesn't commit a major mistake, the sect will back them up. Even if they are bullied while training, the sect will stand up for them. No one dares to mess with a sect disciple.

Although there is competition among fellow disciples, at least there are rules to govern them, so they won't kill each other indiscriminately. When they encounter difficulties, they can help each other, hunt monsters together, and explore secret realms together, which increases their success rate much more than if they were fighting alone.

More importantly, sects have a complete cultivation system. From Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, each step is guided by a master, preventing you from wandering aimlessly like a headless fly. Many bottlenecks that independent cultivators struggle to understand in their entire lives can be clarified in just a few words under the guidance of sect masters, saving countless years of effort.

Having thought this through, Murong Fan had made up his mind. He was only at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, and his strength was nothing in the Tai Nan Small Gathering. Let alone competing with those veteran rogue cultivators for resources, his current level and strength made it too difficult for him to continue on the path of a rogue cultivator. Perhaps only by joining a sect and seeking its protection could he grow and have a chance to continue his progress.

He considered the many benefits of joining a sect: "With the protection of a sect, my life is safe, and I don't have to worry about being robbed or killed every day; with the support of fellow disciples, we can help each other in our training and adventures, and there are rules to follow in resource allocation; with a complete cultivation system and guidance from masters, I can receive proper inheritance, avoid detours, and get pointers when I hit a bottleneck; and there is a stable supply of resources, with spiritual lands, spiritual stones, and pills guaranteed, so I don't have to risk fighting for them, saving me a lot of trouble."

Although he had the blessing of the altar and was used to being alone, while the altar could help with cultivation, over-reliance on it was ultimately not conducive to his growth and cultivation. However, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the cultivation system, he still had to learn to be flexible.

These benefits are too much for a rogue cultivator to ask for. He doesn't want to die in the wilderness or have his resources taken away. To survive and reach the top, joining a sect is the only option.

As the sun slowly set, a chilly breeze swept through the Tai Nan gathering. Murong Fan tucked his dry rations into his robes, dusted himself off, and stood up to walk toward the center of the hall. Several tables had already been set up there, surrounded by many seekers of the Dao like himself, all waiting to vie for the Ascension Token.

Although he held the Ascension Token in his hands, he dared not flaunt it in the slightest. This initial foray and accumulation on the path of cultivation gave him a deeper understanding and insight into cultivation.