"You just underwent Qi Condensation not long ago, so your divine sense will probably need a whole day to recover," Zhong Xiu pointed out, seeing the crux of the matter.
"Right. When you come next time, I'll finish looking at the rest."
"No need for next time. I'll just leave all the ones you haven't finished with you, and I can pick them up the next time I come. Isn't that the same?"
"If you leave them with me, what about you?"
"Me? Farming alone is enough to work me to death; where would I find any time for cultivation? It's already good enough if I can get an hour or two of Qi Condensation in each day."
"I heard that the sect missions assigned to everyone are very heavy and take up the vast majority of our time, making even sleep a problem."
"Exactly! The sect is too biased and bullies newcomers. Cultivators with higher cultivation bases are assigned much better tasks that they can finish in under half a year, while those of us with lower cultivation bases have to toil away for at least ten months."
Zhou Chuan had originally planned to go accept a sect mission in a few days, but after hearing this, he suddenly got a new idea. What if he raised his cultivation base first before accepting a mission? Wouldn't he be able to get a better task then?
"I won't chat with you anymore. I've been out for a long time and need to head back. If Senior Sister doesn't see me for this long, I'm afraid I'll get scolded when I return!" Zhong Xiu blurted out without any attempt to hide it.
"Ha! Senior Sister is that fierce?"
"I'm already used to it. You don't need to worry about me."
"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit me."
"No need to stand on ceremony with me. See you next time!"
Zhong Xiu rode away on a transformed giant crane, leaving Zhou Chuan filled with lingering affection. He had thought that relationships between fellow disciples were cold and unfeeling, yet Zhong Xiu had brought him profound warmth.
There were nearly forty Jade Slips left, the majority of them belonging to the fire element, with only seven sets suitable for his cultivation.
Among the seven sets, two were cultivation techniques, while the rest were spell techniques. Cultivation techniques were used to drive one's cultivation forward and gain insight into the fundamental principles of heaven and earth. Spell techniques, on the other hand, were versatile mystical skills, such as critical strikes, defense, sealing, concealment, teleportation, and so on.
When first learning cultivation techniques, one should not be greedy for too many. The ones Zhou Chuan obtained were *Spilling Beans into Soldiers* and *Zhengyuan Evergreen*. He chose *Zhengyuan Evergreen* without the slightest hesitation because it could not only raise his cultivation base but also enhance his divine sense. He had already come to understand the importance of divine sense.
As for the spell techniques, *Square and Circle Earth-Escaping* belonged to earth-escape arts, which matched his earth spiritual root. There were also the spell techniques *Thousand Palm Imprint* and *Tyrant Fist*, both of which were offensive spell techniques used to fend off enemies and beasts. *Iron Skin Art* increased physical defense, and *Wind and Rain Unhindered* was suitable for flying on a spirit sword. All of these were well-suited for Zhou Chuan's cultivation.
"There is no sword-flying technique, but this is already very good—a massive fortune. I truly owe A-Xiu far too much!"
"At most, I can go into seclusion for half a year. I wonder how much my cultivation can improve? There's no room left to hesitate; I'll start right away."
It was common knowledge that one had to reach the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation before sword-flying techniques could be practiced. What Zhou Chuan looked forward to the most was sword flight—soaring through the skies and traveling a thousand miles a day. He had traveled all the way from the west of the Mainland to the east on foot, taking a full ten years. If he switched to sword flight, three to five months should be plenty.
One month later.
"I've comprehended it again! The fundamental principles of heaven and earth aren't that difficult to understand; they're quite similar to the philosophies spoken of by the ancient sages."
"As for the spell techniques, they're even simpler!"
Zhou Chuan had already comprehended four of the five spell techniques. The most difficult remained the cultivation technique; it was impossible to grasp it instantly, requiring long periods of meditative insight. If one could not comprehend it thoroughly and rushed into practice, the progress would be incomparably sluggish, and there was even the possibility of experiencing a deviation in cultivation.
Although Zhou Chuan's innate talent was mediocre, his comprehension was quite good. After spending a month having sudden enlightenments, he began his formal cultivation.
"If only I had pills to take! That would double the results with half the effort. But I have no money!"
"Still, I've heard that taking pills has side effects and brings bottlenecks. Success truly never comes easily—I might as well cultivate steadily step by step."
Three months later.
Of the five spell techniques, he had practiced three to the minor completion stage: he could tunnel through the earth within a radius of one mile, conjure a shielding light barrier, and strike out a hundred palm imprints in a single palm attack.
"The Iron Skin Art is very easy to understand, but practicing it is extremely slow. What I lack is not comprehension, but resources."
"Tyrant Fist is similar to the Thousand Palm Imprint, so there's no need for me to waste time on both; intensively mastering just one is more than enough."
Zhou Chuan formed hand seals, and a candle flame appeared in his palm. It was not actual fire, but rather the glowing manifestation of Spiritual Power. His spiritual light was no longer blue, but yellow. After seeing this clearly, Zhou Chuan felt a moment of joy, but his expression quickly turned solemn.
"The speed is so slow! It took four months for my cultivation to reach the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation mid stage."
If Zhong Xiu and the other new disciples heard this, they would spit muck all over his face. They were busy completing sect missions and had no time to cultivate, making it hard for their cultivation bases to make even an inch of progress. For instance, Zhong Xiu was still stuck at the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation early stage, already falling behind Zhou Chuan.
Zhou Chuan did not compare himself to others; he only compared himself to himself. His target was the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation peak. To achieve this goal, he needed to cultivate the *Zhengyuan Evergreen* technique to its complete mastery.
*Zhengyuan Evergreen* was a cultivation technique capable of turning vitality into something miraculous. Vitality and spiritual Qi fundamentally shared the same source and origin; once comprehended, they could be put to use. The technique was excellent, but Zhou Chuan lacked pills, treasures, and other auxiliary aids, nor did he have anyone to guide him, so bringing it to complete mastery was no easy task.
"Nonsense, saying it can enhance divine sense is a lie! This trivial bit of divine sense doesn't improve any faster than if I just went and hanged myself!"
Zhou Chuan was not dissatisfied with the cultivation technique itself, but rather with the meager increase in his divine sense. After cultivating for a period of time, his Spiritual Power improved very rapidly, but his divine sense increased very little.
This made Zhou Chuan extremely worried that he wouldn't be able to break through to the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation within the time limit. Divine sense was also crucial; if he couldn't advance them side by side, it would drag down his cultivation speed and create a bottleneck.
To grow his divine sense, Zhou Chuan had no choice but to hang himself many times every day, extending the duration bit by bit.
By pushing divine sense to its absolute limit through squeezing, it could grow a little. However, the sensation of nearing death by suffocation was truly terrifying. If he were ever careless just once, he would hang himself permanently and die a death more unjust than Dou E's!
"The first layer of *Zhengyuan Evergreen* is 'Vibrant Vitality', the second is 'Endless Flow', and the third is 'Everlasting Verdancy'. Whether it turns out to be everlasting or completely ancient history depends on these next two months."
Two months later.
Zhou Chuan was still in Heiwu Mountain cultivating day and night without going to take on any sect missions.
On this day, he made a trip to Zhang Yuan's immortal cave to have a chat with him. When Zhang Yuan saw the "brand-new" Zhou Chuan, he was given a major fright.
"Elder Brother Zhou, just how on earth do you cultivate? Every time I see you, your cultivation has increased by a huge margin, ridiculously fast. Are you at the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation now?"
"Shh! Keep a low profile; don't go telling others."
"Right! I know you're planning to turn your fortunes around and bide your time!"
"Bring out the spirit fruit!"
"Coming right up! How many do you want this time?"
"Thirty."
"You got it! Discounted price as usual, since we're old friends! Let me calculate—adding today's tab, Brother Chuan, you owe me a total of four-and-eighty spirit stones."
Hearing the number sent a chill through the bottom of Zhou Chuan's heart, though he kept his expression solemn and forced a stern facade. After coming to Heiwu Mountain, he hadn't found any way to make money, and recently he had been surviving entirely by scamming Zhang Yuan.
Spirit stones were more expensive than gold in the mortal world, and four-and-eighty spirit stones were a massive fortune. Without a way to make money, paying it all back would not be easy.
Zhou Chuan's cultivation improved quickly and he absorbed a lot of spiritual Qi, making his ability to withstand hunger much stronger, but he had practiced the Iron Skin Art. This spell technique consumed a tremendous amount of physical energy and Spiritual Power, and a single Yellow Dragon Fruit a day barely sufficed to stave off hunger.
"Brother Zhou, when do you plan to settle your tab?" Zhang Yuan couldn't simply ignore the possibility that Zhou Chuan was eating and running.
"Soon. With so many precious Jade Slips on me, am I going to default on a debt?"
"That's true. Brother Zhou looks like an upright gentleman at first glance; how could he ever swindle a poor person like me?"
The Jade Slips left behind by Zhong Xiu were cleverly put to use by Zhou Chuan. If they were rare cultivation techniques or spells, they would be priceless, and a single Jade Slip would be enough to settle the debt. Zhou Chuan had nearly forty of them on him; even if they were cheap goods, their cumulative value would still be considerable.
Every time Zhang Yuan came to collect his debt, Zhou Chuan used this trick to brush him off. However, he next needed to start thinking about making money—*Zhengyuan Evergreen* was not far from reaching complete mastery, and he needed to buy another cultivation technique. The sect did not provide free techniques; buying them within the sect cost the same as buying them outside.
Additionally, having cultivation without equipment wouldn't work; getting into a fight would leave him practically crippled. All of these things had to be bought. Finally, advancing further in cultivation required taking pills; otherwise, it would be difficult for his cultivation base to progress.
He had inquired about pill prices from Zhang Yuan: lower-grade tier-one pills were priced around ten low-grade spirit stones, middle-grade ones were several dozen to nearly a hundred, and top-grade pills were settled in middle-grade spirit stones.
There were far too many places that required spending money, but the most urgent matter before him was to complete a sect mission. He had been in the Water Talisman Sect for eight months now, not half a year. The wasted time of the first two months had to be factored in.
"This paper crane really is a marvelous thing; relying solely on a slip of talisman paper it solves the problem of flight. Whoever invented it is truly a talent. Come to think of it, being a top scholar isn't all that great; cultivators riding cranes to roam the heavens and earth are far more dashing and carefree."
Riding his flying crane, he arrived at the Hall of Affairs according to the map. By this time, his cultivation had broken through to the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation early stage, but he had not learned any sword-flying techniques, nor did he possess a spirit sword, making it impossible for him to fly on a sword.
The Hall of Affairs was the place where sect missions were issued, located on Wutong Mountain. Wutong Mountain was also the trading market for outer sect disciples. Inner sect disciples and Elders would periodically hold lectures here because this was where people gathered in the greatest numbers.
Most of the Jade Slips Zhou Chuan had received in his immortal cave were news about these lectures, but he had never attended a single one. To say that no one in the sect taught would be incorrect.
"How lively!"
Zhou Chuan saw a great many people. Whenever he ran into anyone, he took the initiative to greet them, but very few people returned the gesture, and everyone seemed extremely busy. People with high cultivation bases could tell Zhou Chuan's cultivation level at a single glance and saw that he carried no hidden treasures. Clearly, Zhou Chuan was not someone worth cozying up to.
Long ago, the topic of how he had entered the immortal sect without even undergoing Qi Condensation had ceased to be mentioned by anyone.
The Hall of Affairs was an important location, presided over by Elder Peng Yuyan, who enjoyed a very high reputation. He was a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, though he loved putting on airs and disliked talking much.