Li Qingxian nodded. "It’s a shame we can’t go. The Myriad Phenomena Map isn’t just any ordinary realm—it’s a piece of the Ancient Netherworld, refined into a Magical Treasure by some unknown master. It contains more than just Treasures; it encompasses all sorts of phenomena. Extremely precious Destiny Stars have even been born there because ancient paragons, not fully dead, have had their own Destiny Stars persist."
"This is the first I’m hearing of this. Destiny Stars can persist?"
"Some Celestial Destiny Stars are unique throughout all of history. Ancient paragons would bind them to their mortal remains with a Life Lock, vainly attempting to use their Fate Grids to reincarnate. This prevents some Celestial Destiny Stars from being passed on. The Life-Seeking Sect and the Ancient Exploration Sect often search for these ancient Destiny Stars to rescue them, allowing them to re-enter the world and resume normal reincarnation," Li Qingxian explained.
Jingg Guan said in surprise, "So that’s how it is. Are those the legendary Ancient Demons you’re talking about?"
Li Qingxian nodded. "You call them Ancient Demons, but we call them ancient paragons, or rather, Ancient Life Remnants. The people themselves are already dead, but their lingering obsessions and residual power remain, forcibly binding their Destiny Stars. Due to various accidents, they eventually reawaken and transform into mindless Demons. In ancient times, these Ancient Life Remnants were all regional tyrants, Upper Grade at the very least, often First Grade or even Super Grade. So, if anything goes wrong with them, it results in a major catastrophe. I’ve heard that both the Demon Sect and the Evil Sect are connected to these Ancient Life Remnants."
The others shook their heads, unfamiliar with such matters.
Jingg Guan coughed lightly and said, "I once heard an Upper-Grade Eunuch say that the Demon Sect originated from the Ancient Life Remnants, and their Demonic Skills are derived entirely from them. Although the Evil Sect worships an Evil God, they also have deep ties to the Ancient Life Remnants. Even the Celestial Fate Sect researches them."
"All the major powers are studying them. After all, why the ancient era was destroyed is a mystery," Li Qingxian said.
"In any case, losing the chance to enter the Myriad Phenomena Map is a huge loss. If I had been able to enter it back in the day, I would have already reached the Sixth Grade," Hex Lei lamented.
Jingg Guan laughed. "Lord Hex, I’m not trying to be contrary, but you should count yourself lucky. Do you know what a bloodbath it was when the Myriad Phenomena Map opened ten years ago? The Literature Cultivators wanted to sever the Demon Sect’s path to the Cyan Cloud, the Evil Sect wanted to sever the Puppet Cultivators’ path, and the Daoist Cultivators also wanted to sever the Demon Sect’s path. To top it all off, that was the year the Killing King entered the Seventh Grade and vowed to eliminate all his enemies. It was total chaos. In a normal Cyan Cloud Examination, out of a thousand who attempt the Seventh Grade, a few dozen might die at most, and those are usually accidental. But in that year’s Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination, out of more than five thousand people, fewer than one thousand survived."
"That’s true." Hex Lei smiled and suddenly looked at Li Qingxian. "Actually, Qingxian still has a chance."
"Oh?"
"You possess a genuine Seventh-Grade Qi Fortune Body. With that status, you could pass for either Senior Seventh Grade or Junior Seventh Grade. If you’re bold enough, you could leverage your Qi Fortune Official Body to enter the Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination as an Eighth-Grade cultivator. But, that would be far too risky," Hex Lei said.
"I’m not about to throw my life away for some Treasure. Besides, the Celestial Destiny All-Encompassing Map isn’t the only Treasure in the world, and there are other ways to get in. I’m just a measly Eighth Grade. Why would I go fight a bunch of Seventh-Grades? Isn’t it good to be alive? Isn’t it nice to just watch the show from the sidelines?" Li Qingxian retorted.
"Haha, well said! Come, let me toast you again. May your Cultivation be successful and may you reach the Upper Grade soon!" Hex Lei said, raising his cup.
The two clinked their cups and downed the contents in one gulp.
They all chatted for about an hour. Hex Lei frowned at the table, which was still not full of dishes, and shouted, "Waiter! Why haven’t all the dishes been served yet?"
Yur Ping muttered under his breath, "I noticed that a while ago."
Han Anbo stood up with a smile. "I’ll go hurry them along."
After a good while, Han Anbo returned with the waiter. Han Anbo said helplessly, "They’re really busy today. They accidentally sent one of the slow-cooked dishes to the wrong table. It’s still being prepared now. I had them bring two cold appetizers."
"Esteemed guests, our humble inn is very busy and has delayed your meal. As an apology, we are offering you a complimentary platter of fruits and a platter of nuts. Please accept them, my lords," the waiter said with a polite, apologetic smile.
Hex Lei didn’t look at the waiter. Instead, he looked up at Han Anbo and smiled. "We’ve troubled you, Brother Han. You were the one who helped rush the food last time, too."
"It was nothing," Han Anbo said with a laugh.
Before long, the last of the dishes arrived, and everyone continued to eat and drink.
Since they were all among friends, they spoke and drank without reservation, drinking even more than they had last time.
The Drunken Country Inn’s specialty was rice wine, which wasn’t very strong, leading everyone to drink a lot of it.
Every so often, people would leave the room to relieve themselves.
As midnight approached, Li Qingxian went to relieve himself. Afterwards, he sat down in the same pavilion he had visited last time.
After Li Qingxian had helped him, Dai Tiee wrote a thank-you letter. He had successfully joined the Imperial Censorate as an attendant and had repeatedly invited Li Qingxian to dinner to show his gratitude. However, Li Qingxian always declined, saying he was too busy and that they could meet after Dai Tiee was formally instated.
Feeling the autumn breeze soothe his slight intoxication, away from the clamor of the private room, Li Qingxian felt utterly comfortable as he sat lazily under the night sky.
’Too many boisterous drinking parties just aren’t that interesting.’
"Qingxian... Lord Li?" a familiar voice sounded.
The tipsiness in Li Qingxian’s eyes vanished. He turned to look and saw Lou Yushan standing outside the pavilion in surprise.
Li Qingxian felt as if a single word was carved into every star in the night sky.
’Awkward.’
’I told him I was too busy for his dinner, and now we run into each other at a restaurant.’
Li Qingxian rose helplessly. "Brother Lou, long time no see. My superiors insisted I come. One is a Room Leader, the other a Military Supervisor. I couldn’t say no."
But Lou Yushan was delighted. "This must be fate! Why put it off when we can do it today? The Treasury Room Leader from our Civilian Equipment Department is here too. He was just talking about you, praising you for being so young and promising. Come on, come upstairs and have a drink with us."
After speaking, he drunkenly grabbed Li Qingxian’s wrist and started pulling him forward.
’I can’t believe I’m being roped into another social obligation right after turning down Du Qizhen and his uncle, Zhong Baishan.’ He couldn’t bring himself to refuse outright, so he could only say, "The people in my room are waiting for me."
Lou Yushan laughed. "It’s fine! You come to our private room for a drink, and then we’ll go to yours for a toast. It’s common courtesy. We definitely won’t make you lose face."
Li Qingxian was about to refuse again when Lou Yushan lowered his voice. "Our Room Leader’s cousin is an official in the Ministry of Personnel. He’s a Senior Fifth-Grade Director in the Ganzhou Civil Affairs Department. It’s a good thing for you two to meet."
The Li Qingxian of the past wouldn’t have cared about the Ministry of Personnel, but the present him understood its importance all too well.
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also known by the title "Celestial Official," was in charge of all officials in the empire.
Although the Ministry of Personnel’s authority had been weakened by the various sects entering the Imperial Court, it was still responsible for appointing officials to non-critical positions in the various government offices, which served as a kind of balancing act.
For example, even though the Ministry of Works was controlled by Puppet Cultivators, it still needed numerous Literature Cultivators and some Martial Cultivators, all of whom had to be appointed through the Ministry of Personnel.
After the "minor offensive," Li Qingxian had learned a great deal.
In previous years, conflicts between the various ministries were extremely frequent, but one ministry had always stood apart, never once being a target of these struggles.
That was the Ministry of Personnel.
Officials from the Ministry of Personnel had always been arrogant, acting as if they were a rank higher than anyone they met. This wasn’t just because they held real power, but because the Ministry of Personnel was comprised of the Emperor’s true confidants.
The Eunuchs often joked that the Ministry of Personnel was so close to Emperor Taining that even the Imperial Eunuchs of the Inner Court were jealous.
Li Qingxian followed helplessly. ’If I refuse to even stop by when it’s on the way,’ he thought, ’he might bad-mouth me. If word of that spreads to the Ministry of Personnel and someone there takes a disliking to me, I’ll end up losing a lot over something small.’
Besides, they were from the Ministry of Works’ Civilian Equipment Department, and he had a close relationship with the department’s Disciplinary Officer, Liu Muwa. It wouldn’t be right not to go.
Lou Yushan, who was holding in his pee, pulled Li Qingxian into a room on the second floor.
Lou Yushan looked at the few people at the dinner table and laughed loudly. "Guess who this is! We were just talking about him."
Li Qingxian looked toward the dinner table.
He saw four middle-aged men sitting there, all slightly tipsy, and they all looked over at him in unison.