East Sea, Red Algae Archipelago.
Red Shrimp Island was home to many red cedars. Seen from high above, it looked like a giant cooked shrimp lying across the sea, hence its name.
The island sloped from high ground in the south to low ground in the north. The southern part was covered in mountains of varying heights and dense forests. A plain stretched across the middle, where a small town was home to tens of thousands of people. They made their living by farming and fishing, providing for themselves.
A small pier stood in the southeast. It was quiet, with only a dozen or so people who looked like fishermen resting in little boats beside the dock.
Deep in the mountains, at the foot of a towering peak shrouded in clouds and mist, dozens of mortals had gathered.
They set out offerings and, led by the town chief, Han Dong, knelt and bowed toward the mountain.
"This old man, Han Dong, leads the townsfolk in paying respects to the immortal master. We pray that the immortal master will bless us with favorable weather and bountiful harvests next year."
After completing the offering, they left without even taking the offerings with them.
"Grandpa, you always say there are immortals on the mountain. Why have I never seen one?" a four-year-old boy asked curiously.
Han Dong smiled gently and said kindly, "Mortals and immortals are worlds apart. Unless something serious happens, we must not disturb the immortal master's cultivation. You'll get to see one next year. If you have a spiritual root, you'll be given a generation name and can go to Red Shrimp Island to study immortal arts—soar through the sky, burrow through the earth, and do anything you want."
Han Dong grew somewhat agitated as he spoke.
"Spiritual root? Generation name?"
"We all come from the Han Clan of Red Shrimp Island. Our ancestors were immortals, but sadly, I don't have a spiritual root, so I couldn't study immortal arts. All right, you'll understand next year. That's when the spirit-root test is held once every five years. Mortals with spiritual roots can be given generation names and go to Red Shrimp Island to study immortal arts, turn rivers upside down, and live forever."
The boy listened, his young face alight with longing.
At the top of the towering peak, shrouded in clouds and mist, stood a compound covering several acres.
A three-story blue bamboo building stood in the courtyard. Golden rice fields lay to either side, and behind the building was a spirit well. More than twenty blue spirit bamboos grew beside it. A breeze stirred their leaves with a rustling sound.
A path paved with cobblestones led from the building to the entrance.
A yellow-robed young man in his early twenties stood before the rice fields, summoning rain over the spirit grain.
The fields were full of golden rice stalks, each half a zhang tall. Dozens of golden grains, each the size of a soybean, hung from every stalk. Their shells gleamed as though they had been forged from pure gold, and an enticing fragrance filled the air.
The young man was tall and handsome, with bright, keen eyes.
His surname was Han, and his name was Changming. He came from the Han Clan of Red Shrimp Island, a cultivation clan with over two hundred cultivators, including three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
More than six hundred years ago, the entire Han Clan had migrated to the Red Algae Archipelago. At the time, the clan had fewer than fifty cultivators and tens of thousands of mortals. After more than six hundred years of growth, the Han Clan now had over two hundred cultivators and controlled twenty-two small islands, with more than four hundred thousand mortals under its jurisdiction.
According to the family tree, the Han Clan had forty generations. Their generation names followed the sequence: Zheng, Da, Guang, Ming, Yuan, Wen, Zhang, Dao, De, Chang, Ben, Duan, Zhong, Yong, Mao, Zi, Li, Shi, Yan, Fang, Yi, Long, Ren, Sheng, Xian, Guo, Xing, Zhen, Jia, Bang, Guang, Xin, Zhao, Hong, Da, Si, Xu, Qi, Yuan, Chang. At present, the highest-ranking generation in the clan was the Zhang generation, and its most powerful cultivator was Han Zhangxiang, who was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
According to the ancestral texts of the Han Clan, the cultivation realms were Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation. Qi Refining had nine levels. After Foundation Establishment, each major realm was divided into four minor stages: early, middle, late, and great circle. Before Qi Refining, there was also Body Refining.
Body Refining involved practicing martial arts and tempering one's blood essence. Once a cultivator reached the ninth level of Body Refining, they had a chance to transform their blood essence into vital energy and enter the ranks of cultivators. Since Body Refining practitioners had not yet developed even a trace of magic power, the realm was not counted among the cultivation stages.
Han Changming was twenty years old that year. He had a water, earth, and fire spiritual root and was at the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Han Changming's parents were mortals. When he was five, he was discovered to have a spiritual root and sent back to Red Shrimp Island, where he studied literature, practiced martial arts, and learned immortal arts.
He entered the first level of Body Refining at seven and broke through to the ninth level at eleven, entering Qi Refining. By the Han Clan's standards, his cultivation speed was average.
Crossing from Body Refining into Qi Refining was both easy and difficult. Some lucky ones made the breakthrough as naturally as water flowing downhill. Some unlucky ones had yet to enter Qi Refining by the age of thirty, while those with especially poor luck might never make it in their entire lives.
According to clan rules, members still in Body Refining received one catty of low-grade first-tier spirit grain each month. If they had yet to enter Qi Refining by age twenty, the clan would stop providing spirit grain, leaving their relatives to support them instead. This was meant to spur the clan members to cultivate.
Han Changming could now claim two spirit stones and twenty catties of low-grade first-tier spirit grain each month. He cultivated the earth-attribute technique, the Thick Earth Art. It was simple to practice; as long as he cultivated steadily, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining was only a matter of time. Its drawback was that it cultivated rather slowly.
He and his clan uncle, Han Deyun, were stationed on Red Shrimp Island, protecting its people from sea demons.
Golden Sprout Spirit Rice grew in the spirit fields. It was low-grade first-tier spirit grain that ripened once a year. Qi Refining cultivators had not yet reached the point where they could go without food, so they usually ate spirit grain to fill their stomachs. Spirit grain contained spiritual energy, and eating it regularly benefited cultivation.
After finishing his rain spell over the rice fields, Han Changming headed toward the bamboo building.
A patch of open ground lay beneath the building, where dozens of Black Cloud Grass plants grew. Ten-year-old Black Cloud Grass was one of the main ingredients used to refine Qi Refining Pills. It thrived in shade and could not be exposed to sunlight.
The bamboo building was simply furnished. Han Changming and Han Deyun were its only residents.
Han Deyun was the eighteenth member of the De generation. He was thirty-five years old and at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
The Han Clan had a tradition of having elders guide the young. Han Deyun had recently gained some insight and was cultivating in seclusion, so the task of tending the spirit grain and spirit herbs had fallen to Han Changming.
Han Changming went to the stove. He poured an ounce of Golden Sprout Spirit Rice into a ceramic pot, added water, rinsed the rice, and added water again. Then he held the pot in one hand.
With a soft pop, a ball of scarlet flame appeared in his palm and wrapped around the pot.
Before long, an enticing aroma wafted out, whetting the appetite. The grains were crystal clear and looked delicious.
An ounce of spirit grain was enough to cook a bowl of spirit rice. He also had a plate of White Jade Tofu, made from spirit beans and similarly infused with spiritual energy.
Breakfast was soon ready. Han Changming ate every last bite, not even leaving a drop of sauce behind.
After breakfast, he sat cross-legged and circulated his cultivation technique, refining the spiritual energy contained in the food.
Before long, a layer of yellow light appeared over his body, and yellow mist materialized out of thin air. As he breathed in and out, the mist flowed into him.
Half an hour later, Han Changming stopped cultivating, and the yellow light around his body faded.
Cultivating immortality as a clan; seeking investment, follows, and votes.
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