Qi Refining made local clans, Foundation Establishment made noble stock (thanks to alliance leader "Ray1038")

"This hazel grouse... really was delicious!"

As the courtyard residents walked out of the Ice and Fire Cave, He Laohun licked his lips, still savoring the meal:

"After this feast, we ought to hurry back and meditate. It'll be worth twenty days of hard cultivation!"

Widow Qin scoffed:

"Look at you! You practically wanted to lick the plates clean!"

He Laohun took no offense and said instead:

"I've spent over twenty years on Crimson Flame Peak and hardly ever had a proper meal like this! Spirit rice and spirit fowl-absolutely delicious!"

Old Li and his wife said nothing. They carried two lotus-leaf parcels containing the Flower-tailed Hazel Grouse's carcass and scraps such as its kidneys and gizzard.

They intended to take them back to the courtyard and make broth to mix with rice. Perhaps they could gain a few extra traces of Spiritual Qi nourishment.

Mortal Laborers at the bottom lived like beasts of burden; they had to count every penny.

"Our young Yi remembers old ties! He hasn't forgotten those of us who shared the courtyard with him!"

Having eaten his food, He Laohun could hardly speak ill of him and lavished him with praise:

"If you ask me, in another seven or eight years, young Yi might really reach the Fifth Level of Qi Refining and take Old Man Yang's place."

Widow Qin rolled her eyes:

"Enough, enough, he isn't even here! I think you've got your eye on young Yi's Inspection Officer post and want to bask in his reflected glory!"

With his little scheme exposed, He Laohun flushed red and protested:

"Sister Qin, why put it so harshly! I only want to shoulder some of young Yi's worries and spare him the trouble..."

Widow Qin could not be bothered to argue. Her lovely eyes blinked:

"Where was young Yi rushing off to before he'd even finished eating?"

He Laohun chuckled:

"To attend to Old Man Yang, of course. How did I never notice how clever young Yi was?"

Cold winds carried snowflakes, scattering them thickly over the mountain path.

The courtyard residents each harbored different thoughts. Some sighed with feeling that the Heavenly Lord had opened his eyes and let young Yi finally get ahead;

some envied him, silently calculating how many more bitter days of toil like beasts of burden remained;

some considered how to cling to his coattails so that even his chickens and dogs might ascend to heaven.

Attitude matters! The boss might not know who gave him gifts, but he'll definitely remember who didn't!

Carrying a food box, Jiang Yi headed farther up Crimson Flame Peak.

Being promoted and entrusted with responsibility was no excuse to let success go to his head.

He had to remember his "Old Leader's" kindness at all times—and make a proper show of it.

Thus, after eating with his fellow courtyard laborers and settling the bill, Jiang Yi immediately hurried straight to Yang Xun's residence.

A duty officer's quarters were naturally far better than the Mortal Laborers' Work Dormitories.

Behind the workshops stood grand residences three courtyards deep, with white walls, black tiles, upturned eaves, and interlocking brackets. They were imposing indeed.

I hear inner disciples can live in cultivators' cave abodes and enjoy the nourishment of spiritual currents...

Arriving at the gates of Yang Xun's residence, Jiang Yi wondered whether he might one day sit meditating in a superior cave abode.

Knock, knock, knock!

He raised his hand and lightly tapped the bronze ring held in a beast's mouth.

Before long, a young Daoist attendant with rosy lips and white teeth unbarred the door and poked his head out.

His eyes were full of puzzlement. Someone had actually come visiting this late.

His master was not hospitable by nature. Mortal Laborers hoping to curry favor and attach themselves to him ordinarily could not even cross the threshold.

"Sorry to disturb you so late. Has Duty Officer Yang retired?"

Jiang Yi asked politely.

"You're Inspection Officer Jiang from the Quenching Room, aren't you?"

The young attendant was quick-witted. Recognizing Jiang Yi, he treated him courteously:

"Master is meditating. He should need another seven or eight minutes. Would you like to come inside and wait, Inspection Officer Jiang?"

"No. Without the duty officer's summons, how could I presume to enter?"

Jiang Yi was naturally happy to put on a performance of "Yangmen Standing in the Snow."

The wind blew fiercely, and the snow fell thickly.

Although winter had yet to arrive, the summit of Crimson Flame Peak was already bitterly cold, the chill piercing to the bone.

At the Qi Refining Second Stage, Jiang Yi had undergone Tendon Tempering and Bone Tempering. Strong and sturdy, he had no fear of the invading cold.

Seven or eight minutes passed in a flash. The young attendant hurried to announce him and soon trotted back.

"Inspection Officer Jiang, Master asks you to come in."

As he led the way, the young attendant marveled.

Apart from the mistress and young master, no outsider had ever set foot in this residence.

Jiang Yi was led to the rear courtyard just as Yang Xun finished cultivating.

Blazing firelight seemed to envelop the black-robed elder with his white hair and beard. With each breath, strands of condensed True Qi roamed throughout his body like little snakes.

Only after a while did they subside.

The meditation and breathing of someone at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining are truly formidable.

Drawing a little closer to Yang Xun, who sat cross-legged on a couch, Jiang Yi felt a surge of scorching heat.

It was like standing against one of the Quenching Room's great furnaces, hot enough to set him alight.

Was this the change brought about by opening the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining?

He pondered inwardly.

"What brings you here so late?"

Yang Xun exhaled at length, faint firelight flickering between his mouth and nose.

Clearly, his power was profound and his cultivation deep!

"I treated my fellow courtyard laborers to a meal at the Ice and Fire Cave. Perhaps those few cups of wine made me too happy to contain myself, so I wanted to come pay my respects, Duty Officer."

Jiang Yi offered no flattering or fawning words, merely adopting an earnest expression of complete sincerity and guileless innocence.

"I brought you some humble spirit rice and dishes, Duty Officer. I hope you won't disdain them."

Yang Xun sneered:

"Do you think I'm short of a meal?"

Jiang Yi scratched his head without a word.

"Oh, never mind. You're here already."

With a soft snort and a show of impatience, Yang Xun had the young attendant take the food box away to warm the dishes.

"Sit down. There are a few things I happen to want to tell you."

Having been "granted a seat," Jiang Yi promptly fetched a little folding stool and waited like an obedient pupil for his teacher's lesson.

Yang Xun sighed softly. Why was he such a sucker for this!

It had only been a few days, yet he already found Jiang Yi increasingly agreeable.

A little longer, and he feared he would no longer be able to maintain a duty officer's dignity.

"You attended a Dao Academy, so you have some foundation. How is your practice of the 'Proper Meridian Qi Circulation Art' coming along?"

Yang Xun asked.

"Passably well."

Jiang Yi replied.

"At the first level of Qi Refining, what meridian manifestation did you awaken?"

Yang Xun asked again.

What's a "meridian manifestation"?

Jiang Yi froze for a moment.

Seeing his reaction, Yang Xun understood at once.

Definitely someone from a backwater.

Yang Xun said softly:

"It seems you don't come from a local Qi Refining clan and know little of the workings involved."

"To tell you the truth, Duty Officer, I grew up in Guniu Town. My family could at most be said to own some property. There hasn't been a cultivator in the last three generations."

Jiang Yi explained his circumstances. He was a small-town beast of burden through and through.

Yang Xun smacked his lips, habitually pulled a handful of snacks from his pocket, and crunched away.

"I'll give you a lesson today, so listen carefully. In ancient times, 'mortal stock' like us couldn't cultivate.

"Those so-called 'seeds of cultivation' were scarce indeed-you'd be hard-pressed to find even one among a hundred thousand people."

Jiang Yi had heard something of this.

Supposedly, in the ancient Jambudvipa Vast Land, only thirty percent of living beings qualified to cultivate. All others were mere mortal commoners, insignificant as grass.

Nowadays, however, over ninety percent could achieve Meridian Opening and Qi Refining, scraping together the title of "cultivator."

"Rumor has it that mighty wielders of Divine Abilities from several Dao lineages joined forces to alter the rules the Heavenly Lord had established. That brought about this great age of cultivation, with countless Dharma Lineages throwing open their gates... ah, I've wandered off topic."

"Back to meridian manifestations. The practice originally came from the Immortal Dao. Descendants of great houses and powerful clans used spiritual objects as catalysts for Meridian Opening at the first level of Qi Refining.

"A superior meridian manifestation raises the quality of one's True Qi accordingly. It also helps consolidate the foundation."

Filthy rich bastards!

Jiang Yi cursed inwardly.

He had never even known that was an option!

When the original owner of this body underwent Meridian Opening at the Dao Academy, it had simply happened without his understanding much of anything.

He had even felt smug about it for ages, because fewer than five pupils in his cohort had successfully undergone Meridian Opening and entered the first level of Qi Refining.

"Never mind. We of the demonic path don't fuss over how solid or firm our foundations are anyway. A poor meridian manifestation is a poor meridian manifestation."

Gnawing on a chicken foot, Yang Xun abruptly asked:

"Take Northern Mang Ridge, for instance. There are three schools and two sects here-how many can you name?"

Jiang Yi carefully searched his memory and answered:

"Our Qianji Sect lies in the north. Together with the Yin Puppet Sect to the west and the Acacia Sect to the south, those should be the three schools.

"But I've never heard the names of the two sects."

Yang Xun was unsurprised. How could a pupil fresh out of a Dao Academy have encountered any substantial knowledge?

"Remember them well. They're the Illuminating Nether Sect and the True Gu Sect, Dharma Lineages that each dominate a region."

"The Qianji Sect mainly supplies the Illuminating Nether Sect. The White Bone Dharma Swords, Hundred-Shadow Dharma Robes, and Hundred-Soul Banners produced by the Outer Sect's Four Peaks all go to the markets over there."

Jiang Yi more or less understood.

So the Qianji Sect handled manufacturing, supplying products to distributors!

"Whether on the Immortal Dao or the demonic path, Dharma Lineages have a strict hierarchy."

"At the bottom are the minor schools and sects. A few mountain peaks marked out as their own constitute their foundation.

"Above them, a 'Millennium Great Sect' can claim mountains and territory, seize Spirit Veins, and receive tribute from several kingdoms.

"Higher still are the 'Heavenly Prefecture Supreme Sects,' which establish their own rule and prefectures, dominating an entire continent. They are titans among Dao lineages.

"As for whether anything greater exists... that lies beyond what you and I can fathom."

Jiang Yi sorted through Yang Xun's explanation, broadly summarizing it as "small workshops, large factories, local industry leaders, and continent-wide corporations."

Looked at this way, the road of cultivation really is long.

To properly get a foot in the door, I'd at least have to become a disciple of a "Millennium Great Sect" before I could speak of having prospects.

Otherwise, given the scale of small workshops and large factories, there's comparatively little room to rise.

With Yang Xun's guidance, Jiang Yi gained a clearer understanding of "Dao lineages."

He then asked curiously:

"What level do those local Qi Refining clans you mentioned belong to, Duty Officer?"

Yang Xun's face was cold and stern, as though he had been born incapable of looking kindly at anyone, yet he had ample patience and spoke softly:

"Minor schools and sects may sit at the bottom of the Dao lineages, but they can still influence hundreds of thousands, even millions, of mortal beings.

"Take our Qianji Sect alone. How many Mortal Laborers come and go, relying on the workshops of the Outer Sect's Four Peaks to make a living and earn Talisman Money?"

"Over time, a few outstanding 'Mortal Laborers' inevitably emerge.

"They break through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, become 'duty officers,' and bring their relatives from below the mountain into the sect.

"The cycle repeats, drawing in their fellow townsfolk. Who knows when they might support a superior seedling capable of entering the sect's inner peaks to cultivate the Dao and practice Spell Refinement?"

"This is what it means for 'Qi Refining to make local clans.'"

Jiang Yi listened, absorbed, and thought:

The first workers help those who come after them. After several generations, they can build a fortune, form a great clan, and support their descendants... it's rather like people from the same village all heading to one place and helping each other in my previous life.

He had been born in the "southern Hunan countryside" in his previous life and was thoroughly familiar with relatives and friends leaving their hometowns in groups to work in another province.

He simply had not expected to see the same thing after transmigrating to the Jambudvipa Vast Land, where Dao lineages ruled.

"I myself come from the Yang Clan of Lujiang in the Zhao Kingdom."

Yang Xun revealed this, then added with apparent self-mockery:

"With my cultivation at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining and my position as a sect's duty officer, I qualify as a 'clan elder.'

"If I could take another couple of steps and somehow reach the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining, my clansmen could address me as 'Patriarch' when I returned home from the mountain."

A Qi Refining patriarch!

On careful consideration, Jiang Yi found it reasonable enough.

Someone at the seventh level of Qi Refining could serve as an "elder" in the Qianji Sect.

Whether offering cultivation guidance or nurturing and recommending others, they would have a say in every respect.

There was nothing wrong with calling them "Patriarch"!

"Don't underestimate the Qi Refining Clans, as numerous as hairs on an ox.

Across the Northern Mang Ridge, stretching three thousand li, sects have risen and fallen over the centuries.

How many sect leaders and masters have come from these Qi Refining Clans?

Take just the most illustrious, the Illuminating Nether Sect. Its main lineage is the Fu Clan, and its outer lineage is the Kang Clan. Three hundred years ago, those clans had only two ancestors at the tenth level of Qi Refining between them.

And now? The millions of Mortal Laborers in the Northern Mang Ridge would bash their heads bloody fighting for a chance to work for those two clans. Their grandeur truly knows no bounds."

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow, hearing the envy in Yang Xun's words.

Presumably, the ultimate ambition of a Qi Refining rural clan was to turn the clan into a sect that inherited a Dao tradition and its lineage of arts.

When Yang Xun finished, the young Daoist attendant brought in the food and wine.

Jiang Yi had specifically instructed the waiter at the Ice and Fire Cave to prepare it. The rice was top-quality spirit rice, and the dishes were mountain delicacies and wild game, including frost mushrooms, matsutake, snow frogs, and hazel grouse.

"It tastes good, but don't go to so much trouble next time. At my Fifth Level of Qi Refining, I either practice Grain Avoidance or take medicinal preparations. I don't place much importance on satisfying my appetite."

Yang Xun glanced at the spread, then took another bite with his chopsticks, knowing Jiang Yi had put thought into it.

Winter was approaching, the season when heavy snow sealed off the mountains.

These mountain delicacies and wild game were relatively rare, and must have cost a fair amount of Talisman Money to obtain.

Jiang Yi smiled bashfully.

"As long as you find it to your taste, Supervisor."

Yang Xun sampled a few bites, then continued.

"Where were we?"

Jiang Yi supplied the answer.

"The Illuminating Nether Sect, which holds the leading reins in the Northern Mang Ridge, and the Fu Clan and Kang Clan."

Yang Xun nodded and said with feeling,

"We spoke earlier of 'Qi Refining makes a rural clan.' There is actually another line after it: 'Foundation Establishment makes noble stock.'

The Fu Clan and Kang Clan each have a great Foundation Establishment cultivator presiding over them. The children of these two clans are 'noble stock of Dao cultivation,' with hopes of entering a Millennium Great Sect and truly becoming Dao Talent."

Jiang Yi silently counted on his fingers in his mind. How far was he from these scions of Dao-cultivating nobility?

"Stop thinking about it. First get past the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining and work toward the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate."

Yang Xun suddenly smiled, seemingly seeing through Jiang Yi's thoughts, though his words remained cold.

"Only at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining will you qualify to 'cultivate.'"

Jiang Yi kept up his "persona" of a diligent, inquisitive student.

"Is that because only at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, after opening the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate, can one gather the spiritual essences of heaven and earth?"

Yang Xun nodded. None of this could be heard at the Dao Academy, but in the clan schools of Qi Refining Clans, it hardly counted as a secret.

"In the Qi Refining realm, the first four levels are meant to temper the body and forge it into a cauldron, making it ready to receive spiritual essences after the fifth level, gathering and refining them.

At the fifth level, cultivation methods become very different.

The myriad spiritual essences between heaven and earth have different attributes. Some are clear, some turbid; some are dense and substantial, others fierce and unyielding.

For instance, the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art I cultivate requires gathering Qi with yin, dry, and fierce attributes.

That makes noon and midnight suitable times to practice.

If you cultivated a cultivation method related to the 'great sun,' you would have to choose the hours of the Hare and Dragon, gathering the purple qi of the morning sun rising in the east.

You must understand these particulars. Otherwise, if you gather the wrong Qi, contrary to your cultivation method, you cannot escape the danger of cultivation going awry."

Jiang Yi reflected. No wonder those at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining could become sect supervisors.

For one thing, opening the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate brought a great increase in power and a major advance in cultivation, putting distance between them and the fourth level of Qi Refining and making them pillars of the sect;

For another, if someone who ascended to the fifth floor still had to toil miserably, how could they complete their Qi-gathering practice?

Furthermore, spiritual essences had countless attributes, so practicing naturally became complicated and demanded meticulous care, without the slightest negligence.

Yet this also made it convenient for the sect to "arrange" matters for cultivators at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining!

Crimson Flame Peak and the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art cultivated there suited each other.

Presumably, the same was true of the outer sect's other three peaks.

The Orthodox Lineage was indeed meticulous and tightly structured!

Jiang Yi's thoughts wandered, but he said,

"I will certainly study the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art with care and not disappoint your high expectations, Supervisor."

Yang Xun merely smiled, not taking it seriously.

With Jiang Yi's cultivation at the Qi Refining Second Stage, thoroughly understanding the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art, a Ninth Grade of Qi Refining art, would take at least three to five years.

Even at the very fastest, it would still take six months to a year!

"I won't charge you for today's lesson. If you seek instruction again, I'll charge the rate for inner sect lectures."

Yang Xun waved a hand, indicating that Jiang Yi could leave.

Although he found the young man agreeable and was willing to grant him a chance to advance in Dao cultivation and make something of himself,

Whether he could leap through the Dragon Gate and turn his fate around still depended on whether his own abilities were solid enough!

If his strength fell short and his talent was lacking, he would only die an untimely, pointless death, just like Zhi'er!