Qi Ingestion

"I recently obtained a Jade Gourd Inch Vine Root. I thought my little brother had some wisdom for the Dao, so I asked my teachers in Lüyu for leave and came home to arrange things for him. I never expected this to happen."

Director Ma smiled. "Brother Jiang, your whole family is blessed. The elder brother sits high in Xuantian, and the younger is a Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearer. Good news, truly wonderful news!"

Jiang Dezhao blushed and lowered his head. What wisdom for the Dao did he have? His elder brother was far too skillful with words.

Father and Mother Jiang also replied modestly that it was only thanks to the blessings of the great figures of Xuantian that the Jiang Household had been fortunate enough to set foot on the immortal path.

After everyone in the living room had exchanged pleasantries for a while, Jiang Wangxuan finally brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"I hope you won't laugh at me, Director Ma. I haven't been cultivating for long, and I don't know much about Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers. From what I know, the Horn Wood lineage doesn't seem simple?"

"Fellow Daoist, you're too modest. Having such cultivation at your age puts the rest of us to shame. I, Old Ma, have lived a few more years than you, so today I'll shamelessly show off my shallow learning before you."

"First, the Horn Wood lineage. Here in Qinghuan, we have a Xuantian called Juyu Heaven. It's a reclusive Xuantian, and its master sits upon the Horn Wood fruition rank. Juyu Heaven also governs an academy in the north, called the Academy of Agricultural Sciences."

"The Horn Wood path can initially be summed up in three words: spring resides in the horn. It is wood that sustains life and propagation. It governs growth and vitality, the conception of offspring and the nourishment of all things. It is an utterly orthodox immortal path."

This was the first time Jiang Wangxuan had heard of a reclusive Xuantian. And the words "spring resides in the horn" carried no small weight: it presided over spring among the four seasons.

"That the Jiang Household's little brother obtained such an opportunity upon receiving a Spirit Root implant is also why I hurried over. Transmissions of the Horn Wood path are scarce in the outside world. Whenever one appears, it must be reported to Juyu Heaven."

"Now, as for Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers, to tell the truth, they're not only rare, but there's no pattern to them. I should make one thing clear, fellow Daoist: rarity doesn't mean a promising future. Of the few Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers I know of, practically none reached Qi Refinement."

These words made Jiang Wangxuan even more curious, and the big fat fish perked up as well.

Ma Chongyun then posed a question. "Fellow Daoist, do you know how the ancient cultivators practiced in High Antiquity, when the immortal path was flourishing?"

"Qi Ingestion?"

"Mm! You've read quite a few ancient texts, fellow Daoist."

Director Ma sighed. "In High Antiquity, cultivators followed the Dao of Qi Ingestion and Nurturing Nature. Back then, they didn't speak of Spirit Apertures at all. A cultivator would find a place blessed with good feng shui and sit down, proceeding from sensing Qi and gathering Qi to obtaining Qi. That was how the earliest immortal path was cultivated, through sensing Qi."

"But this Qi wasn't the same as our present-day Qi Refinement realm. Back then, it was normal for Qi Refiners to cultivate bitterly their entire lives without obtaining Qi. Only those with exceptional talent had a chance of obtaining it. Anything less wouldn't do."

At that, understanding dawned on Jiang Wangxuan. So this was the origin of Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers.

If ordinary cultivators followed the path of Qi Ingestion and Nurturing Nature, they might spend their entire lives sitting in their cave abodes and end up without a trace of Law Power. Qi Ingestion! Qi Ingestion! The Qi they ingested was no simple Qi.

Jiang Wangxuan thought of the silver-white moon disk in his Qi sea, formed from the most primordial moonlight, and his thoughts instantly cleared. What the Qi Refinement practitioners of old sought was "truth"!

Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers were easy to understand, then. Since cultivators couldn't obtain "Qi," they might as well take an unorthodox path, implanting a Spirit Root and using intense external stimulation to obtain a strand of Spiritual Qi, then using that strand as a medium to seek "Qi."

"Seen that way, Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers and traditional Spirit Root bearers follow two completely opposite paths."

Jiang Wangxuan seemed to have gained some understanding.

Director Ma clapped his hands in praise. "You grasped it as soon as I mentioned it, fellow Daoist. Traditional Spirit Root bearers follow the Spirit Aperture approach, using Spirit Roots to imitate Spirit Apertures, absorbing external Spiritual Qi to condense Spirit Wheels. Spirit Apertures themselves were an evolution of the Dao of Qi Ingestion and Nurturing Nature."

"Although Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers also condense Spirit Wheels, their Spirit Roots serve a different purpose. Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers have a natural affinity for wood. Once implanted, the Spirit Root becomes a 'tool' that lets the recipient sense external Spiritual Qi, and its ability to absorb Spiritual Qi is greatly diminished."

Jiang Wangxuan's eyes lit up. "But if the recipient has a talent for Qi Ingestion, they can use the Spirit Root to gather Qi, and the Spirit Wheel they condense becomes a means of gathering Qi as well. The ultimate goal is to gather that 'Qi' they seek but cannot obtain."

Director Ma shook his head. "Many of the great figures at Everlasting Protection have ideas about Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers, but if you truly look at it from the perspective of Qi Ingestion, it's ultimately a side door and a crooked path. Once you've gone astray from the start, how hard is it to get back onto the proper path?"

To the other three people in the living room, it was like listening to a heavenly book. They couldn't understand a word.

Director Ma grew more animated as they talked. It was rare to meet someone with shared interests and sit down to discuss the Dao. The subject of Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearers was still too obscure, and there were far too few juniors who could see at a glance that it was really an approach to Qi Ingestion.

The two of them were enjoying themselves, chatting merrily over tea, while the large group outside the Jiang Household's door stared blankly at one another. Director Ma's subordinates, who had followed him upstairs, heard the hearty laughter of their usually stern, unsmiling director and didn't know what to make of it.

They all wondered whether Director Ma had suffered some kind of shock today.

Then there were the three leading figures of Luzhou, who had come upstairs later. By now, they had learned the identity of the director who had arrived through the air. To their surprise, he was the purchasing director of the Hengbao Group in Luyu Port.

Purchasing department-those who knew understood how much power that position held. Even an ordinary Foundation Establishment expert probably couldn't hold that seat securely. Director Ma had a formidable background.

"Oh! I forgot to ask!"

Director Ma suddenly slapped his forehead. "Which professor at Lüyu is your mentor, fellow Daoist? I've been in Luyu Port for many years, and I know quite a few professors and lecturers at Luyu University!"

Jiang Wangxuan smiled sheepishly. "I've only been enrolled for a few years. The university assigned me a teaching assistant to help me cultivate."

"Only a teaching assistant?" Director Ma found it inconceivable.

Students at Luyu University spent six years as undergraduates. After graduation, those selected as Foundation Establishment prospects would enter a mentor's tutelage, some taken on by lecturers and others by professors.

The man before him cultivated Clear Water and was at the Late Qi Refining Stage. Blue-green true essence wandered around him from time to time, sometimes condensing like ink and sometimes dispersing into a clear rain. One could even call this the manifestation of Qi Refinement Perfection.

Was Luyu University so short of teaching staff now? They'd assigned him only a teaching assistant? For talent like this at such an age, if Lüyu didn't want to nurture him, their Hengbao Group had no shortage of Tongbao.

Could this trip turn out to be a win-win? He needed to ask in more detail.

"Oh! I didn't know that. May I ask which teaching assistant at Lüyu is yours, fellow Daoist?"

"My teaching assistant's surname is Lin, and his name is Tongjiang. He treats me very well."

Ma Chongyun's hand shook on the spot, nearly spilling his tea. What? Who? Lin Tongjiang?

True Person Chonghuan's first disciple, a great cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage of Kan water, who had come out of Yuanhuai Heaven six years ago to take charge of academic affairs. He'd heard it was also because...

Director Ma shuddered, as if he had thought of something. Looking again at the fellow Daoist before him, he saw that the Clear Water true essence was still surging, but a wisp of frost Qi had appeared within it, and faint moonlight lay over the churning Clear Water true essence.

Ma Chongyun could no longer keep his mouth from curling up and began to smile involuntarily. He raised a trembling finger. "You really are a remarkable man, fellow Daoist. Good! I'll make the decision on your little brother's matter today. One price: one million Tongbao, through the Great Qian Central Bank."

"Before Qi Refinement?"

Director Ma slapped the table grandly. "If the Jiang Household's little brother has the good fortune to reach Qi Refinement, we'll draw up a separate agreement afterward. Our Everlasting Protection will also provide the Spiritual Qi required by the Horn Wood lineage."

"Director Ma, it's a deal! Just call me Wangxuan from now on. I'll have to rely on you to look after my little brother in the future."

Director Ma seized Jiang Wangxuan's outstretched hand, gripping it tightly. "Fellow Daoist Jiang, you really keep your talents hidden. This trip was more than worth it for me. Fellow Daoist, we have a long road ahead of us."

After the two reached an amicable agreement, Director Ma left the Jiang home carrying the bananas and apples Mrs. Wang had insisted on pressing into his hands.

The people by the stairwell watched as Director Ma and the Jiang Household parents went back and forth at the door for quite a while before he finally managed to take his leave.

Ma Chongyun, who had just been all smiles, turned around and looked sternly at his subordinates. "One million Tongbao before Qi Refinement. Draft the contract tonight, and once it's signed first thing tomorrow morning, return to Luyu Port and file the report."

"Don't ask any questions, and don't go making inquiries. Strictly observe the group's confidentiality agreement. I'll explain the rest to the group. Do as I say, and make no mistakes."

"Yes, Director!"

Ma Chongyun then turned to the three local leaders. "Which one of you is Assistant Prefect Tan?"

Assistant Prefect Tan, who had waited anxiously all day, finally found his chance to step forward. He hurried over and bowed, awaiting orders. "Director Ma, that would be me."

"Get three apartments in this residential complex ready. In a few days, a working group from the Hengbao Group will move in. You local officials need to put extra care into the corresponding logistical support. Your city's Spirit Root quota next year will depend on how well you do your work!"

At these words, all three leaders were overjoyed. Every year, the Hengbao Group gave the cities under it a quota of free Spirit Roots to distribute.

To put it bluntly, these quotas were the lifeblood of the local administration. If you could secure even one more, moving up half a rank would be easy.

Assistant Prefect Tan was even more ecstatic. The Jiang Household really does bring me good fortune.

Director Ma then went downstairs and left amid everyone's compliments. He even took an apple from the bag and bit into it. "What a bargain! So sweet!"

Naturally, the subordinates behind him couldn't understand why the normal quota of 500,000 Tongbao for a Wood Virtue Spirit Root bearer had been doubled today, yet Director Ma looked as though he had picked up a million Tongbao.

Many people in Luzhou were destined to lie awake that night. The one-million-Tongbao quota announced by Director Ma himself had sent the city into an uproar.

The third one. This was the third in the Jiang Household. Was there really nothing unusual about their bloodline? Why did all the good things come running to the Jiang Household?

Prefect Yang returned to his office very late. As soon as he entered, his secretary told him that the elders of his family had sent word earlier, instructing him to cooperate fully. The Jiang Household's rise could not be stopped, and he was not to entertain thoughts he shouldn't.

The prefect said nothing and gave no instructions.

At the old Wang family residence in the west of the city, things had grown increasingly quiet since the family's old ancestor passed away. Fortunately, this generation had produced a talented Spirit Root bearer who had reached the second layer of Embryonic Breathing after only two years of cultivation.

Wang Ziying, a daughter of the Wang family, knelt beside her father. The family head, Old Master Wang, read the intelligence report that had just arrived over and over again.

One million Tongbao weighed down on the little courtyard until it could scarcely breathe. It wasn't that the Wang family couldn't produce that many Tongbao, but the power behind it was far too frightening.

A fourteen-year-old ordinary person who had received a Spirit Root implant two years late had actually prompted Director Ma from the Hengbao Group in Luyu Port to offer such a high price.

When had Spirit Root bearers become so valuable?

Old Master Wang sighed. "Ziying, this matter will be difficult for you now!"

The Wang family's daughter lowered her head, her face grave. Her own father had personally broached the subject of marriage a few days ago. Who could have imagined that the Jiang Household's second son would have such a fortuitous opportunity?

In truth, Wang Ziying had been less than willing to marry into the Jiang Household. She had always felt she had more options.

Ah, the affairs of the world are ever-changing!