Cultivation: Being Immortal

Chapter 107

Yuanshan Town

When the new day began, Master Qi was waiting early at the entrance of the shrine. Qi family's cultivators entered the shrine one by one to do their daily practice.

Inside the shrine, Qi family's cultivators sat in meditation while Master Qi activated a formation to release spiritual energy. The spiritual energy was very weak because Yuanshan Town didn't have strong spiritual veins. After developing a 50-acre spiritual land, the spiritual energy became almost nonexistent. Qi family had to rely on the Spirit Gathering Formation to collect that little amount of spiritual energy.

After two hours of practice, the training ended. Master Qi checked each person's progress. If their cultivation had improved, they would receive praise from Master Qi and occasionally a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pill as a reward. But if their cultivation had stagnated, they would inevitably be scolded.

"Seventh Youngster, you useless fool. Your cultivation hasn't grown a bit in half a year..."

Today, Seventh Youngster of Qi family was scolded again. He lowered his head and took the scolding like a grandchild. Master Qi scolded until he had no energy left, then waved his hand, telling them all to leave.

At that moment, an old servant walked in, carrying a cup of herbal tea for Master Qi. He advised. Master, don't be too impatient. Cultivation should not be rushed, or else it may ruin everything.

"How can I not be impatient? Do any of these descendants of Qi family have any worth? This is how our Qi family will ever prosper. In the past, my Qi family... ah, let's not talk about it anymore."

Master Qi said with a pained expression. In the past, his Qi family ancestor was a core disciple of the Five Elements Sect. But during a pursuit of evil cultivators, he was severely injured and damaged his dantian. Without powerful healing pills, he missed the chance to ascend to immortality.

After struggling in the Five Elements Sect for several years and feeling disheartened, he used the merit points he had accumulated over decades to obtain an Ascension Order. Then he left the Five Elements Sect and settled in Yuanshan Town.

The Qi family's ancestors had many wives and concubines, and they had many children. However, not many of them had good Spiritual Roots, and their aptitude and talent were average. The Qi family's ancestors gave up on the idea of using the Ascension Order because they knew that with poor aptitude, entering the Five Elements Sect would be a waste of their lives.

Before the Qi family ancestors passed away, they warned their descendants that the Ascension Order was the only chance for the Qi family to turn their fortunes around. It should not be taken lightly, and it should only be used when the Qi family had exceptional young talents.

To their surprise, Qi family went through several generations without any so-called geniuses, instead constantly declining in the secular world.

Cultivation was too difficult – day after day, year after year of training, with little or no rewards. Instead, it was more comfortable to be lazy. With the Qi family's status, they were already a top power among ordinary people. They never had to worry about food and drink, had countless women – so why bother exhausting oneself with cultivation?

It was precisely because of the overall decline of the Qi family that Master Qi had to supervise their cultivation daily. However, even with such efforts, it didn't bring any positive development to the Qi family. Those who wanted to be lazy continued to be lazy, just like the seventh son, who was already over fifty and married several concubines. He wasted his days in his own yard and had no intention of cultivating.

"Master, the third son of the second wife is actually quite good. He has a calm personality, decent talent, and is diligent. He is still young and hasn't been influenced by his uncles yet. We can send him to the Five Elements Sect."

"No, the third son of the second wife only has Three Spiritual Roots. The Five Elements Sect is not like our Yuanshan Town. Three Spiritual Roots won't be considered much. Our Qi family doesn't have enough strength to support him. It will be difficult for him even to establish a foundation."

Master Qi glanced at the old servant. He knew that the old servant had been influenced by the second wife and came to plea for the third son. However, he was unwilling to agree. Three Spiritual Roots were completely insignificant in the Five Elements Sect. Without the support of a family, it would be difficult for him to establish a foundation. The Qi family had already declined and couldn't provide much resources to support future generations. So, Master Qi's minimum requirement was at least a Two Spiritual Roots.

It doesn't matter, then he should have children. Female cultivators may not easily marry into their family, so they can find ordinary people. After all, the Qi family is the largest landlord in Yuanshan Town. They have no worries about raising children. If they have many, naturally, there will be exceptional talents among them.

·······

"Brother Lin, this is Yuanshan Town."

"Do the Qi family really have the Ascension Order?"

"Of course, my senior brother told me that the ancestors of the Qi family were once promising disciples of the Five Elements Sect. However, they were severely injured by evil cultivators during the pursuit and their dantian was damaged. They couldn't gather enough money to buy fourth-grade or higher elixirs in a short time, which delayed their progress. But they had accumulated a lot of Merit Points, so they exchanged them for an Ascension Order."

Zhang Ye said. This is the struggle for someone without background. If the dantian is injured, it can be treated by timely consuming fourth-grade or higher elixirs. But those elixirs for treating internal injuries in the dantian easily cost hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, which not everyone can afford. Most cultivators, including disciples of sects, can only be delayed without receiving proper treatment.

"Is the Qi family willing to sell?"

"Well, that will depend on my abilities. Brother Lin, don't worry, I will definitely get you that Ascension Order."

Zhang Ye said, he had already inquired about it. Since that ancestor, the Qi family has not produced anyone in the Building Foundation Period. It has been more than two hundred years, and the connections established by the Qi family's ancestor have long been exhausted. Today, whether they want to sell or not, they have to sell."

"Alright, but I am a kind and friendly person. If I can buy it, it doesn't matter if the price is high."

Lin Jiang said, looking at Zhang Ye's expression, he could tell what he had in mind. Lin Jiang considered himself not a good person, but not a villain either.

"Brother Lin, don't worry, let's go."

Zhang Ye nodded, and then the two flew to Yuanshan Town.

Yuanshan Town was just an ordinary village of ordinary people. Among the cultivator families, only the Qi family lived there. After Zhang Ye entered the town, he fully activated his divine sense, and the people of the Qi family immediately sensed it and quickly raised their defensive formation.

"I am Qi Zhao, the head of the Qi family. I have met the two elders. May I ask why the elders have come to Yuanshan Town? What brings you here?"

Master Qi stood in the formation, looking at Zhang Ye and Lin Jiang. He was very nervous, but forced himself to remain calm.

"Old man Qi, do you really think your second-tier formation can stop us? Release the formation, or I will break through!"

(Translated by Gravity Tales 😒)

Zhang Ye showed a ferocious expression and angrily reprimanded Qi Zhao. Qi Zhao's face changed drastically. Now he was certain that they had come specifically for their Qi family. However, the Qi family was a decrepit cultivation family with no treasures. Why would they provoke the two Building Foundation elders?

"Boom!"

Master Qi hesitated for a moment, but Zhang Ye became completely impatient and directly attacked. He shook the Qi family's defense formation, causing the women and children inside to scream. Even the men panicked and ran around like headless flies.

"Don't fight, don't fight, senior, please don't fight. I will release the formation now."

Master Qi was extremely frightened. Although his family had a second-level formation, it couldn't withstand the Building Foundation Period at all.

Soon, Master Qi opened the formation and Zhang Ye swaggered in. Lin Jiang hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed suit. Lin Jiang was worried that the Qi family might have an ambush, but when he thought about the Spirit Beast Bag owned by Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao, he felt relieved. Even if the Qi family had some hidden cards, they were no match for a third-level monster.

Zhang Ye didn't understand the concept of diplomacy. He went straight to the point and demanded the Qi family's Ascension Order, making Master Qi's face turn even paler. This Ascension Order was the only chance for the Qi family to rise.

"Master Qi, please don't panic. We are not villains. I want to buy the Ascension Order, not forcibly take it."

"Senior, our family's Ascension Order was sold many years ago."

Master Qi quickly spoke up, and Lin Jiang sighed before exchanging a glance with Zhang Ye. Suddenly, a fierce expression appeared on Zhang Ye's face, and he immediately enveloped Master Qi with his spiritual power.

Master Qi felt like he had fallen into an icy cave. Every hair on his body stood on end, and the terrifying killing intent almost shattered his spirit.

"No sell, no sell, senior please spare me."

"Mr. Qi, I won't play pretend with you. One last chance, is the Ascension Order here or not? If you dare to lie, I will destroy your whole family."

"Yes, it's really here."

Master Qi completely collapsed. The old and young of the Qi family are all here. If they were destroyed, what's the point of talking about rising up?

Lin Jiang glanced at the people of the Qi family. They all trembled and dared not meet his gaze. In his heart, he couldn't help but sigh. In the end, he still became a villain.

In this cultivation world, weakness is the original sin.

"Master Qi, I said it was for buying, not stealing."

"We sell, we sell, senior, it's not stealing."

"Then what price does Master Qi suggest?"

"This..."

"You haven't sold it before, so I guess you don't know how to set a price. Let me make an offer, okay?"

"Okay, okay."

What else can Master Qi do now? Even if Lin Jiang offers just one spirit stone, he has to reluctantly agree.

"I'll offer a high-grade lower-level cultivation technique, which can reach the Nascent Soul stage at its highest. It's suitable for cultivating both the Gold and Fire Spiritual Roots..."

"Okay, sold."

"No rush, I haven't finished yet. In addition to the cultivation technique, I'll also give you thirty second-grade spiritual talismans, ten bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills, and a set of second-grade defensive formation, which is better than what you have now, and can even..."

"Brother Lin"

Zhang Ye couldn't bear it anymore, questioning why they were acting like robbers when someone was here to do business.

"Brother Zhang, forget about it. A small amount of money is not worth mentioning."

"Okay, okay, you decide."

"I will add three hundred runes, from the first to the second level, along with insights from a Talisman Maker. I won't give you any other spirit stones or wealth. Having too much money is not a good thing for your Qi family."

Lin Jiang said. A child carrying gold in a bustling market is asking for trouble. These things are not useful for everyone, but they can directly enhance their combat and defense capabilities.

Moreover, what Lin Jiang gave was already a lot. The value of the profound-level martial arts is not low, and the second-level spiritual talismans alone are worth over a thousand spirit stones. Adding other things, the total value is over eight thousand spirit stones. Runes, for example, require effort to collect even if you have money.

Of course, these things are not worth mentioning to Lin Jiang. He found the martial arts in some unlucky guy's storage bag, drew the spiritual talismans himself, and removed the formations from the previous cave mansion. Runes are no longer useful to him either.

Paying this price, Lin Jiang doesn't ask for anything else, just to avoid feeling too guilty.