The Big Chrysanthemum

"Really? You're a fisherman? And you're engaged? Is your Xiao Li as pretty as me?"

That woman is so vain.

Before Qin Jiu could even retort, several Songshan disciples angrily surrounded her.

"You brat! How dare you injure Young Master Baojue like this? Are you courting death?!"

"The Jia Family is a noble family, yet they dare to harm even the young master! Even the Xiao Family is no match for them! I'm going to report you to Benshan and expel you from the sect!"

"That's right! To be so ruthless in a competition between fellow disciples, it's clearly malicious! Your skills must be crippled and you must be expelled from the sect!"

Qin Jiu was also enraged, and suddenly stood up, "What! Should I have my hands tied so you can beat me up?!"

Xiao Ai, always eager for chaos, shouted, "Come at me if you dare!"

"Let's all go together!" "Beat him up!"

Immediately, four disciples leaped over and attacked. These few were much smarter; they dared not use such ruthless moves as the Dry Heaven Absolute Yang Palm to fight their fellow disciples. Their leader had been beaten to the ground, and it wouldn't be right for them not to help. But they couldn't win in a real fight either. So, they made a lot of noise, without gathering their inner energy, and used some fancy moves to surround and attack.

But they were clearly scions of powerful clans and aristocratic families, and probably hadn't fought much in their lives. Caught off guard, Xiao Ai threw two handfuls of lime from her pouch and blinded them. Qin Jiu then picked up a nearby table and smashed it over two more people before charging into the crowd for a melee.

Although Qin Jiu didn't know any boxing techniques, Yuan Gong him some basic fighting moves. So Qin Jiu swung his arms wildly like swords, stomping on people's feet, gouging their eyes, sweeping their kidneys and throats—every move was aimed at vital points. He managed to knock everyone down with his wild, unrestrained punches and then slipped out of the cafeteria in the chaos.

"Hey! Your hands are so dirty, are you really a fisherman?"

Xiao Ai was actually following right behind him.

"I've already said I'm not from the Xiao Family anymore, and I won't marry you, so why are you still following me! You'll be expelled from the sect too!"

Having been unjustly caught in this misfortune, Qin Jiu was far from pleased.

Xiao Ai laughed heartily, "You actually took it seriously? What's a fight between fellow disciples? From Dan Record to magic weapons, from Cultivation Method to master's teachings, we'll fight tooth and nail over everything. It's not worth being expelled from the sect over such a trivial matter."

Those idiots think they're in the Immortal Palace, always complaining. Who pays any attention to them? Hey, aren't you hungry? Shall we roast a peacock?

Qin Jiu was taken aback. "What's a peacock?"

Xiao Ai chuckled, "Even peacocks don't know that. It's really a fisherman. That's a mythical bird from the Western Regions that's released into the Pearl Curtain Waterfall. It's huge! I wanted to pluck a couple of its feathers to make a bracelet, but it pecked them off. Let's go roast it!"

Qin Jiu looked doubtful. "I broke the arm of a Songshan disciple, overturned the Five Immortals Soup, and even stole a divine bird. Won't I be in big trouble?"

Xiao Ai punched him lightly. "What's the big deal? What's there to be afraid of? Aunt Xu loves me so much, and she's rarely in the mountains. She wouldn't even notice if one or two of her birds were missing. It's nothing, it's nothing."

Qin Jiu was baffled by the sudden change in this guy's attitude and hesitated for a moment. But his stomach growled loudly in agreement, so he shrugged and followed Xiao Ai up the chains. He figured he'd eat his fill first, no matter what.

While enjoying the scenery, Xiao Ai also found a companion and chatted with him about things related to Mount Song.

It turns out that the Three Great Sects have been fighting each other for many years. Although the Xuanmen and Shenjiao sects fought fiercely, the Shenzhu sect had seized the Heavenly Book through its own abilities, and the Jianzu sect had taken it back with the help of the Xuanmen sect. They were just having serious discussions about the Immortal Palace. On the contrary, neither side had a good impression of the privileged class like the Immortal Palace. To put it bluntly, both the Xuanmen and Shenjiao sects were Oldest One established to oppose the 'Demon Palace'.

Although the Nine Great Xuan Sects have now reached a reconciliation with the Immortal Palace and are no longer fighting as fiercely as before, some Hidden Immortal Sect still have to recite the Ancestral Hall when they enter a sect and become disciples. They remember how many of their elders and masters were tragically killed by the Immortal Palace. This is truly a deep-seated hatred. If they encounter local powerful and wealthy people bullying the poor and weak while traveling, they will definitely take action to wipe them out if they find a pretext. These people are also closer to the Divine Sect in terms of emotion and identity, and believe in a simple sense of right and wrong that all powerful clans should die.

In comparison, the Songshan lineage within the Xuanmen (Daoist school) stands out as particularly unique.

It turns out that the two elders of Mount Song were not direct descendants of the Xuanmen sect. Back then, their elders in Tai Shi Mountain had all died out, the lineage had declined and the true teachings had been lost, and they had fallen into the ranks of the lowest of the low, a worthless sect. Later, they did not receive much help from their fellow disciples, but instead had very deep ties with the Immortal Palace and received a lot of tribute from the imperial court. They were, in a sense, unorthodox and wicked, rogue cultivators who attained the Dao by any means necessary.

Of course, the two elders of Mount Song also happened to be born during a time of great prosperity for the Xuanmen (Daoist sects). Following behind the Sword Ancestor and the Three Elders and Four Ancestors, they engaged in looting, arson, and vanquishing of demons and monsters, accumulating a large amount of resources. Later, by chance, they seized the true teachings of the Taiyi Heavenly Book and attained enlightenment. After mastering their divine skills, they destroyed the surrounding Daoist sects and even fought to drive away the forces of major Xuanmen sects, including Bixia Dao and Shangqing Dao. They occupied the entire Songshan land vein, moved all thirty-six peaks to one place, and established the present-day Songshan Taiyi Daoist Palace.

Such skill was almost equivalent to the two of them wiping out at least thirty-five sects and carving out a territory in the Central Plains. They were truly incredibly powerful. Later, because Songshan was in the rising period of its career, it did not openly participate in the Luo Sect's troubles. It only sent some disciples to participate. The two elders guarded their own little plot of land and worked hard to manage it. They were too Fourth Department to play any tricks of punishing evil and eliminating demons. The brothers worked together to carefully develop their sect's Daoist Tradition.

Thus, in the eyes of the powerful clans, although the heritage of Mount Song was not as profound as that of Mount Emei and Nine Yin Mountain, it was still a top-tier sect in the Central Plains, ranking among the top three of the Nine Great Xuan Sects. It had a deep foundation, and more importantly, it had connections. It was close to home, located within the Sanyuan Four Constellations. Therefore, the first choice for the immortal clans in the Central Plains was to send their disciples to Mount Song, a key national cultivation sect, to become disciples.

Of course, although the exam at Mount Song is easier than that at Mount Emei, that's only in comparison within the Xuanmen (Daoist sect). Now, they're using the unified exam papers and topics from Yuntai Peak, so passing the exam isn't that easy.

However, Mount Song was closer and not as difficult to talk to as Mount Emei. As the first choice for the cultivation education of aristocratic children, Mount Song had accumulated many disciples of noble status after generations of exam-oriented education. As a result, the aristocratic families of the Three Realms became increasingly eager to curry favor, donating money and land in various ways, and even moving to the foot of the mountain, just to send their children to Mount Song to serve as Outer Sect disciples. It was equivalent to attending a boarding school, a school district property, and receiving orthodox Xuanmen education in the affiliated high school first, learning specialized exam-taking skills. Naturally, their exam scores and admission rates would far exceed those poor boys who came from all over the country and couldn't even read a lot of characters.

As the number of the Inner Sect the sects further increased, the enrollment system adopted became increasingly biased towards aristocratic families. In fact, it wasn't so much biased as it was 'fair'.

Take the elixirs and tonics provided to Outer Sect Disciple as an example. In fact, the education of Louguan Dao is not much different from that of the orthodox Xuanmen sect. Not only do the disciples recruited from outside the mountain need to be educated, but the descendants of the sect's own disciples and the children sent to the outer courtyard by various clans will also be taught to read and write, meridians and acupoints, and the basic knowledge of the Five Arts. Elite talents are selected from among them, and only after passing various tribulations, unified examinations, and breaking through the Nascent Soul Stage will they become formal disciples.

However, other sects generally take into account the uneven basic education levels of their disciples. Therefore, masters will give special training to the disciples they bring back, feeding them Heavenly Treasure to build their foundation. There are also orphans without family support, whose expenses and cultivation materials are all covered by the sect, similar to student loans. They are put on the account first and then repay the debt by doing tasks for the sect after breaking through to the Golden Core realm.

Currently, the positions of the Inner Sect instructors responsible for education at the lower and middle levels of Mount Song have mostly fallen into the hands of powerful clans. These people talk about which young master or nobleman is among the current disciples of Mount Song, and there is a strong trend of kinship and competition among family lineages. In order to 'fairness', the original cultivation resource subsidies have been canceled, and only one or two rewards are provided each month, and disciples have to compete for them based on their own abilities.

But in reality, the treatment among disciples was extremely unequal. Some were born as the sons of grand tutors, able to indulge in drinking, gambling, and whoring, yet still be granted titles. If they wanted to learn anything, their families had ample resources to nurture them, providing private tutors and support all the way to immortality. Meanwhile, others only got a full meal on their very first day of joining a sect. Fair competition? Fair my foot!

But that's just how the world is; there's nothing you can do about it. As a result, the children born into powerful families naturally win in all kinds of fair competition due to their inherent advantages, and they gain access to more and more resources and opportunities from their sects. In addition, with the current changes in the weather, cultivation is faster than before, and one by one they have formed their Golden Core.

Disciples like Xiao Ai, who have no family to rely on, not only have no opportunity to go out of the mountains to train and break through, but they can't even afford to drink the Five Immortals Soup. Many people are stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage and can only do odd jobs for the sect in exchange for sect offerings and pills to barely maintain their cultivation.

Did the two elders of Mount Song not know the situation at the bottom? Of course they did, but so what? It's the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. Isn't that how they got through it? After all, resources become more and more limited as you go further. Now Mount Song has gathered the disciples of the entire Three Realms, and there are already enough talented people.

It could even be argued that even those born into powerful clans, as long as they willingly come to Mount Song to receive orthodox Xuanmen cultivation, are all ambitious and outstanding individuals. These noble children themselves compete with each other, striving to rise above their circumstances through their own abilities. The sect at least provides everyone with a fair chance to compete. If you, an orphan, can't compete with the accumulated wealth of powerful clans and can't keep up with the elite group, are you going to blame me?

Orphans, of course, have little choice. Those born with the potential to be first-class Dao Seed, capable of reading ten lines at a glance and having a photographic memory, are extremely rare. Most are people without resources, who cannot seize opportunities even if they arise. And the vast majority are people who cannot even see where opportunities are.

"So people like us can only rely on powerful families. Let me tell you, I was originally a servant of the Xie Family. Later, the young master of the Xie Family died, and that Jia family wanted to take me in as a maid. Bah! Did they think I didn't know? The Jia Family has a secret technique of 'sexual cultivation' to cheat, and they like to keep a lot of maids and young ladies to cultivate sexual cultivation."

I'm well-informed; I know several fellow disciples on the side peaks who tried to curry favor with powerful families, only to have their Yin essence stolen and their Dao foundation lost. In the end, they could only marry into household slaves—how tragic! Now they've even set their sights on me! Alas! It's a pity you're just a fisherman. If your surname were Xiao, I'd be your maid."

Xiao Ai, resting her chin on her hand, stared at the roasted peacock, her mouth watering.

"How... how could this be? They've already been born into a good family, are they going to have to have advantages for generations to come?"

In a fit of anger, Qin Jiu broke the branch in his hand, and the roasted sparrow fell into the fire.

"Hey, watch out!"

Xiao Ai was afraid that the fisherman would ruin their precious meat, so she quickly picked it up and grilled it herself.

"Why are you so agitated? Other sects have similar issues, but it's most obvious in Songshan. They've almost completely sided with the powerful clans. If we lower classes don't support each other, we might as well go down the mountain sooner. You go marry your Xiao Li, and I'll find a rich man to marry. We don't care about cultivating immortality anymore; at least we'll have enough to eat."

Qin Jiu broke off the tree branch and threw it into the fire, indignant.

"I've only ever heard Yuan Gong say that only by enduring hardship can one rise above others. I admire those heroes who conquered the world, but what have these good-for-nothings and spoiled brats done? Why should they be able to reap the rewards without so much? Just because their fathers are Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, does that mean we're all obligated to serve them? Does that mean they deserve to be trampled on and beaten by us?"

Xiao Ai tore off a piece of peacock meat, nibbling on it while sucking her fingers. "So what else do you want? Want to rebel? Fine, let's assume you rebel and become the Immortal Venerable Qin, the Qin Emperor. Wouldn't you take care of your sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons? It's all nonsense."

Qin Jiu was speechless for a moment, and lay on the ground, looking at the night sky with some distress.

"My mother said that when we were fleeing, if those high-ranking officials had been willing to share even a little more porridge or a piece of bread, perhaps some of my eight brothers would have survived. These parasites have devoured the flesh and blood of the people and still occupy high positions. Now it's their time to cultivate, and they'll be able to rule as kings and ancestors for generations to come! I'm so angry... If I ever master my divine skills, I will definitely punish these pests!"

Xiao Ai walked to Qin Jiu's side, glanced at him, handed him a peacock wing, and asked,

Are you serious?

Qin Jiu tore off a piece of the wing, but found the meat was still tough and not nearly as tasty as sashimi. He frowned.

"What do you mean, are you serious?"

"We must punish these pests when we have the chance."

Xiao Ai leaned closer and looked at him, her eyes like bright lake water.

Qin Jiu was stunned for a moment, then raised his voice and said, "Of course! If that guy surnamed Jia comes looking for trouble again, he can come to me. I'll smash his head in!"

Xiao Ai nodded, then leaned closer, so close that her breath brushed against Qin Jiu's earlobe.

"I see you're capable, and you even have the guts to fight back against powerful families. Do you want to join the society?"

"Join the club?"

Then Xiao Ai took off the large chrysanthemum from her head and took out a piece of yellow paper rolled up in the petals from behind the chrysanthemum.

"We are all disciples of Mount Song. Although we are currently only at the Foundation Establishment stage and our abilities are limited, none of us are willing to give up the opportunity to seek the Dao. We are determined to eradicate the evil tumor of the Demon Palace that harms the world. Therefore, we have sworn an oath that whoever obtains the opportunity to become an immortal and achieves the True Person realm in the future will support each other, mentor and guide the younger generation, and work together to conquer the Three Realms! Slaughter all the nobles and officials! Kill all the royal relatives and princes! Complete the unfinished work of the Nine Heavens Taiyi Lingying Daomu Heavenly Venerable!"

The girl's eyes sparkled with a bright light as she showed Qin Jiu the blood-written letter on the yellow paper.

Qin Jiu was captivated by the girl's alluring gaze, and for a moment, the young man's spirits soared, his blood boiling, and he blurted out...

"Okay! I'll join!"

Xiao Ai smiled at him, "In the morning I drink the dew that falls from the magnolia, and in the evening I eat the fallen petals of the autumn chrysanthemum. I heard that the righteous men who resisted the Demon Palace were all beheaded in the autumn and their heads were sent to the world. So we used the autumn chrysanthemum as our symbol and the fallen petals as our name. Even if the blood stains the golden chrysanthemums, the petals will never fall until the Demon Palace that wreaks havoc on the world is completely eliminated."

As she said this, she folded the yellow paper, turning it into a small wild chrysanthemum, and handed it to Qin Jiu.

Qin Jiu looked at the little chrysanthemum and nodded seriously, "A good name! Fallen Petals Society! When I, Qin Jiu, attain the Great Dao, I will surely slaughter all the powerful clans in the world!"

As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if a muffled thunderclap struck behind his ear. Qin Jiu turned around in surprise, but saw nothing.

Xiao Ai put the flower back on, munching on the peacock, and said, "Hey, you've got pretty big ambitions, haven't you? You even want to attain enlightenment. I think reaching the Transformation Stage would be pretty good. Hurry up and eat, then I'll take you to meet the other club members."

"You have quite a few people, don't you?"

"Of course! Do you know how annoying those aristocratic families are? How can we fight them if we don't band together? It's just that the organization I've formed is called the Fallen Petals Society. There are also the Gathering of Heroes, the Heroes' Association, the Iron Blood Alliance, and all sorts of other organizations, a whole bunch of them."

By the way, aren't you from the Zhenri Palace? Zhenri Palace hasn't returned to its main mountain for hundreds of years. From now on, I appoint you as the altar master of the Zhenri Palace in our Fallen Petals Society. Remember to recruit our members. Our goal is to unite all forces, strike at the powerful clans, and fight them for the Mandate of Heaven!

Qin Jiu suddenly realized something and felt a little embarrassed. Was this Fallen Petals Society just a bunch of kids with delusions of grandeur? Wasn't that similar to the Brocade Sail Gang he used to run in his village...?

Xiao Ai seemed to read his mind and slapped him. "You think I'm bragging? Let me tell you a secret: all of us anti-demon palace societies have powerful backers."

"Someone's there? Who's there?"

Xiao Ai said smugly, "Of course, it's the fellow practitioners of the Nine Great Xuan Sects! The Demon Palace is so hated that everyone in the world wants to skin them alive, chew their bones, eat their flesh, and drink their blood! So what if Mount Song is powerful for the time being? The Nine Great Xuan Sects have been dissatisfied with the Demon Palace for a long time. Now that the world is in chaos, just wait and see, this conference will be quite a show!"

When Qin Jiu asked again, she pretended to be mysterious and refused to say more.

So Xiao Ai took Qin Jiu to see more than a dozen disciples of Songshan. These were all from poor families and had the aptitude of the third rank or even higher, but they had repeatedly lost in 'fair competition' and had missed opportunities. Now they were all stuck at the Foundation Establishment Perfected Realm.

They initially didn't have a good impression of Qin Jiu, who was only at the Golden Core stage, but when they heard him interrupt Jia's hand, they cheered and took out their treasured wine and meat to eat together. They became sworn brothers and agreed to go down the mountain together next time they had the chance to rob the manor of a powerful family in the Jingji and steal some money to spend.

Qin Jiu was also quite drunk. On his way back to the Guest Peak of the Zhenri Palace, he almost slipped and fell off the chains. Upon returning to the courtyard, he found Xiao Qingzhi waiting for him. He immediately sobered up and exclaimed...

"Senior! This humble one has acted recklessly and caused great trouble for your sect! It's all my fault, please punish me!"

Xiao Qingzhi turned his head, smiled, and waved his hand, "Why are you so nervous? It's nothing serious."

Qin Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, "Then the Jia Family's treasure..."

"Oh, him," Xiao Qingzhi realized, calculating with his fingers, "He's dead."

"... Ah, ah?"

Qin Jiu didn't react for a long time.

Xiao Qingzhi nodded. "How could a mere Golden Core cultivator withstand your palm strike? But you've reminded me that it's inconvenient to kill people so easily. Here's what I'll do: I'll teach you the Great Yi Dao's Dustless Easy Qi Sword. Although it's not one of the top three sword techniques in the world, it's still quite useful."

Qin Jiu swallowed hard. "No, no, senior, Jia... he's dead? Is it really alright?"

Xiao Qingzhi smiled noncommittally, "For aristocratic families and scholars, death is just death, like killing a dog, what's the big deal?"

Qin Jiu swallowed hard and clenched the chrysanthemum in her hand.