Questions and Answers

"Yes. Once I've made sure I'm safe, I'll let you go." Lu Xiaotian nodded in agreement, then added, "But you'd better answer my questions truthfully. If I ever discover that the facts differ from your answers, that man from before will be your fate."

From Lü Bifeng, he learned that the Situ Clan had been a cultivation lineage based in Liang Province for over a century. There were five people in the Situ Clan altogether. Their patriarch was Situ Yong, at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining and the highest-cultivated member of the Situ Clan. Another was the uncle of the deceased Situ Jing; his cultivation was unknown, though it could not have exceeded the Third Layer of Qi Refining. There was also a young disciple, Situ Ming, who was only at the First Layer of Qi Refining.

Later, the Situ Clan had relocated in its entirety to a distant immortal city, Moonwatch City, where there were tens of thousands of cultivators. Cultivators at the Qi Refining Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Great Perfection were too numerous to count.

This was also the first time he had learned that beyond the Qi Refining stage lay the Foundation Establishment Realm. Those cultivators could ride swords through the air, split mountains and cleave rocks, soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth. Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed lifespans of two to three hundred years.

Lu Xiaotian listened with his heart racing. No one had ever taught him before, and only now did he learn that cultivators had gathering places of their own: Moonwatch Immortal City! Besides Moonwatch City, there were also major cultivation sects elsewhere. Those sects were the true rulers of the cultivation world.

A lineage like the Situ Clan, entrenched in a single province of a mortal kingdom, could only be considered an insignificant minor force in the cultivation world. Such forces were countless.

Lu Xiaotian asked again, "The Situ Clan members are cultivators. Why do they interfere in the affairs of mortals? What benefit is there for them?"

"Mortal lands rarely produce spiritual treasures. If they had not offended someone they should never have offended in Moonwatch City, the Situ Clan would never have fled back to their old nest in Liang Province in such a sorry state. Their clan has limited manpower and simply has no time to search for spiritual treasures themselves, so they control the martial factions of the jianghu and have them seek spirit herbs and Spirit Stones for their cultivation," Lü Bifeng said.

"So when the deceased Situ Jing learned that I had bought three Purple Spirit Grass stalks from Wonder Ganoderma Hall, he rushed over immediately?"

Lu Xiaotian suddenly understood. That explained everything. The Situ Clan controlled the jianghu forces and had eyes and ears everywhere. If he appeared in Pingwu County Town, it would be easy for them to discover him.

Lü Bifeng nodded. "Exactly!"

"Is this the Spirit Stone you mentioned? What is it used for?" Thinking of the stones in his storage bag that contained spiritual energy, Lu Xiaotian took out a red one and asked.

"That's right. This is a low-grade Fire-Element Spirit Stone. When fighting others, if magical power is depleted too quickly, you can hold it in your hand and absorb its spiritual energy to replenish what you've consumed. Spirit Stones are also needed to refine certain spirit artifacts and formation arrays."

Lü Bifeng spoke with a bitter smile. She was now certain that this youth before her was merely an ordinary Rogue Cultivator. He did not even understand the most basic Spirit Stones. She truly had no idea how he had become a cultivator. Even more bizarrely, he had tamed such a powerful leopard spirit beast. It was simply unbelievable.

"Origin Qi Pill!" What happened next was even harder for her to imagine. Her mouth hung open for a long while, unable to close.

Lu Xiaotian rubbed his nose. He had now figured out what some of the items on him actually were. Origin Qi Pills were medicinal pills used by cultivators at the Qi Refining Late Stage and Qi Refining Great Perfection. Even Qi-Gathering Pills, which Qi Refining Early Stage cultivators usually carried, were scarce. Yet he could produce pills that only Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators could use. Naturally, this was shocking enough to Lü Bifeng. If this woman knew there were two more bottles of Origin Qi Pills in his storage bag, who knew what expression she would wear.

"One final question. How do I get to Moonwatch Immortal City?"

The woman in the red dress said, "From Liang Province, travel west the entire way. You must pass through more than ten mortal nations in succession, including Wei Kingdom, Wu Kingdom, and Northern Zhou Kingdom. The journey is distant indeed, stretching tens of thousands of li. But I must remind you of one thing: not just anyone can go to Moonwatch Immortal City."

"Why? Is Moonwatch Immortal City very dangerous?" Lu Xiaotian asked in confusion.

"Moonwatch Immortal City is a gathering place for Rogue Cultivators, and some cultivation sects also have bases there. There are tens of thousands of Rogue Cultivators settled there, while the cultivators entering and leaving the city are several times that number. A cultivator at the First Layer of Qi Refining like you can at most perform the lowest sort of work in the city, with a status only slightly higher than that of a mortal martial artist. Unless you have exceptional aptitude and are chosen by a major sect, the Spirit Stones earned through menial labor will likely not be enough for you to cultivate to any great realm even if you exhaust your whole life."

"There are so many Rogue Cultivators in Moonwatch City, and they haven't joined sects either. Does that mean Rogue Cultivators can only do odd jobs and never rise to prominence?" Lu Xiaotian said.

The woman in red sneered. "There are naturally formidable figures among Rogue Cultivators. Many gather in Moonwatch Immortal City because the nearby Moonwatch Mountains contain inexhaustible spiritual treasures. Many Rogue Cultivators search the Moonwatch Mountains for such treasures to aid their cultivation. But there are countless demon beasts in those mountains, and treasure-seeking cultivators often prey upon one another as well. A cultivator at the First Layer of Qi Refining like you will probably become a pile of white bones within days."

After hearing the woman in red, Lu Xiaotian had formed his own judgment. From the tones of the black-robed elder and the woman in red, as well as everything he had encountered along the way, every sign showed that the cultivation world was one where the strong devoured the weak. Its competition was likely even fiercer than that among mortal men. But this did not affect his determination to pursue the Great Dao.

"Your spirit beast seemed to have come out of the storage bag on your body earlier. That bag belongs to me now."

Lu Xiaotian reached out and removed the small brocade pouch from the woman in red. The previous two times he had entered Pingwu County Town, it had been inconvenient to bring the leopard with him, so he had left it waiting in the wilderness. But after his battle with the golden-robed youth, he understood how insufficient his own combat strength was. Without the leopard, if he encountered the golden-robed youth in the city, he would only be able to flee in panic, with no way to do anything to the other party. Moreover, without understanding spells, he could not have escaped the other party's demonic grasp.

Seeing that Lu Xiaotian only took her Spirit Beast Bag, the woman in red instead breathed a sigh of relief. Had she encountered someone truly ruthless and vicious, she likely would not have been able to preserve even her life. Although the youth before her killed decisively, at least he still kept his word and showed no intention of going back on it. She had no idea where that Scent Demon Rat had run off to. Other than occasionally finding people, it had no combat power to speak of. Losing the Spirit Beast Bag to this youth was not much of a loss to her.

"When do you intend to release me?" the woman in red asked the question that concerned her most.

"Once I believe I'm sufficiently safe, I'll naturally release you. For now, you'll have to suffer the indignity of staying in this cave for a while."

Lu Xiaotian smiled faintly. By the woman's account, Situ Jing's death would certainly make the Situ Clan search everywhere for the murderer. His father was even a Qi Refining Middle Stage expert. Even with the leopard, Lu Xiaotian would not be his match. It would be better to remain in the mountains for a time and wait until the storm had passed. Now that he had obtained the information he wanted, the martial arts assembly he had originally needed to attend was no longer important. As for releasing this woman, she might well reveal his whereabouts. One must never lack the heart to guard against others.

After tossing the young woman inside, Lu Xiaotian walked out of the cave in high spirits. With the utmost care, he took out the Low-Grade Spell Compendium and studied it closely. Ever since he had begun cultivating the Primordial Unity Scripture, he had been longing to cultivate spells. Only now, nearly a year and a half later, had he finally come into contact with them.

According to the compendium's introduction, any Qi Refining cultivator could practice low-grade spells. However, practicing spells corresponding to one's own attribute would be relatively faster. Lu Xiaotian simply did not know which of the Five Elements he belonged to.

Since the compendium said that cultivating corresponding spells was faster, he should be able to determine it by trying each of them. After pondering for a while, Lu Xiaotian came to this conclusion.

A moment later, a short golden spear appeared before Lu Xiaotian and flew crookedly and rather slowly toward a large tree more than ten zhang away.

At that speed, never mind hitting an enemy—it would not even be easy to hit the target. Lu Xiaotian frowned. He found that the Golden Spear Technique he had cast was far inferior to the spells used by the golden-robed youth and the black-robed elder.

Puzzled, he ran back into the cave and asked Lü Bifeng. He learned that spells also had to be practiced until one became familiar with them before they could be used against enemies. Lu Xiaotian's face reddened. I didn't even think of such a simple principle just now. Even martial artists must temper a martial technique hundreds or thousands of times before becoming increasingly proficient. Spells must naturally be the same.

Lu Xiaotian repeatedly used the Golden Spear Technique several times. Although his accuracy was still inadequate and it took quite a while to gather magical power, he had improved considerably compared with the first time. Excited by his progress, he prepared to try other spells, only to find that the primordial energy in his dantian was nearly exhausted.

Spells consumed primordial energy to such a tremendous degree. Lu Xiaotian was startled. Remembering Lü Bifeng's words that Spirit Stones could help restore magical power, he took a Metal-Element Spirit Stone from his storage bag and held it in his hand. Sure enough, a stream of pure metal spiritual energy flowed continuously from the Spirit Stone into his body.

Lu Xiaotian's spirits lifted, and he could not stop himself for a time, repeatedly using the rather powerful Golden Spear Technique.

Crack! A soft sound came from his left hand. Looking down, he saw that the Spirit Stone, which had glittered with golden light moments ago, had become dull powder spilling from between his fingers. One low-grade Metal-Element Spirit Stone had been used up. Lu Xiaotian's heart ached. It seemed that in the future, he would still have to rely on meditation to restore primordial energy. If he used Spirit Stones this way, they would be gone before long. Spirit Stones were so useful that he should save them for more important times.

Over the next several days, Lu Xiaotian practiced using spells with great enthusiasm. What puzzled him, however, was that he learned metal, wood, water, fire, and earth spells at exactly the same rate, while ice, wind, and lightning spells were somewhat slower. When he told Lü Bifeng about this result, she was greatly shocked, then looked at him with sympathy. She said that this aptitude was the lowest-grade Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root. No matter how hard he worked in this life, reaching the Qi Refining Late Stage would already be considered quite impressive.

Only then did Lu Xiaotian remember what the black-robed elder had meant by saying his aptitude was poor. So that old fellow had known all along, but had simply never told him.

Lu Xiaotian felt somewhat dejected, but he did not give up. His passion for cultivation remained as high as before. Every day, he practiced all kinds of spells. Whenever the primordial energy in his dantian was nearly depleted, he meditated to recover it, day after day.