Chapter 623: Yao Wen's Invitation

Back at the Outer Gate, Yan Buji quickly obtained the order from the Internal Affairs Hall, spent a month processing it, handed it back to the Internal Affairs Hall, and then began to plan to contemplate the Five Transformations Time Secrets.

Opening the book's front page, Yan Buji saw a sentence:

"Heaven and earth are profound yellow, the cosmos is vast and wild, sun, moon, stars, cold comes and heat goes."

Yan Buji looked at the sentence and thought carefully.

"Isn't this from the Thousand Character Classic?" Yan Buji said with a puzzled expression, but the Thousand Character Classic originates from the Confucian school, which is also a long‑standing force; through several generations of sages and finally Master Mingyang's consolidation and categorization of the Confucian texts, Confucianism was greatly promoted and became an indispensable part of the human race.

In this respect, the Confucians undertake the task of educating all people, which differs from the duties of the Daoist sects, Buddhist sects, and the Xuanmen.

The Paolong Sacred Land is a typical Xuanmen force; although the Xuanmen have no explicit scriptures telling the world what to do, the Xuanmen dominate the cultivation world, similar to sects and clans, and almost anyone in such groups can be considered a Xuanmen member.

In Yan Buji's view, the Xuanmen are self‑organized groups of cultivators that protect their own interests; the Xuanmen focus on their own development and stress orderly inheritance. After years of growth they have blended with Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian ideas, essentially adopting whatever is beneficial and convenient for learning.

Moreover, the largest Xuanmen force is said to be within the Ten Thousand Ways Mountain Range in the Nan Ting Mountain Region.

This Five Transformations Time Secrets does contain a few passages that feel the Confucian melancholy of spring and autumn, but after reading it several times Yan Buji remained completely baffled.

"How is this thing cultivated? Does it mean I must perceive the five‑element changes from the scenes of the four seasons?" Yan Buji asked, puzzled.

The technique mentions the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter—ever present, with the five elements rotating; unable to grasp the method, Yan Buji could only grit his teeth and contemplate.

After a while.

Yan Buji's cultivation still made little progress; he intended to ask Elder Ximen for guidance, but thought that since he had only obtained the technique a few months ago and understood nothing, even if someone taught him, their opinion of him would drop sharply.

As the saying goes, a master can only lead you to the gate; cultivation depends on the individual, and besides, Elder Ximen is not his master.

"Fine, meditating in seclusion all the time yields nothing; let's go out for a walk."

Lately the Lian Dan Tang has been busy, but most of the work involves producing Three‑turn and Four‑turn pills, with few Five‑turn pills. Apart from occasionally having Ye Lin brew a bit of Yin‑Yang Reversal Pill, there is little demand for other Five‑turn pills.

However, it let Yan Buji see that the disciples of the Sacred Land truly possess some remarkable pill formulas; some power‑enhancing pills are even better than the ones he uses for cultivation!

It's just that the Spiritual Material demand is a bit high.

At that moment, Yan Buji had just left the Lian Dan Tang when He Caifei came running toward him:

"Hall Master Yan."

"Isn't this Brother He?" Yan Buji responded with a bow.

He Caifei laughed, "Yan Dao‑friend, do you have any time?"

"Of course I do."

"Elder Yao has invited you; if you don't mind, please accept?"

Is this because he can't hold back?

Yan Buji thought it over; originally Feng Yue and Yao Wen's conflict had already reached a critical stage, but his sudden rise could cause their plans to change. Even though they had not regarded him highly at first, because of Elder Ximen, his current alignment now partly determines their victory or defeat.

Precisely for this reason, Yan Buji has been locked inside the Lian Dan Tang during this period; apart from the one time he went out to deliver medicine to Elder Ximen, he has not left the hall at all.

His main task is to investigate the situation at the Outer Gate; during this time, besides his regular pill‑making cultivation, he also uses the disciples coming and going from the Lian Dan Tang to gather information.

This time Yan Buji voluntarily left the Lian Dan Tang, essentially sending them a message.

Yan Buji's actions were naturally noticed by Yao Wen, so when Yan Buji emerged, He Caifei rushed up to meet him.

On the other side, Yang Yunshu and Mo Dengqing watched Yan Buji and He Caifei leave, feeling somewhat dissatisfied:

"This Yan Buji, have they forgotten who brought him into the Paolong Sacred Land?"

"People aim for higher places; now he has a backer, so his confidence has hardened considerably," Yang Yunshu laughed.

Mo Dengqing frowned, "Elder Feng's side..."

"Wait for Yan Buji to return, then ask him to go over there," Yang Yunshu paused, then said, "You and I may also need to consider a fallback plan."

Mo Dengqing's pupils narrowed, "Do you think Yan Buji will side with Yao Wen?"

"Not necessarily, but Elder Feng previously missed a good opportunity, and Yao Wen gave Yan Buji a real benefit, so... if you were in a situation where someone promised you something but didn't fulfill it, and instead his enemy helped you achieve it, what would you do?"

Mo Dengqing fell silent.

In the end, what Feng Yue gave Yan Buji was merely an empty title; when Yao Wen produced the appointment document, everyone present knew that Feng Yue had deliberately not prepared the appointment for Yan Buji—otherwise how could it have ended up in Yao Wen's hands?

Broadly speaking, even if Feng Yue intended to cultivate Yan Buji, he took no action for his own safety, while Yao Wen was the first to obtain the document. This also indirectly shows that Feng Yue treats Yan Buji as a disposable pawn, which is hardly comforting.

According to sect regulations, Elders are qualified to recommend talent; this is called the merit‑selection system. An Elder may recommend only one person, and with some maneuvering the process can be expedited. This shows how decisive Yao Wen is, something Feng Yue cannot match.

Yang Yunshu saw even more.

Feng Yue is no longer the shrewd and capable person he once was; these years of living in comfort have dulled his insight. He selected Yan Buji as talent, but out of self‑interest he was outmaneuvered by Yao Wen, who recruited him first.

Especially when Yang Yunshu heard the words Yan Buji said to Mo Dengqing, she realized Yan Buji was not a low‑ranking subordinate. He possesses Feng Yue's tactics, Yao Wen's initiative, and even a hidden malice!

Such a person values profit above all, yet is adept at weighing pros and cons.

Precisely for this reason, Yang Yunshu believes Feng Yue is unlikely to surpass Yao Wen; the worst‑case scenario is Feng Yue voluntarily steps aside, and the entire Outer Gate falls into Yao Wen's hands!

When that happens, where will their group go?

Thinking of this, Yang Yunshu also felt it was time to devise a way to secure her position, so she wouldn't be heavily affected during the reckoning.

On the other side, Mo Dengqing was puzzled, but even if she wasn't clever, she wasn't that stupid to miss the meaning in Yang Yunshu's words.

"You don't even trust Feng Yue, Yang Yunshu?" Mo Dengqing sighed.