【Subject of Inquiry: Fortune and Misfortune】
【Divination complete. Given that the immortal friend belongs to Chiyan Peak, and your workplace is mostly the Quenching and Forging Workshops, here are several possibilities…】
Jiang Yi woke and summoned the Heavenly Tome. His pupils reflected densely packed tadpole-like characters.
He spent half an incense stick's time scanning and digesting it, his thoughts surging:
"Sure enough, when you're in the demonic path, you have to be careful at the end of every month. If not for the Heavenly Tome's warning, how would I have known that today an Inner Sect steward would come to inspect Chiyan Peak? I might have suffered a calamity."
Based on Jiang Yi's question, the Heavenly Tome provided an answer. After various deductions, the golden paper revealed an omen of danger.
"Inner Sect disciple Xu Yan is in a poor mood. Handle with caution; do not provoke him."
Jiang Yi silently memorized this, got up, pushed open the door, left the room, and found He Lao Hun, who was preparing to go to work:
"Brother He, do you know any mortal laborers willing to take a shift for me? I've recently gained some insight in my cultivation and want to take a day to consolidate it."
He Lao Hun had always been good at this sort of thing; his network was vast, and he had acquaintances in every workshop. He immediately said:
"Brother Yi has made progress again? Tch, looks like the nourishment wasn't wasted! Fine, leave it to me, but the price for the substitute work…"
Jiang Yi smiled:
"I'll pay the going rate, no haggling."
It was rather funny. Working on the four Outer Peaks was hard labor, and the mortal laborers toiled like oxen and horses. Some people tried every means to rest a bit more and catch their breath; but there were others who, after finishing their own work, still felt it wasn't enough and were willing to take on extra duties to earn more talisman coins. Thus, the phenomenon of "paying for substitute work" arose.
Normally, a mortal laborer working a full four-shifts day earned about fifty talisman coins. If they worked the entire month without rest, they could earn a bit more. But hiring someone to substitute, regardless of the workshop, cost at least eighty talisman coins to start, and if the work was arduous, it could rise to one hundred. It was a genuine loss-making transaction. Unless one's body truly couldn't sustain it and the overseer wouldn't grant leave, it was rare to see anyone willing to spend money to have someone else work in their place.
"See, I told you. Save the talisman coins to spend on yourself; how comfortable."
He Lao Hun thought Jiang Yi's recent comfortable life was because he no longer had Luo Qian'er around.
"I'll front you the talisman coins. Pay me back after work. Keep at it, Brother Yi. I'm still waiting for you to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refinement."
He Lao Hun had meant it as a joke, but Jiang Yi nodded seriously:
"I certainly won't let down Brother He's expectations."
I was just talking; why are you taking it seriously?
The fifth layer of Qi Refinement is enough to become an "overseer" of a workshop! It's not that easy to achieve!
He Lao Hun was taken aback, thinking that Brother Yi was truly rather dull and lacked wit. No wonder he couldn't win Luo Qian'er's favor. He shook his head and went straight to work.
Brother Yi was spending a lot this month; next month would probably be tough. Today he hired someone to substitute; perhaps another day he would be substituting for someone else.
Watching the workers in the communal courtyard leave one after another, Jiang Yi finished his breakfast, wrapped himself in his gray dao robe, and rushed toward the villa at the foot of the mountain belonging to Yang Xun's son.
The Qianji Sect was under demonic governance, but it strictly followed the order of the dharma lineage and did not engage in wanton killing or poisoning. According to the so-called statutes of the Dao lineage, regardless of sect, any cultivator who entered the dharma lineage could not casually massacre cities or destroy nations, treat human lives as grass, or damage earthly ley lines… Even if they really did so, they had to provide compensation afterward.
Jiang Yi had once heard that previously, a demonic path sect leader on Beimang Ridge had fought an opponent. At the critical moment, he extracted the souls of an entire town's commoners to refine a technique. After narrowly defeating his enemy, he paid out his entire family fortune as a "fine."
"Dao lineage and dharma vein…"
He chewed on these four words, increasingly feeling the extraordinary significance behind them.
The area around Qianji Sect was densely populated. Many mortal laborers, after completing their term and descending the mountain with full purses of talisman coins, simply settled down on the spot and did business with the mountain's cultivators, gradually gathering into towns and villages.
"Having a father who's an overseer—while it doesn't guarantee entry into the Inner Sect—at least lets one live comfortably on the outer peaks without being bullied. Unfortunately, Young Master Yang is a romantic, but of all the people to fall for, he just had to fall for his old man's young concubine."
Jiang Yi mused inwardly.
Yang Zhi had fallen for that young woman—his father's concubine, colloquially known as his "stepmother." He had learned of this secret between the father and son of the Yang family through the Heavenly Tome's guidance. Family scandals shouldn't be aired; Yang Xun hadn't let outsiders know. Because of this matter, the father and son had an awkward falling out, and Yang Zhi simply moved to the foot of the mountain to live alone.
"Convenient for me. If it were on Chiyan Peak, even if I knew where that ninth-grade Qi Refinement Method was, I couldn't obtain it."
Jiang Yi moved swiftly, reaching the foot of the mountain without incident along the way. The villa was near the marketplace. The main gate was tightly locked, and inside was quiet; clearly, no one had been there for a long time.
At the second layer of Qi Refinement, with strong sinews and sturdy bones, scaling walls and crossing courtyards was naturally no problem.
As if returning to his own home, Jiang Yi—familiar with the layout—pushed open the study door. A moment later, he retrieved from a hidden compartment in the bookshelf the ninth-grade Qi Refinement Method he had yearned for.
*Lesser Tempering Primordial Fire-Control Art*.
"It would have been better if it were a jade slip."
Jiang Yi had heard He Lao Hun chat and mention a piece of knowledge. Inner Sect disciples cultivating high-grade methods could press a jade slip to their forehead to brand it into their minds, impossible to forget. There was no need to memorize and recite it themselves or chew over its essence.
Having obtained the method, Jiang Yi didn't immediately return to Chiyan Peak. Instead, he got a superior room at an inn in the marketplace.
"The *Lesser Tempering Primordial Fire-Control Art* counts as 'stolen goods.' I can't explain its origins, and it can't see the light of day. I might as well memorize it, cultivate it, then destroy it."
Jiang Yi thought thus. He had always adhered to the word "steady." While in the demonic path, he avoided missteps as much as possible.
"The *Orthodox Meridian Qi Circulation Art* has no grade; it belongs to the most shallow, unranked methods. I don't know what the difference is between this unranked method and a ninth-grade one."
Jiang Yi closed the door, instructed the waiter not to disturb him, then calmed his mind and opened the *Lesser Tempering Primordial Fire-Control Art*.
"Compared to the great circulation of the *Orthodox Meridian Qi Circulation Art*, the variations in this ninth-grade Qi Refinement Method are quite complex. More wonderfully, it contains the key to opening the 'Primordial Pass Inner Mansion'… But when it comes to the actual cultivation, why are there suddenly long, obscure passages?"
Jiang Yi's brows sank. Facing difficult sentences like "harvesting lead to supplement Li, using lead to supplement mercury" and "tempering the primordial truth, driving qi to generate fire," the more he read, the more drowsy he became. Flipping to the end, the ink characters swirled, swelling to the size of a斗, filling his vision.
"In my previous life, I was an outstanding student who passed the civil service exam. Falling into the demonic path, I've become illiterate! Who can I reason with about this! It must be that the compulsory education of Daoist studies was poorly done, leaving me without a solid foundation…"
Jiang Yi read until his head swam and he could hardly continue. He could only temporarily set it aside.
It seemed that without the guidance of a clear-sighted master, relying solely on a single method to gain entry was no different than an idiot's dream. No wonder Yang Zhi had been so casual, hiding it in a bookshelf compartment rather than keeping it somewhere more secure and secret. Without profound knowledge of cultivation studies, even if someone else obtained it, they would be completely baffled, as if reading a heavenly book.
Huh?
Heavenly Tome!
That reminds me!
Jiang Yi rubbed his temples, alleviating the cruel blow of his illiteracy. His eyes flashed, and golden light appeared.
"Since I can't understand it, then I'll leave it to the Heavenly Tome… What kind of thorough comprehension could Inner Sect disciples, spending talisman coins to request lectures from elders, achieve that could compare to the Heavenly Tome's direct teaching!"
【I prostrate myself and request the Heavenly Tome to reveal the essence of this cultivation method】
【Additional condition: Record the full text of this method and present it in a way that I can comprehend and understand】
Golden light circulated across the golden paper's surface, and tadpole-like characters gradually appeared.
【Time required for deduction: one day and nine shichen】
"I can only wait a bit longer."
Jiang Yi picked up the thin volume of the *Lesser Tempering Primordial Fire-Control Art* and placed it over the oil lamp. The flames ignited the paper, and the characters turned to charred black. The Heavenly Tome had already recorded the full text. There was no need to keep it on his person and add unnecessary risk; it could be destroyed directly.
"Sure enough, relying on individual effort to turn things around as a demonic cultivator is somewhat wishful thinking. One must still look at 'timely fortune' and 'karmic destiny.'"
Comprehension rose in Jiang Yi's eyes. His so-called timely fortune and karmic destiny, put simply, were four words.
Heavenly Tome, aid me!
…
…
By the time Jiang Yi returned to Chiyan Peak, a few traces of sunset glow remained on the horizon, like charcoal about to burn out, occasionally jumping with a bit of lingering crimson—not dazzling, but rather warm to look at. Two or three winter crows in the mountain forest were startled, carrying the faint red light as they slowly flew back to their nests.
The communal courtyard was filled with clamoring voices. He Lao Hun's loud voice could be heard from far away.
"…Who knows how that kid offended Senior Brother Xu? Alas, it's all fate!"
Jiang Yi crossed the courtyard gate and saw He Lao Hun, Widow Qin, and Old Li's family huddled together as if in a meeting. Seeing the string of paper packages in Jiang Yi's hand, Widow Qin asked:
"Brother Yi is back? You went down the mountain?"
Jiang Yi nodded:
"I went down for a stroll after cultivating and brought back some pastries for everyone to taste."
He asked again:
"What happened?"
Old Li sighed:
"Someone died in the Quenching Workshop. Today, Senior Brother Xu from the Inner Sect came down to inspect and hurry progress. He said that this month, they must produce enough 'artifact rough blanks'—forty-two of them. Xiao Gao from the Bing-Number Workshop was a bit slow in his work and was directly… beaten to death."
"This is water chestnut cake. It's soft and smooth on the tongue. Sister Qin, try it."
Jiang Yi unwrapped the kraft paper and distributed pastries to the workers in the courtyard while asking:
"How was it handled afterward? Did Xiao Gao die for nothing?"
He Lao Hun spread his hands:
"What else can be done? Follow the rules. Xiao Gao was at the first layer of Qi Refinement. His skin and flesh were priced at twenty-eight hundred talisman coins and sent to Tailoring Peak; his bones and flesh were priced at fourteen hundred talisman coins and sent to the Quenching Workshop; the remainder, if the Herb-Gathering Peak and Soul-Nurturing Peak were willing to buy it, would altogether fetch about three thousand. Added together, it comes to seventy-two hundred talisman coins. Don't know if Xiao Gao had any relatives down the mountain. If he did, they'd receive this money as condolence."
Jiang Yi finished distributing the packages and picked up a chestnut cake for himself, chewing it slowly, but the taste was complex.
So a mortal laborer at the first layer of Qi Refinement, skin and flesh together, was only worth seventy-two hundred talisman coins?
He Lao Hun added, "After Senior Brother Xu killed him and calmed down, he didn't renege. He tossed down a note for eight thousand talisman coins. The contract we mortal laborers signed clearly states: life and death are up to fate, all belonging to the sect. If the legal tradition of Beimang Ridge weren't still fairly strict, I'm afraid there wouldn't even be compensation."
Not just Jiang Yi—everyone felt a shared sorrow, their chests suffocated. If a person is gone, no amount of compensation matters. Moreover, quite a few mortal laborers had no family or friends. This sum of talisman coins might not even have a recipient.
"Let's disperse."
Widow Qin was the first to get up and return to her room. Old Li's family thanked Jiang Yi for the pastries and followed. The courtyard returned to silence.
Jiang Yi asked:
"Brother He, how much were the substitute work talisman coins today? I'll give them to you."
He Lao Hun said:
"Ninety. That guy wanted a hundred, but I haggled him down for you."
Jiang Yi took out one hundred talisman coins and handed them to He Lao Hun, taking the opportunity to mention:
"Keep the extra as a service fee. By the way, Brother He, I still want to broaden my horizons and gain experience in the Inner Sect. Do you have any familiar connections?"
Mortal laborers of the four Outer Peaks rarely entered the three Inner Peaks unless sent on an errand. It wasn't that Qianji Sect explicitly forbade mortal laborers from setting foot there. Rather, the three Inner Peaks soared thousands of *ren* high, steep and difficult to climb—so treacherous that even gibbons and monkeys would despair of scaling them. One could only reach them by riding flying cranes.
Truly worthy of being Qianji Sect's know-it-all, He Lao Hun immediately said:
"Zhou Guang, the overseer of the Forging Workshop, specializes in this business. Elder Zhou, who is in charge of raising flying cranes in the Inner Sect, is his maternal uncle."
In this demonic path, there truly were business opportunities everywhere, but one needed connections and backing. Jiang Yi sighed and cupped his hands:
"Please trouble Brother He to introduce me."
He Lao Hun let out a long breath:
"Alas, Brother Yi still won't give up. Fine, I'll put in a word for you. The Inner Sect's transmission elder holds a lecture every ten days. Go listen to one session, and you'll know."
Jiang Yi thanked him sincerely. Although he held the Heavenly Tome and could investigate karma and cause-effect, knowing everything, a "tool" needed to be used wisely rather than relied upon blindly. Attending a lecture in the Inner Sect to learn more about the demonic path's dharma lineage and Qi refinement essentials would help him find a direction and set a path for himself. Otherwise, limiting his horizons to Qianji Sect would ultimately be like sitting in a well, looking at the sky.
Back in his room, Jiang Yi thought again about the mortal laborer Xiao Gao. Even if he had gone to work normally today, he might not necessarily have provoked Inner Sect Senior Brother Xu and been killed. But this kind of "tribulation" should be avoided if possible and escaped if evadable.
With He Lao Hun's calculating words echoing in his mind, Jiang Yi's heart was like dark clouds obscuring the sun, breeding gloom:
"First layer of Qi Refinement, skin and flesh together, not even worth eight thousand talisman coins—truly like cattle, horses, and livestock displayed at a butcher's shop for slaughter and sale. I'm now at the second layer of Qi Refinement. At most, I'd fetch fourteen or fifteen thousand talisman coins. An Inner Sect senior brother could mostly afford that…"
Jiang Yi suddenly laughed aloud. Was the fifth layer of Qi Refinement that mortal laborers yearned for day and night sought so that when an Inner Sect senior brother moved to anger and killing intent, he would weigh whether he could afford the compensation?
"Consumables, consumables—materials to be consumed. Just like firewood filling a stove, cooking rice and boiling water—they were fundamentally meant to be used."
Jiang Yi pondered that under demonic path rule, things appeared to mete out rewards and punishments clearly, orderly and systematic—not the stereotypical mutual slaughter and collapse of moral order. But if one looked up from below, it was like the heavy night outside—thick as ink, with dark clouds hanging low, pressing people to bend at the waist and kneel, unable to lift their heads.
"It really does confirm what Brother He said: one must use 'struggle' and 'seize' to fight for a path forward."
Jiang Yi sat quietly, letting his thoughts rise and fall. Gradually, his drifting emotions condensed into resolve. He absolutely could not remain a "consumable" to be used at will.
"To shed the status of 'mortal laborer' and change the fate of 'beast of burden,' I must first become 'human talent.'"
Jiang Yi understood this point: consumables were everywhere. If you didn't work as mortal labor, plenty of people were scrambling to do it. To jump out of this "bottom-level environment" created by the dharma lineage, one had to demonstrate one's usefulness. A useful body was "human talent" and wouldn't be easily consumed—able to breathe a few more breaths.
"With the Heavenly Tome in hand, it's not hard to stand out."
Recalling what He Lao Hun had said about "producing forty-two artifact rough blanks this month," Jiang Yi vaguely had an idea.
For a bottom-level demonic cultivator to turn things around, he must start by becoming "human talent"!