Chapter 00190: The Idea of the Sixth
# The Idea of the Sixth
Chapter 190
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 190: The Idea of the Sixth
When Yan Mei arrived at his residence in the Great Crystal District, it was already the second evening.
Although he had only been in Xifeng City for two or three days, the experiences he accumulated during this time were truly remarkable.
From being a nobody on the street to gaining control over the entire city—a transformation that was hard to believe.
His father had always hoped for him to become a disciple of a Daoist sect, to rise someday as an immortal.
Yet here he was, seizing territory in a mortal city.
If his father found out, would he be so furious he would spit blood?
However, by strict definition, Xifeng City wasn't just a mortal city.
It was close to the Daoist sects, which meant many cultivators also visited here.
"Huan Ge, I never thought you’d take down Xue Bu as well. With Lao Liu by my side, I promise that Xifeng City will only move in the direction we desire."
For Yan Mei, the excitement was immense, even if it went against his father's wishes.
Lao Liu, too, flourished in Xifeng City; here, it was the strongest, aside from Huan Ge.
But that was fine—the fact that Huan Ge would not bully others in Xifeng City made it okay.
Ding Huan pulled out a book and handed it to Yan Mei. “Once things stabilize in Xifeng City, your main task should still be cultivation. This is the technique I trained with, the Luo Shi Jing. Take a look at it, and if it suits you, change your practice to the Luo Shi Jing. It should be much better than your Zheng Yang Jue.”
“Thank you, Huan Ge.” Yan Mei hurriedly took it.
Ding Huan wanted to keep the fact that he could use divine consciousness during the Qi refining stage a secret, so he hadn’t inscribed the technique onto a jade slip.
As long as one had intention, they could read the contents of a jade slip.
But intention and divine consciousness were different; one required true divine consciousness to inscribe.
Yan Mei thought that Ding Huan’s techniques must be extraordinary; otherwise, how could he have killed the three tyrants of Xifeng City?
Ding Huan took out two storage bags and handed them to Lao Liu and Yan Mei. “These are storage bags with some basic magical tools inside. As for crystal stones, as long as you take control of Xifeng City, you will have no shortage of them.”
Hearing about the storage bags, both Yan Mei and Lao Liu excitedly grabbed them.
As he stroked the storage bag, Yan Mei couldn’t help but exclaim, “Among those recruiting disciples in the mortal realm, aside from elders and deacons, most disciples don’t possess storage bags. I hadn’t even joined a sect yet I have one!”
Ding Huan’s expression turned serious. “Yan Mei, Lao Liu, remember my words today. First, we may not be in Xifeng City for long. If I cannot find the path to foundation building for an extended period, I will leave. Also, if someone from the Daxing Sword Sect or the Zhuo Xing lord comes here, we must leave. As for the Shuanghun Sect, they shouldn’t be able to find us in the short term.”
“Don’t worry, Huan Ge, I understand.” Yan Mei had already thought about this.
After informing Yan Mei and Lao Liu, Ding Huan entered his room to begin seclusion and contemplate the way of foundation building.
His room was protected by a first-level defensive array and a first-level attack array.
He simply didn’t want to be disturbed at such a critical moment.
As Ding Huan deepened his understanding of cultivation stages, he became increasingly aware of how naive his previous thoughts about foundation building had been after reaching the ninth level of the genetic cultivator.
Foundation building was just a broad term; simply put, it was the establishment of a firm foundation for cultivation, or the foundation of the Dao for cultivators.
Just like how high a house can rise depends on how solid its foundation is.
Previously, Ding Huan knew about the four stages of Dao cultivation: refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and merging into the Dao.
But he was completely unclear on what each stage entailed.
He had learned about these stages mainly from classical texts and certain records from the post-spiritual era on Earth.
Before this, he thought such things were mere myths, that most teachings were nonsense—until he saved Lao Liu and realized that immortals and gods were indeed real.
The four stages were real just like the world of the triple heavens.
And right now, he was at the refining essence into qi stage.
Many possibilities existed for building a foundation at this stage.
For instance, some refined their bones, reaching the peak of inner strength, allowing them to build a foundation as martial artists.
Others could build a foundation during the channeling phase, which was the connecting stage of refining essence into qi.
Some disciples of large sects not only refined their bones but also completed their channels, ultimately reaching the ninth level of Qi refining before they began foundation building.
Such a foundation created by large sect disciples was clearly much stronger than that of an ordinary person, offering far greater potential.
Thus, large sect disciples were vastly stronger than scattered cultivators or family disciples.
Without a spiritual root, he integrated a genetic root, and now trained in the Luo Shi Jing.
Did he also need to refine his bones and complete his channels before reaching Qi refining level nine?
There was much to consider as he wondered if he had already passed those stages.
Even if he managed to progress, would he produce the strongest foundation? Like a house, the stronger the foundation, the higher it could be built.
But even if the foundation was the strongest, there was still a limit to how high a building could rise based on that foundation’s capacity.
In other words, once he established a foundation, a certain height in his future cultivation awaited him.
Upon reaching it, it would signify his limits.
At that moment, Ding Huan found himself caught between deep contradictions.
He longed to follow the ancient pathways of immortal sects in Huaxia, yet worried that no matter how strong his foundation was, he might never reach the heights of those heavenly beings.
Moreover, he practiced genetic cultivation without having refined his bones or completed his channels...
Time flew, and soon ten days had passed.
In just ten days, Xifeng City had undergone a remarkable transformation.
While Ding Huan was in seclusion, Yan Mei had developed the patrol guard to two thousand men.
The chaos of bullying and killing was nowhere to be seen anymore.
Anyone doing business in Xifeng City needed to pay taxes and management fees.
Residents were also required to pay a portion of management fees.
Initially, most merchants had to swallow their grievances and search for ways out, ready to leave the moment they found options.
However, soon they discovered a difference: the patrol only collected those two types of fees, no others.
These fees also came with cleaning services for the streets.
Only the patrol could charge fees within Xifeng City; anyone else daring to charge or oppress merchants would be killed without mercy.
As business became comfortable, customers no longer needed to be wary of being robbed on the streets.
The business revenue in many street areas soared in just a matter of days.
Some organizations and alliances, having lost their source of income, quickly sought to establish good relations with the patrol, hoping to regain their previous ways of making easy money.
Thus, countless individuals began sending gifts to the patrol—merchants, individuals, and many groups that Ding Huan had not eliminated.
The patrol welcomed all who came, regardless of how much they offered.
So many gifts were received that the patrol had to set up two empty houses just to store them all.
Some alliances that had sent crystal stones to the patrol thought they secured protection and resumed their previous practices of robbing customers and merchants on the streets.
Soon, they discovered that whether they had sent gifts or not, anyone who violated the patrol’s laws would be killed without exception.
In just days, the number of alliances in Xifeng City had reduced significantly.
Those behind the scenes cursed the patrol, feeling frustrated that their gifts went unheeded, but their transgressions faced no mercy.
Gifts given to the patrol felt like wasted offerings, as they were gone in return.
After the initial wave of gift-giving, no one came to send gifts anymore, leading to an increasingly peaceful and bustling atmosphere in Xifeng City.
With no avenue left, the wandering alliances either had to conduct honest business or leave.
Sitting in the lord’s office, Yan Mei watched the recent turnaround in the city's atmosphere and applauded Lao Liu. “You’ve really come up with a good method, Lao Liu.”
Lao Liu beamed with pride; the idea of taking gifts without doing anything was theirs.
Yan Mei gestured to the soldier at the door. “Go call Gu Bin here.”
Compared to Lao Liu and Yan Mei, Gu Bin had recently been enjoying great fortune.
He commanded a patrol of over a thousand soldiers at the gates of Xifeng City.
Nowadays, anyone who saw him would respectfully call him 'Master Gu.'
He never imagined that the days would change from doing nothing to thriving after just tasting a few bites of blessed fruit.
The only thing he found hard to bear was the order from Captain Huan, who strictly forbade him from touching the blessed fruit, something he struggled to forget.
Every time he faced temptation, he had to inflict pain upon himself.
After living like this, returning to his previous state would feel like death.
Gu Bin understood Ding Huan’s thoughts and actions better than anyone else.
He knew that should he dare to defy the patrol’s regulations and continue consuming the blessed fruit, even if Ding Huan didn’t kill him, he would definitely be driven away.
“Master Gu, Vice Captain Yan requests your presence,” a soldier informed him.
Upon hearing it was Yan Mei’s request, Gu Bin rushed back to the lord’s office as fast as he could.
“Master Gu, I need to go into seclusion for a while. Please assign someone to take over your position and handle my current work without mistakes,” Yan Mei instructed as he stood to face Gu Bin.
Ding Huan had been in seclusion for over ten days, and Yan Mei wanted to catch up and put in some effort.
Wasting time managing Xifeng City daily would surely disappoint Huan Ge.
“Rest easy, Vice Captain Yan. I assure you I will handle everything you instruct,” Gu Bin replied, immediately performing the patrol salute.
“Very good. If anything arises that you cannot handle, find Lao Liu. If he cannot solve it, come to me.” Gu Bin added another instruction before turning to leave.
“Lao Liu, I may need your help in the future…”
But Lao Liu interrupted with a cheeky glance. “Mind your manners! From now on, when Huan Ge isn’t around, call me Six Ge.”
“Of course, Six Ge.” Gu Bin could adapt; calling Lao Liu 'Six Ge' was nothing.
Back when he was with the patrol, he called everyone 'Older Brother.'
(Today’s update ends here; friends, good night!)
(End of Chapter)