Qin Chuan handed the refined Rain Token back to Elder Huo.
As for the Rain Writ, because the quota of spiritual rain within it had been exhausted, it had turned into a blank document and was of no further use; there was no need to return it.
When he returned the Rain Token, he took the opportunity to present the “Application for Ordination and Dao Register” he had written.
Elder Huo accepted it without saying much. He merely nodded, then told Qin Chuan to go back and continue his work.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Nongling Temple’s routine monthly Longevity Meeting was held in the largest Longevity Assembly Hall in the temple.
Within the hall, ten Longevity tablets were enshrined in perfect order—also called Longevity Emolument Tablets, though cultivators were accustomed to shortening the name to “Longevity Seats.”
These ten emolument tablets were arranged in sequence. What they represented was not only status, but also the order of authority and cultivation:
At the very front were Nongling Temple’s head temple master, Guo Shanshan, and deputy temple master, Liu Shichang. Behind them came Hong Xi, the head of the Administrative Office; Yu Liben, the head of the Dao Heart Platform; Zhou Jingfu, the head of the Finance Register Hall; and Tang Xinhong, the head of the Pure Law Hall.
These six all held Zhengguan-grade immortal posts.
Though they were all Zhengguan-grade, their duties, authority, and cultivation differed greatly.
Head Temple Master Guo Shanshan was, without question, the chief of the temple, holding great power in his hands and possessing the cultivation of perfected Foundation Establishment.
The order of the Longevity Emolument Tablets was itself a direct manifestation of power and strength.
After those six, there were still four more:
Liao Yunxi, head of the Water Manor Directorate, who managed the spiritual beasts of the water manor; Zhang Xuan, the Formation-Building Envoy responsible for agricultural construction in villages and towns; Bai Tian, the Appraisal Inspector in charge of assessing the quality of spiritual herbs and agricultural products; and the Field Nursery Chief, who presided over the observation trial fields and cultivated new seedlings—Huo Yuanjue.
Among these four, two held posts of Fuguan grade but enjoyed treatment equivalent to Zhengguan grade. Elder Huo was one of them.
Only those who could enter the Longevity Hall and be listed among the Longevity Seats truly counted as people with a voice in Nongling Temple.
Only they had the authority to decide promotions and dismissals within the temple.
The regular meeting proceeded in order.
Head Temple Master Guo Shanshan spoke first, summarizing the temple affairs of the previous month, then led everyone in studying the spirit of the new Heavenly Statutes.
Only after the others had spoken in turn did Huo Yuanjue take out Qin Chuan’s “Application for Ordination and Dao Register” and say slowly:
“There is a fire-worker Daoist in the observation fields named Qin Chuan. Though he has been in his post for only a little over a month, his talent is quite good. He has already cultivated to the second level of Qi Refining and is close to the third.
“At present, he is responsible for the important matter of the spiritual oranges assigned by the County God. He works diligently, and he is also a local graduate of Jiuchuan Dao Academy’s Mingjing curriculum, with a clean background.
“Today, I specially present his application for ordination and regularization, and ask everyone here to discuss it.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became subtle.
The gazes of several Longevity Seats crossed in veiled exchange.
Regarding the “Spiritual Orange Plan,” Guo Shanshan had long since privately communicated with them. The guiding principle was very clear: they sought no merit, only no fault, and there was no need to invest too many resources.
In any case, if something went wrong, they could still push that temporary fire-worker out to take the blame.
But now, Huo Yuanjue, what exactly did you mean by suddenly wanting him ordained and regularized?
Once he entered the Dao, the next step would naturally be regularization.
If, in the future, they truly needed to hold someone accountable, pushing out an ordained, permanent Heavenly-Register Daoist to bear the guilt—once word spread, it would inevitably involve far too much. Not only would Nongling Temple lose face, but if the matter were investigated thoroughly, all of them would be implicated as well.
After all, with a temporary fire-worker, they could still claim he was unfamiliar with the work. But if a permanent Daoist failed in his duty, then that meant there was a problem with Nongling Temple’s entire system.
At that point, even if Guo Shanshan, as the primary person responsible, could not escape blame, every single person seated here would likewise be unable to avoid involvement. At the very least, they would receive a collective circulated criticism within the Daoist system.
Very soon, someone gave a light cough and spoke:
“This fire-worker’s feelings are understandable, but these are not wartime conditions. There is no rule allowing ordination and regularization. In my view, he should be tested for a while longer.”
“Head Yu is right. For a young man, there’s no harm in gaining more experience.”
“Old Huo’s appreciation of talent is something we all understand. To cultivate to the second level of Qi Refining in a little over a month—his aptitude is indeed not bad. But the more that is so, the more his temperament must be steadied.”
“I agree. There is no need to rush the matter of ordination and regularization.”
One after another, everyone spoke, and their attitude had already become clear.
Huo Yuanjue’s heart sank.
Though he had expected this long ago, when the moment truly came, he still could not help feeling disappointed.
After all, this was the cultivation world.
Finally, Guo Shanshan lifted his teacup, swept his gaze around the hall, and slowly spoke:
“It seems everyone’s opinions are similar. In that case, this fellow Daoist’s application for ordination and regularization shall be temporarily set aside for further discussion. There will always be opportunities. If he renders meritorious service in the future, ordination and regularization will naturally follow as a matter of course.”
The implication was: what merit could a mere fire-worker possibly have right now?
Elder Huo understood clearly in his heart. In the end, it was nothing more than “one radish for one hole.”
Since Qin Chuan, this radish, was already planted in the hole that was the spiritual orange field, who would be willing to pull out one of their own people and plant them there instead?
After a moment of silence, Huo Yuanjue finally sighed.
“In that case, this old man reserves his opinion and obeys the decision of the Daoist administration.”
…………
Qin Chuan naturally did not know that his application for ordination and regularization had already been thoroughly rejected at the Longevity Meeting.
For several days in a row, he had not seen Elder Huo, and he had nowhere to ask for news.
Over the past few days, he had carefully inspected those two mu of spiritual orange trees. After three consecutive days of spiritual rain, though the orange trees had recovered some vitality, the illness in some of the plants remained as before.
It seemed there was no other way. From now on, he would still have to tend to them diligently every single day.
He hardened his heart and silently said, “Add points, Azure Wood Vitality Art!”
In an instant, a full 50 points of Dharma Accumulation shattered in response, transforming into a vast and pure source of Dharma-nature that surged thunderously into the “Azure Wood Vitality Art,” which had already been cultivated to the perfected fifth layer!
Boom—
[Azure Wood Vitality Art breakthrough! Sixth layer!]
At the very moment of the breakthrough, the five characters “Azure Wood Vitality Art” on the panel shifted and flowed, quietly transforming into—
Yi-Wood Azure Heaven Art!
At the same time, an enormous amount of experience in treating spiritual plants poured into his divine sense, as though the full comprehension of forty or fifty years spent personally tilling fields and reviving dying plants with miraculous skill had all been fused and mastered at once.
Moreover, a strand of gentle qi filled with vitality was born from his dantian and swiftly circulated through his entire body.
His cultivation had already been at the peak of the second level of Qi Refining. Now, stimulated by this pure strand of “Yi-Wood true qi,” it immediately reacted violently, like brine curdling tofu!
But Qin Chuan still followed his old practice and forcibly suppressed the impulse to break through at once.
When work ended, he went straight back to the He family compound.
He had only just entered the courtyard gate when he ran into He Xingchen, who had also just returned.
The moment the other man saw him, his eyes lit up. “Brother Qin, you’re back at just the right time! There’s news about what we discussed last time. Tomorrow, the scripture-recitation gathering will reconvene, and I can introduce you to Fellow Daoist Lin Xiaoheng…”
Before he could finish speaking, He Xingchen suddenly sensed that Qin Chuan’s aura was fluctuating unsteadily around him, sometimes strong and sometimes weak. His expression immediately tightened.
“Brother Qin, this aura of yours…”
Qin Chuan was concise. “Brother He, forgive me. I must enter seclusion immediately. Let’s speak of other matters later.”
He Xingchen instantly understood. “Go quickly!”
Qin Chuan said no more. He turned, entered his room, shut the door, and sat down cross-legged.
He calmed his heart and stilled his spirit, guiding the newly born strand of “Yi-Wood true qi” within his body into his meridians.
The spiritual light that had already been full to the point of overflowing, nourished by this vigorous true qi, immediately began circulating on its own like a spring river in full flow, striking again and again at that invisible barrier.
Wherever the Yi-Wood true qi passed, his meridians became moist and unobstructed, and the bottleneck gradually loosened.