Chapter 7

On the second day at dawn, Li Jian, Duan Yan, Jiang Yuanchen, and Li Wen all got up early and gathered in the courtyard to cultivate the Pure Yang Purple Qi. The morning yang energy of the rising sun was favored by the Tai Xu Dao Sect, and these disciples had also developed the habit of getting up early to practice their qi cultivation.

After completing their exercises, Li Jian said to Duan Yan, "This time, I need to go down the mountain to procure a lot of things, so I'll have to trouble you to help me with the arrangements." Saying this, Li Jian took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Duan Yan to review.

"Seven hundred wolf-hair brushes, seven hundred sheep-hair brushes, seven hundred rabbit-hair brushes, five hundred pounds of pine ink, one thousand pounds of cinnabar, yellow paper..." As Duan Yan read out the items one by one, he couldn't help but smile wryly, "Just the daily items like brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, incense, and yellow paper are so many. I wonder how many food items there will be?"

Li Jian then took out another list: "One thousand stones of rice, three hundred stones of millet, three hundred pounds of green wormwood, one hundred pounds of yellow essence, one hundred pounds of notoginseng..."

The outer disciples of Jin Quan were pre-cultivators, and their diet was quite particular. Although the Tai Xu Dao Sect had no major taboos against meat, they tried to avoid it if possible, and the food had to be specially prepared. For example, the rice they ate was specially prepared "Green Essence Rice." In addition to dyeing the rice black with green wormwood, it also required soaking the rice in medicinal herbs and drying it multiple times...

The process was so complicated that, according to Li Wen, it was specifically designed to give these outer disciples something to do. After all, these outer disciples practiced in the outer sect, and although the Dao Sect provided their meals, there were no dedicated people to cook for them. Chopping wood, fetching water, plowing fields, planting vegetables, cooking, and all these tasks were done by the disciples themselves, taking turns. Therefore, Li Jian and other managers called it a way to temper their bodies.

But this effort was not in vain. The specially prepared rice and vegetables were beneficial to the body and would help them accelerate their qi cultivation. Only large sects like this would pay such close attention to these details.

Refining essence into qi, this refinement involves transforming one's own essence and the essence absorbed from the outside into primordial qi. However, the essence absorbed from the outside can easily contain impurities, so it needs to be specially processed before consumption.

"Fortunately, vegetables that cannot be stored for long are grown by the outer disciples themselves, otherwise, this list would be really difficult to handle," Duan Yan said. "Although I was well-prepared, and I have no shortage of rice and medicinal herbs, the demand for daily items like stationery, lamps, and candles is so great that I probably need to prepare for another three days."

"Right, this time the outer sect has suddenly become popular with music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and the consumption of these items is quite high. Adding to that, the large amount of yellow paper and cinnabar wasted in calligraphy and talismans, the inventory of the storage department is not enough, so a batch of daily items has been added," Li Jian was not bothered by waiting for three more days, as they had been granted seven days in total, leaving two days for Li Wen to explore and train outside.

"By the way, the procurement will be handled by the disciples and merchants of the temple. I know of a vegetarian restaurant that is quite good, and it would be perfect for welcoming my senior brother and the two young masters."

Yesterday's vegetarian meal did not satisfy Li Wen. Not only was Elder Li Jian not present, but Jiang Yuanchen also had a sullen face. Upon hearing that someone was treating them, he immediately agreed and pulled Jiang Yuanchen and Elder Li Jian to the restaurant Duan Yan mentioned.

...

Duan Yan was a regular at Wan Hui Restaurant. After greeting the owner, the four of them went upstairs. As Li Wen climbed the stairs, he kept staring at two burly men on the first floor.

One pound of strong liquor, two pounds of beef, and four white steamed buns—just like the martial artists in the city legends. Li Wen, who had been on the mountain for a long time, found it quite novel to see real martial artists.

"Stop staring!" Jiang Yuanchen poked him from behind, "What's so interesting about those martial artists?"

On the second floor, Li Jian also said, "Those martial artists' cultivation is not top-notch. I remember when I traveled in the mortal world, there were several martial arts grandmasters who had already built their foundations and cultivated the innate path. These martial cultivators were quite impressive. Unfortunately, the path of human immortals has been cut off, and even the Yi Wang Hall, which inherited the Heavenly Human Martial Path, has adopted the methods of the Heavenly Immortal Path."

The world has five types of immortals: Heavenly Immortals, Earthly Immortals, Human Immortals, Divine Immortals, and Ghost Immortals, each representing a different method of cultivation.

Heavenly Immortals, with their yang spirits immortal, transcend the thunder calamity and reside in the Nine Heavens of Clear Spirit, making them the foremost among immortals and the highest goal of the Daoist sects.

Earthly Immortals, with their physical bodies uncorrupted, can exist for eternity, often by merging with the mountains and rivers of a place. This allows them to possess the same combat power as Heavenly Immortals on the earth. However, their Dao fruit is not as lofty as that of Heavenly Immortals, and they must face the 36th heavenly calamity periodically.

Human Immortals, with their physical bodies and spirits integrated, have unbreakable bodies and indestructible spirits. The main characteristic of this path is the integration of essence, energy, and spirit into one, transforming the body into a primordial fetus and eventually achieving the Heavenly Human form. Unfortunately, the methods of Earthly Immortals and Human Immortals have almost been lost in Shen Zhou, and it is impossible to achieve the Heavenly Human Dao fruit through them.

Divine Immortals refer to cultivators who follow the divine path. In the divine-immortal conflict 5,000 years ago, the divine path was defeated, and its fortune was absorbed by the Daoist sects. Now, the term "divine immortals" only refers to the earth gods, most of whom are enshrined by various sects.

Ghost Immortals, who are reborn after death, can preserve their souls and cultivate the ghost path. Although Ghost Immortals are considered the lowest among the five immortals, being formed from yin and deathly qi, they provide an additional path for survival, which many cultivators choose as a backup. When cultivators are killed or suffer cultivation mishaps, they often turn to the Ghost Immortal path to transcend the Nine Yang Ghost Calamity and achieve the Heavenly Immortal Dao fruit.

Strictly speaking, the highest Dao fruit of the five immortals is the Heavenly Immortal. Whether it is the direct path to the Heavenly Immortal realm of the Heavenly Immortal Path, the 36th heavenly calamity of the Earthly Immortal Path, the integration of the Heavenly Human form of the Human Immortal Path, the achievement of the Heavenly God position of the Divine Immortal Path, or the refinement through the Nine Thunder Calamities of the Ghost Immortal Path, the ultimate result is the same—reaching the Heavenly Human realm, the realm of refining the void and merging with the Dao.

"The Yi Wang Hall inherited the legacy of the Yi King, one of the Ten Respected Ones. Three thousand years ago, the founder of the Yi Wang Hall found the Broken Moon Bow left by the Yi King and combined the Heavenly Immortal Path and the Human Immortal Path to establish the Yi Wang Hall. Unfortunately, with the reshaping of this world, the martial path has completely declined," Li Jian said, and Jiang Yuanchen unconsciously looked up at the sky.

The Ten Respected Ones mended the sky, a myth from ten thousand years ago. Among them, the Yi King was a Heavenly Human of the martial path. It is said that the stars in the sky today are the fragments of the moon shattered by the Yi King with the Broken Moon Bow.

Duan Yan also agreed, "Today, apart from the prosperity of the Heavenly Immortal Path, the other paths are just the failed ones turning to the divine path or the ghost path for survival. The Earthly Immortal and Human Immortal paths are not worth mentioning. These martial artists, although they have inherited scattered martial cultivation methods, can at most reach the Foundation Establishment realm, and the path beyond is difficult to cultivate."

"Moreover, many of these martial artists are disciples released by our sects. Their cultivation methods include many of the essence-refining and qi-cultivating techniques of the Heavenly Immortal Path, making it even harder for the pure Human Immortal martial path to be passed down," Jiang Yuanchen also realized, "Regardless of the true cultivation methods of Human Immortals, even if they successfully build their foundations, it is still the Foundation Establishment method of the Heavenly Immortal Path, which is far from the Human Immortal Path and cannot revitalize it."

The Heavenly Immortal Path focuses on the cultivation of the spirit and the mud pill palace after Foundation Establishment, which is vastly different from the lower dantian of the Human Immortal Path.

Li Jian nodded, agreeing with this. With the Heavenly Immortal Path flourishing in the world today, how could these ancient traditions be revived? Even the Divine Immortal Path is suppressed by the yuan shen immortals, preventing the emergence of powerful deities to revitalize the divine path. The three remaining ancient deities are also suppressed in the West.

While the four of them were chatting, the food was already served. Since Li Jian and Duan Yan were senior cultivators, they had already reached a semi-abstinence state, so they took a light taste and put down their chopsticks, chatting on the side. Only Jiang Yuanchen and Li Wen, who had not eaten well the previous day, picked up their bowls and chopsticks to fill their stomachs.

However, when Jiang Yuanchen inserted his chopsticks into a piece of stewed tofu, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He quickly infused true qi into his chopsticks and stabbed the dish.

"Hmm?" Seeing Jiang Yuanchen's action, the two senior cultivators chatting nearby also looked over. Li Jian asked, puzzled, "Illusion?"

A spiritual pearl flew out from Li Jian's head, circling around the four of them. White smoke gradually dissipated, and the true appearance of the dishes on the table was revealed. At the same time, Duan Yan secretly lit a fragrant incense in his sleeve to summon the guardian deity of the Tai Xu Dao Temple.

Jiang Yuanchen looked closely and saw that the dish of stewed tofu was actually a bowl of notoginseng turtle soup. Jiang Yuanchen and Li Wen's faces turned dark, and Elder Li Jian and the temple master Duan Yan also looked displeased.

The Daoist sects have their own precepts. Although the sects transcend the world and have few precepts, the precepts against killing and lust must not be broken. The Daoist path values life, and the act of taking a life is a major taboo. The Tai Xu Dao Sect cultivates Pure Yang Purple Qi and must protect their primordial yang before reaching the Golden Core stage. As for meat, although there are no strict rules, the meat of dogs, turtles, and swans is absolutely forbidden.

Jiang Yuanchen's face was cold as he stared at the two people sitting at a nearby table, an old man and a young man. In the world of Jiang Yuanchen's dreams, there was also a sect similar to the Daoist sects of this world, which also had the rule