“This hazel grouse… truly is delicious!”
The people from the communal compound walked out of Binghuo Cave. He Laohun licked his lips, still savoring the taste.
“After eating this meal, hurry back to meditate and cultivate. It’s worth twenty days of bitter training!”
Widow Qin scoffed.
“How useless! Just now you looked like you wanted to lick the plate clean!”
He Laohun took no offense. Instead, he said,
“I’ve been on Chiyan Peak for more than twenty years, and I’ve barely eaten a few proper meals like this! Spiritual rice and spiritual fowl—truly delicious!”
Old Li and his wife said nothing. The two of them were carrying two lotus-leaf bundles stuffed in their clothes, containing the carcass of the flower-tailed hazel grouse, as well as scraps like the chicken kidneys and gizzards.
They planned to take them back to the communal compound, boil them into soup stock, and mix it with rice. Perhaps they might gain a few extra wisps of spiritual qi nourishment.
Menial servants at the bottom were like oxen and horses; life had to be carefully calculated.
“Brother Yi remembers old friendships! He hasn’t forgotten those of us who lived with him in the communal compound!”
Having eaten another man’s food, He Laohun praised him with all his might.
“If you ask me, in another seven or eight years, Brother Yi might really reach the fifth level of Qi Refining and take Old Yang’s position.”
Widow Qin rolled her eyes.
“Enough, enough. He isn’t even here! I think you’re eyeing Brother Yi’s inspector post and hoping to benefit from it!”
He Laohun’s little scheme had been exposed, and his face immediately flushed red as he argued,
“Why must Sister Qin make it sound so ugly! I only want to share Brother Yi’s burdens, so he won’t have to strain himself…”
Widow Qin was too lazy to bicker with him. Her beautiful eyes blinked.
“Brother Yi didn’t even finish his meal. Where was he in such a hurry to go?”
He Laohun chuckled.
“To serve Old Yang, of course. How come I never noticed before that Brother Yi was so clever?”
The cold wind carried flurries of snow, scattering thickly over the mountain path.
The few people from the communal compound each had different thoughts. Some sighed with emotion that the heavens had finally opened their eyes and allowed Brother Yi to make it through;
some were envious, silently calculating how many more days of ox-and-horse hardship they had left;
and some were considering how they could cling to this thigh, so they too might rise along with the chickens and dogs.
……
……
“Attitude is very important! Whether someone sent a gift or not, the leaders may not know clearly, but whoever didn’t send one, they will definitely remember!”
Jiang Yi carried the food box and walked up Chiyan Peak.
Having been promoted and put to use, he absolutely could not let his tail rise.
He had to remember the kindness of his “old leader” at all times, and he had to fully show it.
Thus, after Jiang Yi ate with his workmates from the communal compound and settled the bill, he immediately rushed without stopping toward Yang Xun’s residence.
The residences of duty officers were naturally far superior to the work dormitories of menial servants.
They were located behind the workshops, all large mansions with three courtyards, white walls and black tiles, upturned eaves and bracket sets, extremely imposing.
“I heard inner disciples can live in cultivator cave abodes and enjoy nourishment from spiritual currents…”
Arriving before the gate of Yang Xun’s mansion, what Jiang Yi was thinking of was whether one day he could sit in a superior cave abode and meditate in cultivation.
Knock, knock, knock!
He raised his hand and lightly tapped the beast-mouth bronze ring.
Before long, a young Daoist boy with red lips and white teeth drew the bolt and opened the door, poking his head out.
His eyes were full of doubt. It was so late, yet someone had actually come to visit.
Because his old master was not hospitable by nature. Ordinarily, menial servants who wanted to curry favor and attach themselves to him could not cross the threshold at all.
“Pardon my disturbance so late at night. May I ask if Duty Officer Yang has already gone to sleep?”
Jiang Yi asked politely.
“You’re Inspector Jiang from the quenching room, right?”
The young Daoist boy was quite quick-witted. He recognized Jiang Yi and did not neglect him.
“The old master is currently meditating. It should still take about another half quarter-hour. Inspector Jiang, why not come in and wait?”
“No need. Without the duty officer’s summons, how could I rashly enter?”
Jiang Yi was naturally happy to put on an act of “standing in the snow at Yang’s gate.”
The wind blew fiercely, and the snow fell heavily.
Even though winter had not yet arrived, the top of Chiyan Peak was already bitterly cold, chilling to the bone.
Jiang Yi was at the second level of Qi Refining, with tendons and bones transformed, his body strong and robust. He was not afraid of the cold invading him.
Half a quarter-hour passed in the blink of an eye. The young Daoist boy hurried off to report, and before long came trotting back.
“Inspector Jiang, the old master calls you in.”
As the young Daoist boy led the way, he found it strange.
Aside from the mistress and the young master, no outsider had ever set foot in this residence.
Jiang Yi was led to the rear courtyard, just in time to see Yang Xun finish his cultivation.
It was as if raging firelight enveloped the black-robed old man whose beard and hair were all white. As he breathed in and out, strands of condensed true qi moved throughout his body like little snakes.
Only after a while did it subside.
“The breathing meditation of the fifth level of Qi Refining is truly majestic.”
As he drew slightly closer to Yang Xun, who was seated cross-legged on the couch, Jiang Yi felt a surge of scorching heat.
It was as if he were pressed against the great furnace in the quenching room, enough to set him alight.
Was this the change brought about by the fifth level of Qi Refining, opening the yuan gate inner palace?
He pondered inwardly.
“It’s so late. What have you come for?”
Yang Xun let out a long breath. Between his mouth and nose, faint firelight flickered.
He truly seemed to possess deep power and profound cultivation!
“I set a table at Binghuo Cave with the workmates from the communal compound. Perhaps after drinking a few cups of wine, the joy in my heart was hard to suppress, so I wanted to come pay my respects to the duty officer.”
Jiang Yi did not say any fawning or flattering words. He merely put on an earnest expression, as if he were sincere and naturally pure-hearted.
“I specially brought the duty officer some spiritual rice and dishes unworthy of the table. I hope the duty officer won’t disdain them.”
Yang Xun sneered.
“Could this old man possibly lack your one meal?”
Jiang Yi scratched his head but did not make a sound.
“Fine. Since you’re already here.”
Yang Xun gave a light snort, appearing impatient, and had the young Daoist boy take the food box to heat up the dishes.
“Sit down for now. I just happen to have a few words to explain to you.”
Hearing that he had been “granted a seat,” Jiang Yi nimbly moved over a small folding stool and sat like an obedient student waiting for the teacher’s lesson.
Yang Xun sighed softly. How had he, of all people, ended up liking this approach so much?
It had only been a few days, yet the more he looked at Jiang Yi, the more pleasing he found him.
In another stretch of time, he feared he might not even be able to put on the airs of a duty officer anymore.
“You attended Dao studies, so you should have some foundation. How well have you cultivated the Proper Meridian Qi Circulation Art?”
Yang Xun asked.
“It’s passable.”
Jiang Yi replied.
“At the first level of Qi Refining, what meridian manifestation did you open?”
Yang Xun asked again.
What was a “meridian manifestation”?
Jiang Yi froze for a moment.
Seeing this reaction, Yang Xun immediately understood.
No doubt he had come from a small place.
Yang Xun said softly,
“It seems you are not from a Qi Refining village clan, and you don’t understand much about the ins and outs of this.”
“To be honest with the duty officer, I grew up in Guniu Town. At most, my family had some property. For three generations of my ancestors, no cultivator has appeared.”
Jiang Yi stated his circumstances. He was a thoroughly upright small-town ox and horse.
Yang Xun smacked his lips twice, habitually fished a handful of snacks from his pocket, and crunched as he chewed.
“Today I’ll give you a lesson. Listen carefully. Back in ancient times, ‘mortal bodies’ like ours could not cultivate the Dao.
“So-called ‘cultivation seeds’ were hard to find even among a hundred thousand people, extremely rare.”
Jiang Yi had heard something of this claim.
It was said that in the ancient vast land of Yanfu, only thirty percent of living beings were qualified to cultivate the Dao. The rest were all ordinary folk, mere weeds.
But nowadays, almost more than ninety percent could open meridians and refine qi, managing to earn the title of “cultivator.”
“Rumor has it that the great divine-ability figures of several Dao lineages joined forces to alter the rules set down by Heaven. That is why this great age of cultivation exists, with thousands upon thousands of dharma lineages opening their mountain gates… Ah, I’ve gone off topic.
“Back to meridian manifestations. This first came from the immortal Dao side. The descendants of great houses and powerful clans would use spiritual objects as primers to open their meridians at the first level of Qi Refining.
“If the meridian manifestation is superior, the quality of true qi will rise along with it. That can also be considered consolidating one’s foundation.”
Damn tycoons!
Jiang Yi cursed inwardly.
He had not even known one could play it like this!
When the original owner had opened his meridians during Dao studies back then, he had done so in a muddle.
For this, he had even been smug for a long time, because among the student youths of the same batch, fewer than five had smoothly opened their meridians and stepped into the first level of Qi Refining.
“Forget it. We of the demonic Dao don’t pay much attention to how solid or firm the foundation is. If the meridian manifestation is poor, then so be it.”
Yang Xun gnawed on a chicken claw and suddenly asked,
“Let’s talk about this region of Beimang Ridge. There are Three Gates and Two Sects—how many of their names do you know?”
Jiang Yi carefully thought back before answering,
“Our Qianji Gate is in the north. Along with the Yin Kui Gate to the west and the Hehuan Gate to the south, that should be the Three Gates.
“But I’ve never heard the great names of the Two Sects.”
Yang Xun was not surprised. How could student youths who came out of Dao studies come into contact with anything substantial?
“Remember them well. They are the Zhaoyou Sect and the Zhen Gu Sect. Both are dharma lineages that dominate their own regions.
“Qianji Gate mainly supplies goods to the Zhaoyou Sect. The White Bone Dharma Swords, Hundred-Shadow Dharma Robes, and Hundred-Soul Banners produced by the four outer peaks are all delivered to the market over there.”
Jiang Yi roughly understood his meaning.
So Qianji Gate was in processing, responsible for supplying products to the sales channel!
“Whether immortal Dao or demonic Dao, the hierarchy of dharma lineages is strict.
“At the bottom are small gates and small sects. Drawing off a few mountain peaks counts as a foundation.
“Above that are the ‘thousand-year great teachings,’ which can occupy mountains and enclose land, seize spiritual veins, and receive offerings from several nations.
“One level higher are the ‘Heavenly Abode Upper Sects,’ which establish regimes and open mansions, occupying an entire continent. They can be called giants among Dao lineages.
“As for whether there are any still more formidable… that is not something you or I can speculate about.”
Jiang Yi organized Yang Xun’s explanation and broadly summarized it as “small workshops, big factories, local leaders, and continent-level giant corporations.”
“Looking at it this way, the path of Dao cultivation is truly long.
“If one wants to enter the path properly, at the very least one must be a disciple of a ‘thousand-year great teaching’ to have any future worth speaking of.
“Otherwise, with the scale of small workshops and big factories, the room for advancement is rather narrow.”
Through Yang Xun’s guidance, Jiang Yi’s understanding of “Dao lineages” became even clearer.
He then asked curiously,
“The Qi Refining village clans that the duty officer mentioned earlier—which level do they belong to?”
Yang Xun’s face was cold and hard, as if he were naturally unable to give anyone a pleasant expression, but he had enough patience. He said softly,
“Do not think small gates and small sects are at the bottom of the Dao lineages. They can still influence hundreds of thousands, even millions of mortal beings.
“Take our Qianji Gate alone. How many menial servants come and go, relying on the workshops of the four outer peaks to make a living and earn talisman money?
“As time passes, it is inevitable that a few outstanding ‘menial servants’ will appear.
“They break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining and become ‘duty officers,’ then bring their relatives from below the mountain into the gate.
“Repeating this over and over, they bring along fellow villagers. Perhaps one day they will support a superior seedling who can enter the inner peaks of the sect and cultivate the Dao and refine methods.
“This is what is meant by ‘Qi Refining forming village clans.’”
Jiang Yi listened with absorbed attention, thinking inwardly,
“The first group of workers brings in the next group of workers. After several generations of inheritance, they can always build a family fortune, form a great clan, and support the younger generation… It’s rather like in my previous life, when an entire village would run to one place and help each other out.”
In his previous life, he had been born in the “countryside of southern Xiang.” He was not unfamiliar at all with relatives and friends leaving their hometowns and rushing in clusters to other provinces.
He simply had not expected that after transmigrating to the vast land of Yanfu, governed by Dao lineages, he would still see such a scene.
“This old man is from the Yang Clan of Lujiang in Zhao Kingdom.”
Yang Xun revealed, then immediately said in a self-mocking tone,
“With this old man’s cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refining and my status as a duty officer of the gate, I can be considered a ‘clan elder.’
“If I were to take a few more steps and luckily move to the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining, then descend the mountain and return home, my clansmen could even call me ‘old ancestor.’”
A Qi Refining old ancestor!
Jiang Yi pondered it carefully and found it reasonable.
At the seventh level of Qi Refining, one could serve as an “elder” in Qianji Gate.
Whether in giving guidance on cultivation, or in nurturing and recommending people, one would have a say in all aspects.
Calling such a person “old ancestor” was not inappropriate!
“Do not look down on the Qi Refining village clans, numerous as ox hairs.
“Across Beimang Ridge, which spans three thousand li, sects and gates have changed over the centuries.
“How many sect masters and gate lords have come from these Qi Refining village clans?
“Take only the most illustrious Zhaoyou Sect. Its main line is the Fu clan, and its outer line is the Kang clan. Three hundred years ago, their clans merely had two old ancestors at the tenth level of Qi Refining.
“And now? Among the millions upon millions of menial servants in Beimang Ridge, all are racking their brains to work for these two families. One could say their extravagance knows no bounds.”
Jiang Yi’s brows lifted slightly. He heard the envy in Yang Xun’s words.
It seemed the ultimate goal of a Qi Refining village clan was to turn the entire clan into a gate or sect that received the dharma lineage of a Dao tradition.
When Yang Xun finished this section, the young Daoist boy brought up the food and wine.
Jiang Yi had specifically instructed the waiter at Binghuo Cave to prepare them. The rice was the finest spiritual rice, and the dishes were mountain delicacies and wild game such as frozen mushrooms, matsutake, snow frog, and hazel grouse.
“The taste is not bad, but don’t go through so much trouble next time. This old man has cultivated to the fifth level of Qi Refining. I either abstain from grain or take medicinal bait, and I do not value the desires of the palate much.”
Yang Xun glanced at it, then picked up a chopstickful, knowing in his heart that Jiang Yi had put thought into it.
It was just when winter was about to begin, the season when heavy snow sealed the mountains.
These mountain delicacies and wild game were relatively rare. They must have cost quite a bit of talisman money to buy.
Jiang Yi smiled bashfully.
“As long as the duty officer finds it to his taste.”
Yang Xun tasted a few bites and continued,
“Where was I just now?”
Jiang Yi picked up the thread.
“The Zhaoyou Sect that holds the leading position in Beimang Ridge, the Fu clan and the Kang clan.”
Yang Xun nodded and sighed.
“Earlier, I spoke of ‘Qi Refining forming village clans.’ In fact, there is another line after it: ‘Foundation Establishment names one a noble seed.’
“The Fu clan and the Kang clan each have a Foundation Establishment great cultivator presiding over them. The children who come out of these two families are ‘noble seeds of cultivation,’ with hope of entering a thousand-year great teaching and truly becoming Dao materials.”
Jiang Yi silently counted on his fingers in his heart, wondering how far he was from these noble seeds of cultivation.
“Stop thinking about it. First cross the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining and head toward the ‘yuan gate inner palace.’”
Yang Xun suddenly smiled, as if he had seen through Jiang Yi’s thoughts, though his words remained cold and blunt.
“Only when you reach the fifth level of Qi Refining can you be considered to possess the qualifications to ‘cultivate.’”
Jiang Yi carried through his “persona” of being diligent in learning and eager to ask.
“Is it because at the fifth level of Qi Refining, once the yuan gate inner palace is opened, one can absorb the spiritual currents of heaven and earth?”
Yang Xun nodded. This content could not be heard in Dao studies, but in the clan schools of Qi Refining village clans, it did not count as any secret.
“In the first realm of Qi Refining, the first four levels are meant to temper the physique and cast the cauldron, making it convenient after the fifth level to contain spiritual currents, gather them, and refine them.
“Once you reach the fifth level, the method of cultivation becomes greatly different.
“Among heaven and earth, the myriad spiritual currents have different attributes. Some are clear, some are turbid; some are thick and heavy, some are fierce and violent.
“For example, the Lesser Origin-Forging Fire-Control Art that this old man cultivates requires gathering qi of yin nature, dry nature, and fierce nature.
“Therefore, it is suited to circulating the art at noon and midnight.
“If you cultivate a technique related to the ‘Great Sun,’ then you must choose the mao hour and chen hour to absorb the purple qi of the rising sun in the east.
“You must understand these subtleties clearly. Otherwise, if you gather qi incorrectly and it runs contrary to your cultivation method, danger of qi deviation will be unavoidable.”
Jiang Yi pondered. No wonder one could become a duty officer in the gate at the fifth level of Qi Refining.
On one hand, with the yuan gate inner palace opened, one’s power greatly increased and one’s cultivation advanced by leaps, creating a gap with the fourth level of Qi Refining. Such a person counted as a backbone of the sect;
on the other hand, if one ascended to the fifth level yet still had to toil bitterly, how could one complete the coursework of gathering qi?
Furthermore, the attributes of spiritual currents were countless. Circulating the art was naturally complicated and had to be done cautiously, without negligence.
But this also made it convenient for the sect to “arrange” cultivators at the fifth level of Qi Refining!
Chiyan Peak cultivated the Lesser Origin-Forging Fire-Control Art, and they suited each other.
Presumably, the other three outer peaks were the same.
Dao lineages and dharma lineages were indeed meticulous and strict!
Jiang Yi’s thoughts drifted, but aloud he said,
“I will certainly devote myself to comprehending the Lesser Origin-Forging Fire-Control Art, and not fail the duty officer’s high hopes.”
Yang Xun merely smiled and did not take it seriously.
With Jiang Yi’s cultivation at the second level of Qi Refining, if he wanted to thoroughly grasp the ninth-grade Qi Refining technique Lesser Origin-Forging Fire-Control Art, he would need at least three to five years.
Even if he were faster and faster still, it would still take a year or half a year!
“This lesson today, this old man won’t charge you. Next time you seek instruction, it will be calculated according to the inner sect lecture price.”
Yang Xun waved his hand, indicating Jiang Yi could withdraw.
Although he found the other party pleasing to the eye and was willing to grant him a chance to advance in Dao cultivation and become someone useful,
whether he could leap over the dragon gate and overturn his fate would still depend on whether his own ability was hard enough!
If his strength was lacking and his talent insufficient, he would only be like Zhi’er, dying prematurely for no reason at all!
P.S.: The contract is signed! Starting tomorrow, there will be two updates to feed you all! I humbly ask my honored readers to vote more and support more~