That night, a banquet was underway in the small courtyard where Li Ping lived.
Cultivators did not crave the pleasures of the palate, so the long table held only some fruit, wine, and the like. Seven figures sat around it.
Li Ping sat at the head of the long table, with three people on either side below him. Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng occupied the seats closest to him.
Apart from those three, the other four were the remaining cultivators of the Shared Boat Association.
To make the Shared Boat Association's guiding principle-"those who reach foundation establishment first help those who follow, until everyone reaches foundation establishment"-more convincing, Li Ping had deliberately laid down several rules for recruitment.
First, the Shared Boat Association would not consider cultivators with five-spirit roots or roots superior to three-spirit roots.
Cultivators with five-spirit roots struggled even to break through to the middle stage, let alone reach foundation establishment. They were simply too heavy a burden to carry.
Meanwhile, cultivators with roots superior to three-spirit roots could easily join a sect thanks to their aptitude. They had no need whatsoever for "reaching foundation establishment together."
Second, the Shared Boat Association would not accept sect or lineage cultivators, only rogue cultivators.
Sect and lineage cultivators had cultivating elders and masters. They could receive support from their sects and lineages along the path of cultivation, so the Shared Boat Association's principle of "weathering the storm in the same boat and reaching foundation establishment together" held no appeal for them.
Inviting them would not only waste time, effort, and thought, but might even earn the resentment of the elders behind them.
Third, the ages of cultivators joining the Shared Boat Association had to be staggered, with gaps of at least three years.
The third rule existed mainly because the older a cultivator became, the lower their chances of reaching foundation establishment. Once they passed sixty, their chances were frighteningly low even with a Foundation Establishment Pill.
That made a "joint foundation establishment" fund with cultivators of the same age group clearly unsuitable. Disputes could easily arise over who would attempt foundation establishment first and who would go later.
Fourth, those who liked stirring up trouble or could not keep themselves in check would not be accepted.
The cultivation world was full of extraordinary people and strange happenings. If a restless troublemaker joined and carelessly offended some powerful figure, they might bring utter disaster down on everyone else in the association. Such people could not be accepted either.
For the reasons above, the seven members of the Shared Boat Association were as follows.
Li Ping: forty years old, three-spirit root, foundation establishment cultivator, profession: Talisman Maker. Zhang Tie: thirty-seven years old, three-spirit root, eighth level of qi refining, profession: Tanner. Gu Musheng: thirty-three years old, four-spirit root, sixth level of qi refining, profession: trader. Cheng Yao: thirty years old, three-spirit root, sixth level of qi refining, profession: spirit planting specialist. Qi Hanmo: twenty-six years old, four-spirit root, fourth level of qi refining, profession: musician. Teng Feng: twenty-three years old, three-spirit root, fourth level of qi refining, profession: apprentice beast tamer. Bai Qing: nineteen years old, three-spirit root, third level of qi refining, profession: apprentice apothecary.
Fourth Sister Cheng Yao was a short, ordinary-looking female cultivator whose background was much like Gu Musheng's. It was through his introduction that she had passed Li Ping's test and gained admission to the association.
One thing about her that pleased Li Ping considerably was her unremarkable appearance.
Li Ping understood all too well that a beautiful woman could be a fountainhead of disaster. Had Cheng Yao truly been as lovely as a celestial maiden, he would instead have turned her away.
Not long after Cheng Yao joined, Li Ping used his connections to secure her an apprenticeship at a medicinal herb garden under Immortal City's administration. She had since become a low-grade, first-tier spirit planting specialist and could cultivate spirit herbs on her own.
Fifth Brother Qi Hanmo usually wore white robes and had a distinctly romantic air. He came from a scholarly clan in the neighboring Ji Kingdom. His love of music had led him to meet a cultivator spending his twilight years in the mortal world, who guided him onto the immortal path and taught him the skills of a musician. After that cultivator passed away in seated meditation, he came to Immortal City to make his way.
When he first arrived in Immortal City, he had hoped to earn a living on his own through his musical skills. In the end, however, the Music Gang entrenched in the outer city accused him of daring to steal their business. They covered his head, gave him a savage beating, and threatened him never to work as a musician again.
Gu Musheng, who had suffered a similar experience, introduced him to the Shared Boat Association.
After investigating him, Li Ping found that his background was uncomplicated, that he was devoted solely to music, and that he disliked entangling himself in worldly affairs. Thus, he agreed to let him join.
Only with the Shared Boat Association backing him could he continue earning spirit stones and making a living through his musical skills.
Sixth Brother Teng Feng was a rugged-looking young man dressed in leather armor. He had originally been a mortal hunter under Immortal City's jurisdiction. While pursuing his prey, he lost his footing and fell off a cliff, only to stumble upon the legacy of a qi refining cultivator who had died in seated meditation at its foot. Thus, he set foot on the immortal path.
Later, while selling demon beast hides at Old Lin's tanning shop, he caught Zhang Tie's eye and was introduced to Li Ping.
After talking with Teng Feng, Li Ping decided that he had a pure heart and good fortune, and agreed to admit him.
After he joined, Zhang Tie used Old Lin's connections to introduce him to Immortal City's spirit beast garden to study beast taming. He was still only an apprentice.
Seventh Brother Bai Qing was a young man dressed in blue-green robes. He came from the Bai Family, a cultivation lineage whose spirit land lay roughly eight thousand li from Immortal City. With a foundation establishment cultivator presiding over it, the lineage dominated the surrounding thousand li.
Bai Qing was the illegitimate son of a late-stage qi refining cultivator from the Bai Family, the result of that cultivator's reckless dalliance in the mortal world.
But after his dalliance, Bai Qing's biological father had dusted off his backside and left. He had no idea that he had a son outside the lineage, and Bai Qing grew up living with his mother.
Not long after Bai Qing reached adulthood, his mother died of illness. Only before her death did she tell him that his father was an immortal, urging him to seek his father after she was gone.
Bai Qing practiced the cultivation method his father had left behind. Once he had gained an initial foothold, he came alone to Immortal City to earn a living. Eventually, Gu Musheng recommended him, and he joined the Shared Boat Association as a rogue cultivator.
What Li Ping had not expected, however, was that two years earlier, Bai Qing had encountered a Bai Family cultivator in Immortal City. Through their bloodline connection, they confirmed that he belonged to the Bai Family, and he was acknowledged by his ancestral lineage.
Had Li Ping known before Bai Qing joined that he was a lineage cultivator, he would never have agreed to admit him.
But since his membership was already an accomplished fact, Li Ping could only let the matter stand.
Thus, Bai Qing became the Shared Boat Association's sole "lineage cultivator."
Of course, Bai Qing had little affection for the father who had seduced and abandoned his mother. Even after being acknowledged by his ancestral lineage, he spent most of his time in Immortal City and very rarely returned to the Bai Family.
As the banquet continued into the pleasant night, Li Ping clapped his hands to draw the others' attention.
He smiled and said, "Through everyone's combined efforts, I successfully reached foundation establishment. First, I'd like to thank you all for your contributions."
At his words, Zhang Tie gave a simple, honest smile, while Gu Musheng's expression turned solemn and he opened his mouth to speak. Li Ping raised a hand to stop him.
He glanced around at everyone and continued, "Now that our Shared Boat Association has a foundation establishment cultivator presiding over it, we've naturally risen another step. So I've decided... from now on, the Shared Boat Association will no longer recruit new members."
After his successful foundation establishment, the Shared Boat Association was no longer of any use to Li Ping. Yet the oath he had once sworn bound him to help each of the others obtain one chance at foundation establishment.
Recruiting new members, then, would actually harm his interests.
Of course, the same was not true for the others who had yet to reach foundation establishment.
After all, the more new members they recruited, the faster they could gather enough spirit stones, allowing them to attempt foundation establishment sooner.
On this issue, Li Ping's interests had undoubtedly come into conflict with those of the six people seated before him.