Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 447 Dabao Cultivation
Fei Nanying has rarely appeared in recent years, but whenever he comes out of seclusion, he will take the time to meet with Master Kang. Therefore, Kang Dabao is not in a hurry to ask him about Jiang Qing.

After listening to He Chang's report on the current situation of the various families in Han Ya Mountain with Ye Zhengwen, and confirming that nothing major had happened, Kang Dabao went to the Biha Cave alone.

The second-tier top-grade mountain-protecting formation covers a much larger area, even encompassing the Jade Clam Cave in the Qinye Forest. This water mansion has now become a secluded retreat exclusively for Sect Leader Kang, and is difficult for anyone other than his trusted disciples to enter.

Five years is neither a long nor a short time, enough for Kang Dabao to undergo several changes.

In these five years, Sect Leader Kang has not only been thinking about human pleasures. In fact, compared to most of his peers, Kang Dabao can be considered a diligent cultivator.

With the help of the three jade pendants, his "Northern Night Palace Full Moon Contemplation Method" has reached a minor level of success. With the investment of a large amount of spirit stones, the lion-insect swarm, which had suffered many casualties, has also recovered its size.

Even though the Starfrost Soil in the hands of Master Kang had remained unchanged for decades despite being devoured by Lion Insects, it was still difficult for the swarm to continue to multiply and grow stronger.

Logically speaking, the Lion Insect was only a second-tier spirit insect, and its growth could be considered perfect. However, Kang Dabao did not believe that the Star Frost Soil, a spirit creature that had once earned the respect of someone like Kang Yilong, possessed only this one extraordinary quality.

In his opinion, once he finds a certain opportunity in the future, he should be able to break through the bloodline shackles and become a useful weapon again.

While the lion-insect swarm may not be of much use to Headmaster Kang now, distributing it among his disciples for protection would be quite good. The "Northern Night Palace Full Moon Visualization Method" is a rare method of spiritual cultivation, and his practice must not be stopped.

The wonders of divine sense are not limited to controlling spirit insects.

As for the cultivation of the "True Explanation of the Primordial Body of the Northern Night Palace," with the assistance of a box of dragon blood crabapples brought by Fei Nanying, there was also progress. Kang Dabao's talent in this path was not bad after all, and with the jade pendant deducing the key points, his cultivation was also quite smooth.

However, due to the inability to focus on cultivating this path, it is not as pure as ordinary physical cultivation, and it lacks a lot of hard work, so it is unlikely that it will achieve great success in a short period of time.

However, regardless of whether he is pure or not, if we only consider the path of body refinement, then Kang Dabao can be considered a figure in the vicinity of Yunjiao Prefecture.

Three years ago, Yan Qingwei from Wuwei Tower invited him to visit her cave. Kang, the sect leader, who was heavily indebted to others and had accumulated a lot of good deeds, happened to be coming out of seclusion and couldn't refuse. So he borrowed a bamboo hat with Yan Qingwei as a magical artifact for stealth and traveled together.

Unexpectedly, although the fake elixir relic's mansion contained few treasures, it brought quite a lot of trouble. As soon as Kang Dabao and Yan Qingwei entered the cave, they encountered three or four groups of Foundation Establishment cultivators, totaling eleven or twelve true cultivators.

Unwilling to reveal his identity, Sect Leader Kang naturally did not use his signature skills, the Slaughtering Strike and the Golden Eyes of Truth-Seeking. He simply relied on his bare fists to kill most of his opponents, including a late-stage True Cultivator, on the spot.

After all, the art of body refinement has always been desolate in Yunjiao Prefecture, so unless one has exceptional knowledge, one would not be able to tell the difference between Kang Dabao's "Eight Desolations Suppressing Mountains" and other fist techniques.

Afterwards, when Headmaster Kang and Yan Qingwei took stock, they found that the fake pills and treasures left in the cave were not even as valuable as the spiritual items on the bodies of these true cultivators, which was quite a pity.

After this incident, Yan Qingwei tried to find Kang Dabao a few more times. However, either the latter was in seclusion or had important matters to attend to and could not get away, so the timing was not good and she could only disappoint the beauty's good intentions.

It is worth mentioning that during Yan Qingwei's several visits, her clothing became increasingly daring.

The last time this female Taoist priest came was half a year ago. That night there was no moon, and Yan Qingwei seemed to be wearing a black veil as usual, but Kang Dabao could only see a ball of white jade, burning hot and shining brightly, walking towards him.

However, the beautiful woman did not get her wish that night. Even though she was so aroused that her mouth was dry, Master Kang remained composed and did not show any lewdness.

Yan Qingwei had clearly made many preparations before coming, and was not discouraged. After smiling charmingly for a while, she heard Kang Dabao still making excuses, so she generously turned around and left.

She seemed completely oblivious to the two halves of her peach-like figure behind her, which had already been seen clearly by the imposing man behind her.

Seeing that Fang was gradually disappearing, Kang, the head of the sect, who had played the role of a Lu man for a time, truly had no regrets.

Although Kang Dabao's reputation soared after his lucky victory over Fu Neng, his reputation for "being fond of women and good at deceiving women" also spread far and wide; but to be fair, this Master Kang was not very serious about women.

If you count on your fingers, you'll find that he hasn't touched many women. What's even more remarkable is that he has taken all of these few female cultivators into his fold.

This is quite remarkable. Not to mention being far inferior to nobles and princes, he is even far inferior to his own junior brother, Zhou Yixiu, and Kang Dabao. The latter's thirty-second son, Zhou Kun, was just discovered to have spiritual roots last year; he was born to his thirty-first concubine.

Even though she had no way to give birth to the spiritual child of Zhou Yixiu, Shan Shi had no choice but to swallow her tears. No matter how unwilling she was, she could only adopt the generous demeanor of a stepmother and raise the child well.

The Grand Master Kang doesn't have many offspring, but his eldest and legitimate sons have already been identified as having spiritual roots, so they don't need to work as diligently as Zhou Yixiu. Besides, it's obvious that Yan Qingwei, this seemingly good piece of meat, has hidden traps; if you really take a bite...
Furthermore, while Fei Shuhe may not be considered particularly jealous, she must have harbored some resentment about such matters.

Having regained the trust of his wife's family, Kang Dabao had no intention of upsetting his wife, especially since he had gone to Xuanwei City two years ago and obtained the "Mysterious Purity and Prosperity Secret Manual," a high-grade cultivation technique of the Universe Rank, from Fei Nanying.

According to the head of the Sheshan Hall, this was specially selected from the Fei family's scripture library by the patriarch Ye Ling after hearing about the battle with the abbot, and bestowed upon the great sect leader Kang.

This demonstrates his magnanimity, his tolerance, and his favor.

It differs from the "Qingyang Pine Sutra Treatise," which also originated from the Qingyang Palace, a sect of Nascent Soul cultivators, and was used as a foundational method for its elite disciples.

The "Secret Manual of Xuanqing Withering and Flourishing" is one of the sect's signature techniques of Qingyang Palace. It is a first-class and wonderful method written by several top practitioners of wood magic who were summoned by the sect's founder ten thousand years ago to observe the changes of withering and flourishing, deduce the evolution of heaven and earth, and attempt to explain the life and death of all things.

It is certainly much more difficult to cultivate, but it is far superior to the previous methods. If Kang Dabao had cultivated this method in the past, even if he were to face Fu Neng in the first battle, he would have had a good chance of winning.

It should be noted that before Qingyang Palace offended the founding prime minister of the David Immortal Dynasty, which led to the collapse of its mountain gate, this method was considered an unattainable treasure in the hearts of all cultivators who studied wood magic within the David Immortal Dynasty.

In short, the core meaning of this method is to "observe the transformation of plants such as spirit trees and skillful bamboo from seedlings to mature plants, from flourishing to withering, and to understand the wonder of this transformation."

The energy of decay and prosperity has the benefits of restoring vitality and prolonging life, but it also has the destructive power of absorbing the life force of others and causing them to wither. Moreover, the wonders of "longevity and avoiding death, and the smooth formation of the golden elixir" described in the "Qingyang Pine Classic" are not only preserved in the "Secret Book of Decay and Prosperity" but are also made even more effective.

According to the idea of ​​the founder of Qingyang Palace, if this method is practiced to a high level, the energy of prosperity and decline can be controlled at will, and the operation of all things can be reversed, and even matters of life and death can be manipulated.

But that would be nothing but wild fantasy, something even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would find difficult to accomplish, let alone something a mere Qingyang Palace Patriarch who hasn't even reached the Nascent Soul stage could even dream of.

Although the Qingyang Palace's lineage collapsed, and the "Mysterious Purity and Prosperity Secret Manual," which was restored and repaired by dedicated individuals, has fallen from the Universe Rank to the Cosmic Rank, it is still more than enough to match the Great Master Kang.

This method involves using a spiritual plant to perceive its changes in growth and decay, thereby increasing the plant's spiritual energy. In addition to its enduring magical power and ease of healing, it also has the clever use of concealing one's breath like a tree in daily life.

It is said that after mastering the original "Secret Manual of Xuanqing Withering and Flourishing," one can use a large number of precious treasures to transform the cultivator into a Xuanqing Spirit Wood Body during the hundred cycles of withering and flourishing, thereby attracting heavenly tribulation and attaining the Great Dao of Transformation.

However, in the opinion of Sect Leader Kang, this legend is likely a misconception spread by idle people. This is because the Qingyang Palace has never produced a single True Lord since its founding.

Changing cultivation methods always requires a cultivator to make a firm decision, but Elder Ye Sui, far away in Yingzhou, had thoughtfully considered this point. He obtained the "Secret Manual of Profound Purity and Withering" from Fei Nanying, along with all the resources Kang Dabao would need during his cultivation transition.

After confirming that Elder Ye Sui had no grudge against Headmaster Kang, Fei Nanying, as his brother-in-law, became much more relaxed.

Not only did he hand over all the things entrusted to him by Ancestor Ye Su to Kang Dabao, but he also brought the latter to Fei Tianqin and listened to this old bird explain the "Secret Book of Xuanqing Kurong" for more than a month.

Unlike ordinary, unenlightened spirit beasts, this old bird is not only wise, but has also served three masters in the Fei family of Yingzhou alone. Therefore, in terms of vision and experience, it is probably no less than most Nascent Soul cultivators in this world.

After listening to the teachings, Master Kang returned to his sect and went into seclusion to cultivate his martial arts.

Two years is nothing for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but Kang Dabao managed to successfully switch to Foundation Establishment within those two years and even managed to have three children.

While the jade pendant certainly played a part, it was also inseparable from the lavish spending of Ancestor Ye Sui. It can only be said that the head of the Fei family, who was rumored to be the wealthiest family in the world, was completely different from the petty patriarchs like Kuai En, who only knew how to exploit his son-in-law and was short-sighted. The principle of the Duke of Zhou spitting out his food to welcome guests applies everywhere.

Having received a large sum of benefits, Sect Leader Kang now clearly feels much closer to the name "Fei Family of Yingzhou." His honest and pragmatic nature has indeed been taken by that old cultivator far away in the capital region, whom he has never met.

This time, Kang Dabao's seclusion was short, lasting only a little over a month.

This is because the Dan Fire inherited from Shan Gong has remained burning in the heart of the Jade Leaf Path for a long time, making the large amount of spiritual power that Headmaster Kang had just cultivated extremely pure, which is a good thing, but it has also greatly slowed down his already very slow cultivation speed.

Fortunately, this greatly reduced Kang Dabao's concerns about taking pills. Except for a very small number of potent pill toxins, most of the pill toxins that were immersed in his dantian could not withstand the heat of the pill fire for too long and would burn off the impurities, turning into spiritual energy and merging into his meridians.

Therefore, the number of times Master Kang has taken pills is much more than in the past. As long as the resources can keep up, his cultivation speed is much faster than before.

If he continues cultivating like this, it seems that after consuming the next round of spiritual liquid, Kang Dabao's cultivation at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage will come to an end, and he will be able to advance to the late stage.

As for potential bottlenecks, the outlook is still relatively optimistic. After all, Sect Leader Kang still has a "Pine Creek Pill" that he obtained from the Yunjiao Prefecture Treasury years ago, which he hasn't used yet. Perhaps he can achieve success in one fell swoop.

This is much shorter than the time it took to speculate back then.

Of course, the pills used by Foundation Establishment cultivators can only be purchased with spirit stones. Although Chongming Sect has grown considerably, it is not the private property of Headmaster Kang alone.

Even if he were highly respected, and could freely borrow and misappropriate funds, no one in the sect would dare to utter a word against it. However, such behavior would certainly corrupt the sect's atmosphere and would indeed go against Kang Dabao's intentions.

As for the sect leader's personal funds? It seems that the sect leader Kang has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years by killing his peers and through his annual salary and merits. However, the Chongming Sect is ultimately not well-founded. The large amount of revenue obtained from Pingjin County, Hanya Mountain Range, and various sect properties each year also needs to be reinvested in order to ensure the future.

Therefore, even though Kang Dabao, as the leader of the alliance and the sect leader, earns enough each year to make ordinary cultivators speechless, he still finds himself somewhat strapped for cash.

You must understand, he can't just abandon everything else and focus solely on his own cultivation.

In addition to this, Sect Leader Kang also needs to raise spirit insects, tame spirit beasts, nurture spirit artifacts, regulate spirit bodies, educate disciples, raise offspring, and generously support concubines. Such cultivation naturally requires a massive amount of resources to sustain.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Kang Dabao's substantial savings, accumulated through frugality, were depleted in just a few years.

After all, any major power would need to spend no less resources than Kang Dabao to cultivate a descendant who is under a hundred years old, can fight against a fake Core Formation cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

However, simply relying on his in-laws for financial assistance is not a solution. Now that he's out here, he naturally wants to find some other ways to help.

Recently, Chongming Sect has been enjoying a rare period of peace and tranquility, and the cultivators have had a rare moment of leisure. Therefore, when Sect Leader Kang came out, his junior brothers were all in seclusion. Duan Anle, on the other hand, did not cultivate, but he led Duan Yunzhou and a group of disciples to Chongming Market to send out the Cloud-Stepping Steed.

This spirit beast has an impressive appearance, and it has gained some fame in the battle to open up the spirit land in Chongming Alliance. The price is also reasonable, and for a time, it was in short supply in the vicinity.

Even now, if Chongming disciples who have been assigned to the Good Deeds Hall want to rent a mount to go out, they can only choose from two kinds of spirit beasts, the gray goose and the grass deer, which have fallen out of favor and are hard to regain their former prestige.

Kang Dabao swept over the Beast Garden magic array for a while, and without even looking closely, he knew that Duan Anle, this honest kid, must have put in a lot of hard work over the years.

Once upon a time, this place was nothing more than a barren hillside. The only creatures that inhabited it, besides the castrated golden-haired old donkey and the black-blooded steed snatched from Zhao Gu, the cunning and ruthless leader, were a few clumsy and old wild oxen.

But what does the Chongming Sect's Beast Garden look like now? Looking up, one sees wild oxen filling the valleys, herds of fire pigs thronging the fields, wild deer covering the plains, and flocks of gray geese flying in formation.
Besides these spirit beast species that have become a stable source of income, there are more than ten types of demon beasts that were captured from the Cold Crow Mountains, most of which were selected by Duan Anle for breeding purposes.

If the trip can be completed, then what Sect Leader Kang can see now are once again pieces of bright spirit stones covered in scales and horns, which makes people look forward to it.

Kang Dabao was lost in thought while looking at the animal garden when Jin Shilun came looking for him.

The latter is now over sixty years old and even has grandchildren, but he is only at the ninth level of Qi Refining and has not yet reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment. This seems somewhat incongruous with his identity as the personal disciple of the Chongming Sect Leader, and is quite different from the spirited young man who once stood up to a group of bandits and questioned them with his sword.

However, Sect Leader Kang was well aware of how difficult it was to cultivate with four spiritual roots. After all, Jin Shilun didn't possess Duan Anle's outstanding comprehension. At his age, his current level of cultivation was already enough to satisfy Kang Dabao. Calculated, he was still nearly thirty years away from the ninety-year limit for Foundation Establishment, which was quite optimistic.

"Just now, I came to the Good Deeds Hall to hand over my duties, and I heard from Junior Brother Han that Master has come out of seclusion, so I hurried over to pay my respects."

How much good karma is still needed to obtain the Heavenly Net Wood Heart?

"More than three thousand."

"It's not much, why don't you borrow some from your fellow disciples?"

Jin Shilun gave a wry smile and said softly, "The other junior brothers are not well-off either. Second Senior Brother, Senior Brother Kang, and Junior Brother Ming have not yet paid off the good deeds they owed when they were building their foundations. How can they help me?"

Kang Dabao chuckled upon hearing this and said softly, "It's alright, you can do what they do and buy it on credit first."

Chongming Treasury naturally shows some leniency towards disciples with good credit, outstanding talent, deep experience, and great merit. Lending out merits is also a common practice, as long as a written agreement is made and interest is paid on time.

After all, there are always those who lack resources at crucial moments in their cultivation. Even if Headmaster Kang cannot find a way to earn spirit stones temporarily, he will not stop cultivating for a long time and will have to borrow merit points from the treasury.

As Chongmingzong's power grew, the amount of grain he received each year only increased, so for the time being, there was no need to worry too much.

Of course, it's not so easy to talk about rare resources like Foundation Establishment spirit objects.

However, the spiritual items that Headmaster Kang obtained from the state treasury back then were not yet used up, and some had also been collected from various families over the years. Therefore, compared with other families, Chongming Sect's Foundation Establishment spiritual items were still sufficient. Otherwise, Kang Dabao would not have felt comfortable lending them to the Shan and Ma families to live on.

Therefore, as a disciple of the Yuan Cong Sect and the sect leader, Jin Shilun naturally received some preferential treatment. However, once these Foundation Establishment spiritual items become scarce in the Chongming Sect, it will be quite difficult for later disciples to use personal connections to make deals.

Although Jin Shilun had known that his master would be lenient, he was still quite excited when he heard Kang Dabao agree. His eyes reddened, and he bowed deeply, saying, "Disciple thanks Master!"

Master Kang shook his head and smiled, "Don't stand on ceremony, it makes us seem distant. If you're really worried, it would be more practical to cook me a braised pork knuckle."

"It was prepared before we arrived and is being kept warm over a low flame in the dining hall."

Upon hearing this, Master Kang suddenly found the thriving scene before him utterly tasteless.

He turned his back with his hands behind his back, his tone somewhat lazy: "Alright, let's go. It's been a long time since I've eaten meat. After we've eaten our fill, let's go to Qinghan Courtyard to see if your master's wife has come out of seclusion."

"Yes,"

"Hey, did Xi-ge and Chang-ge accept orders from Chongming City? Did you see these two junior brothers before you came?"

"I have seen it before,"

"Tell me about it."

"Reporting to Master, Xi-ge'er and Chang-ge'er arrived in Chongming City a month ago and, without resting, went straight there."

(End of this chapter)