Wu Ming's ambitious strategy plan had truly come from the heart. As a professional first-clear player, one of his greatest pleasures and specialties was sharing strategy guides.
Unfortunately, his professional integrity failed to move Zhu Ying. After he solemnly declared his lofty ambitions, the First Senior Sister merely let out the weary sigh of a young wife listening to her drunk husband brag while she did the housework... then put on a stern face, gave him a sharp scolding, and told him to wash up and go to bed early.
After that, still unable to swallow her anger, she picked up Zheng Lingxi, who was still copying out the Human Emperor Immortal Collection Annotation, and left amid the girl's cries.
The next two days went by according to plan.
Every day, he got up promptly at four in the morning to wake the person next door, then began the thrilling daily routine beneath Zhu Ying's thoroughly unfriendly gaze.
During the day, he mostly practiced Root Stance, steadily transforming and cleansing his marrow by keeping his feet firmly on the ground and strengthening his foundation. At night, his senior sister used the Arcane Magic Blade to help him advance in his Human Emperor Scroll cultivation—unfortunately, Second Senior Sister was nowhere to be seen again. Who knew which dark little room she'd been locked away in?
After two days, Wu Ming's progress had even surpassed Zhu Ying's expectations. After two sessions of comprehension, he had memorized nearly a hundred more characters, then, relying on his advantage in refinement, had barely accumulated nine layers of the Human Dao Seal.
In theory, once one passed the five hundred characters of the Human Emperor Scroll, one reached the dull, tedious Hundred Races Chapter, and the pace of comprehension ought to slow dramatically. Without sufficient True Essence and qi and blood to support him, without methods to temper his spirit and clear his mind, every additional character would be like adding tens of thousands more!
To reach the ninth layer of the Human Dao Seal without having even begun Qi Refining was a rare sight indeed in the wilds of Qiongzhou!
So, early on the third morning, Zhu Ying took Wu Ming to the Sect Leader Temple and summoned Gu Bai, who had just finished his seclusion, so the old man could witness at once the miracle of a master producing an outstanding disciple!
Gu Bai was surprised, but even more than that, he was pleased.
"Good... good, very good! Just three days, and you've already mastered Root Stance, cleared your meridians, and reached the ninth layer of the Human Dao Seal! Ying'er, you've truly raised an excellent junior brother!"
Zhu Ying took no credit at all. "Wu Ming himself is a born genius. This disciple has only done her best to keep up behind him, barely managing not to hold him back."
Gu Bai sighed. "The truth is, your master is incompetent. I haven't managed the Gujian Sect well and have dragged the three of you down."
"...Master, I've said this countless times. Without you, the three of us would have died in the Qiongzhou wilderness long ago. How could we have reached our cultivation today?"
Gu Bai was about to argue again, but Zhu Ying silenced every gloomy remark with a single cold glance.
"Ah, your master was muddleheaded. I keep saying such discouraging things at a time for celebration... Ming'er, now that you've made progress in your cultivation, your master should give you a reward. Whatever you want, just ask!"
Wu Ming didn't hold back. "Is there a list of rewards? I'd like to take a careful look before I decide."
"?"
"?!" Zhu Ying's lovely eyes went wide. Angrily, she said, "How can you talk like that to Master!? Didn't I teach you not to say whatever comes into your head!?"
"Master's being generous for once. I'm afraid I might accidentally ask for too much and Master won't be able to provide it. That would be awkward for both of us."
"Isn't it already awkward now that you've said that!?" Zhu Ying was so furious she nearly blue-screened.
Fortunately, Gu Bai stepped in to smooth things over.
"Hehe, Ming'er was only trying to be considerate. Your master failed to think it through and tossed a difficult question to his disciple... Ming'er's concerns aren't misplaced, either. The Gujian Sect is struggling these days and truly can't afford many worthwhile rewards. I still have a few magical treasures, but they're not suitable for a newcomer at the Qi Refining Stage, and Ming'er already has the Taiyi Dharma Sword, to say nothing of that... As for teaching and instruction, pills, and talismans, those don't require special rewards; they'll be provided as usual. There are only four of us in the whole Gujian Sect. There's nothing we need to keep under wraps."
After a pause, Gu Bai continued, "Since Ming'er has reached the ninth layer of the Human Dao Seal, he should next study the Spring Encounter Book and cultivate the Three Pure Ones Orthodox Method... I have a notebook with some of my insights from when I practiced this orthodox method years ago. It may help your cultivation! I'll look through my book chest when I get back and find it for you. That can be your reward this time!"
Wu Ming had no objections, because he hadn't cared much about sect rewards to begin with. He worked hard at cultivation and at writing guides, and the system gave him creative incentives. Each breakthrough in the Human Emperor Scroll came with a corresponding Spirit Crystal reward. The amounts weren't large, but they added up over time, and there might even be extra rewards at round-number milestones. It was practically a mine.
Zhu Ying, however, clearly looked surprised and hesitant. But under Gu Bai's gentle gaze, she said nothing more.
The three of them chatted for a while longer. As noon approached, Gu Bai began to look tired—apparently, his brief seclusion over the past few days hadn't fully restored his strength. Seeing this, Zhu Ying didn't dare impose on him any longer. She picked Wu Ming up and hurriedly took her leave.
Back at Xianyun Abode came the part Wu Ming had been eagerly awaiting: his senior sister would pass on their master's teachings—the Three Pure Ones Orthodox Method, the Spring Encounter Book.
The transmission process was simple and unadorned. Before the landscape painting in the main hall, Zhu Ying took out a thin booklet with a tender green cover and solemnly handed it to Wu Ming. He accepted it respectfully, and the ceremony was complete.
There was no need to swear an oath or kowtow, but the weight contained in this simple ceremony made Wu Ming put aside all his usual frivolity and earnestly follow his senior sister through to the end.
After the ceremony, Zhu Ying opened the manual and carefully explained the introductory incantation and methods of circulating qi to Wu Ming.
A former top student in a small town, Wu Ming had an excellent memory. He remembered most of the more than three hundred characters in the introductory section after reading it once. After reciting it silently for a while, he had committed it to heart.
But when it came to putting it into practice, his progress suddenly ground to a halt.
No matter how he meditated and regulated his breathing, or how he tried to sense the heavens and earth, he could barely catch and absorb any spiritual energy. And even when he managed to draw some into his body, it was difficult to turn it into usable mana. Its circulation through his meridians was even more sluggish... From noon until dusk, Wu Ming couldn't complete a single cycle on his own.
Even then, Wu Ming remained full of fighting spirit, failing again and again without giving up. But an insurmountable bottleneck had quietly arrived.
"!?"
On his three hundred and tenth attempt to breathe and circulate his qi, Wu Ming suddenly realized he couldn't breathe.
It wasn't that something had blocked his nose or mouth. Rather, it was as if his diaphragm and external intercostal muscles—the muscles that controlled his breathing—had suddenly gone numb and slack, losing all ability to contract. For a moment, Wu Ming couldn't even open his eyes.
The tiny wisp of spiritual energy struggling through his body also abruptly stopped, dissipated, and in the end left not the slightest trace that it had ever existed.
Half a day of effort had been nothing more than a dream.
The numbness and weakness throughout his body felt as if some unseen force were pressing down on him, leaving him no chance even to keep trying.
Such a sudden turn of events would have panicked and discouraged most people. But Wu Ming's fighting spirit surged in an instant; all he wanted was to carve a path out of this desperate situation!
After all, the more dire the predicament, the more valuable the guide you wrote after breaking through it...
But just as his blood was boiling, a cool sensation suddenly descended from above his head, dousing his fervor.
"That's enough. Stop here."
Zhu Ying's voice arrived with a refreshing Lesser Origin Return Technique. In an instant, it dispelled the numbness in Wu Ming's body and forcibly roused him from his rigid state.
Wu Ming opened his eyes, looking confused.
"The Spring Encounter Book belongs to the Three Pure Ones Orthodox Method. It's impartial and gentle, nourishing all things. Its cultivation must therefore proceed gradually... Those who practice orthodox methods have a daily time limit for cultivation. Forcing yourself past it will only backfire. If you'd stubbornly kept going just now, you risked qi deviation."
Wu Ming understood, and exclaimed, "As expected of an orthodox method. It has anti-addiction measures built right in! It'd be even more convincing if the first page had a healthy cultivation advisory!"
Zhu Ying said helplessly, "Your Spirit Root aptitude is insufficient, so cultivating a Three Pure Ones orthodox method like this is bound to be arduous and slow. The first hurdle in the Spring Encounter Book—being forbidden to rely on outside assistance—is especially difficult. But you mustn't let that make you impatient. The path to immortality is long; accumulating strength before making a sudden breakthrough is the right way. Your efforts will surely be rewarded in time."
Wu Ming smiled. "You're worrying too much, Senior Sister. I've seen plenty of these character-growth bottlenecks. I've long since learned to take them in stride. I don't need any extra pep talks."
"...What kind of talks?" Zhu Ying was slightly taken aback. She silently studied him for a long while, and only after confirming that he really was at ease did she sigh. "I was worried earlier that because you kept making progress in all sorts of unexpected ways, you'd come to think nothing in the world was difficult. If you encountered a real setback later, you might grow anxious and start looking for shortcuts. I suppose I underestimated..."
Before she could finish, Wu Ming asked eagerly, "So, are there any tricks for getting around the anti-addiction measures?"
"...You!" Zhu Ying's shoulders slumped, partly in self-mockery and partly in helplessness. "I really want to tell you there aren't any, but with your temperament, you'd probably ignore me and try all sorts of reckless things on your own. Cultivation methods are different from body tempering. Even with the Mystic Sect Orthodox Method, qi deviation is nine deaths out of ten. So listen carefully: the trick and shortcut you want really do exist."
As she spoke, she furrowed her brows slightly. Her lips moved as she silently murmured, "It'll be all right. You're the First Senior Sister. You can definitely do this..."
Then she took a deep breath, walked up to Wu Ming, and gently tapped the crown of his head with one hand. A rich, pure stream of True Essence poured down like sweet dew, making him gather his thoughts and sink into a hazy meditation, half himself and half not.
Amid the chaos and confusion, a clear, cool young girl's voice rang out like the dawn of the primordial world, illuminating his Spirit Court.
"One breath enters the spirit platform; the mysterious gate gives birth to nine turns..."
The Spring Encounter Book's introductory incantation surged again and again, unseen, then slowly settled amid the surging, etching itself into place.
The girl chanted without pause. The Three Pure Ones Orthodox Method's introductory incantation took root in the sea of his consciousness, one character at a time.
At the same time, the True Essence that had entered his body began to flow leisurely along with the engraving of the incantation. It started at the crown of his head, passed through the Spirit Court and the Jade Pivot... Its movement was gentle yet vast, and every blocked meridian suddenly opened.
A moment later, the True Essence had circulated throughout his body. It returned through the Jade Pillow to the Hundred Meetings, completing one full cycle, then withdrew through the Hundred Meetings point without leaving the slightest trace inside him.
Now that Wu Ming had completed a cycle, a supernatural ability naturally took shape. The earth's spiritual energy, deeply carved into his limbs and bones by days of Root Stance practice, began to awaken and stir. Like spring rain gathering into a stream, it slowly flowed through his meridians.
Wu Ming couldn't help opening his eyes. Everything before him seemed brimming with life, every color and every thing bursting into bloom. His body had never felt so light, and a tiny stream was flowing quietly inside him.
And just like that, he reached the first layer of the Spring Encounter Book.
The barrier that had blocked him for half a day seemed never to have existed.
For a moment, Wu Ming felt dazed and lost.
Wait, he'd done it just like that? Then... how was he supposed to write his guide? Was it all about maxing out his senior sister's favorability and relying on a co-op bonus!?
The next moment, Zhu Ying's voice drifted softly into his ears.
"[Immortal Touches My Crown]—this is one of the shortcuts in the Three Pure Ones Orthodox Method... Remember how the True Essence circulated just now. In the future, you'll have to do it smoothly and naturally... on your own..."
Her voice came in broken fragments, tired and weak. Wu Ming came back to himself and saw his senior sister slumped in front of him, her breathing ragged and her forehead slick with sweat.
Clearly, that method of imparting cultivation, Immortal Touches My Crown, wasn't something one could perform casually. It had to help someone break through a bottleneck without forcing their growth or leaving behind the user's imprint. This orthodox method that seemed to offer everything without a drawback had the greatest drawback of all: it took an enormous toll!
For the Three Pure Ones Mystic Sect, wealthy beyond compare, such a small loss was probably nothing. After passing on their cultivation, they had no shortage of spirit medicines to replenish their reserves.
But the Gujian Sect's resources for cultivation were clearly nowhere near so abundant.
Zhu Ying tried to steady her breathing as she reluctantly took a small incense bottle from her sleeve and held it to her nose and mouth. She inhaled once, then immediately put it away. Only then did a hint of color return to her pale little face.
"I'm fine. You... stop staring at me like that!" Zhu Ying gritted her teeth, her face turning even redder. "Anyway, there is a shortcut, but unfortunately I can only help you take it this once. You're so clever... you can surely figure out why."
Wu Ming couldn't help sighing. He stood and bowed respectfully to Zhu Ying. "Thank you, Senior Sister!"
Zhu Ying smiled. "I'm your senior sister. Master asked me to teach you on his behalf; it's what I'm supposed to do. Don't let Master's hopes go to waste. All right, don't worry about me. Focus on the feeling of the True Essence circulating just now. Strike while the iron is hot, so you don't, don't let..."
By the time she reached the middle of the sentence, Zhu Ying's starry eyes were already half-closed. Her voice cut off before she could finish. The girl nodded off, slumped face-down onto the table, and began to snore softly a moment later.
Immortal Touches My Crown wasn't a technique someone in the early Foundation Establishment Stage ought to use. But if she, the First Senior Sister, didn't step up, then a certain old man—who should have been obediently recuperating in seclusion, but had stayed up all night copying books—would inevitably jump in instead.
So she had no choice but to push herself.
Mumbling in her sleep, she whispered, "I... can definitely do it."
Before you continue