Born with immortal seed

Chapter 617 Descendants of the Deceased
The Black Mountain stretches far and wide, shaped like a demonic dragon.

From what was once the most desolate and remote cold region in the north, it has now become the center of attention.

Every day, countless cultivators from all directions come to the Hejian Market.

Some of them wanted to become disciples of the Qingfeng Sect and cultivate immortality.

Some people heard that Montenegro was prosperous and wanted to come and make a living there;

More often, it is small, impoverished families with four or five members, or even ten or more, who travel thousands of miles to come here.

Only within the territory of the Qingfeng Sect in the entire Northern Region can the practice of exterminating treacherous cultivators be achieved, allowing them to live a peaceful and carefree life.

Since Montenegro is almost entirely closed to the public, and Central Plains is a newly conquered territory, Hejian County became the most popular destination.

The original market town has expanded repeatedly and is now comparable to a small city.

With nearly 10,000 resident cultivators and an astonishing daily throughput, it has become the trading center of the entire Liang Kingdom.

The Qingfeng Sect made a fortune from this, whether it was collecting taxes or leasing land and shops.

To maintain order, a Core Formation cultivator and several Foundation Establishment cultivators were even stationed there to deter any attempts by other cultivators to cause trouble or create chaos.

Several years ago, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator who had wandered over from the Frost Kingdom set his sights on the goods of a trading company.

Inside was a breakthrough pill, perfect for his use, as well as a large quantity of long-aged spiritual herbs that were easy to sell.

Mustering their courage, they robbed the merchant's warehouse, killed everyone to cover their tracks, and then fled on a cloud, never stopping for a moment.

The next day, he was struck by a bolt of lightning, and upon seeing it, his limbs went numb and his head slumped.

When he woke up again, his Qi Sea had been destroyed, his Golden Core had been crushed, and he was barely clinging to life.

The cultivator's technique was profound; even on the shattered golden core of the Tribulation cultivator, the five-finger handprints could still be seen, as the golden core was forcibly crushed into hundreds of fragments.

However, a surge of Wood-elemental true energy skillfully bound all the fragments of the Golden Core together, while simultaneously releasing a few drops of life force, miraculously saving his life.

The robber was hung on the gate of the market, exposed to the sun day and night and the cold wind night.

Then a Foundation Establishment deacon took a special rattan cane and whipped the cultivators every day, their cries of agony audible to every cultivator entering or leaving the market.

Afterwards, they poured on some medicinal soup to repair his body, ensuring he wouldn't die so quickly.

For five long years, the cultivator who had been begging for death finally breathed his last, setting an example for all cultivators who dared to commit crimes on Qingfeng Sect's territory.

"Elder Qiu, all the shop leases expiring this year have been compiled. Please take a look when you have time to see which ones need to be renewed and which ones need to be closed."

"Put it on the table."

Qiu Jingrong sighed as he finished meditating. He seemed to be in a high position of power, someone that all the independent cultivators had to flatter and fawn over.

But in his heart, he had no desire for the position of mayor of Hejianfang.

I'd rather have the leisurely job of an elder in the ancestral hall, and be able to be transferred back to the main mountain; that would be better than staying outside.

He is 150 years old this year and has reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, but he has not completely given up on the idea of ​​Core Formation.

Judging from his age, he only has one chance to break through to the Core Formation stage; once he fails, there will be no room for trial and error.

But for an elder like Qiu Jingrong who was sent to an outside sect, sect contributions were not a problem; he had long since accumulated enough to exchange for the Pure Spirit Jade Marrow.

However, the quantity is limited. It's no longer like back then, when any elder who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage would have all the necessary items for Core Formation prepared by the sect.

We've entered an era where installment payments are allowed even if your contribution value isn't high enough.

With more people than porridge available, in addition to meeting contribution requirements, there are also distinctions between major and minor contributions, and a ranking order for receiving the porridge.

Being stationed in the market was seen as a job that brought wealth and comfort, so there was no chance of being promoted or rewarded in the civil service examinations.

Basically, one can only achieve merit by exploring the spiritual veins deep in the Black Mountain, quelling the chaos in the Central Plains, and offering the bounty issued by the Nascent Soul Ancestor.

"Add two hundred spirit stones...add three hundred spirit stones...add fifty spirit stones..."

Feeling frustrated, Qiu Jingrong grabbed the pile of rental agreements on the table outside the quiet room and marked each one with a bright red number using a vermilion pen.

The amount varies, representing the annual rent increase in the next lease for this shop.

Only when he sees a shop opened by a close friend, fellow student, or relative will he show some leniency and slow down his brushstrokes.

"Yingchen Shop, what a strange name. It only sells talismans and sandalwood, mainly first-tier items, yet it has opened in the very center of the market. How can it even cover its costs...? Hmm, how come the annual rent is less than one-fifth of that of the shops next door?"

Qiu Jingrong exclaimed in surprise. This lease was a rare twenty-year long-term contract. The last time it was signed, the mayor of the neighborhood was someone else.

No matter how hard they looked, they couldn't see anything special about the shop. The owner's direct lineage for three generations didn't include any Qingfeng Sect disciples. They just couldn't think of a reason.

"Could it be that they bribed the previous senior brother with spirit stones to open the back door? That's incredibly audacious. The Enforcement Hall could have spotted it at a glance during their inspections; it's no joke."

Just as he was about to put down the vermilion brush and change the shop rent to the normal price, he hesitated again when the tip of the brush touched the paper.

"Let's look further ahead. There might be some secrets I don't know about... I don't care about the position of mayor of the market town. Some people have no hope of achieving the Great Dao, but they are very envious. There are many opportunities to make spirit stones. There's no reason why I wouldn't earn many spirit stones by using such a stupid method."

The rules of the Qingfeng Sect are not so strict that they are devoid of any merit, but as a sect that is developing and expanding rapidly, it possesses amazing vitality.

The corruption and cumbersome nature of the Nascent Soul sects, and the internal strife and infighting, are not yet serious. The Law Enforcement Hall is responsible for handling any transgressions by disciples.

Qiu Jingrong had the steward bring out backup copies of older lease agreements, only to discover that the rent for Yingchen Shop was even lower twenty years ago, at one-fifth of the rent for shops at the same time.

Even forty years ago, and shortly after the rise of Hejian Fangshi, this was the case.

"How can it be!"

Qiu Jingrong felt a chill run down his spine. For over a hundred years, this unremarkable shop had enjoyed outrageously low rents.

Given its specifications, it shouldn't even be located on the main street in the center of the neighborhood; it should have been removed long ago.

However, these leases were not signed by a single neighborhood elder; they were signed by several different people in between.

Moreover, given the long period of time, the Enforcement Hall should have visited several times already. Could it be that they didn't notice such an obvious loophole?
This shop not only bribes Foundation Establishment elders, but even the Enforcement Hall turns a blind eye. Could it be run by a direct descendant of a Core Formation cultivator?

Qiu Jingrong's fingers trembled, realizing he had gotten himself into serious trouble.

If someone was a Core Formation True Person a hundred years ago, there would only be a handful of them in the entire sect, and he couldn't afford to offend them.

"I should have just pretended not to see it and gone along with the previous lease. Why did I have to investigate it for no reason..."

Just as Qiu Jingrong was pondering how to handle the situation, the lease in his hand suddenly slipped away and floated forward.

There stood a transcendent cultivator, seemingly one with the heavens and earth.

Even if you've already seen it with your eyes, as soon as you look away, you'll forget about it and turn back to be shocked again.

Qiu Jingrong's throat felt constricted, and he stammered, unable to speak. His eyes bulged out, and his face turned bright red.

After a long while, he knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Disciple Qiu Jingrong pays respects to Ancestor Bai. May the Great Dao be everlasting for Ancestor Bai."

He had seen this face countless times in the Ancestral Hall, deep within the main hall; how could he not recognize it?

He was just too shocked to think straight.

His mind was a complete mess. One moment he was wondering why Old Ancestor Bai had come here, and the next he was wondering if his talent had a chance to be noticed by the Old Ancestor and soar to great heights.

"Yingchen Shop, it really is the shop I left for Bai Ying..."

Bai Zichen sighed, his emotions complex. The oldest lease showed that the shop had been transferred from Heishan Market to Hejian Market, and it was personally signed by Wei Dao.

The short, chubby boy followed behind, carefree, shouting that he wanted to open a shop in Qingfeng Sect Market and then enjoy the fruits of others' labor.

After experiencing the invasion of the Ghost Spirit Sect, his personality changed drastically, and he used a Thunderclap to perish together with the demonic cultivator.

He returned to his family, took charge of the matter, and arranged for a shop to be registered under the name of Bai Ying's descendants so that they could enjoy the shop's profits.

The past seems like yesterday.

That was a century-long lease, enough to ensure that Bai Ying's descendants would have no worries about food and clothing.

If a celestial seedling is born, it can also support him on his path to immortality.

Judging from the current situation, Bai Ying's descendants should not be particularly outstanding, otherwise their names should have reached his ears long ago.

"Without exceptional spiritual roots, but surrounded by children, being a wealthy man isn't so bad..."

Bai Zichen glanced at the business of Yingchen Shop and estimated that not even a single Foundation Establishment cultivator had ever emerged from Bai Ying's descendants, otherwise things wouldn't have come to this.

Looking back on the Bai family's experiences now, apart from a few individuals, it feels like a lifetime ago, and everything is starting to become somewhat blurry.

He probably wouldn't recognize any of his clansmen on Hanxiu Peak.

"This time I'm back, I must visit my uncle's grave to pay my respects. I don't know when I'll be able to do it again..."

Bai Zichen threw the lease back and left in a flash.

He stopped midway on his way to Heishan because he suddenly wanted to see what the Hejian County, which he had built with his own hands, looked like.

It just so happened that it sensed this scene, which is why it appeared.

I have a feeling that once the war between humans and transvestites begins, it will be a very, very long time before I can return to Black Mountain.

After kneeling on the ground for a long time, Qiu Jingrong finally stood up as if waking from a dream. Holding the lease, he flipped to the last page and immediately understood that Yingchen Shop had a past connection with Old Ancestor Bai.

"I was so stupid. The shop owner's surname is Bai and he moved here from Heishan. I never thought of this connection..."

The thought that he had almost shut down the shop of the descendant of the old master Bai made Qiu Jingrong break out in a cold sweat. He quickly followed the example and approved the original rent.

……

"Senior brother, you've just come out of seclusion?"

Bai Zichen landed on Flaming Mountain and headed towards Ge Cang's dojo, only to find that the other party was already standing at the entrance waiting for him.

It's quite normal for Nascent Soul True Monarchs to go into seclusion for years at a time, especially for cultivators like Ge Cang whose cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds and who basically never stop before reaching the late Nascent Soul stage.

So he came to visit first, and if Ge Cang was in seclusion, he would leave a message to come back later.

Since Ge Cang was not in seclusion, it is quite normal that he sensed Bai Zichen's whereabouts early on using the great formation.

"Your precious disciple has been begging me for a long time, and he's really having a headache... If you don't come back soon, I'll soon be taking them to the Central Region to find you."

Ge Cang's face was thin and his gaze was peaceful and serene, the turbulent waves and thunderous seas of the past were nowhere to be seen.

Dressed in hemp clothing and cloth shoes, he was simple and unassuming, just like an old Taoist priest in the mountains.

Although he said it jokingly, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on his lips.

(End of this chapter)