They drank to their heart's content, talked freely and joyfully, until the candle burned down to dried tears, and only then did the grandfather and grandson fall asleep.
A night without dreams, until noon.
Jiang Yi sat up, stretching his muscles and bones. He felt refreshed and invigorated, every single one of his eighty-four thousand pores exuding a clear fragrance, completely unlike a mortal body.
"Invulnerable to heat and cold, free from all illness, shed of toiling form—truly no longer a body of mortal flesh."
He slipped on cloth shoes and pushed open the lattice window. Cold air came whipping in.
Outside, the heavy snow had just cleared, heaven and earth bright and transparent, dazzling one's eyes.
In the courtyard, several cold plum trees were in full bloom, snow weighing down the branches. Under the reflected sunlight, they seemed like jade trees with crystalline branches.
Where the gentle breeze passed, a cold fragrance assaulted the senses, wafting onto Jiang Yi's face.
"Living in this big mansion is truly comfortable—with a large bed, soft mattresses, and mind-calming incense."
His thoughts turned to the workers' lodge and big compound on the mountainside, his own narrow shack where turning around felt cramped. He shook his head and said:
"Before, when I hadn't lived a good life, I could endure it. Now if I go back, I'm afraid nothing will feel right anymore."
Jiang Yi smiled. As the ancients said: from frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality is hard. That was more or less the principle.
He draped on his outer robe, dressed neatly, and saw the young Daoist attendant bringing hot water to serve him.
"Tell Attendant Yang that I'm taking my leave first."
Before outsiders, Jiang Yi still primarily addressed people by their title.
After he finished washing up, he learned that Yang Xun had not yet awoken, so he left without disturbing him.
With the end of the year drawing closer, the Four Outer Peaks were bustling with activity, hastening work to finish the orders at hand.
Returning to the big compound, Jiang Yi drank clear water, ate some meat, and then began circulating his true qi to advance his cultivation.
After several dozen Great Circulation cycles, his hundred bones were warm, his organs cozy, his physical body as if soaking in a hot spring—incredibly comfortable.
Within, his primal origin sprouted. Mixed with the fire nature of his true qi, it transformed into a heavy, congealed mass about the size of a thumb.
In Daoist texts and formulas, this was called "transforming and refining essence, extracting true lead."
If Jiang Yi cultivated the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement to perfect completion, these pieces of true lead—heavy as silver, congealed like mercury—would gather into a single pill!
Ascending another floor, stepping into the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement!
"Rushing won't speed it up. Coordinating the internal organs and harmonizing the primal origin is patient work requiring meticulous polishing."
Jiang Yi opened his eyes and summoned the golden paper.
["I respectfully beseech the Heavenly Book, show me the progress of my current cultivation!"]
A moment later.
[The deduction results are as follows:]
[Heavenly Book Fated Lord: Jiang Yi]
[Realm: Fourth Level of Qi Refinement (39%)]
[Cultivation Methods: 《Orthodox Meridian Qi Circulation Technique》(Unranked), 《Lesser Forged Origin Fire Control Technique》(Ninth Grade)]
Jiang Yi nodded. That jar of Nine Worms Wine his grandfather treasured truly had extraordinary effects, unexpectedly making his cultivation furiously rise by "five percent."
"The remaining 'seventy percent' of cultivation will take at minimum three to five months, and at most half a year, to reach completion. Previously I had vowed with full confidence that I would definitely reach the fifth level before spring; now it seems I had been a bit too boastful."
Jiang Yi only hoped that the Eighth Grade Ritual of the Water Pool and Fire Marsh, which cost a full four hundred thousand talisman coins, would be worth this investment.
Allowing him to smoothly open his Yuan Pass Internal Mansion and secure a seat on the Inner Peaks.
It was said this step was extremely difficult. Even with a background like Xiao Tongquan's and his supply of resources, he had yet to step across.
"This is four hundred thousand talisman coins... No matter what, it should succeed."
Outer Sect laborers enduring two rounds of servitude contracts—that is, a full twenty-four years of work—couldn't possibly earn this amount.
"After the fifth level, one counts as possessing the qualifications for cultivating the Dao, and will be classified as 'resources' by the lineage, able to receive heavy use."
Jiang Yi's eyes flashed. The page of golden paper that had dimmed grew bright again.
He posed a question.
["I respectfully beseech the Heavenly Book: given my current situation, if I follow Yang Xun of the Blaze Peak Quenching Room down the mountain, what are the odds of encountering danger or accidents?"]
Jiang Yi had carefully considered that if he directly asked "whether he would suffer calamity," it would be too vague, the scope too broad, making it difficult to obtain an accurate answer.
Furthermore, because it involved far too many variables, it could cause the deduction to take an extremely long time.
Therefore, Jiang Yi chose to respectfully ask about the "probability," using this to judge whether going down the mountain was a dangerous matter.
[Deduction time required: five hours]
"I'll wait in peace."
Jiang Yi smoothed away his distracting thoughts. He still leaned toward following Yang Xun for this trip. Leaving aside other matters, broadening his horizons and getting some fresh air would be good too.
"If I confirm that the chances of something going wrong aren't great, with seventy percent or higher assurance of safety, I can... try seeking opportunities."
Restricted to Blaze Peak, or even the Outer Sect, with nothing but laborers, inspectors, and attendants coming and going, how could opportunities fall from the sky?
If there was a chance to go out and wander around, perhaps the results would be different.
……
……
Blaze Peak, Ice-Fire Cave.
Beaming with joy, Luo Tong entered, found Zhou Can who had come from Seamstress Peak, cupped his hands, and sat down.
"Greetings... Attendant Zhou."
Luo Tong thought for a moment, and still used this form of address, not calling him "brother-in-law" directly to curry favor.
After all, there was still Senior Brother Jiang waiting on the other side.
"Why be so distant among family? Outside, there's no need to address by title."
Zhou Can's smile was amiable, but his sinister appearance made it hard for people to feel close to him.
After a few pleasantries, he asked again:
"Did you get the Essence Nurturing Pills?"
Luo Tong nodded and replied:
"Attendant Zhou Guang of the Forging Room is a respectable man who does things for money. The moment he received enough talisman coins, he sent the Essence Nurturing Pills right after. Three pills per bottle, the size of dragon eyes, confirmed genuine."
The corner of Zhou Can's eye twitched, but he didn't show any obvious expression, saying softly:
"What a pity. I just met Senior Brother Xu Yan of the Inner Peaks. He can spare some Essence Nurturing Pills, which should be more affordable than Zhou Guang's asking price."
Senior Brother Xu?
Luo Tong's face twitched, extremely surprised. He seemed not to have expected that unremarkable Zhou Can actually knew Xu Yan, whose status ranked in the top ten of the Inner Peaks.
"Senior Brother Xu will be stationed long-term at the Heart-Seizing Forest. The output of this resource site is where the main material for Seamstress Peak comes from, so he came to discuss things with me."
Zhou Can's tone was light, yet it made Luo Tong's eyes change. He hurriedly flattered:
"With Brother-in-law connecting to Senior Brother Xu, you're bound to rise to prominence and soar straight up! This little brother offers you a cup first, as congratulations!"
At this point, Luo Tong no longer thought about Senior Brother Jiang.
If Senior Brother Xu truly wanted to recruit the various room attendants of Seamstress Peak, with Zhou Can possessing this connection, he was more suitable to be his "brother-in-law"!
"I heard from Qian'er that you've always wanted to join that Inner Peak society organized by Wang Heng and Lu Yun?"
Zhou Can raised his wine cup and took a shallow sip:
"They rush about for nothing but Inner Peak resources. In my view, there's no need for you to bother befriending them. I can have Senior Brother Xu sell a favor and let you accompany him to the Heart-Seizing Forest."
Has this young master's fortune arrived?
Luo Tong felt like a pie had fallen from the sky onto his forehead. Last night he got one hundred fifty thousand talisman coins from his sister, and today he learned such astonishing good news.
It was practically like a new son-in-law inviting a midwife—double happiness at the door!
Luo Tong made a perfunctory gesture of politeness:
"Brother-in-law... isn't this inappropriate? I'm merely an Outer Sect laborer, Third Level Qi Refinement. How could I enter an important place of the lineage?"
Zhou Can waved his hand grandly:
"What Third Level or Fourth Level Qi Refinement? It only depends on whether resources are sufficient. If you eat a few more bottles of Essence Nurturing Pills, rising another level is but a snap of the fingers. Rest assured, though there are dangers in the resource site, I've also asked Senior Brother Xu to send people to watch over you. Qian'er and I are in love, promising to grow old together. In the future we'll be family. Now that you've entered the Qianji Sect, I will certainly do my utmost to help you enter the Inner Peaks and fulfill your wishes."
Luo Tong's heart surged with emotion. Thinking of the humiliation two days ago in the Merged Water Cave, when he was looked down upon by Xiao Tongquan, Li Ruohan, and others, driven out like a wild dog, his hot blood couldn't help but surge.
At the time he endured and didn't lash out because he knew he couldn't match them.
Now, relying on Zhou Can to lean against Senior Brother Xu, this big tree, the situation was completely different.
"Xiao Tongquan, Li Ruohan—what do they have to be so arrogant about! If I had resources like theirs, my achievements would absolutely not stop here!"
Luo Tong offered toast after toast, fawning on Zhou Can in every way, truly recognizing him as his brother-in-law.
The two exchanged cups and drank to their hearts' content, only dispersing around midnight.
Luo Tong was thoroughly drunk, walking with a sway, waving goodbye to Zhou Can. Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind:
"With Senior Brother Xu as a backer, there's no need to humble myself and fawn shamelessly on Xiao Tongquan and Li Ruohan anymore. There's even less need to bother with Jiang Yi. I don't even have enough Essence Nurturing Pills for myself, so why split one with him! Completely not worth it!"
On the other side, Zhou Can stood quietly on the mountain path. The dark and heavy sky, the thick accumulated snow—with his gaunt figure in between.
"That dog thing moves fast—just got the talisman coins and already spent them all! I wanted to send you to the Yellow Springs and then take back the one hundred fifty thousand coins..."
Zhou Can's gaze was ice-cold. With his miserly nature, how could he tolerate outsiders reaching into his own purse?
Regardless of whether Luo Qian'er's feelings were genuine or false, this younger brother of hers, Luo Tong, was an eyesore.
The best method was to scheme to get rid of him.
Even if he took a step back, helping Luo Tong enter the Inner Peaks held not the slightest benefit for Zhou Can.
With Luo Qian'er having a close relative who was an Inner Peak disciple to support her, how could he control her in the future?
"Without Luo Tong, Luo Qian'er can only rely on me."
Zhou Can thought darkly, slowly walking down Blaze Peak. Reaching the foot of the mountain, the two characters "Jiang Yi" suddenly popped into his head.
"Now that I've connected with Senior Brother Xu, I don't fear Yang Xun either. If this kid doesn't know better and comes to block my path, I'll eliminate him all the same!"
ps: Two chapters today! Respectfully requesting monthly tickets!