Path of the Sect Leader

Chapter 159: The Foundation Establishment Ceremony

Before the first true sunlight touched the peak, a pale dawn glow already bathed everything. Qi Xiu sat motionless on the high seat, arms folded in his lap, breath even, mind like still water.

All across the mountain gate, Chu Qin disciples moved with quiet urgency—stringing final lanterns, smoothing cushions, checking the alignment of guest tables under the vast silk canopy. In one shadowed corner, Qi Zhuang—already changed into proper Chu Qin robes—stood talking earnestly with Kan Da. Years of kitchen drudgery didn’t vanish overnight; she had strong opinions about how chores should be done. Kan Da, torn between sect hierarchy and his own long-held routines, kept nodding miserably while she pointed out better ways to stack firewood.

As he passed Wei Minniang, he muttered under his breath, “Does this new immortal master intend to steal my job entirely?”

Wei Minniang caught Qi Xiu’s eye and smiled. Qi Xiu shrugged. “Later have Yue’er teach her to read and write properly first. Can’t have her running the show before she can even sign her name.”

Minniang nodded, then tilted her head. “I didn’t know you still had relatives back in Qi Cloud Village.”

Qi Xiu blinked innocently. “I don’t. Made the whole thing up.”

She opened her mouth to press—then Yu Denou, Shen Chang, and the Wei family liaison came jogging up, voices low and urgent.

“Time. Everyone not directly involved—disciples, servants—clear the field.”

A bronze gong rang once, deep and lingering. At the gate, Yu Jing led the procession: a long file of mortals in their festival best, stepping carefully as though afraid the stones might bite. They reached the forecourt, knelt in neat ranks.

Yu Jing’s voice carried clear and formal: “Under Chu Qin Sect, mortal lord Qin Ping’an, heads of the various houses, immortal kin—offer congratulations to the Sect Leader on achieving Foundation Establishment! Kneel—”

A sea of bowed heads. These people rarely set foot inside the mountain gate. Dressed in their finest, they moved with exaggerated caution, terrified of committing some tiny faux pas that would become village gossip for years.

Qin Ping’an lifted both hands, offering a thick ledger of household records. Yu Jing accepted it, presented it to Qi Xiu.

Qi Xiu opened the volume, scanned the neat columns. Since the southward migration to Immortal Grove Hollow more than a decade ago, the mortal population had doubled—over five thousand souls now. Right Mountain Qin clan still largest, followed by Left Mountain Qin, Immortal Grove Qin, Kan, Bai, Ming, Zhao, Mo, Black River Qin, Yu… He nodded once, spoke the expected gracious words, accepted the seasonal tribute of fresh fruit from each house, then dismissed them.

Yu Jing led the mortals out again. Only Qin Ping’an remained, taking the humblest seat among the Chu Qin disciples.

Next came the sect’s own new disciples. This year’s crop was strong: three five-year-olds—Bai Guangyi from the Bai family, Qin Zhi from Right Mountain Qin, Ming Wenhu from the Ming—plus Qi Zhuang. Four fresh entries into the immortal path. Bai Guangyi’s aptitude looked particularly promising. A good year.

Bai Xiaosheng, hating crowds, had already fled to Black River Market. The rest lined up by seniority, knelt, and offered the full ceremonial prostration.

Family business concluded, daylight strengthened. Shen Chang threw open the main gate and began calling names. The invited Qi Refining guests filed in.

Seating arrangements at these events were a delicate art—one wrong placement and lifelong grudges could form.

First through the gate were mostly independent cultivators scraping by around Black River and White Mountain—some with old ties to Chu Qin, some riding personal connections, some chasing vague opportunities. Yu Denou and Bai Muhan flanked Qi Xiu, murmuring names and quick backgrounds. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator now, he didn’t even have to rise—just nod, exchange polite nothings.

The independents settled under the canopy. Chu Qin servants brought trays of spiritual tea. Conversation bloomed: gossip, market tips, old grudges rehashed in low voices. The mountain gate slowly filled with the comfortable buzz of people who rarely got to gather like this.

“Kuang family—Kuang Gezhi arriving…”

Shen Chang’s pitch rose. Qi Xiu recognized the shift: sect representatives now. These people carried face for their gates. He stood, greeted each arrival personally—small sects, familiar faces, all practiced at these red-and-white occasions. They knew exactly how to flatter without groveling, how to slip a thick gift envelope while murmuring congratulations. Qi Xiu found himself smiling despite everything, the echoes of Zhao Liangde’s long-ago grandeur flickering in memory. The gifts were generous too. His mood lifted.

The Qi Refining crowd swelled to over two hundred, stretching toward noon. Shen Chang suddenly signaled Yu Denou. Yu Denou guided Qi Xiu to the gate to wait. Under the canopy every neck craned.

“South Chu Sect—Chu Zhuangyuan arriving…”

The first Foundation Establishment guest. Symbolically crucial. The Wei family had demanded the top spot, but Qi Xiu quietly insisted South Chu came first—their thigh was thicker. He weathered the pressure.

Chu Zhuangyuan looked the same—except for the faint shadow in her eyes, the girlish brightness long faded.

“Still stuck at early Foundation Establishment, and here you are already catching up. From now on we’ll have to call each other Fellow Daoist. How depressing.”

Qi Xiu laughed it off. “How could someone like you—a true genius—be compared to a fifty-year-old plodder like me? I suspect I’ll be calling you Senior again before long.”

She sighed. “Won’t be me coming next time. I got engaged a few days ago. When the wedding happens, Sect Leader Qi must come in person.”

Qi Xiu felt an unexpected pang. The woman he’d once daydreamed about… “Of course. I’ll be there.”

Both fell silent, heavy with unspoken things. He escorted her to the seat of honor among the guests.

Shen Chang’s voice rose again: “Shandu Wei family—Wei Yong, Wei Minming, Wei Liuxian, Wei Chengqian arriving…”

Qi Xiu went out with Minniang to greet them. Wei Chengqian—the little brother who’d extorted him for a fortune. Wei Yong—the protective elder brother who’d never liked him. Gritting his teeth behind a smile, he welcomed them.

Wei Yong spoke as they walked. “Heard your main mountain is actually Black River now. Why hold the ceremony here in Immortal Grove instead?”

The jab was clear: unhappy that Chu Qin leaned on Wei protection yet ranked South Chu higher. Qi Xiu chuckled. “Immortal Grove remains the heart of the sect. Black River’s just… safer.”

Wei Yong’s smile thinned. “Safety’s an illusion in this world.” He jerked a thumb at Wei Chengqian. “His big brother died at Tianyin Mountain. From now on, your debt payments go to him alone.”

Qi Xiu caught Wei Chengqian’s smug sneer, almost fired back—then felt Minniang subtly tug his sleeve. He swallowed the words, guided the Wei party to the secondary seats.

“Spirit Medicine Pavilion—Jiang Hongku arriving…”

Qi Xiu blinked in surprise. The old man who’d once spoken up for him against Si Wentai—yet later believed Chu Youguang’s slander about the Wang Qing killing.

He stepped forward anyway. Jiang Hongku opened without preamble: “Good people die young, calamities live forever. You reaching Foundation Establishment? Heaven really is blind.”

Qi Xiu’s temper flared. First Chu Zhuangyuan’s engagement, then Wei debt-collecting, now this old bastard coming just to needle him?

He forced a laugh. “That rumor was Chu Youguang’s fabrication. You believed him?”

Jiang Hongku suddenly leaned in close, voice dropping. “Word is you plan to dump a huge batch of low-grade pills on Black River Market at cut rates. I warned you once: try to undercut my Spirit Medicine Pavilion, and you’ll regret it in your next life.”

Qi Xiu understood instantly. The Green Stream Mountain haul—pills he intended to liquidate to cover the Wei debt. Jiang had come to deliver the warning in person.

He met the old man’s stare without flinching. “You swallow Chu Youguang’s lies but refuse to hear my side. Want to play bully in the market while still wearing the mask of righteousness? Find a better excuse to fool yourself.”

Jiang froze. Then the corner of his mouth twitched. “Heh. Interesting. Fine—no pursuit this time. But don’t let there be a next.” He turned and took his seat without another word about pills.

Next came Mu the Dwarf from the Mu family. Qi Xiu had once quietly encouraged them to raid Luo territory first—netted them massive spoils, first-credit on the southern front, even recruited a Foundation Establishment wanderer. Post-war Wei rewards pushed their influence northward. Mu the Dwarf loved throwing his weight around; his words carried barbs. Qi Xiu endured, answered carefully, swallowed the irritation.

“What the hell is today?” Yu Denou muttered when he got a moment alone with Qi Xiu.

“You’re asking me? I’m asking who.”

More Foundation Establishment arrivals—mostly small sects around Shandu Mountain. Qi Xiu handled each one. Finally the guest list seemed complete. Bai Muhan clapped her hands. A line of mortal women stepped into the center of the plaza. Qi Xiu raised his cup in toast. Wei Yue’er’s fingers brushed the strings. Music rose, dancers swayed. The banquet began in earnest.

Three rounds of wine later, Qi Zhuang suddenly pulled a cleaning rag from her sleeve and began wiping tables—guest table after guest table. Jaws dropped. Even the perpetually composed Wei Yong gaped. Qi Xiu buried his face in his palm. Bai Muhan flushed scarlet and hurried over to drag her away.

“I just thought they looked dirty…” Qi Zhuang said simply.

Qi Xiu turned his head and pretended not to hear.

Near the end of the feast, Shen Chang’s voice rang out again: “Qi Cloud Chu family—Chu Youyan arriving. Flowing Flower Sect—He Yunye arriving…”

Qi Xiu and Chu Zhuangyuan rose at once. Most White Mountain cultivators had never heard of Qi Cloud Chu family with its pair of Nascent Souls, but seeing Wei Yong and Jiang Hongku stand respectfully told them enough. Everyone followed suit.

Chu Youyan strode in hurriedly, Flowing Flower Sect cultivator in tow. Qi Xiu sensed trouble. Sure enough, Chu Youyan didn’t even sit—pulled Qi Xiu and He Yunye straight to the rear grass hut.

“Here. Look.”

A soul contract. Qi Xiu scanned it and understood immediately. Word of his Foundation Establishment had reached Qi Cloud Chu Qin Mountain. Years ago Flowing Flower Sect lost their patriarch Zhan; without Foundation Establishment protection, old Qin clan members turned on the Zhan remnants. The infighting was suppressed, but many Qin felt wronged. Groups of them fled south—straight to Chu Qin Sect.

Voluntary return to the original sect hadn’t been covered in the old soul contract. Flowing Flower now wanted a new one: Chu Qin must not accept any more runaway Qin cultivators.

“Sign this,” He Yunye said calmly, “and we return all Qin family inheritance texts held in Chu Qin Mountain, plus twenty third-tier spirit stones.”

She was reasonable, the offer fair, Chu Youyan’s face was on the line—and truthfully, Qi Xiu had zero desire to welcome that pack of troublemakers back. He dipped the brush, wrote his true name. Everyone smiled. Matter closed.

Chu Youyan exhaled, relieved. One old loose end tied off.

Back at the banquet, Chu Zhuangyuan, Wei Yong, and others insisted Qi Xiu take the chief seat. More shuffling. More awkward courtesy.

When the feast wound down, Qi Xiu mounted the low platform and spoke of his Foundation Establishment insights—verbatim passages lifted from Azure Jade Master Volume One. The crowd ate it up. Qi Refining cultivators leaned forward, entranced, whispering that the trip had been worth every li.

“One last thing,” he added at the end. “I have some talent for appraisal. From now on I’ll take commissions on first- and second-tier treasures and tools. Fair rates, no cheating old or young. Spread the word if you would.”

The sales pitch cracked the solemn mood. Laughter rippled. But the day ended peacefully—loud, messy, expensive, but peaceful.

Chu Qin Sect’s sect leader had formally entered Foundation Establishment.