Fu Xian Island's sect master, Feng Xiangtian, had already reached the mid Tribulation stage. He had led Fu Xian Island, the foremost sect of the Righteous Path, for more than a hundred years. At this moment, he sat upright in the sect master's chamber on the highest floor of Penglai Pavilion, accompanied by several elders of Fu Xian Island.
The group was deeply concerned about the Cultivation World's current state. In just over a year, Qingguang Sect had successively wiped out several Demonic Path sects, completely shattering the balance the Righteous and Demonic paths had maintained for centuries. Its powerful rise had thrown the entire Cultivation World into turmoil. Some weaker Righteous Path sects had already suffered repeated attacks from the Demonic Path, and more and more forces from both paths were being dragged into the conflict.
"Great chaos in the Cultivation World seems unavoidable. Though Fu Xian Island is the foremost sect of the Righteous Path, I fear we will not escape being drawn in. We must make preparations early. Elder Fei, Elder Guan, Elder Huang—the Myriad Fragrance Garden, Alchemy Pavilion, and Artifact Refining Pavilion under your command are crucial to our sect's survival through this great calamity. We must have every kind of pill and magical artifact ready. Should the unrest reach Fu Xian Island, we must not tarnish the prestige of the foremost sect of the Righteous Path. After the chaos, the entire Cultivation World will likely be ranked anew according to strength. Our sect has borne the title of the foremost Righteous Path sect for over a thousand years. We will never allow that reputation to be ruined in our generation." Feng Xiangtian already possessed a naturally imposing appearance. As he spoke, sharp light flashed from his eyes as his gaze swept back and forth across the three elders.
"We shall certainly do our utmost!" the three elders said in unison. Yet when Elder Fei, who oversaw the Myriad Fragrance Garden, said it, he seemed somewhat lacking in confidence. Feng Xiangtian's gaze fell upon him. "Does Elder Fei have some difficulty? If so, speak of it now. This concerns the rise and fall of our sect; there can be no carelessness. The slightest mishap would make us sinners of the sect for all eternity."
Elder Fei looked at the two elders beside him and gave a bitter smile. "There is indeed a difficulty. The Myriad Fragrance Garden may be the greatest spirit herb garden under heaven, but spirit herbs capable of producing superior pills are scarce after all. Good spirit herbs not only grow slowly, but are even harder to keep alive. If Elder Guan's Alchemy Pavilion increases its consumption, I fear our income truly will not cover our expenses."
No sooner had he finished than Elder Guan, reeking of medicinal herbs, sprang to his feet. With brows raised and eyes glaring, he shouted, "Fei, what do you mean by that? Are you asking my Alchemy Pavilion to reduce its use of spirit herbs? I'm telling you, don't even think about it!"
Elder Fei was not angered by Elder Guan's retort. He merely smiled bitterly and shook his head. Elder Guan's temper was famous throughout Fu Xian Island. He cared for nothing else in his life and only loved refining pills. If anyone dared hinder his pill refinement, he would fight them to the death. No one on Fu Xian Island was unafraid of him. Throughout the entire Cultivation World, he was known as the Alchemy Fanatic, and perhaps no one could rival him in pill refining. Knowing his temperament so well, how could Elder Fei dare say anything more?
"How about this?" Feng Xiangtian pondered. "Send more disciples everywhere to search for spirit herbs. The Myriad Fragrance Garden must likewise increase its manpower and do everything possible to raise spirit herb production. Halt all external sales of mid-grade pills and above; first ensure Fu Xian Island's pill reserves. In addition, I have already informed Elder Quan, who manages the sect's supplies. The spirit stone allotment for all disciples below the Core Formation stage will be increased fivefold, while the Qi Gathering Pill allotment for disciples above the Core Formation stage will be doubled, so that their cultivation can be raised as quickly as possible. Elder Jin, who manages the mining of spirit stone mines, will increase spirit stone extraction. Elder Qin, who oversees worldly affairs, will promptly send back the spirit stones earned through our external businesses."
After hearing this, the elders all nodded. Just then, they heard two people ascending the stairs outside. Someone called from beyond the door, "Disciple Cheng Gengqing requests an audience with the sect master."
Everyone remembered Cheng Gengqing. He was Elder Qin's capable disciple, the one who handled worldly affairs. But why had he come to seek an audience with the sect master? Had something happened outside? Feng Xiangtian frowned and called, "Enter."
Cheng Gengqing entered, leading a plain-looking man behind him. The sect master and the three elders all fixed their eyes on the latter. Judging from his clothing, he was not a disciple of Fu Xian Island. More strangely, they could not detect the slightest cultivation from him. This man was naturally Yue Qianchou.
"Disciple Cheng Gengqing pays respects to the sect master and the three elders," Cheng Gengqing said with a bow. Yue Qianchou followed suit. "Rogue Cultivator Yue Qianchou pays respects to the sect master and the three elders."
"Cheng Gengqing, what business do you have with me?" Feng Xiangtian asked, though his eyes remained on Yue Qianchou. Upon hearing him call himself a Rogue Cultivator, Feng Xiangtian almost thought he had seen wrongly. The other three elders showed the same puzzlement in their eyes.
Cheng Gengqing reached out and touched the storage pouch hanging at his waist. "Reporting to the sect master, this disciple returned to the island to deliver spirit stones. By my master's order, I brought Yue Qianchou along the way to meet the sect master."
"Your master told you to bring him?" Feng Xiangtian asked curiously.
Cheng Gengqing hurriedly took out the Fu Xian Token and explained Yue Qianchou's purpose. After hearing him, Feng Xiangtian and the three elders looked at one another. The Fu Xian Token was a token possessed only by those who had held positions of elder or above on Fu Xian Island. First, it served to prove one's identity; second, it gave the descendants of its holder an opportunity to join Fu Xian Island. This rule had stood for thousands of years, and Yue Qianchou was the third person to come bearing such a token.
Fu Xian Island had originally possessed three hundred specially made tokens. It was said that gathering all three hundred would reveal a secret, though no one knew what that secret was. Later, these tokens became symbols of the identity of those holding the rank of elder or higher. As the years changed, they were distributed one by one.
For various reasons, fewer than half the tokens remained on Fu Xian Island today, and thus trouble arose. Some people possessed sufficient cultivation, qualifications, and merit to serve as elders, yet after becoming elders, they had no token to represent their status. This made the unforgeable Fu Xian Tokens increasingly precious.
The original rule had been that only descendants of token holders could join Fu Xian Island. Later, as the tokens became fewer and fewer, it was changed to recognize only the token and not the person, in hopes that those who obtained them would bring them in. The token Yue Qianchou had brought could now undoubtedly spare another elder the embarrassment of holding a title without the proper name to support it.
Feng Xiangtian accepted the token from Cheng Gengqing and examined it carefully. Then he gave the three elders a slight nod, confirming that it was indeed a genuine Fu Xian Token. At once, unconcealable fiery light burst from the eyes of the three elders. They were precisely among those who held elder positions but possessed no tokens. In fact, it was not just the three of them—some even more senior figures had no tokens either.
The expressions of the three elders fell into Feng Xiangtian's eyes, and his heart immediately skipped a beat. A headache came crashing down upon him as he secretly thought, This is bad. Nothing like this had happened in hundreds of years. This token had appeared neither early nor late, but precisely while he was in charge of Fu Xian Island. Fu Xian Island currently had two hundred and two elders, and likely more than fifty of them had no tokens. If he casually gave this token to any one elder, he would surely offend the other fifty-odd elders at the same time. His life as sect master would become miserable.
Though it was only a tiny Fu Xian Token, it could very well stir up a major incident. To put it bluntly, if things escalated, it might even get him driven from his post as sect master. That would be quite the spectacle—the first sect master in Fu Xian Island's history to be thrown out for handling matters unfairly. What are you doing, little brother? Bringing this thing here—isn't that just harming people? Thinking this, Feng Xiangtian looked at Yue Qianchou without knowing what to say.
How could Yue Qianchou possibly know what enormous trouble he had brought upon the sect master of the foremost Righteous Path sect? Seeing that Feng Xiangtian's gaze seemed ill-intentioned, his heart skipped a beat. Fuck! Is this old bastard thinking of going back on his word?
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