Talent Development

Among the twenty who remained, he selected sixteen beasts, two birds, and two scaled creatures.

The beasts consisted of ten in total: six from the ape tribe, four from the deer tribe, three from the fox tribe, one from the bear tribe, one from the rat tribe, and one from the elephant tribe. The six birds consisted of two cranes. Finally, the two scaled creatures he chose were both from the turtle tribe.

This could be considered the completion of the land, sea, and air forces.

Of the ten beasts, the two leaders of the ape tribe were named Yuan Tong and Yuan Jin. Both were at the peak of the Mystic Immortal realm. Previously, they had been unable to break through because of the cultivation method they practiced, but after hearing Jiang Yun's sermon, they believed they would soon achieve a breakthrough. The other four had only just broken through to the Mystic Immortal realm and were subordinate to the two leaders.

The four members of the deer tribe were led by Yuan Ling, a sika deer at the late Mystic Immortal stage. Yuan Ling belonged to the same tribe as Jiang Yun's attendant, Rong Guang. The other three were only at the peak of the True Immortal realm, a full major realm behind.

The fox tribe had always been an intelligent race, particularly the Nine-Tailed Foxes and Qingqiu Foxes, which were the most famous. Although their combat strength was not particularly formidable, they were clever and often appeared in the role of military advisers. Jiang Yun was also rather optimistic about their tribe. The three foxes were led by Chi Mei, a Golden Immortal at the early stage. The other two were Ling Mei, a mid-stage Mystic Immortal, and You Ming, an early-stage Mystic Immortal.

The three members of the bear, rat, and elephant tribes were named Black Wind, Earth Surge, and Huang Ya, respectively. Black Wind and Huang Ya had thick hides and tremendous strength. Both were at the peak of the Mystic Immortal realm, with combat strength comparable to that of Golden Immortals. If they broke through to the Golden Immortal realm, they would rank among the top few of the twenty. Earth Surge belonged to the rat tribe and was skilled at burrowing underground. He was cautious and careful, and was at the early Mystic Immortal stage.

Of the two birds, the leader of the crane tribe was named Xue Yu. One was at the late Mystic Immortal stage, while the other was at the early stage. The White Crane tribe had always symbolized purity and nobility. Like the deer tribe, it was favored by many powerful cultivators, and Jiang Yun was no exception.

As for the final two members of the turtle tribe, Jiang Yun had deliberately given them names. One was called Gui Zang, and the other Gui Sun. They were easy to say. Although the turtle tribe was mild-tempered and slow-moving, its members were generally meticulous and handled matters in an orderly fashion. Influenced by memories of his past life, Jiang Yun also wanted to see whether he could cultivate two Turtle Prime Ministers.

He planned to gradually cultivate this group into senior administrators under his command. Once they had mastered what they needed to learn, he would only need to oversee the general direction in the future, while the implementation of specific plans would be entrusted to those below him.

During the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan that had already been finalized, what was most lacking next was grassroots management personnel. This gap would be enormous, so he needed to formulate some countermeasures and make preparations in advance.

Whether it was opening Mount Sumeru to accept disciples or selecting and cultivating talents in the Grotto-Heaven World, he was preparing for this very purpose.

Jiang Yun would provide them with a platform to hone their abilities. When the time came, some would assist Rong Guang in managing the Grotto-Heaven World and cultivating its living beings, while others would be brought back to Spirit Bamboo Valley to develop and expand it alongside him.

While they were comprehending divine abilities, Jiang Yun cast a spell and built a broad, magnificent Dao Field beside the spirit pool. He incorporated both the spirit pool and the white lotuses within it into the Dao Field's rear courtyard. This would be his base in the Grotto-Heaven. Ever since he had seen the Grand Hall at Mount Sumeru and Great Immortal Zhen Yuan's Wuzhuang Temple, he had begun to look down on the bamboo hut in his Spirit Bamboo Valley Dao Field. How could a great divine cultivator or a great cultivator lack a proper place to live?

He waved his hand toward the Dao Field's mountain gate, and the two characters "Pengxuan" were carved onto it. He then set up a simplified Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation beside the Dao Field, retaining only its function of drawing in Star Spiritual Energy. Just as he had done at the Spirit Bamboo Valley Dao Field, he also built a Star Power Lake.

Within Pengxuan Temple, he also built a Scripture Hall and a Mission Hall.

In the Scripture Hall, he would set up the Earth Vein Spirit Infusion Array and the other formations he had compiled. He would also store some divine abilities he had acquired while listening to lectures at Purple Cloud Palace, along with the first layer of the Star Body Refinement Method he had previously created.

As for the Mission Hall, he would occasionally post missions such as repairing earth veins in the outer Grotto-Heaven, dispelling demonic energy, Blood Fiend corruption, and other filth, and clearing out ferocious beasts. The investigation and posting of these specific missions would be handled by the group of people he had selected. He only needed to establish the general framework; it could be gradually refined as it operated.

Jiang Yun recalled that when he had repaired the earth veins before, his fortune had improved somewhat, and the Heavenly Dao had always rewarded him with some merit. He then used the Dao Derivation Disk to deduce a cultivation method—the Merit Golden Body Method—and placed it in the Scripture Hall as well.

For living beings whose cultivation aptitude was not particularly good, this cultivation method was practically a Tongtian Great Dao. As long as they worked hard to accumulate merit, they could continue cultivating it. At its highest, it could be cultivated to Grand Unity Perfection. Moreover, it cultivated both Dharma and the body, and its combat strength was considerable.

Of course, it would still be somewhat inferior to some veteran Innate Beings, but that was not a major problem.

He gave Rong Guang authority to open the Scripture Hall. Some cultivation methods were assigned restrictions regarding cultivation level and physical strength. For example, with the Star Body Refinement Method, if one's cultivation had not reached the Golden Immortal realm and one's body had not been tempered by the aura of indestructibility of laws, rashly attempting to refine the body with Star Power would be no different from seeking death.

Jiang Yun also drew upon systems from the cultivation worlds in his memories and prepared to establish a Merit Points exchange system in the Grotto-Heaven World. He would assign corresponding Merit Points to the various cultivation methods, formations, and divine abilities. As long as someone paid the required Merit Points and met the restrictions, they could unlock the exchange. This way, he could use the established rules to select suitable people to cultivate the methods and divine abilities.

For example, those who wished to cultivate the Star Body Refinement Method had to undergo refinement with Star Spiritual Energy, and there was a Star Power Lake right beside his Pengxuan Temple. However, they would also need to exchange Merit Points to cultivate in the lake.

If the living beings of the Grotto-Heaven wished to cultivate these methods and divine abilities, they could only accumulate Merit Points by collecting spiritual materials and spiritual plants needed for setting up formations, completing missions such as repairing earth veins posted by the Mission Hall, or making other major contributions.

Once the entire process was established, they would complete missions to accumulate Merit Points, then use those Merit Points to exchange for cultivation methods and divine abilities. Cultivating those methods and abilities would in turn require even more Merit Points...

This would continue without end, forming a beneficial positive cycle. The initial construction of the West would also quietly unfold within the Grotto-Heaven.

Jiang Yun's entire approach was intended to turn Pengxuan Grotto-Heaven into a personal talent reserve center. At the same time, it would become his talent cultivation base. He would guide the thoughts of the Grotto-Heaven's living beings from the very beginning of their cultivation, using this series of measures to form a systematic method of education and transform all living beings into the talents needed to develop the West.

Once the measures here had been implemented and talent cultivation began to show results, he would gradually transfer them to various regions of the West. At that point, the subsequent stages designed in the First Five-Year Plan could begin one after another.