Cultivation Is Difficult

Zhang Tie sat cross-legged, his mind as calm as still water, undisturbed by any ripples.

He first meticulously recalled the Five Elements Cultivation Technique in his mind. After confirming it was accurate, he began to meditate and cultivate.

This time, he had truly prepared himself.

He had spent forty low-grade spirit stones without hesitation to purchase two bottles of Hundred Herb Pills.

Coupled with the two bottles of Hundred Herb Pills he had received as rewards, he now had a total of four bottles, containing thirty-six pills.

He thought that this quantity should be enough to support his cultivation until the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

Outside, spring turned to autumn, seasons changed, and time flowed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had passed. Zhang Tie exhaled a deep breath of turbid air, his face etched with bitterness.

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

However, it was as if an invisible barrier was firmly blocking him from advancing to the fifth layer. One Hundred Herb Pill yielded no progress; he tried two, still no avail; then he increased to three.

Another half a year passed gradually. With two more months to go before a full year, he would have to return to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to select new tasks.

Yet, even after consuming thirty-six Hundred Herb Pills over this past half-year, Zhang Tie remained stuck at the perfection of the fourth layer of Qi Refining, making no progress.

He always felt his body was like a tattered, riddled eggshell. No matter how many Hundred Herb Pills he consumed, they would slowly dissipate, with only a small portion being absorbed, and the absorption rate decreased further over time.

Was this the effect of his spiritual root and aptitude? Zhang Tie fell into deep contemplation.

Breaking through a minor bottleneck in Qi Cultivation was as difficult as ascending to heaven for him. He heard that senior brothers and sisters in the Outer Sect with excellent aptitude only needed seven to eight days, or at most a month, to break through from the great perfection of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Yet, he had spent over half a year trying to break through the barrier from the fourth layer of Qi Refining to the fifth, and still, there was no result. Was Heaven itself trying to cut off his path to cultivation?

Helplessness, confusion, injustice, pain, and other emotions surged through Zhang Tie like a tide.

Could one truly not cultivate without a good spiritual root?

No, there had to be another way.

Zhang Tie racked his brain, thinking left and right, but found no clues. Thus, he made up his mind to go to the External Affairs Hall and ask Elder Su. After all, in this vast sect, there was truly no one else he could ask.

Soon, Zhang Tie arrived at the External Affairs Hall. Elder Su was sitting comfortably in a recliner, his eyes half-closed, and it was unclear whether he was truly asleep or just dozing.

Zhang Tie tiptoed into the External Affairs Hall, stood to the side, not daring to make a sound, and quietly waited.

After about half an hour, Elder Su slowly opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Tie, "Do you need something?"

"Greetings, Elder Su," Zhang Tie quickly cupped his fists and bowed, saying respectfully, "This junior, Zhang Tie, has encountered some confusion in my cultivation and wishes to ask Elder Su to enlighten me."

After speaking, Zhang Tie gritted his teeth, took out ten low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag, and carefully placed them on the table in front of Elder Su.

Elder Su waved his hand, and the spirit stones instantly disappeared.

Only then did Elder Su slowly sit up and say, "As an Elder of the Outer Sect, it is my duty to answer your questions for the development of talent within the sect. Tell me, what problem have you encountered?"

Zhang Tie's expression faltered. He couldn't help but think to himself, Elder Su had been indifferent to him before, but after receiving the spirit stones, he immediately adopted a righteous demeanor, acting as if he was solely concerned for the sect. The change was so natural it almost caught him off guard.

But Zhang Tie quickly recovered and hurriedly explained his cultivation difficulties and his question about whether there were any other methods.

Elder Su looked at Zhang Tie and said with a slight opening of his mouth, "Cultivation is inherently an act of defiance against heaven. If one has not received heaven's favor and possesses good aptitude, how can they speak of cultivation?"

Zhang Tie's face fell, "Then there really is no other way?"

"There isn't necessarily no way," Elder Su said slowly.

Zhang Tie's face lit up with joy, "Please, Elder Su, enlighten me." He also cupped his fists in a deep bow.

"This is not something that needs to be kept secret. As you spend more time in the cultivation world, you will gradually come to know it yourself."

Elder Su paused and continued, "Since you do not have good spiritual root aptitude, you can only rely on acquired means to change it.

The first method is to consume some Heaven and Earth Spirit Fruits that can alter aptitude.

Not only those with poor spiritual root aptitude, but even mortals would develop excellent spiritual root aptitude after consuming them. However, such spirit fruits are likely only found in the immortal realm. At least, I have only seen related records in some miscellaneous notes.

The second is to have a Core Formation Ancestor perform spiritual energy infusion for you, forcefully elevating you from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, doing so carries significant drawbacks, which is that your cultivation will forever be stagnant at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Although you can live for another hundred years, you will have no chance to advance further on the path of cultivation. Moreover, the Core Formation Ancestor who performs this will suffer a great deal of vitality damage."

Zhang Tie listened, his face blank and bewildered. What was the difference between these two methods and having none at all for him? Let alone Heaven and Earth Spirit Fruits, he hadn't even seen a Core Formation Ancestor. Thinking of this, his mood became even heavier.

"Then are there no methods that don't require Heaven and Earth Spirit Fruits or the help of a Core Formation Ancestor, yet still allow for rapid cultivation and improvement?" Zhang Tie asked urgently, unwilling to give up.

"There are," Elder Su replied affirmatively.

"Then what method is it?" A flicker of surprise flashed in Zhang Tie's eyes as he quickly asked.

"This method is to cultivate heretical cultivation techniques. After all, the cultivation world has existed for countless years, and cultivators with poor aptitude absolutely make up the vast majority. Among them are those with keen intellect who found alternative paths and created such methods."

"Cultivating heretical cultivation techniques is usually extremely cruel. It either involves blood sacrifice of one's own relatives or frequent blood sacrifices of mortals.

Although the cultivation speed is extremely fast, it is very easy to lose one's sanity, fall into qi deviation, and turn into a madman who only knows how to kill.

Furthermore, once it is known that someone is cultivating heretical cultivation techniques, they will be hunted down by righteous and demonic cultivators alike."

Elder Su said unhurriedly, "I heard that over a hundred years ago, there was a gang called the Black Fiend Sect that practiced heretical cultivation techniques. They hid within the imperial palace, secretly capturing mortals and some Qi Refining stage cultivators for blood sacrifice. It is said that their leader was about to reach Core Formation using heretical cultivation techniques, but then they were discovered by a righteous sect, which dispatched powerful disciples to completely annihilate them."

Zhang Tie's heart sank completely after hearing this. With his own abilities, practicing heretical cultivation techniques would be no different from seeking his own death.

Seeing Zhang Tie's disappointment, Elder Su advised, "This is the heartlessness of the Heavenly Dao. I hope you can come to terms with it.

Recognizing reality is not always a bad thing. By the way, if you have any other ideas, you can also go to the Pill Repository to take a look. There are many miscellaneous records there that might broaden your horizons."

Zhang Tie cupped his fists and bowed again, thanking Elder Su, then turned and left the External Affairs Hall, somewhat dejectedly.