Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

While everyone was happy, Shen Lian sighed. Regardless of Qing Xuan’s emphasis on ‘before cultivating one’s behavior, one must first cultivate one’s heart’, only a small number of disciples could persevere and work on their moral nature. Even then, most of them did not manage to even get past the stage of Huandan – just as Qi Sanwen back then.

“I can activate the Heavenly Cauldron, but there has not been any development in the sect in the past few hundred years. Most of the spiritual materials have been used, and with what we have left in the sect, it is definitely not enough for the forging of treasure. Any of you have any good idea?”

His words sparked discussion. Since the incident with Yanxu, Zhang Ruoxu had emphasized on recuperating. There were not a lot of disciples who traveled around the world. What they needed for their cultivation process, they could get it from within the sect. It would have been fine if it was just any normal supplies, as those were easy to procure. However, some spiritual materials were rare and precious. After it was used, it was not replenished.

Despite that Qing Xuan was in a slump, there were still two to three hundred cultivators on the mountains. Putting aside the fact that they had been tapping into the Qi of heaven and earth over the past few hundred years, they used a considerable amount of spiritual materials. There were not a lot of power characters, and hence there were not a lot of people who contributed. Hence, some of the rarer and more precious spiritual material faced greater demand than supply.

Someone suggested, “Chief, you have attained immortality and could gather your Qi of vitality within seconds. I heard that Xuantong Demon King of the seas has introduced Yiyuan Elixir as the currency for the cultivation realm beyond the seas, and one could buy spiritual materials with it. Yiyuan Elixirs are made out of Qi of vitality. The Five Peaks of Qing Xuan derived from the lingering charms of Yuan Continent; the spiritual vigor is abundant, and the Qi of vitality is dense. It would be easy to produce Yiyuan Elixir from this. Why don’t Chief perform a great technique to mass produce Yiyuan Elixir, and we could exchange for the spiritual materials that we need at the celestial market.”

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this. Despite that, they entertained the thought of it, but they were too embarrassed to say something like that.

However, everyone looked at Shen Lian, quietly hoping that he would say yes.

After all, an immortal Zhenren was also known as a land immortal, Dixian; even though not as prestigious as a heavenly immortal, Tian Xian, but they could be considered as one of the holy deities. It would not be a lot of effort for them to create something like that.

Shen Lian was not angered by the suggestion. The person who suggested was descendant of one of the elders, and the elders had contributed greatly to the sect. Hence, the person had received a lot of help from other elders. His process of cultivation had always been smooth, which was why he had the guts to say what he did.

This was one of the downfalls of the upper house of Qing Xuan. Those who managed to attain something in their cultivation were not devoid of feelings and desires. Hence, if those they had blood ties with proved suitable to cultivate Dao, they would take care of them somehow, just as how Shen Lian himself had brought Ruoxi into the sect.

Hence, the moral nature of the disciples from the upper house was not satisfactory due to the environment they were in.

However, due to the great and conducive environment and the sheer number of disciples, there were quite a few of them who achieved something. These people were in their own cliques and formed a considerable influence in Qing Xuan.

The good thing that came from the incident with Yanxu was that most of the cultivators who were related by blood died during that battle. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Shen Lian to take over the sect, and he would have faced great resistance.

Of course, this form of influence was nothing notable to an immortal Zhenren. This was why Qing Xuan was able to exist for generations without falling into the hands of a single family.

This was the main difference between Celestialism and the human realm. Celestialism was long and never-ending, and the power of an individual triumphed over that of a group. Cultivators focused on the cultivation of Qi and did not sire many children. Hence, the so-called family of celestial cultivation might not even have a successor most of the time.

After all, despite the chance of a genius being birthed in such family was higher than normal, but this was not comparable to the ten disciples that were taken into the lower house every fifty years. These were people who were blessed by fate and opportunity amidst the masses.

“Is this what all of you want? If so, I will grant your wish,” Shen Lian smiled.

Everyone did not expect Shen Lian to accept the request so readily, and everyone was at a loss for words for a moment.

Lu Shouyi spoke, “The movement of heaven is full of power, thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring; even if the Chief has made the necessary preparations for you all, would you all be able to feel good about it? If so, what is the point of meditating and cultivating Qi every day then? It is impossible for anyone with this kind of mentality to attain immortality and attain Dao. You are better off at the secular mortal world. Then, you might be able to take advantage of your Dao techniques and ascend to an influential position, such as that of a minister. Or better still, you could find an uncharted territory and build a kingdom there.”

He did not hold back with his words at all; most of the disciples were too ashamed to even raise their heads.

In comparison, there were over ten disciples who seemed at ease. It was clear that these people had never entertained such possibilities. Amongst them, six of them had entered into the mountain along with Shen Lian and Lu Shouyi. They were all at the state of Ruhua, and had reached the point of Huandan.

One of them was dressed in clothes fairer than snow, and he was remarkable amongst all the disciples. His name was Zhao Siming. There was some conflict between him and Lu Shouyi in the beginning.

Zhao Siming volunteered, “We are cultivating in the mountains, and even though it is pleasant to meditate and cultivate Qi every day, but mere discussion of Dao does not give us the training that we need. If the Headmaster were to forge treasures with great techniques, there is no way that we can just sit around and reap the benefits. Headmaster, may I seek your permission for us to go out of the mountain? I believe that if we put in the effort, it is possible to bring back rare treasures and materials from the vast world. Even if they were of no good to you, we can keep it in the treasury.”

Shen Lian looked at Zhao Siming approvingly, and Zhao Siming stood proudly in return.

“Just as Zhao Siming say then, I will allow for a three-year period for all of you to source for spiritual materials from the outside world. All of you can bring it back to the sect, and if you intend to contribute it, Elder Hong would record it as a meritorious deed under your name. However, when all of you are out seeing the world, the first thing that you must not do would be to announce your origin. If any of you have disobeyed this, I will definitely be able to find out when you are back,” Shen Lian replied.

“What if they have recognized us from our techniques?” Zhao Siming queried.

“That would be their problem, the point is that you must not rely on Qing Xuan’s reputation. Bear this in mind,” Shen Lian replied casually.

His words had caused the crowd to stir. It seemed that Shen Lian had agreed with Zhao Siming’s request.

If they could not rely on Qing Xuan’s reputation when they were out, they ran a high risk of losing their lives if they were to run into some vicious characters. Some of the disciples from the upper house were planning to just pass time in the sect. If life in the mountains got hard, they would just return to the secular mortal world and to take advantage of Qing Xuan’s reputation.

However, Shen Lian intended for them to head out and to search for treasures. Moreover, they could not rely on Qing Xuan’s reputation. It was very likely that they would have conflicts with other cultivators and ended up putting their lives at risk.

“Is this done on a voluntary basis?” Someone asked.

The person who posed the question was a disciple from the upper house. Their elders were people who had attained something in Qing Xuan. More importantly, most of the elders’ belongings were inherited by their descendants when they died during the incident with Yanxu. Thus, most of the disciples from the upper house had plenty of meritorious deeds. They did not have to worry about procuring common spiritual materials within three generations.

The intention behind his question was clear – he refused to take the risk.