The flight to Emerald Forest City had at first been much quieter than Mo Duan had expected, but it seemed like his disciples were starting to grow used to his presence.
He couldn’t help but feel a little bit… bothered by the general reverence and apprehension that he was treated with by those who were weaker than him, so Mo Duan was relieved to see signs that this might one day change.
Over the past few days of travel, his disciples were beginning to grow more comfortable with him around and were now actually making casual conversation with one another. Of course, that might just be because he was currently pretending to be meditating, but it was still progress in his books.
As an Elder, he possessed the ability to either ruin the lives of any disciple under his care or raise them to new heights, and they knew it. Coupled with the constant feeling of danger that came with being a secret demonic cultivator, Mo Duan had felt a weight fall off his shoulders as soon as he flew away from the sect.
Currently, he was taking the opportunity to truly take in this new world by scanning the landscape with his spiritual sense as they flew by. While Mo Duan was already very familiar with this world thanks to his predecessor’s memories, it was still an interesting experience to see everything personally.
The Verdant Valley Sect occupied territory in the Celestial Jade Empire’s southernmost region. While its western portion was mostly covered in jungles filled with Spiritual Beasts, the remaining areas featured a tropical climate that was well-suited for farming. Mo Duan had spotted several farming villages during his flight, although he did note that a large portion of the land was completely unoccupied.
I guess that’s probably due to the threat of Spiritual Beasts, Mo Duan mused to himself.
In this world, it wasn’t truly possible for mortals to live separately from cultivators when the wildlife was as dangerous as it was. An isolated mortal village might potentially be able to exist without the protection of immortals if it was located in an area with uniquely sparse Qi, but even that was unlikely. There was always the chance that any random animal might get lucky and stumble upon a Spiritual Plant capable of advancing their cultivation, and then the entire village would be in danger.
For this reason, the vast majority of communities in this world were fairly close to cities that were ruled by powerful cultivators.
Emerald Forest City was the second largest within the Verdant Valley Sect’s territory, which was one of the main reasons that Mo Duan had chosen it as their destination. Not only would there be plenty of large merchant guilds, but it was also large enough that there would be plenty of wandering cultivators in the city. An abundance of resources and unaffiliated cultivators were essential for Mo Duan’s strategy to put his valley on the path to profitability and train his disciples.
In addition, Emerald Forest City was the home of Ling Jun’s clan, which meant that Mo Duan already had a tangential relationship with one of the city’s local powers. One of his goals for this trip was to turn that relationship into something a bit more substantial, as it would make his life much easier once he started doing business in the city.
Although this city was in the sect’s territory and Mo Duan was probably more powerful than any cultivator in the city, that didn’t mean that the local powers couldn’t find a way to make his life difficult if they wanted to. Especially since the other clans were almost certainly backed in some way by the rest of the sect’s leadership.
The Ling Clan in particular was a good target for this. They were powerful enough that they could actually be useful, but not so powerful that Mo Duan had to worry about offending them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to steal Ling Jun away to his valley when doing so risked hurting their Clan’s future prospects.
Had Mo Duan done the same thing to one of the more powerful Clans, the consequences would have been… unpleasant.
He had expected Ling Jun to be eager to return home and see his family, but the boy was much more somber than he had expected. Mo Duan directed his spiritual sense over to Ling Jun and saw that the boy was still making half-hearted conversation with Jin Mao, who was trying his best to cheer his friend up.
Mo Duan wasn’t quite certain why the boy was so unenthused to see his Clan again, but it made him feel a bit uneasy. It couldn’t just be that he had been assigned to a less prestigious valley; his current progress in cultivation was nothing to be ashamed of, and he was also receiving special attention from one of the sect’s Elders. Those two facts should be enough to make up for any perceived shame that his assignment to Mo Duan’s valley had brought to his Clan.
And if it wasn’t… then Mo Duan would just have to convince them to see things differently.
Unfortunately, his instincts were telling him that Ling Jun’s current mood was more likely to be the result of some kind of melodramatic internal Clan politics. If that were to be the case, then Mo Duan wouldn’t be able to do much to help as an outsider.
After a few more moments, Mo Duan turned his attention to his other disciples. Du Yun was following his lead in avoiding the awkward social situation by pretending to be meditating, while Xiao Li and Xue Chenying were both chatting quietly while occasionally glancing warily at Mo Duan. Given that the two teenagers were currently complaining about some of the responsibility that he had foisted on them, Mo Duan understood why.
Sucks for you two, but I don’t want to deal with a bunch of kids every day, Mo Duan thought to himself with amusement.
Given the amount of nonsense that his clone was already having to manage back at the sect, Mo Duan had every intention of delegating away his responsibilities as quickly as possible.
Just yesterday, his clone had to pay for repairs to the female housing because a young disciple had chosen to practice a cultivation technique in the middle of the night, only to set fire to the hair of another disciple while she was sleeping. The resulting fight had woken up the entire valley.
The children of this world were generally more mature than those of his previous world, but they were still children… with superpowers.
Mo Duan alternated between watching the landscape and listening to the stories of his two oldest disciples until they eventually drew close to Emerald Forest City.
The city itself was far larger than he would have expected. Mo Duan didn’t know how many people lived in the city, but he wouldn’t be surprised if its population was approaching a million.
It was surrounded by high walls that were built to augment the city’s formations and keep out dangerous Spiritual Beasts or help them fend off an invasion. Given that the Verdant Valley Sect’s territory was located on the empire’s border, Mo Duan had no doubt that those walls had been used more than a few times in the city’s history.
As he approached the city, Mo Duan could sense the talisman hidden in his robes activate once he passed through the city’s formation. Without the talisman identifying him as an Elder of the Verdant Valley Sect, Mo Duan was certain that he would already be under attack.
As it was, nobody bothered him as he directed his flying tool to take them to the city’s Hall of Governance. Many of the city’s citizens pointed up and stared as he flew ahead, recognizing that a powerful cultivator had just arrived in their city.
Mo Duan was unsurprised to see several cultivators wearing elegant robes waiting for him as he approached the building. Before he landed, Mo Duan quickly swept his spiritual sense throughout the Hall of Governance to determine the cultivation level of everyone within.
Most of them were mortals, aside from the guards who were generally within the Qi Condensation realm. A few of the more powerful guards were in the Early Foundation Establishment realm, with the only individuals higher than that being two of the people who were currently waiting for him.
One was a young woman who was Mid Foundation Establishment, while the other was a seemingly middle-aged man who had reached Peak Foundation Establishment. That was a fairly impressive level of cultivation for most people, so Mo Duan assumed the man to be the representative assigned by the sect to govern the city.
Having made his assessments, Mo Duan didn’t delay any further and directed his flying tool to descend.
“Welcome, Honored Elder. This one is Liang Zhenwei, governor of Emerald Forest City,” said the older man, bowing to Mo Duan respectfully once he and his disciples disembarked from the flying tool. “Beside me is Qiao Yuzhen, an esteemed official of the empire. This city is truly honored to host a distinguished Elder of the Verdant Valley Sect.”
Mo Duan barely held back a snort at the man’s flattery. Could he truly be considered to be ‘distinguished’ if most people didn’t even know his name?
He wasn’t surprised to see one of the empire’s officials in a city of this size. While the sect had jurisdiction over this territory, the empire still had an interest in keeping an eye on what their fiefs were getting up to.
“Thank you, Governor Liang. I’m sure both my disciples and I will enjoy our stay in such a magnificent city,” said Mo Duan. “If you wouldn’t mind, we’ve had a long trip and I’d appreciate it if you showed us to our lodgings.”
Mo Duan was still as good as new thanks to his cultivation, but he could tell that a few days of flying had taken a toll on his disciples. Flying boats weren’t exactly the most comfortable of transportation, and none of them were yet at a level where they could meditate for months without moving.
Governor Liang hurriedly agreed to his request and personally escorted them to their quarters as if he was some kind of servant. Mo Duan had no doubt that the Governor would never do something like this in a normal situation, and it illustrated how much power the Verdant Valley Sect had in these lands that he was doing so.
Most of the kids were quite eager to rest and didn’t hesitate to head for their beds once they were shown their rooms. However, Ling Jun actually asked Mo Duan if they could speak before they retired for the night.
Noticing his disciple’s somber expression, Mo Duan used a cultivation technique that would prevent people from hearing anything other than the sounds of nature if they attempted to eavesdrop and signaled for Ling Jun to speak.
“Elder Mo, do you intend for us to approach my Clan while we are in the city?” Ling Jun asked nervously.
“I do. Tomorrow, in fact. It would be quite strange if I visited the city and failed to visit your Clan,” Mo Duan confirmed. “Unless… there’s some reason why you would prefer I don't?”
“No! I’m certain my Clan will be more than welcoming,” Ling Jun quickly denied. “I just wanted to know when we would be seeing them so that I could prepare. Thank you for indulging me, Elder Mo.”
With that, Ling Jun bowed and hurriedly made his way into his room before closing the door behind him. Mo Duan was curious about what could have caused that reaction in his disciple, but he figured that he would know soon enough.
Governor Liang, who had been waiting patiently, took the opportunity to engage Mo Duan in conversation and invite him for tea. He eventually steered the topic to political matters and began sharing information about the city and its various factions. Mo Duan understood that it was just an attempt to gain his favor, but he appreciated the governor’s efforts regardless. Mo Duan paid extra attention to any information about the Ling Clan or the city’s wandering cultivators that he would need for his future plans.
Once their conversation was over, Mo Duan amicably excused himself to his room and decided to actually get some sleep himself. After all, tomorrow would be his first meeting with the Ling Clan, and he wanted to be at his best for what would no doubt be an eventful day.
----------------------------------------
Ling Jun woke from a dreamless sleep and found himself momentarily confused by his surroundings. However, it only took a few seconds for him to remember where he was and what would be happening later today.
Although he had lived in Emerald Forest City for most of his life, he had only ever entered the Hall of Governance a single time when he had come of age and was introduced to the other Clans and the city’s officials. He had never once seen Governor Liang smile at anyone, yet the governor had been fawning over Elder Mo from the moment that they arrived.
He had, of course, mostly ignored Ling Jun and the other disciples, but that was to be expected.
After taking a deep breath, Ling Jun pushed away his anxiety and began making preparations to face the rest of the day. It wasn’t long after he finished getting dressed and doing his morning stretches that he heard someone knocking on his door.
Once he opened the door, Ling Jun was greeted by the sight of an impatient Xiao Li. “There you are, tiny. Elder Mo sent me to gather everyone so we can head out. Apparently, he has a lot to do today and he wants to meet with your Clan after we finish our morning meal.”
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Ling Jun ignored the nickname Senior Xiao had given him and began making his way to the dining hall without another word. The older disciple would just call him something more ridiculous if Ling Jun gave any indication that it bothered him, so it was best to just ignore it.
Jin Mao attempted to make conversation during their meal, but Ling Jun just spent most of the time thinking about Elder Mo’s upcoming meeting with his Clan. He knew that many people, including his father, would be disappointed that he hadn’t been chosen by one of the more… established Elders.
Both the Sima and Jiang Clans had members who had studied under Elder Yuanlei and gone to become officials of the empire. Such prestigious positions had allowed the two clans to surpass the Ling Clan in recent decades and a lot of resources had been invested in Ling Jun with the hope that he would raise the Clan back to their rightful place.
He had been fortunate to be born with superb meridians and a rare single spiritual root, so it made sense to Ling Jun that his Clan would choose to invest resources in him over one of his father’s more favored children. Honestly, he owed a debt to the heavens for gifting him such talent and to his clan for investing in Ling Jun despite the disgraceful circumstances of his birth. So, he did everything he could to become an heir they could be proud of.
Ling Jun just hoped that his father would be able to see beyond the surface and look to the heart of the matter. Elder Mo was a wise and skilled instructor and Tranquil Garden Valley was growing in cultivation ability every day. Not only that but Ling Jun’s cultivation was just as good as it would be if he had been sent anywhere else.
Father will understand. I know he will, Ling Jun told himself. If not, then uncle Huanyu will be able to convince him.
Ling Jun was so caught up in his thoughts that Jin Mao was forced to prod him once everyone was done eating and they were ready to go.
Despite his nervousness, Ling Jun enjoyed the opportunity to walk through the city he had grown up in once again. The streets were busy as people went about their day, although many of them stopped and stared once they caught sight of Elder Mo as they made their way through the streets. There was nothing in particular marking him as different from any other wealthy individual, but the Elder had a… presence that made clear to everyone that he was a powerful cultivator.
Unlike most powerful cultivators that Ling Jun came across, Elder Mo had the strange habit of suppressing his presence under most circumstances but he wasn’t doing so now.
Ling Jun turned his attention away from the pedestrians and tried to answer Jin Mao’s excited questions. Jin Mao had never been to Emerald Forest City before, so Ling Jun pointed out several of the city's more famous stores and landmarks.
Elder Mo was even kind enough to allow him to stop at his favorite tanghulu vendor, although they were forced to quickly finish the treats once they drew close to the Ling Clan compound.
Governor Liang must have sent notice to the Clan because Housekeeper Xiang was already waiting outside of the compound's gate to escort them in.
Elder Mo and Housekeeper Xiang exchanged polite greetings, but Ling Jun was busy examining the compound for any changes.
“Wow, Ling Jun. This is really where you lived?” Jin Mao asked quietly as they made their way through the compound’s courtyard, his head swiveling back and forth as he took in his surroundings. “I knew your family was rich, but this is pretty crazy!”
“Of course. The Ling Clan is the oldest family in Emerald Forest City,” Ling Jun said smugly.
Despite the recent ascendancy of the Sima and Jiang Clans, nobody in the city could compete with his family when it came to wealth and historical importance. The courtyard was filled with beautiful Spiritual Plants that were carefully chosen to create a sense of grandeur as they approached the center of the compound.
Du Yun snorted disdainfully at his words, but he didn’t say anything so Ling Jun simply ignored him. Senior Xiao and Senior Xue both seemed as impressed as Jin Mao was, which filled Ling Jun with a sense of pride.
Once they entered the main family's large and luxurious abode, Housekeeper Xiang escorted them to a luxurious waiting area and turned to Elder Mo. “Pardon me for the inconvenience, honorable Elder, but I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to wait for a few short minutes. The Patriarch is currently in an important meeting with a representative from one of the city’s merchant groups.”
Ling Jun couldn’t help but frown at House Xiang’s words. Elder Mo was far more important than any mere merchant, so he couldn’t understand why his father would prioritize that meeting over this one.
“In the meantime, I can escort you to speak with the Patriarch’s brother, Elder Jun Huanyu. ”
“I find that to be acceptable. I will speak with your Patriarch’s brother,” said Elder Mo after a moment of consideration.
“Excellent. In the meantime, one of our servants will provide your disciples with a tour,” said Housekeeper Xiang, smiling softly as he gestured toward a pair of young serving boys. “I’m sure Young Master Ling Jun would appreciate the opportunity to catch up with his family as well.”
Oh… father wants to speak with me before he meets with the Elder, Ling Jun suddenly realized.
Ling Jun turned to check Elder Mo’s reaction, only to notice that the Elder was looking back at him with a questioning expression. It took a few moments for him to understand that Elder Mo was silently asking him if he was fine with this arrangement.
After nodding his agreement, Elder Mo studied him appraisingly for a while longer before turning back to Housekeeper Xiang. “That sounds acceptable. Please direct your Patriarch to see me as soon as possible. There are a few matters that I wish to talk over that require his input.”
“Of course, honorable Elder. The Patriarch will join you as soon as he is able. If you’ll please follow me,” said Housekeeper Xiang, directing Elder Mo to the hallway leading toward the eastern portion of the building.
As soon as they were gone, one of the serving boys led the other disciples away on a tour through the manor while the other bowed to him and informed Ling Jun that his father wished to speak with him, just as he had expected. Keeping his head held high, Ling Jun pushed past the servant and made his way to his father’s office.
His father must have been watching him with his spiritual sense because he spoke up before Ling Jun could ask permission to go inside. “Enter.”
After taking a moment to hide any trace of his worry, Ling Jun opened the door to his father’s office and stepped inside. Sitting behind his desk, Ling Jun’s father looked unchanged from the last time they had seen one another.
With a stoic expression, sharp eyes that never failed to freeze Ling Jun in place, and a presence gained from a lifetime of holding authority, Ling Gengxin was an intimidating man.
“Sit.”
At his father’s command, Ling Jun immediately sat in the seat in front of his father’s desk and waited quietly for him to speak. Ling Jun struggled against the urge to squirm as his father silently studied him, but it wasn’t long before the silence was broken.
“Ling Jun. Have I ever done anything to mistreat you?”
Ling Jun was confused by his father’s question, but he didn’t hesitate to answer dutifully. “No, father.”
“Have I ever done anything to inhibit your education in regard to your position as heir to this Clan?”
“No, father,” said Ling Jun, struggling to keep his tension out of his voice.
“Did one of our Clan’s enemies do something to unfairly sabotage your performance during the Verdant Valley Sect’s disciple selection ceremony?”
“No, father.”
“If you acknowledge that you’ve received every possible advantage that this Clan could give you and that nobody has done anything to sabotage your performance, then I find myself confused,” said Ling Gengxing, his voice remaining as level as it always was. “Can you explain to me why you were sent to learn under the least important Elder in the Verdant Valley Sect with a group of talentless orphans?”
After struggling for a moment to find his voice, Ling Jun gave his father the explanation he had prepared for this moment. “Elder Mo specifically requested that I be assigned to his valley, father. If not for that, then the other Elders would have certainly offered me the chance to study under them.”
“Did he? That is quite interesting. Has he chosen to make you a direct disciple?” Ling Gengxin asked quietly, raising a single eyebrow as he stared at Ling Jun.
“No, father,” said Ling Jun, his voice growing increasingly subdued in the face of his father’s obvious disappointment.
“Did he explain at all why he went out of his way to bring you to his valley?” asked Ling Gengxin, growing increasingly impatient.
“No, father. But Elder Mo has given me a special wood-based cultivation method that he hasn’t allowed anyone else to learn,” Ling Jun said hurriedly, eager to finally have something favorable to report.
“Tell me about this cultivation method,” said Ling Gengxin, leaning slightly forward with clear interest.
“It’s called the Woodland Dominion method. It increases my affinity for wood-based cultivation techniques and it will also allow me to modify Spiritual Plants once my cultivation increases,” Ling Jun dutifully explained. “Elder Mo gave it to me as soon as I arrived in the valley. The method comes from Elder Mo himself and does not belong to the Verdant Valley Sect. He even showed me a demonic seed and told me that I would one day be able to purify it!”
“Oh? Depending on how much it increases your affinity and how drastically it allows you to modify Spiritual Plants, the Woodland Dominion method has the potential to be quite powerful,” said Ling Gengxin, audibly surprised for the first time in the conversation. “If such a method was well known, then I would have heard of it. It makes me curious as to its source. I’ll assign a few of our people to look into the matter, but I suspect it won’t be easy to learn more. It’s interesting that he would show you the seed of a Demonic Plant for training, but it seems like a reasonable training strategy for a cultivation method like yours. They are fairly common and purifying one would be a significant challenge.”
Ling Jun felt a warmth grow inside of him at his father’s words. He knew that the cultivation method given to him by Elder Mo was very good, but it felt nice to hear that even his father was impressed by it.
“Does the Woodland Dominion require that its user possess a single wood spirit root?” asked Ling Gengxin.
“Yes, father.”
“Hmm. That implies that your Elder most likely chose you for your spirit root rather than any other reason,” Ling Gengxin said shrewdly. “There must be a reason that he needs someone to cultivate the Woodland Dominion method specifically. According to what you’ve told me, the method has the unique ability to modify Spiritual Plants. Do you have any idea why such an ability might be valuable to Elder Mo?”
Ling Jun thought it over for several moments and the only possibility that he could think of was that it was related to Elder Mo’s plan to have his valley grow and sell Spiritual Plants. Aside from that was also that matter about the Vanishing Mist Woods that Elder Mo had told him about.
He said as much to his father, but Ling Jun found himself surprised when his father didn’t fully agree.
“You are correct that it is likely that in part, but there is evidence to suggest that something more complicated is taking place in the Verdant Valley Sect,” Ling Gengxin said thoughtfully. “Every major power in the region has heard about the sect’s intentions to drastically increase the number of disciples they allow into their Ascending Dragon Caverns. They’ve said that their decision was based on the increasing amount of demonic cultivators coming into the sect’s territory from the Shadowed Isles, but anyone with sense knows that this isn’t their true motivation.”
“Really? Why not?” Ling Jun asked curiously. It made sense to him that the sect would want to make their disciples stronger if there were a lot of evil demonic cultivators wandering around.
“The Ascending Dragon Caverns isn’t something that the sect can simply use whenever it chooses,” Ling Gengxin explained. “It’s a secret of the sect exactly how the caverns function, but it’s always been obvious that there is a limit to their usage. Otherwise, the Verdant Valley Sect would simply have every single one of their disciples cultivating in there all of the time. It would take a truly significant threat for them to make such a decision, and a few demonic cultivators do not qualify.”
In retrospect, such an answer seemed obvious and Ling Jun hurried to ask another question to hide his embarrassment. “What does this have to do with Elder Mo?”
“Despite our best efforts, neither our Clan nor anyone else I’m in contact with has been able to learn why the Verdant Valley Sect decided to take Elder Mo on as a Guest-Elder,” said Ling Gengxin, his fingers tapping steadily against the table as he thought. “What you’ve told me about the Vanishing Mist Woods offers a reasonable explanation, but there are still many questions that it does not answer. Questions such as why Elder Mo suddenly decided to invest so heavily in his valley or the sect has begun to make aggressive efforts to purge any spy within their midsts. That along with the other factors that I’ve already mentioned makes it clear to me that something strange is happening within the sect, and everyone knows it.”
With everything presented to him like that, Ling Jun found it hard to disagree.
“Do you have any idea what it could be, father?” asked Ling Jun.
“That is something that I should be asking you,” said Ling Gengxin. “We don’t have enough information to determine what secrets the Verdant Valley Sect is hiding with any accuracy. However, I find it hard to believe that Elder Mo and your cultivation method are not somehow involved. Have any of the other Elders shown any undue interest in you?”
“No, father. I haven’t even seen any of the other Elders outside of the disciple selection ceremony.”
“That is strange. I would have guessed that the sect has managed to find some manner of extremely rare Spiritual Plant and need you to modify it for some reason, but the evidence doesn’t align with my theory,” said Ling Gengxin, sounding frustrated. “I suppose we’ll just have to learn more while we do business with Elder Mo.”
“Then, you do intend to do business with him, father?”
“Of course. Although I don’t intend to tie our Clan’s fate to a cultivator with as many secrets as Elder Mo, we would benefit greatly from mutual cooperation. Ever since your grandfather died, we haven’t had any significant ties to the Verdant Valley Sect and our rivals haven’t hesitated to exploit our weakness. Besides, it’ll be a simple matter to put him in contact with a specialist who grows Spiritual Plants.”
“Have the Sima and Jiang Clans done something while I’ve been gone, father?” Ling Jun asked.
His father looked as if he didn’t have much interest in explaining any further, but Ling Jun was the Clan’s heir and he needed to maintain an understanding of their political situation.
“They’ve attempted to use their influence with the empire to pressure Governor Liang to rescind our license to hold restricted materials. We only managed to prevent them from succeeding by offering costly bribes to the right officials.”
Ling Jun immediately understood how bad it would be for his Clan if they lost their ability to handle restricted materials and why a relationship with Elder Mo would help them. The Ling Clan had a wide range of business interests, but the most profitable among them involved the purchase and sale of items related to cultivation, nearly all of which were highly regulated.
If they had Elder Mo in their corner, then Governor Liang wouldn’t dare to offend him by rescinding their license.
Just as he was about to thank his father for explaining the matter to him, Ling Jun was interrupted by a knock at the door. After being given permission to enter, one of the Clan’s servants made their way into the room and informed Ling Jun’s father that Elder Mo was beginning to show signs of growing impatience.
“That took longer than I expected. It seems that Elder Mo is much harder to offend than most cultivators of his power,” said Ling Gengxin as he rose from his seat. “I suspect that this partnership will be a fruitful one for both of us. Ling Jun, we will speak further once at a later time.”
Without waiting for any response, Ling Gengxin strode out of his office as he left to meet with Elder Mo. As soon as he left, Ling Jun let out a sigh of relief and sat back in his seat.
His conversation with his father had given him a lot to think about.