"Our Azure Wood Immortal Sect has a history of over twelve hundred years. The founding patriarch, Daoist Azure Wood, began with only a Foundation Establishment cultivation level, but the sect has grown to its current state: three Purple Mansion cultivators, honored as Supreme Elders, more than fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators, and over three thousand Qi Refinement cultivators. Thus we are a Purple Mansion Immortal Sect."
"Our sect governs one Foundation Establishment immortal city, administers eight Qi Refinement market towns, and oversees eighty mortal cities, ruling over a population of more than ten million."
"Disciples within the sect are divided into three categories: Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and True Inheritance."
"Outer Sect disciples are the likes of you."
"Inner Sect disciples, as I explained before, are those who show promise of reaching Foundation Establishment, or disciples taken in by Inner Sect Foundation Establishment Elders."
"True Inheritance disciples are selected from among Inner Sect disciples who have already reached Foundation Establishment, chosen for their potential to reach Purple Mansion and to carry on the sect's orthodox lineage. There are only nine of them in the entire sect, and their standing is equal to that of Inner Sect Elders."
"Whether Outer Sect or Inner Sect, all disciples who join the Azure Wood Immortal Sect to cultivate will receive a stipend according to their cultivation level."
"However, the basic stipend is rarely enough to sustain cultivation. To obtain more resources, you can only take on sect missions and accumulate merit. Merit can be exchanged for cultivation resources, including pills, magical implements, cultivation techniques, and even personal guidance from Foundation Establishment Elders."
"For example, Lin Donglai, your spiritual root is Exuberant Wood among the Five Elements, and you possess a Lower-Grade Jia Wood constitution. You are well suited to tending spirit fields, cultivating flowers and planting trees, and could develop along the path of an Internal Affairs disciple."
"Do not look down on the art of cultivating fields. After all, the words 'Azure Wood' in our sect's name derive from Patriarch Azure Wood himself. Patriarch Azure Wood was primarily of the Wood spiritual root, and by the time he reached Foundation Establishment, he was already a Grade-Three Spirit Planter, capable of cultivating Purple Mansion level spirit flora."
"It is precisely because of this Purple Mansion spirit flora inheritance that later generations of our Azure Wood Immortal Sect were able to build the foundation for their advancement to Purple Mansion, sustaining our sect's legacy of twelve hundred years."
Seeing that Jiang Biling was offering him guidance, Lin Donglai nodded, though his mind was occupied with thoughts of that seed. Even if Jiang Biling had not said anything, he would have found a way to become a spirit flora disciple and make that seed sprout.
So Lin Donglai asked with feigned interest: "Fairy, how are spirit plants classified? Could you explain in detail?"
"Spirit plants are divided into Unranked spirit plants, Grade One Qi Refinement spirit plants, Grade Two Foundation Establishment spirit plants, Grade Three Purple Mansion spirit plants, and so on..."
"Unranked spirit plants are also called half-spirit plants. For example, the century-old ginseng, century-old huangjing, and century-old heshouwu found in the mortal world belong to this level. They have gathered a certain amount of spiritual qi and are of some use to cultivators."
"When you arrive at the immortal sect and complete your Fetal Breath realm cultivation on Immortal Seedling Peak, you will discover that the meals you normally eat and the medicinal baths you soak in are all prepared with these Unranked spirit plants. Though unranked, they still hold value."
"Beginning from Grade One spirit plants, there are four grades: Lower, Middle, Upper, and Pinnacle. Spirit fields are likewise classified into these same grades."
"The sect has many missions involving the tending of spirit fields. These not only earn merit but are also safe. After you enter the sect, when you go to Spirit Rhinoceros Peak for lectures, you should attend more classes on caring for spirit fields and identifying spirit plants. When choosing spells to learn, you can also select ones suited to this direction."
"As for you, Ding Zhen, your Five Elements show Exuberant Fire. You could choose to become an Artifact Refining apprentice or an Alchemy apprentice. However, alchemy apprenticeship requires too great an investment, whereas as an artifact refining apprentice, you can at least learn some basic processing techniques. Even if you cannot refine artifacts independently, you can still temper ores—it counts as a skill to your name."
"What about me?" Xue Hong asked impatiently.
Li Yunze answered in Jiang Biling's place: "Xue Hong, your spiritual root is Wind, Fire, and Thunder. You are suited for combat, so there is no need to focus on internal affairs. You only need to cultivate diligently and master the arts of slaughter, or train your body to increase your combat strength."
"The sect holds a grand competition at regular intervals, and those who rank at the top receive rewards. That is your goal. As long as you frequently place among the top ranks, your resource tier will naturally rise."
"When that time comes, even if you take sect missions, you can take those combat-oriented missions cleanly and efficiently, without wasting too much time and energy. Only by striving and fighting your way forward, step by step, can you have hope of reaching Foundation Establishment, becoming an Inner Sect disciple, and even a True Inheritance disciple."
Listening to all this, Lin Donglai formed a general impression of the Azure Wood Immortal Sect.
Within the immortal sect, just as in the mortal world, there were distinctions of rank. For a moment, his feelings were complicated, for reality differed somewhat from his imagination.
The carriage soon arrived at the county town, but instead of going to the county office, it stopped at a Daoist temple.
An old Daoist priest who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, accompanied by two disciples, respectfully welcomed Li Yunze.
Jiang Biling said, "This is a lower branch establishment of our Azure Wood Sect. Our sect governs eighty cities, and each city is equipped with an establishment like this one. It generally serves as a place of retirement for Outer Sect disciples of dull aptitude within the sect."
"Spiritual qi is thin in the mortal world, and material desires weigh heavily. These lower establishments are not a good place to be. Generally, only those who have not broken through to the middle stage of Qi Refinement by the age of sixty are sent here."
"These lower establishment disciples had already lost hope of advancing in cultivation to begin with. As they age, they practice less and less, and even with their spirit stone stipends, they are reluctant to spend them. As a result, their cultivation may even regress."
"On the path of cultivation, one either advances or falls behind. You must remember this." Jiang Biling admonished them.
After entering the Daoist temple, the temple master assigned rooms to the group. Jiang Biling, carrying the immortal sect's token, went to pay a visit to the county magistrate. Li Yunze then spoke: "There are still three days before we return to the sect. In the meantime, I will teach you the Primordial Origin Breathing Method and the Sinew Transforming Marrow Cleansing Stake Method. Once you arrive at the sect's Immortal Seedling Peak, the Outer Sect Elders will naturally teach you the Qi Guiding Art."
"The Primordial Origin Breathing Method emphasizes expelling the turbid and drawing in the fresh, and excels at cleansing the internal organs. Even within the martial world, it ranks among the foremost internal breathing methods. Even ordinary people who learn it can extend their years and prolong their lives."
"Listen carefully to the essentials: rest the tongue against the upper palate, lightly clench the teeth within, exhale through the mouth and inhale through the nose, three inhales to one exhale, with short inhales and long exhales..."
"This Primordial Origin Breathing Art can be practiced together with the Sinew Transforming Marrow Cleansing Stake Method."
"The Sinew Transforming Marrow Cleansing Stake Method is a dynamic exercise that imitates the movements of long-lived creatures such as the immortal crane, the deer, the spirit tortoise, and the spirit serpent."
"This stake method does not require standing in a horse stance. Instead, it advocates guided stretching, patting the meridians, and massaging acupoints. There are eight sets of movements in total, each set subdivided into eight smaller movements—eight times eight makes sixty-four forms in all."
"Cultivating this method can make the sinews and bones supple and regulate the five viscera. Combined with the Primordial Origin Breathing Art, it is sufficient to complete the most fundamental cultivation of the Fetal Breath realm: opening the Ren and Du meridians and stimulating the marrow to refine essence blood, in preparation for drawing qi into the body."
He spoke very quickly, but with great thoroughness. He simply disliked being interrupted and disliked being asked questions.
Still, Lin Donglai listened very attentively. At the very least, the Sinew Transforming Marrow Cleansing Stake Method was the only technique he had encountered so far that could refine essence blood.
And sacrificing to nurture that Dao seed in his mind required exactly forty-nine drops of essence blood—seven times seven.