Fire Dragon's Invitation

"Ah, Lord Shan is injured!" Kang Dabao was very nervous after hearing the news brought back by the Daoist Black Shoes, after all, Lord Yin Shan was of extraordinary significance to the cultivators of Cloud Horn Prefecture.

When he rushed back to the Chongming Sect Double Brightness Trade Market, the Daoist Black Shoes was playing chess with Pei Yi, who sounded somewhat fearful.

"Yes, Song Xueqiao's Daoist skills are formidable. If it weren't for the Marquis of Earl of Nan'an sending a physician from the imperial clan to him and using precious elixirs and secret medicines, the Lord Shan would probably be in danger."

Lord Shan, the old man was blessed; before I returned from the prefectural court, he had already escaped danger and was out of danger. Young Qin is there keeping watch day and night, so you don't need to worry about him anymore."

"That's good," Kang Dabao finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he heard the Daoist Black Shoes say again, "Chen Ye was taken back by the Two Instruments Sect, but Kuang Liuting didn't react at all, which is not normal."

Given his temperament, he should have already unleashed a tantrum. Therefore, I suspect the state court is about to take some major action. I asked Ye Zhen on my way back from the state court, but he couldn't say for sure either. You should be careful."

"Yes," Sect Leader Kang Da replied respectfully.

"There's another matter. Because of the early establishment of the New Cloud Alliance, both the Book and Sword Gate and the Zi Maple Valley had a Foundation Establishment perish. Ye Zhen told me that the state court, in order to appease the people, bestowed a Foundation Establishment Pill upon each of the two sects."

Compared to when he mentioned the Lord Shan's injuries, the Daoist Black Shoes spoke of the matter in a very casual manner, glancing at the chessboard as he placed another piece, his tone completely unwavering, as if he were discussing some mundane family matter.

Kang Dabao had heard about this matter from the Daoist Black Shoes, but he didn't know if it was true or not. Now that he heard the Daoist Black Shoes say it himself, he naturally couldn't help but believe it.

As soon as the Daoist Black Shoes finished speaking, a look of envy immediately appeared on the round face of the Sect Leader Kang Da: "Lord, you are very generous this time. When I first heard this news, I thought it was just idle talk, but I didn't expect it to actually be true!"

For a rural place like Cloud Horn Prefecture, the Foundation Establishment Pill is truly a treasure.

If an ordinary Qi Refinement Lineage obtains one, they will have the opportunity to defy fate; even if Foundation Establishment family obtains one, they may be able to preserve their wealth and status for the next one or two hundred years.

Since both families have each obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill, it is likely that they have no shortage of Qi Refinement Ninth Layer cultivators who are eager to Foundation Establishment. Given time, there is a good chance that another Foundation Establishment will emerge.

"I suppose I'll have to give gifts again soon." This was the first thing Sect Leader Kang Da thought about, before he realized that the matter was both good and bad.

Although this incident will likely make the heads of each family work even harder for the state court, since the state court is indeed willing to provide compensation if the Foundation Establishment of the family is True Cultivator or injured, this is what each family cares about most.

But, to put it bluntly, how many high-level Qi Refinement cultivators secretly wish for their elders to "die in service to the king"?

"Foundation Establishment Pill are only rare in impoverished places like Cloud Horn Prefecture. They're not particularly rare even among prominent families in the capital region. It's not surprising that Kuang Liuting has the means to produce them."

The Daoist Black Shoes looked down on the spineless appearance of Sect Leader Kang Da and casually placed another piece, causing Pei Yi, who was sitting opposite him, to furrow his brows even more.

Pei Yi glanced at the chessboard again, his brows furrowing even more, and cold sweat gradually beaded on his forehead.

He secretly thought to himself, "No wonder this senior in Black Shoes favors my sect leader so much. Judging from their chess skills, they are like kindred spirits, like Bo Ya and Zi Qi."

"What my uncle says is true, but this is always a good thing for our New Cloud Alliance." Since he was working for someone, Kang Dabao naturally hoped that his boss would be as generous as possible.

He then spoke again, saying, "There's something else. Fellow Daoist Han came again earlier. Perhaps he's already heard some news from outside that our master has emerged from seclusion, so he came to bother me, saying that he still wants to pay his respects to our master."

"I can't be bothered to see him," the Daoist Black Shoes, waving his hand dismissively. "Have him pass on a message to those people from Hemu Dao: my name is useful, but the karmic consequences are unbearable. Tell them to behave themselves."

"Yes, yes, yes," Daoist Black Shoes Sect Leader Kang Da replied, his face beaming with joy, and the slight unease in his heart vanished.

Leaving behind the distressed Pei Yi and the intrigued Daoist Black Shoes, Kang Dabao had barely stepped out of the meditation room when he saw the anxiously waiting cultivator surnamed Han guarding the door.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Sect Leader Kang Da relayed the Daoist Black Shoes's words in a more amicable manner, it provoked the cultivator surnamed Han to jump up.

"Mr. Kang, that's really what my martial uncle said! Don't try to fool me. You should know that I am the proper martial uncle's nephew." The cultivator surnamed Han had a tacit understanding with Kang Dabao when they divided the Grass Witch Cult scriptures last time. The two had some relationship before that, and they had recently enjoyed drinking and getting along very well at several banquets.

Even so, after several attempts to see the Daoist Black Shoes, the cultivator surnamed Han finally broke down in his defenses.

This is terrible! Heaven have mercy!

Hemu Dao started from a dilapidated Daoist temple, and it took three or four generations to finally produce a Foundation Establishment. What kind of person stays at someone else's house every day?

The other Foundation Establishment forces in the New Cloud Alliance are now expanding their territories outside, taking advantage of Daoist Black Shoes's fierce achievements!

My own Hemu Dao has a bunch of people waiting to go out and bully men—bah, to bring glory to our family! But without a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator to back them up, they're always on edge. How can they do that?

"Well, I dare not lock the door. Since Fellow Daoist Han is Uncle Black Shoes's own nephew, then I dare not stop you. Please go ahead." The sect Sect Leader Kang Da, who came from a peddler background, was used to seeing cultivators act helplessly and had plenty of ways to deal with it.

"You! You!" The cultivator surnamed Han glanced at the door, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't have the courage to push it open. He stomped his foot, turned his sleeves, and left.

Kang Dabao followed him to the outside of the mountain gate and watched him leave.

"Good heavens, this guy can even use a flying boat!" Sect Leader Kang Da exclaimed in surprise.

After all, although Chongming Sect currently has two flying boats at its disposal, one of them is of inferior quality and was "borrowed" from Luo Heng, the Pingrong County; the other flying boat, which is of the Spirit Artifact level, was temporarily lent to them by Daoist Black Shoes.

To be honest, despite the seemingly prosperous and flourishing state of the Chongming Sect in recent years, it would have been quite difficult for him to use public funds to purchase a flying boat for his own use.

Among all the fellow disciples, only Ye Zhengwen, a wealthy man who had earned a lot of Spirit Stone in his early years through the Spirit Mirror, managed to buy a dilapidated flying boat at a bargain price. After having it extensively repaired, it was barely usable.

Seeing that the cultivator surnamed Han could afford a brand-new flying boat all by himself without using public resources for private purposes or relying on his elders, Kang Dabao was truly astonished.

No wonder Uncle Black Shoes doesn't want to talk to you. You've exploited so much power these days. Even if you, surnamed Han, earned it yourself, you wouldn't be able to afford it in your next life!

Turning back, the Daoist Black Shoes had just won a narrow victory and was in high spirits when he saw Kang Dabao return. He casually tossed out a gold-threaded Storage Bag that looked quite high-end.

"Take this. I just happened to kill some clueless random Foundation Establishment on the way. I don't need these."

"Yes." Kang Dabao's round face instantly broke into a smile.

"Don't be fixated on external things; cultivation is the foundation." The Daoist Black Shoes shook his head with a hint of helplessness, gave another word of advice, and then drifted away.

Seeing the Daoist Black Shoes leave, Kang Dabao sighed as well, thinking to himself, "Why did my uncle leave so early this time? I was hoping to ask him to stop by Double Brightness Trade Market and kill the Fire Dragon Daoist first. Oh well, killing Foundation Establishment cultivator is something I need to think about more carefully."

Seeing the Daoist Black Shoes leave, Pei Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to resolve to cripple the art of chess, he saw Sect Leader Kang Da happily sit down in the Daoist Black Shoes's previous seat. "Junior brother, come, let me give you some more pointers."

Pei Yi was taken aback, then turned his head away: "(Swearing)"

---- Double Brightness Trade Market

Yuan Jin finished his patrol as usual, removed his French armor, and returned to the Bad Commander Temple to rest.

He had his three meals a day brought to him by Ye Pingshui from the Chongming Small Pavilion. This honest boy was a bit dull, but he was very filial to his master Yuan Jin.

In Yuan Jin's own words, "Even my own son wouldn't be so filial."

Yuan Jin has been in a bad mood lately. The Immortal Ascension Assembly has just ended this year, and his youngest son, Yuan Ruyi, is a person without Spirit Root.

The child didn't realize anything was wrong until he cried all night while being held by his two mothers. Only then did he realize something was amiss and he became depressed as well.

With his son and wife both unhappy, Yuan Jin, the head of the household, was naturally even less happy.

Although he had come up with a reasoning on the day Yuan Changsheng tested his spiritual power—that "being a wealthy man is not necessarily worse than being an ascetic monk"—to convince himself, how could Yuan Jin not be heartbroken to see his beloved youngest son unable to embark on the path of seeking immortality?

He was Qi Buxiu, who had dozens of descendants and couldn't possibly grieve over them all.

In addition, Chongming Sect has also had bad luck this year. Originally, the mortal villages that were under the jurisdiction of the Ye Household were also included in the Chongming Sect's selection scope, but they still failed to find any.

This also led Sect Leader Kang Da, who had always preferred to hold ancestral rites in the dining hall, to make some changes.

During this year's Longevity Festival, the entire sect donned brand-new Daoist robes in the sect's style and stood solemnly before the Ancestral Hall to perform the sacrificial ceremony.

Whether this excitement will ultimately be effective remains to be seen, depending on next year's harvest.

If next year's harvest is still not good, given the pragmatic and resolute nature of Sect Leader Kang Da, he will most likely bring the ancestral worship ceremony back to the kitchen table.

After dinner, Yuan Jin silently praised Jin Shilun's increasingly excellent cooking skills, and then tested Ye Pingshui on today's lessons.

Although Ye Pingshui was an honest boy like Duan Anle, he was somewhat different from the latter. Duan Anle was honest but also had inner wisdom and was actually a smart person, while Ye Pingshui was genuinely stupid and would often make Yuan Jin so angry that he would hit him on the head.

Ye Pingshui didn't practice the "Water Source Scripture," a Desolate-Tier Middle-Grade in the Ye Household, very well. Yuan Jin thought that the Chongming Sect had recently acquired many excellent Cultivation Method, and Ye Pingshui level was also shallow, so it would be better for him to disperse his cultivation and start over as soon as possible.

After trying many high-level Ye Pingshui Cultivation Method success, Yuan Jin had no choice but to choose a Desolate-Tier Lower-Grade Savage Ox Scripture for him to practice.

With his simple and honest nature, coupled with his previous accumulated skills, Ye Pingshui progressed quite quickly, and he was about to break through to the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer. Yuan Jin was quite satisfied with this, at least his realm had improved, which was better than when he was stuck at the first or second level of Qi Refinement for several years without making any progress.

After testing Ye Pingshui's lessons, Yuan Jin was quite satisfied. Although the child was a bit slow, he was not one to slack off.

Even after the exam Ye Pingshui still couldn't rest. In the evening, Yuan Jin assigned him weapon-training exercises, and he could only go to sleep after finishing them.

Don't think it's too hard. To have a teacher who is dedicated to teaching you, to be able to cultivate in peace, and not to worry about where to find Spirit Stone and Spiritual Qi tomorrow—this is a situation that many cultivators can only dream of and cannot hope to achieve.

If a practitioner is unwilling to endure even the hardships of cultivation itself, then they can be considered to have cut off their own Dao Path enlightenment.

If that's the case, there's no need to eke out a living in the cultivation world. You can simply find a random manor to be a patron and live a carefree life. As long as you're not killed by any wandering cultivators who come looking for you, you'll enjoy nearly a hundred years of wealth and honor.

There are many talented and virtuous people in this world. After decades of cultivation, they may have Foundation Establishment and Core Formation. However, it is not uncommon for geniuses to die halfway through their cultivation or live to a ripe old age of less than sixty years. They are not as good as those mediocre people who live longer.

It's hard for anyone to say which path is better or how to choose.

After leaving the official temple, Yuan Jin, still wearing his French armor, came over to investigate the sentry post where Han Yundao and Pei Que were located.

Although the two had not yet completed the task of eliminating the Bandit Cultivator, they had discovered a cultivator's cave abode with Xie Liusheng, which greatly benefited Yuan Jin and Chongming Sect, and they had thus gained a lot of Merit Points.

Chongming Small Pavilion is the second sect warehouse of the Chongming Sect. The two of them exchanged a lot of suitable pills with Zhou Xinran, which made their cultivation much smoother.

Yuan Jin had heard about this and wanted to go over specifically to give him some instructions.

Elixirs are certainly a good thing; often, just one elixir the size of a fingertip can save a cultivator months or even years of hard work.

However, everything in excess is bad; relying too much on elixirs is not a good thing.

In particular, the Chongming Sect is still relatively weak, and the pills distributed to its disciples and those purchased by the disciples themselves are mostly not high-grade. If they are used too much, the excessive accumulation of toxicity in the body may affect their future Dao Path, resulting in a loss that outweighs the gain.

Sect Leader Kang Da had of course spoken these principles to his disciples, but Yuan Jin was still worried that his two junior disciples might go astray due to their weak will, so he came along to give them some advice, which was always better than nothing.

As soon as Yuan Jin left the official temple, he encountered the Fire Dragon Daoist was out for a stroll.

This True Cultivator Foundation Establishment, who came from Black Ghost Bandits background, has been feeling quite frustrated lately. Deng Baichuan, with the Acting Sima Gun as his backer, truly has no respect for him whatsoever.

Kang Dabao always had a smile on his face whenever he saw the Fire Dragon Daoist, but he himself was just a seal that could be manipulated by others.

Once outside that Chongming Small Pavilion, even the Sect Leader Kang Da couldn't necessarily dictate the major or minor affairs of this market. As for Fire Dragon Daoist, aside from gaining some respect, he was practically useless.

The old scoundrel's eyes lit up when he saw Yuan Jin, and he said with a smile, "Young Yuan, where are you headed?!"

The fact that Kang Dabao and Ye Zhengwen were almost killed by the Fire Dragon Daoist back then is something that Sect Leader Kang Da will naturally keep secret, not wanting others to know. But Yuan Jin will definitely not be among those he keeps quiet about.

Seeing this old scoundrel speak to his face, Yuan Jin was furious, but he replied warmly, "Senior Fire Dragon, this junior is just about to inspect a few sentry posts."

"How boring! I overheard some idlers at your tavern talking about a rather interesting place. Why don't you come with me?"

Thanks to Brother Wang Chengtie for the Extended Net Moon.

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