"I didn't expect the leader of the Five Elements Hall this time to be the Fire Phoenix King," Dada whispered.
"Fire Phoenix King?"
"Yes, the wife of Donghuang Taiyi, the Hall Master of the Demon Hall in the Five Elements Hall, and the king of the Fire Phoenix clan, a Half-Saint expert!" Dada explained to Wan Lei and the others. "Donghuang Taiyi and the Fire Phoenix King are both founding elders of the Five Elements Hall. After the Five Elements Hall was established, Donghuang broke through to the Saint realm and led the branch of the Demon Hall. The Demon Hall consists entirely of demons, and it's a special branch established by the Five Elements Hall for the demon race."
"What branches does the Five Elements Hall have?" Wan Lei was very curious.
"The Five Elements Hall is generally divided by attributes, with only a few exceptions. The Five Elements Hall has a total of ten halls, namely Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Sword, Demon, and Pill. They are easy to remember. The first seven are for cultivators of the seven major attributes. The latter three—the Sword Hall is for sword cultivators, the Demon Hall is for demons, and the Pill Hall is for alchemists. Because the overall Hall Master, the Golden Immortal Venerable, is also the strongest alchemist, he places great importance on the supply of medicinal pills and specially established the Pill Hall. Of course, the management of the main plane and the command and deployment of wars are still decided by the Holy Hall. The Five Elements Holy Hall is the core power center of the entire main plane."
Wan Lei and the others nodded. The Fire Phoenix King was also one of the founding elders, so she was likely a Holy Hall elder and one of the most powerful people in the main plane. Below the Fire Phoenix King, on a massive flying ship, emerged hundreds of disciples dressed in red robes. These young disciples, both male and female, wore identical clothing. Their high collars were turned up at the shoulders, the chest featured a streamlined, simple stripe, and each thread in the clothing subtly shimmered, suggesting the garments themselves were formidable defensive artifacts. A jade belt cinched their waists, and the hem of their outer robes reached only to their knees, flowing into tight boots that hugged their pant legs. This attire was extremely fitting, making anyone who wore it, regardless of gender, appear spirited and capable. Coupled with their youthful appearance, each individual exuded vibrant energy.
"These are the specialized uniforms of the Five Elements Hall disciples. Within the sect, they can wear whatever they like, as long as their clothes bear the Five Elements Hall emblem and their branch hall's insignia. However, when they leave the Five Elements Hall to undertake missions, unless it's a covert operation, they must wear the standardized attire of the Five Elements Hall because they represent the Five Elements Hall. They must be mindful of their words and actions, refrain from bullying others, disregard lives, enforce justice impartially, and not accept bribes. Anyone has the right to supervise and report any illegal behavior by Five Elements Hall disciples. Once verified, the offending disciple will be severely punished. The Five Elements Hall bestows upon them supreme honor and power, but also imposes the greatest restrictions."
Wan Lei nodded deeply upon hearing this. Only rulers who are subject to the supervision of the populace can achieve the utmost fairness. To govern others well, one must first govern oneself. Wan Lei deeply agreed with the Five Elements Hall's approach.
"These are disciples of the Fire Hall. Firstly, their clothes are all red. Secondly, have you seen the insignia on the left side of their chests? The outer circle represents the Origin Plane, and the inner pentagram represents the Five Elements Hall. This is the emblem of the Five Elements Hall."
Listening to Dada's words, Wan Lei nodded. He had also seen this emblem of an outer circle and an inner pentagram on the large banners of the Five Elements Hall branches and above the entranceways. Even the young lady who processed their identification cards had such a marking on her chest. At the time, he had thought it was the emblem of the Five Elements Hall but hadn't inquired further. Now that Dada mentioned it, Wan Lei asked, "What does the flame symbol inside the pentagram mean? Does it signify that they are disciples of the Fire Hall?"
"Yes, only official disciples of the Five Elements Hall can add patterns of their respective branch halls within the pentagram. Their status is far nobler than that of external personnel of the Five Elements Hall who do not have these patterns. Although those external staff are also part of the Five Elements Hall's establishment, only these disciples are the focus of cultivation for the Five Elements Hall. It's truly enviable. If only I could join the Five Elements Hall."
After Dada's momentary envy, he continued explaining, "The clothes and colors of each of the ten halls of the Five Elements are different, and the insignia within the pentagram also varies. The colors of these clothes are similar to the preferences of their Hall Master or Immortal Venerable. For instance, the Golden Immortal Venerable prefers white, so the disciples of the Gold Hall wear white, while the Earth Immortal Venerable prefers black, so the disciples of the Earth Hall wear black."
Dada enthusiastically explained all the knowledge he had about the Five Elements Hall to Wan Lei. Meanwhile, the Fire Phoenix King in the sky had transformed into human form, extinguishing her flames. The human form of the Fire Phoenix King was that of a woman. It was understandable, as only a woman could be Donghuang's wife. The Fire Phoenix King was not exceptionally beautiful but was dressed in red, much like a fire phoenix. However, her brows carried a touch of dominance compared to a fire phoenix, as she was the wife of a Saint and the king of a clan.
"Distinguished guests, I will not say any more. The Lava Death Domain will be open for three years. During this time, you can come out at any time to exchange the ore crystals and fire lotuses you find with the Five Elements Hall staff. For these three years, the Lava Death Domain is an lawless land. You are free to act as you please, and the Five Elements Hall will not hold you accountable. However, Five Elements Hall disciples must be careful not to kill their own fellow disciples."
After the Fire Phoenix King finished speaking, she turned to activate the formation. The crowd behind her immediately stirred, and a potent killing intent emanated from them.
"What does 'lawless land' mean here?" Wan Lei asked curiously.
"Oh, in most parts of the Immortal Realm, killing and robbery are crimes. But there are some areas that the Five Elements Hall cannot control. In those places, the Five Elements Hall does not interfere with whatever you do, and they serve as the last sanctuary for those with deep sins. Of course, regarding the lawfulness of killing, can the Five Elements Hall truly control the entire starry sky? The distances between star systems are so vast, and the distances between planets are also immense. Most of it is empty territory where one might not see a single person for half a day. Even if you were to kill someone, if no one saw it, could the Five Elements Hall catch you?"
Although Dada's explanation was somewhat evasive, Wan Lei managed to grasp the general meaning, which was that killing and looting were not crimes here. Thinking about it, Wan Lei still felt that the Five Elements Hall was remarkably civilized. In the Lei Feng Realm, when a secret realm opened, everyone would be engaged in brutal combat, and anyone with treasures would be plundered. To think that here, they had to announce in advance that killing was not a crime and encourage mutual combat. Tsk, tsk, tsk, truly too civilized.