Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

Not long after returning to his residence, Chen Yu came looking for him. This time, Shi Daqiang wasn't with him; he must have had something else to do.

"Senior Brother Lu, have you decided which mission you want to choose?"

At this moment, Chen Yu seemed to have lost his previous arrogance, and his face was full of smiles. "I heard that the initial mission is very important and will determine one's future development in the sect. You can think about it carefully."

Lu Qian shook his head, "I haven't been to the mission hall yet, so I don't have many ideas for the time being."

"Hey, a lot of the tasks are traps, you have to watch carefully."

Not long after, Chen Yu reverted to his old ways and began complaining, "Tasks like guarding spiritual herbs at the Pill Pavilion require connections to get, and even then, they assess your understanding of the herbs' properties. If something goes wrong with the herbs, you might have to pay compensation. How could any of us ordinary disciples possibly be qualified?"

In general, the Canghai Sect is still based on the tradition of a master-disciple lineage, but there are also many aristocratic families. For example, many of the 108 mountain peaks are populated by family members, making it difficult for ordinary people to squeeze in.

Cultivating immortality requires not only talent but also background. Those who lack both talent and background are considered grassroots disciples.

"The Weaponry Pavilion doesn't care about background, but it's too tough. You can only do the most basic forging tasks, spending all day around the furnace hammering iron. Shi Daqiang went to the Weaponry Pavilion because he's strong and it suits him well."

"There are also tasks like raising fish, chopping wood, grinding talisman ink, and making talisman paper. These are basically the tasks that we newly initiated disciples can receive. Raising fish takes a lot of time and the task cycle is very long. The wood we chop is not ordinary wood; it is ironwood and redwood. We need to use skillful techniques, and it is difficult for newcomers to get started."

"Talisman-making tasks are easy, but they depend on one's comprehension and require guidance. Only those with connections can get into the business. Tasks like escort missions and demon-slaying missions are not for us; one needs a certain level of cultivation to do them."

Chen Yu sighed repeatedly, "Moreover, we servants not only have to do physical labor, but also dirty and tiring work, such as slaughtering fish and pigs, and cleaning animal pens. Not only is it dirty, but it may also be dangerous. If we are not careful, we may be injured or eaten by monsters."

"However, there is a shortcut, Senior Brother Lu, would you like to know?"

Lu Qian remained calm and composed. "I'd like to hear the details!"

"You have three spiritual roots, so you still have a chance to enter the inner sect or even reach the Foundation Establishment stage in the future, but it won't be easy, especially the opportunity, which everyone is scrambling to get."

Chen Yu leaned closer and lowered his voice, "So, you can join a faction first. Having a group of like-minded fellow disciples will make everything much easier."

Is this another case of the rich helping the poor?

However, if he could really offer some convenience, Lu Qian wasn't unwilling to compromise himself for a moment. "Is there such a thing as power dynamics within a sect? Aren't we all fellow disciples?"

"The Canghai Sect is divided into 108 peaks, each of which is an independent small sect. Isn't that a form of power?"

Chen Yu spoke eloquently, and even patted Lu Qian on the shoulder, "The Canghai Sect is not a pure land either. Everything in the sect needs to be fought for, so naturally you have to form factions. Unless you have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, you have to fight for everything."

"I haven't joined any faction yet. As a menial disciple, I still need to do more research. Otherwise, if I get scammed, I'll have no one to complain to. As an outer disciple, you should take advantage of the opportunity when you first join the sect. After a while, it might not be so easy."

Lu Qian instantly understood; it was the difference between current and previous graduates. However, he wasn't very interested. If he was just an ordinary outer disciple, even if he eagerly joined other forces, he would only be working for others and wouldn't get much benefit.

Unless one can demonstrate certain value and be invited to participate, one can only wait for a higher price and take the opportunity to demand some benefits.

After Chen Yu left, Lu Qian first went to collect his Yellow Sprout Pill, then took out the jade slip of the Fire-Filling Furnace Technique, placed it on his forehead, and immediately the technique information appeared in his mind, explaining very clearly how to circulate qi and what the tricks were.

"With the Yellow Sprout Pill, the time required to learn the basic cultivation method for three spiritual roots is about three days, for two spiritual roots it is one day, and for four spiritual roots it is half a month."

If one possesses a celestial spiritual root, one can immediately master most cultivation techniques without encountering any entry-level issues.

Because different spiritual roots have different cultivation speeds, treatment is determined based on talent.

However, Lu Qian did not immediately begin cultivation. Instead, he focused his consciousness on his inner world, manifesting a body exactly like the one in reality, and a Yellow Sprout Pill appeared in his hand.

"A bottle of Yellow Sprout Pills contains ten pills. Before all ten pills are used up, all three spiritual roots should be able to enter the beginner level."

Without the Yellow Sprout Pill and without cultivating on a spiritual vein, the time required to enter the basics will be much longer; it might take a week for someone with three spiritual roots to even begin to understand the basics.

At this moment, Lu Qian was only at the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of the Canghai Sect. Although there was some spiritual energy, there was no spiritual vein.

Ordinary outer disciples who want to cultivate on spiritual veins need to accept a mission. Places like the herb garden, fish pond, and ironwood forest, which are places for cultivating spiritual creatures, all have spiritual veins, and they can use their rest time to cultivate.

Many people take on missions not just for the contribution points, but also because they want to cultivate on the spiritual veins.

If you are an inner disciple, there will be spiritual veins on the mountain where you live, so you don't need to go to such lengths.

In the secret chamber of his inner world, Lu Qian swallowed a Yellow Sprout Pill without hesitation. A surge of heat rose in his abdomen, and he controlled this energy to circulate along a predetermined path. Initially, it was relatively stable, but soon it began to show signs of becoming uncontrollable, conflicting from side to side. Before the complete cycle of the inner world had even been completed more than halfway, the energy had been completely exhausted.

"I usually try it myself first, and only take Huangya Dan to circulate my qi when I am confident. But I don't need to go through that trouble."

In his inner world, he could swallow an endless supply of Yellow Sprout Pills to practice his martial arts without worrying about wasting them.

"Relying solely on sensation to control things is too vague; it's better to use your eyes to see!"

Lu Qian reached out and touched the darkness, revealing a complete, transparent human body network. He swallowed the Yellow Sprout Pill again and saw a red light appear in the network, beginning to circulate according to the Firewood Filling Furnace Technique.

This transparent human body network perfectly reflects the condition of his body. If any error occurs anywhere, it can be corrected immediately without wasting time on trial and error.

"I guess I could be considered to have exceptional comprehension."

After observing for only two or three times, Lu Qian was already able to complete a full cycle of Qi circulation. He was not satisfied and continued to practice. After dozens of times, he had mastered it.

"Actually, it's still a bit risky. In reality, if something goes wrong, it might damage the meridians. Moreover, even with the same spiritual root, different meridian strengths mean less time can be spent cultivating each day, resulting in different cultivation speeds."