"Earth fire is an invisible flame. You can feel it, but you can't see it. You must use spiritual power as a guide to draw it into the giant cauldron..."
Sanbao read the Earth Fire Technique as he circled the Bronze Cauldron twice.
Beneath the cauldron was a deep hole, from which wisps of scorching heat rose. It was an earth-fire passage excavated deep within Fire Cloud Peak. The opening faced a small door beneath the Bronze Cauldron. By opening the door and continuously channeling spiritual power, one could draw the earth-fire energy into the cauldron.
Since he had chosen Fire Cloud Hall, he had no choice but to become a Fire Boy.
Closing the Earth Fire Technique in his hands, Sanbao sat cross-legged beside the giant cauldron. Following the Earth Fire Technique, he slowly absorbed spiritual power. A vast amount of fire-type spiritual energy flowed through his mouth and nose straight to his heart, passed through the meridians throughout his body, and finally returned to his Dantian, where it merged with the metal-type spiritual power within.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The ease with which he cultivated fire-type spiritual power was beyond Sanbao's expectations. He had never imagined that, in addition to his talent for metal-type cultivation, his fire-type talent would be so impressive too.
Most Spirit Cultivators practiced only one of the five elements. It wasn't impossible to cultivate other Spirit Techniques as well, but doing so took a great deal of time and yielded little in return. It was essentially a waste of time, so people generally didn't choose to specialize in two elements at once.
For example, if Sanbao cultivated metal-type spiritual power, roughly ten cycles would fill his entire Dantian. But if he switched to water-type spiritual power, even after a hundred cycles, he would be lucky to fill one-tenth of his Dantian.
Thus, no one chose to cultivate an element they weren't suited to.
Of course, there were some Spirit Cultivators blessed with extraordinary talent who could specialize in two or even several Spirit Techniques, but they were exceedingly rare. Sanbao had never expected to possess such talent himself.
Sanbao's original plan had been simple: spend a little extra time cultivating the Earth Fire Technique, just enough to meet the requirements for collecting earth fire. But after cultivating it, he realized that his fire-type talent seemed no weaker than his metal-type talent. That left him somewhat conflicted.
After all, cultivating an additional element would obviously increase his overall strength. His only concern was that it might hinder his metal-type cultivation.
Soon, Sanbao let go of his misgivings. He was, after all, a descendant of the Luo Clan, and several of the advanced Spirit Skills he possessed were metal-type techniques. In particular, his inherited innate ability had to be driven by metal-type spiritual power. It was obvious which element should take priority.
"I'll focus on metal-type spiritual power and cultivate fire-type spiritual power when I have spare time." After thinking it through, Sanbao had made up his mind.
"Sanbao, how's your cultivation of the Earth Fire Technique coming along? Today, I'll teach you how to collect earth fire. Starting tomorrow, you must collect one jar of earth fire each week, without fail. Of course, I won't treat you unfairly. I'll give you double the benefits of an entry-level disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect. Watch closely..."
As Sanbao pondered, Jing Yifei appeared silently in the Earth Fire Hall. He then sat cross-legged beneath the Bronze Cauldron, forming hand seals to collect the earth fire while explaining the process to Sanbao.
After several demonstrations, Sanbao had grasped nearly all of it. As long as he could skillfully wield fire-type spiritual power, the rest of the control was relatively simple.
"All right, give it a try."
After demonstrating once, Jing Yifei said to Sanbao.
"Okay."
With Sanbao's continuous control, earth-fire energy surged from the underground passage and flowed into the Bronze Cauldron without end. The entire process required precise control of spiritual power, consuming an enormous amount. The greater one's reserves of spiritual power, the faster one could collect the earth fire.
Jing Yifei, for example, could fill the entire cauldron in less than half a quarter of an hour. Sanbao was nowhere near as fast. After controlling it with all his strength for an hour, his spiritual power was completely drained, forcing him to sit and recover before continuing. Even after repeating this process all day, the earth-fire energy in the cauldron had only reached halfway.
Even so, Jing Yifei, standing nearby, was already staring in astonishment. This man has incredible talent. He's only been at it for a few days, yet he's already cultivated the Earth Fire Technique to this level. And his primary cultivation is still metal-type... He's practically born for...
At that thought, Jing Yifei suddenly felt a surge of anticipation. If he's suitable in that respect too, then he'd be...
"All right, I'll take over. Watch closely." Seeing how exhausted Sanbao was, Jing Yifei immediately took his place. After forming just a few hand seals, the earth-fire energy flowing into the Bronze Cauldron increased rapidly, and soon it overflowed.
Once the cauldron was full, Jing Yifei shut the small door, circled the giant cauldron, and struck it with a series of hand seals, each blow landing with a boom. The Bronze Cauldron seemed to come alive, letting out a faint hissing sound.
"All right, you can go back now. Remember to come add more fire next week. Each jar of earth fire only lasts a week." After completing the entire process, Jing Yifei was already drenched in sweat. He took a deep breath, then rose and left.
It was plain to see that forming that series of hand seals had consumed a great deal of Jing Yifei's energy too.
"Master, are you refining medicine?" Sanbao couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer and asked Jing Yifei, who was about to leave.
All the signs point to Jing Yifei refining medicine, Sanbao thought.
"Something like that."
Jing Yifei's answer only left Sanbao more confused. What did "something like that" mean? Was he or wasn't he?
Never mind all that. I should eat and then get back to cultivating. Sanbao shook his head and walked out of the Earth Fire Hall.
Spending the past few days cultivating the Earth Fire Technique and collecting fire had left him dizzy and bleary-eyed. Most importantly, it had eaten into his scheduled cultivation time.
"Sanbao, someone from Cloud Saint Hall came by earlier and asked you to go over. Probably to collect your allowance!" Just outside the hall, he ran into A-Tie, who called out with a grin.
Every entry-level disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect received a sizable sum of money each year. It was enough to provide for themselves and their families, freeing them to devote more time to cultivation. In addition, new disciples received a mid-grade cultivation technique and a Spirit Skill suited to them. As their duties rose and their contributions to the sect increased, they received more and better rewards.
For ordinary disciples from poor families, this was like a ladder to the heavens, with endless benefits. It was also precisely what made a powerful organization so appealing.
An hour later, Sanbao returned to Fire Cloud Hall. In addition to some money, he now had a mid-grade cultivation technique and a Spirit Skill.
But to Sanbao, who possessed the Purple Gold Art, they were about as useful as chicken ribs. The only thing that cheered him was that he had earned the money and techniques through his own strength for the first time.
Sanbao's primary cultivation technique was the Purple Gold Art, inherited from the Luo Clan. Given his current strength, its grade was somewhere between mid-grade and high-grade. The same applied to his Spirit Skills. The inherited Ninefold Claw and Nine-Turn Golden Body were actually Earth-grade Spirit Skills, but with Sanbao's current strength and proficiency, he could bring out no more than the power of mid-grade Spirit Skills.
Apart from the Ninefold Claw and Nine-Turn Golden Body, Sanbao had only practiced one other mid-grade Spirit Skill: the Golden Sand Palm. Spirit Skills were better when refined than numerous—that much was obvious.
At least until he reached the Spirit Commander stage, Sanbao had no plans to cultivate any more Spirit Skills.
After all, whether it was the Ninefold Claw or the Nine-Turn Golden Body, mastering either one required a great deal of time and effort. With Sanbao's current cultivation, it was practically impossible for him to bring either Spirit Skill to mastery.
In other words, before reaching the Spirit Commander stage, he could continue improving these two Spirit Skills. In that case, learning other Spirit Skills would only be a waste of time. It was easy enough to work out the math.
Of course, aside from cultivating these Spirit Skills, Sanbao had never neglected the soul-cultivation method taught by the Luo Clan's Saint Ancestor: the Stone Carving Painting.
As his cultivation progressed, Sanbao gradually discovered the many benefits of having a powerful soul.
Even when it came to something as simple as meditating, the stronger one's soul power, the more spiritual power returned to the Dantian after each cycle.
Fortunately, Fire Cloud Peak lay halfway up the mountain, with rocks of every size scattered all around. He didn't have to go far to find a place to carve.
Flowers bloomed and withered. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
Despite Jing Yifei's strange looks, Sanbao really had stayed on at Fire Cloud Hall.
No matter how cold Jing Yifei was toward him, Sanbao paid it no mind. Other than collecting earth fire each week, he spent all his time quietly cultivating on his own.
One day, in front of a vast cliff behind Fire Cloud Hall, Sanbao was carving intently, his entire mind seemingly immersed in the work.
"An oriole..."
As he studied the oriole's appearance in the mountainside nearby, Sanbao slowly carved a five-pound steel spike into the rock wall, while focusing all his willpower, following the Saint Ancestor Secret Manual.
On the cliff face, the oriole took shape from nothing, growing from simple lines into a detailed figure, gradually coming to life. After making a gentle final mark where the bird's eye would be, Sanbao finished. He let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and slowly recovered. As his Stone Carving Painting skills improved, the strain on his mind and soul power grew ever greater. By the time he finished carving the oriole, Sanbao already felt slightly exhausted.
Chirp, chirp...
Before you continue