Chapter 13: Disciples of the Preacher

By the time Liang Yan returned to the dormitory, it was already evening. Sun and Li had long since returned as well. Sun Qianli was the same as always, with his door tightly shut, snoring loudly in his sleep, while Li Dali was in the courtyard practicing his cultivation and circulating his qi. Seeing Liang Yan return, he immediately stood up and said enthusiastically, "Brother Liang, you're finally back! I was thinking that if you didn't return soon, I'd have to go looking for you."

"Oh?" Liang Yan asked curiously, "May I ask what Brother Li was looking for me regarding?"

"Brother Liang is still a newcomer and might not know that tomorrow is the Preaching Assembly for us miscellaneous disciples, right?"

Liang Yan frowned and asked, "Preaching Assembly?"

"Exactly. Although we miscellaneous disciples cannot enter the Hall of Transmission to read the sect's cultivation methods and divine abilities, the sect sends one of the top outer disciples every six months to preach and resolve our doubts. This assembly is a massive opportunity for us. I was afraid you might miss it without knowing, so I came specifically to tell you."

Liang Yan felt a warmth in his heart and said gratefully, "Thank you for informing me, Brother Li."

Li Li waved his hand and said, "You're too polite. We miscellaneous disciples hold very low status in the sect, and there are only the three of us in the Array Vein, so we must support one another. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, just tell me. If I can help, I will never refuse."

Liang Yan thought to himself, *Although Li Dali's cultivation is not high, he is warm-hearted and a person worth befriending.* Thus, he smiled and said, "Brother Li is bold and straightforward; I admire you. I shall trouble you in the future then."

The two shared a smile, and Li Dali added, "Actually, Brother Liang, you're quite unlucky to have been assigned to this Array Vein. Back then, I was also forced to choose this godforsaken place."

Liang Yan replied, "It doesn't matter, really. I like peace and quiet, and this place isn't bad."

"You might not know, Brother Liang, but our sect's resource allocation is as follows: Inner disciples receive eight spirit stones and three Spirit Gathering Pills per month; outer disciples receive three spirit stones and one Spirit Gathering Pill per month; as for us miscellaneous disciples, we actually receive one spirit stone and one Spirit Gathering Pill every six months."

"Oh, is that so? Then why have I never received any?" Before he could finish, Liang Yan understood. "Could it be Wang Yuan?"

Li Li glanced at him and nodded. "It's good that you know. We miscellaneous disciples have no status in the sect; even if we complained to the Law Pavilion, no one might bother to listen. Furthermore, Wang Yuan has a younger sister with excellent talent who has been accepted as an outer disciple and is currently working in the Law Pavilion. We simply cannot compete with them."

Liang Yan nodded in thought. He had the spirit stones given by the old monk, plus the ones he had taken from Chen Chong and the others, totaling about three hundred stones. He wasn't short on spirit stones, but carrying such a large sum made him realize how unpredictable human nature could be; he had to be cautious and must never reveal his wealth.

Seeing him lowering his head in silence, Li Dali assumed he was depressed and tried to comfort him: "Brother Liang, there's no need to be so discouraged. You must realize that the path of immortality is uncertain. We are attempting to defy heaven through cultivation, which is inherently difficult. 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. Though our cultivation is low, we can stay in such a precious cultivation land rich in spiritual energy. We are truly blessed by the sect. To live for a hundred years, free of disease and pain, and to pass away peacefully—that is a dream for countless mortals."

Liang Yan gave a bright smile and said, "Brother Li, you see things very clearly." He possessed great ambitions and carried the vendetta of his father's murder; he had never intended to live a mediocre life here. Thus, he was unwilling to discuss such matters with Li Dali and only exchanged a few more words before returning to his room to rest.

The next morning, when Liang Yan pushed open his door, he found Sun and Li already waiting in the courtyard. Sun Qianli glanced at him and said impatiently, "Everyone is here. Can we set off now?"

Li Dali gave a simple-minded smile. "Let's go. The three of us will go together."

Thus, Sun and Li led the way, with Liang Yan following closely behind. After walking for about half a day, approaching noon, they arrived at a lush green mountain peak. At the foot of the mountain stood a stone monument engraved with the words "Xuanji Peak." The group climbed the steps; the peak was low, and before long, they reached the summit, where a massive white jade plaza appeared before Liang Yan's eyes.

The white jade plaza was dozens of feet square. 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 elderly man lost in thought before a chessboard. In the center of the plaza were hundreds of meditation mats, most of which were already occupied.

Liang Yan scanned the crowd. Most were at the second level of Qi Refinement, with a few at the third level, and almost none at the first level. Although everyone wore similar gray robes, there were differences in the details: some had a cauldron depicted on the chest of their outer garment, clearly disciples of the Alchemy Vein, while others had a talisman in the same position, clearly disciples of the Talisman Vein. As for the three of them, their clothes featured an eight-sided array disk.

Liang Yan calculated silently. There were actually over eighty miscellaneous disciples from the Alchemy Vein, and about thirty from the Talisman Vein. As for the four arts—zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—each had over fifty people. Only their Array Vein was the smallest, with only three people.

Liang Yan smiled bitterly to himself and followed Li Dali and Sun Qianli to sit on an empty mat. Sitting next to them was a female disciple of the Zither Path. Seeing the three of them sit down, she frowned deeply and gave them a look of profound disgust before shifting her mat a few inches away.

He could hear the whispers of those nearby. A round-faced female disciple said, "See that? Those are the two most useless people among our Yuxing Pavilion miscellaneous disciples. I heard they've been here for over three years and are still only at the first level of Qi Refinement."

Another female disciple with a rather mean appearance chimed in, "Exactly. Although we miscellaneous disciples have low status in the sect, the Yuxing Pavilion is the greatest sect in the State of Yue. Even as miscellaneous disciples, we are naturally a step above rogue cultivators from outside the sect. These two have low talent and no ambition; they are simply unworthy of being associated with us. They truly bring us shame."

At that moment, a male disciple also remarked, "That boy next to them looks unfamiliar. Is he a new miscellaneous disciple from the Array Vein?"

"Hmph, birds of a feather flock together. Those who associate with those two uselesslings are naturally useless themselves."

"Hahaha, Brother Liu is absolutely right!"

One after another, these people ridiculed the three from the Array Vein, acting as if being born into the Zither Path made them inherently noble and incomparable to the three.

Though their voices were not loud, they did not make an effort to lower them, so their words reached Liang Yan and the others clearly. Li Dali and Sun Qianli both looked furious, but Liang Yan merely smiled slightly, unbothered. He sat with his eyes focused inward, meditating in a state of calm composure.

While the crowd on the plaza was still whispering, a scent of sandalwood suddenly drifted from afar, like orchids in a deep valley, sweeping away the irritability in people's hearts. Immediately after, a scholar walked up the mountain path. He wore moon-white robes, a Confucian cap, and a black sword at his waist. In his right hand, he held an incense burner with a single red sandalwood stick burning inside.

"He's here! That is Senior Brother Zhuo Bufan, ranked in the top three among the outer courtyard disciples. His cultivation has reached the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refinement. He is the preaching disciple for this session." The topic of conversation instantly shifted to the suddenly appearing scholar.

"Truly a man of exceptional talent. I heard his uncle is one of the elders of the Inner Pavilion. His strength is extraordinary; his future is limitless."

Some female disciples even looked infatuated, murmuring to themselves, "Zhuo Bufan, Zhuo Bufan... truly extraordinary indeed."

Zhuo Bufan took in the expressions of the crowd, his face remaining unchanged. He leaped onto the lecture platform, set down the incense burner, and spoke, "Junior brothers and sisters, I, Zhuo, am unworthy to serve as the preaching disciple this time. During the lecture, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I shall answer all that I know."

He then pointed to the incense burner beside him. "What I have brought is Soul-Calming Incense, which will assist you in comprehending the Dao. Opportunities like this are hard to come by; I hope you all cherish it."

"What? It's actually Soul-Calming Incense!"

A commotion broke out below the stage. Soul-Calming Incense was a costly treasure with the effect of calming the mind and soothing the spirit, which was of great help in breaking through bottlenecks and nourishing the soul. Forget the miscellaneous disciples—even outer disciples rarely obtained a single stick, yet Zhuo Bufan was willing to share it at a preaching assembly.

The disciples were all visibly excited and filled with admiration for Zhuo Bufan. At that moment, an older miscellaneous disciple from the Alchemy Vein coughed and said, "Senior Brother Zhuo's character and cultivation are both peerless; we all admire him. Now, everyone please be quiet so we can listen to Senior Brother Zhuo's teachings."

As soon as he spoke, the plaza fell silent. Zhuo Bufan nodded with satisfaction toward the Alchemy Vein disciple and then began slowly, "We cultivators practice in defiance of heaven; the path is perilous and can only be completed 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 void; eventually, essence merges with qi, qi merges with spirit, and spirit is hidden within the void. Thus, all living things and the roots of all matter follow the process of refining qi and nourishing the spirit, progressing step by step..."

A gentle breeze blew, and the sandalwood smoke curled upward. On Xuanji Peak, as Zhuo Bufan lectured, the crowd listened in silence; one could hear a pin drop. The three hundred or so miscellaneous disciples were mesmerized, and time passed unnoticed.

"...Therefore, refining qi requires regulating the mind. If the state of mind is unstable, there will be many dangers in future cultivation. If, during a breakthrough, an inner demon invades, at best your cultivation will regress and you will find it difficult to progress in this life; at worst, you will suffer cultivation deviation and fall into eternal ruin." By the time Zhuo Bufan reached this point, it was already dusk, and the crowd only snapped out of their trance, all appearing to have benefited greatly.

Even Liang Yan felt he had gained much. Although he had been taught by the old monk before, most of it involved being urged to memorize incantations and diligently practice his Dharma Manifestation; the monk had not elaborated much on the fundamental knowledge of entering cultivation. This Senior Brother Zhuo's lecture, however, resolved many of the uncertainties Liang Yan had encountered in his previous practice.

At this point, someone asked, "Since inner demons are so formidable, can one avoid them by practicing methods like talismans to soothe the soul?"

The questioner was a disciple of the Chess Path. Zhuo Bufan shook his head and replied, "We cultivators should prioritize our own cultivation. The higher your realm, the longer your lifespan and the greater your divine abilities. You are only at the second level of Qi Refinement; your primary task is to increase your cultivation before considering such unorthodox paths." The Chess Path disciple nodded sheepishly and sat down.

Next, a tall man from the Alchemy Vein stood up, bowed, and asked, "Senior Brother Zhuo, after I reached the peak of the third level of Qi Refinement, I felt a distinct stagnation in my progress. I am practicing the Taihe Li Fire Art; I wonder what the problem might be. Please advise."

Zhuo Bufan gave a gentle smile. "Actually, this is not a hurdle unique to Junior Brother Tang. As I said before, cultivation is an act of defying heaven and is not tolerated by heaven and earth. There are three great tribulations in the Qi Refinement stage: first, breaking through from the peak of the third level to the fourth; second, breaking through from the peak of the seventh level to the eighth; and the final stage is naturally breaking through from the peak of the ninth level to the final step, Spirit Platform Foundation Establishment."

"The difficulty of the first two stages is not vastly different. Those with slightly better aptitude only need diligent practice to eventually break through; those with poorer aptitude may need the assistance of medicinal pills. As for this final stage, it is said to be as difficult as ascending to heaven. A cultivator is only considered to have truly entered the ranks of the immortals after Foundation Establishment. As for us Qi Refinement cultivators, we are merely slightly stronger than the top internal martial arts masters of the secular world."

"So that's how it is..." Many of the third-level Qi Refinement disciples below the stage looked enlightened.

At this moment, a beautiful female disciple from the Zither Path suddenly asked, "I have long heard that Senior Brother Zhuo is a master of both zither and sword, a dragon among men. Might this humble girl have the honor of witnessing Senior Brother's elegance in both arts today?" Having said this, she lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him, her face flushed with a bashful redness that only added to her charm.

As soon as she spoke, most of the female disciples in the crowd chimed in, all wishing to see Zhuo Bufan's zither and sword skills. Zhuo Bufan's brow furrowed slightly before relaxing, and he sighed, "Very well, I shall let you see."

(End of Chapter)