Leaving the Mountain

Wang Daoyuan could hardly wait to rush forward and sign up with the Great Elder. But the clan head was still yapping away on the high platform, and the ancestral rites still had to be performed afterward, so he could only suppress the urge to charge ahead.

He went through the ancestral rites absentmindedly, and by the time they were done, it was already midnight. Wang Daoyuan was too anxious to wait until dawn. He immediately followed the Great Elder to the Executive Hall.

The Executive Hall was where the elders handled Lineage affairs. Wang Daoyuan followed the Great Elder inside and found someone already waiting there.

After saluting the Great Elder, the man turned to Wang Daoyuan and said, "Seventh Brother, why are you here too?"

Wang Daoyuan ranked seventh among his generation, while the one speaking to him was Wang Daocheng, who ranked fourth.

Wang Daocheng was the eldest grandson of Ninth Granduncle Wang Shoude, while Wang Daoyuan studied talisman-making under Ninth Granduncle. The two saw each other often and were therefore quite familiar with one another.

He had just turned twenty and was required by Lineage rules to go out and work.

However, although he had a grandfather who was a Tier Two Talisman Master, he himself had no talent for talisman-making and was utterly clueless about the Hundred Cultivation Arts. His cultivation speed was only average, and he was currently at the fifth level of Qi Refining. He had no outstanding talent in combat either.

His only strength was his smooth way of handling matters and his understanding of human relationships. He was excellent material for a shop manager.

But being a manager was a cushy posting, and only those with seniority and merit could hold such a position. For a green youngster like him to become a manager was absolutely impossible.

To become a manager, he first had to build up seniority at a shop. Yet the old shops had tangled relationships, and the managers focused on grooming people close to themselves. It would be difficult for him to rise there.

A newly opened shop had far fewer connections. A blank sheet of paper was easier to paint on, making it easier to stand out.

Thus, he had come to the Executive Hall early to sign up.

Wang Daoyuan was not surprised to see Fourth Brother here. A new shop was a shortcut to getting ahead, and no one with any ambition would want to miss it.

Wang Daoyuan replied, "Fourth Brother, you know my situation as well. Staying on Jade Spring Peak would only waste time. I might as well go out and work early, save up more Spirit Stones, and prepare for the next generation."

The Great Elder took his seat and registered the two of them.

When Wang Daoyuan reported that he was a Tier One Low-Grade Talisman Master, both the Great Elder and Wang Daocheng were taken aback.

The Great Elder asked, "What is your success rate in crafting Tier One Low-Grade Talismans?"

Not wanting to draw attention, Wang Daoyuan concealed a little of his ability and answered, "I've just reached forty percent."

The Great Elder stroked his beard and smiled. "Not bad. To have achieved this much at such a young age, your talent for talisman-making can be considered above average."

"However, you have only just turned sixteen, still far from the age stipulated by the Lineage. Though the Lineage has not expressly forbidden disciples under twenty from going out to work, there is no precedent for this. Are you volunteering to go out early?"

"Reporting to the Great Elder, this junior truly volunteered to go out and work early."

"Good. Since you are volunteering, and the Lineage rules do not expressly forbid it, while the Lineage is also short-handed, then go as you wish."

"You have not yet turned twenty, so your monthly allowance of two Spirit Stones as an underage disciple will remain unchanged. Go back and pack up. In three days, accompany Ninth Brother to Qingli Market."

Wang Daoyuan let out a sigh of relief. He had finally taken the first successful step toward his small goal. He no longer had to worry about the spirit grain rotting in his hands.

After thanking the Great Elder, he hurried back to his cave dwelling.

He did not have much to pack, only some Talisman Paper, Spirit Ink, and an Inferior Talisman Brush. He tossed them all into the thatched hut within the Spirit Pearl Space, and that was that.

Jade Dragon Spring lay atop Jade Spring Peak. Its waters were abundant, forming a pond about half a mu in size around the springhead.

The spring water flowed out of the pond and rushed through the mountains, where it was called Jade Dragon Stream.

The stream water was rich in spiritual energy and was well suited for irrigating Spirit Fields. Thus, more than eighty percent of the Wang Clan's Spirit Fields lay along both banks of Jade Dragon Stream, while the clan members' cave dwellings were built in places along the banks unsuitable for opening Spirit Fields.

When the stream reached the foot of the mountain, it joined several incoming streams and formed a deep pool. The pool was shaped like a bow laid upon the ground, hence its name, Sleeping Bow Pond.

The pond water flowed out toward the southwest of Jade Spring Peak, becoming the Qingli River. Qingli Commandery was named after the Qingli River.

Wang Daoyuan and more than ten clan members followed Ninth Granduncle down Jade Spring Peak and arrived at the shore of Sleeping Bow Pond.

At the southwestern end of Sleeping Bow Pond stood a ferry crossing named Sleeping Bow Ferry. Since most Wang Clan disciples were only at the Qi Refining stage and could not yet fly on artifacts, most people traveled by spirit ship.

The spirit ship before them was ten zhang long and three zhang wide, built from low-grade spiritwood. It was sturdy and durable. It could drift completely downstream on the current, or be powered by Spirit Stones or a cultivator's spiritual power.

Qingli Commandery had many rivers, and the bases of the various clans were mostly situated beside the Qingli River and its tributaries. Large cargo shipments all relied on spirit ships. Jade Spring Peak stood at the source of the Qingli River, so traveling downstream by spirit ship did not consume a single Spirit Stone.

The Wang Clan's ancestor, Wang Chengzhu, had spent his life either killing Demon Beasts or on the road to kill Demon Beasts. He could be called Invincible in the Same Rank in combat, but he had achieved nothing whatsoever in the Hundred Cultivation Arts.

Nor had he left behind any inheritance of the Hundred Cultivation Arts. The Wang Clan's standards in the Hundred Cultivation Arts could not rank among the best around the Qingli River.

They relied solely on the geographic advantage of being upstream on the Qingli River, where transporting bulk goods cost little in Spirit Stones, and made the transportation of cumbersome cargo such as stone, spirit ore, and spiritwood their Lineage's pillar industry.

The Qingli River's current was gentle. Relying on water power alone, the spirit ship would likely take ten days to half a month to travel from Jade Spring Peak to Qingli Market.

Wang Daoyuan's group was responsible for the opening of the shops and had no time to waste on the road. They took turns using spiritual power to propel the spirit ship, and after only a day and a half, Qingli Market came into distant view.

Qingli Market had been established single-handedly by Wang Chengzhu.

Wang Chengzhu had rendered great service during a Demon Beast invasion and received abundant resources in reward. He established the Lineage at Jade Spring Peak. Before reaching two hundred years of age, he had broken through to the Golden Core realm, becoming Qingli Commandery's only Golden Core Cultivator.

However, the Wang Clan had always been short on cultivators, and Wang Chengzhu had no desire to expand.

This scarcity did not mean he had few descendants. Before Wang Chengzhu was two hundred, he had fathered more than twenty sons and over ten daughters, yet not one of them was a cultivator. It was not until he was over three hundred that he had his first cultivator son—Wang Zuxing.

From then on, the Wang Clan's luck erupted. Wang Chengzhu successively had several cultivator sons and daughters, while many cultivators also emerged among the descendants of his mortal children. Within several decades, the Wang Clan rapidly grew into a cultivation Lineage with fifty or sixty cultivators.

Furthermore, thanks to the mortal children Wang Chengzhu had fathered in his early years, the Wang Clan's mortal population had also grown to nearly ten thousand.

With more people in the family, they naturally needed more industries to support the whole household. From then on, the Wang Clan began expanding rapidly. Wang Chengzhu led the effort to establish Qingli Market where Qingxi joined the Qingli River. Since the area was Wang Clan territory, fifty percent of the shops belonged to the Wang Clan.

Qingli Market brought the Wang Clan a vast amount of Spirit Stones. Using the market as their foothold, the Wang Clan expanded downstream along the Qingli River. Within a few decades, the various powers throughout the Qingli River basin either formed alliances with the Wang Clan or became its direct vassals.

The Wang Clan entered its golden age, and Qingli Commandery nearly became the Wang Clan's fief. People called them the "Wang Clan of Qingli."

Unfortunately, fine times did not last. More than three hundred years ago, Demon Beasts in the Skyrend Mountain Range rioted. The Zhao Imperial Clan resisted with all its strength and eventually quelled the chaos, but it also suffered grievous losses.

At this time, the Three Great Sects seized the chance to stir up trouble and overthrow the Zhao Imperial Clan. Wang Chengzhu, as a guest elder of the Zhao Imperial Clan, was drawn into the conflict and died in battle.

Wang Chengzhu displayed tremendous might in that battle. Together with his spirit beast—the dragonfish that was now the Wang Clan's emblem—he successively slew five Golden Core Cultivators from Crimson Sun Palace. After that battle, Crimson Sun Palace, once the strongest of the Three Great Sects, became the weakest.

After the war, the Zhao Imperial Clan was destroyed. Some of its members escaped the Zhao Kingdom, while the Three Great Sects ruled the kingdom and slaughtered the Zhao Clan's affiliated powers on a massive scale. The Wang Clan was among them.

Fortunately, Qingli Commandery of the Zhao Kingdom was taken over by the Netherworld Sect, one of the Three Great Sects. The Netherworld Sect had always been at odds with Crimson Sun Palace. Wang Chengzhu had slapped Crimson Sun Palace across the face, so the Netherworld Sect looked very favorably upon the Wang Clan.

Moreover, Wang Chengzhu had merely been a guest elder of the Zhao Imperial Clan and had no marriage ties to it. After the war, the Wang Clan had people plead on its behalf and was not exterminated. The Netherworld Sect even prevented Crimson Sun Palace from seeking revenge against the Wang Clan.

Even so, the Wang Clan suffered immense losses. More than half of its cultivators were lost, and it surrendered vast numbers of mines, Forest Farms, and most of the shops in Qingli Market, retaining only five. The Wang Clan became an affiliated power of the Netherworld Sect.