Chapter 149: Master and Disciple Discussion

"I know you are a sensible person. This situation is perhaps already within your expectations, which is why I am telling you in advance so you can be mentally prepared."

"Besides, ordinary spirit mines are of little value, so let them cover those expenses. However, if you encounter valuable and rare ore, you will still need to provide the funds. The spirit stones I gave you are more than enough. I don't need to elaborate on the reasoning; do you understand?"

Hearing this, Jiang Min's spiritual eyes flickered as she tentatively said, "Because... once a favor is repaid, it is no longer a favor?"

"That is the logic," True Monarch Guanqi smiled.

Jiang Min was full of admiration.

Ginger is indeed spicier the older it gets.

Of course.

All interpersonal dealings must be built upon a foundation of formidable strength and background.

Behind True Monarch Guanqi stood Taiji Mountain, a millennium-old immortal sect, as well as the closely allied Ten Nations and Nine Sects.

Meanwhile, Elder Guishan likely possessed powerful hidden cards or some background of his own, which was why True Monarch Guanqi valued maintaining friendly relations with him so much.

True Monarch Guanqi stopped at a hint and continued, "Of course, if Guishan's disciple does nothing, you need not take it to heart. How they act is their attitude, and how we respond is our choice."

"This disciple understands."

Jiang Min nodded, then said with some emotion, "Does Master know that, aside from my parents, no one has ever talked to me about these worldly matters of human relations? When I was a few years old, I went to the town with my parents to sell vegetables and dealt with all sorts of people. My parents taught me to have a sweet mouth and to be diligent in my work. Later, when I entered the East Spirit Sect, my status was humble and my exposure limited. I could only watch how others did things and follow their lead. My speech, actions, and etiquette were all secretly learned from others."

"Even so, I have taken many detours and said many wrong things. Even now, many things I do are still not proper enough, and I must continue to learn."

True Monarch Guanqi smiled faintly and comforted her, "You need not be modest; among your peers, you have already done very well."

"In the past, I also disdained these superficial social conventions. Later, I realized that if certain words and actions can make things smoother and more secure, avoiding meaningless disputes and troubles, why not do them?"

"However, your master is a rough person after all, and prefers fighting and killing. If you truly wish to learn something, on this trip to Blazing Sun Terrace, you can learn from Guishan's third disciple, Baoyi. She is the disciple most valued by Guishan, remarkably tactful and proficient in handling matters. Whenever Guishan has tasks to be done, he always sends her."

Jiang Min nodded and said, "This disciple has noted it down."

"Since we are on this topic, there is one more thing I must remind you of." True Monarch Guanqi's tone shifted.

Jiang Min's gaze grew slightly sharp.

What kind of matter required the word "remind"?

True Monarch Guanqi looked her up and down, smiled meaningfully, and slowly said, "You must learn to freely retract and release the killing intent after taking a life."

Thump.

Jiang Min's heart skipped a beat.

She did not know whether True Monarch Guanqi was hinting at her going out to kill tonight, or referring to the battles with evildoers and the secret cave realm where she had taken too many lives, thus accumulating a heavy aura of slaughter.

True Monarch Guanqi did not spell it out, but continued, "Your personality is open-minded, so slaughter has a limited impact on you, but the impact exists nonetheless. Perhaps you cannot perceive it yourself, but in the eyes of Nascent Soul cultivators, it is starkly obvious and difficult to conceal."

"Moreover, if you let the killing intent invade your body unchecked, it will not only backlash against you, affecting your comprehension of the Dao and your state of mind, but it may even hinder your cultivation and cause you to suffer a deviation."

"What should this disciple do?"

Hearing that the situation was so serious, Jiang Min hurriedly asked.

"You need not worry; there are many ways, and they all boil down to self-cultivation and nurturing the mind." True Monarch Guanqi smiled.

"For instance, your master reads scriptures and plays chess; over time, all my killing intent has converged, and others simply regard me as a leisure-seeking person."

"Take your eldest senior brother, for example. He upholds the oneness of all things. In his eyes, a person dying and a blade of grass withering or a flower fading are no different."

"And your third senior sister, who went to Haoran Academy to study the books of sages for decades. She just returned recently, and no one can tell she is a swordsman; they only see her as a scholar."

"The Dao is often clear and tranquil, Buddhist scriptures observe true reality, Confucian scriptures cultivate the mind and nature, not to mention zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, mountains, rivers, and the mortal world... Many methods can cultivate self-cultivation; you just need to follow what you enjoy."

Jiang Min muttered, "What I enjoy..."

What did she enjoy?

It seemed that after more than ten years of cultivation, aside from burying herself in grueling practice and searching everywhere for opportunities in the Dao with the sole desire to become stronger, she had rarely considered what she actually liked to do.

"Think about it slowly; there is no need to rush. It is getting late, go and rest quickly," True Monarch Guanqi said with a carefree smile.

"When everything here is settled, go back and chat more with your senior brothers and senior sisters, and you will gain insights."

...

A few days later.

Jiang Min sat cross-legged inside her cultivation cave.

Although she appeared to be closing her eyes in meditation, her divine sense had actually penetrated into the cave heaven within her palm, studying the sword dao heritage left upon the fractured peak.

Jiang Min did not understand why that yellow-robed Deity Transformation cultivator had not destroyed this fractured peak or attempted to take it away.

Yet.

She indeed saw on the fractured peak the complete spiritual thoughts left behind by many powerful swordsmen before their deaths.

"The winner is king and the loser is villain; I have no regrets, only wishing that what I comprehended in this lifetime be carved upon the Sword Dao Peak, hoping it will be passed down through future generations forever, equating my soul to existing for all eternity, undying alongside heaven and earth..."

"Yuyin Immortal Lord's eldest senior disciple, Yunde, swears never to surrender to the rebels!"

"Though my body has passed, my Dao shall endure through the ages..."

The more Jiang Min read, the more alarmed she became.

Having read through several inheritances, she roughly pieced together the sequence of events.

This was a struggle between orthodox paths.

The orthodox path to which the Yuyin Sword Sect belonged had lost, while the yellow-robed orthodox path had ultimately won.

In these inheritances, the name of the yellow-robed orthodox path was not mentioned; they were only vaguely referred to as "bandits," "traitors," and "villains." Connecting this with what she knew previously, it most likely pointed to that yellow-robed orthodox path.

Ten thousand years had passed.

Only remnant inheritances of the Yuyin Sword Sect remained.

Yet the yellow-robed orthodox path had successors continuing its legacy.

Jiang Min's knowledge was limited, and she only vaguely knew of the Eastern Plains and Central Plains. However, as for the lands west and north of the Central Plains, she could find no historical records, and when she asked others, they were tight-lipped. Thus, she did not know where that yellow-robed orthodox path was located.

Wherever it was.

It was an existence she could not match, one she could only look up to with awe.

"Yuyin Sword Sect, Ziyang Immortal Sect..."

Jiang Min silently recited these two names in her heart.

She had originally thought that the old immortal was the founder of the Yuyin Sword Sect, but thinking about it now, perhaps it was not that simple. After all, there was also the mysterious Ziyang Immortal Sect and the ancient origins shared by the Nine Sects and Ten Nations.

"I have already learned much about the Yuyin Sword Sect, but the Ziyang Immortal Sect... I must still make a trip to the Nine Sects Hall."

Jiang Min knew very well that this was not something she ought to be touching, but since she already possessed so many taboo items, knowing certain things was better than remaining in the dark.

Only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one know how to act.

Besides.

She was going to make a trip to the Nine Sects Hall anyway to search for Five-Elements cultivation techniques!

"When I return to Taiji Mountain, I will enter deep seclusion to cultivate and prepare for the Nine Sects Dao Discussion."

Jiang Min thought to herself.

Just at that moment.

Outside the cultivation cave, a pleasant female voice rang out.

"Little friend Yuyao, I am Baoyi, the third disciple under True Monarch Guishan. If it is convenient for the little friend right now, it is time to set off for Blazing Sun Terrace."