Cultivation: Being Immortal - Chapter 132
Five Elements Sect, main entrance.
Zhang Wanjing sat in the cave mansion of the head, Qin Quan, casually sipping his tea. Not long after, Qin Quan hurriedly arrived and smiled. Wanjing, I’m sorry for making you wait. Something came up and delayed me.
“The head Martial Uncle is always busy. It’s okay for Wanjing to wait a little longer.”
“There’s nothing much to handle, most of the sect matters are taken care of by you. I only have some trivial matters to deal with.”
Qin Quan said, this is something he truly meant. Ever since Zhang Wanjing became Deputy Master of the Internal Affairs Hall, his workload decreased by half. For big events like the Medicine Conference, he hardly worried about it, as Zhang Wanjing handled it perfectly.
“Why did Master Martial Uncle call Wan Jing this time?”
“Last year, during the Presbyterian Church, Hall Master Nie Wuyuan from the Law Enforcement Hall told me that he has been supporting you all these years. Is it true?”
“Yes, it has been about four or five years. The Law Enforcement Hall has been cooperating with the Internal Affairs Hall. Elder Nie is very good.”
“Elder Nie also told me that our Five Elements Sect is currently facing a crisis with a lack of talented individuals.”
Master Martial Uncle, I already reported this matter to you twenty years ago. I have mentioned it countless times in recent years. Take a look at the disciples within our sect. They can barely reach the Qi Refining and Foundation Building stages, let alone the Golden Core stage. Once they reach the Golden Core Period, they become relaxed, occupying favorable positions and receiving generous treatment. Then, what do they do? Marrying multiple wives, keeping concubines, enjoying the night with singing and dancing. How much time do they have left for cultivation and doing important things?
(Translated by Gravity Tales 😦)
It’s not only the older generation in the Golden Core stage who are like this, even the younger ones. Everyone is the same. What should the sect do…
Zhang Wanjing, as he mentioned this matter, became upset. He believed that the current atmosphere within the Five Elements Sect was very bad, extremely bad.
Those who wholeheartedly pursue the Dao are stuck at the Foundation Building stage. They lack money and background, making it impossible for them to have the opportunity to form a Golden Core. On the other hand, those from influential families quickly become corrupted after advancing to the Golden Core stage.
If they’re old golden core, he actually doesn’t object, because longevity is very elusive, life doesn’t have many years left, enjoyment is also necessary. But even young golden core is the same, giving up a promising future is simply ignorant.
You should know that the current status of the Five Elements Sect is supported by Nascent Soul and Soul Changing. However, Nascent Soul and Soul Changing will also die, they cannot achieve immortality. If there are no successors for the Five Elements Sect, when these Nascent Soul and Soul Changing disciples pass away, can the Five Elements Sect still become one of the three major powers in Yun State?
“Wanjing, don’t get excited. I brought you here today to discuss this matter.”
“Martial Uncle, I lost control.”
“No, I understand your thoughts. I don’t blame you. The atmosphere in the sect has not been good these years, all three major sects have this problem.”
“Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect are much better, especially Cloud Sword Sect. Their sword cultivation is pure, they only cultivate the sword throughout their lives. The Indestructible Peak of Cloud Sword Sect will never fail, so Cloud Sword Sect won’t fail either. And several elders of Zhonghang Sect have taken in good disciples. Only our Five Elements Sect, have our elders gone out to recruit disciples in these years? They are all descendants of sect disciples. I’m not saying that descendants of sect disciples are not good, but…”
Zhang Wanjing didn’t know how to describe it for a moment. The aptitude and level of disciples from sect descendants are much better than ordinary people and independent cultivators, but their character is much worse. These people have grown up in cultivating families since they were young, and most of their cultivation resources are provided by their families. They have no idea about the hardships of cultivation, so they are prone to giving up in the face of setbacks. Even if they reach a higher position, they are easily corrupted and don’t understand the rarity of resources, which are hard-won.
“Wanjing, I brought you here today for this matter. Don’t get agitated.”
“Yes, Martial Uncle.”
“Wanjing, what do you think about starting a reform in our sect?”
“Martial Uncle, have you finally supported me in doing this?”
Zhang Wanjing got even more excited, his eyes shining. He had thought about the reform for a long time, but unfortunately, no one supported him. He couldn’t make it happen at all.
Over the years, Zhang Wanjing had realized that no matter how well he did things, it was useless. It was only like patching up a broken ship, delaying its sinking. The only way to save the ship was to pull it out of the water, expose it to the sunlight, and give it a thorough repair before setting sail again.
“Well, to be honest, for these past few months, I’ve been observing the sect closely. Even the Nascent Soul stage, let alone the golden core stage, is all occupied by the same people. There are hardly any newcomers. I’m really concerned about it.”
Qin Quan said. Every realm, every tier, should have a constant supply of new people. This is what keeps the sect alive. But in our Five Elements Sect, it has been years since a new golden core great perfection stage disciple appeared. If I didn’t know this, I wouldn’t have made up my mind.
“If I have Martial Uncle’s support, then I can rest assured. I can go ahead and do it wholeheartedly.”
“Wanjing, my support alone is not enough. There are fifteen elders in the sect, and I’m just one of them. Even though I’ve become the sect leader, my cultivation level is the same as theirs. You have to persuade them, and it would be best to persuade our ancestors too.”
“Our ancestors…”
“Yes, I can’t contact our ancestors, only you can. Please invite him back so that we can suppress all opposition within the sect.”
Qin Quan said. The Five Elements Sect has Soul Changing, but they never show themselves. Not to mention the disciples below, even I, as the sect leader, haven’t been able to contact them for many years.
This is not only true for the Five Elements Sect, but also for the Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect. The ancestors’ reason is that the spiritual energy in Yun State is too low, making it slow to cultivate and without much future. That’s why they mostly wander around or cultivate in other places, only coming back occasionally. And when they practice Soul Changing, it can be for several decades or even hundreds of years. So, it is normal for the Soul Changing practitioners from the three sects to be absent for many years. This has led many people to believe that the three sects don’t even have any Soul Changing practitioners.
“Martial Uncle, I also can’t contact our ancestors.”
“How can that be? Aren’t the ancestors···”
“Martial Uncle, I really can’t contact them. The ancestors did leave a Life Talisman for me, but it can only be used as a last resort when the sect is in a life-or-death crisis.”
“Alright.”
“Martial Uncle, I feel that having your support is enough for me. I will find a way to talk to the other elders. In the end, it is all for the good and strength of our sect…”
Zhang Wanjing said. Now I am full of confidence. If the sect leader is willing to support me, I think making changes will be a simple matter.
·······
“Xiao Yi and Shuhua, please come and sit.”
Zhang Wanjing’s cave, Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua took their seats and watched as Zhang Wanjing poured them spiritual wine. Zhang Shuhua quickly grabbed the wine bottle and poured the drinks himself.
“Master, is there something good that made you so happy?”
“Can you guess?”
“Could it be that your wife has given birth to another son for you?”
“Are you asking for a beating?”
“Well, it can’t possibly be my senior martial brother getting married. He’s so cold and only speaks a few words a day. There’s no female disciple in our sect who would like him.”
Lin Jiang said, and speaking of Zhang Shuhua, he was definitely a second-generation cultivator. Even someone like Yue Qing had admirers, but Zhang Shuhua didn’t.
Of course, Lin Jiang knew that the problem was with Zhang Wanjing. He had offended too many people in the sect, so no one wanted to marry their daughters or disciples to his son.
“I don’t care what women like to do, it only affects my practice.”
“Tsk, if no woman likes your dad, how can she like you?”
“You…”
Zhang Shuhua thought he was a good-tempered person, but even he couldn’t resist the urge to fight someone.
“Shuhua, actually Xiao Yi is right. If you really like a female cultivator, go pursue her. Your dad supports you, but don’t target those female cultivators with deep backgrounds in the sect. They might bring you benefits, but those benefits won’t come for free. You’ll have to get them back from me double-fold. When marrying someone, it should be pure and without any ties to interests.”
Zhang Wanjing said to Zhang Shuhua, and Lin Jiang was surprised. He didn’t expect Zhang Wanjing to be a romantic. Wasn’t he always against love before?
“Dad, talk business, don’t involve me.”
Zhang Shuhua silently drank his alcohol. He was either running errands for Zhang Wanjing all day, or practicing cultivation. Where did he have time to chase after girls? It was not intentional.
“Hmm, talking about things, a few days ago, Martial Uncle, the sect leader, had a conversation with me. Martial Uncle also noticed that the atmosphere of the Five Elements Sect was not good. He asked me to rectify it and bring about a transformation in the sect, so that the sect can become strong once again.”
“Transformation”
“Reform?”
Zhang Shuhua and Lin Jiang were both surprised at the same time.
“Haha, you guys are surprised, right? I was surprised too. In fact, I talked to Martial Uncle about it a long time ago, but he didn’t agree. But this time, he finally agreed. Now I can really go all out and make a big change.”
“Master, when you talk about rectifying the atmosphere, it’s actually reform, right?”
“Reform, you can also say that. It means changing the rules of the sect, giving opportunities to the lower-level disciples, so that not all the higher-level disciples are useless.”
“No.”
Lin Jiang blurted out, which made Zhang Wanjing somewhat puzzled. His own disciple was opposing him?
“Xiao Yi, please explain why it’s not good, isn’t it a good thing?”
“Is this really a good thing?”
Lin Jiang immediately said, thinking of three people in his mind, Shang Yang, Wang Anshi, Zhang Juzheng, all of whom he had to study in his history textbook. Putting aside their achievements in reform, did they have a good outcome?
“Why is it not a good thing?”
Zhang Wanjing asked insistently. Lin Jiang didn’t answer but signaled to Zhang Shuhua to persuade Zhang Wanjing. Brother, if you don’t persuade him soon, your father will die.