Chapter 13: Rectify the Heart, Sincerity

"Ah, Jiang, wait up, wait up."

Qi Changsheng hurried to Jiang Li's side and complained, "You didn't even wait for me. Senior Brother is about to be confined for three days just to help you."

"I got it, Senior Brother, I'll visit you when I'm free," Jiang Li said with a face devoid of mercy.

If it hadn't been for his stand-up comedy act, he might have managed to lure a few more gullible fools and earned more than just four hundred good deeds.

He surely couldn't still be thinking about earning good deeds on the Fengyun Platform tomorrow, right?

[Well, it's not impossible.]

A line of text flashed before his eyes.

As for Qi Changsheng's punishment of facing the wall, it was trivial.

Based on Senior Brother Qi's past behavior, Si Fan Valley had lost count of how many times he had faced the wall. Last winter, he tried to peek at female disciples bathing on Changchun Island in the middle of Dinghu and got caught halfway through, ending up facing the wall for three months, and it didn't seem to bother him one bit.

"You heartless little thing, treating your Senior Brother like this, pfft—"

Qi Changsheng wore a look of sorrow, as if he wanted to show the expression of a resentful woman, but before he could enact it, he burst into laughter.

It seemed he truly didn't take Si Fan Valley seriously at all.

Jiang Li walked on and asked, "Senior Brother Qi, what did you gain from being recommended by Elder Yun to attend that Sword Discussion Conference?"

An Outer Elder couldn't take in disciples. The only way for Qi Changsheng to have established a connection with Elder Yun, even to the point of being considered a student, was for both of them to follow the same path.

They were both Artifact Refiners.

The solitary Elder Yun regarded Qi Changsheng as a true nephew. He not only imparted all his skills to him but also specially recommended him to participate in the grand meeting of the Artifact Dao held every four years.

Qi Changsheng was about to ascend to a Seventh Rank Dao Fruit Artifact Refiner, merging the abilities of a Daoist and a swordsmith at a young age, thanks to Elder Yun's support.

"Ah, don't mention it."

Whenever the Sword Discussion Conference came up, Qi Changsheng was helpless, "After a nearly half-month-long arduous journey to the Sword Discussion Sea where the conference was held, I thought I could broaden my horizons. Little did I expect that this time, the Sword Discussion Conference almost turned into an All Martial Arts brawl."

"Jiang, you have no idea. At this Sword Discussion Conference, some people challenged the traditional methods of Artifact Refining, proposing that the time an artifact takes to form should occur naturally, instead of being fixed on specific days like forty-nine, eighty-nine, or ninety-nine, which enraged many seniors. Then they each rallied support and started to debate."

Qi Changsheng narrated the details of the Sword Discussion Conference at length.

In short, it was a clash of ideologies.

Traditional Artifact Refiners believed that an artifact's completion should coincide with auspicious numbers, like thirty-six for forty-nine, seventy-two for eighty-nine, or eighty-one for ninety-nine. For example, they might heat it for thirty-six days, hammer it for forty-nine days, then melt it for eighty-one days until a great artifact was completed.

The dissenting Artifact Refiners contended that one should devote their entire heart and skill to the refinement process rather than slowing down or rushing the rhythm to fit auspicious numbers. This approach was akin to forcing premature or delayed childbirth in infants, which was detrimental to the artifact and harmful to the Dao.

The two sides debated their differences, and in the end, neither could persuade the other, and it came close to a physical fight. The future of the Artifact Dao would belong only to the strong.

It was only because some of the powerful participants intervened that the fight was averted. Otherwise, Qi Changsheng might have ended up as Qi Duanming, accidentally losing his life in the crossfire.

"In the end, the two parties agreed to confront each other in half a year. At that time, they will each forge a sword based on their philosophies to determine who is superior."

Qi Changsheng said, "That means this deadly Sword Discussion Conference is going to be held again in half a year. Just you wait and see, Jiang. There might still be a fight then."

"What does that have to do with me?" Jiang Li wondered.

"Because in half a year, the Sword Discussion Conference will be held by our Dinghu Sect," Qi Changsheng explained, shrugging, "Don't forget, Jiang, our sect is also a great sword casting sect. According to historical records, the very first sword was born of the hands of our ancestral founder. This time at the Sword Discussion Conference, the most vocal and argumentative has been Elder Kaiyang of our sect."

"By then, you can come to watch the excitement. You might even pick up some benefits, like me—I managed to get a few storage bags."

Qi Changsheng took a golden silk bag out of his sleeve and handed it to Jiang Li, "Here, I'm giving you one."

The most basic storage bag cost three thousand good deeds, equivalent to six Zhou Mingyuns...

Jiang Li, seeing this, was shocked rather than pleased, "What do you want?"

He regarded Qi Changsheng with a suspicious gaze.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. It's either scheming or thievery.

"Not much, haha," Qi Changsheng said, rubbing his hands together like a fly, "it's just that... the sequel to 'Young Hero A Bin' that you once wrote..."

Elder Yun, who had hidden 'Bending Flower Hand' in the Daoist Law Pavilion, had his preferences clear. As his favorite student, Qi Changsheng was inevitably influenced by Elder Yun and had a keen interest in such matters.

And Jiang Li, during his most difficult times, had written under a pseudonym with the help of Qi Changsheng to make his first fortune.

Having no one to rely on, even as a noble family descendant without any support, he had no choice.

"I've given up on that life," Jiang Li said with difficulty.

But a storage bag was really tempting.

While Qi Changsheng might have plenty, Jiang Li certainly did not. He still needed good deeds to exchange for Ninth Grade Talismans and update his offense techniques. In his plan, acquiring a storage bag was to be put off until after obtaining Eighth Rank items.

Damn it, being tempted by such things was unbearable for Jiang Li.

At that moment, he seriously questioned his Dao Fruit ability, "Seeking Truth." Was it not about being upright and undisturbed by external demons? Why did he feel his resistance weakening?

Or was this his true nature?

'No, I can't be lured by material things, unless...'

[Unless there's more money.]

Jiang Li seriously said, "Add one condition. Help me investigate where Inner Sect Disciple Luo Yi went after leaving Wuqu Ping."

After such a big incident, Luo Yi was definitely going to look for Jiang Zhuyun, and it was possible that they had already met by now.

This Senior Brother Qi had always been a wild card, with connections throughout the sect, unlike Jiang Li, who limited his relationships to a select few for the sake of cultivation. Giving Qi this task, he might discover some clues about Jiang Zhuyun's whereabouts.

The matter concerned his own safety, and Jiang Li felt that for this reason, re-entering the Jianghu might not be unacceptable.

Just this once, one last time.

"Deal," Qi Changsheng thrust the storage bag into Jiang Li's hand, asking, "When will you have the goods?"

"In three days," Jiang Li replied, "After Senior Brother is out of confinement, come find me at the Daoist Law Pavilion. I'll be staying there for the next few days, paying my respects to Elder Wan."

These few days...

Qi Changsheng gave Jiang Li a peculiar look.

It turned out Jiang Li was more afraid of death than he had expected.