Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 40

Jiang Rui was not Miaoxuan’s first master.

Before Jiang Rui, Miaoxuan had another master named Qige. He was the first person to awaken Miaoxuan from the secret realm. Qige possessed a trace of the ancient Qilin beast’s bloodline. Although not comparable to Jiang Rui’s natural Spiritual Bone, which was favored by the Dao of Heaven, he was a cultivator of exceptional talent and rare aptitude across many cultivation planes.

When he obtained the Miaoxuan Secret Realm and awakened Miaoxuan, Qige was already at the Golden Core stage. Relying on the heavy treasures he possessed, his inherent talent, good fortune, and comprehension, Qige ascended to the upper realm in only a few thousand years.

However, for some unknown reason, Qige failed to bring the Miaoxuan Secret Realm with him to the upper realm. Instead, during his ascent by shattering the void, the Miaoxuan Secret Realm was accidentally lost in a spatial rift and ended up in the modern world where Jiang Rui lived. Along with it, the master-servant connection between Qige and Miaoxuan was severed.

In the modern world, spiritual energy is sparse. People with spiritual roots are one in ten thousand. Even those fortunate enough to be born with spiritual roots have extremely faint ones, mostly the worst five-element roots. Without orthodox cultivation techniques, even reaching the introductory level is a problem, making it difficult to achieve anything significant.

However, there are some ordinary people with good comprehension, or those with spiritual roots who have acquired some methods, who rely on fragmented scrolls and incomplete texts left by ancient predecessors to practice minor, unorthodox paths. When cultivated to a certain level, they can prolong their lives and possess abilities beyond those of ordinary people. But such individuals have not undergone Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment; they cannot even be considered cultivators, let alone glimpse the Great Dao and achieve significant attainment.

The Miaoxuan Secret Realm was severely damaged in the spatial rift. It manifested as a bead, resembling wood but more akin to a Buddhist mala bead, and drifted into this realm. After thousands of years, when it finally reached Jiang Rui’s hands, the spiritual energy of Jiang Rui’s Spiritual Bone touched it. Miaoxuan, as the realm spirit, began to wake up. It then coincidentally accepted Jiang Rui’s vital blood and recognized him as its master. However, before it could fully awaken, Jiang Rui died.

The Miaoxuan Secret Realm was too damaged from its time in the spatial rift. If left to heal on its own, who knows when it would recover. The fastest way was to borrow the master’s power to repair itself. Although Jiang Rui had died, his master-servant connection with Miaoxuan remained unbroken. If Miaoxuan waited for Jiang Rui to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, whether he could be reborn as a human was a question, let alone whether Jiang Rui would again be fortunate enough to possess Fire and Wood spiritual roots and a natural Spiritual Bone. Therefore, Miaoxuan used a secret technique to reverse time, allowing Jiang Rui to be reborn.

Miaoxuan gradually told Jiang Rui all this after his rebirth.

Jiang Rui was indeed initially attracted by the Dao of Longevity described by Miaoxuan. No one in this world could refuse the temptation of immortality.

But this was conditional on him being able to change his previous life’s fate. If he lived another life and still had to walk the same old path—where everyone close to him either left him, broke ties with him, or was implicated by him—then what was the point of even achieving immortality?

At that time, he had not yet fully emerged from the shadow of being betrayed and killed in his previous life, and he didn’t trust Miaoxuan. It wasn’t until Miaoxuan proactively suggested using the Jade Tree Marrow Fluid from the secret realm to change his mother’s early death that he vaguely guessed that cultivation wasn’t as restrictive as he thought. At least, providing some good fortune and help to those around him within his own capacity did not violate the Dao of Heaven.

It was from this moment that Jiang Rui gradually began to take the Great Dao of Longevity seriously.

As of today, Jiang Rui has reached the Middle Foundation Establishment stage, with a lifespan of three hundred years. His deepest hope is still to make up for the regrets of his previous life. Miaoxuan also said this was his Dao Destiny, which he should follow and not violate, otherwise it would hinder his future cultivation.

His mother, He Fulan, has already received the Marrow Jade infused with the Jade Tree Marrow Fluid. Barring accidents, she will definitely not die young as she did in the previous life. His father’s body is healthy, and with Jiang Rui’s constant use of spiritual flowers and spiritual honey to maintain his health, he also shows signs of longevity.

Jiang Rui’s greatest concern, Xiao Jinnan, is seeing his power grow and stabilize daily, with even a tendency to advance further in Jinlin. As long as Jiang Rui protects him, helps him avoid misfortune, and keeps Mo Zhao and Xiao Wu alive, Xiao Jinnan cannot repeat the mistakes of his previous life.

Currently, aside from occasionally calculating the fortune and misfortune of Xiao Jinnan, Mo Zhao, and Xiao Wu, Jiang Rui spends most of his time at school with Wang Xiaorui, Zhou Yang, and Nan Hechao. In the evenings, he enters the secret realm to practice sword art, refine elixirs, meditate for cultivation, and train his body by sparring with the Spirit Marrow Jade Tree.

On weekends, he visits Cao Xingjian and his son, Cao Yukui, who have recently arrived in Qingshi.

Cao Xingjian lost his wife years ago and never remarried. Besides his son, who just graduated from university, he has no other relatives. Therefore, after verbally agreeing to a contract with Jiang Rui, he handled the miscellaneous affairs in Yidian and brought his only son to Qingshi.

Cao Xingjian is a pure enthusiast of jadeite and a first-rate jade gambling master. However, his son, Cao Yukui, studied business administration in university, has mediocre talent in jade gambling, but is very enthusiastic about business. He is shrewd and diplomatic, born to be a businessman.

Jiang Rui had over seven million kuai left from the sale of gold, plus dividends from Xiao Jinnan’s Beijiang Association business. He had Cao Yukui use this money to buy an old courtyard complex in Qingshi and officially start a jade business. Jiang Rui personally inscribed the plaque: Lianyu Estate.

Jiang Rui personally handled the feng shui layout of Lianyu Estate, focusing on prosperity and wealth. He also used array talismans combined with spiritual stones to set up a small Auspicious Return Array  in the courtyard to attract good fortune and repel misfortune. Since they were doing jade business, they would inevitably be targeted by some ill-intentioned people. The Auspicious Return Array could mitigate this risk to some extent.

Jiang Rui had his own hidden agenda, so he didn’t conceal his jade carving technique, using the Zhuoyu School’s jade carving skills entirely.

Cao Xingjian, having been immersed in jadeite for many years, also had some understanding of jade carving. He was shocked when he saw the jadeite pieces—both small and large—made by his young boss, saying, “Young Master Jiang, did you say you carved all of these yourself?” This is comparable to the standard of a top master!

Jiang Rui nodded: “Just a small hobby. I’ve been learning for a few years.”

Cao Xingjian: “…Young Master Jiang is truly versatile and widely skilled.” How can he not be versatile? Jade gambling is a “small hobby” that allowed him to defeat the Mu family, the Kings of Jade Gambling. Jade carving is also a “small hobby,” with skills comparable to a first-rate master in the jade carving world. And as for the feng shui layout of Lianyu Estate, what did Young Master Jiang say then—”I’m quite interested in it and know just the basics.” Yet, after setting up the array, customers immediately started showing up…

Cao Xingjian looked at his young boss, who was not yet eighteen, then at his own son, who looked smart but was still trailing behind his father. He grabbed his son by the collar and shooed him off to manage the business.

The old courtyard complex for Lianyu Estate was chosen by Jiang Rui. To others, the location seemed quite remote, but Jiang Rui knew that this old courtyard complex would become the future location of the Qingshi Antiques Market. In later generations, after multiple renovations and expansions, the layout would be breathtaking, with many time-honored antique shops—even headquarters—located there. It would become very famous throughout the entire Lu’an Province, drawing customers from hundreds or thousands of kilometers away specifically to seek treasures and spot bargains.

The only pity was that the land in his previous life was owned by a Japanese merchant, who used it to hoard and resell many Chinese antiques abroad.

Although the land was eventually recovered by a major figure in the antique world, and the Japanese merchant was driven out of Qingshi, those rare antiques that flowed out of the country were ultimately difficult to retrieve.

From the moment Jiang Rui conceived the idea of running a jade business, he set his sights on this land. This time, he wanted to personally restore the glory of the Qingshi Antiques Market.

With Cao Xingjian’s network in Yidian and Jiang Rui’s reputation from defeating the Mu family, the sourcing of goods for Lianyu Estate was not a concern. Inside the Estate, the feng shui arrays for wealth and good fortune, combined with Cao Yukui’s business acumen, ensured that although there were some initial hiccups, the business of Lianyu Estate quickly began to thrive after Cao Yukui took charge.

Lianyu Estate only sold high-quality jadeite pieces. The quantity was small, but the quality of the material and the exquisite carving were exceptional, and its reputation quickly spread throughout Qingshi.

Jadeite and jade stones are naturally born vessels capable of carrying Vital Energy, Fortune Energy, and Spiritual Energy. After Lianyu Estate gained some clientele, Jiang Rui developed a new idea.

The main subjects he currently studied—feng shui, arrays, etc.—all came from a single jade slip: the Book of Heaven and Earth Manifestation. It states: Jade stones can carry the Three Energies; placed in an array, they can enhance and manifest them.

Jiang Rui set up arrays related to the three energies in the secret realm—namely, Calming the Spirit, Supplementing Vitality, Gathering Fortune, and Attracting Wealth. He then placed a small number of jadeite pieces in the arrays, nurturing them in the secret realm for ten days to half a month before taking them out.

These jadeite pieces, nourished by the Three Energies Arrays, could release the contained three energies onto a person, thereby increasing the three energies within that person.

For example, a jadeite pendant nurtured in the Calming the Spirit Array, when worn by someone who is typically irritable due to anxiety or who suffers from insomnia, can gradually calm them down and remove their restlessness. The Supplementing Vitality Array is highly effective for the sick; the Gathering Fortune Array attracts good luck; and the Attracting Wealth Array enhances one’s financial fortune.

However, these effects are merely “treating the symptoms but not the root cause.” The effects are most obvious at first. As time passes and the three energies stored in the jadeite piece are depleted, they must be returned to the array to be nourished again.

A jadeite piece nurtured in the secret realm’s Three Energies Arrays for ten days to half a month lasts only about three months in the outside world. After three months, they lose all effect.

Jiang Rui named these jadeite pieces, nourished by the Three Energies Arrays, Manifestation Energy Jade.

He deeply understood the principle of scarcity. For the first batch, he only nurtured two pairs of jadeite bangles, two Guanyin pendants, and one jadeite thumb ring. The jadeite bangles were nurtured in the Supplementing Vitality Array. Of the Guanyin pendants, one was for calming the spirit, and the other was for gathering fortune. The jadeite thumb ring was for attracting wealth.

When Jiang Rui handed these over to Cao Yukui, the young man was clearly skeptical about the effects of the jadeite pieces he described. Jiang Rui didn’t mind and immediately let him take the jadeite thumb ring back for a trial run.