"Let's go, Junior Sister."
Lin Qingfeng led her toward a place within the sect where spiritual energy was especially abundant.
It was an area built atop the largest spiritual vein node in the sect.
A cluster of cave abodes stood above it.
As they drew closer, everything before them came into sharper focus.
Dozens of separate cave abodes stood in orderly arrangement. They looked somewhat like the abodes occupied by the disciples around her thatched hut, but they were also different.
The spiritual energy here was richer, but she could tell it was all sealed inside the abodes—not a trace escaped.
"Junior Sister, look,"
Lin Qingfeng explained,
"These are the cultivation abodes our sect has prepared for disciples willing to spend spirit stones and contribute to the sect. They're also called 'Blessed Lands.'
"They sit atop the sect's largest spiritual vein node and are inscribed with the Heavenly Cycle Spirit Gathering Great Array.
"One day of cultivation here is equivalent to ten days outside. It can greatly accelerate the gathering of Spiritual Power and stabilize your Dao foundation. They're the cultivation sanctuary every disciple dreams of!"
"Of course, they're also quite expensive.
"But even with your aptitude, Junior Sister, you can cultivate here as long as you're willing to spend spirit stones and make a good contribution to the sect."
Contributions, spirit stones... That was normal.
This explanation, which fit perfectly with everything she knew about cultivation, left Su Ling'er briefly dazed, and even gave her a glimmer of hope.
After all, back at Qing Xu Temple, even if you had made contributions and had spirit stones, you still weren't worthy of places like these.
Only direct disciples, the Sect Master, and the elders could enjoy places with such rich spiritual energy.
Even inner disciples couldn't use these benefits, let alone outer disciples.
Contributions?
Spirit stones?
Even if you had them, you couldn't spend them.
Here, no matter the price, at least there was something to strive for.
It really could serve as a carrot dangling in front of a donkey, making it plod onward.
But... could this Demon Den really have such a normal place?
She couldn't believe it.
Beneath this celestial splendor, there had to be some ulterior motive or hidden trap.
Perhaps there was something wrong with the spiritual energy itself, and it could corrupt one's mind?
Or maybe these abodes were actually part of some enormous array meant to screen and select "resources"?
As she pondered, Lin Qingfeng had already led her into the hall responsible for assigning the abodes.
The plaque above the entrance bore three characters: Spirit Pivot Pavilion.
Elder Qian's expressionless face was still inside.
When Lin Qingfeng entered, he even took the time to probe the elder with his spiritual sense. Thankfully, he seemed normal this time. No bugs.
The elder sat upright behind a jade desk.
"Elder Qian."
Lin Qingfeng stepped forward and tapped a few things on the desk.
A moment later, Elder Qian handed him a jade slip.
Lin Qingfeng took it and weighed it in his hand. He even performed a little flourish with it before finally passing it to Su Ling'er.
"Junior Sister, this is one of the superior cultivation methods of our Gui Xi Sect, called the Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Art.
"You've just joined the sect, so this is my welcome gift to you as your senior brother.
"Of course, it's also one of the foundational methods of our sect."
This was one of the superior cultivation methods he had drawn at purple grade from Elder Qian, back when he first paid to unlock the cave-abode feature.
More importantly, it could greatly reduce the physical pain endured during cultivation. Paired with the Sword Refining Art, it was perfect!
Cultivating the Sword Refining Art would still hurt, but she should be able to withstand much more.
Players could turn off pain, but NPCs couldn't, so this method was the best one to pair with it.
Of course, he'd have to hype it up a little.
Although it had been a purple-grade draw back then and now seemed a little inadequate, he still had to make Junior Sister feel like she'd gotten the deal of a lifetime.
Besides, the method really was pretty good.
Su Ling'er, however, was skeptical.
A foundational method?
A sect's foundational method was the cornerstone on which it was founded. No sect would casually show one to anyone.
How could Senior Disciple Brother simply hand it over to her?
Lin Qingfeng smiled. "There's no need to worry, Junior Sister. This method is all-encompassing and has few restrictions.
"Your constitution may be a little lacking, so ordinary methods would only bring you half the results for twice the effort.
"But the Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Art can strengthen your foundation, temper your flesh and blood, and greatly increase your affinity for spiritual energy. It can even significantly reduce the physical pain you endure while cultivating."
Reduce the pain?!
Su Ling'er's mind immediately flashed to the disciples in the Artifact Refining Pavilion, being hammered in that gruesome scene!
"Junior Sister, quickly relax your mind and let Elder Qian demonstrate the method to help you get started!"
Su Ling'er was torn. If she relaxed her mind and he tried to do something to her soul, she'd be finished.
But she also knew she had no room to resist in this situation.
Especially with Senior Disciple Brother watching her, she had no chance of refusing.
But she was carrying out a mission from her Sect Master to investigate the Gui Xi Sect's cultivation methods.
If the method in front of her could lead all the way to Nascent Soul, its value would far exceed anything she could imagine!
Her own Sect Master was only at the Core Formation Realm, after all.
Besides, the prospect of a method that could take her to Nascent Soul... genuinely tempted her.
She could only bow and step forward. "Then I'll trouble you, Elder Qian."
Elder Qian rose slowly and walked over to her. His dull eyes fixed on her, making Su Ling'er feel even more certain he wasn't truly alive.
How could a living person have such empty eyes?
But then a cold palm pressed against her forehead.
I'm going to die!
I'm finished!
I'm going to be brainwashed!
My life is going to be taken from me!
I hope this really does lead to a Nascent Soul method!
Su Ling'er screamed inwardly, but none of the terrifying things she'd imagined happened.
She heard a resonant hum. A stream of intent surged into her sea of consciousness, and the Spirit Pivot Pavilion vanished from before her eyes, replaced by a vast starry sky.
Deep in her sea of consciousness, her meridians traced out one human figure after another.
Spiritual energy surged through them. These were the circulation routes of the Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Art.
Every cycle, every breath, appeared before her with perfect clarity.
The method was calm and balanced, yet concealed a grand, ceaseless vitality. It could nourish the body, strengthen the blood and qi, and restore Spiritual Power quickly.
The scene shifted. She saw a cultivator who bore a strong resemblance to Elder Qian sitting cross-legged atop a mountain.
As the method circulated, spiritual energy from every direction poured toward him, gathering behind him into a colossal Nascent Soul manifestation.
The manifestation was solemn and majestic, its divine might vast. With every gesture, it seemed capable of shaking mountains and splitting peaks!
That... was the sight of the Nascent Soul Realm!
Under its gaze, she was so insignificant that a single finger could crush her.
The entire demonstration was upright and proper, yet profoundly mysterious.
The scene in her sea of consciousness faded. Su Ling'er's face had gone pale, but her eyes were filled with incredulous shock.
She stared at the jade slip in her hands, breathing hard.
It was real...
If she kept cultivating, this really might be an unparalleled cultivation method that led all the way to the Nascent Soul Dao!
She immediately began studying it ravenously.
Lin Qingfeng watched her, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Good. She was completely absorbed. It seemed he'd finally stirred her longing for their sect.
He didn't disturb her. Instead, he stepped aside and let his consciousness sink into the player forum, continuing to study his Cultivation Boasting Handbook.
For a moment, he seemed as if his soul had left his body. His eyes were just as vacant as Elder Qian's.
Meanwhile, the more Su Ling'er studied, the more turmoil surged within her.
This method was profound, but its approach was entirely different from every cultivation method she had encountered in this life.
Then again, could that simply be because she hadn't seen much?
But her Sect Master had told her that all cultivation methods in the present-day cultivation world traced back to one source: the fabled Primal Dao Canon, said to enable ascension to immortality and even believed to be the foundational text of the Immortal Realm.
Though copies of the canon could sometimes be found in the mortal world, the more complete surviving fragments and transcripts were monopolized by the legendary top sects and clans.
Most other versions were incomplete or had been altered countless times by later generations.
Even the Heavenly Furnace Sect, the upper sect of Qing Xu Temple, did not possess a complete transcript.
Cultivators throughout the world had developed methods suited to themselves based on the Primal Dao Canon.
This process was also called "seeking the Dao from Heaven."
But this Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Art did not rely on any of the principles of the Primal Dao Canon!
It didn't even mention the core theory of the Primal Dao Canon: "Origin Dust."
Could it be...
Was it a cultivation method independently created by some powerful being in this Demonic Sect?!
And had they really developed it all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm without suffering Heaven's backlash?
Then... could the Sword Refining Art really have been created by a disciple of this sect?!
Before you continue