Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 545 There are joys and sorrows
—One year later, in the Raven Mountain Range and Phoenix Cry Mountain
This year, the training of the Songfeng Righteous Guard started much later than in previous years. As a result, by the time You Xiaobao removed his armor and returned to his own sacred ground with supplies, it was already early winter.

According to what the cultivators sent by Chongming Sect preached in the past, places like Fengming Mountain may have warm dragons hidden in the spiritual veins during winter. If the head of the household does not mind the hardship, they can also grow a season of Xuanxin radish.

Recently, due to the increasing prosperity of the markets under the jurisdiction of Chongming Sect, the sales of these kinds of useless spiritual materials, which only have the advantage of delicious taste, have been quite good, which has brought in a lot of income for the still poor Fengming You family.

You Xiaobao took the job alone, and naturally couldn't take care of many things at home. So, the affairs of the spiritual land could only be handled by his master Cai Qingyun and a group of disciples with varying levels of cultivation.

When the You family of Fengming becomes more prosperous in the future, any outstanding individuals among these retainers will have the opportunity to become sons-in-law of the You family. The You family may also rise to prominence like other prominent families, thanks to the wealth extracted from these individuals.

However, as the head of Maolin Jia, You Xiaobao was still able to send people to help tend the spirit fields as a sign of respect, even when he was away from home. People from families like the Golden Sword Sect and the Hua Family would send people to help him tend the spirit fields as a way of showing their respect.

Therefore, things at home can't really be delayed.

Yu Xiaobao's cultivation had improved, so his rank among the hundred and ten fire chiefs had moved up a few places. As a result, the hundred chief, Dong Hu, obtained a deer from the logistics department for him.

Despite being just a lame beast, for a Qi Refining cultivator like You Xiaobao, it is an excellent mount that the beast masters of the Chongming Sect's Beast Garden have improved in recent years.

Its rank had even reached the mid-grade of the first rank, making it difficult for three or five early-stage cultivators to get close. If it weren't for its slight imperfection, this good fortune wouldn't have fallen into You Xiaobao's lap.

You Xiaobao was naturally delighted to have acquired a mount for free, but the grass deer's cultivation resources were also a burden.

Even if it's just a single white alfalfa that costs two spirit stones, the grass deer would still need two spirit stones from You Xiaobao over the course of a month, not to mention the various equipment, elixirs, and herdsmen.

Even though You Xiaobao also holds the title of a Righteous Fire Chief and receives a fixed amount of rations from the upper sect every year, this expense is still enough to make him frown.

After all, his son, You Wenrui, was still at the Mo family's residence in Baomaduo Ridge, Weishan, diligently cultivating under the tutelage of Mo Ku, a former outer disciple of the Chongming Sect. No matter how strapped for cash the You family was, they couldn't avoid giving gifts for the three major festivals and two birthdays.

He had just returned from the spirit field and exchanged a few words with his master Cai Qingyun before setting off for his residence. Unexpectedly, he encountered an acquaintance who was waiting for him halfway there.

"Chief You has worked very hard this time."

The newcomer was tall and upright, neatly dressed, and dignified, yet he was dressed like a country peddler. Although he had two or three large storage bags around his waist, he also carried a cargo basket as tall as himself on his back, which was quite strange.

Seeing the person opposite him, You Xiaobao sighed deeply, his words revealing a hint of helplessness: "Fellow Daoist Shui, you've arrived too quickly. I haven't even had a chance to warm up the spirit stones I obtained from the upper sect, and you've already set your sights on them again."

The water spirit was clearly quite familiar with You Xiaobao. Hearing the sarcasm in the words, he wasn't annoyed, but simply said in a cheerful voice:
"You Huozhang's words are hurtful. We follow the call of the tower and travel to the countryside, all to make it easier for fellow Daoists and save them trouble. We are not as mercenary as you say."

As he spoke, he rearranged the goods behind him. Before long, the goods were laid out flat into a low table, which was filled with all sorts of spiritual items. You Xiaobao looked at it carefully for a while and felt that it was really orderly, yet he couldn't find a single gap. He sighed and said, "No wonder he makes money."

Fengming Mountain was quite a distance from the branch of Chongming Xiaolou in Jiachou Military Camp. The peddler was a decent person and indeed had many useful items on hand, so You Xiaobao didn't need to think too much and began to examine them.

"Please take a look, Master You. This Blazing Fire Sword is a rare find among mid-grade flying swords, crafted by the Refining Hall of the Upper Sect. It was forged by Elder Yuan's direct disciple, the chief apprentice of Steward He. It's here, take a look,"

The peddler surnamed Shui paused, pointed to a hair-thick crack on the flying sword, and whispered, "Fellow Daoist, please look. It's because the Fire Circulation Technique was a bit too strong that this magic sword dropped in rank. Otherwise, it should be a high-grade flying sword."

You Xiaobao pushed the cart away without even looking at it closely, showing no interest in asking the price. He bluntly said, "Go away, you peddler, you're clearly making fun of me. Do you think I'm someone who can buy a flying sword?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong with You Huozhang? I'm not the type to make fun of people," the peddler surnamed Shui said, bowing slightly to calm You Xiaobao's anger. He then added:

“This flying sword may not be of much need to you, fellow Daoist, but I know that you have a son who is cultivating in the Mo family of Maduo Ridge. This flying sword would be of great benefit to him.”

"What benefits?" You Xiaobao wondered.

After looking around with a mysterious expression, the peddler surnamed Shui whispered, "The Mo family head, Mo Ku, has no children with spiritual roots yet. There are rumors that he intends to recruit a son-in-law from among his disciples, and he plans to settle the matter with a martial arts contest."

"A son-in-law?!" You Xiaobao's expression suddenly turned ugly. After all, among his bloodline, only You Wenrui currently possessed spiritual roots. If he were to be taken in as a son-in-law and have his surname changed, how could that be considered a good thing?!

“Returning to the ancestral lineage after three generations, what’s wrong with that!” The peddler surnamed Shui saw through You Xiaobao’s intentions at a glance, and before the latter could speak, he spoke up again:

"Don't you know what kind of person the Mo family head is? Even your former master, who was able to serve the sect leader, was extremely friendly to the Mo family head!"
Don't underestimate him just because he's an abandoned outer disciple. Compared to the true disciples and inner disciples of Xiaohuan Mountain, who is truly valuable? Don't you, Master You, have any idea?

Upon hearing the peddler's words, You Xiaobao's anger subsided considerably. After all, he knew that although Mo Ku had descended from Xiaohuan Mountain, he was different from Du Qing, who was not well-liked by the cultivators on the mountain.

He has always been quite close to the lineage of Elder Zhou Yixiu of the Spirit Plant Sect, and he also has a good relationship with rising stars of the Chongming Sect like Kang Rongquan. Therefore, even though the Mo family is only a Qi Refining sect in the Cold Crow Mountains, they can still interact with Foundation Establishment forces like the Yang family of Hongshan on an equal footing.

For ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, being able to be on good terms with the Mo family is something to be very happy about.

The peddler surnamed Shui was eloquent and persuasive. After a little encouragement, You Xiaobao's resistance gradually melted away.

After the latter nodded repeatedly, the peddler surnamed Shui handed him the gleaming flying sword to examine it closely, and said enticingly:
“Such fine items are rare, and this mid-grade flying sword is reasonably priced and made with materials comparable to a high-grade flying sword. I don’t even know where else I can find it. This is also related to your son’s future. If you, You Huochang, are truly not tempted, I, an outsider, can only sigh for you.”

You Xiaobao gave a wry smile, then said helplessly, "Fellow Daoist Ren Shui is so eloquent, it's not easy for me to gather so many spirit stones."

The peddler surnamed Shui shook his head and said, "If you, Yu Huochang, were to use these words to fool others, you might be able to fool them, but I, Shui, am well aware of the truth."

After all, who knows better than me that this area around Maolinjia is where you, Chief You, are most adept at managing your household? Besides, your Fengming Mountain is a wonderful place, not only with spirit bamboo and spirit fish, but also with specially cultivated mushroom fields. The produce has been sold to the Chongming Sect disciples for many years now, so how could you possibly not be able to scrape together a few spirit stones?!

Hearing this, You Xiaobao had nothing to say, since it seemed that the peddlers sent out by Chongming Xiaolou, such as the cultivator with the surname Shui, also had the duty of visiting people.

In terms of familiarity with each household, these people are probably much more knowledgeable than village chiefs like You Xiaobao.

Some busybodies even claimed that this was the real reason why Chongming Xiaolou was sending out peddlers everywhere. Meanwhile, the intelligence gathered by the Chongming Clan Office regarding its jurisdiction was practically overflowing.

Some older cultivators, who often considered themselves elders, even privately slandered him, claiming that Sect Leader Kang was actually stricter than the Grand Ancestor was back then, only his methods were more subtle and he often played the good guy. However, compared to these rumors of dubious veracity, You Xiaobao didn't take them to heart for the time being. So he simply asked the peddler surnamed Shui for a price, carefully considered it for a while, and then nodded in agreement:

“If that’s the case, then it’s settled. However, I don’t have enough spirit stones on hand right now, so I’ll give half first, and the other half will be secured by the few acres of mushroom fields at home. I won’t leave Fellow Daoist Shui with a pile of bad debts.”

"Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, Chief You!" The peddler surnamed Shui smiled so broadly that his eyebrows and eyes seemed to fold together, and it was easy to tell that he must have made a considerable sum of money again.

Although the families of Hanya Mountain have escaped poverty thanks to the support of Chongming Sect, they are still far from wealthy.

Those from humble backgrounds who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, such as the peddler surnamed Shui, were generally not someone they could befriend. Therefore, cultivators like You Xiaobao, who held military positions and whose families produced wealth, were considered top-tier guests in his eyes.

If you really think about it, most of the company's revenue this year comes from these kinds of people. Otherwise, the peddler surnamed Shui wouldn't have revealed Mo Ku's son-in-law recruitment information for free.

After all, if he were willing to sell to those idle people known as "know-it-alls," this peddler surnamed Shui could at least get eleven or twelve spirit stones.

However, this was not bad either. As soon as You Xiaobao arrived, the peddler surnamed Shui emptied his pockets, saving the latter a lot of hard work.

However, the former was a cautious person, so he could only watch helplessly as the peddler surnamed Shui collected all the dazzling array of spiritual items, secretly envious.

Not long after, the peddler surnamed Shui picked up his stall again, jumped a little while lifting the hemp rope on his shoulder, and was about to bow and take his leave when he heard You Xiaobao ask, "Hey, there seems to be a word on your stall, fellow Daoist?"

His painstaking efforts were finally discovered, and the peddler surnamed Shui could hardly hide his smugness. After taking several deep breaths in front of You Xiaobao, he pointed to the character "勤" (qin, meaning diligent) in the lower right corner of the front of his stall and said in a cheerful voice:
"This peddler's stall was personally bestowed upon me by Manager Mo of the branch when I was evaluated and promoted to first-class peddler at the end of this year. The character '勤' (diligence) on it was also copied exactly from the peddler's stall used by Manager Kang of the previous sect."

As soon as the peddler surnamed Shui finished speaking, You Xiaobao immediately understood. After all, which of the peddlers around wasn't using Master Kang as their benchmark?

This can be seen from the fact that even though they had storage bags, they still carried a peddler as tall as themselves on their backs, just like Kang Dabao back then, who was extremely poor and didn't even have a storage bag.

You Xiaobao touched the storage bag, which was already mostly empty, and examined the Li Huo Sword in his hand for a while. He was about to go back and pack it up before personally delivering the flying sword to Ma Duo Ridge.

Before he had gone halfway there, he saw General Dong Hu, who was also the village head, looking anxious as he fled towards the Jia Chou military camp.

"Dong Baijiang, what's wrong?"

“A message came from the Jiachou military camp, saying that the ancestral bell rang seven times, indicating an impending change.”

“Double sounds signify joy, odd sounds signify sorrow,” You Xiaobao murmured to himself, then immediately sensed something was wrong. He felt that the flying sword he had just acquired seemed to have lost much of its spiritual essence.

—————Xiao Huanshan, Chongmingzong
Zhou Yixiu, her face rosy, leaned against the tall haystack, watching the long, resounding bell on the distant peak. A look of satisfaction suddenly appeared on her face: "Hey, that bell really does ring out in a grand manner."

He was so old that he seemed to be nothing more than a skin stripped of its grease, clinging tightly to his thin bones. His already dwindling vitality dissipated like smoke under the sunlight, which seemed to intensify the sorrow of the senior brothers surrounding him.

At this moment, Zhou Yixiu was much more magnanimous than the other cultivators present. He grinned and laughed for a while before saying, "Senior Brother, don't forget to tell all the households under your jurisdiction to wear mourning clothes for three days, so that I, your junior brother, can have a moment of glory."

The joy of the sect leader Kang, who had just obtained the magic weapon and cut off the golden core, had mostly faded by now. When he heard Zhou Yixiu's speech and instructions, he could only suppress his grief and nod slowly, "I remember. I will make the arrangements when I get back. It will be as glorious as you think."

Back then, when Kang Dabao accepted Zhou Yixiu as a disciple on behalf of his master, it could be said that both sides benefited from each other's efforts. However, after nearly a century of interaction, which of the cultivators present hadn't become a fellow disciple with this honest and hardworking master who was willing to sacrifice his own life for the sect?

Zhou Yixiu's eyes flickered, his throat bobbed as if he had something to say, but in the end he only said, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

Yuan Jin, already feeling lonely, was heartbroken, yet he still maintained a nonchalant demeanor, sitting down directly next to Zhou Yixiu, taking out a bottle of strong liquor, and asking with a laugh:
"You, junior brother, are not used to sleeping on the high-grade spiritual bed that your senior brother personally arranged for the elder. You insist on resting in this haystack. You are really willing to make things difficult for us."

Zhou Yixiu opened his mouth and let Yuan Jin feed him the wine, but as soon as the fine wine entered his mouth, he realized that he no longer had the strength to swallow.

This scene finally made Ye Zhengwen unable to hold back any longer, and two streams of clear tears flowed from the tough man's eyes, which ironically gave the wild grass at his feet a wonderful gift.

"Second Senior Brother, you're so stingy! Such fine wine, why didn't you invite me sooner?" After drinking, Zhou Yixiu spoke with increasing difficulty, his bones seemingly limp and lifeless. However, he still managed to answer Yuan Jin's earlier question:

"Sigh, leaning against the couch watching my children, wife, disciples, and followers make a ruckus, crying and wailing all at once, what's the point?"

He paused for a long time, as if he had just mustered up a few more words to speak. The veins on his neck bulged and throbbed erratically for a moment before he finally managed to utter another sentence:
“In my entire life of cultivating immortality, you have never even touched a life. You are a useless person. It was only because of your senior brother’s shelter that you became an elder of a major sect and a junior brother of a fellow cultivator.”

He rested for a while longer, his face flushed as if carried away by the breeze along with the fine grass in the field, before finally speaking:
“Junior brother, I have spent my whole life cultivating spiritual fields, but all I know is how to cultivate them. Fortunately, I have been blessed by heaven in my lifetime. Junior brother, I have found a good place to cultivate the fields well for the rest of my life.”

He seemed to slide off the haystack intentionally or unintentionally, and only when his curled-up fingers touched the spiritual soil did a sense of peace return to his face.

He seemed to have been given some strength by the spiritual field he had painstakingly cultivated, and speaking was no longer difficult for him:

"My eldest brother is exceptionally kind and virtuous, and Anle has a bright future ahead of him. As for Xinran, Kun'er, and Yunzhou, I, your junior brother, will not need to worry about them in the future."
Rongquan's talent far surpasses mine; he only lacks sincerity in farming. As for the sect's businesses, I, your junior brother, need not worry about them. My only concern right now is Le'er.”

"Yes, I know." It took a lot of effort for Master Kang to finally prevent the sorrow from escaping his throat.

Zhou Yixiu smiled for a while, then finally said in a slow voice, "Since my senior brothers have agreed, what else could I possibly worry about? Alright, thank you all for seeing me off. I'm going to see Xue Rong now."

"Wait a minute, listen before you go." Kang Dabao pinched Zhou Yixiu hard, but the latter seemed oblivious to the pain and just smiled.

But then Jiang Qing, who had been silent all along, took out a newly copied book and coughed lightly: "Chongming Sect currently has eight hundred second-tier spirit fields."

Zhou Yixiu heard this, and when he closed his eyes, he seemed to see the desolate scene when he first arrived at Xiaohuan Mountain to take up his post.
"That's great!"

On the 21st day of the 11th month of the 495th year of the Qianfeng reign of Emperor David, a day when the God of Destiny was in charge and it was auspicious for teaching and preaching, he died on Thursday, at a time unsuitable for farming.

(End of this chapter)