The day after he returned, Zhou Chuan went to the Rising Sun Peak to give the gift to Zhong Xiu.
When Zhong Xiu received the Rejuvenation Pill, she wept. This was the most valuable gift she had ever received. Although her family was also a cultivation family, her status within the clan was not high, and there were others whose talent surpassed hers. Consequently, the resources she obtained were only average, as verified by the cultivation techniques and spell arts she possessed.
Having given the gift away, Zhou Chuan breathed a heavy sigh of relief, feeling that the favor had been repaid. As for romantic feelings, he really shouldn't dwell on them; right now, that was the least important thing. Romance and love were not only a waste of time, but they would also damage one's state of mind. Therefore, Zhou Chuan did not stay long this time.
He was busy and excited. Finally, he had new cultivation techniques and spell arts to learn. He was deeply fascinated by cultivation and longed to grow stronger.
"Walking the Path" and "Misty Six Intents" were the techniques Zhou Chuan was going to cultivate next. The former enhanced his cultivation base, while the latter strengthened his divine sense. "Walking the Path" was divided into four layers: Dao Aligned with Dao, Dao of Benevolence, Dao of the Heart, and Dao of the Wayless.
The "Misty Six Intents" consisted of: Ancient Loulan, Ancient Misty Peak, Intent of Following the Wind, Intent of Following the Rain, Transforming Butterfly, and Breaking the Cocoon.
"How obscure! A genius like me studied it for three days, yet I couldn't even touch the fringe—not a single hair."
"Still, this must be the difference between a superior technique and an ordinary one. If anyone could comprehend it, it wouldn't be an advanced technique."
"As expected, having a master versus not having one makes a world of difference. How wonderful it would be if someone could offer some guidance right now."
"Why should I rely on others?! This young master is a genius! Heaven gave me talents that are bound to be useful! Figuring things out without a master—now that is truly badass!"
"Perhaps it's not a matter of cleverness, but of enlightenment! Enlightenment—what is there for me to enlighten? One can only gain enlightenment of what one can touch."
"These Ancient Loulan and Ancient Misty Peak are illusory things to begin with, how can one touch them?"
"Can they not be touched? Touching doesn't only rely on hands, perhaps... I understand!"
A month later.
Zhou Chuan's cultivation base had not advanced by an inch, but his spirit was excellent, and a faint smile often hung on his face. This was the manifestation of having comprehended the techniques.
At this moment, the thumb-sized embryo inside his body had completely faded from purple, enclosed by a shell. It had grown to the size of a pigeon's egg. Zhou Chuan felt nothing at all, and thus had not yet discovered it.
Aside from cultivation, Zhou Chuan would regularly go to tend to the spirit rabbits. The adopted Spirit Cunning Rabbits had already given birth to a litter of babies—six in total—proving that they indeed possessed strong reproductive capabilities.
"Huh! Why are the spirit rabbits I'm raising so listless, eating less and less, and growing so thin?"
The Spirit Cunning Rabbits caught from the mountains were extremely fierce at first; they probably would have dared to bully a wild boar if they encountered one. Yet, kept in the immortal cave, they grew more haggard day by day.
"The predecessors were right, these fellows are very hard to raise—too picky about food, too prone to temper tantrums! The question is, why were they bounding about with boundless energy in the mountains? Do they perhaps yearn for freedom?"
Other rabbits could die if they died, but if the spirit rabbits given by the Hall of Affairs died, it would be equivalent to a declared failure of the sect mission. Losing money was a minor matter; failing a mission was a major one.
"Free-ranging might make them grow better, but catching them back probably won't be easy. After all, they are spirit beasts with a certain degree of intelligence. And this is still a rabbit about to give birth."
"I'll think about it after some time. Another day when I have time, I'll take her to the foot of the mountain to bask in the sun."
At this moment, flashes of light kept appearing at the door of the immortal cave. It was a Jade Slip—a new message had arrived. Immortal sects all relied on Jade Slips to transmit news.
"One month from now, all disciples at the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation and below shall participate in the outer sect minor competition. Those eligible must not be absent, or else they will be dealt with for violating the rules. The top fifty in the outer sect minor competition will receive generous rewards," Zhou Chuan muttered.
"An outer sect minor competition? This means a fight is coming!"
Zhou Chuan remembered that he had never fought before. Although he was at the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation, he had never crossed hands with anyone.
"Is this an opportunity to prove my strength? But should I seize the time to cultivate now, or learn combat?"
With only a month left, he felt very hesitant. He had finally comprehended two techniques and planned to cultivate them formally to avoid losing his insights.
The outer sect minor competition was a chance to hold his head high. The insults and ridicule he had suffered before, he wanted to pay them back. Moreover, the competition offered generous rewards, and ranked by cultivation base, he had a chance; now he only lacked actual combat experience.
"Forget it! I'd better keep a low profile and bide my time; proving myself isn't that important. I can't possibly live in the eyes of others. Growing stronger myself is what matters most. I'll choose to cultivate." Zhou Chuan made up his mind.
...
Xiao Shengke had always wanted to find an opportunity to severely injure Zhou Chuan. Learning that he had accepted the mission of raising spirit rabbits, he hatched a plan.
By sabotaging Zhou Chuan's completion of the sect mission, he could successfully drive him out of the sect. He had already found a way to disrupt the immortal cave's protective barrier.
However, Zhou Chuan remained in seclusion inside his immortal cave day after day, refusing to come out, giving him no opportunity.
He was waiting for his chance.
...
A month later, the next day was the start of the outer sect minor competition.
Over the past month, the outer disciples had acted as if injected with chicken blood, cultivating frantically and arming themselves crazily. Even if they lost the match, everyone hoped to lose with dignity; they prepared for battle with all their might so they would have no regrets.
Seeing the Jade Slip, Zhou Chuan knew that tomorrow was the day of the minor competition, so he stopped.
After a month of cultivation, both "Walking the Path" and "Misty Six Intents" had successfully reached the first layer and achieved minor success. His cultivation base had broken through to the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation mid stage, infinitely close to the late stage. Give him another three or five days, and he would be just about there.
His greatest harvest was his divine sense. Previously, he didn't have a single technique dedicated to cultivating divine sense, so its growth had not kept pace with his cultivation base. Having acquired a superior technique this time, his divine sense grew by leaps and bounds after cultivation.
His sea of consciousness had now transformed into an arc-shaped long rainbow, magnificent and breathtaking, just like a rainbow after rain. Along with the enhancement of his divine sense, not only had his sharpness increased, but his range of perception had also expanded greatly; the slightest rustle within a radius of one mile was crystal clear to him.
"What should I do? I have to participate in the competition tomorrow, so I might as well learn another set of spell arts. There should be enough time."
Zhou Chuan had focused mainly on cultivation techniques over the past two months, so the spell arts he had bought remained unpracticed. Ever since he learned that spirit talismans could replace spell arts, he had lost his fervent desire to practice them. No matter how fast or how many spell arts one cultivated, it couldn't compare to buying a hundred sets of spirit talismans—it was simple and flashy.
The next day, Brightness Peak was packed with people. The outer sect minor competition was arranged at Brightness Peak, where spiritual energy was dense.
It had been a long time since the Water Talisman Sect had been this lively. For outer disciples to advance to inner disciples, reaching Foundation Establishment was all that was required. Then, all Foundation Establishment cultivators had a chance to enter a secret realm to try their luck. After the Water Talisman Sect was promoted to a tier-three immortal sect, it had not aggressively expanded its territory, still retaining only the Qi State as its vassal nation. This was related to their low-profile style. In addition, the sect lacked middle-tier and lower-tier personnel, making it little different from a tier-two sect, which was why they chose to bide their time and keep a low profile.
Yet everyone knew that in the near future, there would be wave after wave of contention between sects.
Because everyone had to participate in the battle, all disciples performing sect missions were granted leave.
"Brother Chuan! Your cultivation base has improved again! Congratulations!"
"You're not bad either, already at the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation late stage."
"Even with all my effort, I couldn't catch up to you. Thank you for gifting me the spiritual pill."
As soon as Zhou Chuan met Zhong Xiu, he noticed she had become fairer and prettier, and he knew right away that the pill had worked its magic. Zhong Xiu had already completed her sect mission and had cultivated quite fiercely over the past two months, so her cultivation base had improved significantly.
"Brother Chuan, I'm rooting for you in this outer sect minor competition. You'll definitely make it into the top fifty."
"The odds are slim." He shook his head gently.
"I've asked around, there are only about thirty people at the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation. You have a chance."
"I've only focused on cultivation; I've never engaged in actual combat."
"There's also the factor of drawing lots. If you're lucky and pick a weak opponent, you might just get through a couple of rounds."
Many people harbored such wishful thinking. If the top fifty were rewarded, everyone's fighting spirit would be quite different. With nearly two hundred contestants adopting a direct elimination system, getting through two rounds would secure a spot in the top fifty.
On the high viewing platform, the sect master, vice sect masters, and elders sat in two rows.
This competition also featured another agenda: sect masters, vice sect masters, and elders who had no disciples under their name could select disciples from among the participants. Those chosen disciples would become core disciples.