"You've already raised all the money?"
In the residence atop Crimson Flame Peak, Yang Xun stared wide-eyed at the two enormous bags Jiang Yi had brought.
Two hundred and twenty thousand in Talisman Money, tightly bound in bundles, lay piled on the table like clay bricks.
The sight delivered quite a shock!
Even Yang Xun, who had seen substantial sums before, could not help being stunned.
What chiefly amazed him was how quickly Jiang Yi had raised the money.
Steward Xu of Heshui Cave had paid a full hundred and fifty thousand to buy out the Green Zhi Pulp Recipe.
Where had the remaining seventy thousand come from?
This was a full seventy thousand in Talisman Money. A Mortal Laborer of the outer sect might not save that much in ten years of toil.
"A windfall. Donations from devout men and women... ahem, voluntary donations."
Jiang Yi gave two dry coughs. He had pondered the Luo siblings' sudden change of character for a long time without reaching an answer.
It was no surprise that Luo Qian'er, seeing his fortunes turn, wanted to latch onto him for profit;
Luo Tong might have intended to win him over so he would put in a good word with Xiao Tongquan and Li Ruohan... he understood all that.
But where had the two of them gotten their Talisman Money?
With Luo Qian'er's temperament, unless she had come into a large sum, how could she repay a whopping fifty thousand all at once?
Luo Tong was even more outrageous. He could actually afford Essence-Nourishing Pills.
Those things had buyers but no price anyone would sell at. Across the Outer Sect's Four Peaks, probably only Xiao Tongquan and Li Ruohan could enjoy them.
"You clever little rascal. You always find a way."
Yang Xun asked no further questions, merely pointing at him twice with a raised hand, displaying an elder's approachable kindness.
In any case, if something went wrong, he would do his best to back Jiang Yi up and smooth away the trouble.
"I was just worrying about this. You took Tiger-Wolf Medicine before, and your cultivation rose quickly. Your foundations were bound to be unstable.
"A ritual of the Ninth Grade of Qi Refining might not make up for your deficiencies, strengthen your Primordial Essence, and help you break through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining."
Yang Xun brushed his hand over the little mountain of vivid red Talisman Money and continued:
"Since you've raised two hundred and twenty thousand, I'll add another hundred and eighty thousand. With a full four hundred thousand in Talisman Money, we can improve the quality of the main materials for the Water Pool and Fire Marsh. That should roughly qualify as an eighth-grade ritual, more than enough to break through to the fifth level."
A faint excitement stirred within Jiang Yi as he listened. Only after several days of bitter cultivation, tasting the slowness of his progress, had he understood the exhilaration of relying on "outside help."
Unfortunately, after passing the three barriers of Tendon Tempering, Bone Tempering, and Blood Tempering and Marrow Refining, shortcuts were hard to find at this fourth level.
Accumulating Primordial Essence and nurturing True Qi within the internal organs was painstaking work, like grinding away with water.
Unless costly precious medicines and spiritual materials nourished every part of his body thoroughly, there was no way to reach perfection in a single leap.
Yet under the Dharma Lineage, ninety percent of anything good associated with the word "spiritual" was collected by the sect.
Staying on Crimson Flame Peak, Jiang Yi could hardly stumble into a stroke of luck and pick up some heavenly treasure for nothing.
"Once the Quenching Room stops work, I'll make a trip down the mountain. I'll have the Water Pool and Fire Marsh prepared before spring begins."
Yang Xun suddenly asked:
"Would you like to come along, Yi? Chances to go out are rare. Want to broaden your horizons?"
Jiang Yi did not answer directly, offering instead:
"Lately, I've been planning to consolidate my Primordial Essence and advance my cultivation, bringing my Fourth Level of Qi Refining into its middle stage so I'll be more confident of breaking through to the fifth. I can't decide about going down the mountain right away."
Yang Xun nodded approvingly.
"Mm. You're steady by nature and know to put cultivation first. That's a good thing.
"There are still three or four days before I leave, anyway. I'll speak to you again then. Though you've settled the deal with Steward Xu of Heshui Cave, I still need to have a word with Elder Xu.
"Otherwise, if the Green Zhi Pulp fails to sell, or some disciple develops a problem after drinking it, and he comes looking to quarrel with you, that wouldn't be pleasant."
Jiang Yi hurriedly cupped his hands in thanks.
This was the importance of "backing."
No business in the world could ever be simple and clean unless both sides stood on sufficiently equal footing to outweigh the profits that conflict could produce.
Heshui Cave was an Inner Peaks enterprise, with an elder of the Transmission Academy backing it.
Even if what Jiang Yi offered was worth the money, there was no guarantee others would not find fault and entertain thoughts of taking it by trickery or force.
That was why he needed Yang Xun to stand behind him, preventing possible troubles from cropping up later.
"There's an unshakable truth in the Demonic Path Lineage. It took me twenty years of pondering to understand it. Today, I'll tell it to you."
Deeply moved, Yang Xun spoke earnestly:
"Anyone's promise to you can come to nothing. Only what you can control yourself counts.
"You have no choice but to heed the words of the great figures above us in the Dao Lineage. But never treat them as a straw to clutch at for salvation. Otherwise... you won't even understand how you died!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Grandpa. I'll remember it."
Jiang Yi's heart tightened. From Yang Xun's expression, he seemed to have experienced this deeply.
He had probably swallowed plenty of the grand promises the Inner Peaks had painted for him when he was young.
"Have you encountered any difficulties in your cultivation lately?"
Yang Xun asked with a chuckle.
Jiang Yi selected a few questions and sought his advice.
Yet as they spoke, he somehow began to feel that Grandpa's understanding seemed inferior to his own.
"'Control fire to forge and burn, refining the essence of food, water, and grain.' I believe this passage means..."
Jiang Yi related the Heavenly Book's analysis in an unhurried flow. At first, Yang Xun paid little attention, but the more he listened, the more engrossed he became, nodding now and then as though suddenly seeing the light.
As the explanation deepened, he could not resist asking question after question:
"How do you interpret 'the Xuanmiao of using fire, seemingly absent yet present'?"
"As the saying goes, the timing of fire in cultivation follows the inhalation upward and the exhalation downward. When advancing yang fire, the intent focuses on rising rather than descending, so within the rise there is a descent as though no descent existed; when withdrawing the yin tally, the intent focuses on descending rather than rising, so within the descent there is a rise as though no rise existed..."
"Then what does 'stir the Xun wind and circulate the Kun fire' mean?"
"When yin essence proves difficult to subdue, use wind and fire to transform it. Wind means breath. With body and mind both settled, regulate the breath in an unbroken flow, using it without strain, and you can stir the Xun wind..."
Their discussion of mysteries and the Dao, interpreting words and meanings, lasted four hours.
When Yang Xun looked up again, the sun was already sinking, its light shifting westward.
His head was filled with insights and understanding he had previously failed to grasp or comprehend, giving him a powerful urge to enter seclusion for several days and verify what he had learned.
"Forget ordinary talent! This is talent for the Dao!"
Yang Xun was tremendously excited. How long had Jiang Yi possessed the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art?
Yet he had already thoroughly understood seventy or eighty percent of it!
What extraordinary aptitude must that take?!
"Could it be... that I really have picked up a treasure?"
His eyes blazing, Yang Xun hurriedly said:
"It's getting late. Why don't you stay here tonight, Yi? I'll have the Daoist Attendant prepare food right away. We grandfather and grandson can talk by candlelight to our hearts' content!"
Jiang Yi had no objection. Whenever he had spare time or questions, he would respectfully consult the Heavenly Book, resolving his doubts word by word and sentence by sentence.
Without the slightest exaggeration, in terms of genuine insight into the art's secret essentials alone, all the Qi Refining cultivators studying the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art on Crimson Flame Peak combined might not surpass him.
Yang Xun swept out a hand and ordered:
"Boy! Bring my jar of Nine-Insect Wine!"
The young Daoist Attendant could scarcely believe it. His master treasured that jar of spirit wine and ordinarily would not even let anyone touch it.
Today, the sun had risen in the west: he was actually breaking its seal to drink freely with someone.
About an hour later, lanterns hung in the main hall, with candle stands placed throughout, illuminating it brightly.
An assortment of Spirit Cuisine, wine, and dishes brought from the Inner Peaks covered the table. Yang Xun slapped open the jar of Nine-Insect Wine, and a refreshing fragrance filled the room.
"This wine wasn't easy to brew. I sourced over a hundred fine medicinal ingredients from Herb-Gathering Peak. It can kill the nine insects within the body and nourish the internal organs. I originally meant to save it for... come! Drink your fill with me!"
Yang Xun looked wistful, evidently remembering his own son, Yang Zhi, who had died in the Cave of Myriad Beasts.
Jiang Yi rose to pour the wine, filling his own bowl to the brim before pouring for Yang Xun. Raising his bowl with both hands, he offered a toast:
"Thank you for not turning me away, Grandpa, and for raising me up and nurturing me! To you!"
Gulp after gulp, he drained it.
The Nine-Insect Wine did not sting his throat going down, nor did it cause a searing pain in his chest. It tasted quite mellow and left him wanting more.
The more he drank, the warmer his body became, while his mind remained perfectly clear.
It truly deserved to be the superior spirit wine Yang Xun had treasured for years!
"You're young, with vigorous Qi and Blood and flourishing vitality. You can drink more."
Yang Xun sipped, the corners of his mouth rising irrepressibly, putting food into Jiang Yi's bowl as he drank.
"Fine wine! Fine food! What bliss!"
Clusters of Fire Nature surged from Jiang Yi's mouth and nose, turning into masses of faint light as they refined the rich alcoholic Qi within him.
For a time, he felt as though he were floating, forgetting himself entirely.
Before long.
They had eaten and drunk their fill.
Grandfather and grandson began "verifying their insights against each other" again, dissecting the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art.
Lamplight illuminated their figures in warm harmony.
As the young Daoist Attendant cleared the scattered cups and plates, he glanced at Jiang Yi sitting on the couch, then shifted his gaze to Yang Xun, who had brought over a little folding stool and sat upright below him.
He muttered inwardly:
"Well, now. Not only has Master been coaxed into becoming the grandson, he's become an apprentice too. He really does grow younger with every passing year."
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