Senior Brother Hua had a dignified and handsome bearing, and his manners were impeccable. Every disciple who arrived received a few words of greeting from him. He moved between different people without neglecting a single one.
A moment later, all the seats in the small pavilion were filled.
"Everyone... we are all newly admitted disciples. We should grow closer in the days to come."
Senior Brother Hua raised his cup and downed it in one gulp.
"Naturally..."
Everyone nodded in agreement. A youth with a few freckles on his face flattered him, saying, "Senior Brother Hua's surname is 'Hua'? Could you be from Flying Fish Island?"
A hint of pride immediately appeared on Senior Brother Hua's face. "Indeed, relying on my ancestors' residual blessings, I was fortunate enough to be admitted to this sect..."
"Flying Fish Island, where is that?"
A female disciple asked the very question on Fang Qing's mind.
"Haha, this Junior Sister must be of secular origin. Flying Fish Island is the island where the Foundation Establishment immortal clan 'Hua Family' resides. It has a second-order spiritual vein and produces large quantities of 'Flying Dragon Silk' and 'Treasure Eye Fish'..."
Another disciple with a more mature appearance explained, then looked at Senior Brother Hua. "I didn't expect Senior Brother Hua to come from a Foundation Establishment immortal clan. Your future is bound to be bright."
"Ah... the path of immortality is difficult. Every step I take is fraught with peril."
Senior Brother Hua smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Furthermore... although we are called an immortal clan, compared to the Azure Sea Sect, which has unbroken generations of Golden Core cultivators, what are we worth?"
The feast continued, but Fang Qing noticed something off about the atmosphere.
The crowd quickly divided into several small circles based on their origins.
Senior Brother Hua, who came from a Foundation Establishment immortal clan, naturally became the focus of attention, outshining everyone else.
Besides that, the disciples from Qi Refinement families also carried some arrogance. While flattering Senior Brother Hua, they subtly excluded those of rogue cultivator origins and secular-born disciples like Fang Qing.
Of course, these displays were very subtle. Moreover, Senior Brother Hua was no fool. With his best efforts to mediate, few of these inexperienced disciples noticed.
Thus, the banquet still appeared harmonious, with hosts and guests enjoying themselves to the fullest.
Fang Qing kept his head down, drinking and eating, and was quite content.
Before they knew it, the feast had reached its end.
"I shall see you off here. I wish all you Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters longevity on the path of immortality..."
Senior Brother Hua escorted the junior brothers and sisters out, radiating brilliance.
Meanwhile, Fang Qing blended in with several secular-born disciples, returning the courtesy together, extremely inconspicuous.
Right then, a stream of light flew over, crimson in color, bearing gorgeous and colorful tassels.
The crimson light descended, transforming into a red silk ribbon that tied around the waist of a young girl with skin like condensed grease and features as beautiful as a painting.
She swept her gaze around and asked, "Who is Fang Qing?"
Under the astonished gazes of Senior Brother Hua, Yu Taohua, and the others, Fang Qing steeled himself and stepped forward, saluting. "This one is Fang Qing. Greetings, Senior Sister."
"Mm, I am Hua Lingsu of Pill Island. I have been ordered to take you to Pill Island and promote you to inner disciple. Let's go!"
Hua Lingsu raised her hand, and the red silk ribbon moved as if alive, winding around Fang Qing's waist and carrying him into the azure empyrean, disappearing without a trace.
"Junior Brother Fang... no, Senior Brother Fang was truly hiding his depths well."
A disciple couldn't help clicking his tongue, then secretly glanced at Senior Brother Hua.
Senior Brother Hua's expression remained unchanged, his smile growing even wider. "I didn't expect Junior Brother Fang to have such connections. We must grow even closer in the future..."
The group of disciples thought about it. They were too far from Pill Island, so it was still better to fawn over Senior Brother Hua. They quickly put on fawning smiles again...
Fang Qing climbed high and looked into the distance. He saw a thick fog rapidly dispersing, revealing a small island.
Strange peaks jutted up on this small island, with many buildings radiating multicolored precious light. There seemed to be quite a few hot spring vents as well.
Of course, more areas were still shrouded by fog and restrictions, impossible to see clearly.
"Junior Brother Fang, our Pill Island primarily focuses on water-method alchemy. You have joined Pill Island as an inner disciple... Logically, you could take an elder as your master, but currently no elders have the intention of accepting disciples. You can use your disciple token on the first and fifteenth of every month to listen to various senior brothers and sisters expound on cultivation and alchemy at the 'Alchemy Cauldron Platform.' Sometimes elders will also come to give lectures..."
Hua Lingsu descended from her escape light and explained to Fang Qing.
"Water-method alchemy? Not the kind with an alchemy furnace?"
In Fang Qing's impression, alchemy seemed inseparable from fire.
"Fire-method alchemy naturally exists as well, but in our Azure Sea Sect, water-method is still primary... Many alchemy masters have emerged from it."
When Hua Lingsu smiled, dimples appeared on her face. "Moreover... compared to fire-method, our water-method alchemy produces medicinal effects that are gentler, with less pill toxicity. Even using our island's unique 'Twin Hot and Cold Springs' to temper the medicine, we can process far more ingredients in one batch..."
Of course, the fact that fire-method alchemy was faster and more suitable for refining most fire-attributed pills was something Hua Lingsu didn't mention.
"Furthermore... water-method alchemy is even more suitable for us water spiritual root cultivators."
This final point made Fang Qing nod vigorously. "Senior Sister speaks truly... our water-method alchemy is simply stronger than fire-method alchemy!"
Fang Qing had always believed in the theory that one's position determines one's thinking. Since he had a water spiritual root and Pill Island flourished with water-method alchemy, there was nothing more to say—water-method alchemy was good.
If he had a fire spiritual root and had taken a fire-method alchemy master as his teacher, then water-method alchemy would be a heretical evil path!
"Alright, this is your cave abode."
Hua Lingsu brought Fang Qing to the outside of a cave abode. Preparing to leave, she turned back around. "Alchemy ranks among the most difficult of the hundred arts of immortal cultivation. Junior Brother should first go to the Heavenly Book Pavilion to borrow a medicinal canon and begin familiarizing yourself with medicinal properties. You must not blindly begin refining..."
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. This junior brother understands."
Fang Qing cupped his fists in thanks.
He also vaguely felt that alchemy was no simple matter and couldn't be approached blindly.
Leaving aside this world, even in his previous life, those who blindly followed trends were nothing but suckers waiting to be fleeced. In any industry, those who blindly invested without first getting inside and learning for three years would sooner or later be swindled until not even dregs remained.
"Hm? This place?"
Entering the cave abode, Fang Qing looked around. The place wasn't large—just a few stone rooms. The furnishings were quite simple, with only a few pieces of furniture like stone tables and stone chairs.
But for some reason, being here made his mind feel clear and bright, his entire body comfortable and relaxed.
"Could it be... this is the effect of a second-order spiritual vein? If I had an immortal cultivation technique, this feeling would certainly be even stronger..."
Fang Qing recalled what he had heard before. The secular world had thin spiritual energy, while Lakeside Villa had a first-order spiritual energy environment, sufficient for Qi Refinement disciples to cultivate.
As for the seven inner lake islands, even the worst had second-order spiritual veins. Cultivating here would definitely be far faster than at Lakeside Villa.
"Technique! I forgot to ask about this just now... but this Senior Sister Hua's overall attitude was rather ordinary aside from that final reminder. Could it be she looks down on me as someone who got in through the back door? Or perhaps... she felt there was nothing worth saying?"
Fang Qing rubbed his chin and began to look forward to tomorrow with anticipation.
The next day.
Myriad Treasures Island.
Fang Qing disembarked from the boat. Gazing at the Heavenly Book Pavilion wrapped in various restrictions in the distance, he didn't slow his steps. "Finally..."
Only when he drew close could he increasingly feel the lofty grandeur of the Heavenly Book Pavilion. Its entire structure was built from a type of eaglewood, emanating a mind-calming fragrance.
Walking into the first floor, he saw shelves of various colors surrounding him, filled with all sorts of thread-bound books.
"Heavenly Wave Art? Qi Shark Force? Divine Movement Twelve Transformations? All second-rate or even first-rate martial arts. Hm? There's actually the 'Divine Martial Secret Canon'? Isn't this the legendary peerless martial art of the secular martial world?"
With just a glance, Fang Qing was inwardly astonished.
Large quantities of miscellaneous books were piled up as if they cost nothing, freely available for disciples to peruse.
"This Junior Brother is a newly admitted disciple, yes?"
Right then, an Azure Sea Sect disciple came forward to greet him. "I am a pavilion-guarding disciple who took on the task of explaining things to new junior brothers and sisters... This Heavenly Book Pavilion is divided into nine floors. The first floor contains secular martial arts, geography, mechanisms—almost everything under the sun. Any disciple of this sect can freely browse and borrow. The second floor involves immortal cultivation techniques; each disciple can only borrow one book. The third floor is accessible only to inner disciples, and the techniques, various secret arts, and classics inside are all high-quality. As for the fourth floor and above, only Foundation Establishment cultivators or true disciples may enter."
"I see. Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother."
Fang Qing took out his disciple token, displaying the pill imprint that Hua Lingsu had stamped on it yesterday. "I wish to go to the third floor. Do you have any recommendations?"
"So Junior Brother is actually an inner disciple of Pill Island. My deepest respects." The pavilion-guarding disciple's expression immediately shifted from casual negligence to a face full of smiles. "My name is Zeng Shu. We are all fellow disciples from now on. May I ask what Junior Brother's spiritual root is like?"
"Mid-grade water spiritual root."
Fang Qing replied, transferring over ten contribution points on the side.
Choosing a cultivation technique was a serious matter. Even if he had the power to regret his choice countless times, it wasn't good to expose that. The technique on the surface should be as outstanding as possible.
Spending a little money in this regard was nothing.
Zeng Shu hadn't expected this junior brother to be so understanding. His smile grew a few degrees more sincere. "The basic techniques on the third floor are all high-quality. Those suitable for water spiritual roots include the White Water Technique, Gazing at the Blue Sea, and Commentary on the Water Classic... Among these, the White Water Technique was originally the inherited technique of the Wu Family of White Profound Island. It's said that although the spiritual power cultivated is water-attributed, it also carries a chill. During magical combat, if enemies aren't careful, their dharma bodies will be frozen stiff, causing them to suffer heavy losses..."
"Gazing at the Blue Sea is an ancient technique, famous for its vigorous mana. It's said that the senior brothers and sisters who cultivate it have ten to twenty percent more mana than other cultivators at the same realm..."
"Commentary on the Water Classic is derived from the main cultivation technique of our sect's Azure Sea Ancestor—the Azure Sea Technique. If one can use it to reach Foundation Establishment, one can switch to cultivating the Azure Sea Technique without any loss..."
Having received benefits, Zeng Shu truly explained everything in meticulous detail, regardless of how minor.
'Potential... this is very important.'
After listening, Fang Qing had already made his decision in his heart. 'White Profound Island's Wu Family is only a Foundation Establishment family. The White Water Technique has no follow-up Golden Core chapters... Gazing at the Blue Sea is similarly a fragment of an ancient technique. It's said to be quite famous, but this sect doesn't have the continuation.'
'Although these two techniques both have special characteristics, while Commentary on the Water Classic is quite ordinary, it wins by having fewer bottlenecks, and in the future, it can connect seamlessly.'
For those who only cared about reaching Foundation Establishment, there wasn't much difference in which technique they chose.
But for Fang Qing, Foundation Establishment definitely wasn't the end. Choosing the Commentary on the Water Classic, carefully selected by the Azure Sea True Person, obviously couldn't be wrong.
Even if the other two techniques might offer other opportunities in the future, clearly, this sect's opportunities were more suitable for him.
"I'll take Commentary on the Water Classic!"