110: Chapter 110: Entering the Sect

Wang Shoudong closed his eyes as instructed.

A mighty Divine Sense surged from between his brows, spreading out like flowing mercury.

The fallen leaves in the courtyard were pressed flat against the ground by this formless force, and even the chirping of insects fell silent for a moment.

Wang Chongyang carefully sensed the range of his Divine Sense, silently estimating in his heart—three miles, ten miles, thirty miles, fifty miles—that Divine Sense was still extending outward without any decrease in speed.

When he perceived that Wang Shoudong's Divine Sense finally stopped barely at the one-hundred-mile mark, even with his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, his eyelids could not help but twitch slightly.

"A range of one hundred miles." Wang Chongyang withdrew his sense, his tone carrying a rare trace of emotion.

"My Divine Sense at the Foundation Establishment Stage only covers one hundred and fifty miles. The strength of your Divine Soul is already not weaker than an ordinary Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

He paused and added another sentence, "At least in terms of Divine Sense, Shoudong has already reached an extremely high height, truly deserving to be called a Prodigy."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Yaowen stood under the corridor, looking at his son's face, which was still pale but had regained its vigor, feeling a mixture of emotions in his heart.

His son, the son whom everyone had determined would never wake up again, not only woke up but also achieved a Breakthrough, and even possessed a Divine Sense comparable to Foundation Establishment.

What on earth did that brat Shouren use on Shoudong? He, Wang Yaowen, will remember this kindness for a lifetime.

In the evening, Wang Chongyang called Wang Yaozu, Wang Yaowen, Wang Shouren, and Wang Shoudong these four people to the bamboo building in the back mountain.

Inside the bamboo building, a single lamp flickered like a bean, and the four walls were desolate, with only the rustling sound of the mountain wind passing through the bamboo forest outside the window.

The old man sat cross-legged on a cattail mat and got straight to the point.

"Yaowen, this child Shoudong has turned a misfortune into a blessing this time, and his Divine Soul talent far exceeds ordinary people. If he stays in the Family, with his Aptitude, achieving Foundation Establishment within twenty years is not a difficult task, however—" He changed the subject, his tone carrying a bit of deliberation, "it would be too much of a waste."

Hearing this, Wang Yaozu frowned slightly, but did not interrupt, only quietly waiting for Sixth Grandpa to finish his words.

Wang Chongyang continued, "In my early years of traveling, I met a Cultivator named Dantuzi. This person has profound attainments in the path of Alchemy, and later I learned that he is an Outer Sect Disciple of the Lingdan Sect."

"Over the years, he and I have occasionally corresponded by letter, and we can be considered to have some friendship. I want to recommend Shoudong to his Sect to go to the Lingdan Sect."

"The Lingdan Sect?" Wang Yaozu raised an eyebrow.

The Lingdan Sect is one of the three major Sects of Yue Country, famous for its pill Dao, and more than half of the high-grade Medicinal Pills in Yue Country come from this Sect.

If Shoudong can truly learn the art of Alchemy, it would be no different than adding a stable source of Medicinal Pills for the Wang Family.

What a small Family lacks the most is precisely this. True Alchemy Legacies have always been only in the hands of Sects. Small aristocratic families like the Wang Family even have to rely on external purchases for first-tier Medicinal Pills, and the Spirit Stones spent on Medicinal Pills every year are an astronomical figure.

Wang Yaowu swallowed the tea in his mouth and chimed in, "Alchemy is great. In the future, when someone in our own Family knows Alchemy, we won't have to send so many Spirit Stones to the Baibao Pavilion every year. Look at that brat Shouren, how many Medicinal Pills did he burn just in one seclusion? When Shoudong learns it, let him refine them for us at cost price!"

Wang Yaowen, however, did not speak.

His gaze had been falling on his own son, and after looking for a long time, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice a few degrees lower than usual, "Sixth Grandpa, when Shoudong enters the Sect, will he cut off his relationship with the Family?"

The bamboo building fell silent.

This is a thorn that all immortal cultivation families cannot bypass when sending their descendants into Sects.

Sect Disciples must sever worldly ties, and unless specially permitted by the Sect, they are not allowed to return home easily.

Wang Yaowen's greatest attachment in this lifetime is this son. He endured I don't know how many days and nights just to wait for his son to return from the gates of hell, and now asking him to send his son away, he cannot bear it.

Before Wang Chongyang could speak, Wang Shoudong had already stood up.

He walked in front of Wang Yaowen, lifted his robes and knelt down, his forehead gently touching his father's knees, his voice not loud, but exceptionally firm, "Dad, I am not going to the Sect. This son's life was pulled back by Brother Shouren, and guarded back by Dad and Mom through countless days and nights. This son is not going anywhere else; I will stay right in the Wang Family and die in service to the Family."

Wang Yaowen lowered his head, looking at the son kneeling before his knees, his eye rims turning slightly red, yet saying nothing, merely reaching out to gently pat the back of his son's head.

His hands were very rough, the calluses formed from gripping swords all year round rubbing against Wang Shoudong's hair, yet it was warmer than anything else in this world.

Wang Chongyang looked at this pair of father and son, a flash of complex light crossing his aged eyes.

He was silent for quite a while before softly letting out a sigh. In that sigh, there was regret, understanding, and more importantly, a sense of apology for his own lack of thorough consideration.

"Shoudong, good child, I know your mind is pure. The matter of letting you go to the Sect was an oversight on my part. The two of you father and son have just reunited, and for me to make you separate right now is truly improper."

He raised his hand, signaling Wang Shoudong to get up, "Today, just pretend I never mentioned this matter. With your Aptitude, staying in the Clan to Cultivate, you might not necessarily fail to achieve something in the future."

Wang Shoudong stood up and returned to sit by his father's side.

Wang Yaowen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt that his reaction just now was somewhat lacking in consideration for the overall situation. Just as he wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere, Wang Shouren, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly spoke.

"Actually, one does not necessarily have to enter the Sect to learn Alchemy."

Inside the bamboo building, after Wang Shouren's voice fell, it was quiet for quite a while.

Wang Yaowu frowned, counting on his fingers one by one the places in Yue Country where one could learn Alchemy. A Sect? That's still a Sect. A market? There are indeed a few Alchemists in the market who take Disciples, but those are all shams, teaching nothing more than a few superficial tricks of refining medicinal liquids.

A Loose Cultivator? Even more impossible. Loose Cultivator Alchemists with real skills are rarer than third-tier Spirit Medicine.

He cracked all his fingers and spread out his hands, saying with certainty, "Gone, there are only Sects."

Wang Yaowen also nodded and chimed in, "Shouren, the Alchemy Legacy of Yue Country has always been monopolized by the Lingdan Sect alone. Apart from the Sect, there really is no second path."

Wang Shouren, however, shook his head. Instead of refuting directly, he turned to Wang Chongyang and asked, "Sixth Grandpa, this grandson would like to ask a question first—does that Senior Dantuzi have any clansmen, has he formed a Family?"

Wang Chongyang stroked his beard and said, "Dantuzi mentioned to me that he originally came from a Loose Cultivator background, and his Family only began to step onto the path of Cultivation starting with him. There is indeed a descendant who has a Spiritual Root, but their Aptitude is insufficient and they cannot enter the Lingdan Sect. Now they are all attached under his name, relying on him to make a living through Alchemy."

Wang Shouren nodded, feeling even more certain in his heart as he slowly laid out his calculations.

"Since that is the case, this grandson's meaning is—can Sixth Grandpa make a deal with Senior Dantuzi? Shoudong goes under his Sect and acts as his assistant for three years. All Materials needed for Alchemy will be provided by our Wang Family. Regardless of whether Shoudong ultimately has talent or can learn it successfully, during these three years, our Wang Family will offer an annual tribute of Spirit Stones to Senior Dantuzi."