After flying the boat for a while, Qi Xiu felt a slight pang of regret as he watched the spirit stones deplete quickly. His rushed journey to the south had left him with just over 200 first-grade spirit stones, the leftovers from his time at the Clear River Market.
The sect had plenty of supplies but no spirit stones, and there hadn't been any opportunities to spend them along the way. With his current stock, he figured he'd only have enough for a round trip.
Qi Xiu sighed inwardly, realizing that he was too prone to rushing into things. He had a habit of diving headfirst into whatever came to mind without fully thinking it through. Like now—he only realized mid-flight that his spirit stones were almost running out.
And earlier, he shouldn't have announced the esoteric formation's spiritual energy to everyone; it would've been wiser to discuss it privately with a few of the older members. Gu Ji was too outgoing, and Qin Weiyu was a bit dull—neither of them were the type to keep a secret.
If word got out, it could lead to serious trouble. This thought made his heart tighten again. "What if some unscrupulous rogue cultivator passes by Black River Peak and discovers the Chu Qin sect's cultivation resources? Would they be tempted to do something bad?"
Once the idea took root, Qi Xiu couldn't shake it off, and he found himself spiraling into needless anxiety.
Just a few days as the sect leader, and I already have more to worry about than I've dealt with in my entire life before. Is it because I'm carrying the weight of the whole sect on my shoulders?
The constant anxiety and exhaustion had been his companions these days. He remembered a travelogue he once read, written by a rogue cultivator. The book mentioned that in a certain place, cultivators were buried in boat-shaped coffins after death. The shape of those boat coffins was quite similar to the Wind Array Spirit Boat he was currently riding.
[Skilled people toil, and wise people worry, but those with no abilities have no desires. They eat their fill and wander freely, drifting like an unmoored boat... Choosing a boat as the final resting place for one's soul—is it a wish to no longer toil, to be free from worries, and thus gain true freedom? But in this world, who can truly have no desires? Isn't seeking the Great Dao itself a desire?]
As Qi Xiu flew over the Black River and into the territory of the Southern Chu Sect, the scenery shifted to a monotonous expanse of green fields and blue skies.
He kept pondering, but no answers came to him. Maybe I shouldn't tie myself down to Chu Qin Sect. Maybe becoming a rogue cultivator, like I originally planned, would be better for me? But then, he recalled the hopeful gazes of the disciples, looking at him with expectation, and he pushed the thought aside.
Before he knew it, three hours had passed, and a small cultivation market appeared up ahead. Knowing he had reached his destination, Qi Xiu descended, landing just outside the market.
Cultivation markets typically have protective formations that prohibit flying, and even high-level cultivators usually respect this unspoken rule by not flying over markets or cities at low altitudes.
Qi Xiu walked into the market that didn't have an official name but was commonly referred to within the Southern Chu Sect as the Ninth Three Market. This was because the market was run by Chu Youmin, a cultivator who was the third-ranking member of the ninth branch of the Southern Chu family.
Though called a market, it was actually more of a cross between a regular market and a temporary fair, with only four two-story buildings clustered together to form a small crossroad. Compared to the Clear River Market that Qi Xiu was most familiar with, this place was much smaller.
He couldn't even see any cultivators on the street.
When Qi Xiu entered one of the buildings, he was greeted by a mortal, not a cultivator. Qi Xiu asked him to explain the layout of the Ninth Three Market.
It turned out that the first floor of the building he was in was essentially a ghost market, with no set schedule for opening and very few stalls set up at the moment. The second floor had scheduled auctions and unscheduled trade meetings. Another building sold various spiritual herbs and elixirs, another offered magical items and manuals, and the last served as a small inn for cultivators to stay. All of these were owned by Chu Youmin.
Qi Xiu introduced himself and requested to meet Chu Youmin. The receptionist, not daring to be negligent, went to fetch someone. A mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator soon appeared.
After they exchanged formalities, the cultivator's attitude immediately changed to one of disdain. "I'll go report your arrival. Just wait here!" he said with a sneer, then walked away, shaking his head. "These days, even the most insignificant people can become sect leaders."
Seeing his master's behavior, the mortal receptionist also became indifferent toward Qi Xiu, leading him to a small guest room and offering him a cup of tea before disappearing.
Qi Xiu wasn't particularly angry; he had grown used to such treatment. Having been humiliated by fellow sect members before, and just a few days ago, he had endured the cold remarks of strangers when boarding a shuttle. He was no stranger to dealing with this kind of situation.
Besides…it was indeed a bit unusual for a second-stage of Qi Condensation to be a sect leader. In his nearly 30 years of life, Qi Xiu had never seen anyone below the late stage of Qi Condensation lead a sect, so he understood that the reaction of the other cultivator was to be expected.
What seemed abnormal was the indifferent attitude of the two Chu family cultivators who had received him earlier, Chu Youyan and the always-smiling Chu Zhuangyuan, who didn't seem to care about his status as a sect leader.
But Qi Xiu waited patiently, confident that the Chu Qin sect was valuable to the Southern Chu sect. The jade slip had clearly indicated that Qi Xiu should follow Chu Youmin's guidance, so he was certain that Chu Youmin would eventually agree to meet with him.
Although our sect is weak, it's still valuable to Southern Chu Sect in a way that's hard to replace us. The Chu Qin Sect is small enough to be overlooked, so the Southern Chu Sect doesn't have to worry about us growing powerful. We were founded with great effort by Chu Zhenhua to help Qin Lie'er, and it received the approval of the Qi Yun Sect at the time.
We have a proper lineage, and, on the surface, we seem like an independent sect with no official ties to the Southern Chu Sect. This means, if any issues arise in the future, the Southern Chu Sect can easily distance themselves from the Chu Qin Sect.
The Qi Yun Sect and the Chu family helped establish our sect, and the Southern Chu Sect helped us sustain it. To Daoist cultivators, this is a huge favor, so there's no need to worry about us being tempted to betray one day.
Qi Xiu closed his eyes as he reflected. His analysis of the jade slip's content made him more confident about Chu Qin Sect's future. Although it was possible that the Southern Chu Sect might just want a scapegoat, Qi Xiu didn't want to think that way.
Even if that's the truth, if it's the case, I have no power to resist, do I? So there's no need to be troubled about it.
After sitting in silence for nearly half an hour, the receptionist finally came to refill his tea and told him that Chu Youmin was still meeting with someone, so Qi Xiu would need to wait a bit longer.
Knowing his place, Qi Xiu stood up to thank the receptionist. As the leader of a sect, he had learned to put the sect's interests above everything else, even his own pride. After all, what's a little pride worth compared to the wellbeing of the sect?
As time passed, the receptionist grew more comfortable around Qi Xiu and started to warm up to him, and Qi Xiu also managed to extract a lot of useful information.
So, the Black River land where Chu Qin Sect is located used to belong to Chu Youmin's family… Qi Xiu thought to himself. In that case, his attitude makes sense. I shouldn't expect too much. I'll just pay my respects, handle the main business, and return to the sect as soon as possible.
Sure enough, Chu Youmin left him hanging for a whole half-day. As the sky grew darker, Qi Xiu was increasingly worried about what was happening back at the sect, and his anxiety made his cold sore at the corner of his mouth start itching again. On the outside, however, he kept his calm and didn't show a thing; his ability to control his emotions had improved over the past few days.
Finally, the not-so-friendly mid-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator returned and led Qixiu to meet Chu Youmin. Chu Youmin appeared to be about the same age and level of cultivation as Chu Youyan, and they even looked a bit alike. But Chu Youmin had a long goat beard, looked less sharp, and had a more aloof demeanor.
Qixiu quickly performed the junior's bow and made his greeting. He respectfully went over what he needed to say, mainly about getting a small mountain protection formation.
Chu Youmin, stroking his beard, nodded in agreement and said a few polite words before closing his eyes to signal the end of the meeting.
The cultivator who had led Qi Xiu to Chu Youmin then selected a set of first-grade mid-tier formation items and handed them to Qi Xiu. These included an earth-attribute formation, the Yellow Sand Illusion Formation, which was mid-tier for both attack and defense, and a lower-tier Sand Mist Phantom Formation.
For a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator using a top-tier 1st-grade attack weapon, with no attribute conflict, they could sustain an attack for about the time of three incense sticks. The illusion formation, on the other hand, was of little practical use, as it could only obscure the reality within the formation for cultivators below the late stage of Qi Condensation.
Despite its small size, a mountain-protecting formation was much more expensive than other magical items of the same grade. The cultivator quoted a price of 80 second-tier spirit stones, which was higher than the market price at Clear River Market.
Qi Xiu gritted his teeth, didn't haggle, and traded the materials he had brought along in his storage bag to make up the price and acquire the formation. He also exchanged some of the scattered first-grade spirit stones to power his flying magical item.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Qi Xiu set off for home that very night.