From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 46 Beyond the Heavens (Please read on, please vote with monthly tickets)

On the way to the meeting, Qin Chuan took the opportunity to ask about the room allocation at Nongling Temple.

Huo Yuanjue understood his disciple's intentions.

In this day and age, who doesn't want a place to settle down and make a living?

Whether it's enjoying a peaceful old age or finding a spiritual partner, these are both basic needs.

Moreover, given this student's talent, having already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, let alone a small house or courtyard, even meditating in the fertile spiritual fields of Nongling Temple would hardly sustain his cultivation.

Even if spiritual plants consume a lot of spiritual energy, it is still not as great as the amount of energy that a Qi Refining cultivator can absorb.

This is why the Heavenly Court strictly limits the number of cultivators—the spiritual energy of the Eastern Victory Realm is limited, so only those who pass the Dao Trial can cultivate first, and then the spiritual veins can be developed gradually to drive the future, hoping that everyone can cultivate immortality and have a long lifespan.

And a "peerless genius" like Qin Chuan is a big spender of spiritual energy.

Although he knew the student was in dire straits, Huo Yuanjue was not as composed as before. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "The matter of the Lingqu house is indeed difficult for you to handle right now."

Spiritual dwellings and caves have always been crucial for spiritual cultivation.

Wealth, companions, Dharma, and place. One's own grotto is among the four essential elements of spiritual practice.

The newly built spiritual housing in Jiuchuan is attracting the covetous eyes of Taoist priests and cultivators from various celestial offices and celestial workshops.

Nongling Temple has strict rules regarding this:

First, one must have reached the late stage of Qi Refining cultivation; second, one must have made outstanding contributions to the people or one's duties, or have been awarded the title of "Outstanding Taoist"; and most importantly... one must have more than one year of experience.

Huo Yuanjue took a deep drag of his cigarette and said:

"With your talent and ability, you can probably meet the first two requirements soon. However, the third requirement, 'one year of experience,' is an ironclad rule with little room for leniency."

Although Qin Chuan had expected this, he still couldn't help but feel downcast upon hearing it.

Brother He has been at Langyin Pavilion for nearly two years, and you can see the "Outstanding Langyin Taoist" certificate at home. Only when all the conditions are met can one apply for that quota.

Although he had won the favor of County God Sun, he was ultimately not qualified enough.

Seeing that Qin Chuan had managed to calm himself down, Huo Yuanjue comforted him:

"This matter is not urgent. If an opportunity arises, I will certainly intervene on your behalf."

This is as if he were speaking as if it were his own child.

"Thank you, Teacher Xie," Qin Chuan replied.

Before long, an old man and a young man entered the Nongling Temple meeting hall.

As the appointed time approached, people began to arrive one after another.

"Old Huo, it's a real privilege to work with you this time."

An old Taoist priest with a white beard entered with three young Taoist priests, two men and one woman.

The two male cultivators had a calm demeanor and a studious air; the female cultivator, though dressed in a Taoist robe, could not hide her radiant beauty.

"Qin Chuan, come and pay your respects to the old scholar Feng Hefeng of the Agricultural Academy."

Huo Yuanjue introduced, "Of the ten specialists in the class, three are Feng Lao's three top students, and you all happen to know each other."

"This humble Daoist Qin Chuan greets Senior Feng and the three fellow Daoists." Qin Chuan bowed respectfully.

The Agricultural Academy specializes in the evolution of all things according to the laws of nature, and is particularly skilled in the study of spiritual plants.

Feng Lao smiled and nodded, and the three young Taoists returned the greeting in a light tone: "Jing Shou, Teng Qi, Su Liao."

He simply introduced himself and didn't say anything else.

Qin Chuan keenly sensed the aloofness and distance between the three, and understood immediately:
The status of the Nongdao Academy is more noble than that of the Nongling Temple, and the three of them are highly skilled in cultivation and have a higher level of education than ordinary Nongling Taoists, so they naturally have the right to be reserved.

Such people are commonplace in the cultivation world, and he doesn't take them seriously.

"Please take your seats." Huo Yuanjue invited Elder Feng and his party to sit down.

Qin Chuan noticed that Teacher Huo, as the vice class monitor, did not sit in the main seat, but instead sat in the first seat on the right.

"Who is in charge? Could it be that County God Sun is going to preside over the ceremony himself?"

As he was pondering this, he suddenly heard footsteps and immediately rose with three young Taoist priests to greet them.

A female Taoist priest led six people into the hall; they included people of all ages and genders.

Upon seeing who it was, Qin Chuan's pupils widened slightly—it wasn't Sun Qinghan, but another old acquaintance.

"Master Ji has arrived." Huo Yuanjue and Elder Feng bowed in unison.

Ji Yuqi nodded and smiled, "Please be seated, everyone." She walked past Qin Chuan without showing any sign of acquaintance and calmly took the seat of honor.

The four accompanying persons also took their seats in turn.

"Now that everyone has arrived, I, in my capacity as the 'Taoist Abbot' of this small group, hereby announce: This meeting is now officially open."

After Ji Yuqi finished speaking, the room erupted in applause.

Qin Chuan joined the applause, only then realizing that Ji Yuqi was actually the abbot of this Taoist group, and her position was even above that of Elder Huo.

As the applause subsided, Ji Yuqi announced in a clear voice: "The personnel structure and rank arrangement of this class are hereby announced as follows:"

The Jiuchuan Agricultural and Spiritual Economic Research Institute is a special team established by the county temple through a collective decision.

One class leader was appointed, who was concurrently held by Sun Qinghan, the county magistrate.

There will be one abbot for the Taoist sect, and I will serve in that role.

The two deputy group leaders are Fellow Daoists Huo Yuanjue and Feng He, respectively.
There are ten specialists in the class: Qin Chuan, the Taoist priest of Tianlu Temple in Nongling Temple;
The Daoist practitioners at the Agricultural Academy were Jing Shou, Teng Qi, and Su Liao.
And the five Taoist priests of the Dragon Tiger Blessed Land yam cultivation experimental site: Tian Xiaoya, Miao Yusheng, Gu Ling'er, Pu Hui, and Ren Qiu.

I heard about the "Dragon and Tiger Blessed Land Yam Planting Experimental Site".

Qin Chuan suddenly recalled a scene broadcast by the Jiujiang County Cultural Bureau a month ago:
Sun, the county magistrate, once went to that area to learn about agricultural practices in order to expand the crop economy of Jiuchuan.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that this group was responsible for more than just the cultivation of oranges; it was actually related to the research and development of agricultural economy in the entire Jiuchuan region...

Upon thinking of this, his heart suddenly pounded.

Since this office has been approved by the county temple, it is a legitimate government office with administrative power.

All policies concerning the entire county possess terrifying power and involve extremely high levels of hidden power, even allowing for the mobilization of lower-level departments.

For example, when inspecting rural areas, the special comrades in the team are like imperial envoys descending to earth, and they have to revolve around them.

This means that, as a commissioner, even without the official rank of deputy director, he already implicitly possesses the authority and responsibilities of a deputy director!

He finally understood what being in this class meant—

This is an invisible promotion!

Although he has no salary or rank as a deputy director, he has secretly wielded the power of a deputy director!
Just as Qin Chuan was pondering the extent of the power he had gained, Ji Yuqi had already introduced the last person.

"The last commissioner, though present in the group, was actually a celestial-level spiritual plant advisor specially invited by County God Sun Qinghan for Jiuchuan."

Upon hearing this, everyone present solemnly looked at the old man with white hair and beard.

Heavenly Court-Level Spiritual Plant Consultant?

Seeing that everyone was holding their breath, Ji Yuqi slowly said:

"This is the Grand Scholar of Xiaoxiang Academy—Master Xuanji."

The entire room was shaken.

Xiaoxiang Heavenly Academy is the place where the Taoist teachings are most profound among the thirty-six grotto heavens of the Heavenly Court. Although the Grand Scholars there are not celestial officials of the Heavenly Court, they hold Taoist credentials and must be highly accomplished Taoist masters.

If one is a first-class scholar, one's Taoist cultivation is comparable to that of a celestial being in a cave.

Although I suspected that the person in front of me might not be a celestial being descended to earth, even if he was a fifth or sixth-rank Grand Scholar, his position was still unfathomable.

"True Master Xuanji!"

In an instant, everyone present, including Huo Yuanjue and Feng He, stood up. Even the three arrogant Daoist practitioners from the Agricultural Academy showed respect in their eyes.

However, faced with the respectful greetings of the crowd, the white-haired and white-bearded scholar shook his head and smiled, saying:
"This old man did not agree to be a spiritual plant consultant for County Goddess Sun. Even this position of specialist was only obtained after she begged for several days with a knowledge talisman. Besides, this old man is of little use in this matter—I specialize in the Five Grains and know very little about cash crops. The purpose of my visit is quite simple..."

At first, the crowd did not pay much attention to the old scholar's modesty, but when they heard that he "majored in the five grains," they believed that what he said was true.

Grains and cash crops such as oranges and yams are indeed not in the same category.

So they all listened attentively to the old man's true meaning.

Master Xuanji sipped his tea and said:

"As the curtain of heaven rises, the academy master of Perfect World Academy visited my Xiaoxiang Cave Academy some time ago and invited us to visit and exchange ideas before leaving."

The Heavenly Court then formed several "academic discussion groups," intending to travel there to exchange knowledge. As it happened, I had a student spot available, which your county lord "begged" for.

"To put it bluntly, your Spirit Oranges were imported from Perfect World, weren't they? County God Sun's intention is to take this opportunity to send someone with me on a journey to the outer heavens for over a month, so that they can properly study the Spirit Oranges and agricultural matters there. That's all."

　Tuesday, please continue reading, it's a recommendation contest, so I'm posting both chapters together. Please read and vote with your monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)