Techniques

Instructor Yan said, "The breathing method the sect taught before is similar to a cultivation technique and can also cultivate Lingli, but it is rather rudimentary and is only suitable for cultivators below Qi Refining Level Three. After Qi Refining Level Three, you must choose a genuine technique to learn. Of course, you may continue using the breathing method, but your cultivation will be much slower..."

"This is the catalog of techniques the sect provides for Outer Sect disciples to cultivate. It lists the names of the techniques, the Spirit Roots they suit, the Spirit Stones required, the spiritual materials needed to break through bottlenecks, as well as the effects of the techniques. Look through it yourselves first."

Instructor Yan handed out the catalogs. Every disciple received a booklet, Mo Hua included.

The catalog was very thin, only a dozen or so pages, but it densely recorded roughly dozens of techniques and related details.

"If you have any questions, ask me," Instructor Yan said.

The disciples were quiet for a moment. Then one of them raised his hand and asked:

"Instructor, are techniques like Spirit Roots, divided by attributes and grades?"

Instructor Yan gave that disciple an indifferent glance and said:

"You have already reached Qi Refining Level Three, yet you are asking such a simple question. It seems you did not listen carefully in Instructor Zhou's class. Go back and copy Introduction to Dao Cultivation once. Hand it to me in three days."

The disciple was struck as if by lightning. After standing there blankly for a moment, he could only lower his head and say, "Yes." Yet inwardly, he regretted it bitterly.

I was careless. I forgot that Instructor Zhou was not the one teaching today, and I just blurted out whatever came to mind...

Instructor Yan swept his gaze around the room and said earnestly:

"Instructor Zhou is old and mild-tempered. He does not discipline you much, so perhaps you do not listen attentively in his classes. But choosing a technique is a matter of great importance. I will explain it to you again. Listen carefully, and do not find it tedious."

The disciples all sat upright.

"A cultivator's Spirit Root is divided both by attribute and by grade. Techniques are the same."

"The attributes of Spirit Roots are mainly the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Some are single Five Elements, some are mixed Five Elements, and some possess all five elements—the Small Five Elements and the Great Five Elements. Beyond the Five Elements, there are also certain special Spirit Roots born from transformations and mutations of the Five Elements, such as Ice Spirit Roots, Lightning Spirit Roots, Wind Spirit Roots, and Yin-Yang Spirit Roots. These Spirit Roots are quite rare and generally difficult to encounter."

"Furthermore, Spirit Roots are divided into nine grades based on aptitude, from lower-lower, lower-middle, lower-upper, middle-lower... all the way to upper-upper. The gap between each grade is considerable. The higher the grade of the Spirit Root, the better one's cultivation talent, and the greater the upper limit of Lingli the Qi Sea can contain."

"Techniques are likewise classified by attributes and nine grades, basically the same as Spirit Roots. When choosing a technique, you must follow your Spirit Root. Whatever attribute your Spirit Root has, choose a technique of that attribute; whatever grade your Spirit Root is, it is best to choose a technique of the same grade."

"The attributes of a Spirit Root determine the characteristics of a cultivator's Lingli. The rarer the attribute, the more special the cultivator's Lingli; the grade of a Spirit Root determines a cultivator's talent. The higher the grade, the greater the cultivator's talent for Dao cultivation."

"Then are rarer Spirit Roots always better?" a disciple asked timidly.

"Not necessarily. For disciples with the inheritance of a great lineage or sect, this is a good thing. But for ordinary cultivators, the rarer the Spirit Root, the fewer techniques they can choose from. Some cannot even find a technique to learn. That is not a good thing." Instructor Yan explained.

"What if the attribute of the technique differs from the attribute of the Spirit Root?" a disciple asked.

"Nothing will happen," Instructor Yan said, "because you cannot cultivate it. A cultivator with metal-water Spirit Roots simply cannot learn earth-wood techniques."

"Are there no exceptions?"

Instructor Yan raised his brows. "At least, there are none in the Dao Court's records of cultivation spanning more than twenty thousand years. If you encounter one, you may tell me and broaden my horizons as well."

The disciple shrank his neck and said nothing more.

"Instructor, must the grade of a technique also match the grade of one's Spirit Root?" another disciple asked.

Instructor Yan said, "High-grade Spirit Roots may cultivate low-grade techniques. Low-grade Spirit Roots may not cultivate high-grade techniques."

A disciple asked in confusion, "If one's Spirit Root is high-grade, why choose a low-grade technique? Wouldn't the Lingli cultivated that way be less?"

Instructor Yan said, "The higher the grade of a technique, the more Spirit Stones cultivation requires, and the more precious the heavenly treasures and earthly materials needed to break through bottlenecks become. Some such treasures are simply beyond what an ordinary cultivator's means can bear. Do not choose a high-grade technique, cultivate halfway through it, and then discover that you cannot afford to continue. By then, regret will be too late."

"Then what if someone with a low-grade Spirit Root learns a high-grade technique?" that disciple asked again.

Instructor Yan said, "According to the Classic of Cultivation Techniques, if a technique's grade exceeds one's own Spirit Root, then after cultivating it, most cultivators will damage their Qi Seas from absorbing too much Lingli. In severe cases, their Qi Seas will collapse and their cultivation will be utterly destroyed. Worse still, some will suffer qi deviation and die, their Dao dissipating with them."

"Some suffer qi deviation? Does that mean there are also some who do not?" One disciple's eyes lit up as he asked.

Instructor Yan gave him a meaningful look.

"Do not always think you are the most special one—that others will have problems learning it, but you may be fine. Some people may indeed possess fortune in cultivating the Dao, but do not stake your life and death on that misty, illusory fortune and seek a dead end for yourself."

Quite a few disciples present had entertained such thoughts. Hearing this, they all felt a chill in their hearts and dared not entertain any further notions.

Instructor Yan continued, "These are not isolated cases, but lessons written in countless lives and blood over more than twenty thousand years of Dao cultivation. If you do not draw upon the experience of your predecessors, you will easily take the wrong step. Once a cultivator strays onto the wrong path, they are often no longer in control of themselves. Some can turn back, while some can never turn back again."

Instructor Yan sighed, looking somewhat dejected. Mo Hua felt that Instructor Yan seemed to have something on his mind.

But Instructor Yan said nothing more. Instead, he pointed at the Immortal Gate Outer Disciple Technique Catalog and said:

"Follow what I just told you and look through it yourselves. Choose a suitable technique. Remember, do not aim too high in Dao cultivation. What suits you is the best."

The disciples all lowered their heads and began flipping through the technique catalog.

Mo Hua now understood the general situation and began searching for a technique.

His Spirit Root was middle-lower grade, so he could only cultivate middle-lower-grade techniques. Yet he was still somewhat curious about what upper-grade techniques were like.

Mo Hua first flipped to the end of the catalog and looked over several upper-grade techniques:

Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Art: upper-upper grade, suitable for earth-element Spirit Roots; could cultivate one hundred and twenty cycles of Lingli. To reach perfection in the Qi Refining Stage required refining at least five thousand Spirit Stones, as well as heavenly treasures and earthly materials: Profound Yellow Grass, Bitterwater Root, Heavenly Profound Stone...

Soft Water Art: upper-upper grade, suitable for water-element Spirit Roots; could cultivate one hundred and thirty cycles of Lingli. To reach perfection in the Qi Refining Stage required refining at least five thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, as well as heavenly treasures and earthly materials: Hundred-Year Rootless Water, Silver Snake Blood...

Five Elements Qi Absorption Art: upper-upper grade, suitable for metal, wood, water, fire, and earth Five Elements Spirit Roots; could cultivate one hundred and fifty cycles of Lingli. To reach perfection in the Qi Refining Stage required refining at least six thousand Spirit Stones, as well as heavenly treasures and earthly materials: Metal Origin Stone, Molten Fire Stone, Centennial Soil...

Mo Hua clicked his tongue in astonishment.

"To reach perfection in the Qi Refining Stage takes at least five or six thousand Spirit Stones. And that is only the Spirit Stones refined, not counting the heavenly treasures and earthly materials for assisting cultivation and breaking through bottlenecks. Some rare heavenly treasures and earthly materials may cost more than five or six thousand Spirit Stones by themselves..."

Mo Hua worked hard for a month just to earn fifty Spirit Stones. Seeing expenditures that began at five thousand Spirit Stones made his scalp go numb.

Mo Hua had also heard others say that ordinary Rogue Cultivators, even if they possessed upper-grade Spirit Roots, simply could not afford to cultivate upper-grade techniques.

If they insisted on cultivating them, there were generally only two ways.

The first was to find a great sect, take a sect elder as one's master, enter the Inner Sect, bind oneself to the sect, and never leave it for life.

The second was to marry into a lineage and let the lineage support one's cultivation. But the lineage would demand that one change allegiance and cast aside one's name, parents, origins, and everything from one's past. Though one would gain a future, one would no longer be oneself...

No matter which path one chose, it was essentially dependence upon another. Though there might be hope for Dao cultivation, one would no longer be master of one's own fate.

No wonder cultivators often said: first fate, second fortune, third feng shui.

A cultivator's fate was determined once by their Spirit Root, and once again by their birth.

To defy the heavens and change one's fate—how could that be easy...

Mo Hua let out a long sigh.