From outside, Cui Dan and his old servant had previously observed the qi of this manor. Remote and desolate, the place had long lost any vibrancy in its fengshui configuration. They had assumed that within the manor, yin qi would be dense and heavy, and the primordial qi skewed toward turbid darkness. Yet upon entering, they discovered that an entirely different world lay within—save for the outer courtyard, which had been wrecked by that villain from the Mount Mei Sect.
In the inner chamber where Qian Chen sat, a faint, pure, wondrous fragrance hovered in the air.
Within the otherwise empty room, beneath the corners of the walls and eaves, several lingzhi had sprouted from decaying timber—some entirely crimson, others with caps of deep purple... Small and lovely, these lingzhi radiated lively spiritual qi.
It was ample proof that the local fengshui had turned exceptionally auspicious.
'No wonder Father told me, "A mountain needs not be high; if there is an immortal, it is famed. Water needs not be deep; if there is a dragon, it is spiritual." These words originate from the scriptures of the Taishang Dao, not some apocryphal texts spuriously attributed by later generations. So an expert opening an alchemy furnace... truly can alter the fengshui of a region! In years past, Immortal Ge refined pills at Mount Baicao, washing his cauldron daily with spiritual spring water. For decades, the water of the elixirs flowed across the entire mountain... After Immortal Ge's ascension, Mount Baicao flourished for thousands of years, rich in all manner of spirit medicines, and even gave rise to a great sect of external dan—the Baicao Sect.'
'I had thought this was merely a legend concocted by the Baicao Sect to latch onto Immortal Ge's reputation.'
'Now it seems the wind does not blow through an empty cave without reason!'
'These lingzhi possess potent medicinal properties, yet their age is tender; they were clearly born from medicinal qi...' Just as Cui Dan was thinking this, he saw Qian Chen casually pinch another pill—entirely crimson, its medicinal qi cradling it like a lingzhi cap—and toss it onto the ground. In an instant, it sank into the soil and vanished from sight.
Seeing this, Cui Dan's hands, resting on his thighs, involuntarily gripped his trouser legs. The mature, steady Uncle Wu was just about to offer a few polite flatteries, but with the words on the tip of his tongue, the sight of Qian Chen's effortless, breathtakingly extravagant gesture made him forget everything he meant to say. He stood slack-jawed, a suspicious glint of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.
Qian Chen was not deliberately putting on a show of wealth...
Rather, lingzhi were born of qi. During the forty-odd days Qian Chen had used this manor as his alchemy chamber, daily nurturing the primordial dan and tempering medicinal qi, the environment had naturally been transformed. In particular, when the primordial dan was fully conceived—equivalent to a cultivator achieving Core Formation of the seventh grade—it naturally produced vast and magnificent external visions, the fruit of the primordial dan's gestation and its resonance with Heaven and Earth.
At that moment, the excess qi of the primordial dan spilled outward, forming diverse anomalies. Among them was the resonance with the subterranean baleful yin qi, pacifying it into harmony and thoroughly transforming the area's fengshui: an external vision known as "Harmonizing Baleful Yin, a Blessed Land Naturally Formed."
There was also the medicinal qi descending to earth to turn into lingzhi, causing hundreds of varieties of colorful lingzhi to sprout here: "Auspicious Lingzhi Vision, Myriad Medicines Flourishing."
Furthermore, countless sprites and creatures would receive the blessing of this qi to take form: "Bestowing Blessings on Sprites, All Living Beings."
These three Core Formation visions would naturally have resolved the karma Qian Chen incurred with the subterranean baleful yin, the primordial qi, and the sprites through his alchemy. This was the Dao of resonance between Heaven and humanity: because Qian Chen's alchemy had depleted the local primordial qi of Heaven and Earth, lingzhi grew of their own accord; because he had hollowed out the Earth Baleful Yin Vein, the remaining baleful qi was harmonized to create an auspicious blessed land; and finally, having seized the opportunities that belonged to the local sprites, he compensated them through subtle, unseen means.
Yet these visions of Core Formation and the extraneous qi of alchemy had all been refined into spirit pills by Qian Chen using his secret methods.
Therefore, so as not to disrupt this Dao of resonance between Heaven and humanity, nor accumulate unseen karmic burdens, Qian Chen had first crushed a pill into jade crumbs to nourish the sprites, compensating them with an alternate opportunity. Then, he tossed the Scarlet Yang Pill, which bore the heaviest qi of harmonious yang, into the ground. Once this pill's qi entered the earth, it naturally followed the Dao of Yin and Yang, seeking out the residual baleful yin qi.
Thus, the essence of harmonious yang, absorbing the residual baleful yin, would transform into a Scarlet Essence Lingzhi, sprouting where Qian Chen had cracked open the earth's crust.
As the Scarlet Essence Lingzhi drew upon the remaining baleful yin qi and gathered the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth, it would naturally convert the foul qi into a blessed land while simultaneously nourishing the other lingzhi formed from medicinal qi. In this quiet, unannounced manner, the external visions of resonance between Heaven and humanity were ingeniously restored. While extinguishing all karma, he also left behind a rare sanctuary for spirit medicines for those who came after.
Even the manor's original owner would benefit immensely—at the very least, once Qian Chen departed, the local Daoist abbey would certainly pay a handsome sum to purchase the property and convert it into a lingzhi chamber.
This could be considered Qian Chen's payment for rent.
However, such principles involved unseen fortunes and misfortunes; only enlightened practitioners with exceedingly sharp perception could grasp them. Many from heterodox paths often complained of meager fortune, never realizing that among those who could cross from ignorant mortals into the Great Dao, how many lacked luck and destiny to begin with? It was just that their blessings and fortune were gradually squandered in reckless consumption of the natural creations of Heaven and Earth, stripped away through predatory plundering where fools rushed in without fear.
Over time, troubles entangled them, and karma and worldly dust wore them down. Even if their Dao heart was originally steadfast and their true nature pure, they would eventually be clouded by dust.
Those who could rise to prominence were either the decisive killers—the true protagonists who slaughtered anyone entangled in karma with them, severing karmic ties with immense determination and unyielding perseverance, plundering others' fortune to surge forward unhindered...
...or seasoned jianghu veterans who were cautious and prudent, always leaving a margin of retreat in everything they did.
Cui Dan and his old servant were briefly astonished, but they soon came to their senses. In the hands of such an eminent master, even seemingly casual gestures held profound meaning. The old servant swiftly composed himself and smoothed his expression. Viewing it through the calculating mind of an aristocratic clan, he recalled how the Cui clan consistently adhered to aristocratic traditions, performing sacrificial rites and forging ties—often mocked by local magnates for doing so. Yet in the end, it was always the great families who calculated a step deeper; gestures that seemed to incur a loss were precisely what guaranteed a family's enduring survival.
In contrast, those magnates—greedy as wolves and tigers, crude and violent in conduct—often withered and were replaced within a single century.
Cui Dan's thoughts were simpler, yet he faintly perceived a deeper truth: "The Way of Heaven diminishes the excessive to supplement the deficient; the Way of Man takes from the deficient to offer to the excessive." And the Way of Heaven and Man was a ceaseless cycle of mutual generation... Lacking the servant's worldly scheming, Cui Dan instead reflected on his own cultivation. He faintly grasped the wonders of cultivation embracing both Heaven and man—the human way striving relentlessly forward, and the heavenly way giving birth without possessing, letting nature take its course.
Recovering his wits and finding Qian Chen looking at him with a faint smile, Cui Dan hurriedly said, "This junior was impudent. I only came because I heard from the Daoist abbey that a senior master had arrived in Wukang, befriending foxes and lingering here. I was seized by the desire to pay a visit, and nearly disturbed Mister's great endeavor of alchemy..."
Qian Chen shook his head with a chuckle. "You waited outside the door, so how could that count as a disturbance? But why, specifically, has Young Master Cui come? Was it truly just to catch a glimpse of me?"
Cui Dan sat upright on his knees, his etiquette impeccably courteous.
Though he possessed a trace of romantic, untamed air, his family discipline was exceptionally strict after all. His manners left no room for fault. Respectfully, he said, "This junior took the liberty of visiting, first, to seek guidance on my cultivation; second, out of admiration for an eminent master; and third, with the hope of forging an acquaintance..."
"Seeking guidance on your cultivation... at least you are honest." Qian Chen picked up a pill as deep cyan as the boundless heavens, holding it between his index and middle fingers like a Go stone, and pointed it at Cui Dan. "Your foundation is impure. Presumably, you took a shortcut during Foundation Building. Before your tempering was pure, you refined external medicines to force a breakthrough. That is why your Sensing is mixed and impure, and your true qi lacks solidity!"
Only now did Cui Dan put away his recent nonchalance. He finally understood why his mother had been so furious, even driving him out to travel and seek office—since even an eminent master said as much, his recklessness in laying his foundation had indeed caused far-reaching harm.
He smiled wryly at once. "It was indeed my rash temperament. Swayed by others' instigation, I lost my original resolve."
The old servant, Uncle Wu, grew tense. He had already realized this was a tremendous opportunity for his young master, and fearing Cui Dan would fail to appreciate its value and let it slip away, he hastily chimed in, "May I ask if Mister has any way to remedy this?"
"Remedying the foundation alone is simple," Qian Chen said with a smile. "Take this Jade Primordial Spirit-Tempering Pill in my hand, for instance. It is exceptionally skilled at tempering true qi and solidifying one's foundation. If you ingest one, you can polish your Dao foundation and elevate it by a grade, making it even simpler should you strive for perfection later. Yet while a Dao foundation is easily gained, the right temperament is hard to attain... Even if you obtained this pill, would it erase the rashness in your heart?"
"If you harbor the notion that cultivation is easy, believing even a flawed Dao foundation can be patched up with external items..."
"Forgive my bluntness, but that mentality poses far greater danger than a slightly deficient Dao foundation. If your Dao foundation is merely a bit lacking, you will waste ten years, but your temperament will surely be tempered to maturity. Only then will you tread cautiously in future cultivation... So whether you have a spirit pill or not, what difference does it make?"
Qian Chen watched Cui Dan, whose body shuddered as though an electric current had surged through him. After a long period of contemplation, Cui Dan finally bowed in wholehearted submission. "Thank you for the guidance, Mister. Before this, I indeed grew arrogant and conceited. Only today, witnessing Mister's vast supernatural powers in refining pills and slaying enemies, did I truly develop a sincere heart for the Dao."
"And hearing Mister's advice, I realize that in the past, I was indeed far too rash. The Dao is like a fair maiden; a gentleman yearning for her must mind his conduct and guard his words. 'Such was King Wen, careful and reverent.' If one acts like those frivolous scoundrels of the capital, pointing fingers, laughing, and bantering without restraint, that is mere flippancy, not true admiration! For me, taking this spirit pill is indeed no blessing. Mister, please put it away..."
Qian Chen smiled again. "When I said earlier that there was no difference, I was only testing you."
"How could wasting ten years be without future trouble? Setting aside the squandered time, even if tempering your temperament in such a way seems steady and mature, you would have lost your cutting edge. Treading on thin ice while advancing with fierce vigor—the subtleties within are truly hard to articulate... Since you have already realized your past recklessness on your own and will remain vigilant hereafter, whether you have this spirit pill or not, what difference does it make now?"
Qian Chen tossed the jade-colored spirit pill toward Cui Dan and laughed. "It's yours!"
Never expecting Qian Chen to be so magnanimous, Cui Dan scrambled frantically to catch the spirit pill. Before he could voice his thanks, he heard Qian Chen laugh, "If you wish to repay me, I won't refuse... Any spirit grain, food, or potable water you have, feel free to offer it. And if you happen to have news of an Earth Baleful Yin Vein... I will have other benefits for you!"
Chapter 45