Chapter 113 The Palace (2)

Wang Zhanke spoke seriously, and Shang Qian asked uncertainly, "Are you saying you want to embark on the path to immortality? But you're over thirty, and your physique isn't great..."

"I know I don't have any destiny to become an immortal, but with my father's achievements, I think I can be accepted into an immortal sect even if I don't have destiny. But my father is very old and cannot leave the mansion to join an immortal sect for the time being. I didn't expect you all to come to Fuji Town at this time. Maybe I still have some luck?"

Shang Qian seemed completely unable to accept his idea: "So you know the admission rules of the six major alliances, but instead of using them to increase your father's lifespan, you want to cultivate yourself?"

"You..." Qu Qitao wanted to say that Wang Zhanke's character couldn't possibly cultivate the righteous path, but he suppressed the thought. After all, he still had to rely on Wang Zhanke to lead them to the Lingsha Textile Factory. Finally, he reluctantly said, "...Your heart is so strong in seeking the Tao."

"But right now, it's uncertain whether Master Wang can gain the approval of the six major alliances. Let's discuss this later." Xi Xingji chuckled, putting the topic aside for now. He wanted to ask more, but his thoughts weren't clear yet. He decided to wait until tomorrow, after visiting the Lingsha Field. Wang Zhanke tried to drag them into a conversation about cultivation, but Xi Xingji, practicing Tai Chi, quickly walked out of the courtyard, letting out a sigh.

"Are you going to rest, my lords? Please come this way. The chief steward has already prepared the guest house." The servant was holding a book in his hands. He seemed to have just arrived and was relieved to see that they hadn't left yet. "This is the book that the chief steward ordered me to bring. Please accept it, my lords."

The amount of information obtained along the way was too great, and no one had carefully considered these ideas. When the servant took the four of them to the guest house to rest, the four of them could finally start to think about their ideas.

Xi Xingji carefully closed the doors and windows. With a flick of his robe sleeve, a swarm of insects swarmed out, squeezing into the gaps between the doors and windows, or lurking on the eaves. Qu Qitao shuddered as he watched, and whispered to Luo Xuanyi, "Even though Senior Brother can't beat me, I really hate fighting him. It's disgusting."

"Are you attacking our Black Wood Sect?" After Xi Xingji confirmed that all places were infested with poisonous insects and others could not get close to spy, he took out a few talisman papers from his storage bag and pasted them on the door, and finally sat down at the table with satisfaction.

"Don't worry, the Black Wood Sect practices poison cultivation, but not all of them use poisonous insects like you. Senior Sister Qu Xin is completely different from you."

Xi Xingji was a poison cultivator, which was advantageous to Luo Xuanyi. She took this opportunity to ask Qu Qitao, "So, Fellow Daoist Shang Qian is a sword cultivator, Fellow Daoist Xi is an insect cultivator among poison cultivators, and I am an elixir cultivator. I wonder what Fellow Daoist Qu is?"

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyi actually learned the Dao of Alchemy from a casual cultivator? He must have had some fortuitous encounters." Shang Qian sighed, seeming to be somewhat interested in Qu Qitao's technique. "Xinghai Palace is full of music practitioners, but I don't see any magical instruments used by Fellow Daoist Qu?"

Qu Qitao waved his hand lightly, and the bracelets on his wrist jingled and made crisp sounds: "I follow the path of creating my own skills, so I don't use those musical instruments."

"But it seems that the four of us are from different sects. After we leave, we can go traveling together. Look, Fellow Daoist Xuanyi is refining the elixir behind me, and I have Senior Brother Yinren. I can also coordinate with Fellow Daoist Shang's sword attacks from a distance. Isn't this perfect?"

Xi Xingji glanced at her and turned the topic back to Fu Jizhen and the palace: "No matter what, we must first resolve the current issues before thinking about other things."

"Yes, let's take a look at the contents of this book first."

The book looks quite heavy, but in short it is the history of Wang Taiyuan's family.

Wang Taiyuan's original name was Wang Shitou. His family had been hunters for generations, living in Fuji Town. Because Fuji Town was isolated and surrounded by a river, access was difficult, and the land was unsuitable for farming. Most villagers relied on fishing for their livelihood, leading to a very poor life. Only twice a year, during the harvest season, would large boats from outside arrive to collect the catch. Many young people took advantage of this opportunity to leave, and most never returned to Fuji Town.

Wang Taiyuan's family was relatively well-off. They hunted game in the mountains, skinned it, and stored it. When the fishing season came, they would take their boats out to sell it for oil and salt. Sometimes the harvest was bad, sometimes there was some extra money. By the time Wang Taiyuan's generation came around, he wasn't content with this lifestyle and wanted to leave.

At this time, a great scholar named Xiong Shuyou, who had left home to study early in his life, decided to bring his disciples back to his hometown. Xiong Shuyou and his disciples lectured in Fuji Town for three days. After listening to them, Wang Taiyuan became more yearning for the outside world, so he asked Xiong Shuyou to accept him as his disciple.

Xiong Shuyou, disappointed with the townspeople's ignorance, wanted to leave, but unexpectedly, Wang Taiyuan was willing to study. He asked Wang Taiyuan to prepare to take him away to study elsewhere. Wang Taiyuan's family had little money, so he planned to hunt game in Fuji Mountain to exchange for cash. Unexpectedly, he was seriously injured while climbing the mountain. He persevered and climbed back to town, fortunately avoiding jackals along the way.

But his injuries were so severe that Xiong Shuyou couldn't take him away. Xiong Shuyou marveled at Wang Taiyuan's determination and felt sorry for him. After much deliberation, Xiong Shuyou decided to teach Wang Taiyuan how to make ling yarn.

"I don't know if this method will work. No one has ever been able to stick with it. If you really want to change your fate, then give it a try."

From then on, Xiong Shuyou and some of his disciples left, reportedly wandering the seas, never to be seen again. Some of Xiong Shuyou's disciples stayed behind to nurse Wang Taiyuan back to health and to study lingsha together. However, lingsha proved too difficult to make, and those disciples eventually gave up. Some opened academies, others clinics. However, due to Fu Jizhen's extreme poverty, the academies and clinics were on the verge of collapse.

Just when they were about to give up, Wang Taiyuan succeeded in making ling yarn. He changed his name to Wang Taiyuan and began earning money from it. He taught the townspeople how to make ling yarn, encouraging them to join him in weaving. Xiong Shuyou's disciples then presented the ling yarn to the nobility, and thanks to Xiong Shuyou's fame, ling yarn gradually gained recognition. Through their efforts, the town gradually became what it is today.

I have read Wang Taiyuan's story, but I still can't find any special doubts.

"Could it be that we are too suspicious? It seems that no one in this town is dissatisfied with the palace, and everyone lives a comfortable life. It is their own choice whether to leave or stay. Maybe they only do those things because Lingsha is important." Shang Qian was the first to raise an objection.

"But I always feel that this place is not simple. Unfortunately, there is no Yifeng Hidden Formation cultivator among us, and the Qi-Viewing Instrument in my hand cannot be used."

"Just now, I saw that Senior Brother was hesitant. Why didn't he ask Wang Zhanke directly about the formation? I think that although he has bad intentions, he is also quite open-minded. If he had asked, maybe he could have gotten some clues."

When Qu Qitao asked, Xi Xingji rubbed his temples with a headache. "I really don't know how to get along with him. You can see that he is very serious about cultivation. And I always feel that he seems to be confident that he will succeed as long as he embarks on the path of immortality."

Luo Xuanyi found it a bit amusing to hear them talk endlessly without getting to the point. However, this was exactly what she wanted. She suddenly said, "Just now I was thinking, what if Wang Zhanke sends someone to destroy the clues at Lingsha Field tonight?"

"That's right, but we're not sure whether he will send anyone away. It seems that one of us still needs to watch over the dock." Xi Xingji nodded.

Luo Xuanyi immediately volunteered, "I'll go. If Wang Zhanke really sends a boat away, I'll follow him directly to Lingsha Field and use the elixir-inducing fragrance to track the boat's whereabouts. After all, I'm just a casual cultivator with no experience in missions, so I'm really overwhelmed by these things."

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyi is right," Xi Xingji said with a wry smile, "but it would have been better if you had said that before I sealed the door."

How could I have seen your methods before sealing the door? Luo Xuanyi thought she had forgotten for a moment. Xi Xingji pinched his fingers, and densely packed poisonous insects peeled off the talisman paper on a door and thoughtfully opened the door for Luo Xuanyi. Luo Xuanyi thanked him and left the room.

This time she didn't stay in the corner to eavesdrop on them like she did before, because there was basically no need to do so.

She walked into an empty guest room, confirmed that no one had discovered her, and immediately gathered her energy to generate a silent pill and a hidden pill in her body. After completely concealing her breath and figure, she used the escape technique to lightly land on Mr. Wang's roof, dissolving her body and flowing into the house through the gaps in the tiles.

Second update~ Sister Yi is getting more and more adept at using her body hh