Lineage

"From now on, there is no need to keep your Great-Grandmaster's spirit tablet on display..." Qin Sang gave Yunyouzi's spirit tablet a gentle shake. Li Yufu looked puzzled at first, but then something dawned on him, and shock flooded his face. "Could Great-Grandmaster be...?" Li Yufu had held his tongue all this time, but he clearly remembered his master saying more than once that Martial Uncle Qin Sang was less than two years older than his master. Now he was in his seventies, yet he looked as youthful as a teenager. There was only one possibility. His martial uncle truly had become an immortal. Yet Li Yufu never could have dreamed that their Great-Grandmaster was an immortal as well! Neither his master nor his grandmaster had ever breathed a single word of this—perhaps even they had not known. Qin Sang smiled, nodded, and quipped, "Even I never imagined Senior Yunyouzi had stepped onto the immortal path before me. Several years ago, the senior and I met purely by chance. Fortunately, I had seen his portrait in the past and recognized him. The old man is alive and well right now, so aren't you cursing him by setting out a spirit tablet for him?" Filled with trepidation, Li Yufu put the spirit tablet away, still struggling to believe it. Qingyang Temple's entire lineage consisted of merely six people, Qin Sang included, yet two cultivators had emerged from it. "So Great-Grandmaster, just like Martial Uncle, also became an immortal..." Qin Sang shook his head and patiently explained, "I dare not presume to call ourselves immortals. We can only be considered immortal cultivators—people who have mastered great power... Senior Yunyouzi's path was far more arduous than mine. He only entered the Dao at seventy-eight, and reached Foundation Establishment at the venerable age of one hundred. To achieve such a feat is singular even in the cultivation world, born entirely of his conviction to never give up. Though Daoist Priest Jixin and Mingyue were mortals, that they could be honored with living shrines and revered by countless people was not unrelated to the senior's teachings. I only hope you later generations will not forget..." "Yes!" Li Yufu bowed deeply with a solemn expression. "This disciple respectfully obeys Martial Uncle's teachings." Jingtian hurriedly followed suit. Looking at the master and apprentice before him, Qin Sang nodded inwardly. Li Yufu was not only exceedingly bright, but also of fine character. Though Qin Sang had remained in the Patriarch Hall, his spiritual sense had blanketed Qingyang Hall all day, quietly observing the actions of Li Yufu and his apprentice. Throughout the entire day, Qin Sang had felt an illusion of the past coming alive. Those who came to Qingyang Hall seeking treatment were all local common folk. Not one looked down on Li Yufu for his youth; every single person treated him with the utmost respect. Rich or poor, master and disciple treated them all alike. If a patient genuinely could not afford the fee and chose to put it on credit, Li Yufu showed not the slightest hint of impatience. Though his ledger was not quite as thick as Daoist Priest Jixin's had been, a fair stack had already accumulated. Every action came naturally from the heart. Without the personal examples and teachings of Daoist Priest Jixin and Mingyue, this would have been impossible. If it had been an act, it could never have escaped Qin Sang's discerning eyes. Even if Li Yufu possessed deep guile, a young child like Jingtian could never have faked it so flawlessly. Daoist Priest Jixin and Mingyue had worthy successors! Qin Sang felt deeply gratified. At the same time, he could sense that deep within the eyes of Li Yufu and Jingtian when they looked at him, there lingered a mix of anticipation and apprehension. He knew that look very well. Before he had come into contact with the cultivation world, whenever he encountered a cultivator, he had looked at them with that exact same expression. "Reach out your hands. Let me check your aptitudes..." Qin Sang said. Remembering Daoist Priest Jixin and Mingyue with gratitude, if Li Yufu and his apprentice possessed talent, Qin Sang naturally would not mind giving them a helping hand. Still, Qin Sang knew full well that the chances were vanishingly slim. Among the younger generation of the Imperial Capital's three great families, not a single one possessed a spiritual root; that was the normal state of affairs. Delight showed on Li Yufu's face, and he hurriedly held out his arm. Jingtian was still a bit confused, but he knew it had to be a good thing. "Huh?" Resting his fingers on Li Yufu's wrist, Qin Sang let out a soft exclamation of surprise, casting a startled glance at Li Yufu. Next, he placed his fingers on Jingtian's wrist, and after inspecting him, he fell into deep thought. Master and apprentice dared not make a sound to disturb him, gazing at Qin Sang with anxious expressions. It truly was somewhat beyond Qin Sang's expectations. He had never imagined that Li Yufu actually possessed a spiritual root—and a top-grade talent of dual water and wood spiritual roots at that! He was on par with Senior Sister Shi Hong! Unfortunately, Jingtian lacked a spiritual root and could not cultivate. While checking their aptitudes, Qin Sang had also examined Li Yufu's bone age: twenty-five years old. To begin stepping onto the immortal path at this age seemed a bit late, but with the talent of dual spiritual roots, so long as he did not slack off in his cultivation or take missteps, there was still hope for him to achieve Foundation Establishment. By leveraging his own standing, Qin Sang was confident he could arrange for Li Yufu to join Shaohua Mountain. However, for one thing, Qin Sang himself was still struggling in the Foundation Establishment stage, rushing about here and there. What he could do was limited; he could not instruct him personally, and at most could only ensure that Li Yufu could cultivate peacefully in the sect without being bullied. For another, tracing back through the origins, there was a clear master-disciple lineage between Li Yufu and Yunyouzi. If Qin Sang directly brought Li Yufu into Shaohua Mountain, it felt as though he were overstepping his bounds. Qin Sang also recalled that at Yinshan Pass, when Yunyouzi had sighed over Tan Hao's deep brotherly affection, there had seemed to be an unusual undertone in his voice. Could it be that he had thought of Daoist Priest Jixin and felt the urge to take on a disciple again? If Yunyouzi truly wished to take an apprentice, Li Yufu could not be more suitable! At this thought, Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he made up his mind. He had Li Yufu send Jingtian out to rest first, then told him the truth. Upon learning the facts, Li Yufu was overjoyed, of course, yet a hint of worry lingered in his eyes. He could not resist asking, "Martial Uncle, can Jingtian really not cultivate alongside me?" Qin Sang gave an affirmative grunt. "Without a spiritual root, one cannot cultivate immortality. Such is the cruelty of the Heavenly Dao." For a moment, Li Yufu felt both joy and sorrow, and hearing that Qin Sang would not take him as a disciple left him even more disappointed. Qin Sang said, "I will leave you a cultivation method and several protective magic tools. For now, remain on Mount Cuiming and cultivate on your own. After I speak with Senior Yunyouzi, if he is willing to instruct you personally, he will come to lead you into the immortal sect. Senior Yunyouzi's sect, the Taiyi Dan Sect, is a powerful righteous sect whose strength is second to none in the cultivation world. If you can enter the Taiyi Dan Sect, it will be an immense blessing for you..." Before the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement stage, the requirements for heaven-and-earth spiritual energy were not all that stringent. Mount Cuiming was also a place of spiritual beauty, gathering spiritual energy, sheltered from the wind and gathering water, blessed with excellent geomancy. It was entirely sufficient to sustain the needs of Li Yufu's cultivation. "However..." Qin Sang's tone shifted, turning grave. "Before that, I have one requirement that you must fulfill." Li Yufu's expression tightened, and he said solemnly, "Please instruct me, Martial Uncle." Pleased with Li Yufu's attitude, Qin Sang nodded and said, "Once you step onto the immortal path, you must sever ties with the mortal world. Before you cultivate immortality, you must pass down the heritage of Qingyang Temple. This is an inescapable duty of yours. Jingtian possesses good character; remember to teach him well, and do not let the worldly lineage be broken." The Qingyang Temple lineage had begun with Yunyouzi, but it was Daoist Priest Jixin who had carried forward and exalted the sect's virtues, condensing the lifelong devotion of both Daoist Priest Jixin and Mingyue over all these years. If this heritage were severed, it would be an utter tragedy!