Afraid You'll Grab Your Bucket and Run

Within the Three Origins Sect's outer sect, a lake as clear as a mirror lay nestled amid the surrounding mountains. Chongshan Hall stood in the middle of the lake, serving as the main place where Outer Sect Disciples handled daily affairs and awaited assignments.

Passing through an inconspicuous side door of the main hall and walking a short way down a dimly lit corridor brought one to Chongshan Hall's Scripture Pavilion.

The Scripture Pavilion was small and simply furnished.

Several rows of towering wooden shelves nearly reached the ceiling, crammed full of books and scrolls. The air carried the mingled scent of old paper and wood, somewhat stifling.

A few long wooden tables and benches stood against the walls for reading and copying. The moment Chen Yu entered, he saw quite a few disciples bent over their desks, controlling writing brushes to copy something.

Most of the books and scrolls here were old, their pages yellowed and curled at the edges. They recorded mostly basic Cultivation Methods, sect rules, geographical records of mountains and rivers, as well as illustrated guides to common plants and minerals.

There were also precious Cultivation Methods manuals that required Dao scrolls to exchange for.

Chen Yu could not dig up even a single Dao scroll from his entire body, so naturally, they were not his target.

The Three Origins Sect was cutthroat when it came to cultivation, but its benefits were quite generous too.

Once disciples had cultivated the basic method, the "Kaiyuan Scroll," to its maximum level, or advanced to the middle stage of Qi Cultivation, they could go to the Scripture Pavilion and claim an advanced cultivation method for free.

Compared to the Kaiyuan Scroll, which merely laid the foundation, advanced methods were far more sophisticated and began to touch upon complex principles such as the movements of the Five Elements.

So now came the problem.

He only knew that advanced methods could be claimed at the Scripture Pavilion. No one had told him how to claim one.

Just as he was worrying, an old man strolled leisurely through the pavilion. He glanced at Chen Yu, then waved his whisk in dismissal.

"Off with you. This is a quiet place for reading. What are you standing there stupidly for, youngster?"

"I'm here to claim an advanced sect cultivation method."

The old man with long brows sized him up again, then reached out to take his pulse, squinting his eyes.

"Mm... Your Spiritual Power is abundant, and its purity truly matches middle-stage cultivation."

"Come with this old man."

The old man walked to the depths of the Scripture Pavilion and flicked his whisk. Cultivation Methods manuals on the tall bookshelves trembled before floating down.

He put on his reading glasses and picked up a ledger to make an entry.

"Name."

"Chen Yu."

"Where do you live?"

"Green Bamboo Forest."

"Mm... You joined the sect four years ago. To have made such progress in cultivation, you must have put in quite a bit of effort."

Indeed, he had put plenty of effort into eating.

He just did not know whether eating diligently counted as cultivating seriously.

"Did you learn how to choose an advanced cultivation method before coming here?"

"I did—"

"No need to rush your answer. This old man will explain it to you slowly."

The old man muttered, "In past years, quite a few disciples chose the wrong cultivation methods and dumped the blame on this old man's head. I'll make it clear for you this time. If you regret it later, don't come looking for me."

"Alright."

In Chen Yu's understanding, choosing a cultivation method was much like choosing a major. No matter what major one chose, someone would regret it in the end.

Either the cultivation method was the problem, or the master was the problem. It could never possibly be their own problem.

Of course, there were also fools who picked the wrong cultivation method in a moment of feverish impulse, and unlucky people who had no way to learn about them beforehand.

There was actually quite a bit beneath the surface.

"Ahem..."

The old man cleared his throat.

"Listen carefully, boy. This old man will tell you the difference between basic cultivation methods and advanced cultivation methods."

"That Kaiyuan Scroll you cultivate is the sect's most fundamental technique. It nourishes your meridians and makes your Dantian's 'pool' a little bigger, all for laying your foundation."

"Its advantage is that it is upright and balanced, neither leaning one way nor the other."

"As for advanced cultivation methods..." The old man smacked his lips, as though recalling some troublesome matter. "Those come in every shape and size."

"Based on the Five Elements, there are basic ones such as the Greenwood Everlasting Spring Technique, Profound Water True Method, Blazing Fire Heart Sutra, Houtu Earth-Bearing Sutra..."

"There are also more complex dual-attribute methods: the Geng Metal Bing Fire Art, Yi Wood Gui Water Sutra, Wu Earth Blazing Fire Technique... There are countless varieties."

"Single-attribute methods are easy to learn but hard to master. Dual-attribute methods are hard to learn but easy to master. Which one you choose is for you to weigh up—consider how much ability and patience you have."

"This old man will say this first..."

"If you choose right, that is your skill. If you choose wrong... that is still your own path. Don't come back crying to make trouble for this old man. These old bones cannot stand being tossed around."

"I want the Nine Terraces Palace Creation Art."

Xuxuantian had no such thing as spiritual roots—or rather, the spiritual roots here were different from what he had imagined.

Cultivation theory held that every cultivator possessed all five elements in full—that is, everyone had five-element spiritual roots.

It was just that these five-element spiritual roots were like five wooden sticks: some were long, some short.

For instance, those with a long water spiritual root had talent in the path of water.

Chen Yu's five-element spiritual roots were all the same length—or rather, all equally short. He could choose Cultivation Methods of any attribute; it all came down to personal preference.

Naturally, he chose the dual earth-and-wood Cultivation Method better suited to him—the "Nine Terraces Palace Creation Art."

The old man raised his brows at him.

"Kid, have you thought this through? The earth-and-wood path hasn't exactly been in demand these past few decades. Shengkang has enjoyed a hundred years of peace—no wars, no expansion of territory—so earth-and-wood cultivators can only scrape by on repair jobs, and the conditions are harsh."

"Quite a few of your Senior Brothers are building a spiritual-vein mine on White Bone Mountain. The conditions are so harsh, and monsters harass them often enough, that three more of them picked up their buckets and ran off last year."

"I've thought it through."

"You..."

The old man's whisk swayed in his arms as he shook his head and sighed.

"Fine. You look agreeable enough, so I'll point you toward a bright road. Since your five elements are balanced, why not cultivate a fire-element Cultivation Method? Go guard the monsters at Black Mountain Hollow for twenty years first. If you perform well, it may not be impossible to transfer you back to Chongshan Hall to guard the gate."

"Uh..."

Even guarding a gate required twenty years of experience. This Three Origins Sect was competitive beyond all bounds.

"What, you're not satisfied?"

"Let this old man think... Ten Thousand Poisons Cave needs someone to guard its entrance—a monitor to track the monsters' movements. That cave is indeed somewhat dangerous, but if you happen to have some talent for alchemy, temper yourself for a few more years, and become familiar with poisons, perhaps you could be transferred back to the Alchemy Hall and taken under Elder Lin's wing."

"..."

"Rest assured, Elder, I won't be picking up my bucket and running off."

He had never planned to seek employment by cultivating the Nine Terraces Palace Creation Art, so he truly had no reason to run away.

He had work of his own. Construction in Zeyarila should count as a major project too, right?

It was merely construction for his own swamp territory.

"Since you've already made up your mind, this old man won't try to dissuade you. But this Cultivation Method is only the foundation. To truly bring out its effects, you'll need Dao Arts."

"Kid, have you prepared your Dao Vouchers? Dao Arts aren't free."

"No."

Chen Yu answered without hesitation, because he was fully confident—he was certain he did not have a single Dao Voucher.

The old man swiftly glanced toward the doorway, then lowered his voice.

"It doesn't matter if you don't. This old man exchanges one Dao Voucher for ninety-five Spirit Shards. Miss this village, and you won't find this shop again."

"Elder, you take side jobs too?"

"What side jobs? It's perfectly reasonable for a retired old man like me to earn a few Spirit Stones."