'So the Palace of Formations and Restrictions is my Primary Palace I suppose. I guess I will be placing little toy flags in the terrain, arranging traps and stuff before baiting foes to their doom. As for the choice of Secondary Palace; I need to decide it when I reach late stages of Foundation Establishment, which would be lv7 Foundation Establishment and I would need to consult master. Still, viable choices are Palace of Thunder and Wind or Palace of Exalted Physique.' thought Fang Hao

'I don't exactly know what a body refiner focuses on before the Nascent Spirit stage, where all a body refiner can do is take/give beatings and chase/run faster. Still useful cultivation techniques and spells having good synergy with body refining, like Aura Fist Manual for example, might be present. On the other hand, Thunder attribute primarily focuses on long range offense and speed which would also go well with ranged potshots and kiting or closing the distance quickly before wrecking shit in melee. Meh, I will cross that bridge when I reach it.' decided Fang Hao as he withdrew the token from his storage pouch and handed it to the Inner Disciple Manager.

“Senior, looks like I will be joining the Palace of Restrictions and Formations.” said Fang Hao sheepishly.

The indifferent Manager, who had an indifferent 'going-through-the-motions' attitude had a large smile plastered on his face as he saw the token. He flicked his sleeve and a large, sturdy looking wooden chair with intricate designs of lions piled with soft looking cushions appeared near the fatty. The combination of the regal looking lion carvings and the plush rectangular cushions looked like an odd combo to Fang Hao.

“Junior, you should have said earlier that you are a personal disciple of Great Elder Zhu. Don't be shy, have a seat. The new chair is a lot sturdier than the old one, so don't worry about it breaking.” said the manager with all smiles.

Fang Hao was naturally thick skinned, and slumped on the chair, which made dangerous groaning noises, as he was all smiles and thanked the Manager.

“I thank senior for your hospitality. Since this junior is unfamiliar with many things; I request your guidance, Senior.”

'Yeah I have an awesome master, so please stop sucking up to me and get on with it.' grumbled Fang Hao internally.

“Naturally, naturally. Hand me your sect identification please, junior.” requested the Manager.

Fang Hao handed him the amulet which acted as his sect identification. The manager placed the golden triangular token near the center of the table, and placed Fang Hao's amulet on it. Without any other action on his part, the golden triangular token seemed to melt and merge into Fang Hao's amulet with a pale amber glow. He then handed the amulet back to the fatty who promptly wore it around his neck.

“All done junior. Now all that remains is for you to report to the Palace of Formations and Restrictions; and they will take care of the rest.” the manager said as he handed the fatty a folded paper fox.

“Use your Qi on the talisman when outdoors, and it will transport you to the Main Peak of the Palace of Formations and Restrictions.” said the manager in an extremely helpful tone while all smiles.

“Thank you senior, for your guidance. Anything else this junior should know?” inquired Fang Hao as he felt the 'official' part of the interaction conclude.

“Of course junior. While I may not be very accomplished in cultivation, I have lot of experience here in the sect. Lets sample some spirit wine while we chat.” suggested the manager.

He was delighted to be able to curry some influence with a personal disciple of a Great Elder. While he didn't hold high expectations for future favors from the fatty, having an amicable chat now wouldn't hurt. Two silver wine glasses appeared along with a silver jug of spirit wine. The manager poured the clear liquid in the silver glasses and encouraged the fatty to drink.

While Fang Hao was a bit paranoid accepting drinks from strangers, he highly doubted that the Manager would try to poison or curse him. Reading the Tantric Yang Codex had opened his mind to possibility of immense danger which could lurk behind every act in the cultivator world. What if this wine corroded his life force? Or hypnotized him into revealing his deepest secret? While his instincts weren't signaling danger, he was still cautious and hesitating.

'I don't have any past grudges with this guy. And he also knows that I am a personal disciple of Great Elder Zhu. Furthermore, we are inside the Sect Safe zone and he just upgraded my Identity amulet for the sect. So this should be safe; I think. Still, I need to be extremely wary of accepting what others offer outside the safe zone of the sect. A casual gesture of acceptance in order to seem polite could royally fuck me up with insidious curses.' deliberated Fang Hao for a moment, before he toasted the Manager and drank the clear wine in one gulp.

Unlike Fang Hao's paranoid fears, the spirit wine wasn't some insidious plot to ensnare Fang Hao in unfathomable machinations. It was just a washed-out Foundation Establishment Cultivator who wanted to curry some favor with a promising junior. The manager's pace of cultivation couldn't keep up with his talented peers. His talent and potential seemed to have run dry as he barely managed to reach the late stages of Foundation Establishment a couple of decades ago.

He had almost no chance of breaking through to Core Formation stage and didn't want to fight and struggle anymore. He had more than a century of his life left; and wanted to relax in the safety of the sect; and a bit more influence with promising juniors won't hurt him. Who knows, it might bring him unexpected returns later on.

If he knew the fatty's paranoid thoughts, he would just ask; 'Brother, I may not be talented; but I severely cherish what life I have left. Even Elders with a lofty Nascent Spirit cultivation base wouldn't dare to act against you inside the Sect , unless they went insane with rage, if they knew that Old Monster of a Great Elder is your Master; how can you doubt my common sense?'