Chapter Five: Treasures in the Imperial Manor

After drinking too much porridge, as soon as day broke the next day, Le Piaopiao went to the outhouse. This kind of place, in order to disperse the smell, was naturally drafty everywhere. So although the snow had stopped, Le Piaopiao was still extremely cold. Thus, she especially missed modern bathrooms, flush toilets, and washbasins with hot water. Fortunately, the outhouse door had a lock, so there was no need to worry about the first master barging in suddenly. After returning to the room, she couldn't fall asleep either. She washed up a bit and still sat on the kang wrapped in a quilt. The kang wasn't very warm anymore, so she missed central heating and air conditioning and cursed in her heart: Who said it was good to transmigrate to ancient times! It wasn't until the three masters got up and relit the fire. "Masters, although my intelligence has awakened, I have a bit of amnesia. I can't remember anything from before. Can you tell me about it?" When there was no breakfast and the four of them, master and apprentices, were just drinking hot water to fill their stomachs, Le Piaopiao asked. The three masters opened up like a floodgate and vied with each other to explain to her, speaking in a jumbled manner. At first, they just boasted about how much they doted on their apprentice and the hardships of bringing her up. Come to think of it, it was also true. Three young fathers, only ten years old at that time, taking care of a single child, and with her special physique, it was really not easy to raise her from a baby to sixteen years old. It could be considered a miracle. Later, from their fragmented words, she learned that the first master was named Xiao Yilang, the second master was named Feng Jiu, and the third master was named Wu Ji. They had no surname and had been orphans since they could remember. They didn't know their parents or where their hometown was. They just wandered around and became brothers. Finally, their words finally gave Le Piaopiao a basic understanding of this world. This world was not the ancient times recorded in Chinese history but a different time-space, or rather a parallel time-space, because the language, customs, and even some of the philosophical and governing concepts of being a good person were the same as in ancient China. The dynasties were a bit like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. According to the local people's understanding, there were originally about twenty or thirty countries on this continent, but now only seven countries remained. The country they were in was the Great Qin, and the imperial family was the Baili clan, which had been passed down for thousands of years. As for cultivators, they had existed tens of millions of years ago. The specific time was unrecorded in history. It was just that for a very long time, no one had heard of anyone ascending. But cultivators had powers beyond ordinary people. Even a novice cultivator in the Qi Refining stage was no exception. So each country would invite cultivators to be national preceptors or powerful ministers above the emperor. Only the ancestors of the Great Qin, the Baili clan, were tough. They were extremely proud by nature and believed that the imperial power bestowed by heaven was above all and did not allow anyone to surpass or trample on it. In addition, the land of the Great Qin was barren and there were no large and high-quality spiritual veins, so cultivators didn't deign to come. Therefore, when the Great Qin, with only ordinary human bodies, fought against other countries with the help of cultivators, it led to a situation where other countries were strong and the Great Qin was weak. Five hundred years ago, the Great Qin, which was struggling in the cracks of powerful countries, was on the verge of being destroyed. However, perhaps it was fate. Five hundred years ago, a great war between immortals and demons broke out and lasted for two hundred years, causing the world of cultivation to be in turmoil and the ordinary human society to almost be destroyed. The various countries were too busy dealing with it, and as a result, the Great Qin survived. Twenty-six years ago, the current emperor, Baili Songtao, who was twenty-four years old at that time, ascended the throne, with the reign title Changde. He almost emerged out of nowhere and was a rare talent in cultivation that only appeared once in ten thousand years. No one knew what kind of adventure he had. When he ascended the throne, he already had cultivation skills. Now he was fifty years old and had formed a golden core. The general levels of cultivation were Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Fetal Movement, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Tribulation Crossing, and Mahayana, and each stage was further divided into four levels: initial, middle, final, and great perfection, just like the staging of cancer. Although the Golden Core stage was not particularly remarkable, it usually took a talented cultivator a thousand or eight hundred years to form a golden core. How could someone succeed at the age of fifty? After all, the emperor of the Great Qin, Baili Songtao, was a legendary existence. And his son was the Crown Prince who almost beheaded Le Piaopiao. He was the only son born in the first year of the emperor's reign and was named Baili Bu. Privately, people called him Crown Prince Bu. Baili Songtao doted on his only son and was extremely proud of him because Baili Bu had inherited his father's talent. Although it was not as astonishing, he had also successfully built his foundation at the "young age" of twenty-six. You should know that Foundation Building was not much in the world of cultivation and could only be considered a starting point. But without being in a famous and large sect, without a master, and without any assistance, it was not easy to succeed. Also because of his cultivation, the Crown Prince of the Great Qin had not yet married and had not even taken in a single side concubine. With this father and son, the Great Qin had confidence. Moreover, since the truly powerful cultivators in cultivation were unwilling to get involved in worldly affairs, the cultivators who were appointed as national preceptors were only about the same level as Baili Songtao. So the Great Qin no longer feared other countries. Even more terrifying was that Baili Songtao had somehow obtained a secret method and trained an elite army that combined physical cultivation and sword cultivation. Although there were only a thousand people and the highest cultivator was only at the Foundation Building stage, it was a terrifying existence. It was said that he was a Metal Element cultivator and could also control metal-armored soldiers and beasts made of metal! Everyone knew that Baili Songtao had an adventure and a great opportunity, but no one knew what it was. In addition, both the Baili father and son were military geniuses. Since Baili Bu joined the army at the age of thirteen, the Great Qin had now annexed the surrounding small countries and become the dominant power among the seven heroes. However, the other six countries all had national preceptors at the final or great perfection stage of the Golden Core and also had the secret support of their sects behind them. Their lands were also fertile, so the Great Qin could not unify them for the time being. Among the common people, because the Great Qin was warlike and levied heavy taxes to support the war, it was called the Tyrannical Qin. Unfortunately, the land was barren. Although it had plundered a huge amount of wealth from the surrounding countries, the lives of the common people were still not very good. The most excessive thing was that other countries allowed the common people to practice cultivation freely. As long as they had spiritual roots, they could join any immortal sect they wanted. But the Great Qin prohibited the common people from cultivating immortals unless the government issued a permit. Otherwise, it would be like the treatment Le Piaopiao received when she just woke up: immediate execution! "He wants to concentrate power in his own hands, right?" Le Piaopiao said when she heard this. "If the common people all cultivate and become powerful, how can he rule? Only those he favors or the imperial relatives can practice, so that he can maintain the highest loyalty of the army." "Who are you referring to when you say 'he'?" The third master, Wu Ji, asked blankly. "Baili Songtao." "Girl, how can you directly call the emperor's name? If you are caught, you will be beaten with a cane. Mistress will feel sorry for you." The second master, Feng Jiu, clutched his heart in a delicate manner. So beautiful! Truly beautiful! "We are just the four of us, masters and apprentice. If we don't tell, who will know?" Le Piaopiao spread her hands and looked at the first master. Xiao Yilang seemed to be deep in thought. After a long while, he finally smiled and said, "Piaopiao is right. Isn't that exactly what the emperor means?" Then he was happy again. "Our Piaopiao is either stupid to the end or so smart that even I can't compare." Le Piaopiao just smiled "modestly" and didn't say anything. After all, in the era she had lived in, information was extremely developed and there were incisive summaries of human history. So it was not difficult for her to figure this out. Her so-called wisdom was obtained by standing on the shoulders of giants and was not worth being proud of. As for this policy of prohibiting cultivation, she couldn't say whether she supported or opposed it, but she could understand the psychology of the emperor of the Great Qin. She had read a web novel before that mentioned the disaster caused by immortals, that is, the contempt of cultivators who had achieved something in cultivation for ordinary people, and the threat and harm of cultivators to ordinary people. However, everything has two sides. The tyrannical policy of the Great Qin, which didn't distinguish right from wrong, was also a bit hard to justify. Regarding this, Le Piaopiao felt that something was wrong in her heart, but she couldn't figure it out for a while. It was just that since she was reincarnated in this world and this country, it was still the top priority to save her life. She didn't have the ability to contend against the entire system and the state machinery. Actually, basically, under this system, it was impossible for ordinary common people to obtain a permit to cultivate, because there were very strict and harsh conditions. But Le Piaopiao didn't feel regretful at all. She didn't want to live forever. She just wanted to live a good life. Besides, with her mixed and impure five-element spiritual root constitution, she couldn't cultivate immortals at all. Being alive was a victory. So what about her three masters? They were low-level cultivators in the Qi Refining stage. After all, they were illegal criminals. If they were caught, they would be killed immediately. "Actually, our entire Imperial Manor is a sect of rogue cultivators." The second master revealed an astonishing fact. "The people in the village are all aspiring cultivators. However, due to their aptitude problems, they were either rejected or sent back by the major sects. So the village chief gathered everyone together and let them practice on their own." "Ah?!" Le Piaopiao was greatly surprised. Wasn't this... Wasn't this like coming to a den of thieves? The whole village of criminals! "The Great Way has no boundaries." The third master's gaze was firm. "Everyone says we are useless, but who says that the useless can't succeed? The whole village has determination and perseverance!" It was basically impossible to succeed only with determination and perseverance, except in Japanese anime. Le Piaopiao thought to herself, but she was embarrassed to dampen the enthusiasm of the three masters. Because their eyes were shining brightly at this time, just like their little universes had exploded. "Then why practice here? It's so dangerous. What if we are discovered? Didn't the second master just say that high-level cultivators can observe Qi and see the cultivation level of low-level cultivators?" Le Piaopiao asked worriedly. "Why don't we move the whole village? I don't think this Imperial Manor is very prosperous. It's not worth staying." "You are still young and don't understand many things." Xiao Yilang rubbed his hands excitedly. "Outsiders only think that the Great Qin is barren and has very few spiritual veins, and the quality is not high. But it's not entirely true. Do you know? All the spiritual veins in the world are occupied by the major sects. If you want to achieve something in cultivation, you must join a sect. But the wonders of creation between heaven and earth are so vast. How can ordinary people understand them all?" "Is there a treasure in the Imperial Manor?" Le Piaopiao immediately became energetic. Seeing the first master's sly and complacent look, she knew that the Imperial Manor was unusual.