“Is this… a cultivation-method jade slip?”
“Has Asking Gods Sect gone mad? They’re giving away something like this?”
“If they intended to sell it, the price would be negotiable. It’s not as if we couldn’t afford to buy it.”
“They’re really just handing it out?”
…
Several sects that Xu Guan had visited were utterly stunned.
Though what they had received were merely incomplete fragments, their value was still enormous.
Their first reaction was that Xu Guan must have suffered a cultivation deviation, which was why he had done something so ruinous to his sect’s legacy.
But after gathering the elders for a thorough analysis, they realized the matter did not seem so simple.
“Sect Master, have you forgotten? Xu Guan of Asking Gods Sect still has a fellow disciple,” one elder reminded him. “The one who married into the Longevity Dao Sect.”
“I heard that when he left, he even took several of Asking Gods Sect’s cultivation methods with him.”
“The previous sect master of Asking Gods Sect gave up cultivation altogether and devoted himself wholeheartedly to training Xu Guan, all so that he could preserve the sect’s remaining cultivation methods.”
…
Asking Gods Sect had once been known as Asking Gods Dao Sect.
Within immortal cultivation sects, the character *Dao*—and within demonic sects, the character *Demon*—was not something one could add to a sect’s name lightly.
Only universally acknowledged top-tier sects were qualified to bear such a title.
Asking Gods Sect had declined, yet it still possessed so many formidable cultivation methods. How could the other sects not be tempted?
Of course they were tempted—and not just one or two of them.
To refuse what Heaven offered was to invite misfortune.
Since Asking Gods Sect had fallen into decline, there had to be a reason for it. Better to have them hand over their cultivation methods and magical artifacts, and consider it a service to help spread those techniques far and wide.
For a time, Asking Gods Sect was visited every day by all kinds of “demonic cultivators.”
But the sect master of Asking Gods Sect was a ruthless man. He destroyed all original copies of the cultivation methods, passing them on only by word of mouth to his direct disciples.
The highest-grade techniques were passed down solely to the next sect master.
If a disciple was captured or died, the technique would vanish along with them.
This course of action undoubtedly increased the number of Asking Gods Sect disciples who “went missing,” but those who remained were exceptional talents—people worthy of entrusting with the mountain gate.
It was only through such resolve and extremity that Asking Gods Sect managed to survive amid the struggles and predation between sects.
By Xu Guan’s generation, only a few of Asking Gods Sect’s former supreme techniques remained. Half of those had been taken away by Qin Rushan. The sect could be said to have reached a critical point of life or death.
Yet Xu Guan had always been unyielding. As a cultivator of the Flawless Realm, he had once killed several “Flawless Realm demonic cultivators” who had come calling at the sect. His record was astonishing, and thus no one dared openly set their sights on the sect.
But this time, why had Xu Guan suddenly gone mad for no reason at all?
“I think we’ve been drawn into a conflict between Asking Gods Sect and the Longevity Dao Sect. The incomplete jade slips Xu Guan gave us are, most likely, fragments of the techniques Qin Rushan stole.”
“Rather than letting the Longevity Dao Sect monopolize the benefits, he might as well distribute them among the other sects.”
“But what does that have to do with us?”
“What we received were merely some of Xu Guan’s insights into cultivation methods. The law cannot punish everyone. No matter how arrogant the Longevity Dao Sect may be, can they really wipe out all of our sects?”
“We have powerful backers too!”
These days, aside from hard-boned sects like Asking Gods Sect, most sects had, to some extent, ties and old connections with the major powers behind them.
The major sects kept one another in check, and naturally they needed a few “little brothers” to cheer them on.
Second- and third-rate sects like the Blazing Flame Sect filled precisely that role.
They had more or less figured out what Xu Guan and his group were up to, and they were perfectly happy to watch the Longevity Dao Sect make fools of themselves.
No matter what, they were the ones benefiting from the situation.
The only downside was that Xu Guan was giving out cultivation techniques everywhere.
Now it was simply a matter of seeing which sect could be the first to assemble a complete technique.
They could send someone to investigate first. If Xu Guan and the others truly had gone mad, they absolutely could not afford to miss such a golden opportunity.
Behind the delegation from the Inquiry God Sect, led by Xu Guan, the line of followers grew longer and longer.
Put simply, every time they visited a sect and delivered gifts, another string of “tails” would join them.
Xu Guan did not mind.
He treated them as free bodyguards.
It was only natural that the cultivation-method jade slips they gave away would attract the covetous attention of interested parties.
Yet Xu Guan and his companions had still underestimated just how desperately these sects craved cultivation techniques. Nor did they realize how addictive this sort of blind-box gamble—where a small investment might yield a huge return—could be.
While Xu Guan and the others were still traveling to their next destination, several sects had already sent them more than a hundred invitations.
“Sect Master Xu, please have a look. This is an invitation to celebrate our sect master’s thirteenth disciple successfully passing the Dao Inquiry Trial. He is our sect master’s most beloved disciple—you simply must attend!”
“Sect Master Xu, this is an invitation to a wedding feast. Yes, yes, one of our sect elders is marrying her eighty-ninth husband. She said that the two of you once met, and that she has never forgotten you. You must honor us with your presence.”
“Sect Master Xu, your three disciples are truly outstanding talents. As it happens, my youngest grandson is hosting a gathering for young cultivators. They simply have to come.”
“What a coincidence! We happen to have more than a dozen grandsons celebrating their first birthdays, and seven or eight granddaughters getting engaged. You cannot miss such joyous occasions for the younger generation.”
“One of our elders has made a breakthrough and wishes to find someone to drink with. Sect Master Xu, you must honor us with your presence.”
...
Every one of those delivering invitations had a silver tongue.
Some, worried that Xu Guan might refuse, immediately offered gifts upon meeting him.
One sect even dispatched carriages to collect them, whisking them straight back to the sect for the celebration.
All for the cultivation-method jade slips in Xu Guan’s possession.
Whenever Xu Guan brought out jade slips containing cultivation techniques as gifts, they would open them on the spot.
If they happened to receive a jade slip containing a complete section of a technique, the celebration became even more joyous. They could scarcely wait to enter seclusion and ride that wave of good fortune—perhaps they might even break through immediately.
If they unfortunately drew a duplicate or a useless jade slip, they could only blame their own bad luck.
It was not as though no one had tried to probe Xu Guan indirectly, hoping to obtain different jade slips.
But Xu Guan merely kept a stern face and refused to engage. There was nothing anyone could do about him.
Moreover, Xu Guan’s combat strength was astonishing. Even the Longevity Dao Sect would have to be prepared to sacrifice the lives of several Immaculate Realm cultivators to take him down. What ordinary sect would dare make a move against him?
Besides, keeping Xu Guan and his disciples amounted to nothing more than hosting them for a while and giving them a few welcome gifts. Was there really any need to start shouting about killing and fighting?
If you didn’t want his cultivation-method jade slips, plenty of other sects did!
Most importantly, these sects had all discovered one another’s presence, making them even less willing to act rashly.
If one sect kept Xu Guan’s group even a little too long, the next would come knocking at their door under the pretext that “the banquet is about to begin” and take them away directly.
The greatest misery for Xu Guan’s disciples was that, after being treated to such fine food and drink these past few days, they had somehow gained several pounds.
It was simply astonishing.
After all, cultivators did not usually gain weight.
Ah, what a sweet burden it was.
Meanwhile, several sects—especially those that had managed to assemble a complete chapter of a cultivation method—had selected a few disciples of humble origins but suitable cultivation levels to try practicing it.
To their surprise, those who cultivated the method truly advanced at a remarkable pace.
This proved that everything Xu Guan had given them was genuine.
“Sadly, the only complete chapter our sect has gathered is for the Core Formation stage. The disciple cultivating it absorbs spiritual energy at an efficiency clearly ten percent higher than that of other cultivators!”
“That’s fine in the early stages, but once he reaches the later stages, he’ll have to switch to another cultivation method.”
“Still, the results are so good that it will surely allow our sect to produce several more formidable cultivators in the future.”
“...When will we be able to draw the later-stage methods? Why don’t we just go all the way and—”
“Don’t even mention such a thing. Do you know how many sects are watching us like hawks outside our gates? The moment we make a move, other sects will immediately come rushing over to uphold justice, believe it or not. We mustn’t become a stepping stone for other sects.”
“How much could it possibly cost to host them?”
...
Countless second- and third-rate sects had been completely wrapped around the finger by this batch of cultivation-method jade slips.
Even their parent sects, upon learning the news, issued strict orders: they were to find every possible way to obtain as many cultivation methods from Xu Guan as they could.
Time flowed like water.
For cultivators, one or two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those one or two years, Xu Guan had already taken several groups of disciples out to attend banquets in rotation.
Whenever one group put on weight, he immediately replaced them with another. The plumper disciples stayed home to cultivate diligently, converting the excess spiritual energy in their bodies into actual cultivation.
The Asking Dao Sect entered a period of happiness beyond even its wildest dreams.
As for the Longevity Dao Sect, no matter how indifferent it might have been to the affairs of its subordinate sects, it had received word by then.
The spies they had planted in these minor sects had even gone to great lengths to acquire a few incomplete fragments of the cultivation-method jade slips Xu Guan had distributed.
That immediately stirred up a hornet’s nest.
Cultivators from Qin Rushan’s faction were directly confronted at the gates of Spirit Mountain by members of the Li family.
“Qin Rushan, take a good look at what these things are!”
The Li clan had long-standing grievances against Qin Rushan as well.
Back then, Qin Rushan had merely been a traitor from the Asking Dao Sect who married into their Li family. Because he had earned merit by presenting cultivation methods, and because his own aptitude was not bad, he rose through the Li family at an astonishing pace. In just over a hundred years, he had become one of the Li family’s powerholders. After the Li woman had died, he had even taken numerous concubines, eager to father children bearing the Qin name.
It was obvious that he wanted to use the Li family as a stepping stone to establish another cultivation clan—another “Qin family.”
With Qin Rushan’s accomplishments laid out so plainly, the other powers within the Li family could only grit their teeth and accept it, biding their time.
And now, at last, they had found a loophole.
When word first reached the Li family that Xu Guan had been taking his disciples around to attend one banquet after another, they assumed that Qin Rushan had driven him into a corner and that he was trying to seek allies, or something along those lines.
Even Qin Rushan himself thought so.
But as Xu Guan continued drifting from one gathering to another for a year or two, and the number of sects inviting him steadily increased, things gradually began to feel wrong.
It was not as though Qin Rushan had done nothing. He had sent people to warn certain smaller sects, telling them to know their place and not oppose the Longevity Dao Sect.
This tactic had worked exceptionally well in the past. It had successfully prevented the Inquiry God Sect from forming alliances with other sects.
But this time, it suddenly stopped working.
Those second- and third-rate sects behaved as though someone powerful had their backs. They bluntly replied with things like, “Elder Qin cannot speak for the Longevity Dao Sect,” “Sect Master Xu and we are merely friends of honorable character,” and “The Longevity Dao Sect has no right to interfere in our sect’s internal affairs. We have people above us as well.” Their words left the always-smooth-sailing Qin Rushan thoroughly stunned.
Who knew what sort of enchantment Xu Guan had cast over them?
Yet these sects kept their secrets tightly guarded, and obtaining any information took no small amount of effort.
By the time the Longevity Dao Sect finally verified the contents of the cultivation-method jade slips—and gathered enough of them to understand the “original forms” of the techniques recorded within—they realized, to their alarm, that something was seriously wrong.
Naturally, the first person called to account was the Li Clan Patriarch, who had presented the techniques in the name of “ancestral inheritance.”
The Li Clan Patriarch had originally been laughing at the Lin family ancestor for being reprimanded by the sect merely for taking in a disciple, only to bring disaster upon himself through his own carelessness. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to be summoned by the Nine Sons of Longevity, scolded harshly, and then have several jade slips thrown directly before him.
“Your Li family has been in the sect long enough. There are matters that ought to be dealt with.”
“You previously offered up these three cultivation methods and received three spirit mountains in return. Pack up and return those three spirit mountains.”
“If these three cultivation methods spread to other sects... heh.”
The Li Clan Patriarch was utterly dumbfounded.
Of course, he understood what the sect meant.
If other sects possessed the sect’s cultivation methods as well, then those methods would lose their uniqueness.
What was more, cultivators who practiced these techniques could have their weaknesses identified and exploited by other sects possessing the same methods. The losses this would cause the sect would be incalculable.
If these techniques truly ended up spread everywhere, the Li family’s fate might be no better than the Lin family’s—perhaps even worse.
Without delay, the Li Clan Patriarch rang the bell at his family ancestor’s mountain residence, then gathered a group of Li family members dissatisfied with Qin Rushan and marched straight up the mountain to confront him.
“Qin Rushan, the sect has made it clear: if this cultivation method is found everywhere, not only will all the rewards they previously granted be reclaimed, but you’ll also have to compensate the sect. Everything your Qin family has accumulated over the years probably won’t even be enough to cover it.” The Li Clan Patriarch glared furiously at Qin Rushan. “When that time comes, you can go sell your life and see whether it can make up for the sect’s losses.”
Prosper together, suffer together.
Even if Qin Rushan truly threw away his miserable life and did the sect’s dirty work, so what?
Their Li clan would still have suffered a double loss.
Not only had they sacrificed a talented daughter, but they had also been dragged down by Qin Rushan. For years to come, the sect would likely overlook them.
Qin Rushan lowered his head and gathered up the cultivation jade slips. One by one, he examined them with his divine sense, and his expression grew darker and darker.
At once, he understood Xu Guan’s vicious scheme.
This was cutting the firewood from beneath the cauldron—a move that harmed the enemy for a thousand while costing oneself eight hundred.
“No. I know Xu Guan. This isn’t something he could have come up with.” Qin Rushan tried to explain to the Li Clan Patriarch. “I know Xu Guan. He’s single-minded to the point of stupidity. Aside from having some talent for cultivation, he’s useless at everything else. How could he possibly think of such a method? And he’s even playing different sects against one another—unless he’s been possessed! Patriarch, someone must be advising Xu Guan from behind the scenes. They’re deliberately targeting us.”
“What does that have to do with our Li clan?” the Li Clan Patriarch sneered. “We have no grudge against the Wenshen Sect. We merely took in a cultivator as a live-in son-in-law. We knew nothing about any of this.”
Qin Rushan’s face twisted horribly.
If he could, he would kill the Li Clan Patriarch on the spot.
When the Li clan had been using him, why hadn’t they claimed they had no grudge against the Wenshen Sect?
Had the spiritual mountains obtained in exchange for the cultivation techniques he offered up been placed under his name?
Yet Qin Rushan forced himself to calm down.
These great clans had always been like this. They wanted only the benefits and never wished to bear any responsibility. The moment trouble arose, they pushed someone else out to die in their place.
“I’ll find a way,” Qin Rushan could only say for now. He had to find a way to meet Xu Guan first. He needed to uncover the mastermind behind all this.
With Xu Guan’s brain, there was no way he could have devised such a scheme against him.
“Heh, Qin Rushan, don’t blame us for turning our backs on you,” the Li Clan Patriarch mocked. “This is the path of cultivation. Since you can use others, others can naturally use you as well.”
“In this world, those without any value to be used are the most pitiful of all.”
“If you can’t resolve this, then forget about pursuing the Dao for the rest of your life.”
“Prepare yourself to be a dog for the rest of your days.”
The veins on Qin Rushan’s hand bulged as he clenched the jade slips.
He would never allow himself to fall into such a situation!
Meanwhile, Xu Guan and his group were finally beginning to run out of steam.
No, no—this wouldn’t do. They had to return to the sect.
All several hundred cultivation jade slips they had copied and stored in their storage rings had already been handed out.
It was time to go back and restock.
Moreover, their storage rings were already so crammed with return gifts from the various sects that there was no room left for anything else. They had to go back and put those resources to use in their cultivation; otherwise, all the time they had spent on this trip would have been wasted.
Sigh. Once you had experienced the thrill of making easy money without spending much time or effort, it was hard to stop.
But how could cultivators afford to place so much importance on material things?
Xu Guan was all right. He had already reached the Immaculate Realm and had lived in poverty in the Seeking Gods Sect for many years, so his Dao heart was exceptionally steadfast. His disciples, however, were still young. After years of poverty followed by sudden wealth, they still needed some proper guidance.
Xu Guan gave his three disciples a stern lecture before taking them onto the road home.
“Remember this: spirit stones may be good, but they are ultimately nothing more than external resources for your cultivation.” Xu Guan thought for a moment, then used Shu Xin as an example. “Look at your Eldest Senior Sister. She’s very good at making money, but has she devoted all her time to it? If spirit stones were truly all she cared about, she would never have left the Longevity Dao Sect. She would have chosen to stay with one of the great clans instead.”
“Master, your Eldest Senior Sister is about to attempt the breakthrough to the Grotto-Heaven Realm. Do you think she’ll succeed?” Li Qinghe asked anxiously. He had heard that the step from the Dao Nascent Soul Realm to becoming a Grotto-Heaven Adept involved enduring countless tribulations.
It was said that once a cultivator began attempting to break through to the Grotto-Heaven Realm, every subsequent advancement would require them to endure the tempering of the “Three Winds and Four Fires.”
Among the Three Winds was the Heavenly Astral Wind. When it swept over a cultivator, anyone with a weak body would be reduced to a skeleton in an instant. If their foundation was too frail, they would turn directly into bleached bones, dying without a sound.
There was also the Lifespan Fire. Once ignited, it could burn away decades—or even centuries—of a cultivator’s lifespan. Even if they managed to endure it, a young cultivator in the prime of life might emerge from seclusion looking like an old man. Many Grotto-Heaven Adepts appeared elderly precisely because they had been burned for too long by the Lifespan Fire.
Then there was a fire known as the Fire of Emotion. The moment it flared up, all seven emotions and six desires would surge forth. Most cultivators who practiced the Path of Ruthlessness fell at this trial.
“Yes, Master,” Yuan Dawei said, equally worried. “I’ve heard that the great sects all possess secret arts capable of helping their disciples ward off the Three Winds and Four Fires. Has Eldest Senior Sister made any preparations?”
The Three Winds and Four Fires were a curse that cultivators could not escape on their journey from the Dao Nascent Soul Realm all the way to the realm of Earthly Immortals. The higher their cultivation, the more they would be tempered by the Three Winds and Four Fires.
For that reason, cultivators above the Great Vehicle Realm rarely ventured outside. They did so to avoid the torment of the Three Winds and Four Fires.
“Before we set out, I already gave your Eldest Senior Sister a secret treasure,” Xu Guan said with a smile. “Although our Seeking Gods Sect has fallen into decline, the patriarchs of past generations did manage to develop a few methods for dealing with the Three Winds and Four Fires. Your Eldest Senior Sister will be safe and sound, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
That was what Xu Guan said, but in truth, he was not entirely confident either.
The Three Winds were the Heavenly Astral Wind, the Earthly Fiend Wind, and the Yin-Yang Wind. They tested a cultivator’s physical body, divine soul, and Dao heart respectively.
The Four Fires were the Lifespan Fire, the Fire of Emotion, the Fire of Karma, and the Fire of Fame and Fortune.
Xu Guan was not worried about the others. Shu Xin had clearly severed ties with her fiancé, and it was obvious that the Fire of Emotion would not trouble her much.
But the Fire of Fame and Fortune… that was something he truly worried about.
Shu Xin should be able to handle it, right?
The Seeking Gods Sect simply could not afford to lose a walking god of wealth like her.
They really should bring the disciples back sooner. As both sect leader and master, it was only right that he personally stand guard for his disciple’s breakthrough.
Meanwhile, Shu Xin was lazily chatting with the sword spirit, not in the slightest hurry to advance.
If she was going to present such a grand gift, she had to choose the right moment.
If she broke through now, Xu Guan would only think that Shu Xin was exceptionally talented and rare to find. Impressive as that was, it still would not compare to the shock caused by the profitable scheme she had offered before.
But if she waited until cultivators from all those sects that still had not drawn a complete cultivation-method jade slip came knocking on the doors of the Asking God Sect, then chose that moment to break through—letting the entire cultivation world see that the Asking God Sect had worthy successors—the effect would be completely different.
A fine blade had to be used where it mattered most.
Such a perfect chance to show off could not be wasted.
【Can you really get through the Three Winds and Four Fires?】Though the sword spirit did not have many opinions about Shu Xin’s cultivation—and in fact wished she would break through as soon as possible—it could not help worrying when it saw her behaving like this.
What if Shu Xin was burned to ashes by the Fire of Fame and Fortune?
That would be far too embarrassing.
Its former masters had all been like clear breezes and bright moons, never allowing the Three Winds and Four Fires to obstruct their path of cultivation.
“To be honest, I don’t know either.” Shu Xin thought for a moment before giving the sword spirit an uncertain answer. “I like spirit stones, and I like good food. I even like every beautiful person in the world equally, regardless of gender or race. I used to be an utterly ordinary mortal. My seven emotions and six desires are all maxed out.”
Oh no. Wasn’t that fatal?
The sword spirit sighed inwardly.
It was a dignified immortal sword. Even if its master were burned to death by the Fire of Passion, that would still be better than dying to the Fire of Fame and Fortune.
At worst, people would gossip that she was lovesick or youthful and impulsive. But dying to the Fire of Fame and Fortune would make her sound like a hypocrite, some petty person chasing empty renown.
By comparison, the former sounded much better. At least it could be explained away as being a person of true feeling and temperament.
Sigh—wait, no. Shu Xin did not care about fame in the first place. She could even tell the outside world that she had once been a man. What reputation did she have left to protect?
“Don’t worry. The Fire of Fame and Fortune can’t burn me. I’m young and beautiful, so the Fire of Lifespan can’t touch me either. As for karmic fire—every demonic cultivator I’ve killed had their primordial spirit scattered. What karma could they possibly leave behind? And the Fire of Passion is the least of my concerns. A good relationship helps me; it doesn’t drag me down.”
Shu Xin casually lay back, looking up at the sun overhead.
“I’m shameless enough that no fire can do anything to me.”
【It’d better be that way.】The sword spirit worried even as it despised itself. It had to have been bewitched by this woman—why else would it be concerned about her?
Just look at what she had done to it. Turning it into two broken swords was bad enough, but she had also given it terrible names and threatened it at every turn. And yet it was the one worrying about her?
“I like spirit stones. I like fine clothes, luxurious robes, and immortality. But what I love even more is the life I used to have.” Shu Xin let out a long breath. “If immortality means I have to live in a world like this, where people are neither human nor ghost, then I’d rather not have it at all.”
In her mind, only the most heinous evil spirits—those who had committed the gravest sins—would be condemned to languish in Hell forever, never to find release.
But was this world really any better than Hell?
