CHAPTER 30: 30. ACCELERATE TRAINING, WAIVE THE COST

Hearing that Lei Jun had been "sent" by Master Yuan Mobai to the Green Stone Ink Mine, Fang Jian and Shangguan Hong were speechless for a good while.

After a long moment, Shangguan Hong exclaimed in shock, "Green Stone Ink! Isn’t it said that staying there too long is harmful to people... harmful..."

He hesitated to utter the word "harmful."

Fang Jian pondered, then asked, "Is Lei going to stay there for that long? Isn’t it temporary?"

Wang Guiyuan replied, "Master indeed instructed so, and Lei has already gone. Presumably, Master has his own arrangements."

Fang Jian really wanted to ask if Lei Jun himself knew that prolonged contact with Green Stone Ink was harmful to cultivators of lower realms.

"Hmm, if Master arranged it this way, there must be profound reasons we don’t understand," Fang Jian nodded. "In that case, I won’t disturb you further for now. I’ll pay my respects to Master another time."

Shangguan Hong also took his leave.

Fang Jian returned to his own residence.

In his courtyard, another young Taoist was waiting—Li Xuan, whose younger brother had previously died.

"The Green Stone Ink Mine?" Li Xuan was also stunned. "Really? Or is it just an excuse?"

Fang Jian sat down. "Let’s go check it out in a few days to confirm."

Li Xuan looked at him. "Fang, do you think it could be..."

"I don’t know."

Fang Jian spoke bluntly, "Although it’s always said that Eldest Apprentice Sister gets along well with Master, Master actually gets along with everyone. I should be the one asking you about the true nature of their relationship."

Li Xuan looked up at the ceiling. "Master doesn’t always see eye to eye with Xu Yuanzhen, and they don’t always act in concert. As you said, Master cultivates good relations with everyone, including my father. If you really want to know who Master aligns with, it should be with my grand-uncle—your own master."

"That’s true," Fang Jian acknowledged.

"So, were Eldest Apprentice Sister’s actions excessive before, and Master didn’t agree, perhaps even felt displeased? No, that can’t be right. Master is always open-minded. Even if he did feel displeased with Eldest Apprentice Sister, he wouldn’t make things difficult for Lei," Fang Jian reasoned.

Li Xuan suggested, "Perhaps Lei has always been partial to Xu Yuanzhen, who brought him back to the mountain and guided him onto the path, and that’s why he offended Master?"

He stood up. "In any case, this news is very important. I’ll inform Father and Eldest Apprentice Brother!"

If they could drive a wedge between Yuan Mobai and Xu Yuanzhen, it would be far more impactful than making trouble for Lei Jun, a newly initiated disciple.

...

"So, Master is taking the blame for me, and you, Eldest Apprentice Sister, appear to be isolated and abandoned?" Lei Jun looked at Xu Yuanzhen.

Xu Yuanzhen replied, "When you reach the Third Heavenly Layer, sketch their expressions. I’ll look at them when I return to the mountain."

After Lei Jun’s meeting with Yuan Mobai, she had once again left the mountain for a long journey, departing gracefully without a trace.

"There are three people in the mansion whose thoughts you shouldn’t bother trying to guess; it’s mostly a waste of effort," Wang Guiyuan said with a sigh during his visit to Lei Jun. "First, Eldest Master-Uncle—the Celestial Master himself—then Eldest Apprentice Sister, and finally, our own Master."

The two martial brothers sat in Master Yuan Mobai’s private cave dwelling.

"Fang came by himself," Wang Guiyuan mentioned. "As for Shangguan, he might be representing Elder Shangguan and Sister Zhang."

The pure and noble image of Zhang Jingzhen, the Celestial Master’s third direct disciple, flashed through Lei Jun’s mind. They had been in close contact during the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond incident.

Speaking of which, if Tang Xiaotang—whom everyone considered a disciple-in-waiting—was counted among the current direct disciples of Celestial Master Li, then apart from his own son Li Zhengxuan and the fourth disciple Fang Jian, the other three were female.

This generation seemed slightly imbalanced, with a predominance of feminine energy.

In terms of the impression they left on outsiders, all three women were outstanding and could be considered the new public faces of the Celestial Master Mansion, greatly beneficial for attracting new prospects.

In terms of sheer appearance, Tang Xiaotang was truly foremost; her beauty was world-startling, stunning beyond words, and she had a distinct height advantage.

But she was also the most unconventional.

Eldest Apprentice Sister Xu Yuanzhen not only had a rather odd personality, but her aura was so chilling that it often made people overlook her gender and appearance.

As a result, this Third Sister, Zhang Jingzhen, possessed an elegant demeanor and a beautiful, pure face, making it hard to find any obvious faults with her.

According to the current general aesthetic standards of this world, a beauty maintaining a reserved or dignified demeanor was considered a plus.

However, Lei Jun was more concerned about another issue.

"Brother," he asked, "is the ’Zhang’ in Sister Zhang’s name the same ’Zhang’ as...?"

There are many people with the surname Zhang.

But a small portion of them are quite special.

As far as he knew, the Great Tang Imperial Family bore the Zhang surname.

Considering Zhang Jingzhen’s familiarity with the Shangguan Clan members, Lei Jun harbored this suspicion.

"That’s right. Sister Zhang is a noblewoman of the imperial family, enfeoffed as a Commandery Princess. Her father and the late Emperor were brothers."

Wang Guiyuan continued, "That is to say, Sister Zhang and the current Sage Emperor are cousins. She is also related to Elder Shangguan and young Shangguan, so it’s perfectly natural for her to call Elder Shangguan ’Aunt’."

Lei Jun nodded. "The Tang Court’s imperial family invests considerable effort in our Celestial Master Mansion."

Wang Guiyuan said, "They have to. If they don’t, others will."

For instance, there was the Fang Clan of Jingxiang, from which Fang Jian, the Celestial Master’s fourth direct disciple, hailed.

In this world, the preeminent study within the Great Tang Dynasty’s Cultivation World was not Buddhism, Daoism, or martial arts, but the Confucian way of cultivation. Compared to them, other Cultivation Dao Systems like the Taoist Sect and Buddhist Family currently seemed more like unofficial powers.

But strictly speaking, Confucian Studies didn’t entirely represent the official stance either. The relationship between the imperial family and the various Confucian Families was complex and hard to summarize.

The Great Tang was filled with powerful Aristocratic Clans. Most Confucian cultivation practices were controlled by these families, passed down secretly, and they boasted experts as numerous as clouds. The top-tier families, with their centuries of accumulation, wielded influence and power that could even surpass that of the Holy Land Sects.

Furthermore, it was often said that the Emperor co-governed the land with the Aristocratic Clans.

Seven great clans were particularly outstanding, all cultivation families that had existed for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years, with histories predating the founding of the Great Tang. These seven were: two Ye, two Lin, one Xiao, one Chu, and one Fang.

The Fang Clan, also known as the Fang Clan, dominated Jingxiang, almost like a vassal state. Whether in court or out, their roots ran deep and wide.

In recent years, under Great Tang rule, many Sects and Sacred Lands had risen to prominence. They gained substantial support from successive Tang Emperors who aimed to foster commoner cultivators, thereby balancing the power of the lineage-based Confucian Families.

But clearly, the Aristocratic Clans had not been idle. The Zhang Family of the imperial household and the Shangguan Clan had disciples in the core of the Celestial Master Mansion, and so did the Fang Clan.

The great Buddhist and Taoist Sacred Lands, supported by several generations of Tang Emperors, served to counterbalance the noble clans and renowned families that passed down Confucian Studies through bloodlines.

Among these, the Celestial Master Mansion was quite peculiar. Despite having suffered several internal conflicts and its Severely Damaged Vitality, the Celestial Master Mansion still ranked among the world’s most revered Taoist Sacred Lands.

Yet, a rumor was gradually spreading: The Li Clan of Xin State Dragon Tiger Mountain had such profound roots and produced so many talented individuals in succession that, by rights, they should be named as the eighth great clan alongside the traditional seven.

Lei Jun remarked, "Wherever there are people, there are factions and alignments."

Wang Guiyuan replied, "Fortunately, with Master and Eldest Apprentice Sister standing independently like sturdy trees providing shade, as long as we don’t step out on our own, we can avoid getting too drenched."

Lei Jun nodded.

After seeing Wang Guiyuan off, he returned to the mine beneath his private estate to continue his cultivation.

Although called a mine, it felt more like another quiet and secluded cave dwelling.

The rocks inside emitted a faint, ethereal green glow, but it wasn’t frightening; instead, it carried a tranquil warmth reminiscent of springtime.

Beside Lei Jun lay several dark, fragmented stones, shimmering with a faint green light—the very Green Stone Ink that made Shangguan Hong and Fang Jian pale at its mention.

When I first came into contact with it, I indeed felt that while the Green Stone Ink had the incredible effect of further stabilizing one’s Foundation Establishment and purifying Mana, it would also harm my own physical vitality.

The dual effects meant that it could indeed help cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realm improve faster. However, the adverse effects would become evident when advancing from the Second Heavenly Layer to the Third Heavenly Layer.

By then, if one attempted to brave the Heavenly Chasm and undergo the Tribulation Crossing, let alone succeeding, one would likely die directly from the decline in vitality.

Moreover, the effects of the Green Stone Ink were as stubborn as marrow-burrowing maggots; once it caused Erosion to the flesh, cultivators found it challenging to heal and recover through other means.

Of course, nothing in this world is absolute; there’s always an exception.

The rare exception was the Misty Cloud Crystals in my hand.

The Misty Cloud Crystals were still attached to the Soul Containing Talisman. With this Talisman in hand, the Green Stone Ink I refined during my cultivation no longer eroded my flesh and blood.

And so, just as Yuan Mobai had anticipated, Lei Jun could use the Green Stone Ink to accelerate the further strengthening of his own Foundation Establishment, yet remain immune to its detrimental side effects.