Cultivation: Being Immortal

The Five Elements Sect, Cold Crow Mountain (outer sect)

Rows of disciples kneeled at the entrance of Cold Crow Mountain. There were familiar faces as well as new ones, all anxiously watching Lin Jiang and Zheng Yi converse. They hoped to see a favorable outcome.

"Senior Brother Zheng, don't worry. My senior brother has gone to find our master."

Lin Jiang comforted Zheng Yi. His master had recently gone into seclusion, and Lin Jiang had no intention of disturbing Zhang Wanjing. However, he couldn't stop Zhang Shuhua, so he had no choice.

"Martial Uncle Xiao, we can only rely on Martial Uncle Zhang this time. Otherwise, we really have no hope."

Zheng Yi anxiously spoke. Actually, he wasn't considered a disciple of the sect anymore, but his two sons were. Moreover, they were the great landlords of the outer sect, renting 10,000 mu of spiritual land from the sect to grow spiritual paddy.

Spiritual paddy cultivation was their specialty. They had the skills and tools for it. Since Zhang Wanjing completed the water conservancy project five years ago and introduced new spiritual paddy seeds, they had been living quite prosperously. Zheng Yi had planned it out. Even if they couldn't obtain the Building Foundation Pill from the sect, if they saved for a little over ten years, it would be enough for them to buy one outside. With hope, one of his sons could break through the Building Foundation stage, thereby achieving the family's rise.

Unexpectedly, a command from the sect shattered his hopes - starting from this year, the sect would increase their workload.

In the past, they rented spiritual land from the sect, and had to contribute 300 kilograms of spiritual paddy per mu as their workload. This accounted for about 60% of their harvest, and even then, it had to be a good harvest. If the fields were not well-tended or if they were slightly lacking, they might not even have enough to contribute. So, they lived in extreme hardship.

Now, seeing that their days were better, the sect increased the workload to 500 kilograms of spiritual paddy per mu. This was disastrous - it meant going back to their previous difficult days.

Some people were even worse off than before, because there were differences in the fertility of the fields. Some fields were far from the spiritual veins, with thin spiritual energy, or the irrigation couldn't reach them, resulting in low yields per mu. It was impossible for them to all rent good fields, as they were mixed with both good and bad ones. With this command, it meant that at least 60-70% of their income would be taken by the sect.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Zheng, there will be hope."

Lin Jiang shook his head. He couldn't understand what the problem was. According to reason, the number of disciples in the sect hadn't fluctuated significantly for hundreds of years. Even if there were minor fluctuations, the sect couldn't possibly lack so much spiritual paddy. There must be some issue with a certain aspect.

Regardless of which aspect had a problem, Zhang Wanjing would need to take risks and offend the higher-ups in the sect, which Lin Jiang didn't want to see.

After so many years, Lin Jiang knew how Zhang Wanjing had gained his support. It was because the sect's Soul Changing Ancestor valued him greatly. But the problem was that the Soul Changing Ancestor was no longer in the Five Elements Sect. No one knew where they had gone, and it was unknown how effective their support would be.

Normally, Zhang Wanjing could talk his way out of things, but when it came to their core interests, it was different. When Zhang Wanjing previously tried to initiate reforms, didn't it end up as a stillbirth? It was directly crushed, and even Zhang Wanjing was thrown into this mountain valley to work in the fields.

"Uncle Zhū has arrived."

"Uncle Zhū..."

"Uncle Zhū..."

Zhang Wanjing eventually appeared, and when he did, the disciples instantly became excited, as if they had seen a savior.

Zhang Wanjing waved his hand, causing everyone to quiet down, and then said. Dear disciples, rest assured, I am aware of this matter. I will discuss it with the sect and await my results.

After leaving a few words, Zhang Wanjing called for Zheng Yi to understand the situation seriously. Upon learning the results, his face turned pale.

"These troublemakers..."

Zhang Wanjing clenched his teeth and cursed. In his opinion, there must have been troublemakers within the upper levels of the sect, embezzling many spiritual grains. Otherwise, why would there be such a big shortage of spiritual grains? He remembered that according to the previous workload, the sect always had surplus spiritual grains, at least enough to last the disciples for a year, to handle crises and such.

"Xiao Yi, Shūhuá, come with me to the Internal Affairs Hall."

"Teacher, let's be cautious and see what's going on first."

"Go."

Ignoring Lin Jiang, Zhang Wanjing got up and flew away. While you could fly outside the Five Elements Sect, you couldn't do so inside. Zhang Wanjing obediently walked, as only elders and above were allowed to fly within the inner gates. It was a privilege or for disciples carrying out missions for the Law Enforcement Hall.

"Jin Yu, get out of here."

Zhang Wanjing was very angry and directly called out Vice Hall Master Jin's name.

"Deputy Hall Master Zhang, Vice Hall Master Jin is not in the Internal Affairs Hall."

"Where is he?"

"He went out for something and isn't in his cave either."

A steward quickly spoke up, saying that Vice Hall Master Jin had been blocked by Zhang Wanjing at the door and had managed to sneak out this time.

Zhang Wanjing didn't believe it. He searched everywhere with his senses, but he couldn't find Vice Hall Master Jin. He punched the cotton angrily, which made Zhang Wanjing even angrier.

(Translated by Gravity Tales 😨)

"Shuhua, you go and keep watch at Jin Yu's residence. Xiao Yi, you stay here and keep watch. Let me know when Jin Yu returns."

"Yes, master."

"Dad, where are you going?"

"I'm going to ask the head disciple who gave this ridiculous order."

Zhang Wanjing said that since he couldn't find Jin Yu, he went directly to the head disciple. Such matters required the command of the head disciple to be carried out.

The head disciple didn't hide, but instead waited for Zhang Wanjing to come to him.

"Head disciple, Martial Uncle."

"I knew you would come. So, couldn't you find Jin Yu?"

"Yes, he hid."

"Where is the Master of the Internal Affairs Hall?"

"He never serves as a steward, this order must have come from Martial Uncle."

"I agreed to it."

"Martial Uncle, I need a reason. The tasks of the sect haven't changed for hundreds of years. Why do we need to increase the workload this year?"

"Because the consumption has increased, there's not enough spiritual paddy to eat, so we have to increase it."

"That's a joke. The disciples of the Five Elements Sect fluctuate by no more than three hundred people each year. It has been less than seven years since I left the Internal Affairs Hall, even if no disciple has decreased in these seven years, the increase is only by more than two thousand people. The spiritual land for cultivating spiritual paddy outside the sect covers nearly three million acres. Does the Sect Master know how much the increased workload is and how much more spiritual paddy can be produced?"

Zhang Wanjing calculated for the Sect Master. With an increase of two hundred kilograms per acre in the workload, it's almost doubled from before. It should be enough for around ten thousand people to eat. Why do we have to increase it so much with just over two thousand more people?

"You're right about the calculation."

"Since it's right, why is it like this?"

"Wanjing, do you know how many people there are among the disciples of the Sect in the Qi Refining Period, Building Foundation Period, and Golden Core Period?"

"I'm not sure about the specifics, but including the miscellaneous disciples, there should be tens of thousands of people in the Qi Refining Period, over a thousand people in the Building Foundation Period, and over sixty people in the Golden Core Period."

Zhang Wanjing said that the exact number of people in the Sect and the number of people in each realm were top secret. Even he didn't know the exact numbers, only a rough idea.

"That's about right. Since you know, you should understand the Sect's intentions."

"Intentions? What intentions? If the Sect doesn't lack so many spiritual paddies, why do they need to recruit so many? Is the Five Elements Sect lacking money?"

"It's not about lacking money. Even if all these spiritual paddies were sold, it would only be a few million spirit stones. But the Sect lacks more high-level resources."

"What do you mean?"

"In the cultivation world, as you ascend one small realm, the quantity of resources reduces by half or more. It's normal for there to be three to five times less resources in the first realm compared to the second realm, and the same goes for the third realm compared to the second realm. The Sect can't provide enough for so many Building Foundation Period cultivators."

"Can the sect still think that there are too many disciples in the Building Foundation Period?"

Zhang Wanjing became even more confused. The Golden Core Period is also advanced from the Building Foundation Period. Isn't it better to have more disciples in the Building Foundation Period so that more Golden Core Period disciples can be born?

This goes against common sense, but it is indeed the truth. Don't worry, let me explain. If these disciples have excellent aptitude and strong comprehension, then the sect doesn't mind putting in a lot of effort to cultivate them. But you see, they are not like that. Even if they put in all their effort, they can only reach the Building Foundation Period at most. In this lifetime, they cannot form a Gold Core. At least 99% of the disciples are like this.

But according to the sect's rules, after they reach the Building Foundation Period, they must provide them with corresponding resources. This weakens the resources available to other truly talented disciples in the Building Foundation Period. It is actually detrimental to the sect.

As the sect's head, I have a responsibility to the sect. My task is to cultivate more disciples who can form a Gold Core, Nascent Soul, and even undergo Soul Changing. That's why the sect divides disciples into Inner Disciples, Outer Disciples, and Servants.

"So according to what Martial Uncle said, these Outer Disciples, Servants, can only be considered as sustenance, consumables, serving the Inner Disciples. They can only stay in the Qi Refining Period for their whole life?"

"That statement is too absolute. The sect also gives opportunities to Outer Disciples. But these opportunities cannot be too many, they can only be for a select few, only allowing some to break through and selecting the true talents that are left in the Outer Disciples."

Qin Quan said. The sect may have many disciples in the Building Foundation Period, but if these people cannot be turned into productive forces and create more value, then they cannot be too many. More resources should be concentrated on the true talents.

Besides, the sect has not completely cut off their path. There can still be a few who can advance, but only a minority.

Qin Quan's words shocked Zhang Wanjing, who looked at him in disbelief. The heartfelt words were terrifying, and Zhang Wanjing found it hard to believe that this was the sect he was supposed to dedicate his life to.

"Zhang Wanjing, I know it's hard for you to accept, but this is the reality. The Five Elements Sect can no longer expand outward, our resources are limited, and the potential of those people is also limited. Even if they break through the Building Foundation stage, they'll reach a dead end. The potential is just that small."

"It's different for the disciples in the inner sect. They have the chance to reach higher levels of cultivation. The status of our Five Elements Sect relies on the Soul Changing and the protection of the Nascent Soul, not Qi Refining or Building Foundation..."

Qin Quan continued to advise Zhang Wanjing kindly, but Zhang Wanjing couldn't listen to a single word. He couldn't accept this reality.

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