Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 467 Taking the Spirit Dew Again (Part 3)

Six months later
Ten days have passed since Jiang Qing and Yuan Jin returned to Pingrong County with the Qingjue and Chizhang Guards. Headmaster Kang is still in seclusion, and the inventory of the treasury, which is being overseen by Ye Zhengwen, has not yet been completed.

However, the distribution of benefits among the various factions of the Chongming Alliance had already been arranged long ago. Families like the Hanshan Sect and Shishan Sect, which held significant influence within the alliance, naturally reaped huge profits, while smaller Qi Refining clans like the He and Lu clans also ate their fill.

The profits from Shishan Sect are enough for Bian Hu to exchange for some Foundation Establishment resources, while Xu Liuxian of Hanshan Sect can also consider hiring a few reliable rogue cultivators to serve as retainers in the sect.

As for smaller clans like the He and Lu, their most pressing task right now is to transform their resources into a solid foundation.

However, He Degong was not in a hurry. Because of his relationship with the brothers of Chongming Sect, when he led his caravan on his travels, many Foundation Establishment cultivators would come up to him and treat him as an equal.

Although the merchants from the mountains and rivers who had no capital were ruthless, after receiving the invitations from the local tyrants, they had no choice but to put on a fake smile and greet them politely.

After all, the Ming Sect may seem like a mere Foundation Establishment sect, but more than one fake Core Formation Master has died because of them. Furthermore, the family heads, led by Kang Dabao, are extremely protective of their own. Just look at the incident at Xuelin Mountain—it's impossible to count how many lives were lost on both sides. What ordinary villain would dare provoke them?
Thus, thanks to the six-leaf blue lotus banner hanging on the lead wagon of the caravan, He Degong had become a far more imposing figure than He Jia Dalang, who had traveled all over the world and made friends everywhere back then.

As a result, after several years, the identity of the head of the He family was once again linked with the words "a person of extravagance and prestige".

In addition, He Yuanyi, who came from the same lineage as He Degong, also became a disciple of Elder Yuan Jin of the Chongming Sect as a true disciple.

In the past year or two, the latter has been engrossed in military strategy, and his skill in weapon crafting has been subtly surpassed by his disciple He Yuanyi, making him a true successor.

After a few years of settling in, He Yuanyi might just be promoted to the unprecedented second-tier weapon master of the Chongming Sect.

Because of Chongming Sect, He Yuanhe's future in Shishan Sect is becoming increasingly bright. Now, even the position of peak leader of Feixue Peak has been given up for him by his master Huang Ming, who has received instructions from Bian Hu.

Therefore, although the He family of Hong County is not very powerful, due to the above-mentioned relationships, their position in the Chongming Alliance is very stable, and they should not be regarded as an ordinary Qi Refining family.

In contrast, the Lu family of Caishi was far inferior.

Lu Yunniang, this old woman, did not have a deep relationship with the cultivators of Chongming Sect. At most, she only gained some favor because the Lu family had never chosen the wrong side in the past.

This relationship, while rare compared to the later-adopted Ma and Shan families, is far less significant than the almost inseparable bond between the He family and Chongmingzong.

The Lu family of Caishi has not produced a single Foundation Establishment cultivator to date. They have only found a rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator to be their son-in-law to embellish their reputation. Although there are a handful of elite members in the clan who have joined the Chongming Sect, none of them have been able to achieve true mastery like He Yuanyi.

She couldn't offer even a single noteworthy achievement, yet she secured a place in the increasingly powerful Chongming Alliance. How could Lu Yunniang not feel uneasy?
The old woman had recently received reliable information that since the battle to open up the land, many families had been extremely coveting the Lu family's quarry. Kang Dabao had been in seclusion for a long time and could not be disturbed, but Yuan Jin, who was temporarily in charge of various affairs, had no shortage of people slandering him, and they could be described as aggressive.

The most outrageous behavior among them was that of the Yang family of Hongshan, who performed exceptionally well in this battle. Although the family head, Yang Xun, was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he always bravely took the lead in every battle.

In just two or three years, his personal merit records alone contained twelve second-tier demonic beasts, which was more than the entire Lu family combined.

Objectively speaking, if he wants to squeeze out the Lu family and gain a place in the Chongming Alliance, the resistance will certainly be considerable. However, as long as he is willing to offer enough benefits to persuade the various families, it is not impossible to make this happen.

Fortunately, Yuan Jin was a man of old friendships. He knew that the Lu family was an old family that had grown alongside the Chongming Sect. In other words, like the Hemu Dao, the Lu family was a pawn that the Chongming Sect was putting on display for the outside world.

If the Lu family members are not capable enough and fall apart due to internal strife, that's one thing. But if they are truly abandoned, then it would be suspected of being a case of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose.

When that time comes, the reputation of Master Kang, which had only slightly improved in recent years due to his victory over Fu Neng, will likely be tarnished by the addition of the words "treating meritorious officials poorly," and his reputation for "bullying women" will also make a comeback.

Even though Yuan Jin did not agree to the marriage, Lu Yunniang was still relieved and started thinking about the marriage alliance again.

Back then, she couldn't even get close to an elder like Zhou Yixiu, so now she's even less likely to have such thoughts.

The true cultivators of Chongming Sect are very protective of their disciples' true teachings. Not only are they all determined to help them achieve true cultivation, but even if they were to agree to a marriage between them, it would be difficult to choose a family like the Lu family.

Since there were many inner disciples and the old woman didn't consider them valuable, the only option left was to target the senior disciples of the Chongming Sect.
— Chongmingzong, Council Hall
"You mean, Lu Yunniang is going to marry a Lu family girl to Junior Brother Niu and Junior Brother Sun?" Yuan Jin was slightly surprised when Kang Rongquan came to deliver this news, because although Niu Kuang and Sun Fu were his junior brothers, they were much older than Headmaster Kang. Sun Fu, who was slightly older, was probably already over a hundred years old. Lu Yunniang...
Kang Rongquan, as a junior, also showed a bit of embarrassment. However, since Pei Yi's passing and Ye Yaoling's injuries had not yet healed, he was the only one in Li Shishu's lineage who could truly stand out within the Chongming Sect.

Upon hearing Yuan Jin's question, Kang Rongquan respectfully replied, "Although the two senior uncles have concubines, the position of principal wife is still vacant. Moreover, the Lu family's sincerity is quite evident, so it is settled."

"Oh," Yuan Jin thought. Although he couldn't compare to the headmaster Kang in terms of social skills, he could still easily understand the implication. He thought to himself, "What sincerity? They must have prepared a lot of dowry. Oh well, it's a good thing. These two junior brothers are really lucky. The blood they shed for the sect back then wasn't shed in vain. They've finally reaped the rewards after all their hardships."

After considering the matter, Yuan Jin was quite decisive, nodding and saying, "How can we refuse such a good match? Have your two junior brothers told you whether they intend to enter the Lu family to cultivate from now on, or simply welcome the bride and remain in the sect?"

Kang Rongquan said directly, "The original intention of the two senior uncles was to find a spiritual place in Hanya Mountain in three to five years to live out their old age in peace. Now, because of the Lu family, they want to make the trip sooner."

Yuan Jin thought for a while and agreed that it was a good idea. With the Lu family's dowry as a safety net, his two junior brothers would have a much easier time starting their own families. He then discussed with Ye Zhengwen, who was standing beside him, "What does Senior Brother Ye mean?"

The latter had already prepared his speech in his mind after hearing what Kang Rongquan said, and spoke without hesitation: "Then allocate another hundred spirit stones, one hundred shi of spirit grain, and one hundred spirit wood from the treasury, and relocate ten thousand nameless strong men and women from Chongming City, so that my two junior brothers can take them with them."

"Yes, Senior Brother Ye is indeed very thoughtful." Yuan Jin readily agreed. After Kang Rongquan bowed in thanks and left the hall, he spoke to Ye Zhengwen:
"Not to mention the Lu family's former disciples, quite a few of our disciples have now formed marriage alliances with families in Han Ya Mountain and Ping Jin County. Some of the less fortunate families are looking for long-established outer disciples, while others of slightly better quality and well-off families are looking for young inner disciples."

If we hadn't always been so careful in protecting our precious knowledge and skills, we probably wouldn't have been able to save them all. I've already had the Internal Affairs Hall send away many marriage proposals from my junior brothers. But, Senior Brother Ye, won't this lead to trouble if this continues?"

“What you say, junior brother, is certainly not unfounded worry, but this matter is not necessarily all bad.” Ye Zhengwen pondered for a while before continuing, “In the future, there will certainly be factionalism within the sect, but the sect leader seeks purity, and most of the disciples in the sect come from poor families, so their families can hardly provide them with any assistance.”

Therefore, it is understandable that they thought of using the power of their wives' families to obtain some resources so that they could advance further in their sect.

Furthermore, while it is true that our Chongming Sect treats all families with a combination of kindness and severity, adding a layer of "closeness" on top of that might make them even closer to our sect.

Yuan Jin carefully considered Ye Zhengwen's words, and after a short while, he sincerely said, "Senior Brother Ye is indeed farsighted and insightful. I almost couldn't understand this principle. However, everything in excess is as bad as deficiency. Even if this matter is not entirely a bad thing, we cannot just let it go like this."

In my junior brother's opinion, it seems necessary to establish a rule that only disciples who have achieved meritorious service or are retiring due to injury, and who wish to form marriage alliances with the various families of Cold Crow Mountain, can do so.

Ye Zhengwen's eyes lit up, feeling that this idea was truly excellent. He was also amazed by Yuan Jin's growth, considering that just a few years ago, the latter probably wouldn't have been able to grasp the profound meaning behind it.

Thinking of this, Ye Zhengwen smiled and said, "Rules must be established, but they shouldn't be rigidly set in stone."

Yuan Jin nodded in agreement, "Of course. Junior brother, go back and make some arrangements first, and then we'll check it with him after you come out of seclusion."

————The Jade Clam Cave

The sect leader, Kang, who had only recently broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage by taking elixirs, has spent most of the past few years in seclusion.

Logically speaking, he had taken a step that forced growth, but the spiritual power within his body was not as weak as that of others of the same level; on the contrary, it was extremely solid.

Besides his solid foundation, the reason for this was that the wisp of elixir fire that Yin Shan Gong had passed on to him before his death and which he had nurtured in the Jade Leaf Lotus Platform in his dantian had been intermittently tempering the spiritual power of the Great Master Kang, which had indeed made a great contribution.

Without the power of this wisp of alchemical fire, even if Sect Leader Kang were to break through his cultivation in a single day, it would still take him several years and a great deal of resources to rebuild his foundation.

Although he didn't need to solidify his cultivation, it wasn't easy for him to gather Qi and make progress in the short term. Therefore, Kang Dabao spent most of the past few years cultivating various Taoist arts.

Although Master Kang is not considered old among his peers, his skills are certainly not lacking.

Needless to say, Kang Dabao's ability to break through illusions and gain insight into the Golden Eyes was crucial in defeating Fu Neng, the ancestral temple of Tantric Buddhism. Seventy percent of the credit for this victory could be attributed to Kang Dabao's life-saving technique.

Furthermore, Kang Dabao was able to cultivate the Cosmic Rank Pupil Technique to perfection with his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, which was not much inferior to Jiang Qing's cultivation of Sword Essence with his average cultivation level.

The former may be limited by the grade of the Dao technique, unlike Jiang Qing who could further improve his swordsmanship. However, even after reaching the Golden Core stage, the eye technique of the Cosmic Rank is still quite powerful. Headmaster Kang will not need to worry about this for a long time to come.

Kang Dabao has already mastered the two techniques from Beiye Palace, the Primordial Body and the Full Moon Contemplation, to a minor degree. It's not that he has hit a bottleneck in these two techniques, but rather that further advancement would require a great deal of time. Since it's not something that can be achieved overnight and it's not particularly urgent, he naturally hasn't spent too much effort on it.

Furthermore, the size of the lion-insect swarm is now difficult to increase. Although that piece of Starfrost Soil has been gnawed on by thousands of lion-insects with their mouthparts for decades, its size has only shrunk slightly.

However, the number of lion-insects remained stagnant, and the sect leader Kang did not see any new mutations in the swarm, unlike when the silver-shelled insects appeared. Therefore, the matter of taming the swarm was temporarily put on hold.

As he had said before, the insect swarm was divided equally among the three fathers and sons. Although the two sons' spiritual awareness was currently weak, they could still provide some assistance. If the two sons were to become enlightened in the future and learn the "Full Moon Visualization Method," perhaps even the Great Master Kang would be willing to entrust the entire Lion Insect Swarm to his sons.

This fortune is not insignificant; even for the current Sect Leader Kang, the Lion Insect Swarm is not entirely useless. When he uses it at full power, even without resorting to other methods, a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment like Xu Liuxian would still suffer quite a bit.

As for Xiao Qi, it was placed on Kang Changxi's body for protection in order to appease Fei Shuhe.

Kang Dabao came from a minor branch of the family and lost his father at a young age. Because of this background, he did not receive much care from the Kang family clan.

He was raised as a son by Elder He since childhood, so Elder Kang took a rather indifferent view of the so-called legitimate and illegitimate children.

After all, the eldest son is of excellent quality, gentle and honest, while the second son is also quick-witted, studious, and heroic. Therefore, if we follow the original intention of Headmaster Kang, he will not show any favoritism.

However, this reasoning seems completely unreasonable to outsiders. If that were the case, it would mean that Fei Shuhe was virtuous and had no jealousy, but the Fei family would still have to question it, and Huo Ying and her son might even suffer some consequences because of his actions.

After all, the Fei family also holds the argument that there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and judging from the current situation, the Fei family's argument is still stronger.

Since there was no need to worry about spirit insects and spirit beasts for the time being, Kang Dabao naturally focused most of his energy on "The Art of War by the Star Lord of the Wood Palace".

When Yuan Buwen taught him the technique, he held almost nothing back, and the effect of the three jade pendants should not be underestimated. In recent years, Headmaster Kang has made great progress in this field.

However, the halberd technique in "The Halberd Master of the Wood Palace Teaches Military Tactics" is of unknown rank, and its progress is much slower than the immortal seal script on the black bone back then.

Even though Kang Dabao had only gleaned a sliver of its essence over the years, he vaguely felt that his halberd skills were now comparable to Yuan Buwen's.

It should be noted that Master Kang has never been an arrogant person, but the fact that he has such thoughts today shows that his progress is so great that it probably far exceeds what others think.

However, he was in no hurry to go out and show off his skills in front of others. After all, his abilities might be considered in Yunjiao Prefecture at present, but they would be somewhat pale and powerless in front of Golden Core cultivators.

Moreover, his flamboyant actions are inconsistent with the low-key and unassuming behavior that he, the head of the Kang sect, has maintained over the years.

And right now, there is another important matter that needs to be done immediately.

Another cycle has passed, and the spiritual dew in the Hunyuan Gourd is full once more. Headmaster Kang doesn't rush to pour it out, but ponders for a moment:
"After taking the spiritual dew for the first time due to a serious injury, my mixed spiritual root aptitude immediately improved my cultivation speed to be similar to that of a three-spiritual root."

Before I established my foundation, I used the spiritual dew to achieve the Jade Leaf Foundation Establishment and extend my lifespan by 60 years. When I achieved the Foundation Establishment, I lived as long as the False Elixir.
When I took three doses of spiritual dew before the battle, my Golden Eyes of Breaking Illusion were perfected, and even the direct disciples of the Great Temple could not match them.
So what good things will happen this time?!

Thinking of this, Kang Dabao suddenly looked at the somewhat unsightly black glazed gourd in his hand, his eyes filled with gratitude.

After all, without this treasure, he would have perished under the White Bone Sword of the eldest son of the Liu family, and might even have gone to the Yellow Springs with that harlot, Sister Song, let alone have a harem of wives and concubines and children around his knees.
After all, without this treasure, Yuan Jin would have been forced to spend his life learning skills in Xuanwei City with his wife and children, experiencing the city's constant upheavals, and perhaps even losing his life in one of the chaos.

After all, without this treasure, Jiang Qing might have become accustomed to the dangerous business of fighting with He Dezong at a young age, or he might have been able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage and marry a woman from the He family, but he would have had almost no chance of hearing the teachings of the Golden Core stage, let alone cultivating the Sword Essence.

After all, without this treasure, it's questionable whether the Chongming Sect would even exist now, let alone its current situation with thousands of members and millions of people.

Based on the experience of the previous three times, will taking the spiritual dew this time make up for another of his shortcomings, or will it lay a good foundation for him to cultivate the Golden Core?

The answer was so enticing that Master Kang couldn't resist for long and gulped down the spiritual liquid from the gourd.

The moment the spiritual dew entered his mouth, it instantly cleansed away the hidden injuries from the previous battles in the shimmering blue light. Kang Dabao felt a line of icy spring flow through his throat, which instantly transformed into a warm current that spread like wildfire. The blocked meridians deep within the Twelve-Story Tower emitted a series of faint popping sounds, like a frozen river breaking in the cold winter. The three hundred and sixty-five major acupoints lit up with spiritual light one after another.

He was startled to find that his internal organs seemed to be imbued with a spiritual light. The charred and dead skin of his internal organs, which had been eroded by blood evil, shed in a steady stream, and golden cloud patterns appeared on the surface of the newly formed organs.
Kang Dabao's spine suddenly cracked like popping beans, each vertebra seemingly being tempered in nectar, gradually solidifying into a texture like chalcedony.

The foul-smelling filth seeped from its pores, but was instantly transformed into a purple mist by a burst of pure energy the moment it left the body.

The four illusory images of the Four Symbols appeared in the mist, circled the crown of the head nine times, and then suddenly entered the Baihui acupoint.

Suddenly, a resounding bell rang in Kang Dabao's ears, and the visualization diagram that had been silent in his Niwan Palace for some time unfolded on its own—the full moon Dharma image shone like a silver plate, and as spiritual dew poured into it, the sound of waves and the surging of blood gradually synchronized.

The strange phenomena in the Jade Clam Cave gradually dissipated after half a day. Kang Dabao murmured, "The Primordial Body has advanced to the Great Completion stage, and the Round Moon Dharma Form has also advanced to the Great Completion stage. However, the cultivation aptitude has not changed and it is of no benefit to Core Formation."

Logically, Kang Dabao should be extremely satisfied that he could so easily avoid many foreseeable years of wasted time.

However, he could vaguely sense that as his cultivation continued to advance, the effects of this spiritual dew would likely diminish, and it might become largely useless after he reached the Nascent Soul stage. He felt a complex mix of emotions.

However, just a few breaths later, he let out a long laugh.

He thought to himself that the ancients' saying "having gained Long, one desires Shu" was indeed true. Even if things were as he wished, by the time he could sigh, he would already be a true man, so why should he feel sad?

After staying in the cave for three more days, when Kang Dabao came out of seclusion, he noticed something unusual in the air.

Tang Jiu, the disciple on duty outside the cave, saw him come out and immediately bowed and said, "Grandmaster, Second Grandmaster Uncle wants you to come to the council hall as soon as possible after you come out of seclusion to discuss this."

Kang Dabao responded calmly, tossed a high-grade magic artifact to his grand-disciple, and then headed straight for the council hall.

He hurried along the way, but saw that the disciples in the sect were also not relaxed and were walking in a hurry.

His surprise grew even more. When he entered the council hall, he saw all the cultivators from Ye Zhengwen down, all with solemn expressions.

He didn't say much more, nor did he return the greetings to the other cultivators in the hall. He simply asked, "What has happened this time?!"

Yuan Jin replied in a deep voice, "News came from the outer sea yesterday that the Marquis of Nan'an has returned from Lanmeng Palace."

Kang Dabao was taken aback. This was something he hadn't expected. He had thought that Kuang Liuting would not return until the year 60, but how much time had passed?
However, now is not the time to dwell on this matter. Kang Dabao continued, "It doesn't warrant such a fuss."

On the other end, Ye Zhengwen, holding a token, responded, "There are rumors circulating outside that the true form of the Southern King will also be arriving in Shannan with ten battalions of imperial guards. There are also reports that the three commanderies under the jurisdiction of Zhaixing Tower are preparing for war, and the Yue family and the Tie family have already engaged the enemy in front of Jingnan Prefecture, with both sides experiencing victories and defeats."

There are also reports that the remnants of the Hongyi Clan in Dingzhou have made a comeback. Only after Wu Fengshangxiu and Yuan Buwen joined forces did they gain a slight advantage. However, Dingzhou is already in chaos, and several more counties have fallen back into the hands of the Hongyi Clan.

The troops of Wu Laoshan in Shanbei Road have already joined forces with those under the command of Shu Zhengde, a general of the Imperial Guard, and are ready to send troops over once the situation becomes uncontrollable.

The sect leader frowned, his tone displeased: "How come it's all just rumors? Don't you know to send letters to different families to inquire? Haven't the Fei family or the state court sent any news?!"

Yuan Jin handed over the letter and explained, “Things have happened too fast. There are still no replies to the letters sent from various places. There is no news from the state court. The news from Commander Fei came earlier than the rumors. The letter only says that it is true that the Earl has returned, but if there is any unusual activity, we should not pay attention and should not worry. However, we are really worried, so we have hurriedly summoned men to mobilize in preparation for any eventuality.”

Kang Dabao carefully read the letter Yuan Jin handed him and found that what Fei Nanying said in his letter was indeed true. Instead of feeling relieved, he frowned even more.

"We've only had a few years of peace, so why is the Marquis of Nan'an back?"

(End of this chapter)