Cultivation Is Difficult

Zhang Tie sat cross-legged, his mind as still as water, without a ripple.

He first carefully recalled the Five Elements cultivation technique in his mind, and only after confirming there were no mistakes did he begin meditating and cultivating.

This time, he had made thorough preparations.

He had spent forty Low-grade Spirit Stones to purchase two bottles of Hundred Herb Pills.

Together with the two bottles of Hundred Herb Pills he had received as rewards before, he had prepared four full bottles, totaling thirty-six pills.

He thought that amount should be enough to support his cultivation up to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

Outside, spring gave way to autumn, the seasons changed, and time hurried onward.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had passed. Zhang Tie let out a long breath of turbid air, his face full of bitterness.

Less than four months after he began cultivating, he had felt that he had already reached perfection of the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Yet it was as though an invisible barrier was firmly blocking him from entering the fifth layer. One Hundred Herb Pill brought no progress; then he took two, but it still did not work; then he increased it to three.

More than half a year passed bit by bit. In another two months, it would be a full year, and he would have to return to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to choose a new assignment.

But even after consuming all thirty-six Hundred Herb Pills over that half year, Zhang Tie remained trapped at perfection of the fourth layer of Qi Refining, unable to advance even an inch.

He always felt that his body was like a battered, hole-riddled egg. No matter how many Hundred Herb Pills he consumed, their effects would ultimately dissipate bit by bit. Only a small portion could be absorbed, and the farther he went, the less he absorbed.

Was this the effect of one's aptitude and Spiritual Root? Zhang Tie fell into deep thought.

Breaking through a minor bottleneck in Qi Refining was already as difficult as climbing to heaven for him. Yet he had heard that those senior brothers and sisters in the Outer Sect with excellent aptitude only needed seven or eight days at the shortest, or a month at the longest, to break through from the great completion of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Yet merely breaking through the barrier from the fourth layer of Qi Refining to the fifth had cost him more than half a year, and still yielded nothing. Was Heaven trying to cut off his path of Immortal Cultivation?

Helplessness, confusion, injustice, pain, and countless other emotions surged into Zhang Tie's heart like a tide.

Could one truly not cultivate immortality without a good Spiritual Root?

No. There had to be another way.

Zhang Tie racked his brains and pondered from every angle, but he could not find a single clue. Thus, he made up his mind to visit Elder Su at the External Affairs Hall and ask him. After all, in this vast sect, he truly had no one else to ask.

Before long, Zhang Tie arrived at the External Affairs Hall. Elder Su was reclining peacefully in a lounge chair with his eyes narrowed, and Zhang Tie could not tell whether he was truly asleep or merely resting his eyes.

Zhang Tie entered the External Affairs Hall on tiptoe and stood to one side, not daring to make a sound as he quietly waited.

About half an hour later, Elder Su slowly opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Tie. "Do you need something from me?"

"Greetings, Elder Su." Zhang Tie hurriedly clasped his fist and bowed. "This junior, Zhang Tie, has encountered a few doubts in cultivation and wishes to ask Elder Su for guidance."

After saying that, Zhang Tie gritted his teeth, took out ten Low-grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch, and carefully placed them on the table before Elder Su.

With a sweep of Elder Su's hand, the Spirit Stones instantly vanished.

Only then did Elder Su slowly sit up. "As an Outer Sect elder, answering your doubts and resolving your questions for the development of the sect's talents is already part of my duty. Go on, then. What problem have you encountered?"

Zhang Tie's expression stiffened, and he could not help grumbling inwardly. Earlier, Elder Su had barely acknowledged him, but the moment he accepted the Spirit Stones, he immediately put on a righteous air as though he cared only for the sect. The change was so natural that Zhang Tie was caught off guard.

But Zhang Tie quickly came back to his senses and hurriedly explained every detail of his difficult cultivation and his question of whether there were other methods.

Elder Su looked at Zhang Tie and said, "Immortal Cultivation is inherently an act of defying Heaven. If one has not received Heaven's favor and does not possess good aptitude, how can one speak of cultivating immortality?"

Zhang Tie looked disappointed. "Then there truly is no other way?"

"It is not as though there are absolutely no methods," Elder Su said slowly.

Zhang Tie's face immediately brightened. "Please enlighten me, Elder Su." At the same time, he clasped his fists and bowed deeply.

"This is not some secret that cannot be spoken of. Once you have spent longer in the Immortal Cultivation World, you will gradually learn of it yourself."

Elder Su paused before continuing, "Since you do not possess good Spiritual Root aptitude, you can only rely on acquired means to change it.

The first method is to consume certain heavenly spiritual fruits capable of changing one's aptitude.

Not only can they improve those with poor Spiritual Root aptitude, even mortals can develop excellent Spiritual Root aptitude after consuming them. But such spiritual fruits likely exist only in the Immortal Realm. At least, I have only seen records of them in certain miscellaneous writings.

The second method is to have a Core Formation Ancestor pour Spiritual Qi into your body and forcibly raise you from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, this comes with a tremendous drawback: your cultivation will forever remain at the initial Foundation Establishment stage.

Though you may live an additional century, you will have no chance to advance further on the path of Immortal Cultivation. Moreover, the Core Formation Ancestor who acts on your behalf will also suffer severe damage to his vital energy."

After hearing this, Zhang Tie was completely dazed. What difference was there between having these two methods and not having them? Let alone those heavenly spiritual fruits, he had never even seen a Core Formation Ancestor. At that thought, his mood grew even heavier.

"Is there no method that neither requires heavenly spiritual fruits nor the help of a Core Formation Ancestor, yet still allows one to cultivate and advance quickly?" Zhang Tie still refused to give up and asked urgently.

"There is," Elder Su answered with certainty.

"What method is that?" A flicker of surprise appeared in Zhang Tie's eyes once more as he hurriedly asked.

"That method is to cultivate heretical techniques. After all, the Immortal Cultivation World has existed for countless years, and cultivators with poor aptitude certainly make up the majority. Among them are no lack of clever individuals who opened another path and created such methods."

"Cultivating heretical techniques is generally extremely cruel. One either uses one's own relatives as blood sacrifices, or casually carries out blood sacrifices of mortals everywhere.

Though the cultivation speed is extremely fast, one can easily lose one's sanity, suffer cultivation deviation, and become a madman who knows only slaughter.

Furthermore, once it is discovered that someone cultivates heretical techniques, they will certainly be hunted down jointly by righteous and demonic cultivators throughout the world."

Elder Su said unhurriedly, "I heard that more than a hundred years ago, there was some group called the Black Fiend Sect that cultivated heretical techniques. They hid within the imperial palace and secretly captured mortals and some Qi Refining stage cultivators for blood sacrifices. It was said that their leader was about to use heretical techniques to form a Core Formation, but a righteous sect discovered them and sent powerful disciples to wipe them out completely."

After hearing this, Zhang Tie's heart went completely cold. With his abilities, cultivating heretical techniques would be no different from seeking death.

Seeing Zhang Tie's disappointed expression, Elder Su consoled him, "The Heavenly Dao is merciless. I hope you can learn to let it go.

Recognizing reality is not always a bad thing. Oh, and if you still have any thoughts, you may also visit the Technique Pavilion. There are many miscellaneous writings there, and they may broaden your knowledge."

Zhang Tie clasped his fists and bowed once more, thanking Elder Su. Then he turned and left the External Affairs Hall, somewhat dejected.