Seeing Liu Yu Again

The General Affairs Hall was exceptionally lively today, packed with people. Large numbers of Spirit Farmers had brought in their harvested Spirit Grain to pay the sect's field rent.

Several long lines stretched across the grounds, and the fragrant scent of spiritual rice hung in the air.

The lines moved slowly. After waiting for about an hour, it was finally Ji An's turn.

"196 jin of Spirit Grain. Mm, the quality isn't bad. We'll count it as 200 jin of Spirit Grain. You'll receive 40 Contribution Points."

Ji An frowned slightly at the cultivator in charge of weighing.

Before coming, he had clearly weighed out 200 jin of Yellow Bud Rice, then added two extra handfuls. Yet several jin had vanished by the time it reached this place.

"Senior Brother, this doesn't match what I weighed."

The cultivator narrowed his eyes and said with a smile that did not reach them:

"Junior Brother, you're new here, aren't you? I think there must be something wrong with your scale.

"Ask the Senior Brothers behind you. How could the General Affairs Hall's scale possibly be wrong?

"You there in the back—tell him, is there anything wrong with the scale here?"

Behind Ji An stood a cultivator as old as Old Huang.

"Of course the General Affairs Hall's scale can't be wrong," the old man said with a smile, discreetly giving Ji An a meaningful look.

Ji An pressed his lips together and handed over his jade token.

"Then my scale must have been wrong.

"Please exchange the Contribution Points I receive for Spirit Grain seeds for three mu of land and beginner Talisman Grass seeds for one mu."

The people at the General Affairs Hall certainly knew there was something wrong with their scale. They also knew the Spirit Farmers knew it was wrong, yet they still did this so openly. There had to be a whole gray chain of interests behind it.

He was only a minor cultivator at the Third Layer of Qi Condensation. For now, he could not afford to provoke them.

Nor did he want to ask Li Changfeng for help. Such a trivial matter was not worth owing someone a favor over.

Besides, in full public view, Li Changfeng would certainly have to stand with the General Affairs Hall.

The cultivator took the jade token and swiped it over a spirit plate, then curled his lip.

"You really are a new disciple.

"200 jin of Spirit Grain earns 40 Contribution Points. Spirit Grain seeds for three mu cost 12 Contribution Points, while Talisman Grass seeds for one mu cost 4 Contribution Points.

"Your jade token originally had no Contribution Points. You have 24 Contribution Points remaining."

Ji An took back his jade token and headed toward the Library.

The duty disciples at the General Affairs Hall were busy collecting field rent today, so they had no time to exchange jade slips for him.

When he arrived at the Library, he exchanged for a jade slip on making talisman paper and talisman ink, spending 20 Contribution Points.

Ji An did not hurry away. Since he had some free time today, he found several books of Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation to read and broaden his horizons.

He became utterly absorbed, only coming back to himself when the setting sun hung low in the west.

Ji An rode a Talisman Bird away, his thoughts heavy.

The books clearly recorded that the Golden Spirit Sect was a sect that had migrated here from Central Continent more than two thousand years ago. More than twenty sects, large and small, had migrated alongside it.

After several thousand years of wind and rain, only three sects still stood firm: the Golden Spirit Sect, Falling Maple Valley, and Harmony Peak. All the others had perished.

The books subtly suggested that the sects' migration here had not been entirely voluntary.

They also mentioned that every few thousand years, humanity would wage a long and bitter war against the Demon Race deep within the mountains of Western Continent.

Drawing on the broad view of the bigger picture he had cultivated from years of reading novels in his previous life, Ji An understood one thing: if war broke out again, the few sects of Western Continent would serve as a buffer between the forces of Central Continent and the Demon Race!

After advancing to Mid Qi Condensation, he had to gather 200 Contribution Points as soon as possible and exchange them for a Jade Slip for Spells containing offensive techniques.

He knew that if a great war erupted, everyone in the sect would be caught up in it.

The Golden Spirit Sect had been rooted in this land for more than two thousand years. No one could say how long remained until the next war.

Ji An would rather be worrying over nothing than know nothing when the time truly came to fight for his life.

No matter when it was, the only person one could truly rely on was oneself.

Of his three mu of Spirit Fields, two and a half mu were planted with Spirit Grain, while the remaining half mu was planted with Talisman Grass.

Beginner Talisman Grass also matured once every three months. When the time came, he could try making talisman paper.

With one more craft under his belt, he could make better use of his time.

Earning spirit stones by condensing Wood Origin Pearls all over the mountains was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the returns were poor as well.

Ji An cast spell after spell. Clouds and mist shrouded the three mu of Spirit Fields, while Spirit Rain poured down in sheets and hazy watery vapor spread through the air.

He nodded in satisfaction and was about to leave when he suddenly caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure walking along a small path not far away.

He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said with a smile:

"Seeing Senior Brother Liu again today, I presume Senior Brother has broken through to Late Qi Condensation!"

"Haha, I only broke through last night."

Liu Yu was in excellent spirits, his face full of smiles as he nodded warmly.

Ji An's eyes flickered slightly. About five months had passed since their last meeting.

After so much time, the other man's cultivation had only risen from Qi Condensation Layer 6 to the Seventh Layer of Qi Condensation. This was vastly different from his former meteoric progress. Was the bottleneck of Mid Qi Condensation truly so difficult to break through?

After giving it some thought, Ji An said:

"Senior Brother, on the day that great Foundation Establishment cultivator of the sect gave a lecture to the new disciples, you didn't attend. I heard something there, and I'd like to tell Senior Brother about it."

He carefully recounted Qin Yan's explanation of methods for improving one's aptitude, closely watching the other man's expression.

He found that Liu Yu's expression remained calm throughout, without the slightest ripple. Ji An thought to himself that this secret art was probably no secret to the other man.

After hearing him out, Liu Yu smiled faintly. "Thank you for telling me, Junior Brother."

He pondered for a few seconds, then added:

"I'll tell Junior Brother a small tip as well. Qi Condensation Stage disciples below Earth-grade aptitude will encounter bottlenecks, more or less, when breaking through Mid Qi Condensation and Late Qi Condensation.

"If time permits, it is best not to buy pills for breaking through bottlenecks. Slowly grind your way past them instead.

"Otherwise, it will have some unfavorable effects on breaking through to Foundation Establishment."

If one used pills to break through bottlenecks during the Qi Condensation Stage, then one's chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm would be half a percent lower than that of someone who had not taken such pills.

Half a percent might not seem like much, but a Foundation Establishment Pill itself could not guarantee a cultivator a one hundred percent chance of breaking through. If one's luck was poor, a single Foundation Establishment Pill might not be enough!

The information he had given about improving aptitude was useless to Liu Yu, since Liu Yu had already known it. But from far away, Liu Yu had seen the range of the Minor Cloud and Rain Art and known that Ji An had practiced the spell to great mastery.

This Junior Brother possessed astonishing comprehension of spells. With this talent as a Spirit Farmer, he would not fare poorly in the future.

In theory, as long as one had sufficient resources during the Qi Condensation Stage, advancing to Foundation Establishment was not difficult. The only difference was whether one established the foundation early or late.

For cultivators, Foundation Establishment was only the beginning. The Qi Condensation Stage merely formed the foundation that held up the world of cultivation.

There was such a saying?

Ji An was startled inwardly and understood why Liu Yu's breakthrough had taken so long this time.

He became even more eager about finding a master in the future. Without a teacher constantly offering guidance, who knew when he might step into a pitfall?

"Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother. Ji An will remember this deeply."

Ji An gave a respectful salute. He had originally intended to buy pills and quickly break through when he encountered the bottleneck of Mid Qi Condensation, but now he would have to consider the matter carefully.