Wang Long escorted Li Xiuchang to the outskirts of the inner sect, then took his leave.
The inner and outer sects were separated by a tall wall. As soon as Li Xiuchang entered the inner sect, his most immediate impression was that it had grown much quieter.
There were even fewer people in the inner sect. It was nowhere near as lively as the outer sect. Li Xiuchang walked all the way to Senior Brother Song Yu's residence without seeing more than a few passersby.
Contrary to what Li Xiuchang had imagined, the houses where inner-sect disciples lived were actually smaller than those of outer-sect disciples.
They were simply quieter, with denser spiritual energy.
Li Xiuchang knocked on Senior Brother Song Yu's door. After a moment, Senior Brother Song Yu opened it and welcomed him inside.
Senior Brother Song Yu's residence did not even have a courtyard. The house was only one story, and when Li Xiuchang entered, he found that its interior could be described as having "nothing but four bare walls."
It seemed that inner-sect disciples all lived like ascetic cultivators.
The house was so crude that spiritual energy was practically the only thing it contained.
"Have you gotten used to the sect these past two days?" Senior Brother Song Yu asked first.
Li Xiuchang nodded. "All the senior brothers and sisters have been very warm. It feels just like coming home."
"That's good." Song Yu looked Li Xiuchang over twice. "I see that you already possess a Cultivation Level, so you must have condensed mana. Did you come this time to choose one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts?"
Li Xiuchang gave a bitter laugh. "That's secondary. I came to see Senior Brother Song mainly because I ran into a problem with my cultivation."
Senior Brother Song Yu immediately showed concern.
Li Xiuchang then recounted how he had cultivated Charcoal Attribute Mana, and even demonstrated its ability to produce fire.
Senior Brother Song Yu waved his hand, dispersing the smoke in the room. Looking at the wisp of black mana on Li Xiuchang's fingertip, he pondered for a moment before saying:
"Quite a few people cultivate the 'Fire Starting Skill,' but I've never heard of anyone cultivating black mana.
"You don't need to worry too much. This should merely be a special attribute of mana. It might even be a good thing for you."
In the cultivation world, all attributes outside the five elements were classified as special attributes.
The more common ones included the yang attribute, lightning attribute, wind attribute, ice attribute, and the blood and yin attributes commonly found among demonic cultivators.
Only through special techniques or special physiques could cultivators develop mana with special attributes.
But even Senior Brother Song Yu had never heard of this Charcoal Attribute Mana of Li Xiuchang's.
"Most special attributes of mana have their own unique advantages compared with the five-element attributes. Your Charcoal Attribute Mana can produce both fire and smoke, and it even contains a trace of toxicity. Its uses are varied, and its potential is boundless. It should be quite powerful.
"However, since there is no experience from predecessors to serve as reference, you'll have to explore and develop ways to use this Charcoal Attribute Mana yourself."
Senior Brother Song Yu explained both its advantages and drawbacks, giving Li Xiuchang a clear idea of the situation.
As long as it did not affect his own cultivation, Li Xiuchang could accept it. As for developing ways to use his mana, he could take his time.
The two then began discussing the Hundred Cultivation Arts.
"How much do you know about the Hundred Cultivation Arts, Junior Brother Li?" Song Yu asked.
"Everything I know comes from the introduction in the 'Beginner's Guide.'" Li Xiuchang answered honestly.
Song Yu pondered briefly, then pulled a book from his Storage Bag and handed it to Li Xiuchang. "This book gives a general introduction to the Hundred Cultivation Arts. Take a look first and see whether any particularly interest you.
"Interest is the best teacher. If you're interested in an art, you'll have more motivation when you practice it in the future."
Li Xiuchang felt embarrassed about taking up too much of Senior Brother Song Yu's time, so he quickly began flipping through the book.
Alchemy, the foremost of the Hundred Cultivation Arts and one of the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation...
Artifact Refining, one of the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation. Easy to begin, difficult to master...
Talisman-making, one of the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation. Low cost for practice, low entry threshold, effort outweighing talent. Diligent practice will surely bring results...
Formation, one of the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation. It values lineage and requires a good teacher to guide one. It also places great importance on comprehension; those with dull minds should choose carefully...
Divination Arts, one of the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation. Those without talent cannot even begin. Practitioners must be steady in temperament and cautious in speech and conduct, or else disaster will follow...
The so-called Five Supreme Arts of cultivation referred to the five most popular or valuable arts among the Hundred Cultivation Arts overall: Alchemy, Artifact Refining, talisman-making, Formation, and Divination Arts.
If one absolutely had to pick a first place from among the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation, there was no doubt it would be Alchemy.
Alchemy was publicly recognized as the foremost of the Hundred Cultivation Arts.
The other arts—Artifact Refining, talisman-making, Formation, and Divination Arts—were important, but none was indispensable. Only pills were something every cultivator inevitably needed.
Divination Arts, meanwhile, was publicly recognized as the most obscure of the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation. It was a "popular obscure art": mention it and everyone knew of it, but ask about it and hardly anyone had ever seen it practiced.
Its entry threshold was simply too high. Most cultivators could not learn it even if they wanted to.
When learning a craft, one naturally prioritized the popular ones. Li Xiuchang also prioritized the Five Supreme Arts of cultivation.
With Senior Brother Gui's cautionary example before him, Li Xiuchang eliminated Divination Arts from consideration right away.
Formation placed great importance on comprehension. Li Xiuchang did not know how good his comprehension was, and both Formation and the Talisman path would have difficulty making use of the advantage provided by his "Length Cheat."
Thus, Li Xiuchang leaned more toward Alchemy and Artifact Refining.
With Alchemy, he could directly increase the length of those Spirit Medicines and Spirit Grass; with Artifact Refining, he could use the method of turning Gold Leaves into Gold Bricks to increase the quantity of his artifact-refining materials.
Li Xiuchang's only concern was that the more popular an art was, the fiercer the competition would inevitably be.
No one knew how many alchemists and artifact refiners there were throughout the outer sect. Had the market already reached saturation?
He did not want to start by getting dragged into a rat race with his fellow disciples.
Li Xiuchang's concern was quickly confirmed by Senior Brother Song Yu.
"Popular arts really are fiercely competitive, especially the Talisman path. Because its entry threshold is low and it places almost no demands on talent, Tier 1 Talisman Masters have become rampant, and the price of Tier 1 talismans keeps falling. If your success rate isn't high enough, selling Tier 1 talismans at market price leaves no profit at all.
"Many Tier 1 Talisman Masters can't make money through talisman-making, so they have to think of other ways to earn spirit stones. For example, they might join the Reception Area and help the sect receive new disciples. I've even heard of people earning spirit stones by piloting flying vessels to carry new disciples."
Li Xiuchang fell silent at this. He had never imagined that Talisman Masters could be caught in such a cutthroat rat race.
Senior Brother Song Yu smiled. "Actually, if your skills become polished, you don't need to worry about these things. Even for Talisman Masters, once you reach Tier 2, the competition becomes far less intense. Advancing from Tier 1 to Tier 2 filters out more than ninety percent of Talisman Masters."
"What's the situation like for alchemists and artifact refiners?" Li Xiuchang asked.
Senior Brother Song Yu replied, "The number of alchemists is no less than the number of Talisman Masters. Fortunately, the demand for pills is high, and the threshold for becoming an alchemist is much higher than that for becoming a Talisman Master. Rogue Cultivators find it difficult to get started, so alchemists are in a much better position than Talisman Masters.
"Artifact Refining is easy to learn but difficult to master. Among artifact refiners, Tier 1 is overflowing while Tier 2 is scarce. Tier 1 Artifact Refiners are ignored, while Tier 2 and above are highly sought after.
"However, disciples of our Immortal Dust Sect have the sect behind them, as well as the largest marketplace north of Immortal Shade. Every day, it attracts countless Rogue Cultivators. No matter how many pills and magical artifacts there are, the market can digest them all. It only comes down to whether you earn more or less.
"Of course, talismans are the exception. The Rogue Cultivators are all Talisman Masters too!"
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