Chapter 42: Chapter Forty-Two: The Qinghe Cui Clan

“This Guangling Commandery was never a major place, and Wukang County is even smaller!” a young nobleman in brocade robes complained to his elderly servant behind him. “Why not let me rest in Guangling City? Why force me to travel all the way to this remote little county of Wukang just to rest?”

The old servant arranged the other servants and maids to clear several resting spots within the Daoist temple.

Several officially recognized Daoist priests watched the group bustling about before their carriages, smiling as they pinched golden melon seeds hidden in their sleeves; the lead old Daoist had squinted his eyes shut.

“Young Master, your father instructed you to be cautious and prudent when traveling to assume office.”

“Great events recently occurred in Guangling City… several true masters of the Daoist sect came here, seemingly searching for something… soon after, the sect’s true disciples descended the mountain! It’s said that upon entering the world, several headed straight for Guangling. Who knows what earth-shattering event may have occurred within that cave heaven?”

“To avoid trouble, I dared not linger,” the old servant replied with respectful deference but no retreat.

The young nobleman sighed. “If there are true disciples of the Daoist sect, why not let me befriend them? I’m traveling alone to Jiuzhen Commandery… the southern clans have always been at odds with our Shandong scholar families. The Qinghe Cui clan still commands respect in the north—but who in the south even knows who I am? I don’t understand why Father sent me to such a remote little county.”

“Young Master, you only have a third-rank Dao foundation. To befriend a true disciple of the Daoist sect, even the eldest son might barely manage it… but you?” The old servant shook his head helplessly.

“Wu Bo, are you still my mother’s most trusted steward?” the Cui nobleman snapped in displeasure.

“The Lady instructed me to constantly remind you: a third-rank Dao foundation simply isn’t worthy of a true disciple lowering himself to associate with you. So rather than waste effort, it’s better to pass through quickly and avoid trouble. The Qinghe Cui clan is a high-ranking family of the Great Jin, but your Foundation Establishment is so poor—how will you pass the Zhongzheng official’s evaluation? This has enraged the Lady greatly…”

“It’s better to delay a mid-rank lineage designation and instead hone yourself in the south. The Lady specifically wrote to our kin, the Lu family, asking them to look after you. Jiuzhen Commandery holds several opportunities well-suited to your constitution. Perhaps they can refine your Dao foundation further—up to at least second rank. Only then can I report back to the Lady with satisfaction!”

The Cui nobleman sighed helplessly. “Among my companions in Luoyang, those aristocratic sons who flaunt their accomplishments, my standing isn’t so bad—a third-rank Dao foundation is still top-tier… why is my mother so harsh on me? My elder brother, who must carry the family legacy, trained rigorously for sixteen years; by the time he reached adulthood, he attained first-rank Foundation Establishment and a Pure Dao Body, leaving everyone present in awe.”

“Even Master Wang Yan of the Wang clan, hailed as ‘One Generation’s Dragon Gate,’ assessed him as: ‘Qinghe’s Dao flows wide, within him shines bright brilliance.’”

“But I’m not the heir who must uphold the family. Before Foundation Establishment, I couldn’t drink wine, ate plain food, and couldn’t even look at beauties for fear of losing my essence and qi… In the grand capital of Luoyang, how many aristocratic sons are so disciplined? I’ve always been cautious, my internal turbid qi is minimal—yet my talent is simply this poor… what can I do?” the Cui nobleman sighed.

“You shouldn’t have taken the spirit pill,” the old servant shook his head. “The Sensing stage requires deep accumulation, natural resonance between Heaven and Man. You used a spirit pill to break through—that’s why your foundation is weak. Otherwise, you’d have at least a second-rank Dao foundation!”

“Since coming of age, I’ve been unable to trigger the spiritual trigger,” the Cui nobleman sighed. “My companions mock me…”

“So the Lady sent you to Jiuzhen Commandery—a remote place with no familiar faces—to keep you away from those disreputable companions. She said they’re all worthless wastrels. The finest young men of the aristocracy either joined great sects early—like the Doushigong, Taiqing Sect, or Yuxu Palace, Kunlun Sect—those hidden Daoist schools that demand fate and opportunity, which we dare not pursue. But the Zhengyi Longhu Xuantan—the inner gate of the Great Jin Dao Academy—regularly accepts aristocratic sons.”

“And lesser sects like Luofu, Qingxu Mountain, Kunming Sect, Mount Qingcheng, Emei Sword Sect, Taihua Mountain, Qianyuan Mountain, Kongtong Sect, Yunxiao Palace, Jiugong City, Jinting Yuquan, Baicao Sect, Shennong Hall, Danxia Sect, Wu-Yue Sword Pavilion—all of them widely accept aristocratic disciples.”

“Even major heterodox schools like Meishan, Zhushan, Miaoshan, the Manichaeans, the Star-Moon Sect, the Golden Body Temple, and other western heretical sects prefer aristocratic sons like us.”

“The spirit pill I used to break through Sensing was a secret formula from the Dao Academy itself! I asked when I took it—Zhengyi Sect disciples often use this pill to break through Sensing, and it doesn’t hinder later cultivation… otherwise, why would they charge me fifty sheng of Qingming Cold Spring and fifty dou of Yuxie Guigu Sand?”

“The Lady means the true disciples of these sects—others don’t even register in her eyes,” Old Wu sighed. “The Lady has already given orders: you won’t dare misbehave again. Because you secretly obtained that spirit pill behind her back, all your personal attendants and maids have been dismissed.”

“Now that I’m here, no one dares obey you!”

Hearing this, the servants and maids bustling about with luggage shuddered slightly—aristocratic rules were strict; though the Lady’s punishment wouldn’t kill them, it ended their futures.

The Cui nobleman sighed helplessly and entered the temple. Wukang County was small and remote; having seen much of the world, he had no interest in sightseeing. He casually asked the temple’s reception Daoist: “Are there any extraordinary people or reclusive sages nearby? I’m heading to Jiuzhen to assume office and wish to recruit a few heroic talents.”

The elderly reception Daoist smiled broadly. “Wukang is remote; there are no extraordinary people or sages here, nor have we heard of any mighty warriors or capable men…”

The Cui nobleman casually slipped him a pair of spirit pearls, each the size of a dragon’s eye, brimming with spiritual energy—though not the finest sea pearls, they were high-quality lake pearls, valuable indeed.

The Daoist took the pearls, his small eyes widening several times.

After straining his memory, he recalled a recent rumor: “But last month, a Daoist friend arrived in the county. Someone saw spiritual clouds rising daily from an abandoned house within the city, only dissipating near noon—likely a fellow cultivator gathering qi. The nearby fox graves also seem abandoned. It’s said a left-path disciple from Meishan came recently—arrogant as ever—but vanished without a trace.”

“This fellow has no record of evil deeds. Our Dao Academy observed fox clans migrating from the graves, clearly under his protection. His conduct suggests he’s a righteous cultivator. Young Master might consider befriending him.”

The Cui nobleman’s spirits lifted instantly. He laughed. “If true disciples of the Daoist sect descended and headed for Guangling, why wouldn’t one pass through Wukang? If this rumor is true, we’ll prepare proper gifts and pay a visit. Even if we disturb him a little, it won’t be considered rude. Someone—”

He called two men over. “Prepare our gifts. We’re going to pay a visit.”

“If we can befriend a true disciple of the Daoist sect, all the better. If it’s a wandering cultivator of high attainment, we can still invite him along—he might assist me in assuming office in Jiuzhen Commandery.”