"Where can I participate in the Ascendant Gate Ceremony?" Joe Di was familiar with the concept.
In the cultivation world, when sects begin recruiting disciples, it's known as opening the Ascendant Gate. For ordinary candidates, entering a sect is called participating in the Ascendant Gate Ceremony. Only those who are selected are considered to have truly ascended the gate.
The plain-looking woman glanced at Joe Di and explained, "This time, most of the Ascendant Guilds in the Northern Domain are recruiting disciples. Everyone in the Northern Domain will be attending. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the means to take you away."
It was normal for someone like Joe Di to be unaware of the sect recruitment. She hadn’t lied to him—if it weren’t for the Ascendant Guilds of the Northern Domain recruiting disciples, she would have no reason or excuse to leave the Jing Family. Even if she left, she couldn’t just let Joe Di go freely.
The tricks of Zhong Family’s Zhong Hetian were laughable in her eyes.
Joe Di had already pieced together the situation: originally, Zhong Hetian from the Zhong Family was supposed to marry this plain-looking woman from the Jing Family. But Zhong Hetian didn’t want to come, so he found Joe Di to take his place. None of this was hidden from the woman, and she clearly didn’t care about the marriage, showing she never took it seriously.
Fortunately, this woman had a kind heart. Not only did she not blame him for being a thief, she also planned to release him when she left the Jing Family in three days.
As for how he ended up at the Zhong Family and was eventually caught by Zhong Hetian to pose as the groom, Joe Di now had a vague idea.
Back when he used the kitchen knife to chop down the formation pattern on the Slaughter Array pillar at Skystar Palace, he heard a woman’s voice from the Jade Coffin telling him to stop—but he couldn’t.
The woman in the Jade Coffin within the grand hall had apparently slept for countless years, yet she could still awaken, proving she was an incredibly powerful being. His arrival at the Zhong Family was likely her doing. This place was definitely not Celestia. Based on Joe Di’s knowledge, the best way to travel from one planet to another was through teleportation.
Perhaps that woman sent him into a one-way teleportation array, and he accidentally ended up at the Zhong Family, where they mistook him for a thief.
Although Joe Di was a level-four Arraycraft master, he had never truly visited the cultivation world. With his current level, if he entered a one-way teleportation without any protection, the chances of being torn apart by the void were over ninety percent.
"Thank you for not exposing me. My name is Joe Di." After understanding everything, Joe Di quickly clasped his fists and thanked the plain-looking woman.
The plain-looking woman replied calmly, "It's nothing, really. You actually helped me out. If it had been Zhong Hetian who came here, it would have been even more troublesome for me."
Just as Zhong Hetian thought, this woman didn’t want to marry him either. Joe Di hurriedly asked, "May I ask what I should call you, sister?"
"My name is Jing Moshuang," she replied. As if worried Joe Di wouldn’t understand, she added, "It’s 'shuang' as in 'pair', not 'shuang' as in 'frost'."
"Sister Shuang, I’d like to ask a favor. Could you take me to see the Ascendant Gate Ceremony in person?" Joe Di didn’t understand why Jing Moshuang explained her name, but he didn’t care. What mattered was whether he could join an Ascendant Guild wherever he ended up.
From what Joe Di knew about cultivation, if you didn’t join an Ascendant Guild, you could only be a rogue cultivator. Throughout history, except for a few rogue cultivators with extraordinary luck, most ended up achieving very little.
"You want to join an Ascendant Guild?" Jing Moshuang looked at Joe Di in surprise.
Joe Di rubbed his hands awkwardly. "Yes, I just want to try my luck. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll figure something else out."
Jing Moshuang was straightforward by nature. She stood up and said, "Alright, when we reach the Ascendant Gate Plaza, we'll part ways. Also, you can just call me by my name—no need for 'Sister Shuang.'"
Watching Jing Moshuang stand up, Joe Di sighed inwardly. Of all the women he had ever seen, Jing Moshuang had the best figure. Even in plain clothes, her perfect proportions were fully displayed. Not even Manna Zhen, whom he once longed for, could compare.
Heaven had given her a flawless body, yet such a face. With his medical skills, Joe Di could tell at a glance that Jing Moshuang’s looks had been ruined by someone, using poison to corrode her skin.
Even with his abilities, he couldn’t restore Jing Moshuang’s appearance.
It wasn’t that his skills were lacking, but he didn’t have the necessary medicinal ingredients. He’d read in a medical text about a herb called Vanafruit, which, combined with other medicines, could be applied to the face to erase all scars. He had only heard of it, never seen it.
"You sleep in the big bed, I’ll rest beside you." Jing Moshuang said, pressing a button at the edge of the bed. A curtain automatically drew itself.
Jing Moshuang disappeared behind the curtain and made no further sound.
What a refined woman, Joe Di thought to himself. Given his current status, it was remarkable that Jing Moshuang was even willing to take him along. Clearly, she didn’t look down on him, and even gave him the bed.
Joe Di tried to circulate his energy, but his meridians were broken and he couldn’t activate his cultivation technique. He sighed and decided to focus on healing his body first.
Three days passed in a flash. During these three days, neither Jing Moshuang nor Joe Di left the newlywed courtyard. Jing Moshuang spoke little; apart from chatting with Joe Di on their wedding night, she didn’t say another word to him for three days.
To outsiders, it looked like the newlyweds were inseparable. Only Joe Di knew that he had done nothing for three days except try to heal his broken meridians.
To Joe Di’s delight, after three days, his broken meridians finally began to heal slowly. It had nothing to do with his own efforts—the meridians were healing on their own. That Graystone was truly extraordinary; even torn meridians could recover without treatment.
As a master of medicine, Joe Di knew all too well how difficult it was to restore meridians.
Three days later, Jing Moshuang simply went out to make arrangements, and whatever method she used, she came back and took Joe Di away from the Jing Family.
Joe Di had worried someone would realize he wasn’t Zhong Hetian from the Zhong Family, but he needn’t have. When Jing Moshuang left, not a single person came to see her off, let alone check on him. It was as if the lively wedding days ago had never happened.
......
After leaving the Jing Family and traveling some distance, Joe Di finally felt his spirits lift. Once he and Jing Moshuang boarded a beast carriage, he couldn’t help but ask, "Moshuang, where is the Ascendant Gate Ceremony? How much farther do we have to go?"
This time, Jing Moshuang didn’t need to answer; an older man on the beast carriage replied, "This time, the Ascendant Gate Ceremony in the Northern Domain will be held in Jichuan City. The beast carriage will take a day to get there."
"That’s right. I heard the ceremony used to be held in Desolate City. If it were Desolate City, we’d have to leave at least a month in advance to get there." someone chimed in.
Once strangers started talking, the topic was always about the Ascendant Guilds recruiting disciples.
Listening on the side, Joe Di picked up a lot of useful information. At the very least, he learned that more than ten Ascendant Guilds had come to Jichuan City for the ceremony, and two of them were major sects.
By dusk, the beast carriage carrying Joe Di arrived at Jichuan City.
Even as night fell, Jichuan City was bustling. Under the glow of lanterns, the entire city seemed to have just awakened. Every street was crowded, and every shop on both sides was doing brisk business.
Jing Moshuang got off the beast carriage, took out a black pouch, and handed it to Joe Di. "Let’s part ways here. The Ascendant Gate Ceremony lasts three days. I wish you luck in joining a sect."
Joe Di was penniless and had been worrying about money. Jing Moshuang handed him a pouch, and he accepted it without hesitation. "Thank you, Moshuang. I wish you luck too—may you join a top-tier sect."
From what he’d heard on the beast carriage and what he knew himself, Joe Di wasn’t worried about joining a sect. When recruiting disciples, Ascendant Guilds first cared about the quality of one’s spiritual roots. Ever since acquiring the Graystone, Joe Di was confident his spiritual roots were excellent—otherwise, he wouldn’t have progressed so quickly in cultivation.
Jing Moshuang didn’t say much more. She quickly slipped into the crowd and soon disappeared.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)