It was already evening when Liang Yan returned to the dormitory. Sun and Li had both returned long ago. Sun Qianli was the same as ever, his door shut tight, snoring away in his room. Li Dali, however, was in the courtyard practicing his breathing techniques. Seeing Liang Yan return, he immediately stood up and said enthusiastically, "Brother Liang, you’ve finally returned! I was thinking that if you didn't come back soon, I would have gone out to look for you."
"Oh?" Liang Yan asked curiously, "May I ask what Brother Li needs me for?"
"Brother Liang, you haven't been in the sect long, so you probably don't know that tomorrow is the Dao-Propagation Assembly for us handyman disciples, right?"
Liang Yan frowned and asked, "Dao-Propagation Assembly?"
"Exactly. Although we handyman disciples aren't allowed to enter the Scripture Pavilion to read the sect's cultivation techniques and divine abilities, the sect sends a top-tier outer sect disciple every six months to propagate the Dao and resolve our doubts. This assembly is a massive opportunity for us. I was worried you might miss it out of ignorance, so I came specifically to tell you."
Liang Yan felt a warmth in his heart and said gratefully, "Many thanks for the heads-up, Brother Li."
Li Dali waved his hand and said, "You're too polite. We handyman disciples already have a very low status in the sect, and since there are only the three of us in the Array Branch, we must support one another. If you have any difficulties in the future, just tell your brother here; if I can help, I will never refuse."
Liang Yan thought to himself, "Although this Li Dali’s cultivation isn't high, he is warm-hearted and sincere. He is someone worth befriending." He smiled and said, "Brother Li is generous and forthright; I admire that. I will be sure to trouble you in the future."
The two smiled at each other. Li Dali added, "Actually, Brother Liang, you’re quite unlucky to have been assigned to this Array Branch. Back then, I only chose this godforsaken place because I had no other choice."
Liang Yan replied, "It’s actually fine. I like the quiet, so this place isn't bad."
"Brother Liang, you don't know this, but our sect's resource allocation is as follows: inner sect disciples get eight spirit stones and three Spirit Gathering Pills per month; outer sect disciples get three spirit stones and one Spirit Gathering Pill per month. As for us handyman disciples, we are actually entitled to one spirit stone per month and one Spirit Gathering Pill every six months."
"Oh? There’s such a thing? Then why have I never received—" Before he could finish, Liang Yan understood. "Could it be Wang Yuan?"
Li Dali glanced at him and nodded, saying, "It’s good that you know, Brother Liang. We handyman disciples have no status in the sect; even if we went to the Law Pavilion to complain, no one would necessarily pay us any mind. Furthermore, this Wang Yuan has a younger sister with excellent talent who was accepted as an outer sect disciple and now works in the Law Pavilion. We have no way of fighting him."
Liang Yan nodded in contemplation. He had the spirit stones the old monk gave him, plus the ones he had seized from Chen Chong and the others, totaling over three hundred. He wasn't lacking in spirit stones, but he knew that human hearts were unpredictable. He had to be cautious and never reveal his wealth.
Seeing him bow his head in silence, Li Dali assumed he was feeling depressed and tried to comfort him: "Brother Liang, there is no need to be so discouraged. You must know that the path to immortality is difficult to foresee; we are attempting to cultivate against the heavens, which is inherently extremely hard. Working in the sect is still better than being a commoner in the secular world, where some go hungry and others are ravaged by war, living day to day. Even if our cultivation is low, we can stay in this treasure land of spiritual energy—it is truly a blessing from the sect. To live for a hundred years, free of illness and pain, and pass away peacefully—that is the dream of countless mortals."
Liang Yan smiled nonchalantly and said, "Brother Li is very insightful." He had great ambitions and the burden of his father's murder to avenge; he had never intended to live out his life in mediocrity here. Thus, he did not wish to discuss this topic further with Li Dali. After a few brief words, he returned to his room to rest.
The next morning, Liang Yan pushed open his door and found Sun and Li already waiting in the courtyard. Sun Qianli glanced at him and said impatiently, "Everyone is here. Can we leave now?"
Li Dali gave a simple, honest smile. "Let's go. The three of us will go together."
Sun and Li led the way, with Liang Yan following closely behind. After walking for nearly half a day, they arrived before a lush green mountain peak near noon. At the foot of the mountain stood a stone tablet engraved with the three characters: "Xuanji Peak." They climbed the stairs; the peak was low, and they reached the summit shortly after. A massive white jade plaza appeared before Liang Yan's eyes.
The white jade plaza was several dozen zhang in diameter and square in shape. At its four corners stood four jade statues: a young man holding a brush, a woman playing a zither, a middle-aged man holding a scroll, and an old man contemplating a chessboard. In the center of the plaza were hundreds of meditation cushions, most of which were already occupied.
Liang Yan scanned the crowd. Most were at the second level of Qi Refining, with only a few at the third level, and almost none at the first. Although everyone wore similar grey robes, there were subtle differences. Some had a pill furnace embroidered on the chest, clearly disciples of the Pill Branch, while others had a talisman, marking them as Talisman Branch disciples. As for the three of them, their robes bore an octagonal array disc.
Liang Yan silently calculated that there were over eighty handyman disciples from the Pill Branch, about thirty from the Talisman Branch, and over fifty each for the Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting paths. Only their Array Branch was the smallest, with just the three of them.
Liang Yan gave a bitter smile and sat down on an empty cushion with Li Dali and Sun Qianli. Sitting next to them was a female disciple of the Zither path. Seeing the three of them sit down, she frowned, looked at them with clear disgust, and moved her cushion a few inches away.
Nearby, a few people whispered. A round-faced female disciple said, "See that? Those are the two biggest losers among the handyman disciples of our Yixing Pavilion. I heard they've been here for over three years and are still at the first level of Qi Refining."
Another female disciple with a sharp, mean-looking face chimed in, "Exactly. Although we handyman disciples have low status in the sect, the Yixing Pavilion is the number one sect in the Yue Kingdom. Even as handyman disciples, we are naturally a cut above the rogue cultivators outside. These two have poor talent and no drive; they aren't fit to be among us. They’re a disgrace to our reputation."
At this moment, a male disciple added, "That kid next to them looks unfamiliar. Is he a new handyman disciple from the Array Branch?"
"Hmph, birds of a feather flock together. Anyone hanging out with those two losers is naturally a loser too."
"Hahaha, Brother Liu is absolutely right!"
These people mocked the three from the Array Branch relentlessly, as if being born into the Zither path made them inherently noble and incomparable to the trio.
Although they didn't speak loudly, they didn't lower their voices either, and their words reached Liang Yan and the others clearly. Li Dali and Sun Qianli were both furious, but Liang Yan merely smiled, completely unbothered. He kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, sitting cross-legged in a state of calm, looking completely composed.
Just as the crowd was whispering, a scent of sandalwood drifted from afar, like an orchid in an empty valley, sweeping away the irritability in everyone's hearts. Soon after, a scholar walked up the mountain path. He wore a moon-white robe, a scholar's cap, a sword at his waist, and held an incense burner in his right hand, from which a red sandalwood stick was burning.
"He's here! That's Senior Brother Zhuo Bufan, one of the top three outer sect disciples. His cultivation has reached the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining. He is the one propagating the Dao today." The topic of conversation in the plaza shifted to the scholar who had suddenly appeared.
"He truly is a man of talent. I heard his uncle is one of the inner cabinet elders. With such strength and background, his future is limitless."
Some female disciples even looked infatuated, muttering to themselves, "Zhuo Bufan, Zhuo Bufan... truly extraordinary."
Zhuo Bufan took in the expressions of everyone in the plaza without a change in his expression. He leaped onto the lecture platform, set down the incense burner, and said, "Fellow junior brothers and sisters, I am Zhuo, and though I lack talent, I have the honor of being your propagator today. If you have any questions during the lecture, feel free to ask. I will tell you everything I know."
He then pointed to the incense burner beside him. "What I have brought is 'Spirit-Calming Incense.' It will help you in your enlightenment. Opportunities like this are hard to come by, so I hope you all cherish it."
"What? It's actually Spirit-Calming Incense!"
The crowd erupted in an uproar. Spirit-Calming Incense was a precious treasure that was not cheap; it had the effect of calming the mind and assisting in cultivation, providing significant help in breaking through bottlenecks and nourishing the soul. Let alone handyman disciples, even outer sect disciples rarely obtained a stick of it. To think Zhuo Bufan was willing to share it at a lecture!
The disciples were all excited and filled with admiration for Zhuo Bufan. An older handyman disciple from the Pill Branch coughed and said, "Senior Brother Zhuo’s cultivation and character are both peerless. We are in awe. Everyone, let's quiet down so we can respectfully listen to Senior Brother Zhuo propagate the Dao."
The plaza fell silent instantly. Zhuo Bufan nodded in satisfaction at the Pill Branch disciple and began to speak slowly: "Our cultivation as cultivators is an act against the heavens. The path is treacherous and can only be achieved by those with great perseverance. The path of cultivation is nothing more than refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit into emptiness; eventually, essence merges with qi, qi merges with spirit, and spirit is hidden in emptiness. Thus, all spirits in the world and the roots of all things are about refining qi and nourishing the spirit, progressing step by step..."
A gentle breeze blew, and the sandalwood smoke curled. On Xuanji Peak, Zhuo Bufan lectured while the crowd listened quietly. One could hear a pin drop. Over three hundred handyman disciples were mesmerized, and time passed without them noticing.
"...Therefore, refining qi requires regulating the heart. If the state of mind is unstable, there will be many dangers in future cultivation. If, during a breakthrough, inner demons invade, at best your cultivation will regress, and you will never make progress again; at worst, you will suffer a cultivation deviation and be doomed forever." By the time Zhuo Bufan reached this point, it was already dusk. The crowd finally snapped out of their trance, all feeling they had benefited immensely.
Even Liang Yan felt he had gained a lot. Although he had been taught by the old monk, most of it was urging him to memorize mantras and diligently practice the Dharma images; there hadn't been much elaboration on the basic knowledge of cultivation. This Senior Brother Zhuo’s lecture resolved many questions he had had about his own cultivation.
Someone asked, "If inner demons are so powerful, can we use methods like talisman cultivation to calm the soul and avoid them?"
The question came from a Chess path disciple. Zhuo Bufan shook his head and replied, "We cultivators should prioritize our own cultivation first. The higher the cultivation realm, the longer the lifespan and the greater the divine abilities. You are only at the second level of Qi Refining; your primary task is to improve your cultivation, not to consider these side paths." The Chess disciple nodded in shame and sat down.
Next, a tall man from the Pill Branch stood up, bowed, and asked, "Senior Brother Zhuo, after I reached the peak of the third level of Qi Refining, I clearly felt my cultivation stagnate and progress slowly. I am practicing the 'Taihe Lihuo Technique.' I don't know what went wrong; please enlighten me."
Zhuo Bufan smiled gently. "Actually, this is not a hurdle for Brother Tang alone. As I said before, a cultivator's path is against the heavens and is not tolerated by the world. There are three major hurdles in the Qi Refining stage: the first is breaking through from the peak of the third level to the fourth; the second is from the peak of the seventh level to the eighth; and the final hurdle is, naturally, breaking through from the peak of the ninth level to the final step: Foundation Establishment."
"The difficulty of the first two hurdles is similar. Those with slightly better aptitude can break through with diligent practice; those with poor aptitude may need the assistance of medicinal pills. As for the final hurdle, it is said to be as difficult as ascending to heaven. Only after Foundation Establishment can a cultivator be considered a true immortal cultivator. We Qi Refining cultivators are only slightly stronger than the top internal martial arts experts of the secular world."
"So that's how it is..." Many disciples at the third level of Qi Refining had looks of sudden realization.
At this moment, a beautiful female disciple from the Zither path suddenly asked, "I have long heard that Senior Brother Zhuo is peerless in both zither and sword, a dragon among men. Could this little sister have the honor of witnessing your zither and sword skills today?" She lowered her head, not daring to look at him, her face flushed with shyness, which only added to her charm.
As soon as she spoke, most of the female disciples echoed her, all wanting to see Zhuo Bufan's zither and sword skills. Zhuo Bufan frowned slightly, then relaxed and sighed, "Very well, I shall let you see."
(End of chapter)