Jiang Sheng possessed an excellent temperament and an even rarer root bone. Throughout his cultivation, he had never encountered anything that could be called a bottleneck.
This was also why Jiang Sheng liked peace and quiet and did not want outside matters disturbing him.
As long as nothing interfered with him, he could continue cultivating until his reserves reached perfection at the foundation establishment late stage, then pierce through the great dragon of his spine and open his purple mansion. It would all come as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
Moreover, Jiang Sheng was somewhat aloof by nature. Neither sorrow nor joy stirred his heart, and he regarded the mortal world with detachment, so he preferred a life of solitary cultivation all the more.
Unfortunately, an elder of the Dao Sect had seen through his temperament and told him that, without tempering himself in the mortal world, experiencing the seven emotions and six desires, and witnessing the myriad facets of human life, simply burying himself in arduous cultivation would never perfect his state of mind, however lofty his detachment from emotion.
If his state of mind had flaws, then from the purple mansion realm onward, he would be vulnerable to heart demon incursions at every major realm.
Whether in the core formation realm, the nascent soul realm, or the spirit transformation realm, the danger would be extreme. He could easily lose his true self and become a heart demon's puppet or a madman.
Thus, the elder had insisted that Jiang Sheng gain plenty of experience in the mortal world.
Yet throughout his journey, his love of quiet had still led him to establish his cultivation sanctuary deep within Qingping Mountain, intending to continue cultivating in seclusion and ignore worldly affairs.
Unfortunately, days of peaceful cultivation were always difficult to maintain.
Jiang Sheng felt that, once he entered the world, all manner of mundane troubles had come swarming in, disturbing his peace and denying him tranquility.
Just as he finished circulating his energy through one full cycle, a Luo Sparrow landed before him, hopping about and chirping as though telling him something.
Jiang Sheng listened to the Luo Sparrow as he cultivated. When it finished, he took a gray pill from his sleeve, scraped off a few crumbs with his fingernail, and fed them to the bird.
The Luo Sparrow happily pecked at the pill crumbs, looking full of vigor.
Jiang Sheng, however, sighed. "Why is peaceful cultivation so difficult? Perhaps this was precisely what the elder intended by sending me into the world to temper myself."
As he spoke, Jiang Sheng looked toward Tian Ming'an, who was still diligently sweeping away the snow, and called softly:
"Leave the snow alone. A guest is coming. Go wait by the entrance."
"Daoist Jiang, I have come uninvited. Sorry for the intrusion."
Zhang Qingyun smiled and bowed, then glanced at Tian Ming'an waiting nearby. "You truly are a man among immortals, Daoist. You knew I was coming well in advance and even specially sent your disciple to greet me at the entrance."
Jiang Sheng remained impassive. "You are mistaken about him being my disciple, Magistrate. He is merely a mischievous boy who comes to help around the temple."
Tian Ming'an lowered his eyes toward his nose and his attention toward his heart, as though they were not talking about him at all.
Zhang Qingyun was genuinely surprised. For a boy so young to possess such composure in the face of favor or disgrace, he truly was a promising seedling.
Even if he could not cultivate in the future, he would surely accomplish something if he entered official service.
Once again, they were in the front hall. Only after respectfully offering incense before the portrait did Zhang Qingyun bow to Jiang Sheng.
"Daoist, you live secluded in the mountains, cultivating without concern for worldly affairs. Such leisure is truly enviable."
"Coming uninvited this time makes me an unwelcome guest, disturbing your peaceful cultivation. I feel deeply uneasy about it."
Jiang Sheng sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his expression calm, untouched by sorrow or joy. "If you truly feel guilty, Magistrate, why come up the mountain?"
Zhang Qingyun sighed helplessly. "Daoist, if I truly had another option, why would I brave the snow to climb this mountain?"
"Daoist Jiang, did you know that more than a dozen murders have already occurred in the county town, all the work of wicked cultivators and followers of the demonic path? These wicked cultivators secretly take lives to practice their sinister arts. They have already thrown Qingshan County into a state of fear."
Jiang Sheng's eyes remained half closed. He was unmoved.
Seeing that Jiang Sheng remained unmoved, Zhang Qingyun continued, "At first, I thought they were merely wicked cultivators passing through, but so many murders in such a short time prove that this is not the work of just a few of them. This must be connected to the demon in the Taiping River!"
"At first, I did not intend to trouble you again, Daoist. I issued a bounty and asked the rogue cultivators in town to help the authorities investigate. Even Immortal Xu Xiao and several foundation establishment realm cultivators in town took action in succession."
As he spoke, Zhang Qingyun struck his thigh in frustration. "Unfortunately, it achieved little. Some rogue cultivators even fell prey to those wicked cultivators' tricks, and several were injured."
"If there were any other way, I truly would not wish to disturb you, Daoist. But now, I can only ask you to leave the mountain and help us."
Zhang Qingyun bowed deeply once more.
After a long while, Jiang Sheng slowly spoke. "Magistrate, when you brought me the Scarlet Blossom Fruit as a gift and asked me to leave the mountain, it was to deal with the demon in the Taiping River, not the wicked cultivators in Qingshan County."
"The cause of the present situation lies with you, not me. Am I mistaken in saying so?"
Zhang Qingyun nodded, his voice somewhat subdued. "You are right, Daoist. If I had not invited heroes from all over Qing Province to help, I would not have alarmed that demon, much less drawn so many wicked cultivators and demonic practitioners here to wreak havoc."
"But without spreading the word far and wide, how could dozens of heroes have gathered in this little Qingshan County? As long as Qingshan County intends to slay the demon, the demon in the river is bound to stir up trouble."
"These troubles are merely growing pains. Once we eliminate the demon in the river, those wicked cultivators will scatter too, and Qingshan County will finally enjoy lasting peace."
Jiang Sheng nodded slightly, his eyelids lowered. Not a flicker of emotion showed on his face, as handsome as polished jade. He seemed truly carved from jade, without a trace of compassion.
Zhang Qingyun asked with a hint of hope, "Daoist, could you descend the mountain and eliminate those wicked cultivators for the people of Qingshan County?"
Jiang Sheng shook his head and simply continued sipping his tea.
Zhang Qingyun looked reluctant to give up. "Daoist, can you truly not take pity on the innocent people of Qingshan County?"
"Heh."
With a soft chuckle, Jiang Sheng finally opened his eyes.
"Have you already forgotten what you promised me, Magistrate?"
Zhang Qingyun hastily assured him that he had not.
Jiang Sheng continued, "Very well. Unless I explain the reasoning today, I doubt you will accept this in your heart."
As he spoke, Jiang Sheng straightened and turned to gaze at the snow covering the mountains, his expression calm and cool.
"Do you truly not understand, Magistrate, that this chaos is merely a means for the Taiping River demon to probe Qingshan County?"
"I could certainly act. Not only me, but Fellow Daoist Qiao, Fellow Daoist Wen, and Young Master Kongxu could all act as well."
"But once we do, the demon will learn the full extent of our cultivation and methods. When it has prepared its defenses, how could we still speak of a surprise attack?"
"Isn't concealing themselves to plan their next move precisely why those fellow Daoists are currently absent from Qingshan County?"
Zhang Qingyun froze and opened his mouth. "But..."
Jiang Sheng continued, "If you only wish to resolve the present troubles and no longer intend to deal with the demon in the Taiping River, I can descend the mountain right now. I guarantee that within three to five days, I will eliminate every one of those fiends in Qingshan County."
"After that, I will have no further involvement in slaying the demon in the Taiping River."
"Would you accept that, Magistrate?"
Zhang Qingyun still wanted to persuade him, but Jiang Sheng had already raised a hand to dismiss his guest. "You want the wicked cultivators dealt with now, and the Taiping River demon eliminated later. You would claim every good thing for yourself, Magistrate. Where in this world is there such a principle?"
"I need to cultivate in peace and nurture my sword at the temple during these days. Please return, Magistrate."
Zhang Qingyun finally swallowed the words he had been about to say and rose awkwardly. "Then I will take my leave. I am truly sorry for disturbing your peaceful cultivation..."
Before he even finished, Zhang Qingyun could no longer bear to stay and hurried away in embarrassment.
Jiang Sheng glanced at the departing Zhang Qingyun and poured himself another cup of tea. "You have been waiting outside for so long. Can you still hold up?"
Tian Ming'an, standing outside the door, shuddered and hurriedly answered, "Yes, Daoist. I can still manage."
"Have a cup of tea to warm yourself, then go on with your work." As he spoke, Jiang Sheng rose and returned to the front hall to continue cultivating.
Tian Ming'an looked at Jiang Sheng's retreating figure, then at the cup of tea on the table inside. He hurried into the room and drained the hot tea in one gulp.
As the hot tea entered his stomach, a comforting warmth spread from his belly throughout his body. His hands and feet, almost numb from the cold outside, grew warm again.
The hunger in his belly vanished as well. He even faintly sensed a wisp of energy lingering in his lower abdomen, but unfortunately, he lost that sensation moments later.
Even so, Tian Ming'an was thrilled. He hastily bowed toward the front hall, then went back to sweeping snow.
Having returned to the front hall, Jiang Sheng gazed at the tall portrait of Penglai's founding patriarch. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke. "Was I wrong?"
"But what do the lives and deaths of others have to do with me?"
Although he said this, Jiang Sheng still could not forget that he, too, was merely an ordinary living being. While still a crying infant waiting to be fed, he had been abandoned in a river and nearly drowned.
An inner disciple of the Dao Sect had discovered him by chance while traveling.
That inner disciple had already been in his twilight years. Seeing Jiang Sheng bobbing in the water, his kind heart could not bear to leave him, so he brought him back to Penglai and raised him.
These memories remained exceptionally clear in Jiang Sheng's mind. From early childhood, he had followed that old man, watching him cultivate, practice his arts, and contemplate the Dao.
When Jiang Sheng was eight, he formally joined Penglai.
Four years learning to read and six years refining qi: after ten years, he finally achieved heavenly dao foundation establishment. Many elders in the sect acknowledged his talent and considered him a promising future true disciple.
Everything had come from that old man's kind heart. Otherwise, the Jiang Sheng of today would never have existed.
Moreover, even after bringing him back to the sect, the old man had not abandoned him. Instead, he cared for him attentively and taught him through both words and deeds, hoping Jiang Sheng could become like him.
Unfortunately, Jiang Sheng was aloof by nature. In the end, he could not share the old man's compassion for the world and its people.
In Jiang Sheng's understanding, the sect unquestionably came first. His senior and junior brothers and sisters within the sect were his family. As long as Penglai was not involved, he did not care whether outsiders lived or died.
In an instant, Jiang Sheng cut the tangled emotions in his heart to pieces.
Narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the mountains blanketed in white snow beyond the temple, Jiang Sheng softly recited, "Watch the flowers bloom and fall before the courtyard; let the clouds gather and unfurl at the edge of the sky."
"What does the havoc of wicked cultivators have to do with me?"
"It is only a pity that this world is full of people troubling themselves needlessly, unable to sever their ties to mortal dust."
"A pity. Such a pity."
With those words, Jiang Sheng turned and sat cross-legged before the patriarch's portrait to resume cultivating. His eyes were half closed, and no ripple remained within them.
Here is today's first update! Lin Yuan checked, and syncing a phone number's real-name registration takes about three working days. By Thursday or Friday, Lin Yuan should probably be able to sign the contract?
(End of chapter)
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