After learning each other's names, Xue Hong stopped speaking, but Ding Zhen talked on as if a dam had burst.
Meanwhile, Lin Donglai, seeing his parents waving from below the stage, had no heart to say much more and only asked, "Brother Ding, did you come here alone?"
"That's right. My father is a tenant farmer for Old Master Ding in town, and he pulled some strings to get me a job herding cattle for the old master. But I don't want to be a tenant farmer my whole life!"
Ding Zhen's eyes blazed. "I want to become a lofty, exalted immortal!"
Hearing the boy's words, Jiang Biling thought to herself: "With low-grade five-attribute spirit roots in an immortal sect, unwilling to do menial chores, he really is only fit to be a tenant farmer. Still, this Ding Zhen has an abundance of Fire among his five elements—not even suitable for tending spirit fields. Later I'll recommend him as a blacksmith's apprentice at artifact refining and have him hammer iron, then."
"As for this Lin Donglai, he has abundant Wood among his five elements, plus a low-grade Jia Wood physique. That's well suited to farming, and watching over forests and orchards."
As an inner-sect affairs disciple, Jiang Biling had the right to make recommendations for every disciple whose spirit roots she tested. If those recommended disciples performed well in the future, she would also earn a small measure of merit within the affairs system.
...
Only a short while after the spirit root testing, Jiang Biling said, "We still have to go to the county town to test spirits later. Once you leave this time, I'm afraid you won't be able to come down the mountain again for ten years. So first go back and say farewell to your families."
"Three days from now, at the hour of Chen, we will set out from outside the east gate and return aboard an Elder's spirit boat. You two must be there. Also, don't bring too much luggage—I don't want to see heaps and piles of bundles."
Hearing this, Lin Donglai thought: So my aptitude really is mediocre. If someone had aptitude like Xue Hong's, they would naturally be protected and kept close at hand. People like us are just herded along like sheep.
"I'm not going home." Fearing that some mishap might occur and his immortal destiny slip away, Ding Zhen hurriedly said, "I'll go with you."
Jiang Biling looked at Lin Donglai. "And you?"
Lin Donglai couldn't very well act overly sentimental either, and said at once, "My parents are right over there. I'll just say a few words to them and go."
"Fine. We depart for the county town in three quarters of an hour. Go on!"
Having received her approval, Lin Donglai immediately went down to find his parents.
But many people below wanted to make his acquaintance, and Lin Donglai couldn't get away. Fortunately, Lin Meng was a hunter with plenty of strength; he pushed through the crowd and came toward Lin Donglai.
"What did you come down for? We all know you have spirit roots now—we saw it with our own eyes. Just follow the immortal masters and go."
Lin Donglai couldn't help feeling reluctant. "Dad, even though I have spirit roots, they're quite ordinary. The immortal master said that only if I make it to inner-sect disciple will you get to share in my good fortune. If I'm only an outer-sect disciple, I'm afraid not only will there be no good fortune—there might even be danger."
"Who said anything about going to share your good fortune?" Lin Meng said gruffly. "What kind of parents count on enjoying the blessings of their child? Go say that to your mother!"
Meng Qing simply looked at Lin Donglai. "When you get there, take good care of yourself. Remember to eat on time, sleep on time, and don't stay up late. It's bad for your health."
"Mom... I will definitely come back to bring you the good life! The immortal master only gave me a little time. I have to go now—take care of yourselves!"
Having said this, Lin Donglai turned and ran back.
If he had said another couple of sentences, he probably would have shed tears.
"That child—why did he run off the moment he turned around? I hadn't even finished giving him my parting words!"
...
After Lin Donglai bid farewell to his family and returned to Li Yunze's side, Jiang Biling took out several paper horses and blew a breath of air at them. The paper horses turned into real horses.
Then she took out a carriage folded from paper, and it too became real.
Li Yunze skillfully harnessed the horses to the carriage and led the group inside.
Seeing their curiosity, Jiang Biling explained, "These are talisman implements, made by talisman masters. You'll come across them in the future. Naturally, we can fly about on our own, but we can't carry you mortals of flesh and blood. This talisman carriage is more convenient—it can travel a thousand li a day, as if crossing flat ground.
"When the Elder's flying boat arrives, it will take you all back to the immortal sect, and you'll get to experience what it feels like to soar through the sky."
Lin Donglai touched the carriage window and examined it carefully, confirming that it really wasn't wood, but rather rather stiff paper. He couldn't help marveling at the wonders of the cultivation world, and the bitterness of the recent parting was diluted somewhat by all these novelties.
Sitting inside the talisman carriage, Jiang Biling did not remain idle. "Since we're on the subject, let me tell you about cultivation after you enter the sect. This is also a responsibility I must fulfill as a guiding disciple.
"Cultivation is divided into several realms: Embryonic Breathing, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, and so on.
"Embryonic Breathing is also called the Innate Realm, and it is the beginning of cultivation. This realm has four layers: the first is Foundation Nurturing, the second is Tendon Transformation, the third is Marrow Cleansing, and the fourth is the Embryonic Breathing stage itself. The Embryonic Breathing stage is what you mortals call the Innate Realm—opening the Ren and Du meridians, expelling turbid qi from the body, and preparing for spirit qi to enter the body.
"The sect gives you at most one year: one hundred days for Foundation Nurturing, one hundred days for Tendon Transformation, one hundred days for Marrow Cleansing. Once marrow cleansing is complete, you refine essence into qi and achieve Embryonic Breathing.
"Within that year, those who break through to the first layer of Qi Refining will become outer-sect disciples. Those who don't even reach the first layer of Qi Refining clearly haven't cultivated diligently and have wasted resources. They will be demoted to menial servants, doing hard and tiring work to repay their debt to the sect."
"What? We have to repay a debt too?" Ding Zhen asked, eyes wide.
"Foundation Nurturing, Tendon Transformation, Marrow Cleansing—during all this, you'll be eating medicinal meals and bathing in medicinal baths. In fact, from the moment they dispatched us to test your spirits, the sect has been spending spirit stones to cultivate you. If you meet the standard within a year, then it's the sect's investment in you. If you don't meet the standard, then you've squandered the sect's investment, and naturally the accounts must be settled."
Jiang Biling continued, "But you needn't worry. Back in my day, I completed drawing qi into the body and reached the first layer of Qi Refining in less than a month."
She had never paid attention to how cultivation with five-attribute spirit roots worked, and only made a rough estimate. "Even with low-grade five-attribute spirit roots, as long as you persist in cultivating the Foundation Nurturing Breathing Technique for two hours every day, practice Tendon Transformation and Marrow Cleansing exercises for another hour, and pair it with the spirit food and meals at Immortal Seedling Peak, breaking through to the first layer of Qi Refining within a hundred days would be perfectly normal.
"After Qi Refining, you can select your cultivation methods and choose one of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation as a skill to support yourselves.
"At the first layer of Qi Refining, the sect will still focus on nurturing and protecting you. Your main activity will be attending lectures and learning arts at Spirit Rhinoceros Peak.
"After one year, you'll begin taking outer-sect missions."
Jiang Biling only spoke this far before saying, "And that's the end of the realms."
"Aren't there realms after that?" Ding Zhen asked curiously.
"Those are too far off for you. I'm only responsible for explaining the Embryonic Breathing realm and the early stages of Qi Refining.
"Besides realms, I should also tell you about the history of the Qingmu Sect and its sect rules, so that once you get there, you won't be at a loss—won't fail to know what you can do and what you cannot. As your guides, if that happens, we won't blame you; the fault will be counted against us, as if we had failed to teach you."