Investing in a Hidden Dragon, the Cha Family's Intentions

Chapter 39: Investing in a Hidden Dragon, the Cha Family's Intentions

The Cha Family had already reached a bottleneck in its development.

This was something all the Cha Family's upper echelons knew.

The Cha Family might now be the foremost aristocratic family in Dongjun, with a Purple Mansion Realm ancestor holding down the fort. Every Foundation Establishment family in Dongjun looked to the Cha Family as their leader, and a word from Cha Liangcai could even influence the commandery governor's policies.

But the Cha Family had indeed reached its limit.

Because the upper limit of a commandery-level aristocratic family was the Purple Mansion Realm.

Qing Province's three major Golden Core Realm sects would not allow another Golden Core Realm power to emerge in Qing Province and compete with them for its resources.

Cha Liangcai understood very well that the aristocratic families of Dongjun were not worth relying on, while Qing Province's three great sects would never sell him resources for forming a core.

They did not even have enough for themselves. How could they possibly arm an enemy?

If Cha Liangcai wanted to form a core, he could not cross the hurdle posed by the three major sects.

Unless he went to other provinces of Qi Kingdom, or places such as Wei Kingdom and Lu Kingdom, to seek resources for core formation—and formed his core elsewhere. Otherwise, within Qing Province, he could only remain trapped in the Purple Mansion Realm.

The moment he attempted to form a core within Qing Province, the three major sects would certainly join forces to destroy the Cha Family. And those Foundation Establishment families in Dongjun currently attached to the Cha Family would immediately turn their spears around and divide up the Cha Family's remains.

That was also why Cha Liangcai had chosen to cooperate with the river god in the Taiping River. It was not that greed had clouded his judgment; he simply had no choice.

Other than the river god, who was willing to promise him a chance at core formation, there was no one else in all of Qing Province who could help him. He could not even obtain a promise.

This was not merely the Cha Family's predicament. It was the predicament faced by all the great Purple Mansion Realm families of Qing Province.

Those with ambition did as the Xu Family of Qing Commandery had done, sending their gifted children into sects from a young age. From then on, those children were considered to have left their families and joined the sects.

If they were fortunate enough to open a Purple Mansion or even form a core in the future, the family would surely welcome a new opportunity for growth.

But the Xu Family could do that because it already had a Purple Mansion Realm elder in the Moon-Embracing Sect. The Cha Family, on the other hand, had only him as its sole Purple Mansion Realm cultivator!

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 rely upon, why not rely on the strongest one?

The river god's origins were unknown, and its thoughts ran deep. Continuing to work with it would inevitably be like playing with fire.

But what if he invested in advance in a true disciple of Penglai?

It was said that every true disciple of Penglai throughout the generations had achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment before the age of twenty, and forged a high-grade Golden Core before sixty.

Cha Liangcai still had more than two hundred years of life left. He could afford to wait a few decades.

Even if it was not for himself, for the Cha Family's future alone, having a true disciple of Penglai as its patron would make the Cha Family's prospects boundless.

Cha Liangcai fell into deep thought. He needed to understand Jiang Sheng's abilities and temperament. He needed time to judge whether Jiang Sheng was worth investing in.

After mulling it over, 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 cannot let others think our Cha Family has forgotten proper courtesy."

Cha Liangping nodded. "Rest assured, Elder Brother. I understand."

After Cha Liangping left, Cha Liangcai lowered his head and continued fishing. "Golden Core Realm..."

Jiang Sheng knew nothing of the Cha Family's thoughts, nor did he care.

Having purchased a great quantity of spiritual herbs at the commandery city market, Jiang Sheng did not linger and headed straight back to Qingping Mountain.

Qingping Mountain was encircled by ranges of hills, with rivers running through it. Its spiritual aura lay hidden yet ready to stir; it was an excellent feng shui location for a hidden dragon lying in the abyss.

Jiang Sheng did not need to concern himself with external matters. He only needed to cultivate in seclusion on Qingping Mountain, and opening his Purple Mansion would come as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Only after opening a Purple Mansion would he be qualified to speak in Dongjun, or even throughout Qing Province.

After rushing through the night and flying for three days, Jiang Sheng finally returned to Qingping Mountain.

"Master, you're back." Tian Ming'an was visibly delighted upon seeing Jiang Sheng return.

Jiang Sheng nodded somewhat wearily. "Mm. While I was away these past days, did anyone come to cause trouble?"

Tian Ming'an said, "With your reputation protecting us, the Daoist temple has been very quiet these past days. But Grandfather said that the county magistrate has arrested many people in Qingshan County lately. Many of them were gentry from the county seat."

"The county magistrate said they had colluded with demons, which was why demons flooded Qingshan County. So he intends to confiscate their property and behead them publicly as a warning."

Listening to Tian Ming'an recount the news of recent days, Jiang Sheng gave a light laugh and waved his hand. "Let Magistrate Zhang do as he pleases. Pay him no mind."

"I have spent six days traveling back and forth, and I am somewhat tired. I will rest first. Make your preparations. When I wake, I will test your studies."

Tian Ming'an hurriedly agreed, excitement gleaming in his eyes. He had long been looking forward to Jiang Sheng testing him, so he could show Jiang Sheng the results of his efforts these past days.

After entering the Daoist temple, Jiang Sheng first offered incense to the portrait of the patriarch in the front hall, then returned to the rear hall to rest.

His mind had remained intensely focused for six consecutive days as he traveled back and forth. Jiang Sheng truly was tired. After confirming that there were no problems with the formation, he fell into a deep sleep.

He slept until dawn the following day.

At the hour of the Rabbit, Jiang Sheng opened his eyes out of habit. After a night's rest, his spirits had finally recovered somewhat.

He first performed his usual practice of consuming the qi of the morning glow, then summoned Tian Ming'an. "I said I would test your studies. It is morning now, the timing is just right. Show me what you have learned."

Tian Ming'an immediately took up his stance. With every move precise and proper, he punched and kicked his way through an entire set of martial techniques.

Jiang Sheng stood before the hall and watched Tian Ming'an's movements, nodding with satisfaction. "You have made some progress."

Tian Ming'an grinned. "It is all because Master taught me well."

As he spoke, Tian Ming'an took three green talismans from his robes and presented them to Jiang Sheng with both hands. "Master was tired yesterday, so this disciple did not dare disturb your rest. These are the spirit talismans Master gave this disciple that day. This disciple never had occasion to use them, so I am returning them to Master."

"They are only three talismans. Once they have been given to you, they are yours." Jiang Sheng waved his hand. Those talismans were for Tian Ming'an's protection; there was no reason to take back what he had given away.

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng calculated the days on his fingers. "In the next few days, I will open the furnace and refine pills. Your comprehension is not bad, so work hard on your studies."

"If, by spring, you can clearly sense true qi, then I will help you draw qi into your body."

Tian Ming'an was overjoyed at these words. "Thank you, Master. This disciple will certainly not disappoint Master's expectations."

"Go do your studies."

After sending Tian Ming'an away, Jiang Sheng inspected the rear hall, then took out the pill furnace.

This second-rank pill furnace was as tall as a person and entirely bronze in color. Jiang Sheng was fairly satisfied with it; at the very least, it suited his current needs.

After taking out all the materials needed for alchemy, Jiang Sheng sat cross-legged before the pill furnace and quietly regulated his breathing, bringing both his divine sense and spiritual power to their most perfect state.

He meditated quietly until noon. Then Jiang Sheng opened his eyes, raised two fingers on his right hand, and pointed. His Foundation Establishment true fire began to blaze beneath the pill furnace, turning its underside red in moments.

Then Jiang Sheng swept his left hand, sending the Snake-Saliva Fruit, Seven-Star Herb, and Red-Silk Flower into the pill furnace.

Under the baking of the Foundation Establishment true fire, the three spiritual herbs swiftly transformed into clusters of spiritual liquid under the effects of spiritual power.

Next, Jiang Sheng sent a section of the demon tiger's bone into the pill furnace. The tiger bone gradually melted under the heat, becoming a mass of white liquid.

Jiang Sheng controlled the four masses of liquid, gradually fusing them together as the power of the Foundation Establishment true fire constantly shifted. Once the four masses of spiritual liquid had fully merged, Jiang Sheng added the Myriad Herb Dew to the furnace.

As the Myriad Herb Dew flowed into the mass of pill liquid, the large mass completely fused, then split into ten smaller masses under Jiang Sheng's spiritual control.

This was the final critical stage. Jiang Sheng controlled the strength of the Foundation Establishment true fire and gradually solidified the ten masses of pill liquid, turning them into pills with uneven, pitted surfaces.

These were the pill embryos.

Jiang Sheng then continued controlling the Foundation Establishment true fire to bake them while using spiritual power to gradually compress the pills.

When the surfaces of the pills gradually became smooth and round, finally turning into perfectly spherical pills, the batch was considered complete.

With a wave of his hand, he struck the pill furnace's lid with a stream of spiritual power. The ten pills flew into Jiang Sheng's hand.

He sniffed their pill fragrance and confirmed that their color, shape, and fragrance were all correct before storing them in jade bottles.

"Tiger Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills are not difficult to refine. I'll refine five batches first, then move on to Essence-Gathering Pills."

Having made up his mind, Jiang Sheng continued refining Tiger Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills.

Refining one batch of Tiger Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills required two hours. Jiang Sheng spent ten hours refining them in total. After five batches were complete, more than half his spiritual power had been depleted.

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 waited until the following day, after he had restored his vitality, energy, and spirit, before beginning to refine Essence-Gathering Pills.

Essence-Gathering Pills also required five kinds of spiritual herbs.

Black Ganoderma, Wind-Chime Herb, Luminous Spirit Herb, and Seven-Star Herb were sent into the pill furnace one after another by Jiang Sheng.

Once the herbs transformed into spiritual liquid, Jiang Sheng directly added the Myriad Herb Dew to the furnace and began fusing the pill liquid.

When the pill liquid had fully fused, split into ten small masses, gradually solidified, and gained a faint green tint on their surfaces, the Essence-Gathering Pills had taken preliminary shape.

Continuing to carefully control the Foundation Establishment true fire, Jiang Sheng skillfully compressed and solidified the pills, making their surfaces perfectly round and their bodies entirely green.

Second-rank pills—the Essence-Gathering Pills were complete!

Once this batch was finished, Jiang Sheng once again checked the pills' color, shape, and fragrance step by step to confirm their composition. After confirming there were no errors, he stored the batch in jade bottles and opened the furnace again.

For several consecutive days, Jiang Sheng did nothing but refine pills.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qingyun used the prestige he had earned by slaying demons to purge the gentry of Qingshan County who refused to cooperate with him. As a result, many wealthy merchants and gentry were seized by panic.

All gentry and wealthy local landowners from every town had only two choices: obey, or die. There was no third path.

When the Huang Family became the first to have its home confiscated, and Master Huang Shiren, the famed Huang Shiren of Qingshan County, along with his family, were beheaded one after another at the marketplace, all the gentry of Qingshan County understood that they had no way out.

If there was any exception, it was Qingping Town.

Qingping Town seemed to have been forgotten by Zhang Qingyun. It remained exactly as it had been before, with no changes whatsoever.

The county yamen's decrees never reached Qingping Town either, as though Qingshan County did not have such a place. It was exceptionally peaceful and tranquil.

Everyone knew why: Tian Guofu, Qingping Town's mayor, had a grandson who was the disciple of that man from Qingping Mountain.

Gentlemen, today is the end of the month. If you have monthly tickets or recommendation tickets on hand, please toss them to Lin Yuan. Your support lets Lin Yuan add a little more chili paste or cabbage to his noodles every day.

Lin Yuan is deeply grateful~

P.S. I have been busy revising, so there will only be one update for now. I will make up for it during the day.

(End of this chapter)