Yang Xun asked.
"Passable, I suppose."
Jiang Yi replied.
"Qi Cultivation First Layer. What kind of pulse did you open?"
Yang Xun asked again.
'What's a "pulse"?'
Jiang Yi froze for a moment.
Seeing this reaction, Yang Xun immediately understood.
'He's definitely from some backwater place.'
Yang Xun said softly,
"It seems you don't come from a Qi Cultivation Clan, so you're not too clear on the inner workings of these things."
"To be honest, Servant, I grew up in Guniu Town. My family has some businesses at most, but there hasn't been a Cultivator in three generations."
Jiang Yi explained his situation. He was, through and through, just one of the cattle and horses from a small town.
Yang Xun smacked his lips a couple of times and, out of habit, pulled a handful of snacks from his pocket, chewing on them with a CRUNCH CRUNCH.
"I'll give you a lesson today, so listen closely. Back in the ancient past, people with Mortal Bodies like us couldn't practice Cultivation.
The so-called 'Cultivation Seeds' were incredibly rare; you'd be lucky to find one in a hundred thousand people."
Jiang Yi had heard of this before.
It was said that in the Yanfu Vast Land of the ancient past, only thirty percent of all living beings were qualified to practice Cultivation. The rest were all common folk, treated like weeds.
But now, over nine-tenths of the population can open their meridians to practice Qi Cultivation and get the title of "Cultivator."
"Legend says that some Great Divine Power Users from several Daoist Lineages worked together to change the rules set by the Celestial Lord. That's why we have this great era of Cultivation where thousands of Dharma Lineages have opened their gates to all... Ahem, I'm getting sidetracked.
Back to the pulse. The practice first came from the Immortal Dao. The descendants of the Giant Family Gate Valves would use a Spiritual Object as a catalyst to open their meridians at the Qi Cultivation First Layer.
A superior pulse means the quality of your True Qi will be higher, which also serves to solidify your foundation."
'Damn rich bastards!'
Jiang Yi cursed inwardly.
'I didn't even know you could do it like that!'
The original owner of his body had opened his meridians back at the Daoism academy and just muddled his way through it.
He was even smug about it for a long time, because out of his entire group of Child Students, fewer than five had successfully opened their meridians and reached the Qi Cultivation First Layer.
"Whatever. We in the Demon Dao don't care much about how solid or firm the foundation is. If your pulse is poor, so be it."
Yang Xun, gnawing on a chicken foot, asked abruptly,
"Speaking of the Beimang Ridge area, there are three major sects and two minor schools—how many of their names do you know?"
Jiang Yi thought carefully before answering,
"Our Qianji Sect is in the north. With the Yin Puppet Sect to the west and the Joyful Union Sect to the south, that should be the three major sects.
But I've never heard of the two minor schools."
Yang Xun wasn't surprised. How could a Child Student from a Daoism academy come into contact with any real information?
"Remember this well. They are the Zhao You Sect and the True Gu Sect, both of which are Dharma Lineages that dominate their own territories.
The Qianji Sect is a primary supplier for the Zhao You Sect. The White Bone Magical Swords, Hundred Shadows Magical Robes, and Hundred Soul Banners produced by the Outer Sect Four Peaks are all sent to their Marketplace."
Jiang Yi roughly understood what he meant.
'So the Qianji Sect is basically a manufacturing plant, responsible for supplying products to a distributor!'
"Whether it's the Immortal Dao or the Demon Dao, the hierarchy of Dharma Lineages is strict.
At the bottom are the minor sects and schools, whose foundations consist of just a few mountain peaks.
Above them are the 'Thousand-Year Great Sects,' which can occupy mountains, claim land, seize Spirit Veins, and receive tribute from several nations.
A level higher still are the 'Celestial Mansion Upper Sects,' which establish their own domains and rule over entire continents. They can be considered titans of their Daoist Lineage.
As for whether there's anything more powerful... that's beyond what you and I can even fathom."
Jiang Yi processed Yang Xun's explanation, summarizing it roughly as 'small workshops, large factories, regional leaders, and continental megacorporations'.
'In that case, the path of Cultivation is truly a long one.
To get a proper start, you'd need to be a Disciple of at least a Thousand-Year Great Sect to have any real prospects.
Otherwise, given the scale of the small workshops and large factories, the room for advancement is quite limited.'
After Yang Xun's guidance, Jiang Yi's understanding of "Daoist Lineages" became much clearer.
He then asked curiously,
"What level are the Qi Cultivation Clans you mentioned earlier, Servant?"
Yang Xun's expression was cold and hard, as if he were born incapable of showing a pleasant face, but he had enough patience. He said softly,
"Don't look down on the minor sects and schools just because they're at the bottom of the Daoist Lineage. They can still influence hundreds of thousands, even millions, of mortal lives.
Take our Qianji Sect for example. How many Mortal Servants come and go, making a living and earning talisman-coins in the workshops of the Outer Sect Four Peaks?
Over time, a few outstanding 'Mortal Servants' are bound to emerge.
They break through to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, become 'Servants,' and then bring their relatives from the foot of the mountain into the sect.
This cycle repeats, bringing in people from their hometowns. Who knows, one day they might nurture a superior seedling who can enter the sect's Inner Peak to practice Cultivation and Refining Techniques.
This is what it means for 'Qi Cultivation to form a clan'."
Jiang Yi listened, captivated, and thought to himself,
'The first workers bring in the next wave of workers. After a few generations, they're bound to prosper, form a large clan, and support their descendants... It's a lot like my previous life, where people from the same village would all move to one place and help each other out.'
In his past life, he was born in the Xiangnan Countryside, so he was no stranger to this phenomenon of relatives and friends leaving their homes to flock to other provinces together.
He just never expected to see the same thing after transmigrating to the Yanfu Vast Land, a world ruled by Daoist Lineages.
"I myself am from the Yang Clan of Lujiang in the Zhao Country."
Yang Xun revealed, then immediately added with a self-deprecating tone,
"With my Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer and my status as a Servant of the sect, I could be considered a 'clan elder'.
If I managed to take a couple more steps and was lucky enough to reach the Qi Cultivation Sixth or Seventh Layer, I could go down the mountain and return home, and my clansmen would call me 'Elder Ancestor'."
'A Qi Cultivation Ancestor!'
Jiang Yi considered this carefully. It made sense.
At the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, one could serve as an "Elder" in the Qianji Sect.
Whether in guiding cultivation, or nurturing and recommending others, they would have a say in all matters.
Calling them "Elder Ancestor" wouldn't be wrong at all!
"Don't underestimate the Qi Cultivation Clans, as numerous as they are.
Across the three-thousand-mile stretch of Beimang Ridge, sects have risen and fallen over the centuries.
Many Sect Leaders have come from these Qi Cultivation Clans.
Take the most prominent Zhao You Sect for example. Its main branch is the 'Fu' family, and its outer branch is the 'Kang' family. Three hundred years ago, the clan only had two Elder Ancestors at the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer."