Set Off for Xiushui City

“……” By now, everyone was at a loss for words.

This sect was truly… impressive.

In every sense of the word.

They glanced back and saw that there were still several more streets, though they had yet to open. The shopfronts were all tightly shut, but at the heads of the fourth and fifth streets stood two large signs.

One read “Aquatic Products,” while the other read “Livestock.”

Seeing them, everyone couldn’t help recalling the feast they had enjoyed at the Lingxian Sect’s annual gathering a few days earlier.

There had indeed been an astonishing variety of meats they had never seen before.

This was really…

Some of them had already secretly resolved that once they had earned enough spirit stones, they would definitely come here to buy some agricultural products and take them home for a taste.

But no—they didn’t have spirit chefs.

If they bought the ingredients only to ruin them, it would be heartbreaking. They wondered whether the Lingxian Sect would eventually open shops that offered food processing or cooking services…

With their thoughts in disarray, the crowd eventually left the agricultural district distractedly and departed from Xiushui City.

Although those sects had left, even more cultivators and mortals began arriving in Xiushui City.

With deliberate guidance from the Li clan, news of Xiushui City’s establishment spread throughout every corner of the Pu Si Kingdom within only a few days. The common people were one thing—they were attached to their native soil and, unless forced to do so, naturally had no desire to abandon their homes and livelihoods. Loose cultivators, however, were different.

There were truly a great many loose cultivators across this land.

Most of them were low-level cultivators who had left the three great sects, along with their descendants.

Although the three great sects accepted disciples, supporting a low-level cultivator was far more expensive than supporting an ordinary mortal if that cultivator’s cultivation was too weak. Thus, the benefits the three great sects could offer were practically useless to such low-level cultivators.

Moreover, their status within the sects was pitifully low. They were often better off returning to the mortal world, where they could at least enjoy a superior position.

However, their cultivation was weak, and they had never learned any truly useful techniques. The mortal world was also lacking in spiritual energy, and without a method of gathering it, they would find it difficult even to maintain their existing cultivation after going too long without its nourishment. Furthermore, with the Li imperial clan presiding over the government, these loose cultivators did not dare throw their weight around.

Many of them were even afraid that sect disciples would set their sights on the meager assets they possessed. They concealed their identities and blended into mortal society, hoping only to become wealthy old gentlemen who could live long, healthy lives.

Now that they had learned the Lingxian Sect was establishing Xiushui City, many loose cultivators weighed the matter carefully and decided that the city would be an excellent place to settle down.

For one thing, the Lingxian Sect was stationed there, which meant it would certainly be much safer than other places.

The Lingxian Sect’s reputation throughout the Pu Si Kingdom had been excellent in recent years. Some loose cultivators had even been rescued by Lingxian Sect disciples as ordinary civilians when disaster struck their regions. Although those disciples had noticed that the people they were helping possessed some cultivation, they had not treated them differently or taken advantage of the opportunity to extort their belongings. They had treated them just like any other commoner.

If they moved to Xiushui City, they would no longer have to live in constant fear.

Secondly—and more importantly—they had heard that Xiushui City contained entire streets of shops specifically selling resources for cultivators!

This news gave loose cultivators from every direction a tremendous boost.

Although their resources were scarce, with the Lingxian Sect stationed in the city, opportunities there would inevitably be far more plentiful than elsewhere.

As for why these loose cultivators did not settle at the foot of the three great sects’ mountains—wasn’t the reason obvious? They were afraid of being ordered around and exploited.

And so, loose cultivators from all over the kingdom almost unanimously packed up at once, gathered their wives, children, and even entire clans, and began migrating to Xiushui City.

Some cultivators had even set out with their large families on the first or second day of the New Year.

Wen Xiangzhi was one of them.

He was already seventy-three years old. In his youth, he had been fortunate enough to join the Shangyang Sect, but because his cultivation progressed far too slowly, he was expelled from the outer sect after twenty years.

Although he had been expelled from the outer sect, Wen Xiangzhi initially refused to give up on cultivation. He remained outside the Shangyang Sect alongside many mortals under the sect’s control, doing odd jobs for the sect’s disciples in the hope of finding another opportunity.

Unfortunately, as the years passed, he still saw no hope of continuing on the path of cultivation. Every day, he labored for the sect among the mortals living outside the mountain gate, receiving little of value in return. He barely had any time to cultivate, and his cultivation at the second level of Qi Refinement had reached the point of collapse.

Thus, when he was nearly fifty, Wen Xiangzhi finally gave up completely. He left the Shangyang Sect and returned to his mortal hometown, only to discover that his parents had long since passed away and that his brothers and sisters had all started families of their own. He did not disturb them. After paying his respects before his parents’ memorial tablets, he left and found a secluded, peaceful town in which to settle.

To avoid attracting unwanted attention, he exchanged all the meager resources he had accumulated in the Shangyang Sect for mortal currency, leaving not a single scrap behind. He built a large residence in the town, married several wives and concubines, and established a thriving family. He also purchased a hundred mu of fertile farmland and began living the leisurely life of a wealthy gentleman.

By this year, twenty-five years had passed since Wen Xiangzhi left the Shangyang Sect.

Over those twenty-five years, he had taken one wife and six concubines. Together, they had given him thirty-three children—eighteen sons and fifteen daughters.

Among those children, everyone who had reached the age of seventeen had married. Wen Xiangzhi now had more than a dozen, perhaps as many as twenty, grandchildren and grandchildren through his daughters.

This time, he brought more than fifty members of his household and made the long journey to Xiushui City from the neighboring province.

He had not sold his original residence or farmland, leaving them in the care of his old steward.

On the road, Wen Xiangzhi’s second son sat in a carriage beside his wife, who was being jostled so badly that she looked miserable. Unable to hold back his complaint, he said, “Father, why did you insist on coming all the way to Xiushui City? It may have the Lingxian Sect guarding it, but we were already living perfectly well back home.”

The eldest son’s family was in the same carriage. Hearing this, the eldest son turned to glance at his infant daughter, who was sleeping soundly in his wife’s arms, and said steadily, “Father must have his reasons. As his sons, all we need to do is obey.”

After leaving the Shangyang Sect, Wen Xiangzhi had been afraid of attracting the attention of people with ulterior motives. He had never revealed that he was a cultivator. Every morning and afternoon, he meditated alone in his study to stabilize his cultivation, so no one in the Wen family knew that he had once been a cultivator.

However, Wen Xiangzhi’s eldest son was his firstborn. Although he had buried the matter of cultivation deep in his heart, he had never entirely given up hope. Whenever one of his children grew a little older, he would carefully examine their physical constitution.

He had no ability to see spiritual roots, but after cultivating for so many years, he had gained a certain understanding of spiritual energy and spiritual roots, as well as a faint sensitivity toward them. By observing his children over the years, he could at least make a rough judgment.

Wen Xiangzhi had carefully examined every one of his descendants.

Unfortunately, he was nearly certain that the vast majority of them possessed no spiritual roots at all.