Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 484 Preparing to travel
"It has been many years since the Fei family brothers have seen Ancestor Tianqin appear. However, their status in the family is not high, and they are not allowed to access many important matters. Therefore, they are not sure whether Ancestor Tianqin has returned to the Yingzhou clan territory."

"Hmm, that's true," Headmaster Kang nodded for a moment. The reason he was concerned about Fei Tianqin's whereabouts was that in the past year or two, the Grand Elder of the Liangyi Sect and Xiang Tianxing, the General Affairs Manager of the Zhaixing Tower, had been quite active, but Fei Tianqin had not shown his face for a long time. As a result, none of the Golden Core cultivators in the Duke of Qin's mansion could control him, and they were at a disadvantage in the situation, which was quite unsightly.

Even though Wu Lao Mountain was a major sect for Nascent Soul cultivators, it couldn't find any outstanding individuals to match it. In the end, it was the Hehuan Sect, which had only recently settled in the northern part of the mountain, that helped them a great deal.

Among the disciples of Master Jiangxue, there was one named Lanxin Shangxiu, who was a Golden Core cultivator with exceptionally sharp skills. She fought Pu Honggu alone without being at a disadvantage, only slightly inferior to Xiang Tianxing.

With her at the core, the various cultivators of the Duke of Qin's mansion were still no match for the two of them working together. However, with the combined strength of Shu Zhengde and the other Golden Core cultivators, the two of them could no longer maintain their arrogance.

It is thanks to the presence of such a person among Master Jiangxue's disciples that Kuang Liuting, who had just become the heir to the throne, would have had to condescend to personally participate in the event.

Nowadays, rumors circulate that this Duke of Qin, David, was bestowed with the true essence of the Great Ancestor by someone from the outer sea. Although he has not truly fought against those of the same level since he became a Golden Core cultivator and has not made any breakthroughs in his cultivation, in the eyes of many important figures, Kuang Liuting is probably capable of competing with these top Golden Core cultivators.

However, Bai Canhong, the master of Zhaixing Tower, did not seem to have any intention of competing with the Duke of Qin's mansion. The biggest move of Zhaixing Tower was to call on some of the leading figures among the "three managers" under his command to cooperate with the group of Golden Core cultivators of Zhaixing Tower to suppress the Duke's mansion's generals, who had become increasingly successful and ambitious in recent years. That was enough for him.

This is because after Master Jiangxue took up residence in Shanbei Road, some people in the Duke of Qin's mansion, blinded by greed, even began to clamor for the mansion to form a large army to drive out the local tyrant Zhaixing Tower in Shannan Road in one battle, so that the Duke of Qin could truly control both Shannan and Shanbei Roads.

Under such circumstances, some fools dared to provoke border conflicts, intending to incite a major war between the two sides in order to gain an advantage.
This fervor was naturally suppressed by the tacit cooperation of the high-level officials of both sides. However, it was clear to everyone that unless there was further reinforcement from Taiyuan, the Qin State Duke's Mansion was still far from being a match for Zhaixing Tower.

After all, putting aside the other strengths of both sides for the time being, just mentioning Bai Canhong, the master of the Star-Picking Pavilion, is a first-rate figure in the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty, apart from a few late-stage Grand Masters.

It's already quite good that Master Jiangxue and Master Yueyin can protect themselves together; how dare they dream of anything more?

Zhaixinglou has been stationed in Shannan Road for many years. With Liangyi Sect, Yunshui Sect and Xianyu Family as its three subordinate groups, it can be said to have a strong army. Even in a place like Jingji Road, it is not necessarily weaker than those powerful families, let alone the newly established Qin State Duke's Mansion.

Judging from the reactions of all parties, if there are no major changes in the coming years, the two sides will either have a grand and open war, fighting to the death, or they will simply maintain the status quo and not easily resort to violence.

This is exactly what Headmaster Kang has been hoping for, since the Chongming Sect is currently lacking only time. Whether it's Headmaster Kang or his disciples, what they need most is to cultivate diligently during peaceful times.

If everything goes smoothly, once Headmaster Kang forms his Golden Core, there should be nearly twenty true cultivators in the sect. While this is meager compared to other Golden Core sects, it's still usable.

As for why Kang Dabao wanted Kang Changxi to return to the Fei family to gather information, it was simply because he had never forgotten to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances. After all, given the current situation, the whereabouts of a Golden Core cultivator who was somewhat close to him was of paramount importance to his family.

Not long after the father and son finished their conversation, the Daoist gathering was held in Kang Dabao's courtyard, the headmaster's residence.

At this time, in addition to the group of true cultivators, there were also Kang Da Sect Leader's wives and concubines from various places, as well as many stewards from various important halls, such as Ye Yaoling, steward of Yulin Hall, and Wei Gu of Qi Hall, who were all present.

The two mentioned above were among the most senior disciples and had long accumulated enough merit to exchange for spiritual items, but they hesitated to proceed due to great fear in their hearts.

Even the teachers and elders couldn't offer much advice on this matter; they could only leave it to the two of them to decide.

Kang Changxi, who had just achieved the Dao Foundation stage, became a particularly eye-catching presence in the arena. His high level of cultivation was the envy of many Golden Core sects around him.

Just considering that Chongming Sect is a small, insignificant sect with only about ten true cultivators, it is simply unbelievable that it could have three Ice Leaf Dao Foundation cultivators.

Kang Changyi once sent a message back from Xuanwei City. The message said that his master, Lady Qi, had heard rumors that there was no distinction between friend and foe in Shannan Dao, and that several cultivators were quite interested in the secrets of Chongming Sect. Therefore, she asked the sect leader Kang to be on high alert.

The same news also came from Yan Qingwei's direction.

Because of his previous life-risking battles in the northern mountains, Wu Feng Shangxiu, who still hadn't found a suitable magic weapon and regained his full strength, was eventually granted a favor and established the only Golden Core sect in Dingzhou, a not-so-fertile spiritual land.

Wuweilou also played a significant role in the decisive battle at Santingzhou in Shanbeidao.

She Fu, the master of Wuwei Tower, along with the other alchemists in the tower and two senior cultivators from the Yang family of Yezhou, joined forces to kill a senior cultivator from the Beikui Sect. This achievement was quite remarkable among the Golden Core sects under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Qin's mansion.

The Jingnan Prefecture originally intended for Wuwei Tower was insufficient to reward them. Fortunately, Master Yueyin was quite enlightened. After killing many people in Shanbei Road, a lot of immortal mountains and spiritual lands were vacated in Shanbei Road. Wumu Mountain and its vassals had a hard time occupying them, so a lot of them were allocated to the Duke of Qin's mansion.

The Fearless Tower was conveniently located on the Mugen Mountain of the Red Heart Sect in Fazhou, which had been breached by Chu Yanran. If the cultivators of the Chongming Sect ever came to visit again, it could be considered a return to their old haunts.

Even though the Fearless Tower had already moved to the northern part of the mountain, Master Kang didn't believe that all the spies his family had planted in the southern part of the mountain had been withdrawn. That was the culmination of generations of Fearless Tower's efforts over a thousand years; there was no reason to give it up so easily.

When Kang Dabao heard that Tie Liuyun, the former deputy commander of the Demon-Slaying Division of Yunjiao Prefecture, had managed to achieve the Core Formation somewhere several years ago, Duke Kuang Liuting of Qin, upon hearing the news, seemed inclined to disregard past grievances and continue to give him an important position.

Tie Liuyun also seemed very interested in the intelligence network that Wuweilou had seen, and had recently had quite a few dealings with Wuweilou. To outsiders, it seemed that the two families could easily make peace and each get what they needed.

Both of these matters came from Granny Fei Liu, and they are quite true. Although this old woman is not a Golden Core cultivator, after Fei Tianqin disappeared for a long time and Fei Nanying went into seclusion, she took over the management of the Sheshan Hall.

However, the Yingshan Army, now under the command of the brothers Fei Bofeng and Fei Zhongyun, was no longer under their control. This was because the Yingzhou clan's territory seemed to have been prepared with the former's Core Formation spiritual items, which would soon be delivered by special personnel.

When this news came, it did make Master Kang a little jealous, but after thinking about it for a moment, he understood.

No matter how good a son-in-law is, he is still an outsider. Even with his current power and influence, the emperor's decision to grant Shen Lingfeng such a great opportunity back then was a huge one, let alone the Fei family of Yingzhou. In truth, Kang Dabao has already gained considerable advantages through his status as the Fei family's son-in-law, so there's no reason for him to covet more. He turned his thoughts back to the Daoist gathering.

At this moment, at the Daoist gathering of Chongming Sect, Fei Shuhe sat together with Yuan Xiyue, Zhang Qingran, and Huo Ying.

Among Kang Dabao's sons, apart from Kang Changyi who was still in Xuanwei City accompanying his master in his cultivation, his eldest legitimate son Kang Changxi, eldest daughter Kang Lingyi, second illegitimate son Kang Changyan, and third illegitimate son Kang Changzhao were also present, all sitting around their legitimate mother.

These offspring constitute all of Master Kang's spiritual roots. These years have been much more peaceful than in previous years, so even though Kang Dabao, who just celebrated his 100th birthday three years ago, no longer indulges in reckless behavior, he still has plenty of leisure time to pass the time.

Thus, Zhang Qingran gave birth to a son six years ago. Unfortunately, during the Ascension Ceremony last year, it was discovered that the child had neither spiritual roots nor a predestined affinity with immortality.

The woman, pitying her own child, did not want to send him down the mountain, so she kept him by her side. She told Kang Dabao that she would send him back to Chongming City after he turned sixteen and make him the head of the Kang clan.

As for the position of Lord of Chongming City, it has always been held by the Kang family's eldest son. When Kang Dabao's offspring grow up, it will be just right to take it back and pass it on to his descendants.

Yuan Xiyue is now six months pregnant and will give birth within three months. Her expression is much softer than before, unlike the beautiful and talented concubine candidate she once was.

Huo Ying has no ambition for immortality and is currently only a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. She has neither the desire nor the ability to aspire to the Foundation Establishment realm, and being much older than Sect Leader Kang, she has no chance of bearing any more children for Kang Dabao.

However, his own son, Kang Changyi, is only sixty years old and has already become a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, which is much faster than the progress of his elders such as Yuan Jin and Ye Zhengwen.

Having such a son should be enough of a comfort to Huo Ying.

The eldest daughter, Kang Lingyi, had only been practicing for a short time, and she and her two younger brothers could not understand the profound principles spoken by their two older brothers on the stage. They were only happy because of the way their older brothers were speaking so confidently.

Her obedience was clearly seen by her stepmother, Fei Shuhe, who felt a great increase in her favor towards Kang Lingyi. She thought to herself, "My aunt has made some progress in telling me about Changxi going to the Han family's land to cultivate. It's not impossible to let this girl go with me to serve them. Who knows, she might encounter some good fortune."

Thinking of this, Fei Shuhe also remembered that when her aunt mentioned this matter, she specifically mentioned Master Kang. The reason why this matter, which had been put aside for so long, had taken a turn for the better was precisely because the news of Kang Dabao leading his men to force back Gu Chengsen, the Daoist disciple of the Chixin Sect, at Mugen Mountain had spread.

It's rare for an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator to last a few rounds against a fake Pill Master. For someone like Master Kang, who can kill Pill Masters and force back Upper Cultivators while only at the Foundation Establishment stage, is extremely rare, even among the prestigious Yu Kun Han family.

Therefore, many of Han Ningyue's relatives were quite interested in this "real relative," which made it much easier to push forward Kang Changxi's plan to study at the Han family of Yukun.

Kang Lingyi was unaware that her stepmother was actually scheming for her future because of the sincere expression on her face. Even if it were her second brother standing on the stage, she had no patience to listen to those obscure and profound principles for long. Before long, she found something of curiosity on the maid standing behind Fei Shuhe.

The maid carried an exquisite gold-threaded cage containing a small, adorable sparrow that easily caught the eye of the young girl, Kang Lingyi.

The little girl was unaware that this caged bird knew Master Kang even earlier than many of the Chongming disciples present.

This creature, which only spoke auspicious words, received an extraordinary fortune because it followed the right person. Originally just an ordinary bird that could only live for a few years, it has now not only lived for over sixty years, but also broken free of its bloodline shackles and become a mid-grade first-tier spirit beast.

The long lifespan of demonic beasts is enough to make most cultivators of the same level envious. If nothing unexpected happens along the way, this sparrow may outlive most of the elites in this school, and in the future, it might even be able to protect disciples like the golden-haired old donkey.

Fei Shuhe has now named it "Wan'er," and its daily necessities are treated like those of a first-class maid, which shows how lucky this sparrow is.

Kang Lingyi had come up to the maid carrying the cage and asked for it, but the maid was hesitant to entrust the more senior "Miss Wan'er" to her. Just as she was in a dilemma, she saw Fei Shuhe, who was sitting in the main seat, nod her head slightly, which made Kang Lingyi's wish come true.

The little girl was having a great time playing with Wan'er, and she would giggle from time to time, which made the otherwise serious Taoist society a bit more lively.

After Kang Changxi came down, he pretended to be displeased and flicked his little sister's nose. This did not make her stop, but it attracted the attention of several mothers, causing the young master to quickly pull his two equally innocent younger brothers away to another place.

The next person to step onto the chessboard to speak was Jin Shilun. He hadn't been at the Foundation Establishment stage for very long, and his cultivation hadn't been going smoothly lately. However, he had picked up his long-neglected cooking skills again. So he didn't have much to say, but simply shared his Foundation Establishment insights with the cultivators present.

Compared to Kang Changxi, who faced few obstacles on his path of cultivation, Jin Shilun, who had been stagnant for a long time, was more enlightening to his disciples with his teachings.

After speaking, Jin Shilun presented Ye Zhengwen with the newly compiled Foundation Establishment Manual, asking the latter to include it in the sect's library for safekeeping. This was also a tradition established by the sect leader, Kang Da, that younger disciples who wanted to establish their foundation could spend a relatively inexpensive amount of merit beforehand and learn by following the writings of their predecessors, making the process much smoother.

Not only did disciples like Jin Shilun, who achieved Foundation Establishment, contribute their hard work free of charge, but even the lessons learned from the failures of disciples like Song Cheng and Ye Pingshui during their lifetimes would be included in the Scripture Pavilion if they were preserved.

Just like when Pei Yi handed Li Shishu's notes to Headmaster Kang back then, the so-called foundation of a sect is accumulated bit by bit.

The Taoist gathering lasted for ten days, and the participants all gained something, more or less. Even Kang Lingyi, who had no intention of cultivating, became very familiar with Wan'er, so her trip was not in vain.

Just in time, the selected immortal seedlings were all ready. Headmaster Kang had no time to spare. As long as his disciples performed their duties well, he himself would prepare to travel with Jiang Qing to Hong County to congratulate Xu Liuxian, who had obtained the false elixir.

(I got caught by my boss today. I went from Ningbo to Heze for interviews. I got up at 5 a.m. and interviewed 120 young men by myself this afternoon. I just got back to Jinan by high-speed train and now I'm back at the hotel. I still need to organize the data. That's all for tonight. The business trip will last until Saturday. Please forgive me if there are any delays in updating. Thank you to the reader for the 688 reading coins.)

(End of this chapter)