Divination Arts?
Li Xiuchang knew that Divination Arts were one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts, but he did not know much about them in detail.
As for the true or false information he had read in cultivation novels in his previous life, there was naturally no need to mention it and make a fool of himself.
Zhang Wanzhi had never expected a new disciple like Li Xiuchang to know much, so he took the initiative to explain:
"Divination Arts are the hardest of the Hundred Cultivation Arts to get started in. Whether one can learn them depends neither on aptitude nor effort. It all comes down to fate. Junior Brother Gui is a diviner.
"Divination Arts can divine the Heavenly Secrets and predict good fortune, misfortune, blessings, and calamities, but they have one fatal flaw... they shorten your lifespan!
"Heavenly Secrets must not be revealed. When divining secrets of too high a level or involving matters too deeply, one's lifespan will be reduced. If the Heavenly Secrets one divines are revealed to others, even more lifespan will be lost.
"Therefore, the first lesson in learning Divination Arts is to master Prudent Cultivation: don't divine what shouldn't be divined, and don't say what shouldn't be said. It's just a pity that Junior Brother Gui..."
By the time Li Xiuchang heard this, he already understood.
"Senior Brother Gui revealed too many Heavenly Secrets, so he lost his lifespan?"
Zhang Wanzhi nodded. "Junior Brother Gui has a strong thirst for knowledge and enjoys sharing with others, so... he doesn't have much lifespan left."
Li Xiuchang was speechless for a long while.
He had never heard of such a bizarre method of suicide.
An intense curiosity and a big mouth.
The two great taboos of diviners—and Senior Brother Gui had committed both.
A diviner with a big mouth—wasn't that basically suicide?
"So Senior Brother Gui doesn't talk to anyone anymore?" Li Xiuchang faintly guessed why Senior Brother Gui had ignored him.
"He practiced the Buddhist sect's Mouth-Sealing Zen. He can't speak."
Just as he thought... to make a big mouth keep quiet, the best method was to sew his mouth shut.
Zhang Wanzhi changed the subject. "He began practicing Mouth-Sealing Zen twenty years ago, but over these twenty years, I still watched him grow older by the day.
"Just keeping his mouth shut was useless. He couldn't resist blindly calculating things he shouldn't, and he spent all day pondering ways to reveal Heavenly Secrets to others through writing and drawing. It was only in the past two years, when he was about to die, that he became somewhat more obedient."
As he spoke, Zhang Wanzhi's tone also carried a hint of exasperation at someone who had failed to live up to expectations, no longer as calm as before.
Li Xiuchang did not know what to say either. Senior Brother Gui's exploits had completely refreshed his understanding of the phrase "courting death."
At the same time, he secretly resolved that he would never learn Divination Arts!
He was not the protagonist of those "long-life" novels. His small reserve of lifespan could not withstand such abuse.
After all, once a person possessed the ability to predict the future, it was difficult to guarantee they could resist using it. And after grasping too many secrets, it was equally difficult to guarantee they could keep absolutely tight-lipped.
Li Xiuchang did not want to "doubt Senior Brother Gui, understand Senior Brother Gui, and become Senior Brother Gui."
As the two chatted, the flying boat had already landed at the entrance to the Reception Area.
The nearby disciples all greeted Zhang Wanzhi enthusiastically when they saw him.
Back at the entrance to the Eastern Geng District, Li Xiuchang had already noticed that Zhang Wanzhi might have considerable prestige among the outer disciples. Now, he was even more certain of it.
"Junior Brother Li, go take your exam first. Once I've finished handling my business, I'll come back here to pick you up." Zhang Wanzhi put away the flying boat, summoned a flying sword, and flew off on it.
The flying sword was faster than the flying boat, but the flying boat had a somewhat larger space and could carry several people, while the flying sword was more suited to solitary travel.
Li Xiuchang entered the Reception Area and walked out two quarters of an hour later, his face glowing with delight.
Taking advantage of the fact that the material was still fresh in his memory, he had scored full marks on the sect-rules examination!
As long as one passed the sect-rules examination, one could receive ten low-grade Spirit Stones. They counted as starting capital for cultivation.
And because Li Xiuchang had scored full marks, he received an additional ten Spirit Stones as a reward, for a total of twenty low-grade Spirit Stones.
He had practically won at the starting line.
Outer disciples like him could receive ten low-grade Spirit Stones distributed by the sect every month. In the future, once their Cultivation Level rose or they became initiated into a Cultivation Technique, their treatment would increase accordingly.
These were benefits that the Immortal Dust Sect distributed to its disciples free of charge. Relying on this small amount of Spirit Stones alone was certainly insufficient to maintain daily cultivation, so all outer disciples of the Immortal Dust Sect had to find ways to earn Spirit Stones themselves.
After passing the sect-rules examination, Li Xiuchang could collect a cultivation method and begin cultivating.
Fortunately, the outer-disciple Library Pavilion where the basic cultivation methods were kept was not far from the Reception Area. Li Xiuchang reached it after walking for a few minutes.
The old man guarding the Library Pavilion accepted the Identity Token and the certificate proving that Li Xiuchang had passed the sect-rules examination. Then he pointed at a transparent glass barrel beside him. Inside was a pure-white liquid as white as milk.
"Put a drop of bodily fluid in and test your constitutional attributes."
Li Xiuchang asked, "Senior, do you have a sharp tool here?"
The old man frowned. "What do you want it for?"
"Of course, to cut my fingertip and drip in some blood."
"Cut your finger? Aren't you afraid of pain? Blood isn't the only bodily fluid."
Li Xiuchang looked at the milky-white liquid in the glass barrel. Could it be...
Wasn't that a little inappropriate?
A hesitant expression appeared on his face.
Fortunately, the old man continued, "A drop of sweat or a tear will do! If you really have none, just spit in it or take a piss... Ahem, forget the piss."
Hearing this, Li Xiuchang breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and dripped it inside.
The milky-white liquid in the barrel absorbed Li Xiuchang's sweat and gradually began to change color.
In the blink of an eye, the liquid in the barrel had been dyed two sharply distinct colors: red and green.
Through the transparent glass barrel, the colors could be seen clearly. The red liquid occupied roughly two-thirds, while the rest was green.
The old man glanced at it and said, "A fire-and-wood dual-attribute constitution, with fire as the primary attribute. You're suited to practicing a Fire Attribute Cultivation Method, or cultivating both attributes together. Of course, if you insist on practicing a Wood Attribute Cultivation Method, that's fine too."
Li Xiuchang had read the basic cultivation knowledge in the Beginner's Guide, so he was not completely ignorant of cultivation.
With his constitution, he would cultivate a Fire Attribute Cultivation Method the fastest. It was also the most suitable choice for him.
Although dual-attribute cultivation methods were more powerful, they would slow his cultivation speed. They were unsuitable for someone with a low-grade Spiritual Aperture like him.
As for a Wood Attribute Cultivation Method, it would give Li Xiuchang the slowest cultivation speed of all and could be dismissed entirely.
While he was thinking, the liquid in the glass barrel had already returned to its pure-white color.
Next, Li Xiuchang arrived at the Fire Attribute Cultivation Method section to choose a cultivation method.
The Library Pavilion stored only cultivation methods for the Qi Condensation Stage, aimed specifically at new disciples who had just entered the sect.
New disciples had neither Spiritual Sense nor magic power, and could not read Jade Slips, so all the cultivation methods were printed books.
Fire Element Skill, True Fire Art, Great Sun True Skill, Nine Yang Burning Heaven Skill, Purgatory Essence Tempering Skill...
Li Xiuchang's gaze passed over the names of the cultivation methods, some plain and unremarkable, others grandiose and overbearing. He casually picked up several and flipped through their introductions.
Cultivation methods for the Qi Condensation Stage were all more or less the same. The more powerful ones tended to have slightly slower cultivation speeds, while those with faster cultivation speeds had exchanged power for speed.
You could not have both fish and bear's paw.
Li Xiuchang had already planned to practice Prudent Cultivation, avoiding competition and conflict, so he naturally leaned toward choosing a cultivation method with a fast cultivation speed.
"What cultivation method is this?"
Li Xiuchang's gaze paused. He reached up and took a cultivation method from the upper level of the bookshelf.
"Fire Starting Skill? Now that's certainly... unconventional."
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