Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

After seeing Nie Tiefeng off, Lu Qian was still somewhat puzzled. Was someone targeting him? What was the point of trying to shift the blame onto him?

It wasn't that Lu Qian understood himself; he wasn't yet qualified to be schemed against. He was just an ordinary inner disciple.

This whole thing was brought up because Lu Qian was filling in for Zhao Qi. He quickly went to Zhao Qi to ask about the situation, and Zhao Qi definitely knew more than he did.

Moreover, Zhao Qi had indeed found out some clues, and immediately asked, "Junior Brother Lu, do you have any conflict with Zhang Baoshan?"

"Who is Zhang Baoshan? I don't know this person at all."

Lu Qian instinctively denied it, but a gloomy face flashed before his eyes, and he gave a bitter smile. "I think I know who it is. The problem is, I've never spoken to him. He probably doesn't like me for some reason... This is just absurd!"

Zhao Qi shared the same sentiment and said helplessly, "Zhang Baoshan was pushed out as the mastermind, but for some reason, he insisted that you were also involved. Without any evidence, the sect members naturally wouldn't believe it, but the rumors just spread, and the rest of us found out."

Lu Qian felt it was a completely undeserved disaster. Recalling the situation at the time, he said, "There was a noble lady who spoke to me a few more times, but I didn't respond much. Then I noticed someone glaring at me, and that's probably why he hated me."

"Is the truth really that simple?"

Zhao Qi was also somewhat surprised and shook his head. "You know what? Some people come from good families and receive the best upbringing and resources from a young age, but they don't have much talent. They are prone to jealousy and anger, and they get angry over trivial matters because they always bear the disappointed looks of their elders. So they learn to take their anger out on people of lower status than them."

Lu Qian sighed, "Indeed, I was wrongly accused."

This is a completely undeserved disaster.

He thought the previous matter was over, but now this has happened again. Moreover, Zhang Baoshan dared to frame him because there would be no consequences for doing so.

If Lu Qian were a disciple of the Dao lineage, or even just any disciple of the Dao lineage, would Zhang Baoshan dare to frame him without any evidence?

And then there's Meng Lingjun. Although she didn't mean any harm, her casual actions caused Lu Qian so much trouble, which made him a little frustrated.

"Without a certain background, you really can't associate with these people. I can't handle even the slightest trouble they cause."

Lu Qian had nowhere to reason with; he couldn't convince anyone. This matter might have further developments and might not end there. He might even become a victim.

"Consider the previous alchemy furnace a gift to you. You don't need to give me spirit stones; consider it compensation."

Although this was unplanned, Zhao Qi was still full of apologies, after all, he was the one who caused this. "Don't worry too much. Putting aside everything else, I can at least guarantee that you won't have any major problems. If all else fails, you can simply go and stay on an island for two or three years before coming back, and everything will be fine."

Rumors need fertile ground to spread. If the person involved is not present, the rumors have no basis for propagation, will quickly disappear, and naturally will not cause any harm.

Moreover, don't think that you don't need to care about gossip after you start cultivating immortality. In fact, cultivators care even more about their reputation. Everyone is a long-lived species. If someone has a bad reputation, it will definitely be difficult for them to get along. Once they become hated by everyone, if someone cheats them, others will only say that it's good that they cheated them. That's how people are treated in reality.

The best way is to break through everything with strength, but Lu Qian obviously does not have that kind of strength to break the deadlock. If he had that kind of strength, this kind of thing would never happen to him. Therefore, he can only take a gentler approach, retreat and avoid it.

"Thank you for your understanding, senior brother!"

At this point, Lu Qian had nothing more to say. Moreover, Zhao Qi's abilities were also limited. Although he had some connections, he probably couldn't silence Zhang Baoshan.

No matter how principled Zhao Qi was, he couldn't possibly help Lu Qian without considering the consequences, because he and Lu Qian were just fellow disciples. They might have a good relationship, but they weren't close friends who would die for each other.

"In the end, you can only rely on yourself!"

Lu Qian silently made a decision and went back to his residence. He decided to stay home for the next few days, calm down and focus on his cultivation, ignoring the disturbances of the outside world.

No matter how many rumors circulate, not everyone loses their mind, and there are probably almost no people who truly want to confront him.

Because Lu Qian was very clear that whatever it was, it really had nothing to do with him, and the other people involved also knew that they were unlikely to resent Lu Qian.

Would those insignificant outsiders do anything to Lu Qian because of some unfounded rumors?

That seems unlikely.

Lu Qian went to the exchange meetings several more times, hoping to find the inheritance of the pill formula, but he couldn't find it.

"Most of the people who go to the exchange meeting are outer disciples who have not been in the sect for long, and their level is still too low."

"Perhaps we could go to the market outside, or participate in a more upscale exchange event within the sect."

It's safer to go to the market outside once you reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Although there's not much danger near the Canghai Sect, robberies occasionally happen. It's hard to say whether they were done by fellow disciples. As long as it doesn't escalate too much, nobody usually cares. If you get robbed, it's a one-way street.

As for higher-level exchange meetings within the sect, there are certainly some, but given Lu Qian's status, it would be difficult for him to participate. Firstly, his cultivation level is too low, and secondly, he has no background. How could others accept him?

"Go find Senior Brother Zhao? Forget it, I'll go find Chu Liu instead!"

It's not good to keep troubling Zhao Qi alone. Moreover, Lu Qian could sense that although Zhao Qi had some background, it was very limited. Compared to ordinary outer disciples, he had some prestige, but compared to Daoist disciples, he was completely insignificant.

In contrast, although Chu Liu was very low-key, he was a true disciple of the Dao lineage and a lineage that transmitted the teachings. People would give him some face, and he also had a wide range of sources of information.

There are many difficulties in cultivation techniques, or if someone wants to practice some lost techniques, they have to seek out the lineage that transmits the teachings. Therefore, even though the lineage that transmits the teachings is not as prominent as the alchemists, finding them is always a very important matter, and ordinary people will not easily break off their relationship with them.

"I just completed the mission of spreading the Dharma lineage, and Chu Liu even invited me to Wanfa Peak. So, I have some influence over him. Asking him to help introduce me shouldn't be a big problem."

Lu Qian thought about how he had been busy running around and had stayed indoors for ten days straight, all for just two hundred contribution points, while others got these things as soon as they joined the sect. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Without a cave dwelling, without any inheritance, and being framed within the sect, every step is fraught with difficulty. It's truly a predicament!"

This is even with the cheat code of the Heart World. If it were an ordinary outer disciple, standing out would probably only be possible through luck.