Yanfu Haotu—this very world.
Beneath it, myriad lands were divided into five domains. Jiang Yi had read the "simple textbook" of the Dao school and knew that the ground beneath his feet was one of them, called Nanzhanzhou.
He had heard that Nanzhanzhou was vast and boundless, where ten sects and a hundred states warred with one another, bordered by savage wilderness with much killing and strife—quite lively.
Only, the Dao school's textbooks had little substance. The content taught was hollow and vague. Jiang Yi remembered merely two points.
First, in Yanfu Haotu, four great Dao orthodoxies were manifest in the world: Immortal, Buddhist, Demon, and Devil.
Only dharma lineages that fell under these orthodoxies were permitted to establish Dao schools and open their mountain gates wide.
The Qianji Sect was one such member of the Devil path's dharma lineages.
Second, rogue cultivators and wild cultivators had no future. They had long been relegated to the likes of "side gates." It was difficult even to join a proper sect as a mortal servant; they could only seek work at black labor kilns.
If one had to draw a comparison, they were essentially idle vagrants without diplomas or household registration.
Seeing Jiang Yi's curiosity, Steward Lin was happy to offer a few pointers:
"Eternal life and deathlessness, ascending amidst rosy clouds, roaming beyond the heavens, indulging in unbounded freedom—that is the path of those born with an immortal destiny.
Junior Brother Jiang, for insignificant grass like you and me, struggling to survive boils down to earning a few more fu coins and eating a few more mouthfuls of spirit rice. In our whole lives, we'll be hard-pressed to meet a 'true cultivator.'"
That was true enough.
Jiang Yi nodded. Based on the original body's experiences and observations, let alone great powers who could ride the wind on swords and move mountains or drain seas, even cultivators who could command water and fire or dispatch spirits were rarely seen.
Take the Qianji Sect, for example. Most of the serving officers were around the fifth layer of Qi Refining. Above them were the superintendents, positions only held by inner sect disciples, roughly between the sixth and seventh layers of Qi Refining.
As for whether the sect had a cultivator who had reached the great perfection of the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, Jiang Yi truly had no idea.
And this was already the absolute limit of what he could encounter.
"No matter how hard we have it, we are still 'cultivators of the Dao' in the end. If we work diligently, we can always hope to cast off the words 'mortal commoner' from above our heads and avoid wallowing in the mire of the secular world."
Steward Lin lifted his chin, a trace of pride in his words:
"Junior Brother Jiang, think about it: without the sect, where would you and I earn fu coins? Without fu coins, how could we exchange for spirit rice? Let alone study methods and practice techniques to advance our cultivation.
That is why the mortal commoners at the foot of the mountain break their heads trying to enter the sect;
and Dao school pupils are even more so. Joining a sect is their only path upward!"
Jiang Yi frowned slightly, feeling that something was off.
Cultivating the Dao starts with "wage labor"?
"Senior Brother Lin."
Jiang Yi probed:
"What if rogue and wild cultivators gathered together, occupied mountains, enclosed land, reclaimed spirit fields, and gathered spiritual energy..."
Steward Lin laughed heartily:
"Wouldn't that just be the 'Outer Path'? Haha, there have indeed been such cases over the centuries, and they were all annihilated in the snap of a finger by the great ones above.
Ai, it seems the Dao school truly lacks good teachers—virtually useless.
Junior Brother Jiang, you must remember this well: the gravest crime in all of Yanfu Haotu is to break away from the dharma lineage and rebel against the Dao orthodoxy! To be a parasite upon the Dao!
Especially those Outer Path folk who open mountain gates and establish dharma lineages without an orthodoxy's talismanic edict—eight or nine out of ten are parasites."
Parasites upon the Dao?
Jiang Yi's expression grew slightly odd. Such "righteous and solemn" words sounded incredibly jarring coming from a Devil path cultivator.
He wanted to inquire further, understand the inside story, and get a clear outline of this world, but he saw Steward Lin shake his head:
"Junior Brother Jiang, today's affairs are concluded; I must meditate and cultivate. When I have free time in the future, this brother will speak with you in detail."
Jiang Yi tactfully excused himself, somewhat envious in his heart of "retirees" like Steward Lin who were living out their days in the lower courtyard.
Without needing to work, they enjoyed "cultivation freedom" and even received a monthly "stipend" distributed by the sect.
It was practically the good life that countless mortal servants of the Qianji Sect could only experience in their dreams.
"I wonder how long I'll have to endure before I can be like Steward Lin."
Jiang Yi treaded the mountain path, heading toward the great communal courtyard of Chiyan Peak.
This world where Immortals and Buddhas manifested, and Demons and Devils stood side by side, was infinitely vaster compared to his previous life.
Having finally come here, how could he be content to merely be a mortal servant!
"Even with the body of oxen and horses, I still wish to become an immortal, still wish to cultivate the Dao."
Jiang Yi pondered his current situation. He had to work four hours every day and occasionally "work overtime." He mainly shuttled between the quenching room and the forging room.
The tasks were not complicated. The former was "fire control"—using meager true qi to manipulate an alchemical furnace and maintain the proper heat. The latter was using true qi to hammer refined iron into rough blanks.
This work wasn't difficult. After a few days of instruction, even a first layer Qi Refiner could do it through practice.
It was merely dull, monotonous, time-consuming, and physically taxing.
"If I only work four hours, I earn roughly two thousand fu coins a month. Living in the communal courtyard costs four hundred. For food and drink, even without starving myself, that's another three hundred."
Jiang Yi calculated carefully. Without fu coins in his pocket, he couldn't move an inch whether on the mountain or off.
The Qianji Sect didn't place too many prohibitions on mortal servants. As long as one could pay the fu coins, one could seek out cultivation methods.
Only, the prices were steep.
Listening to a single lecture by an inner sect elder on the secrets of cultivation cost five hundred fu coins.
To learn methods, exchanging for a glance at a ninth-grade technique at the Qi Refining level started at least in the ten thousands.
Let alone the rather rare fasting pills or meditation chambers abundant with spiritual essence.
"The reason the Qianji Sect appears generous is that they have ways to take back the fu coins they hand out.
This Yanfu Devil path, using dharma orthodoxy to rule the world—rather interesting."
Jiang Yi mused, feeling an inexplicable, familiar sense of déjà vu.
"Earn money for the sect, spend it at the sect; not a single cent goes home?"
Pondering his future path as he walked, before long Jiang Yi arrived back at the communal courtyard.
This was the "workers' lodging" arranged by Chiyan Peak.
Usually seven or eight people, even a dozen or more, were crammed into one space.
Jiang Yi's living situation was relatively decent. In his memories, there were large communal dorms for two hundred fu coins a month, where twenty or thirty-odd people lived in squalor, as dirty, chaotic, and filthy as pigsties and cattle sheds.
These people might have been respectable and well-dressed, enjoying fine clothes and delicacies down the mountain, but once they sold themselves to the Qianji Sect as mortal servants, they couldn't put on those airs anymore.
However much the Devil path talked of rules, in the end, it still bore the word "Devil."
The cultivation methods of the masses did not follow orthodox paths; most required extracting souls and harvesting blood to nurture essence.
If one worked honestly and performed duties obediently, there was still income of fu coins.
But if one didn't abide by the rules and lacked propriety, one's fears ran as deep as being devoured skin, flesh, and all.
"Brother Yi is back. Didn't go to work today?"
In the communal courtyard, apart from him and He Lao Hun, there was a married couple surnamed Li, plus a widow surnamed Qin.
Altogether four households, living in four rooms.
The one greeting Jiang Yi was Widow Qin.
This woman's cultivation was not bad. The gossiping He Lao Hun had once guessed that she should be at the third layer of Qi Refining.
"Greetings, Sister-in-law Qin."
Jiang Yi cupped his hands in greeting, politely saying:
"I didn't go to work today. I followed Officer Yang's dispatch to recruit new members at the lower courtyard."
Widow Qin smiled:
"That's a good assignment. Looking at your red eyes, I'm afraid the quenching room smoke has irritated them terribly. I happened to brew some chrysanthemum tea. Pour yourself a pot and drink it to dispel the dryness."
"Thank you, Sister-in-law Qin."
Jiang Yi said.
Much gossip surrounded a widow's door; he merely exchanged a few pleasantries, thanked her for her kindness, and ducked back into his cramped room.
"It really does resemble the temporary sheds from summer jobs in the past."
The "single room" rented for five hundred fu coins a month wasn't big—just a place that barely kept out the wind.
The four walls were rough earthen walls, with space only for a plank bed, a small desk, and a chair.
Jiang Yi often felt that it resembled more a cage that trapped one's life.
These stray thoughts were quickly suppressed. He raised his hand to rub his eyes, wondering if he should get some medicine?
Ever since crossing over, his eyes had felt as if they had wheat awns in them, prickling with pain from time to time—truly quite uncomfortable.
"I earned a sum from recruiting, plus these days of diligent work; I've almost saved up three thousand fu coins on me.
If I go listen to an inner sect lecture to learn the secrets of Qi Refining, once definitely won't be enough; it'll cost at least two thousand coins... I'll put off getting medicine for now."
Jiang Yi thought thus.
He was no longer the miserable laborer of Chiyan Peak who had saved up every coin just to go all-in for factory girls.
Since coming to Yanfu Haotu, the most important matter was naturally cultivating the Dao!
While in the Qianji Sect, the most direct path upward was undoubtedly seeking out methods!
"This money can't be saved! If I break through to the second layer of Qi Refining, if nothing else, the work will be much easier..."
Just as Jiang Yi was contemplating, he suddenly felt a soreness in his eyes, as if golden light flickered, and endless tadpole-like small characters surged forth from within.
【Greetings, Immortal Friend!】
【The Great Dao is undergoing change, the myriad phenomena are shifting; please take up this book and inspect karma!】
ps: Humbly beseeching the esteemed readers to bookmark and vote generously~