The Cha Family's growth had already hit a bottleneck.
Everyone in the Cha Family's upper ranks knew this.
For all that the Cha Family was now Dongjun's foremost Aristocratic Clan, with a Purple Mansion Realm patriarch presiding over the Lineage, all the Foundation Establishment Realm Aristocratic Clans in Dongjun following its lead, and Cha Liangcai's words carrying enough weight to influence even the commandery governor's decrees—
The Cha Family had still hit a bottleneck.
Because the ceiling for a commandery's leading Aristocratic Clan was the Purple Mansion Realm.
The three great Golden Core Realm sects of Qing Province would not permit another Golden Core Realm power to emerge and compete with them for the province's resources.
Cha Liangcai understood perfectly well that he could not count on Dongjun's Aristocratic Clans, and Qing Province's three great sects certainly would not sell him resources for reaching the Core Formation Realm.
They did not have enough for themselves. How could they possibly use them to aid a rival?
If Cha Liangcai wanted to form his core, the three great sects were a hurdle he could not clear.
Unless he traveled to another province of the Qi Kingdom, or somewhere like the Wei Kingdom or Lu Kingdom, to find resources for core formation, and formed his core there as well, he could only remain trapped in the Purple Mansion Realm within Qing Province.
The moment he attempted to form his core in Qing Province, those three great sects would surely join forces to destroy the Cha Family. The Foundation Establishment Realm Aristocratic Clans of Dongjun that currently depended on the Cha Family would immediately turn their spears around and carve up what it left behind.
That was also why Cha Liangcai had chosen to cooperate with the river god of the Taiping River. Greed had not clouded his judgment; he simply had no choice.
Aside from the river god, who was willing to promise him core formation, he could find no one else in all of Qing Province who could help him. He could not even secure a promise.
This was not merely the Cha Family's predicament. It was the predicament faced by all of Qing Province's great Purple Mansion Realm Aristocratic Clans.
Those with ambition did as the Xu Family of Qing Commandery had done, sending their gifted children into a sect at a young age. From then on, those children were considered to have left their Lineage and belonged to the sect.
If they were fortunate enough to establish a Purple Mansion or even form a core in the future, their Lineage would inevitably gain a fresh opportunity to grow.
But the Xu Family could do this because it already had a Purple Mansion Realm elder in the Moon-Embracing Sect. The Cha Family had only him!
Originally, Cha Liangcai had no choice. But Jiang Sheng's appearance had undoubtedly given him another option: if he had to choose a patron to depend on, why not choose the strongest?
The river god's origins were unknown, and his thoughts ran deep. Continuing to cooperate with him would inevitably risk drawing fire upon himself.
But what if he invested in a True Disciple of Penglai ahead of time?
It was said that every True Disciple in Penglai's history had been a prodigy who achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment before twenty and forged a superior golden core before sixty.
Cha Liangcai still had more than two hundred years left to live. He could afford to wait a mere few decades.
Even if not for himself, then for the Cha Family's future—with a True Disciple of Penglai as its patron, the Cha Family's growth would surely know no bounds.
Cha Liangcai sank into thought. He needed to understand Jiang Sheng's abilities and temperament. He needed time to judge whether Jiang Sheng was worth investing in.
After turning it over in his mind, Cha Liangcai said to Cha Liangping, "The Lantern Festival will be here in a few days. Second Brother, send some gifts to Daoist Jiang then. We mustn't let him think our Cha Family has forgotten its manners."
Cha Liangping nodded. "Rest assured, Elder Brother. I understand."
Once Cha Liangping had left, Cha Liangcai lowered his head and continued fishing. "A golden core..."
Jiang Sheng knew nothing of the Cha Family's intentions, nor did he care.
Having purchased a large quantity of spiritual herbs at the commandery city's cultivator market, Jiang Sheng did not linger and headed straight back to Qingping Mountain.
Qingping Mountain was surrounded by other mountains, with rivers running through them and spiritual resonance stirring beneath the surface. Its geomantic configuration was ideal—a hidden dragon lying in the depths.
Jiang Sheng did not need to concern himself with external matters. He only needed to devote himself to cultivation on Qingping Mountain, and establishing his Purple Mansion would follow as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
Only after establishing a Purple Mansion would he have the standing to make his voice heard in Dongjun, or even Qing Province.
After flying for three days, traveling through the nights, Jiang Sheng finally returned to Qingping Mountain.
"Master, you're back." Tian Ming'an was visibly delighted to see Jiang Sheng return.
Jiang Sheng nodded wearily. "Mm. Has anyone come to cause trouble while I was away?"
Tian Ming'an said, "With your formidable reputation, the temple has been very quiet these past few days. But I heard from Grandfather that the county magistrate has arrested quite a few people in Qingshan County recently. Many of them were members of the county town's gentry."
"The county magistrate said they colluded with demons, which was why the demons flooded Qingshan County. So he's going to confiscate their property and behead them publicly as a warning."
Listening to Tian Ming'an recount the recent news, Jiang Sheng chuckled and waved a hand. "Let Magistrate Zhang do whatever he likes. Pay him no mind."
"The round trip took six days, and I'm rather tired. I'll rest first. Make your preparations; once I wake up, I'll test your studies."
Tian Ming'an hastily agreed, excitement shining in his eyes. He had long been looking forward to Jiang Sheng testing him so he could show his master what he had accomplished over the past few days.
Entering the Daoist temple, Jiang Sheng first offered incense before the ancestral master's portrait in the front hall, then returned to the rear hall to rest.
After six straight days of intense concentration and constant travel, Jiang Sheng was indeed exhausted. Once he confirmed that nothing was wrong with the formation, he fell into a deep sleep.
He slept until dawn the next day.
At the hour of the Hare, Jiang Sheng opened his eyes out of habit. After a night's rest, his spirits had finally recovered somewhat.
First, he performed his usual practice of gathering and absorbing the morning glow's qi. Then he summoned Tian Ming'an. "I said I would test your studies. It's early morning now, just the right time. Demonstrate what you've learned."
Upon hearing this, Tian Ming'an immediately took his stance and performed a full set of martial forms, punching and kicking with careful precision.
Standing before the hall and watching Tian Ming'an's movements, Jiang Sheng nodded in satisfaction. "You've made some progress."
Tian Ming'an grinned. "It's all thanks to your teaching, Master."
Then Tian Ming'an took three azure talismans from inside his robe and presented them to Jiang Sheng with both hands. "You were tired yesterday, Master, so I didn't dare disturb your rest. These are the spiritual talismans you gave me that day. I never used them, so I'm returning them to you."
"They're only three talismans. Once I've given them to you, they're yours." Jiang Sheng waved a hand. Those talismans were meant to protect Tian Ming'an. There was no reason to take them back after giving them away.
As he spoke, Jiang Sheng counted the days on his fingers. "Over the next few days, I'll be firing up the furnace to refine pills. Your comprehension is good. Work hard at your studies."
"If you can clearly sense true qi by the beginning of spring, I'll help you draw qi into your body."
At those words, Tian Ming'an was overjoyed. "Thank you, Master! I won't disappoint you."
"Go attend to your studies."
After sending Tian Ming'an away, Jiang Sheng surveyed the rear hall, then brought out the pill furnace.
This second-tier pill furnace stood as tall as a person and was bronze-colored throughout. Jiang Sheng was reasonably satisfied with it. At the very least, it suited his current needs perfectly.
After taking out the various ingredients needed for pill refining, Jiang Sheng sat cross-legged before the furnace and quietly regulated his breathing, bringing both his spiritual sense and magical power into their best possible condition.
He continued until noon. Then Jiang Sheng opened his eyes and pointed with two fingers of his right hand. True fire of the Foundation Establishment Realm began blazing beneath the furnace, turning its underside red in mere moments.
Next, Jiang Sheng swept his left hand, sending three spiritual herbs—snake-saliva fruit, seven-star herb, and red-silk flower—into the furnace.
Under the heat of the Foundation Establishment Realm true fire and the influence of spiritual power, the three herbs soon melted into separate masses of spiritual liquid.
Immediately afterward, Jiang Sheng sent a section of the demonic tiger's bone into the furnace. Under the heat, the tiger bone gradually melted into a mass of white liquid.
Jiang Sheng guided these four masses of liquid into a gradual fusion, continuously adjusting the strength of the Foundation Establishment Realm true fire. Once the four spiritual liquids had completely merged, he added myriad herb dew to the furnace.
As the myriad herb dew flowed into the mass of pill liquid, the mixture fused completely. Then, under Jiang Sheng's control, his spiritual power divided it into ten smaller portions.
He had now reached the final stage. Jiang Sheng controlled the size of the Foundation Establishment Realm true fire's flames, gradually solidifying the ten portions of pill liquid into pills with uneven surfaces.
These were the pills' initial forms.
Jiang Sheng continued controlling the Foundation Establishment Realm true fire to heat them while gradually compressing the pills with spiritual power.
When their surfaces gradually smoothed out and they finally became perfectly rounded pills, this batch would be considered complete.
With a wave of his hand, he sent out a stream of spiritual power to lift the furnace's lid, then drew ten pills into his hand.
He sniffed their medicinal fragrance and checked their color, shape, and scent. Only after confirming there were no flaws did Jiang Sheng put them into a jade bottle for storage.
"Tiger Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills aren't difficult to refine. I'll make five batches first, then move on to Essence-Gathering Pills."
His decision made, Jiang Sheng continued firing up the furnace to refine Tiger Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills.
One batch of Tiger Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills took four hours to refine. Jiang Sheng spent twenty hours in total refining them, and by the time all five batches were finished, he had depleted more than half his spiritual power.
Rather than force himself to refine other pills, Jiang Sheng sat down where he was and regulated his breathing to restore his spiritual power. He did not begin refining Essence-Gathering Pills until the next day, after fully replenishing his essence, qi, and spirit.
Essence-Gathering Pills also required five kinds of spiritual herbs.
Jiang Sheng placed four spiritual herbs—black spirit lingzhi, wind-chime herb, luminous spirit herb, and seven-star herb—into the furnace one after another.
As the spiritual herbs melted into spiritual liquid, Jiang Sheng added the myriad herb dew directly to the furnace and began fusing the pill liquid.
Once the pill liquid had finished coalescing, it was divided into ten smaller portions and gradually solidified. When a hint of azure appeared on their surfaces, the Essence-Gathering Pills had taken their initial form.
Continuing to control the Foundation Establishment Realm true fire carefully, Jiang Sheng deftly compressed and solidified the pills, making their surfaces perfectly rounded and their bodies azure throughout.
Second-tier Essence-Gathering Pills—complete!
Once this batch was finished, Jiang Sheng again checked the pills' composition step by step through their color, shape, and fragrance. After confirming everything was correct, he stored the batch in a jade bottle and fired up the furnace once more.
For several days in a row, Jiang Sheng did nothing but refine pills.
Meanwhile, in Qingshan County, Zhang Qingyun rode the prestige of having slain the demons to purge the local gentry who refused to cooperate with him, leaving many gentry members and wealthy merchants gripped by fear.
All the gentry and the wealthy notables of the various towns had only two choices: obey or die. There was no third option.
When the Huang Family became the first to have its estate confiscated, and the renowned Master Huang Shiren of Qingshan County and his family were beheaded one after another at the vegetable market entrance, every member of the county's gentry knew they had no way out.
If there was an exception, it was Qingping Town alone.
It was as though Zhang Qingyun had forgotten Qingping Town. It remained exactly as it had been, with no changes at all.
The county office's decrees never reached Qingping Town either, as though the place did not exist within Qingshan County at all. It was exceptionally peaceful and tranquil.
Everyone knew why: the grandson of Qingping Town's mayor, Tian Guofu, was the disciple of the man on Qingping Mountain.
Dear readers, it's the end of the month today. If you have any monthly tickets or recommendation votes on hand, please send them Lin Yuan's way. Your support lets Lin Yuan have a little more chili sauce or cabbage with his noodles every day.
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P.S. I've been busy making revisions, so there's only one update for now. I'll make up for it during the day.
(End of chapter)
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