Chapter 141 Fire Refining Chi Xiao
Chapter 141 "Fire Refining Chi Xiao"
Sanqing Mountain has been around for 6,000 years and has a population of over 100,000. It is not an easy task to run it.
Six thousand years ago, when Master Ge Hong founded the school, there were only seven disciples in his generation, and all issues were resolved through discussions among the eight of them.
By the second generation, there were thirty or forty disciples, and it became difficult to gather everyone for a meeting.
There are more than a hundred disciples in three generations, and the disciples are not very familiar with each other.
Then there were four or five hundred people, one thousand people, three thousand people, ten thousand people, thirty thousand people, and one hundred thousand people. It was probably by the fourteenth or fifteenth generation that the number of disciples in Mount Sanqing basically stabilized, maintaining at around 150,000, and they no longer opened the mountain gates on a large scale to recruit disciples.
At this time, it is no longer possible to expect the master to find apprentices. All the registered disciples are recruited. Then, when the registered disciples have shown their talents, they will consider accepting them as true disciples.
It is no longer the case that one person would recruit seven or eight true disciples. Most people only recruit one or two disciples, and some recruit three or four. There are also people who are unwilling to accept any disciples.
With so many people, it is impossible to run such a large sect relying solely on the master-disciple relationship. It is difficult to issue orders and coordinate centralized dispatch.
So there is the headmaster - the deputy headmaster in charge - the mountain master - the deputy mountain master in charge - the counselor elder - the direct successor - the true successor - the recorder. This line is clearly defined from top to bottom, and orders are given from the top to the bottom, which makes it easier to manage while passing on the Dharma lineage.
Later, it was discovered that this line alone was not enough to run a large sect, because people could not only practice cultivation, there were many other affairs, and the more people there were, the more things to do, so many government offices were developed based on the mountains.
For example, there is the Qianjun Hall on Yuhua Peak, which is specifically responsible for handling emergency affairs; the Foreign Affairs Council, which is specifically responsible for external exchanges; the Tongcha Division, which is specifically responsible for gathering external information; the Jiufeng Division, which is specifically responsible for internal corrections; and the Duwuyuan, which is specifically responsible for handling various miscellaneous affairs.
The operation of the office naturally depends on people, but this will undoubtedly take up the disciples' time for practice, so there are benefits such as roll call, rotation, adjusted leave, and salary payment.
In addition to the above three, there are also logistics departments in the mountains, such as the Duchu Institute which is responsible for food processing, the Dujiao Institute which coordinates lectures, urges practice and manages book collections, the Nishan Shennong Institute which plants and harvests spiritual rice and fruits, the Dispatching Institute which is responsible for coordinating the supply of resources from various mountains, and the Procurement Institute which is responsible for external purchases.
It is truly a dazzling array.
However, the management of the logistics departments is relatively loose. The heads of these departments are basically old people who have lost their way and are about to die. The disciples working there are all part-time workers who just earn some money and points, and the hierarchy is quite vague.
Regarding the first three, the rules of Sanqing Mountain clearly stipulate that master and disciple are the most important, followed by the mountain master, and then the head of the government office.
That is to say, when a disciple has a master, a mountain master, and an office master giving orders to him at the same time, the orders from the master are the most important, followed by the mountain master, and then the office master.
This is done to ensure the inheritance of the Dharma lineage. If the master-disciple relationship cannot be guaranteed, then naturally there will be people who, for the sake of power and resources, will not want to waste time accepting disciples and passing on the Dharma, and will only want to climb up the ladder.
This way it is no longer a sect.
In the final analysis, Sanqing Mountain is a Taoist sect centered on the inheritance of master and apprentice, and the rest are added for the convenience of management.
Especially in government offices, the relationship between superiors and subordinates is only reflected in official business. Maybe after you are assigned to the office, your boss will have to call you uncle.
However, among these government offices, Yingyuan Mansion is the most special. The seriousness of thunder magic naturally gives the officials special rights. Moreover, Yingyuan Mansion is divided into mansion-court-department-office-group-team. The direct official above one's master is usually his/her master.
Having said that, positions such as headmaster, mountain lord, and office lord are all promoted based on ability, magical powers, and reputation. After thousands of years of this system, everyone is convinced and accustomed to it, so it is rare for the master, mountain lord, and office lord to give orders at the same time to make things difficult for a disciple.
In other words, one has to listen to the words of these three. If there is any conflict, most likely the disciple will carefully deal with the requirements of all parties and try his best to complete them.
Although the head of the agency only has authority over official business during official hours, as his authority accumulates, if he is older than you in seniority, many people will not be able to refuse if he asks you to do something other than official business during official hours.
The Office of Correction of Atmosphere is an office with very strict boundaries between superiors and subordinates.
The director of the office, Ma Jingyi, believed that as an office responsible for rectifying clan atmosphere and eradicating evil, the Office of Correction of Evil had a heavy responsibility. With so many files that needed to be followed up and sorted out, the working hours should be extended.
As the Jufengsi is one of the only two prisons in the sect and also a place for public debate, what's wrong with it being arranged in a solemn and dark manner?
No one had ever thought there was a problem before, and all the previous heads of the Discipline Inspection Office and the Lord of White Tiger Mountain and Lord of the Supervision Office thought there was no problem.
But now, the White Tiger Envoy of the Department of Correction clearly told the Lord of the Supervision Office, the Lord of the Department of Correction, and all his colleagues in the Department of Correction on his first day in office that this was not right.
This news spread quickly and many people in Sanqing Mountain heard about it. On that day, the newly appointed White Tiger Envoy Cheng Xinzhan questioned the White Tiger Mountain Master Gong Weijian and the Director of the Correction Department Ma Jingyi about their abuse of power. Both of them refused to defend themselves and admitted their mistakes.
This questioning took place at 1:01 am in the morning, and at 3:03 am it reached the ears of Dong Shouren, the deputy leader of Yuanyin Hall and also the deputy leader of Chunyang Hall. He immediately issued an imperial decree to suspend Ma Jingyi's power and at the same time required Gong Weijen to report to Chunyang Hall immediately.
Soon, Shi Tongxuan, the former deputy leader of Chunyang Temple who was in charge of Baihu Mountain, entered Liangyi Mountain from Yujing Peak and went straight to Sanqing Palace to ask for forgiveness for dereliction of duty.
After daybreak, Jiutian Yingyuan Mansion in Cardinal Mountain heard about this incident. The Inspection Office and Self-Inspection Office of Yushusi immediately began to check Yingyuan Mansion and Yushusi itself to see if similar incidents had occurred.
Soon after, the Lord of Yingyuan Prefecture, Zhao Wuji, also announced that he welcomed the White Tiger Envoy to inspect Yingyuan Prefecture. In addition, if the Supervision Office's Discipline Inspection Division did not have enough staff for self-inspection, Yingyuan Prefecture could help.
Immediately, the Qianjunchu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions all announced that they welcomed the White Tiger Envoy to come for inspection.
As a result, the entire sect began to be in chaos.
There were also voices of opposition and complaints. Another department in the Inspection Office, the Tongcha Department, complained that they were all family members, so why couldn't they just talk behind closed doors? In addition, the Duwuyuan also complained that the White Tiger Envoy had to interfere in the management of the government office, and it would be enough to just supervise individuals.
Not long after this happened, on the same day, Liangyi Mountain made a decision, which was just a few words.
Ma Jingyi was sent to the head of the Correction Department and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the Puppet House.
Gong Weijian retained the position of Lord of the Mountain, but the Lord of the Inspection Office was demoted to Deputy Lord to see the consequences.
Chu Jinghe, the bookkeeper of the Correction Department, was promoted to director and took office today to immediately reorganize the Correction Department.
In addition, since everyone is busy with cultivation on weekdays, the matter can be traced to the first level, and Shi Tongxuan and Dong Shouren are not guilty. Also because of the busy cultivation, all government offices are strictly prohibited from adding public time.
Now all the mountains know that the masters support the White Tiger Envoy's intervention in management affairs.
----
There was a big fuss as soon as he took office. After making a record, Cheng Xinzhan left here under the admiring gazes of his fellow disciples in the Correction Department.
But he did not leave Baihu Mountain, but went to the Weapon Academy.
Before entering the weapons yard, he deliberately placed the White Tiger Bracelet on his right hand.
He arrived at the alchemy cave with ease.
Jiang Weishan sat here unmoved by the thunder.
"Master Jiang."
He stepped forward and saluted.
Jiang Weishan noticed the silver bracelet on his hand at a glance, and smiled and asked Cheng Xinzhan to sit down.
"Are you here to see the sword on your way?" Cheng Xinzhan asked.
"It's just the right time. The Fire Sword has been re-refined, so you can take it away. You should start to refine it with your mana as soon as possible. If you leave it in the furnace, it won't be able to be refined into anything good. The Water Sword is also being refined. I, the old Taoist priest, will work harder and see if it can be finished this year."
Cheng Xinzhan smiled happily.
It was when they returned from a sword fight in Baiyujing that the words of Huanzhu Louzhu reached the ears of the headmaster. The headmaster listened to them and felt that Xinzhan was a teachable talent, so he selected materials from the headmaster's secret vault and asked the Weaponry Academy to refine a five-element magic sword for Xinzhan. However, the materials allocated were only enough to refine the fire element.
This fire sword was forged two years ago when he was traveling in the north.
However, he later performed well in the battle in West Kunlun and brought back ginseng fruit, which was a great achievement. Several sect leaders decided that he should be rewarded for his contribution, so they simply took out the materials from the sect's treasury and used them to forge all the Five Elements magic swords for him.
Jiang Weishan was naturally delighted and regarded this as the pinnacle of his alchemy, because even if his alchemy skills were improved to a higher level in the future, he would not be able to find such good materials.
To this end, after obtaining Cheng Xinzhan's consent, he specially sent the already formed fire sword back into the furnace and recast it using higher-grade materials.
However, after refining the incense in the furnace, he did not let Cheng Xinzhan join in the refining, saying that he wanted to give Cheng Xinzhan a surprise. Cheng Xinzhan waited for this surprise for nearly two years, and he would come to ask about it from time to time.
The last time I came, Jiang Weishan said it was almost done, so this time he stopped by to take a look, and sure enough, it was done.
"The sword is there."
Jiang Weishan pointed to an alchemy furnace next to him and said.
Cheng Xinzhan looked in the direction of Master Jiang's finger. The stove was very beautiful, ten feet high, with three legs and a big belly. The top cover was made in the shape of a flame. The stove was surrounded by flames, shining red, and there were relief carvings of fire clouds and firebirds on the stove, which looked very beautiful.
He thought it was a furnace for forging precious materials, but it turned out to be just an empty furnace storing fire swords.
He walked around and opened the furnace door, then heard a loud sword chant. Immediately afterwards, a burst of flames rushed out and hit him in the face. He quickly dodged and closed the door again.
Why is the fire inside still so bright?
Oh, it must be the fire from the sword. No wonder it was placed in the furnace. It seems to be wild and untamed!
He became more and more itchy, so he activated his right eye, the "Green Eye that can see through the dark and illuminate the gods", and looked at what was inside through the furnace wall.
Hey, why is there nothing in the furnace except the blazing fire?
He looked at Master Jiang.
Jiang Weishan looked at him with a smile and said, "Look for it again."
He was puzzled. Where could the sword be hidden? He activated his magic eye, but after carefully scanning the furnace, he saw only raging flames, and no magic sword.
Still nothing.
But I clearly heard the sword singing just now.
Just as he pulled his head out in confusion, an idea suddenly came to his mind. He looked at the stove, and suddenly made a sword gesture with his hand, pointing at the stove.
A flash of silver-purple light appeared out of nowhere, and a line of lightning arc sword energy slashed towards the furnace, as if to split the furnace in front of it.
"Zheng!"
Another sword chant was heard.
The stove suddenly burst into flames, and then, surrounded by the flames, the stove actually lifted off the ground on its own, spun around, and then shrank rapidly until it turned into a sword!
The scarlet sword swung on its own, and also cut out a ray of fire sword energy, which collided with the thunder sword energy.
Thunder and fire collided, bursting out into dazzling Dharma light.
However, Jiang Weishan, who was standing next to him, waved his sleeves, and all the thunder and fire sword lights disappeared again.
He reached out to grab the flaming sword, but the flaming sword tried to escape and immediately turned into a leaping flame and flew away.
Seeing this, Cheng Xinzhan smiled, made a hand gesture, and a five-colored light circle flew out and turned into a hoop, which quickly caught up with the flame and trapped it, turning the flame into the original form of a sword again.
"Photography!"
He chanted another spell, and the sword was bound by the Yin-Yang and Five Elements and returned to Cheng Xinzhan's hand.
He looked down and saw that the sword was also made in the Han Dynasty. It was red in color with cloud patterns on it and glowed with a dazzling glow.
Use a path of fire magic power to go in and there will be no obstruction.
He swung the sword twice more, and the surrounding fire spiritual energy was mobilized, and sparks burst out in the air.
He was very satisfied and looked at Jiang Weishan.
"Master Jiang, your refining method is truly extraordinary. Such a precious sword actually has both the sword and the furnace. How did you do that?"
Jiang Weishan laughed loudly, "It must be that the materials themselves are mysterious, and the old Taoist's refining method is the icing on the cake. This sword was already formed at that time, but later I found a spiritual material like "Tianqi Wuxiang Gold" and a piece of Ge Zu furnace in the materials that the master handed over. The master is really generous this time. Xinzhan, the master loves you very much!"
Jiang Weishan didn't know about the ginseng fruit core, so naturally he didn't know about Cheng Xinzhan's contribution.
Cheng Xinzhan had never heard of "Tianqi Wuxiang Gold" and Gezu Lupian. The former actually means something like a kind of precious material that is good at transformation, but what is the latter?
He then asked, "Master Jiang, what is a Ge Zu furnace piece?"
Jiang Weishan explained,
"Ge Zu had an alchemy furnace, which was an immortal item. Before he ascended to heaven, he once refined an elixir. No one knew what kind of elixir he was refining. After the elixir was made, thunderclouds formed in the furnace, causing an elixir disaster. Ge Zu immediately used his great magical powers and finally saved the elixir, but the alchemy furnace was blown into pieces by the thunderstorm.
“This alchemy furnace is an immortal product, and it finally refined such an immortal pill. Although it was blown into pieces, it is still an incomparable immortal treasure for my disciples and grandchildren.
“If I remember correctly, there are seventy or eighty fragments in total. Thousands of years have passed, and I thought I had used them all up. I didn’t expect that I would see another piece this time. Haha, it is a blessing for me and you to be able to use such a treasure to refine a weapon.
"You are very talented in the Dao of Refining. I also heard that you have been exposed to the Dao of Alchemy recently. The Dao of Alchemy and the Dao of Refining have a lot in common. To put it bluntly, they are both about refining metal and stone with fire! You have a foundation, so learn well.
How can you not have a good furnace to refine both weapons and elixirs? I found the treasures suitable, so I refined a sword and furnace for you. Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied! I am very satisfied!"
Cheng Xinzhan laughed loudly. He was filled with joy and couldn't be more satisfied. He thanked Jiang Weishan repeatedly.
He also understood in his heart that to melt these precious materials together and form them into sword shapes and furnace shapes, and to change them freely, how could it be just because the precious materials were rare? This was clearly the result of Master Jiang's rare refining method!
"Then give this magic sword a name. I have completed my first mission. If the headmaster asks about it, I will have an explanation."
Jiang Weishan said with a smile.
Cheng Xinzhan looked at the treasure, thought for a moment, and said,
"Let's call it 'Fire Refining Scarlet Sky'!"
(End of this chapter)