Crimson_Lore
patreon
Chapter 41: The Cost of Mastering Mechanisms
🕑 Added 2025-03-10 12:47:20 +0000 UTCAfterward, Chen Xiao privately asked Du Rong how he had encountered the young cultivator with the surname Tong. The last time Chen Xiao had seen him on the boat, the boy had clearly lost his way, wandering who knew where.
Du Rong’s expression became difficult to describe as he explained, “I ran into Immortal Master Tong just as I was picking up clothes from the tailor. I have no idea how long he had been wandering around the capital, but when he saw me, it was like a drowning man finding driftwood, he immediately asked me where the docks were. I was quite surprised. It had already been a few days, yet he was still stuck in the city. So, I gave him directions again, but he just stood there without moving. Seeing this, and since I was heading that way anyway, I invited him to come along. To my surprise, not only did he readily agree, but when he heard I was going to the outer port, he simply followed me all the way.”
Chen Xiao understood immediately. Someone with a terrible sense of direction would never let go of a living, breathing navigation system once they found one.
He then asked, “Uncle Rong, how did you convince Immortal Master Tong to arrange a temporary identity plaque for Xiao Han? And for only twenty spirit coins?”
Du Rong’s lips curled into a slight smile before he quickly suppressed it. “Once we boarded the ship, our seats were next to each other, so I decided to probe a little. When Immortal Master Tong heard that my employer needed a temporary identity plaque, he agreed without hesitation. I asked how much he wanted for it, and he only asked for twenty spirit coins. He said plainly that if he hadn’t been short on money for a boat ticket, he wouldn’t have taken anything at all.”
It seemed that Du Rong’s kindness had been repaid with good fortune. Not only had he formed a valuable connection, but he had also solved one of their most pressing problems. Naturally, he was in high spirits, his joy evident.
Chen Xiao also felt incredibly lucky, it was like dozing off and having someone bring him a pillow. The young cultivator named Tong just happened to be at the Foundation Establishment stage, meeting the minimum requirement to issue an identity plaque.
Over the past few days, while they had been busy securing the paperwork, Chen Xiao had asked Du Rong many questions about cultivators. Du Rong, knowing everything he did, answered in full detail.
According to Du Rong, students of cultivation academies typically left as low-level cultivators, with the lowest realm in Daoist cultivation being the Qi Gathering stage. Advanced cultivators like Du Rong were in the Body Refinement stage. Many cultivators never officially stepped onto the path of immortality because they got stuck at this stage, unable to break through no matter what they tried.
Beyond the Body Refinement stage was the Foundation Establishment stage, marking the beginning of true cultivation. Those at this level could be addressed as “Immortal Masters” and had the qualification to issue temporary disciple identity plaques.
So far, the highest-level cultivators Du Rong had interacted with were in the Foundation Establishment stage. Many at this level left their sects to gain experience and often took on bounty tasks through the Zhi Shi Hall, much like regular martial cultivators.
In reality, Foundation Establishment cultivators who traveled alone for training weren’t much different from martial cultivators at the Body Refinement stage. Those willing to team up with martial cultivators were usually rogue cultivators or disciples from weak sects with little backing or wealth. Immortal Master Tong was a perfect example, he had been trained by a rogue cultivator and had chosen to specialize in mechanism techniques.
“What’s wrong with mechanism techniques?” Chen Xiao asked.
Du Rong explained, “Cultivators often study auxiliary skills alongside their cultivation, using them to support their practice. Common disciplines include artifact forging, alchemy, talisman inscriptions, formation arrays, and jade inscription techniques. Those proficient in these fields are called artifact refiners, alchemists, talisman masters, formation masters, and jade inscriptionists, respectively.
Apart from these mainstream fields, there are also niche and less popular skills, such as mechanism crafting, puppet mastery, and beast taming.”
Chen Xiao had never heard of these before, so he listened intently.
“Immortal Master Tong is studying mechanism techniques, so he will become a Mechanism Master in the future,” Du Rong continued. “But mechanism techniques are notoriously difficult to master, and the materials needed often overlap with artifact refining materials, making them both expensive and hard to obtain. The initial investment in this field is enormous. Worse still, early-stage mechanisms have limited combat effectiveness, making mechanism cultivators unpopular as companions for training expeditions.”
Du Rong sighed. “Mechanism Masters have a tough road ahead. Without help from friends or family, they are often forced to work alone. The harsh treatment they endure in their early years shapes them into formidable but difficult personalities later on. Their combat power becomes fearsome in the long run, but by then, they are rarely easy to get along with.”
Chen Xiao immediately understood. “So, Immortal Master Tong didn’t even have fifty spirit coins for a boat ticket because he must have spent all his money on gathering materials.”
Du Rong nodded in agreement. “That’s the only explanation. It’s an unfortunate paradox, once someone becomes a Mechanism Master, everyone in the cultivation world wants to associate with them. But during their struggling years, no one wants to train alongside them. Otherwise, a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him wouldn’t be so broke.”
Chen Xiao was deeply moved. He had assumed that all cultivators beyond the martial stage lived comfortably, with wealth to spare and no worries about food or expenses. But now, he realized that every tier of society had its share of struggles, and many cultivators found themselves in dire straits for various reasons.
The next day, the ever-stoic Immortal Master Tong led Chen Xiao and Du Rong back to the Zhi Shi Hall’s outer port office. It was still early in the morning, and there weren’t many people around. Immortal Master Tong walked straight to a counter, slammed his identity plaque onto the desk, and said, “Issue a temporary identity plaque.”
The clerk behind the counter was only a martial cultivator. Regardless of whether the immortal cultivator before him was young or old, fresh-faced or experienced, his attitude remained the same, always polite, always smiling. With both hands, he picked up Immortal Master Tong’s plaque and carefully infused it with true essence to examine it.
After checking, his smile grew more genuine. He returned the plaque and asked, “Immortal Master Tong Nono, you are eligible to issue one temporary disciple identity plaque. Who is the recipient?”
Immortal Master Tong Nono clearly hadn’t expected the clerk to read his name out loud. He stiffened slightly and glanced awkwardly at Chen Xiao behind him. Seeing that Chen Xiao didn’t react, he turned back to the clerk and said, “The young one over there.” Then, tilting his head slightly, he added in a stiff tone, “Chen Xiao, hand over your identity plaque.”
Chen Xiao stepped forward and handed his plaque to the clerk, who used the same method to examine it before looking up to scrutinize him. Chen Xiao remained calm under his gaze, and after failing to find anything unusual, the clerk retrieved a small device resembling a modern card reader, a flat, rectangular box.
He placed Chen Xiao’s plaque on it for a brief moment before picking it up again. Standing up, he handed it back to Chen Xiao and said, “This temporary disciple identity plaque is valid for three months. Please use it within the designated period.”
Chen Xiao only felt at ease once he had the name tokens in his hands.
Du Rong stepped forward and said to the two of them, “Please hand me your name tokens so I can purchase the boat tickets.”
Tong Nuonuo replied, “No need, I’ll go with you.”
Chen Xiao then said, “Uncle Rong, let’s go buy the tickets together.”
The three of them left the name token counter and walked a few steps to the side. Du Rong approached the ticket counter and requested three boat tickets. Behind the counter sat a female cultivator, who had a much better attitude. In a soft voice, she asked Du Rong to present the name tokens.
Du Rong and Chen Xiao handed theirs over, but when it was Tong Nuonuo’s turn, he hesitated, his gaze lowered as if he had no idea how to interact with a woman.
His flustered expression carried a youthful innocence that was rather endearing. The female cultivator’s eyes glimmered with amusement. Chen Xiao guessed that this Immortal Master must have grown up in an environment lacking female presence. Suppressing the upward curve of his lips, he took a step back, he didn’t want Tong Nuonuo to think he was mocking him.
Strangely enough, Tong Nuonuo could still converse normally with Du Rong, even though he always wore a stern expression in front of him. But whenever he faced Chen Xiao, his entire body tensed up, and his words were filled with wariness. Not wanting to make things awkward, Chen Xiao simply minimized his interactions with him.
Tong Nuonuo placed his name token on the counter. The female cultivator checked all three tokens before looking up at Du Rong to confirm, “Three tickets for the boat departing in four days, heading to Hanshan City?”
Du Rong responded in a deep voice, “Yes.”
Up until now, Chen Xiao had only heard the city mentioned in vague terms while they dealt with the temporary name token issue. This was the first time he had learned its exact name—Hanshan City. It had a pleasant and poetic ring to it.
As he savored the name, he heard the female cultivator’s clear and gentle voice say, “Inner cabin tickets cost fifty spirit coins, outer cabins eighty spirit coins, and top cabins one spirit pearl. Fellow Daoist, which would you like?”
Du Rong answered, “Inner cabin tickets.”
The female cultivator said, “Thank you for your patronage. That will be one spirit pearl and fifty spirit coins in total.”
Immediately, Chen Xiao noticed Tong Nuonuo, standing diagonally ahead of him, freeze in place. Even his back radiated frustration.
Chen Xiao couldn’t help but find it amusing, this young man was far too transparent with his emotions. He was clearly regretting his decision not to let Du Rong handle the ticket purchase earlier. If he had, he wouldn’t have to face the embarrassment of pulling out his money only to realize he had just thirty spirit coins on hand.
Fortunately, Du Rong hadn’t intended for Tong Nuonuo to pay his share at this moment. That morning, Chen Xiao had directly given him two spirit pearls. Du Rong took the three tickets and the fifty spirit coins in change, then distributed the tickets.
Chen Xiao held his ticket up to examine it carefully.
To be precise, the “ticket” was actually a card, light beige in color, with neatly printed black characters displaying the departure date and inner cabin seat number. Most notably, a multicolored stripe ran across it, shifting hues when exposed to sunlight.
“There’s even an anti-counterfeit mark,” Chen Xiao remarked in surprise.
Du Rong moved to his side. “Master, what is it?”
Chen Xiao waved the ticket slightly. “How do they make these color-changing lines?”
Du Rong, seeing this type of ticket for the first time as well, examined it for a moment before saying, “It’s likely made using a special herbal extract as dye. During my past experiences traveling, I once happened to collect a similar type of spirit herb.”
In his past life, technology accomplished such feats; in this life, cultivation techniques did the same. Each had its own wonders. Chen Xiao chuckled to himself, he really shouldn’t be so easily surprised anymore.
Once they left the Zhishi Hall, Tong Nuonuo immediately stuffed thirty spirit coins into Du Rong’s hand.
Chen Xiao had originally intended to cover the cost of his ticket. After all, the other party had helped them immensely, and simply giving him twenty spirit coins in return felt a little too stingy. But Tong Nuonuo stubbornly refused to accept any favors.
Seeing that further insistence would only aggravate him, Du Rong, at Chen Xiao’s signal, accepted the thirty spirit coins.
Having settled the matter, Tong Nuonuo seemed relieved. Without another word, he turned and walked away.
His lodging was different from theirs, and neither Chen Xiao nor Du Rong knew where he was staying.
As he tucked away the spirit coins Du Rong returned to him, a thought crossed Chen Xiao’s mind, was that kid going to end up sleeping on the streets?
