Chapter 51: The Migration of the Entire Clan (Part 2)

Over the past few days, seeing the major movements of the Yao family, Xueliang guessed that they were preparing to follow the young lady and join the Wuji Sect as an entire clan. She mused inwardly that the members of the young lady's family were as sensible as the young lady herself, knowing that to pledge loyalty meant offering up their entire family fortune and livelihood.

Given the meager assets of the Yao family, let alone Ji Lingxiao and Pei Changqing, even the scraps falling through Xueliang's fingers would surpass the family's accumulation of several centuries. Naturally, the family fortune Xueliang referred to was not property or wealth, but the lives of everyone involved.

Once the Yao family entered the Azure Cloud Grotto-heaven, their life and death would be entirely controlled by Ji Lingxiao. Among Ji Lingxiao's ten personal disciples, Yao Qian was the only one who moved her entire clan into the Azure Cloud Grotto-heaven. It was not that the other disciples lacked loyalty, but apart from Yao Qian, everyone else hailed from prominent sect aristocratic families.

While the disciples themselves were loyal to their master and could even betray their families for his sake, they could not force their clans to surrender everything to Ji Lingxiao. The young lady was the first disciple to do such a thing; truly worthy of being personally favored by the Patriarch, she was transparently wise.

Would the Patriarch ever pay attention to a small clan composed mostly of mortals? Yet, with this statement from the young lady, the Patriarch would inevitably bestow even more generous rewards upon her as a settlement fund. Xueliang pondered whether she should also cultivate a good relationship with the young lady in advance.

Just as Xueliang was considering how to curry favor with Yao Qian, Yao Qian came to find her. Yao Qian was here to ask her to return to the sect. Upon hearing this, Xueliang asked in surprise, "Are you returning right now, young lady? Are you not going back with your clansmen?"

"There's no need," Yao Qian shook her head and explained, "There are too many people in the clan, and many of them are still mortals. If I traveled with them, it would be too slow. Let's go ahead."

Yao Qian shared the same view as the Great Elder; she did not believe there would be any danger in the Yao family's relocation, nor could she drag Xueliang along to serve as their personal guard. Xueliang was Senior Brother's subordinate, not her own.

Xueliang had already prepared herself to act as a bodyguard for the Yao family, but she had not expected the young lady to be so sensible and measured. This heightened her estimation of the young lady even further. In the Wuji Sect, high innate talent was common, but high talent coupled with sound judgment was rare. Such a cultivator, barring any accidents, would surely achieve great things in the future.

Since the young lady was the Patriarch's disciple, and the Patriarch had always been fiercely protective of his own, how could he possibly let anything happen to her? She smiled and said, "It is good for the young lady to return first. Once back at the sect, you can report to the Master and have him send someone to fetch your clansmen."

The sect had so many flying boats, and failing that, the Patriarch possessed a Kunpeng. If he were instructed to make a trip, even the largest crowd could be brought back in no time.

Yao Qian smiled and said, "There is no need to trouble Senior Brother with such a trivial matter. The elders of my clan are accustomed to training and traveling outside; they will take care of our clansmen." She hesitated for a moment and said to Xueliang, "Actually, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Xueliang asked curiously, "What is it you wish to ask, young lady?" What kind of question could the young lady possibly have that neither the Patriarch nor the Master could answer, requiring her own input?

Yao Qian replied, "Xueliang, do you know how the human race advances to the Golden Core stage?" Yao Qian had been wanting to ask this question for a long time. It was not just for the Great Elder's sake; she wanted to know for herself as well.

Aside from the Azure Dragon Classic, the cultivation techniques she currently practiced were all limited to the Qi Condensation stage, with no mention whatsoever of how to advance to the Golden Core stage. Yet the Azure Dragon Classic was not a technique meant for humans; it only taught Yao Qian how to cultivate her external avatar from a tiny insect into an Azure Dragon, without explaining how the human race cultivated.

Originally, the demonic race did not have terms like Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or Yang Spirit. Xueliang claimed to be at the Golden Core realm, but that was merely an analogy meaning her current strength was comparable to a human Golden Core practitioner; it did not mean the demonic race cultivated in the same way as humans.

Strictly speaking, asking Xueliang was perhaps not entirely appropriate since the two of them belonged to different races. However, having followed Senior Brother for so long, Xueliang should have some understanding in this area, right? Yao Qian wanted to hear Xueliang's explanation first and would have the opportunity to ask Senior Brother later when she returned to the sect.

As soon as Yao Qian asked, Xueliang roughly guessed that she was asking on behalf of that human cultivator whose lifespan was running out. She thought for a moment and asked, "Does the young lady know how to advance to Foundation Establishment?"

Yao Qian replied, "I know. It involves first wearing away the turbid Qi within the acupuncture points, then opening the Conception and Governance vessels, opening the Heavenly Gate, and drawing the Qi of heaven and earth into the body."

Xueliang nodded and said, "Indeed. Then does the young lady know why there is a Liquid Jade stage after Foundation Establishment?"

Yao Qian hesitated and said, "Is it because during the Foundation Establishment stage we cultivate True Qi, while the Liquid Jade stage is about accumulating enough True Qi until it becomes dense enough to liquefy?" At least, that was how her Sun and Moon Scripture was practiced—making the Yin and Yang True Qi within her acupuncture points dense enough to turn into liquid.

Xueliang smiled and said, "The young lady is correct. Therefore, both the Qi-Opening stage and the Foundation Establishment stage are dedicated to cultivating True Qi. Once reaching the Liquid Jade stage, a cultivator not only cultivates True Qi but must also cultivate the divine soul."

"The divine soul?" Yao Qian was slightly startled, thinking of how the Sun and Moon Scripture made her construct the dual phases of the sun and moon within her sea of consciousness. Could that also be considered divine soul cultivation?

"The so-called divine soul cultivation is the condensation of one's three souls and seven魄 into a Yin Spirit, allowing it to permanently reside outside the physical body and endure the tempering of heaven and earth spiritual Qi," Xueliang patiently explained to Yao Qian. "However, for all living beings, the Yin soul is extremely fragile. Let alone enduring the tempering of heaven and earth spiritual Qi, even ordinary breezes can cause immense harm to a Yin soul."

"If one wishes for the Yin Spirit to permanently reside outside the physical body, there are two ways: either one comprehends the Daoist scripts and talismanic seals, causing one's True Qi to flow endlessly so that it can protect the Yin Spirit at any time and place; or one relies on external objects to protect the Yin Spirit, such as refining some rare treasure of heaven and earth into the Yin Spirit and using it as a shield."

"Of course, heavenly treasures capable of merging with the divine soul are hard to come by. Alternatively, one can seek a top-grade magical treasure and refine it into a natal magical treasure. Once the Yin Spirit has been tempered by spiritual Qi to a certain degree, the cultivator has the opportunity to trigger the heaven and earth mechanism, transforming True Essence into a pill and condensing a Golden Core."

Asking Xueliang about this matter turned out to be the right choice for Yao Qian. Her master, Ji Lingxiao, was a peerless genius who had effortlessly advanced from Qi Condensation and Golden Core straight to Nascent Soul without encountering any obstacles. If asked for insights on advancing to the Golden Core stage, he truly wouldn't know what to say.

After all, his cultivation back then was completely unobstructed; if asked for insights on advancing to the Yang Spirit, he might have been able to share a thing or two. Although Senior Brother Pei Changqing was not as defying of the heavens as Ji Lingxiao, he had not wasted any time on advancing to the Golden Core stage either.

On the contrary, although Xueliang was a demonic cultivator, because her innate talent was ordinary, she had consulted countless people back then to achieve advancement—including both demons and humans—and thus possessed a profound theoretical foundation. "However, apart from the first method of comprehending Daoist scripts and talismans, all the other methods fail to produce a top-grade Golden Core."

"The young lady possesses high innate talent and excellent comprehension, so she need not consider the ways of condensing middle-grade or lower-grade Golden Cores; she should focus solely on striving for a top-grade Golden Core." Xueliang had no doubts about whether Yao Qian could form a Golden Core. Could a disciple who caught the Patriarch's eye possibly fail to condense a top-grade Golden Core?

Yao Qian listened thoughtfully. The Great Elder possessed immense True Essence; although she showed signs of aging, her aura was steady and she appeared free of any hidden injuries. Clearly, her step of True Qi cultivation had reached perfection. Could it be that her failure to form a core for so long was due to her divine soul?

It was as if Xueliang saw through Yao Qian's guess. She said to Yao Qian, "You are asking on behalf of Elder Yao, aren't you, young lady? There are many artifact-refining cultivation methods within the sect. If the young lady has enough contribution points on hand, she can exchange for one to help Elder Yao."

Many rogue cultivators failed to form a core not necessarily because of insufficient talent or comprehension, but simply due to a lack of techniques. Aside from established inheritance sects, the creators of most techniques in the cultivation world had not attained ascension themselves, let alone possessed a profound understanding of the Great Dao of heaven and earth.

Unless the inheritor possessed extraordinary natural talent, no matter how one cultivated, it was impossible to comprehend the talismanic seals within the Daoist scripts. Even in the Wuji Sect, most cultivators were unable to comprehend the talismans and would instead choose to refine their natal magical treasures in advance, practicing the joint cultivation of human and artifact.

A top-grade Golden Core was something only prospective core legacy disciples could possibly condense, even within the Wuji Sect. This was why Ji Lingxiao had prematurely allowed Yao Qian to practice the sect's core legacy technique; without a core legacy technique, it was virtually impossible for her to comprehend the talismans.

Without comprehending the talismans, it was impossible to condense a top-grade Golden Core. Even if by a stroke of luck one managed to barely reach the Nascent Soul or Yang Spirit stages, one's personal True Essence and Daoist arts would fall far short of cultivators who had formed a top-grade Golden Core. This involved the cultivation issues that lay beyond the Golden Core stage.

The major sects and great aristocratic families of the cultivation world firmly monopolized most of the resources precisely by monopolizing cultivation techniques. Of course, all of this was still too far out of reach for Yao Qian; her focus remained on the talismans that Xueliang had mentioned.

Was the Yin-Yang talismanic seal in her sea of consciousness what Xueliang referred to as the talismanic seal within Daoist scripts? With this seal, could her Yin Spirit leave her body? Yao Qian asked Xueliang, "Then how should I make my Yin Spirit leave the body?" With the assistance of the talismanic seal, perhaps she could allow her Yin Spirit to leave the body and cultivate ahead of time?

Xueliang was startled by Yao Qian's eager and eager-to-try gaze, and she hurriedly warned, "Young lady, you must never attempt this blindly!" That would cause huge problems!