Vampire Cultivation Notes

Chapter 181 Busy Bao Wu Bao Zhang

"???"

The main event suddenly begins!

Li Jieqing stared intently at Yu Qishan. "Don't stop! Keep talking! What are the benefits of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage and becoming an official in the imperial court?"

Yu Qishan, however, was disappointing. He only mentioned it briefly before turning around and cursing Yu Huanli, who was several generations removed from his lineage.

"Your foundation is weak, and you rely entirely on elixirs to break through your cultivation level. Do you really think that letting Xiu-ge'er go will allow you to snatch first place in the palace examination? What a clueless fool!"

"And you!"

Yu Qishan glared at Yu Huanli's father, pointing and cursing, "You're still two years away from sixty! If you had the will to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I'd shamelessly get you pills anywhere. You don't even focus on cultivation, just keeping one concubine after another at home!"

"Ancestor, I just want to have more family members with spiritual roots," Yu Huanli weakly said to his father.

"Pah!"

A spittle nearly drowned the father and son.

Li Jieqing knew that Yu Qishan had done this for him, to maintain the stability of the family and to compensate him, who had voluntarily given up the opportunity to compete for a place in the palace examination.

But thank goodness, he really didn't care about that.

Where's the main plot? Where is the main plot?

Why is it beneficial to become an official after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage? Tell me!

Li Jieqing was anxious inside, but his face remained expressionless as he stood blankly on the dry bank, watching Yu Qishan curse.

"Brother Xiu, your internal energy is quite good. How many years ago was it that you broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining?"

"It's been three years."

"Alright! How long will it take to break through to the eighth level of Qi Refining?"

"Let's wait another three years."

"How long will it take to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining?"

"Around forty years old. Before I turn fifty, I should be able to complete my Qi Refining and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

Li Jieqing wasn't afraid of exaggerating to the extreme, and said, "Master, I am naturally dull-witted. I only know how to forge iron and make fire, and I don't know how to lie."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Yu Qishan repeatedly said "good" with great satisfaction, "I also heard from the Merchant Alliance that you've become a high-grade weapon refiner while still focusing on weapon crafting. You're the only promising talent in the family right now, along with Li Ge'er. Within twenty years, whoever reaches the Qi Refining Perfection stage first, the entire household will do everything in its power to help them break through to the Foundation Establishment stage!"

Wow!

Yu Huanli and his son sat down in shock, but after exchanging a few glances, they quickly understood what had happened.

Yu Qishan is nearing the end of his life, and the family needs a new Foundation Establishment cultivator.

I never expected that these words would be spoken directly in this private place today.

Yu Qishan finished speaking, quickly shook his head, and left the hall.

Li Jieqing also rose and prepared to go out.

"Seventh Brother Xiu! I'm guaranteed to win in terms of cultivation progress!"

Yu Huanli leaned closer, uttering harsh words. Since the ancestor had spoken, he would stop playing along. He only needed to focus on his cultivation. His opponent was busy forging weapons to support himself and also had to seek connections at the Imperial Observatory. What could he possibly have to compare with him?

Collateral branches are collateral branches, yet they dare to use a minor branch to exploit the major branch!

"Alright, I'll break through to the eighth level of Qi Refining within three years, and reach the ninth level within ten years. Let's see who's faster."

Li Jieqing glanced at it and said with a smile, "I'm a bit of a dullard; I never say what I can't do."

After saying that, Li Jieqing walked away with his hands behind his back.

"You wait! Let's see who's faster!"

Yu Huanli was enraged by this dismissive attitude and became quite hysterical before calming down after a while.

In the next generation of the Yu family, there will only be one winner.

There are too many conflicts between the two sides, and the loser is destined to have a bad ending.

Without further ado, Yu Huanli also needed to improve his magical power in preparation for the palace examination, so he hurriedly bid farewell to his father and devoted himself to consolidating his Qi Refining Level 8 realm.

……

-

"Yu Huanxiu of Ningrong Prefecture, hmm... his cultivation has just reached the late stage of Qi Refining, so he's barely qualified to be a Dragon Guard Commander."

Inside the palace office, Shan Quan, the commander on duty in the inner palace, sized up Li Jieqing, who had come to report for duty.

He was a middle-aged man with a short beard, square eyebrows, and an imposing presence.

Li Jieqing greeted him with a clasped hand, and sensed a powerful divine sense lingering on his body for a long time.

This divine sense was even more powerful and robust than that of Yu Qishan, the patriarch of the Yu family.

Could he be a Grandmaster in the late Foundation Establishment stage?

Li Jieqing remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he felt a chill. His ever-changing face, as the foundation of a top-grade magic artifact, was capable of deceiving the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stages. After years of nurturing the treasure, he was confident that no Foundation Establishment cultivator in the mid stages would be able to detect any flaws.

However, it's hard to say what would happen if they encountered a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator face-to-face at close range.

There are indeed many experts in the cultivation world of the Eastern Land.

Fortunately, after examining Li Jieqing for a while, Shan Quan finally found nothing wrong with him, so he added a list and recorded it in the dossier.

"The imperial examination is approaching, yet Duke Ningrong personally sought me out, saying he'd arrange for you to serve at the Imperial Observatory. What, you don't care about fame and fortune, but rather want to curry favor with the Imperial Preceptor?"

Dan Quan picked up the file, told the clerk next to him to take it away, and then turned to ask.

Li Jieqing said, "To be honest, Commander, I am getting old and can no longer compete with the prodigies of the East. It would be better to give the quota in my household to my cousin. As for going to the Imperial Observatory, firstly, it is to serve the court, and secondly, it is to try my luck. If there is no opportunity, I will not ask for anything more and will just do my best."

Li Jieqing said, "To be honest, Commander, I am getting old and can no longer compete with the prodigies of the East. It would be better to give the quota in my household to my cousin. As for going to the Imperial Observatory, firstly, it is to serve the court, and secondly, it is to try my luck. If there is no opportunity, I will not ask for anything more and will just do my best."

"Good, your mind is better than those who are only thinking about scheming. After all, you come from a noble family, how could the court not need you?"

Dan Quan smiled, having a good impression of Li Jieqing.

"Go then, and keep a good watch at the Imperial Observatory. It is an important point in the imperial court's control over the Tongtian River. Do not be busy flattering those two and neglect your duties."

"Your subordinate understands."

After paying his respects to his superior, Li Jieqing received the token and the robes of a Imperial Guard and left the palace. He passed through the gates undetected and his steps were quite light.

As expected of the Eastern Court, a powerful and influential nation, the Imperial Guard's uniform was actually a top-grade set of robes. Wearing this uniform granted one special privileges in the capital.

Putting everything else aside, as long as one wears the uniform of the Dragon Guard, one is allowed to use the art of leaping.

"After more than a hundred years, I've finally managed to obtain an official position. I've long wanted to serve the imperial court!"

Li Jieqing rose into the air, looking down upon the myriad lights of the capital.

The imperial city stood at the center, its gates, repaired annually, separating the inner and outer areas. A vast city wall further divided the capital into its inner and outer suburbs, ring upon ring. The imperial palace, the Imperial Observatory, the ancestral temples, and other buildings were situated in various locations, a seemingly chaotic yet orderly arrangement. Further out, the surging waters of the Tongtian River, flowing through the capital region, were suppressed by an invisible force, settling down and flowing away silently.

This capital city of the Eastern Lands was built upon a great array capable of suppressing the Tongtian River, and this array had been in operation for over a thousand years.

"Such a grand scale is far greater than that of the Seven Immortal Cities. The Eastern Land Realm is truly not to be underestimated."

"If we want to take the lives of Bao Wu and Bao Zhang, we absolutely cannot do it by force. These two have become the Imperial Advisors, and if we do anything to them, it will affect the whole country. Killing them by force will only offend the entire Eastern Court."

Li Jieqing landed in front of the Imperial Observatory and announced his identity before entering.

Since he can't beat them, he should join them even more. He's now part of the Eastern Court, so who's afraid of whom?

The main hall of the Imperial Observatory.

This is a tall tower with multiple eaves, built entirely of redwood.

At the top of the tower, the two immortals, Baowu and Baozhang, were wielding a magical artifact that Li Jieqing found completely unfamiliar. They were drawing starlight from the sky, their fingers making calculations, and chanting obscure and difficult-to-understand phrases such as "Shao Guang," "Shuai Fen," and "Ying Bu Zu," busy with their work.

Even when their old rival Li Jieqing came to report for duty, the two of them were not distracted. They only glanced at each other briefly and told him to just follow the rules.

Two newly accepted disciples of Master Baowu and Master Baozhang from the Eastern Land brought over some things. Upon seeing this scene as they went upstairs, they greeted them and said, "Master and Uncle are always busy surveying the entire Western Land and have little free time. Since you are a person sent by the palace, you don't need to stay in this tower. Just go out and do your duties."

Li Jieqing glanced at the object with his divine sense and saw that what the person had delivered was a map of the West compiled by various forces under the Western Expansion Order.

Bao Wu and Bao Zhang were holding these things in their hands, busy calculating something.

"In that case, I will leave the tower. If the Imperial Preceptor and the Supervisor have any instructions, please just let me know."

Li Jieqing bowed slightly, introduced himself, and then withdrew decisively without lingering.

As soon as he left, the new disciple spat behind his back: "Another one who got in through connections, dreaming of working for the Imperial Observatory. This place is thriving; there's no room for someone like you!"

"Wasn't the new topographic map supposed to arrive today? Why hasn't it been brought yet!"

Master Baowu, Yang Huangli, walked over from the Sendai platform and scolded, "What are you dawdling for? If you delay important matters, you'll regret it!"

"Master, please forgive me! I was merely giving directions to a newly appointed guard from the imperial court."

"A new guard? Oh, the one from before?"

Yang Huangli took the topographical map and casually asked, "What's that person's background? Did he have an image under the white mirror?"

It can be said that once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a rope for ten years. As the person who personally found the Blood Fiend, how could Yang Huangli not be on guard?

Inside this multi-eaved tower, each floor has a specially made white mirror hanging on it, ensuring that no corner is missed.

When Yang Huangli heard that the new guard came from a noble family of the court and was on the path of serving as a palace guard, and that he had seen the white mirror, he didn't take it to heart. He dismissed the idlers and returned to Sendai with the map to work with Master Baozhang.

Having been in Blood Heart Cave for so long, how could the two of them not recognize where they were?

There are countless otherworldly spaces in the cultivation world. Even Qi Refining cultivators can make storage bags, but only those with their own internal circulation, capable of generating spiritual energy, generating malevolent energy, and sustaining all things, can be called a grotto-heaven.

Among them, the Blood Heart Grotto is a very famous old-established grotto-heaven treasure land in the East Sea. Its interior is more vast and complete than that of ordinary grotto-heavens, and it is almost a small-scale cultivation world.

Fortunately, no matter how vast a grotto-heaven may be, it is still just a grotto-heaven, belonging to the world of cultivation.

Even if there is no one to meet them outside, those inside the Blood Heart Cave can still get out on their own as long as they can find the point where the Blood Heart Cave meets the cultivation world.

This is what Master Baowu and Master Baozhang were doing.