Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Joining the Sect (5)
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Before becoming a cultivator, Elder Wang had been one of the urban poor.
His father worked as a day laborer in the city, while his mother did sewing to make ends meet.
They were poor, but somehow their family had gotten by in harmony.
However, years of unrelenting drought drove the family toward death.
Thanks to the stockpiled relief grain, the city hadn't immediately starved, but as the drought dragged on for years, even the granaries began to run dry.
Everyone clutched their empty stomachs, trembling in fear.
And the hardships began to devour the city's weakest first.
Death rose from the very bottom, and just as it was about to swallow Elder Wang's family, a saving hand reached out.
A cultivator wandering the city in search of spirit root bearers discovered Elder Wang.
At the time, the eleven-year-old boy was a Five Spirit Root Holder.
That single fact brought his family back from the brink of starvation.
On the surface, Elder Wang became the adopted son of a childless merchant and left home.
His remaining family used the wealth provided by the Black Bamboo Sect to open a small shop and lived modestly but stably.
And so, Elder Wang became a cultivator.
Elder Wang never forgot the grace the Black Bamboo Sect had shown him.
From the moment his entire family was saved, the Black Bamboo Sect had become something Elder Wang could offer even his life for.
After becoming a cultivator, for the past one hundred and eighty years, Elder Wang had lived solely to contribute to the Black Bamboo Sect.
During his time as a Qi Refining cultivator, he denied himself even the smallest pleasures, devoting himself entirely to cultivation.
He believed it was the only way his limited talents could benefit the sect even a little.
In the end, Elder Wang succeeded in Foundation Establishment at the age of ninety-five.
The mission he volunteered for upon becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator was, naturally, recruiting disciples.
He spent his entire life wandering the lands of Yang Kingdom, searching for children with spirit roots.
He rejected walls and roofs, enduring the cold dew for decades.
He harbored no love, shared no friendships.
His only desire was to be of service to the sect.
It was for that reason he had come here, wondering if among the princesses dragged in from Yu Kingdom there might be a child with a spirit root.
And there, he met Seoran.
The moment he took Seoran's pulse, the thrill he felt that day was still vividly etched in Elder Wang's memory.
Fate had not been kind; the Black Bamboo Sect had gone a long time without finding a Single Spirit Root Holder.
A Single Spirit Root Holder was the pillar that upheld the sect.
If things continued like this, the sect's glory might fade into the past. How many sleepless nights had the leadership spent worrying over it?
Seoran was the first Single Spirit Root Holder discovered in nearly three hundred years.
The leadership bestowed enormous rewards upon Elder Wang.
But more than rare elixirs or massive spirit stones, what delighted him was the sight of the Core Formation cultivators smiling brightly, their worries lifted.
Back in his quarters alone, Elder Wang finally wept like a child in pure joy.
He felt as though, after devoting his inadequate life to it, he had at last repaid the sect.
The old man's sobs continued for a long while.
*****
After group training ended, the dust-covered Seoran and Yi Agum visited Elder Wang's office.
"Ah, you've come. Sit here."
Elder Wang offered them seats with a kindly face.
He even personally brought out tea and snacks.
Seoran and Yi Agum looked a bit awkward.
It was their first reunion since arriving at the Black Bamboo Sect.
Moreover, dealing with such a much older adult was intimidating.
"Any discomfort adjusting?"
"Yes, everyone has been kind, so we're fine."
Seoran answered on their behalf.
Elder Wang nodded in satisfaction.
"That's good to hear. The reason I called you two today is to tidy up your remaining ties to the mundane world."
At the mention of the mundane world, Yi Agum's expression darkened slightly.
Elder Wang continued his explanation.
"Since you two, Liu Susa and Yi Susa, aren't from Yang Kingdom, things were a bit complicated, but most of it is settled. Now, I'll tell you about the futures you'll have as the 'culprits.'"
Elder Wang took a sip of tea and looked at Yi Agum.
"Culprit Yi Agum, you'll be taken as a princess and become the adopted daughter of some wealthy landowner with a thousand shi of fields.
That landowner had many sons but no daughters, so he doted on his one girl immensely. He doted on her so much that he sent cartloads of gifts to the biological parents of an adopted daughter from another country, just to express his gratitude.
Yi Agum, raised with utmost care, will marry a promising young official and live happily ever after. You'll pass peacefully at around ninety, surrounded by countless children and grandchildren."
Yi Agum wore a bewildered expression.
"Culprit Liu Seoran will live a similar life before passing. That's how the mundane world will know it.
This way, your families won't have to worry endlessly about their kin taken as princesses. The vast wealth they've received will prove that their daughters have found good fortunes.
Likewise, you two, Liu Susa and Yi Susa, won't need to fret over whether your families are starving, so you can focus even more on cultivation."
It meant their families left in the mundane world would be taken care of.
Understanding this, Seoran and Yi Agum's faces brightened.
In truth, Seoran and Yi Agum sometimes had nightmares.
Usually, they dreamed of their families falling ill from grief after they were taken away.
"We'll send gifts before spring ends, so write letters to your families by then. They'll be inspected, and if there's no issue, they'll be sent out immediately."
Seoran and Yi Agum bowed deeply several times in thanks before leaving the office.
*****
Yi Agum was so thrilled she could barely contain her excitement.
She chattered nonstop, bouncing around.
Seoran was just as happy, so she didn't stop her.
The two half-flew their way to Seoran's cabin.
"Ah, what should I write in the letter? What about you, sis? I can't write that I became a cultivator, right?"
Yi Agum asked as she rolled around on the floor.
She looked ready to clean the entire room with her clothes.
"Of course not. He said they'd inspect it."
"Oh, right. Then can I at least mention you? Just say we got close. Sis, can I introduce you to my mom and dad?"
Seoran took out some fruit and replied.
"Sure."
"Yay!"
Delighted at the permission, she rolled even faster across the floor.
The two ate fruit and chatted about this and that. Then Yi Agum suddenly jumped up and shouted.
"That's right! Sis, show me that wooden puppet."
In high spirits, Seoran readily agreed.
"Sure, follow me."
Moments later, seeing the wooden puppet, Yi Agum exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow, it looks so ridiculously stupid."
It was true.
The wooden puppet's joints were incredibly precise.
Its fingers and toes moved just like a real person's, and the same went for its limb joints.
But aside from the joints, it screamed half-assed craftsmanship.
The body parts connected by those joints were just logs.
They had peeled the bark and smoothed the surface, sure.
But the face drawn on its head looked like a child's scribble.
In fact, a Core Formation cultivator who had known the deceased craftsman well had seen this puppet and wondered if his friend had loved puppetry or just joints.
Yi Agum thumped the puppet's belly.
"How do you make it move?"
"You put a small spirit stone in the drawer on its back."
"A small spirit stone?!"
Shocked by the insane cost-performance, Yi Agum cried out.
"Wow, that's too much. Some people get one every half-month, and here you are using them up sparring with a block of wood?"
Feeling indignant, Yi Agum punched the puppet's solar plexus repeatedly.
"Sis, you really need to stop slacking and cultivate hard. Hurry up and become an Incarnation cultivator so you can repay everyone in the sect who's supported you till then."
To ascend from the mortal world to the heavens, one needed to reach Incarnation.
Only an Incarnation cultivator's barrier could withstand the pressure generated during ascension.
And with a little extra effort when erecting the barrier, it could envelop the entire sect for a group ascension.
If the ascension succeeded, the cultivators would reach the Immortal Realm.
The Immortal Realm brimmed with spirit energy incomparable to the mortal world.
Even ordinary people without spirit roots lived twice as long there.
That doubled lifespan and abundant spirit energy provided immense advantages for advancing realms.
A Five Spirit Root Holder typically needed over a century to reach Foundation Establishment.
Qi Refining cultivators lived about one hundred and eight years.
Enter late or slack off even a little, and your lifespan would catch up quickly.
But in the Immortal Realm, Foundation Establishment was virtually guaranteed.
The dense spirit energy accelerated cultivation, and the doubled lifespan ensured even the dullest reached the next realm.
As long as you weren't killed and cultivated steadily, even a Five Spirit Root Holder had a shot at becoming an immortal.
That was why every cultivation sect invested heavily in Single Spirit Root Holders.
Just one reaching Incarnation meant everyone could go to the Immortal Realm.
Cultivators with no hope of immortality on their own devoted themselves for that one chance of sect ascension.
The role of a Single Spirit Root Holder like Seoran was singular.
Suck up every drop of the foundation built on the sacrifices of the untalented, advance realms as fast as possible, and reach Incarnation.
Then, all the benefits enjoyed thus far could be repaid in one go through sect ascension.
Borrow and repay, and all was well.
"Come to think of it, you have to pay all this back, huh? You're totally in debt, sis. If it's too much, you can repay me early."
Yi Agum teased, poking Seoran's side with her finger.