Chapter 28: I am He Mountain, also a prestigious sect of the immortal path

"Reporting to you, Master, ahead is Master Ding's courtyard, this humble maid..."

The maid serving Chen Ci had an egg-shaped face and looked gentle and elegant, but at this moment, her face was pale, and she was already unable to speak.

"You may go now; just pretend you never came here."

Chen Ci was not a cruel person; he pinched a gold bean and tossed it to her, then let the maid leave first.

After waiting for a moment, seeing that the maid had disappeared, Chen Ci stepped forward and knocked on the door a few times.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Who is it!"

Ding Jiang squinted his eyes as he opened the door, his expression somewhat displeased, but upon seeing who it was, he immediately performed a masterclass in changing faces, his smile as warm as a spring breeze: "Senior Brother Chen, why is it you?"

Chen Ci chuckled; he didn't intend to make things difficult for this fat man. He just looked him over twice, then strolled into the courtyard and asked curiously, "The fun going on out front is quite lively, why haven't I seen you go enjoy yourself?"

"Senior Brother Chen, you are joking."

Ding Jiang's fat face twitched a few times: "In private, I can call you Senior Brother, but we people are only called apprentices by our teachers; in reality, we haven't even entered the threshold of the He Mountain Sect. How would I dare go join the excitement in the main hall?"

"Oh? You are also studying the Soul Fixing Talisman?"

On the table inside the room, there were a few sheets of talisman paper, but they were just the most ordinary yellow paper, and the talisman patterns on them were exactly the Soul Fixing Talisman that Chen Ci was most familiar with.

But looking at the results, he must have gained nothing.

"In a famine year, a craftsman won't starve to death. I don't have any talent for cultivation, so if I want to live comfortably, I have to know a few crafts."

Ding Jiang hastily tidied up the table and served tea: "It's just that my level can't compare to yours, Senior Brother. By the way, how did you find your way to my place?"

Chen Ci didn't answer, looking at the discarded talismans for a few moments. He roughly understood why the Outer Sect Disciples of the He Mountain Sect didn't have deep attainments in the Soul Fixing Talisman; it was likely because they had too many distracting thoughts and couldn't calm their minds.

The two words "calm mind" are easy to say, but there aren't many who can truly enter a state of meditation at any time.

Just looking at the dissolute behavior of that group of He Mountain Sect Outer Sect Disciples earlier, it was estimated that they couldn't be further from having a calm mind, so naturally, their success rate in drawing talismans was not high.

"I came because I wanted to ask you about something, Junior Brother. I wonder if it's convenient?"

"Convenient, it must be convenient."

Ding Jiang slapped his thigh hard: "Senior Brother, feel free to ask; I will tell you everything I know."

"In the Liang Kingdom, between the He Mountain Sect and Longhu Mountain, who is held in higher esteem?"

Chen Ci asked a somewhat distant question first.

Ding Jiang picked up his tea and took a sip. Only after seeing twenty taels of solid gold did he smile and say: "Naturally, Longhu Mountain is held in higher esteem. In the two provinces and five prefectures of the Liang Kingdom, our He Mountain Sect is only relatively strong in one prefecture."

"Xishan Prefecture?"

"It must be Jiujiang Prefecture, where the main altar, Red Dragon Temple, is located."

Ding Jiang laughed, put down his teacup: "But Xishan Prefecture is also alright. As long as you don't get too close to the vicinity of Quanshan, Longhu Mountain, and Longhu Shan Jiuzhuan Guan, it's still considered free."

Quanzhou is divided into East and West Prefectures by the Quanshan mountain range. Xishan Prefecture is in the far west of the Liang Kingdom, which can be considered 'the heavens are high and the emperor is far away.'

Chen Ci was silent for a moment; this was slightly different from what he had imagined.

Ding Jiang looked up and sized up Chen Ci for a moment, then chuckled: "Senior Brother Chen, you are actually trying to ask about Essence Refining, right?"

Chen Ci held his teacup without answering, but it was clearly an admission.

This stuff, Essence Refining, although taken from living beings, prioritizes the spirit first, and flesh and blood second. Therefore, the priority of raw materials is humans, beasts, then livestock.

To put it bluntly, if one were to extract Essence Refining solely from livestock, let alone exchanging for merit points, I'm afraid even the monthly tribute would be hard to complete.

Changping County has a population of just over one hundred thousand. Even adding the surrounding mountain folk, it's only around one hundred and fifty thousand people. How much livestock flesh and blood could there be for Chen Ci to sacrifice and refine into the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag, and then extract hundreds or thousands of drops of Essence Refining?

Unless... it's two-legged sheep...

Although the intention of the gold book's merit point exchange wasn't explicitly stated, any He Mountain Sect disciple could understand the meaning within it.

But since it wasn't explicitly stated, it meant it could only be done, not spoken of.

Chen Ci neither understood the boundaries of this, nor did he want to misinterpret the organization's guidelines.

"Actually, regarding this matter of Essence Refining, the temple's meaning is just two sentences, hehe."

Chen Ci tossed down another forty taels of gold.

Ding Jiang organized his words and said: "I won't hide it from you, my teacher has already cleared the air with Red Dragon Temple. He only wants Essence Refining; the methods don't matter, the reasons don't matter."

"A shortfall in the monthly tribute once leads to a reprimand; twice leads to a whipping; three times, you use your own flesh and blood to make up for it."

Ding Jiang tapped the table: "One hundred drops of Essence Refining every month; this is the bottom line."

Chen Ci frowned, but given the imposing manner and True Qi cultivation Hutou Daoren had just displayed, this was clearly not a joke.

"But, there is another sentence."

Ding Jiang cleared his throat and said seriously: "You must remember, our He Mountain Sect is also a prestigious sect of the immortal path."

Chen Ci picked at his ear, slightly leaning over.

This fat man... is he trying to make a fool of me?

"Senior Brother Chen, don't disbelieve it."

Ding Jiang spread his hands: "My teacher once stated clearly that since our He Mountain Sect can openly establish a temple and practice, we are naturally a prestigious and righteous sect, not to be compared with demonic sects."

"Anyway, the matter is just this matter, and the situation is just this situation. The matter of Essence Refining is all in these two sentences; there is no more information."

I only want Essence Refining; the methods don't matter, the reasons don't matter.

Our He Mountain Sect is also a prestigious sect of the immortal path.

Do you hear that? Is that human language?

Only then did Chen Ci completely understand the meaning of Fuhu Altar.

That is, Fuhu Altar wants to set up a memorial archway for chastity, but wants other Outer Sect Disciples to be the prostitutes.

If a major incident were stirred up, not only would the He Mountain Sect be unaware, but they might even take action to purge the sect.

"You beast..."

"Hm?"

"No, I mean, please teach me, Junior Brother Ding, how to be a disciple of the He Mountain Sect, a righteous and reputable sect."

Chen Ci gritted his teeth and handed over another forty taels of gold.

Come to think of it, this fat man had already fleeced him of nearly two hundred taels of gold.

It was time to take out a little notebook and write it down.

"Oh my, how could I be so embarrassed!"

Ding Jiang also sighed; although Xishan Prefecture was wealthy and the Fuhu Altar had considerable financial resources, all resources had to support his master, who was preparing to charge toward the Dao Foundation, so they, these Miscellaneous Disciples, actually couldn't even touch a fraction of the benefits, and their lives were quite tight.

"I must clarify here, Junior Brother, that I have always been law-abiding within the Fuhu Altar."

"Senior Brother must never think of using death-row prisoners for Essence Refining, never think of beggars on the street, woodcutters, or hunters entering the mountains, and even more so, do not bully fellow practitioners like miscellaneous rogue cultivators who have no backing."

"This is not what a reputable sect of the Immortal Dao would do, remember that, remember that."

During their conversation, Chen Ci also got a clear understanding of this matter of offering Essence Refining.

He wanted both, and he wanted it all.

Damn it all.

After leaving the Fuhu Altar, Chen Ci did not want to go stroll around Fuyun Market and headed straight for Sanyin Temple with his head down.

Cultivators who have stepped into cultivation are already separated from ordinary people by the divide between immortals and mortals; for ordinary martial artists, killing a person is as simple as killing a chicken, let alone for practitioners.

And in the Liang Kingdom, it is clearly Longhu Mountain and the He Mountain Sect that jointly maintain stability; the cultivators of the two sects, together with a crowd of miscellaneous rogue cultivators, can enjoy worldly wealth, but they cannot treat human life like grass.

However, because of the nature of their cultivation techniques, the He Mountain Sect is more prone to skirting the edges.

"If nothing happens, it's the Outer Transmission of the He Mountain Sect; if something happens, it's a temporary worker of the Outer Sect."

Chen Ci, who had already returned to Sanyin Temple, was walking in the courtyard when he suddenly realized something again.

In this world, a good person like him who has no choice truly faces difficulty at every step, but it is not he who is wrong, but the heterodox He Mountain, the Red Dragon Temple, and Hutou Daoren.

"Facing the showdown of such a sect and the coercion of others, what should I do, what can I do?"

"I must still adhere to my original heart; although I am in a heterodox sect, my heart is directed toward the Dao~"

Chen Ci took a deep breath.

"Niu Ji, go to the county and inquire if there are still vacancies for executioners at the execution ground."

It was time to change his name.

Chen Ci thought silently, "Those years when I served as a Guaiyishou at the autumn execution grounds."

The Immortal Dao remains unachieved while many accidents arise; suddenly far from my meditation hut, my cultivation is hard to advance even an inch; I regret not hiding my trump cards, and now it is too late, sigh~

(Suddenly went on a long trip, returning home tomorrow, will update fiercely and save up more drafts; every time I am dragged down by updates, it is too late to regret; my dear readers, I am guilty~)

(End of this chapter)