Chongming Sect

"Damn it, if I'd taken that tonic to Linghe Market and sold it at a stall, I might have made three or five Spirit Stones. I still didn't think things through. How many Spirit Shards is face worth? Why did I have to act so generous?!"

On his way back to the sect, Kang Dabao was filled with regret. Looking at the empty space between the old donkey's hind legs, he wondered whether it could grow back so he could cut it off again.

"The five stalks of Heartless Grass were only First-Tier Lower-Grade, so that wasn't too bad. Together they cost just two Spirit Stones, but a single First-Tier Middle-Grade Serpent Flame Fruit cost eighty-six.

"Little Sanzi being a sword cultivator really costs a fortune. In a year, all the spirit medicines he needs add up to more than everyone else in the sect uses. If he still hasn't broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer by the end of the year, just watch this Daoist master break his legs.

"And this Qi Refining Powder: half a bottle, six pills, eight Spirit Stones. Hmm, exactly two pills apiece. Back when the old man was still around, we could get one every half month. Now that I'm sect master, I can only have a pill once every month or two for a taste of luxury. Who can I complain to about that?

"Sigh, I took a pile of junk over there and somehow couldn't sell a single thing. The five Spirit Shards for the stall went to feed the dogs again. Damn it, who would still dare go to Linghe Market these days? Adding it all up, a single trip cost nearly two hundred Spirit Stones?

"Blind Chen's pills have gone up fast, but even he can't match Widow Ma, who sells spirit rice. She dares ask three Spirit Shards for a sheng of it. With a monopoly on the business, she really does dare bare her teeth.

"Can't afford it, can't afford it. There's still some in stock at the sect. If worst comes to worst, we can slaughter this old donkey for meat and hold out a while longer.

"We'll buy more next spring. If the price still hasn't fallen, we'll look at other markets after that. This Daoist master refuses to believe the market wardens elsewhere have moved into widows' backsides too!

"But you know, hey, Widow Niu's backside really is-

"Ahem, ahem.

"Second Brother can finish his apprenticeship in another two years. After serving Master Qi for another two years, he'll be able to set up his own furnace and start forging. Artifact refining is a good trade. The four hundred Spirit Stones we scraped together for his tuition back then really weren't wasted.

"He's lived up to expectations too, finishing his apprenticeship in seven years. Once the Chongming Sect has an artifact refiner, who knows how much easier life will be for us brothers?

"By then, we can open a shop outside the mountain gate, and people will come even if we just sit there. At least we won't have to send the sect master to set up a stall in someone else's market every few days like we do now.

"If business prospers, our Chongming Sect can open a market too, even if it's a little smaller, even if we only charge one Spirit Shard per stall."

Kang Dabao daydreamed all the way back to the sect, arriving in the midafternoon.

It was called a sect, but in truth, it was far less imposing than the White Ram Monastery.

Kang Dabao drove the cart up to an unnamed hill and lightly formed a spiritual seal with his hand. Clouds of mist rose around the hill, then drifted away on the wind shortly afterward.

Kang Dabao frowned. Was this First-Tier Middle-Grade Lesser Cloud and Mist Formation broken? The mist grew thinner every day. If he'd known, he wouldn't have sold the Red Light Formation.

Speaking of which, that had been a losing deal too, and Elder Ma of Linghe Market's Wondrous Things Pavilion had swindled him out of quite a bit.

As the mist dispersed, a dilapidated stone archway stood at the foot of the hill, about two zhang tall.

The three large cloud-script characters for "Chongming Sect" on the archway could be called vigorous and powerful. At the lower left corner of the character for "sect" was a Daoist seal of a six-petaled green lotus, without vines or branches.

It had been left by Patriarch Zhang, who founded the sect, and was one of the few things in the Chongming Sect that its unworthy descendants had not yet squandered.

Kang Dabao drove the donkey cart beneath the archway. A green light passed over the jade thumb ring on his hand, and ripples flashed through the restriction beneath the arch, frightening the old donkey into quickly drawing in its neck.

Beyond the archway was a small courtyard. The most imposing building stood to the north: a two-bay hall with a hipped roof, used for sect deliberations.

Next came six single-story rooms with black-tiled roofs, arranged on either side. On the left were the kitchen, the scripture room, and the sect master's quarters; on the right were the pill hall, the discipline room, and the rewards and punishments room.

A little room in the center of the southern side housed the patriarchs. It had originally been intended to be built a little better, but there really hadn't been enough Spirit Stones.

Fortunately, there weren't many patriarchs, so although it was a little cramped, they could still fit. Kang Dabao thought he would renovate it before he himself was due to move in.

Six dormitory rooms stood on each side of the patriarchs' hall, most of them empty and few occupied.

A yellow jueshu tree grew in the middle of the courtyard. Beneath it was a blue-brick well, and beside the well stood two round gray-stone tables that came up to the waist.

A topaz chessboard was set into one tabletop, while blue silk covered the other. Each had four round gray-stone stools, giving the little courtyard a livelier, lived-in feel.

The Chongming Sect, which had once produced a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, had originally occupied a second-tier spiritual land in the Cold Crow Mountain Range called Little Ring Mountain.

It had lacked neither spiritual fields and medicine gardens nor waterside pavilions and towers, but it had been lost during the fourth sect master's time.

The fourth sect master had been forced to find (seize) a first-tier spiritual land to settle in, where the sect could still farm someone else's spiritual fields and medicine gardens and use the waterside pavilions and towers someone else had built.

But the good times did not last. The fifth sect master lost the spiritual land the fourth had found (seized), and gravely wounded and at death's door, could only trade it for this place.

This place was not even a First-Tier Lower-Grade spiritual land, the lowest kind, so cultivation naturally took twice the effort for half the result.

Thus Kang Dabao had grumbled inwardly about his master more than once. Whether the old man had done well not to lose the sect grounds left by the fifth sect master during his tenure, or whether this place was simply too run-down, was really hard to say.

"Hehe, Sect Master Senior Brother, you're back?" As soon as Kang Dabao entered the courtyard, a dark-skinned, plump man in Daoist robes came out of the kitchen to greet him, clutching a freshly slaughtered Colorful-Feathered Pheasant.

The man looked to be in his early thirties, with a square face, broad ears, and an honest expression. His short, thick, solid frame stretched his normally loose, flowing Daoist robes until they bulged.

"You went into the mountains alone again? How many times have I told you? Those desperadoes who gather herbs and hunt beasts may look impressive, but how many of them live to sixty with all their limbs intact?!

"When you have nothing to do, go back to Linghe Market and see Master Qi. Forge a few more low-grade Law Artifacts. If you're lucky, Master Qi might even reward you with a few Spirit Shards."

There was little joy on Kang Dabao's face. Although this Demon Beast was only First-Tier Lower-Grade, there was only a chance of finding one deeper in the Cold Crow Mountain Range.

First-Tier Middle-Grade and even high-grade Demon Beasts often appeared there, and his second junior brother, Yuan Jin, was only at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. The danger was by no means small.

"Hehe, how would I dare disobey you, Senior Brother? I didn't go. This chicken ran into something and killed itself outside the gate. I just picked it up." Yuan Jin still wore a guileless grin.

Kang Dabao spat. "Bullshit! Your hide's really gotten thick enough to ask for a beating! I can't be bothered with you. It'd be best if you died in the mountains. Then this Daoist master could save some money on spirit rice when he cooks!"

Yuan Jin took Kang Dabao's scolding without getting angry and said cheerfully, "Little Sanzi just came back too, covered in blood. Save some strength to scold him, Senior Brother."

"This Daoist master isn't going. Where in the world is there a rule that a senior brother has to go pay his respects to his junior brother as soon as he gets back?

"Remember, don't make a clear soup with this pheasant. Fry it first, then braise it with the red peppers we picked last time. You wastrel, how could you slaughter and eat something so good yourself?

"If you'd kept it until my next trip to the market, it would have sold for at least six or seven Spirit Stones!

"Don't throw the feathers away. Put them on the donkey cart. If we're lucky and run into some foolish young masters, we might sell them for a few Spirit Shards too."

One look at Yuan Jin's smile told him that the blood on Little Sanzi had to be someone else's, so what was there to see?

All he did was fight and brawl. He wouldn't listen even when told off, and one day he would suffer a great loss!

"I'll listen to you about that, Senior Brother. Yundao, Anle, and my two little brats will all be back tonight, so we'll eat together." Yuan Jin counted the people coming to dinner on his fingers.

Kang Dabao pursed his lips. "Eating with those little brats, will I even get a few bones? I'm done talking to you. I'm going to my room to sleep.

"Tie that old donkey to the tree and keep an eye on him. If he won't behave, slaughter him outright and we'll have another dish tonight."

"Right away. Huh? How did this donkey get gelded?"

"I'll tell you at dinner." Kang Dabao shut the door to the sect master's quarters and activated the soundproofing formation. Spiritual patterns rippled through the air, shutting out the sounds outside.

It was called the sect master's quarters, but the room was small and sparsely furnished.

A large carved pearwood bed occupied more than half the bluestone floor, and its lacquer was mottled beyond recognition.

In one corner stood a small table holding several scrolls of scripture, a horsetail whisk, a bottle, and a bowl.

Kang Dabao picked up a gold-threaded Daoist robe from the bed and changed into it. It was an heirloom of the Chongming Sect. If a sect master wore it out to sell goods, it would bring some shame on the ancestors.

Alas, the Chongming Sect of today did not have many other things left to lose.

After changing into the robe, he sat upright before the small table and picked up a scroll of Daoist scripture. Crossing his hands into a Taiji seal, he calmed his mind and began chanting in a low voice without stopping:

"Let one thing pass through the heart and emerge, and one thing is obtained in full; let all things pass through and emerge, and all things are obtained in full. Realize the Dao of emptiness and nothingness."

The sound of the scripture and incantation lingered in the air, lending the man chanting an indescribable air of serenity and devotion.

Only when his stomach grew hungry did Kang Dabao close the scripture, dismiss the formation, and push open the door. Moonlight already filled the courtyard.

Six men and two women were in the courtyard. The two women were dressed as married women and looked to be in their early twenties, with pleasing features and plain clothes.

They were standing beside the chess table, teaching two exquisitely lovely little boys to play. The boys, who were just beginning to learn, looked only two or three years old and were innocent and adorable.

From time to time, they said something in their childish voices, making the two women cover their smiles.

Yuan Jin stood in one corner of the courtyard, speaking softly about something with a young man in black. From time to time, he glanced at the two children learning chess, his eyes full of unconcealed parental affection.

In another corner were two somewhat older boys, who looked to be around ten. Lively and restless, they were gathered around the old donkey Kang Dabao had brought back.

Just as they reached out to touch the golden hair on the old donkey's back, the donkey drooped and gave a sneeze, startling them into retreat. They were both delighted and afraid.

Hearing Kang Dabao's door open, everyone in the courtyard looked over at once and then bowed. Kang Dabao smiled, nodded, and returned their greetings. It was the Longevity Festival, after all, and it was only lively when the whole family was together.

The two little boys came toddling over at a run, the two women watching over them, and each tugged at a corner of Kang Dabao's robe with a little hand.

"We want Sect Master Uncle to hold us." Kang Dabao scooped one up in each arm, so delighted that his little eyes squeezed shut.

The two women also came over to pay their respects. They were Yuan Jin's two wives, sisters surnamed Dong.

The elder sister was called Wanxi, and the younger was named Ningxin. Both were the treasured daughters of Pingrong County's education instructor.

Both little boys had been born to the younger sister alone. The elder was Changsheng and the younger Ruyi, and everyone in the sect doted on them.

The two boys who had been touching the donkey were the most irrepressible. When they saw Kang Dabao come out of his room, their delight showed plainly on their faces. They scratched their ears and cheeks in excitement, yet seemed a little at a loss.

They were both disciples Kang Dabao had recently taken in. The fairer and sturdier one was surnamed Han and named Yundao; the shorter, plumper one was surnamed Duan and named Anle.

Both were simple and honest by nature, and Kang Dabao had taken them in only a short time ago. Thus, although they felt close to him, they were still filled with awe, and without being spoken to, they dared not come too near.

Yuan Jin cheerfully led the young man in black over to Kang Dabao. The young man had a face like fine jade and an extraordinary bearing.

His surname was Jiang, and his given name was the single character Qing. He was Kang Dabao's third junior brother. Though only in his early twenties, he was already at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, and his Dao Path was who knew how much smoother than those of his two senior brothers.

With a child in each arm, Kang Dabao turned to look at his two junior brothers. Without saying much, he nodded. "Let's eat first. Third Brother, didn't you have something to discuss?"

A new author and a new book. I hope all you esteemed readers will leave plenty of comments. If you think it's a decent read, please cast a vote too. Thank you, everyone.