Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

The 27th year of Yuan Jia.

The new spring had just passed.

It was the beginning of the second month, and a lingering chill was still in the spring air.

The entire Chen Family had already begun to bustle with activity.

Following Chen Li’s instructions, Shouye went to the county town to seek help from Qian Laibao, beginning preparations to open a silk shop.

Meanwhile, Chen Li had assigned Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei to oversee the construction of their family’s Textile Workshop.

The Textile Workshop didn’t need to be as elaborate as the reconstruction of Wang Shihui’s residence, which had to be a sprawling compound with high walls and green-tiled roofs.

But building a few simple workshops with thatched roofs and adobe walls would be too crude and unsuitable for long-term use.

Considering the growing population of the household and the future increase in family servants and weavers, they would need dormitories to house them, and the number of rooms required would be considerable.

So, Chen Li had the two of them build to a higher standard, using a style with green-brick walls, tiled roofs, and a beam-and-pillar structure.

Even so, it would be far from enough to accommodate the hundreds of looms they might need in the future. But this matter was not urgent for now.

After all, the "Floating Light and Shadow" brocade technique could not be mastered overnight.

Although the master weavers had agreed to take on apprentices, the technique’s secrets were profound. An ordinary person could not hope to even grasp the basics without three to five years of hard work.

For those with less talent, even ten years might not be enough to graduate from their apprenticeship.

With ten masters working at full capacity, they could only produce fifty to sixty bolts of silk in a year.

The output was extremely low. No matter how impatient Chen Li was, he couldn’t rush the results.

The only plan for now was to have the old masters select a batch of apprentices and have them start by learning to weave ordinary silk, slowly honing their craft.

Soon, another problem arose.

It was difficult to find women who met the requirements.

More precisely, it was extremely difficult to find promising candidates who were clever and nimble-fingered.

Chen Li gathered all the age-appropriate women from both the Lingxi Chen Family and the Wang Family.

The ten old masters personally tested each person’s needlework skills, finger dexterity, alertness of their eyes, and even their most basic aptitude for Numerology.

After several rounds of screening, only twenty-three were deemed barely suitable for training and were kept for observation.

This was already the result of the masters being considerate and lowering their standards. It remained to be seen how many of them would actually succeed in their studies in the future.

It wasn’t that these women were bad at weaving; it was that the threshold for the Floating Light and Shadow technique was too high. Its methods and the meticulous mindset it required were completely different from ordinary weaving, so the elimination rate was naturally astonishing.

Faced with this elimination rate, Chen Li couldn’t help but shake his head.

He could only turn his attention to the surrounding villages and slowly search and screen for more candidates.

’The path of my family’s development is truly long and arduous.’

He learned from a casual conversation with Zhou Shuwei that back when the Zhou Family was at its peak, their annual net profit was consistently over two hundred thousand taels of silver, sometimes even reaching three hundred thousand taels.

And yet, an income like that in the Jiangzhou region was barely enough to be considered among the lowest ranks of Noble Families like the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes.

For the top Noble Families, it was common for their annual income to be double or even several times that amount.

Admittedly, the foundation of a Noble Family lay in its Grandmasters and its roots in the Court.

But the economic foundation was also the most important pillar.

After all, supporting a Grandmaster’s Cultivation, as well as the family’s disciples, Guests, and Honored Guests, all involved substantial expenses.

If they couldn’t cover these costs, no one would be willing to risk their lives for the Noble Family.

Chen Li’s Cultivation from the Divine Hall to Void Transformation had cost a massive one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver in Medicinal Cuisine alone, and that was with his family already possessing the recipes.

Without them, it would have cost even more.

The Chen Family of today might have reached the standard of a Noble Family in terms of martial strength, but whether it was their foundation in the Court or their economic foundation, they were still far from meeting the mark.

...

「The third month.」

Inside the secret chamber.

Chen Li sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed. The aura around him was contained as his Heart Spirit sank completely into the Divine Hall Acupoint within his body.

After handling family matters, he entrusted all miscellaneous affairs to his wife, Song Ying, and his eldest son, Shouheng, before immersing himself in Cultivation once more.

Inside the Acupoint, the once vast and majestic Qiankun Qi Roaming Dragon True Intent had now been refined down to a single final sliver.

This sliver of True Intent, though as fine as a silk thread, was incomparably pure. Like an untamable Golden Dragon, it thrashed about within the envelopment of his Divine Sense, radiating the final, and purest, light of its origin.

’It’s time.’

With a single thought, Chen Li focused his Heart Spirit and adjusted his state to its absolute peak.

The Inner Qi from the meridians and Acupoints throughout his body surged tempestuously into his Divine Hall Acupoint.

’Ignite!’

Using his Divine Thought as a catalyst, he instantly ignited the immense Inner Qi.

BOOM!

Within the Divine Hall Acupoint, an invisible, scorching heat seemed to rise.

The Inner Qi Flame burned fiercely, completely enveloping the last sliver of the Wandering Dragon True Intent.

ROAR!

In a daze, it was as if a faint dragon’s cry echoed in the depths of his Divine Sense.

The sliver of True Intent seemed to sense a mortal threat. It struggled and twisted madly, letting out a roar of defiance and fury as it transformed into an extremely condensed streak of golden light, attempting to break through the blockade of the Inner Qi Flame.

Each impact made Chen Li’s Divine Soul tremble slightly, and a needle-like stabbing pain emanated from within the Acupoint.

This final, instinctual resistance of the True Intent was also the most dangerous moment in the refining process.

If he lost control, not only would all his previous efforts be wasted, but the very foundation of his Divine Soul could be damaged.

Chen Li didn’t dare to be careless and pushed his Heart Method to its limits.

His Divine Sense formed an invisible cage, trapping the writhing Golden Dragon. No matter how it struggled, the cage remained steadfast and unmoving.

The calcination continued.

This was a Water Grinding Technique, and even more so, a contest of wills.

Time passed in the silence.

An unknown amount of time went by.

Under the continuous refinement, the sliver of True Intent gradually dimmed, and its struggles grew weaker.

CRACK!

A clear ring, like shattering glass, that only Chen Li’s Divine Soul could hear, suddenly echoed.

The True Intent suddenly disintegrated, transforming into countless, infinitesimally small golden specks of light, like thousands of stars abruptly lighting up the night sky.

In that instant, a strange transformation occurred.

The scattered golden specks of light, as if drawn by some invisible force, were suddenly threaded together by an incomparably profound stream of light that appeared out of thin air.

They became as brilliant as a constellation, filling the entire Divine Hall Acupoint.

BUZZ!

Chen Li felt his entire Divine Soul jolt, and an indescribable sense of Perfection and clarity washed over him.

It was as if some kind of shackle had been broken. The final barrier between his spirit and intent vanished in an instant, leaving no distinction between them.

His Divine Soul became unprecedentedly agile and lively, as if it had gained an independent life and consciousness. When his thoughts turned, it responded as smoothly as a limb, without the slightest bit of sluggishness.

The Spirit Realm’s sixth level, the Divine Intent Pass, was achieved!

At the same time, the long-absent, familiar, cold and mechanical system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Congratulations, Host, for breaking through to the Spirit Realm’s sixth level, the Divine Intent Pass. Reward issued: Innate Qi Gathering Technique.]

’A Secret Manual?’

Chen Li’s interest was piqued, but he didn’t rush to claim the system’s reward.

Suppressing his curiosity, he first immersed his Heart Spirit back into his body, carefully experiencing the profound changes brought by the breakthrough.

First was his Divine Sense.

The soybean-sized condensation of his Divine Sense now seemed to have been infused with a soul, becoming more agile and vivid.

Chen Li could even feel a faint, life-like pulsation from it.

He understood that this was the sign of his Divine Sense truly developing Spirituality.

At this stage, it could be truly called a Divine Embryo.

The Spirit Realm Seventh Level, the Guiyuan Pass, was all about using Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to constantly nourish this Divine Embryo, allowing it to grow and strengthen like a fetus until it was fully mature and the Primordial Spirit manifested.

If nurturing the Primordial Spirit was compared to a mortal giving birth...

The Void Transformation was a successful conception.

The Divine Intent Pass was the fetus developing a nascent consciousness.

And the Guiyuan Pass was the process of supplying nutrients for it to grow strong until it was born.

After experiencing the profundity of his Divine Soul, Chen Li’s thoughts stirred once more.

SWISH!

A Divine Sense Illusion, identical to him, stepped out of his Divine Hall Acupoint and floated in the air of the secret chamber.

The next moment, the Divine Sense Illusion held the Qiankun Ruyi Staff and executed the opening stance of the Ape Strike Skill. Its movements were vigorous and sharp, its power astonishing, and its agility extraordinary.

At almost the same instant, his physical body on the ground also moved.

With a swing of his fists, the Fist Intent of the Five Directions Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wuxiang Fist spread out. The force of his punches was vast and majestic, manifesting scenes of the four seasons’ cycle and the birth and death of all things.

There was no lag or interference between the actions of the Divine Sense Illusion and his physical body. It was as if two independent individuals were fighting in coordination, yet they shared the same source and a perfectly connected will.

This experience was completely different from before, when his physical body’s reactions would become relatively sluggish whenever his Divine Sense left it.

’My combat power has skyrocketed!’

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Li’s eyes.

Reaching the Divine Intent Pass wasn’t just about the growth of his Inner Qi and Divine Sense; more importantly, it was about the marvelous uses of this unity of spirit and intent.

Only now did he truly have the confidence to face multiple opponents without fear, and even to turn the tables and kill his besiegers.

He recalled that before, if he had been besieged by two Void Transformation Grandmasters at the same time, with one using a Divine Sense Secret Skill to attack his Divine Soul while the other fiercely assaulted his undefended physical body, he would have been caught in a perilous, untenable position.

He would have had to either endure the Spiritual Sense Attack or expose a flaw in his physical defense.

But now, he could perfectly divide his focus.

Both could exert one hundred percent of their combat power. It was equivalent to splitting into two, more than doubling his strength.

Unless an opponent’s Divine Sense or physical strength held an overwhelming advantage over him, it would be difficult to easily restrain him.

’Innate Qi Gathering Technique...’

After familiarizing himself with his new changes, Chen Li slowly retracted his aura, and his Divine Soul returned to its place. A divine light shone in his eyes.

Only then did he turn his attention to the system’s reward.

He extracted the Secret Manual from the system.

"To think such a wondrous method exists!"

After reading it carefully, Chen Li couldn’t hide the astonishment in his eyes.

It turned out that this Innate Qi Gathering Technique was a secret art meant to assist with Cultivation at the Guiyuan Pass.

Its core function was to guide the Divine Embryo to directly communicate with the void of heaven and earth, gathering the elusive and hard-to-find "Innate Qi" to nourish and strengthen the Divine Soul.

Chen Li was astounded.

He had already studied the Spirit Realm Seventh Level, the Guiyuan Pass, in depth.

This pass focused on Guiyuan.

This meant one needed to nurture the Divine Embryo with Innate Qi, allowing it to grow continuously until the Primordial Spirit was stable and could, in turn, nourish the physical body. Only then was it considered a success.

The Prajna Glaze Heart Sutra of the Self-Viewing was itself a Divine Sense Cultivation Skill, and it provided a complete explanation of this process, so he didn’t need to trouble himself with finding another cultivation method.

The method described in the Heart Sutra was one of internal refinement.

It involved using the Divine Embryo within the Divine Hall Acupoint to continuously perform Breathing Techniques on one’s own Inner Qi, tempering it and transforming it into Innate Qi, which was then refined by the Divine Embryo.

The Innate Qi Gathering Technique, however, was completely different. It followed a path of "external collection."

It involved directly sending the Divine Soul out of the body to roam the heavens and earth, using a Secret Skill to sense and capture the Qi of Heaven and Earth scattered in the void, and absorbing it for one’s own use.