First Hearing of the Hardships of Cultivation

A flood of thoughts flashed through Han Yuan's mind before he slowly said, "Peak Lord, my cultivation was tested by the sect's Magic Tool, so it shouldn't be wrong, right? But I really am a little confused about my own cultivation. I never received any guidance before, and this disciple only has a half-baked understanding of cultivation. Could I still be at the Qi Refining Third Layer?"

Du Yuanhe's lips curled upward. This kid was playing dumb about everything—quite the slippery one.

He said calmly, "That Magic Tool only judges according to ordinary standards. But in this world, there are always special people who break convention, though such people rarely appear among cultivators with Mid-grade Spiritual Roots. Your Dantian is twice the size of an ordinary person's. Either you possess a special constitution, or you have consumed some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures."

Han Yuan said, "This disciple has never eaten any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. I never eat unfamiliar things. Could it be that I have a special constitution?"

"Perhaps. But even if you do have a special constitution, your cultivation speed is still a little too fast. Do you have any other secrets? Would you be willing to share them with this old man?" Du Yuanhe said with a half-smile.

Han Yuan looked at the old man's back and inwardly grumbled. Was this old fellow trying to bait him?

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Well, this disciple was fortunate enough to comprehend the Minor Accomplishment Realm of the Ancient Wood Nourishing Spirit Art, so my cultivation speed has increased quite a bit."

"Oh? So that was it!"

Du Yuanhe's lips curled upward, but he did not press further. He had clearly detected that Han Yuan's cultivation art had already reached the Major Accomplishment Realm. Breaking through to Major Accomplishment was more than ten times harder than breaking through to Minor Accomplishment. This kid was not being honest!

Still, he understood. Hiding one's capabilities was a quality cultivators ought to possess.

Believing that he had uncovered Han Yuan's secret, he said blandly, "This old man is Du Yuanhe, the current Spirit Script Peak Master. Your aptitude is decent, and your comprehension is passable. Are you willing to take me as your master?"

Han Yuan opened his mouth. Feeling the flying sword gradually rise higher, he glanced at the trees shrinking below him. His lips twitched a few times before he said, "This disciple... is willing! Han Yuan greets Master!"

"Ha ha ha! Good, good! You are this old man's seventh disciple. Of the previous six, four have already fallen. Your Second Senior Brother has broken through to Foundation Establishment and is stationed at a mining site. Your Fourth Senior Sister is already at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation and is still training outside. I'll introduce you once they return!"

Du Yuanhe laughed heartily. As he spoke, the flying sword naturally descended in altitude, and its speed slowed somewhat.

Han Yuan noticed all those little movements and no longer had the strength to complain. What made his scalp tingle even more was that four of his previous senior brothers and sisters had already kicked the bucket!

Th-this... Why did his feet suddenly feel a little numb?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The mountain wind howled past. In just a few moments, the two arrived at the summit of a massive mountain peak.

The scenery atop Spirit Script Peak was extraordinarily beautiful: pavilions and towers, little bridges over flowing water, spirit trees and flowers, birds circling amid curling clouds and mist—a sight too beautiful to take in all at once.

It felt as though they had stepped into the immortal realm.

When the flying sword descended, quite a few disciples practicing sword arts in the courtyards stopped and respectfully saluted in their direction.

"Greetings, Peak Lord!"

"Continue practicing!"

Du Yuanhe waved a hand and led Han Yuan forward.

Han Yuan followed close behind.

Quite a few Inner Sect Disciples curiously sized up Han Yuan behind Du Yuanhe, and quiet murmurs occasionally drifted over.

"Who is that?"

"Today seems to be the day the Outer Sect Disciples have their cultivation tested. If I'm not mistaken, that disciple should be among the outer sect's top ten and has obtained Inner Sect Disciple status early!"

"So that's it. It seems our Spirit Script Peak will gain another talented junior brother."

"Hurry up and cultivate. Don't let him surpass you in a few years. Anyone who can rank in the top ten will definitely reach Foundation Establishment, so long as they don't die."

Han Yuan felt as though thorns were pressing against his back. Every Inner Sect Disciple was at least at the Seventh Level of Qi Condensation. Their strength exceeded his by dozens of times, and their gazes felt like stabbing bayonets, making his skin ache.

He was like a kitten that had suddenly wandered into a pack of dozens of fierce tigers.

Only after entering a courtyard did the noise outside vanish in an instant. Han Yuan finally let out a light breath.

"After hearing their discussion, do you think you'll soon break through to the late Qi Refining stage?"

Du Yuanhe stopped beneath a tree, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked.

Han Yuan shook his head. "It will definitely take quite some time!"

"You may not yet understand the hardships of cultivation. As your master, the first lesson I will teach you is the difficulty of the immortal path!"

Han Yuan's expression turned solemn as he listened attentively.

"Let us first speak of the Outer Sect Disciples' cultivation tests. Do you know why there are rewards for those who can reach the Qi Refining Third Layer within two years?"

"It should be to encourage disciples to cultivate!"

Du Yuanhe shook his head. "It is because only those disciples have hope of reaching Foundation Establishment! Reaching the Qi Refining Third Layer takes two years. Reaching the Qi Refining Layer 4 likewise takes at least two years. The Qi Refining Fifth Layer takes four years, the sixth layer eight years, the seventh layer sixteen years, the eighth layer thirty-two years, the ninth layer sixty-four years, and reaching Perfection Level at the ninth layer takes one hundred and twenty-eight years! Added together, that is two hundred and fifty-six years!"

Han Yuan was stunned. "It can't take that long, can it? As one's realm rises, cultivation speed should increase!"

"Cultivation speed does increase, but the quality of Spiritual Power rises as well, and the amount of Spiritual Power required also increases. Add the bottlenecks in between, and the total time will only be greater, not less. A Qi Condensation cultivator only lives one hundred and twenty years. Moreover, after the age of sixty, the success rate for Foundation Establishment plummets. Therefore, it is best to establish one's foundation before sixty!"

Han Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Can't pills speed things up?"

"That is correct. Pills can indeed accelerate cultivation, but pills have three problems. First is Pill Toxin, which you should understand. Second, they affect Spiritual Power Quality and lower the chances of Foundation Establishment, so one must continuously purify one's Spiritual Power. The third is the most troublesome: one develops drug resistance to pills. Take too many, and eventually their effects will be reduced to less than a tenth. Furthermore, pills consume immense resources! Besides, haven't you already taken pills over the past two years? That has already been factored in!"

Han Yuan nodded, then felt that something was off. Drug resistance? What was that? Han Yuan suddenly hesitated. "Master, when does drug resistance appear?"

Du Yuanhe asked doubtfully, "Didn't you notice? You have taken an entire bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills, haven't you? If you paid attention, the last pill should have been only seventy to eighty percent as effective as the first!"

Han Yuan's pupils contracted. He recalled his previous experiences taking pills, and his heart could not help beating faster.

Du Yuanhe did not suspect anything and continued, "Without taking pills into account, how can these disciples reach Foundation Establishment?"

Thinking of his own circumstances, Han Yuan's eyes lit up. "I understand now. Breakthroughs in cultivation arts! The Minor Accomplishment Realm can double efficiency, while the Major Accomplishment Realm should quadruple it! In that case, two hundred and fifty-six years can be compressed to sixty-four!"

Du Yuanhe froze, then the corner of his mouth lifted. "Major Accomplishment in a cultivation art is not so easily attained. Generally speaking, it is already quite good to reach the Minor Accomplishment Realm. On the other hand, the main method is to rely on Spirit Gathering Arrays or Spirit Stones to accelerate cultivation. The Inner Peak has cultivation cave mansions and cultivation rooms that can double or even triple cultivation speed. Combined with the two methods, one can presumably meet the requirements for Foundation Establishment before the age of fifty! Yet this merely grants one the qualifications for Foundation Establishment. Generally speaking, those with Mid-grade Spiritual Roots have only a twenty percent chance of successfully breaking through to Foundation Establishment!"

"Of the five hundred disciples in your batch, only one hundred and eighty reached the Qi Refining Third Layer. Of those, perhaps only ten or twenty will be able to break through to Foundation Establishment!"

Han Yuan instinctively asked, "Then how can the chances of Foundation Establishment be increased?"

Du Yuanhe raised one thumb. "First, the Foundation Establishment Pill. It can be obtained through the sect's grand competition and can raise the success rate by twenty to thirty percent. Second, break through to the Tenth Level of Qi Condensation, the eleventh layer, or the twelfth layer. Each time one cultivates a layer to Perfection Level, one can gain another ten percent chance. However, these realms require filling the Dantian, and the amount of Spiritual Power required is no small matter. Other than that..."

He looked at Han Yuan and smiled faintly. "A special case like yours can also gain an additional ten percent chance out of thin air!"

"Now, do you understand something of how difficult cultivation is?" Du Yuanhe asked solemnly.

Han Yuan lowered his head and sank into thought. My situation is different from everyone else's. Every breakthrough expands my Dantian, so it is difficult to predict my future cultivation speed. But with pills boosting me, cultivation will not be difficult. As for the chances of Foundation Establishment, I already have thirty to forty percent on my own. If I take a Foundation Establishment Pill, I can push my success rate to one hundred percent. Foundation Establishment can't stop me at all!

Thinking this, he replied, "It will probably take some time before I can break through!"

"It is good that you understand!"

Du Yuanhe said indifferently, "I can prepare the best cave mansion for you, provide an ample supply of pills, and guide your cultivation art practice. With your conditions, breaking through to Foundation Establishment will not be difficult. But I hope you set your sights on the Golden Core!"

"Hm?"

Du Yuanhe said seriously, "To break through to the Golden Core, you need to cultivate a spell of Mysterious Grade or above to Perfection Level and condense a True Talisman, using it as your foundation to break through to the Golden Core. To prepare in advance to master that spell, you need to practice its corresponding Yellow Grade spell during the Qi Refining realm and bring it as close to Perfection Level as possible. During Foundation Establishment, with the aid of Heaven-Earth Resonance, you can rapidly master the Mystic Grade Spell and save over a hundred years of bitter cultivation! I can prepare several spell inheritances for you. This is also one of the greatest benefits of joining my lineage!"

"Thank you for your gift, Master!" Han Yuan said gratefully.

Du Yuanhe smiled and nodded.

Han Yuan suddenly understood. After saying so much, wasn't this all to show how great his master's help would be? Truly an old fox!

Still, he was indeed grateful. If no one had told him, he truly would not have known cultivation contained so many twists and turns. Even if he did know, it would have been difficult to exchange for precious complete sets of spell inheritances.

"There is no rush to exchange for spells. We will discuss it after you reach the late Qi Refining stage. For now, focus on cultivation. Mm, our Earth God Sect requires every disciple to master an immortal cultivation craft. The Spirit Script arts of our Spirit Script Peak are the most unique..."

"I want to become a Spirit Planter."

"A Spirit Planter?" Du Yuanhe hurriedly shook his head. "Your comprehension is good. Spirit Script arts suit those with high comprehension, you..."

Han Yuan was stunned. His comprehension was high?

How did he not know that himself?

His breakthrough to the Minor Accomplishment Realm in his cultivation art had merely been an accidental moment of enlightenment. In truth, his comprehension was about the same as everyone else's. Since Spirit Script arts required comprehension, he certainly would not go looking for trouble!

"No, Master, I'd rather become a Spirit Planter!"

Du Yuanhe's expression darkened. "Do not be willful!"

Han Yuan was frantic. How was he being willful? He was clearly very skilled at farming!

"Master, I have already successfully grown a crop of Blood Spirit Rice. I think I have great talent in cultivation!" Han Yuan immediately said.

Du Yuanhe waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it. Do not regret it later. This is the token for Cangming Cave Mansion, a Mysterious Grade Upper Rank cave mansion. It can increase cultivation speed fivefold. You will cultivate there from now on."

"Thank you, Master!" Han Yuan happily accepted the token.

"If there is nothing else, leave at once!" Du Yuanhe grumbled unhappily under his breath. "Wasting such comprehension. If I had that comprehension, I would have long since..."

"What did you say, Master?"

Du Yuanhe pointed outside. "Do not come bother me unless necessary!"

"This disciple understands!"

That meant he could come find him whenever there was something important!

Holding the token, Han Yuan happily went back to move house!

He decided that after moving into his new cave mansion, he would first enter seclusion and cultivate until he truly reached the Qi Refining Layer 4. Besides that, he absolutely had to exchange for a spell to conceal his cultivation. This world was far too unsafe.