Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

This place not only has the spiritual roots of heaven and earth, the ginseng fruit tree, but also the best environment for cultivating with the element of wood. One day of cultivation there is equivalent to ten days of arduous cultivation by the main body in the outside world.

More importantly, through the perspective of his clone, he glimpsed a corner of the profound secrets of that massive sect.

"The Earthly Spirit Herb Garden... three li... one li..."

Fan Yuan tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, quickly processing the next steps in his mind.

"Zhao Yuan is a narrow-minded man and must have a backup plan. However, we can use him to establish his authority in the outer sect, and even... take the opportunity to eliminate him and gain greater merit."

In the days that followed, Shen Feng tended to the medicinal herbs during the day and practiced his breathing exercises as usual at night.

Day after day, he became thoroughly familiar with the array nodes and spiritual energy flow of the Earth Spirit Herb Garden. Through these days of observation and inquiries, he learned that the array here was called the Qian Yuan Locking Spirit Array.

The rich wood-elemental energy emanating from the ginseng fruit was mostly blocked by the formation, with only a tiny amount escaping outwards.

Shen Feng had a sudden thought. Since this formation could lock in the spiritual energy of the Yi Wood element, then the next plan could be put to good use.

……

At the end of the month, outside the Wuzhuang Temple, in the General Affairs Hall.

Shen Feng stood in front of the counter and placed a storage bag on the table.

The manager in charge of the inventory scanned the items with his divine sense, a hint of surprise on his face. He then looked up at Shen Feng and said, "Your output this month is a full 30% more than the quota."

Shen Feng replied respectfully, "The Earth Spirit Herb Garden is rich in spiritual energy. This disciple has not dared to slack off and has been taking care of it day and night. Fortunately, we have had some harvest."

The steward nodded, his eyes flashing with admiration. Most of the outer sect's menial disciples were just trying to get by or using it as a stepping stone. It was rare to find a spirit plant grower as hardworking and skilled as Shen Feng.

"According to the rules, the excess amount can be converted into sect contribution points." The manager simply recorded on the jade slip, "Adding your routine reward for this month, it will total five hundred contribution points."

Five hundred points.

Several other servants who were receiving their tasks nearby looked on with envy.

This is equivalent to more than half a year's income for an ordinary handyman, enough to exchange for two bottles of pills to improve magical power, or a mid-grade magic weapon.

The steward handed the identity jade token back to Shen Feng: "What do you want to exchange for? Pills? Or would you like to go to the artifact storehouse and pick out a suitable magical artifact?"

Shen Feng took the jade token, stroking the slightly warm spiritual energy markings on it, and said without hesitation, "This disciple wishes to go to the library."

"The library?" The manager was taken aback, then frowned. "The outer sect library on the first floor costs five hundred contribution points for half a day, and there are no profound cultivation techniques inside. It's mostly miscellaneous notes, historical records, and basic applications of the five elements. If you want to learn magic, you might as well save up and exchange them for a single magic jade slip."

In his view, spending such a huge sum of money to read idle books is a waste.

"As a newcomer to the immortal sect, I know very little about the common knowledge of the cultivation world. I wish to broaden my horizons first so as not to make mistakes in the future," Shen Feng insisted.

Seeing that he was determined, the steward did not try to persuade him further and casually tossed out a restriction token: "With this token, you may enter the first floor of the library for three hours. Remember, you may only read, not make copies, and you may not take it out."

"Thank you, steward."

Shen Feng put away the token and turned to leave.

The library is located on the west side of the outer gate. It is a three-story stone building, constructed entirely of bluish-gray rock, with little decoration, exuding a solemn atmosphere.

Two disciples guarding the gate checked the token and waved for passage.

Shen Feng stepped across the threshold. The first-floor hall was extremely spacious, with hundreds of bookshelves neatly arranged, and the air was filled with the old smell of paper and ink.

There was no scene of jade slips flying around here; the bookshelves were mostly filled with paper thread-bound books, with only a small portion of the core area containing low-level jade slips.

Shen Feng wasted no time and headed straight for the historical records area.

Five hundred contribution points are exchanged for half a day of reading; every moment is incredibly precious. He must build a cognitive framework of this world in the shortest possible time.

He pulled out a thick book, "A General History of the Immortal Cultivation World," and released his divine sense to cover the pages, reading at an extremely fast speed.

The sound of pages turning was incessant.

After an incense stick had burned, Shen Feng closed the book, a flash of understanding appearing in his eyes.

He then picked up a book titled "The Lineage of the Longevity Mountain Daoist School," and opened it to the first page, where a line of large vermilion characters read:

"Zhenyuan Daxian, also known as the Lord of the World, is the Ancestor of Earthly Immortals."

Shen Feng's gaze swept over the effusive praise for Zhen Yuanzi and went straight to the section introducing the sect's heritage.

"The rules of Wuzhuang Temple are strict, and disciples are divided into three categories: outer disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples."

"There are thousands of outer disciples, most of whom are menial servants. They practice basic Five Elements techniques, and their lifespan is only a few hundred to a thousand years."

"There are hundreds of inner disciples who can be taught advanced cultivation techniques and have the potential to become Earth Immortals."

"Only true disciples..."

Shen Feng's gaze sharpened.

The book states: "True disciples receive personal instruction from the Great Immortal and can cultivate the supreme secret scriptures, the 'Book of Primordial Dao Fruit' and the 'Qiankun Yiqi Cantong Qi.' These two scriptures directly point to the Great Luo Golden Immortal Path, and cannot be cultivated without great perseverance and great opportunity."

Currently, there are only forty-eight true disciples within Wuzhuang Temple.

These forty-eight people were all enlightened beings, with the lowest level of cultivation comparable to the Celestial Immortal realm, and the best among them even being no weaker than the Golden Immortal.

Forty-eight people—compared to thousands of outer disciples and hundreds of inner disciples—this ratio is shockingly low.

"A world of difference."

Shen Feng murmured to himself.

Outside the sect, the servants schemed against each other for a few spirit stones, and people like Zhao Yuan were smug about their petty gains. But above the clouds, the true disciples were cultivating the profound and mysterious method of Hunyuan, which directly leads to the Great Dao.

This gap cannot be bridged by hard work; it is an absolute barrier between social classes.

Shen Feng put down his book and walked towards the section on miscellaneous discussions of magic and spells.

This level does not have specific cultivation methods; it mostly consists of explanations of the principles of magic and notes from predecessors.

He stopped in front of a tattered copy of a book titled "A Brief Analysis of the Universe in the Sleeve".

This is not a real manual of supernatural powers, but rather a senior disciple's notes on his insights after observing Zhenyuan Daxian performing magic.

"His sleeves swallow the heavens and earth, he holds the universe in his grasp."

The notes read: "With a wave of his sleeve, the Great Immortal can turn the world upside down and extinguish the sun and moon. This is not a spatial artifact for storing objects, but rather a great supernatural power that reshapes the rules of the universe. A world of its own is formed within his sleeve, where Yin and Yang and the Five Elements can evolve at will. Once inside his sleeve, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would find it difficult to escape."

Shen Feng's mind trembled slightly.

This is the power of top-tier supernatural abilities.

In comparison, the Samadhi Divine Wind he is currently cultivating, although it is also a rudimentary form of a great supernatural power, is limited by his cultivation level and comprehension, and is nothing more than a trick of blowing wind.

"A universe hidden in one's sleeve... If one could obtain such a divine power, where in the world could one not go?"

Fan Yuan felt an overwhelming longing.

But he quickly suppressed his agitation.

One must eat one bite at a time. Right now, his true form is merely a minor cultivator in the early stages of the Spirit Refining realm, not even having completed the fourth step of the Mortal Realm. To attempt to dabble in such great supernatural powers is nothing short of a fool's dream.

He turned his gaze to the lower shelf of the bookshelf, where a row of notes on the application of basic spells was displayed.

"Windwalking Techniques for Changing Direction", "One Hundred Hand Seals for Fostering Spiritual Plant Growth", "Compression and Burst of Low-Level Wind Blades".

These are the things he needs most right now.

Shen Feng picked up a copy of "The True Record of Wind Spirit Micro-Operations" and became engrossed in it.

"Wind is the movement of air. Ordinary people who ride the wind only know to go straight, but they don't know that the essence of wind lies in its changeability. It circles around rocks, enters through gaps, and separates and merges at will..."