Cultivation: Being Immortal - Chapter 170
Wilderness, the old base of the Five Elements Sect
Lin Jiang, as usual, is slacking off. Now the old base no longer receives any independent cultivators. Besides a group of Qi Refining Period disciples working in the fields, there is no one left.
A large area of spiritual land has been opened up outside the city. Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua are responsible for patrolling these spiritual lands to prevent monsters from causing trouble and hurting people.
In fact, this area marked by Small Shadiao, in the eyes of the monster, is the territory of Small Shadiao. No other monster dares to come here. Only three to five monsters come in foolishly every year, but there is also a formation to resist them.
During the day, Lin Jiang draws symbols. The symbols he draws will be given to Jiang Shu to sell at the new base, bringing in a monthly income.
“Senior Brother Xiao, where is Senior Brother Zhang?”
But at noon that day, a flying boat landed outside the base, and a polite person in the Building Foundation Period shouted outside the base.
Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua put down what they were doing and walked out, saying, “Senior Brother, what’s the matter? It’s not time to hand in our tasks yet.”
The base is now responsible for providing spiritual paddy and vegetables to the new base. Spiritual paddy is paid once a year, but vegetables are paid monthly. Lin Jiang remembers it’s not time yet.
“Senior Brother Xiao, I’m not here to rush you for the task. I have received an order from the sect to ask you two senior brothers to return to the sect.”
“Why should we go back?”
“Martial Uncle Zu has returned.”
“Wait, Martial Uncle Zhu, are you talking about my master Zhang Wanjing?”
“Yes, Zhang Wanjing Martial Uncle Zhu has returned.”
“Say it again?”
“Zhang Wanjing Martial Uncle Zhu has returned, senior brother.”
The person said it again, Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in each other’s eyes.
“Hahaha…”
Lin Jiang burst into laughter, it was not easy, really not easy, after more than twenty years, they finally waited for Zhang Wanjing to come back.
“After enduring the clouds, the moonlight finally appears, my thigh has returned.”
“Both senior brothers, please pack up and come back to our sect with us.”
“Haha, okay, okay, wait a little while.”
The two of them answered decisively, packed up a little, took their valuable belongings, and immediately jumped onto the flying boat. Then they asked the flying boat to go at full speed and quickly return to their sect.
When they returned to their sect, the two of them went straight to Zhang Wanjing’s residence. Sure enough, Zhang Wanjing was in his residence, looking at the Purple Origin Taoist Fruit, with a few golden core disciples by his side.
“Master”
“Father”
“Everyone’s back”
“We’re back, Master. I missed you so much.”
Lin Jiang tried to give him a bear hug, but Zhang Wanjing blocked him with a wave of spiritual power. What are you thinking? Two grown men shouldn’t be cheesy, right?
“Martial Uncle, the spiritual land formation has been adjusted, but if I may speak honestly, the spiritual veins level here is too low. Even with spirit stones supplementing it, the Purple Origin Taoist Fruit cannot grow properly. It’s best to find another place.”
The golden core disciples around Zhang Wanjing told him that they were all advanced Spiritual Farmers of the sect, and couldn’t be compared to someone like Lin Jiang who was just a beginner.
“Hmm, let’s hold on for a while. My new residence is being built. Once it’s done, I’ll ask you to transplant the Purple Origin Taoist Fruit there.”
“No trouble at all. It’s what disciples should do.”
“Alright, you can go and busy yourselves now.”
“Yes, Martial Uncle. We take our leave.”
The few people bowed to Zhang Wanjing and quickly left.
“Come, sit, and tell me about any grievances you’ve had these past few years. Has anyone been bullying you? Your master will take care of it.”
After the others left, Zhang Wanjing spoke to Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua. He realized that during his twenty years of absence, his disciples must have faced a lot of unfair treatment.
Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua shook their heads. They actually didn’t have much to complain about. Even though they were deliberately ignored and excluded, they persevered and had plenty of time for cultivation.
The people who went to the base with Zhang Shuhua were the ones who wanted to succeed with Zhang Wanjing, but the outcome was very bad. They didn’t have the same mindset and connections as Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua, so they were rejected and became miserable. Some of them even lost the best time to advance and had no hope of reaching the golden core in this lifetime.
Some people were even transferred to a new base and eventually died in the mouths of monsters. Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua have been in contact with these people for years and have even secretly supported them with some valuable stones, but they themselves are not very fortunate and can’t help much.
Just a fourth-level Demon Core took away a big portion of Lin Jiang’s wealth, and his own expenses are also not small.
“It’s a pity that those people were all talented.”
“Master, all of this was Guo Yunfeng’s doing. He is the most cunning person. Did you hit him?”
“No, I’ll hit him later.”
Zhang Wanjing shook his head. He wanted to hit someone, but he couldn’t find a good excuse. He challenged Guo Yunfeng, but that guy didn’t respond.
“It’s a shame. Next time you want to hit him, remember to call me. I want to watch the show.”
“Junior brother, Guo Martial Uncle’s cultivation level is in the middle stage of Nascent Soul.”
“What happened in the middle stage? My master is unbeatable. It’s like playing when he fights against opponents in the early stage.”
“Stop it. I called you back not to watch me beat people up, but to do some work.”
Zhang Wanjing rolled his eyes. Is he really that powerful? Why doesn’t he know that boasting is not a good idea? What if he can’t win the fight and becomes embarrassed?
“What position is my master in now?”
“It’s not decided yet. I want to try to become the leader, but the senior brother of the leader is also nice to me. I feel hesitant. What do you guys think, which position should I aim for?”
“How about the Internal Affairs Hall, dad? The Internal Affairs Hall manages everything in the sect. If you want to make changes, you must take over the Internal Affairs Hall.”
“Xiao Yi, what do you think?”
“I don’t quite agree. It would be best if my master can become the leader. If not, then the Law Enforcement Hall is better than the Internal Affairs Hall.”
“Law Enforcement Hall, junior brother, what do you think? It’s a position that requires a lot of effort and doesn’t bring much appreciation.”
Can we compare the difficulty of “Internal Affairs Hall” with the usefulness of it? What’s the point of Master doing so much, just fattening up a group of parasites? It would be better to take down “Law Enforcement Hall” and start from there, with strict and fair rules, cleanse the entire Five Elements Sect and set a new foundation.
Doing this will definitely offend people. But is Master afraid of offending people? Probably not.
Lin Jiang said. There’s not much to do in Internal Affairs Hall. No matter how much work is done, all that’s bred are parasites. It’s better to focus on Law Enforcement Hall. Since Zhang Wanjing has already offended many people, he shouldn’t be afraid to offend more.
“Father, don’t listen to Junior Martial Brother. He’s just talking nonsense.”
“I’m not talking nonsense. I have thought deeply about it. Master, does the Five Elements Sect lack people who actually do things?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Exactly, it doesn’t. So why aren’t there any? It’s because they won’t receive the proper rewards for their efforts. It’s because key positions are being monopolized. No matter how much they do, it’s useless. So if Master wants what’s best for the sect, we have to start with Law Enforcement Hall. There are too many parasites within the sect. We need to bring them all down. Whoever dares to embezzle, whoever dares to enjoy unearned benefits, we will take them down. They won’t dare to reach out anymore. Those who want to do things will naturally emerge. Providing an environment for action is more important than cultivating a few individuals. Because those who truly want to do things don’t need to be trained, as long as they receive proper rewards, everyone will step up.”
Lin Jiang said. It’s more effective to cultivate a good overall environment rather than just training a few individuals. If the overall environment improves, naturally there will be people who stand up.
“Xiao Yi makes a valid point. However, Nie WuyuanHall Master is not someone to be taken lightly, and my relationship with him is also good. It would be difficult to remove him from his position.”
“Master, if you still have the original intention, then there’s no need to talk about relationships. When it’s time to be ruthless, you must be ruthless.”
“Let me think about it.”
Zhang Wanjing shook his head. This matter is not urgent. He has already reached the Nascent Soul stage, with a lifespan of several hundred years. The elders can’t easily exclude him anymore. There is time to plan.
“Master, take your time to consider. It was just a casual remark from me.”
“Let’s discuss this matter later. Right now, there’s something we need to discuss. I’m advancing to the Nascent Soul stage and becoming the 16th elder of the Five Elements Sect. I will have some privileges. Your annual salary will increase from 300 spirit stones to 2000 spirit stones for each of you who are at the ordinary Building Foundation stage. Additionally, I have one quota for the Spirit Integrating Pill. Similar to the Five Elements Golden Fruit Pill, it is a treasure that helps break through the golden core stage of the Building Foundation Period. Which one of you, my disciples, would like to have it?”
“Really, Master? Are you asking your two disciples to fight each other?”
Lin Jiang was speechless. What was Zhang Wanjing talking about? Isn’t he trying to sow discord?
“I would like to have two, but the privileges of a Nascent Soul Elder are limited to this extent.”
“Let my junior brother have it. I will wait for the opportunity to obtain the next batch of Foundation Establishment treasures.”
“The next batch of Foundation Building treasures won’t be available for at least another ten years. By then, you’ll be over a hundred years old. How can you compete with others? Do you want our master to show favoritism?”
“Um…”
“You can have the Spirit Integrating Pill. I’ll figure out a way to obtain the Foundation Building treasure myself.”
“What can you possibly do?”
“In about twenty years, it will be the Centennial Celebration of Yunzhong City. During every Centennial Celebration, there will be Foundation Building treasures available for auction. I’ll just go and buy one then.”
“I know about the Centennial Celebration in Yunzhong City, but the starting price for the magical treasure is at least one million spirit stones. Can you afford to buy it?”
“Who says I can’t afford it? Didn’t Master still owe me 500,000 spirit stones?”
Answering, Lin Jiang said, and Zhang Wanjing’s face immediately stiffened. ‘My good apprentice, do you have such a good memory? I have just returned, and you already come to ask for debts. Is it really okay?’
The cover for book 14 of the xianxia (cultivation) novel “Cultivation: Being Immortal” sold on Amazon