Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 452: Chapter 452: Sluggish Business at True Martial Peak

’How pathetic.’

He shook his head slightly. ’I don’t get it,’ he thought. ’True Martial Peak has a lending business too, so why are so few disciples coming to take out loans?’

’Could it be that we haven’t recruited enough disciples for True Martial Peak these past few years?’

’I’ll have to talk to Master Bi Yuan and the others about this later. It wouldn’t hurt to relax the entry restrictions for the peak. After all, we’re all part of the Primordial Sect. It doesn’t matter if their character is a little corrupt; the main thing is to get the lending business going.’

’It’s a shame, though. If these disciples borrow too much, even if they risk their lives to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Cultivation, the few Spirit Stones they earn will probably not even be enough to cover the interest.’

’They spend their lives in Cultivation, naturally assuming they have a real chance at Foundation Establishment.’

’Little do they know that in the eyes of the Primordial Sect’s Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters, they’re nothing but walking Spirit Stone mines.’

Xu Yunfan shook his head silently as he watched the Qi Cultivation Disciples rushing about inside the pass.

In the Primordial Sect’s Thirty-Six Peaks, the number of successors for each Dharma Lineage is fixed.

Cold Marrow Peak specializes in Nine Nether Profound Ice, Soul Refining Peak majors in the Devouring Soul Secret Technique, and Blood Evil Peak delves into the Blood Refining Dao.

The number of Foundation Establishment positions in each lineage is fixed.

Yet, what cultivator wouldn’t want to advance further, to be supported by their Dharma Lineage and bolster their Cultivation?

So naturally, they branch out.

To expand their own Dharma Lineages, what Foundation Establishment Daoist Master wouldn’t desperately open their gates and recruit disciples on a massive scale?

Daoist Master Bing Po of Cold Marrow Peak alone has over a hundred registered disciples.

The Black Heart Monster of Soul Refining Peak is even more outrageous. If you include the servant disciples, there are probably close to two thousand people living under his banner.

The Sect only has so many resources.

Spirit Vein Blessed Lands, Elixirs and Magical Artifacts, Secret Techniques... there are never enough to go around for so many people.

Those Elders are shrewd. They recruit people first and figure out the rest later.

Registered disciples don’t take up official slots anyway. They’re just given a few low-quality Spirit Stones each month and that’s the end of it.

’And if someone is truly gifted? Then they set up a "True Inheritor Trial" and let the disciples fight to the death for it.’

’As for those with mediocre talent...’

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over a few Qi Cultivation Disciples below the pass wall, currently hauling Yin Evil Stones.

Their hands were wrapped in blood-soaked strips of cloth, but they gritted their teeth and pressed on.

These were most likely the "rejects" cast out from the various peaks, exiled here to Cold Crow Pass to perform hard labor.

"The path of Cultivation is narrow, and the bridge is a dangerous one..."

he lamented under his breath.

Within the Primordial Sect, ninety-nine percent of disciples are destined to become stepping stones on someone else’s Ascension Path.

Someone like him, who achieved Foundation Establishment by entering the path through the Martial Dao, was one in a million.

The night wind howled, carrying with it mournful cries from the depths of the Nether River.

Suddenly, Xu Yunfan felt that compared to the Primordial Sect’s loan contracts—which devoured people whole, bones and all—the Yin Evil Qi of Cold Crow Pass seemed almost gentle.

In a place like this, where he was the only Foundation Establishment Daoist Master, his will was the will of heaven.

Whether they lived or died...

...was merely a matter of tossing a few more corpses into the Nether River.

He suddenly recalled the profound words his senior brother, Bai Yue, had spoken before his departure: "Cold Crow Pass is perilous, but it’s also a... fine place to line your pockets."

Looking at it now, he wasn’t wrong.

’To survive, these Qi Cultivation Disciples would probably offer up even their own Life Essence Blood.’

Abruptly, he noticed an old, inconspicuous Cultivator in a corner.

The man looked like he had one foot in the grave.

As if sensing the gaze, the old Cultivator looked up and forced an obsequious smile. His teeth were all pitch-black. He bowed so low his body touched the ground, not daring to move an inch.

"Greetings, Daoist Master!"

Xu Yunfan’s interest was piqued. ’Late-Stage Qi Cultivation.’

’A pity his lifespan is nearly spent and his Divine Soul is withered.’

’Without a great stroke of luck, this is the end of the road for him.’

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept past the old Cultivator without pausing for even a moment.

Yet, a flicker of relief crossed the old Cultivator’s wrinkled face, and his hunched spine imperceptibly relaxed.

For a rootless Outer Disciple like him in the Primordial Sect, the greatest blessing was often to be ignored by those in power. If one of those Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters took an interest in you...

...whether they coveted one of your Magical Artifacts or your Lifebound Essence that you had spent years bitterly cultivating, that was when true disaster would strike.

An old Cultivator like this had been steeped in the Primordial Sect for too long. If Xu Yunfan had so much as nodded, the man probably wouldn’t have slept well for months. So, Xu Yunfan simply couldn’t be bothered.

The old Cultivator’s murky eyes shifted slightly, his peripheral vision catching a few Qi Cultivation Disciples gathering Yin Evil by the banks of the Nether River.

The terrified expressions on the young people’s faces reminded him of himself sixty years ago.

If he hadn’t stood out so much back then and caught the "favorable" eye of a certain Foundation Establishment Uncle, he wouldn’t have been forced to ruin his own foundation just to escape catastrophe.

’To be ignored... is the best kind of attention,’

the old Cultivator muttered to himself.

His liver-spotted hand subconsciously fiddled with the dim Storage Bag at his waist.

Inside were the thirty-seven Spirit Stones he had secretly saved up over the years. It was his entire fortune, which he planned to use to bribe the Guardian Disciples for a transfer away from Cold Crow Pass.

Then, he could go to the mortal world, marry a few wives, and let his bloodline flourish. In the future, perhaps one of his descendants could become a Daoist Master, one who could guide him out of Reincarnation and set him back on the path of Cultivation.

An eerie wind swirled over the ramparts, kicking up a few bleached bones from the banks of the Nether River.

Xu Yunfan had already turned and walked away, his dark Magic Robe snapping in the wind.

The old Cultivator watched the receding figure, a rare look of peace spreading across his wrinkled face.

In this cannibalistic Primordial Sect, any Outer Disciple who lived to his age understood one thing.

Being forgotten by a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master was sometimes the greatest blessing of all.

Xu Yunfan didn’t linger. After entering Cold Crow Pass, he had intended to find the previous Guardian Envoy to handle the transition of duties. However, just as he stepped over the threshold of the central great hall, he saw a gray shadow dart past a side door.

The figure moved so fast it nearly left an afterimage, like a vengeful ghost was hot on its heels.

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow. He could, of course, recognize the man’s aura.

It was the previous Guardian Envoy, Li Wei, a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master who served under another True Monarch.

"Daoist Master Li, hold on! What’s the rush?"

Xu Yunfan called out.

The man’s figure faltered for a second, but he didn’t turn back. He just tossed a sentence over his shoulder from a distance, "Daoist Master Xu, you’re the new man in charge! Everything concerning Cold Crow Pass is in the Jade Scroll on the desk! I... uh, have an urgent family matter to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave!"

Before his voice had even faded, he had transformed into an Escape Light and vanished into the vast darkness.

Xu Yunfan stared at the fleeting streak of light, utterly baffled. This did not seem like a good sign.

’Did he just leave me with a complete mess?’

His predecessor had bolted faster than a startled rabbit. It reminded Xu Yunfan of the rumors about Cold Crow Pass—that the shortest-serving Guardian Envoy had only lasted ten years before resigning his post and begging to leave.

This Li Wei was known throughout the Primordial Sect for his resilient temperament. Even so, he had been forced to tough it out for a full twenty years before his True Monarch finally approved his departure.

And now that he, Xu Yunfan, had arrived, Li Wei was practically scrambling over himself to get away.

"Looks like this assignment is even trickier than I imagined..."

He glanced around the hall. The on-duty Cultivators of Cold Crow Pass were all staring at their new Guardian Envoy, their expressions tense.

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