Enlightenment (Seeking Recommendations!)

Techniques and formulas are all empty; exchanging them costs practically nothing.

But artifacts, blood, and the like are a completely different story.

Therefore, to exchange for physical objects and bring them into the Great Zhou World, one must inevitably pay a greater price.

"From this, it can be seen... the Main God Hall is still in a spiritual space, in the early stages of transitioning to material form... a long road ahead..."

Wu Ming glanced at his status:

[Reincarnator ID: Gengshen 69]

[Name: Wu Ming]

[Cultivation: Body Refinement Realm, Fifth Layer True Qi]

[Equipment: None]

[Title: Main God Apostle]

"Truly a nearly blank slate of attributes..."

Wu Ming sighed, then raised his voice: "Main God Hall, pay one hundred minor merits to exchange for an Enlightenment opportunity for the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique!"

[Ding! Detected that the Reincarnator possesses the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique mental method, meeting requirements! One hundred minor merits consumed, Enlightenment begins!]

A white beam of light descended, enveloping Wu Ming.

In almost an instant, he found his seven hundred and fifty minor merits deducted by one hundred, leaving only six hundred and fifty.

Of course, the sting was only momentary; then, Wu Ming's consciousness blurred, as if he had traveled to an ancient, primeval era.

By a great river, vegetation flourished, reaching straight into the clouds, blotting out the sun and moon. Every object around him was so towering, as if he had entered a land of giants.

And in a low-lying marsh by the riverbank, a shell-like hill suddenly trembled, emitting a roar like a dragon or an elephant!

Rumble! Rumble!

As rocks rolled and fell, large amounts of moss dropped away, revealing unique tortoise shell patterns. Four massive legs, covered in scales, with webbed toes and sharp claws, extended outward. The entire hill suddenly stood up, transforming into a primeval divine beast!

"This... a back bearing the pattern of a Soaring Serpent coiled around it, water and fire in harmony, sun and moon united—this is an Ancient Mystic Turtle!"

Wu Ming's heart shook violently, imprinting this scene deeply into his memory.

The next moment, he returned to the Main God Hall space, realizing that everything he had just seen was but an illusion!

Yet even a single glance was enough to etch that ancient, desolate, and timeless aura firmly into his heart.

"The spirit tortoise lives long, yet its time still ends; the Soaring Serpent rides the mist, yet at last turns to dust..."

Wu Ming murmured, only to feel a surge of sorrow rising within him, filling him with a sense of life's brevity, which in turn gave rise to a lament for the dreamlike nature of the mortal world, and a great awakening in the pursuit of transcendence!

In such a state of mind, the Qi Aura within him subtly shifted. The original circulation path of the Turtle Breath Technique transformed, becoming deeper and more secluded, carrying a flavor of true stillness.

In non-action and stillness, naturally settled; in ignorance yet awareness, this is true stillness!

With this, the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique was not only fully initiated but had also entered a mysterious and profound state.

[Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique (Initiated)]

He did not know how long had passed before Wu Ming saw the notification on his personal attributes. A hint of emotion flickered in his eyes: "Wu Qing said this Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique evolved from Daoist techniques, and indeed, it has some depth... The Main God Hall is also honest in its dealings!"

Originally, given his talent, even if he buried himself in cultivating the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique, reaching initiation would not be a matter of a day or two.

After all, merely identifying acupoints and guiding Qi through the meridians were matters requiring extreme caution! Not a single mistake could be tolerated. Other people, even prodigies, had to proceed carefully, deducing and perfecting before daring to practice.

By that pace, even though Wu Ming had previously trained in the related Turtle Breath Technique, it would have taken at least a hundred days just to barely reach initiation.

How could it compare to now?

After just one Enlightenment, Wu Ming felt that all the True Qi within him had been completely transformed. Not only that, his breathing was long and deep, faint yet present, broken yet continuous, almost becoming instinct—a sign that the skill had settled into his body, flowing with practiced ease!

"With this step forward, I've saved at least half a year of effort!"

Wu Ming was very satisfied. He then browsed through the dazzling exchange list, especially the section on sorcery and Dao techniques, feeling a bit of regret.

"Since Wu Qing said she would arrange for my entry into the Dao Academy, even though I was rejected once before, she clearly still has some confidence... If so, I can't practice other types of techniques. Otherwise, impure Qi Aura during testing would be a small matter; if I were mistaken for a spy from another sect, I'd never be able to clear my name, even if I jumped into the Yellow River..."

What could be obtained from the Great Zhou World should not be sought from the Main God Hall—this was the general rule Wu Ming had set.

Just like this time, he had obtained the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique and a low-grade artifact, the Black Gold Ring, from Wu Qing, amounting to nearly a thousand minor merits in gains.

"I must still conserve my merits. Unless absolutely necessary, before a dungeon mission, or when everything is ready, I cannot act lightly!"

Wu Ming flipped through the exchange list.

With his True Sight, he naturally ignored those marked as out of stock, but even so, the current Main God Hall was more than sufficient for him.

"With such a sharp tool in hand, what Dao cannot be cultivated?"

The more Wu Ming browsed, the more confident he became.

Poverty limits literary pursuits, wealth enables martial arts; cultivating techniques drains a family's fortune! To practice spells, wealth, companions, methods, and location are indispensable—and the most important of these is wealth!

Although he could not exchange directly, Wu Ming still read extensively, gaining some understanding.

Even the most basic techniques required bizarre and varied materials to master.

Things like iron embryos, gold essence, and silver amber were child's play; the materials for some obscure spells were enough to give one a headache just looking at them.

Take the single Daoist technique "Yin Binding Rope," for example—it requires collecting the fetal hair of baby girls born under yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour, and even then, it needs a full forty-nine different baby girls!

Then there's the "Death Gate Nail," which demands iron nails from a locust-wood coffin buried for over a hundred years in a yin ground, with requirements even extending to the coffin owner's cause of death, fate, and even their birth chart!

Not to mention top-grade cinnabar, talisman paper cured for six or seven years, and spiritual herbs aged decades or centuries.

In short, there's nothing you can think of that cultivation doesn't require!

Some of these materials can't be bought with money alone—wealth and influence are both indispensable!

"No wonder Wu Qing wants to enter the Dao Academy. Forget the Dao techniques themselves, just these miscellaneous supplies... aren't something a small Wu family can provide..."

Wu Ming rubbed his eyes. "But... in the Main God Hall, all these materials are available. As long as you have enough merit, you can exchange for as much as you want! With such convenience here, it'd be a waste not to plan properly... It's just..."

Wu Ming thought of another headache-inducing aspect.

Since bringing items into the Main God Space costs a fee, there's no way bringing them out would be free.

Given its profiteering, bandit-like practice of skimming twice on merit exchanges, it would be a miracle if it didn't charge both ways this time!

In other words, items exchanged can at most be used within the Main God Space. If you try to take them out for trade arbitrage? Heh... just the taxes alone would bleed you dry into bankruptcy!

"A pity... a pity..."

Wu Ming grew frustrated. "If my authority could waive this layer of exploitation, I could make a fortune just by reselling supplies..."

"...Suddenly a madman sharpens his knife by night, the emperor's star wavers, the baleful blaze runs high. Heaven and earth overturned from this night on, why spare the hand when killing men..."

Inside the study, Wu Ming held a book, his expression dazed.

On the title page of the ancient text, the words "Historical Essays and Talks, Vol. 7" stood out sharply in black ink on white paper.

Since he'd come to Great Zhou, he couldn't afford to be ignorant of its history. The Wu family was at least a prominent household, and even if the former wastrel had been unlearned, the study still had a few books to save face.

Now they all benefited Wu Ming.

"...After Great Xia came Great Shang. The last Shang emperor was tyrannical, and the Great Zhou Grand Founder rose in response, securing the Central Plains. That was two hundred and seventy years ago..."

"In the seventh year of Great Zhou's Yongping era, Emperor Ling reigned. The capital suffered a great drought, with barren fields stretching a thousand li. The rebel Huang Jie rose in response, wreaking havoc in the capital region, forcing Emperor Ling to relocate the capital. Soon after, he died of worry and fear... It took seventeen years to quell this rebellion, known as the Rebellion of Yongping. From then on, Great Zhou's national fortune waned. Several emperors ascended the throne only to die within three years, until the current ruler took the throne under the era name Ping'an. But he's just a child of little more than ten..."

Wu Ming closed the book with a sigh. "A state without a mature ruler, the realm in decline, with powerful ministers within, vassal lords, military governors, and the scourge of regional commands without... The rise of the Hundred Schools of Thought—this really looks like the prelude to chaos... No wonder I have to live in a fortress..."

"But whether the world falls into chaos or not has little to do with a small fry like me. The most important thing is—why does this rebel poem by Huang Jie sound so familiar?"

Wu Ming tapped his head, put down the book in exasperation, and prepared to head to the training ground.

'Still familiar... Could it be that there are many transmigrators in this world?'

Wu Ming's eyes went vacant, then suddenly his chest jolted.

"Ah!"

A maiden's cry of pain came, followed by the sound of a cup and saucer hitting the floor.

"Servant girl deserves death! Servant girl deserves death!" The maiden in lotus-green ruqun apologized in fright, but Wu Ming froze for a moment.

"Hm? Miss Xiuyun, it's you!"

Wu Ming recognized her—this girl was none other than the Li Xiuyun from before.

Back then, he'd been afraid to face her and had hidden in the study. But later, when Wu Qing returned, she naturally didn't stand on ceremony with Li Xiuyun, directly kicking her out of Wu Ming's bedroom and reclaiming his 'territory.'

Since then, Wu Ming had rarely seen her and didn't know where she'd been assigned.

From the looks of it, her situation wasn't good.

"Get up!"

Wu Ming reached out to help her, but seeing her gaze like a startled fawn, he withdrew his hand awkwardly.

"Miss Xiuyun... I'm sorry. I'll have someone send you home right away!"

Knowing she was deliberately avoiding him and was terrified of him, Wu Ming said.

"No! No! I won't go back. Young Master Ming, spare my life! Maidservant will do anything—please don't drive me away!"

But when she heard about being sent home, Li Xiuyun grew even more frightened, trembling all over.

Wu Ming even suspected she'd throw herself at his feet and grab his legs the next moment. Curious, he asked, "What's going on? Just tell me straight!"