Perfected

"This kid was truly impossible to fathom."

Above Shangqing Mountain Stronghold, upon a cloud no one noticed, a robed cultivator lowered his head and looked down at a youth sitting cross-legged below.

The youth rose early every day to cultivate. He seemed diligent enough, yet he left his remaining tasks unfinished.

"Why bother with him, Senior Brother? I've already given up on him." Lin Changsheng snorted coldly. Without sparing Bai Jing a glance, he looked toward another disciple under his charge.

"That fellow is indeed strange. He completed his first task with relative ease, so he should have been able to finish the rest quickly. Yet three days have passed, and he has shown no inclination to do tasks at all," another fellow disciple said.

The easy tasks in the Mission Hall were not unlimited. Once others had picked them all, the remaining ones would be difficult.

"Changsheng!" the older robed cultivator, Yun Hai, called out.

"Yes, Senior Brother." Lin Changsheng bowed in reply.

"You are being impatient."

"I am not."

Yun Hai shook his head expressionlessly. "I know that is not what you are truly angry about."

"Rather, it is because one of the disciples under your rival displayed extraordinary talent and has now entered the Third Stage of Qi and Blood—so shocking it beggars belief. Yet the twenty people under your own charge have all proven mediocre, leaving your heart unbalanced."

Lin Changsheng fell silent.

"There is no need for this, Senior Brother Lin." The fellow disciple beside him patted his shoulder and consoled him. "Every recruitment brings forth a few monstrous geniuses. Whoever encounters one is simply lucky. Your rival can at most steal the spotlight during this assessment, and only then. There is no gap between you two yourselves."

Minor Formless Technique (47/50)

After absorbing the Morning Glow Spiritual Tide before his thatched cottage, Bai Jing looked toward a branch in his sea of consciousness.

"It is getting closer and closer to perfection."

Perhaps once it is perfected, I can cultivate even faster. That is also the advantage of the Minor Formless Technique.

With that thought, he looked toward another branch.

Minor Star Array (14/50)

Compared to the Formless Cultivation Method, this array was more obscure and difficult to understand. Moreover, arrays drew their power from spiritual energy, and there was still much knowledge he only half understood. Thus, inscribing it was more difficult. Every time he successfully set up an array, he felt as though his body had been hollowed out.

Therefore, he could barely increase his proficiency by one point a day, and sometimes he could not even manage that.

However, as the Minor Formless Technique neared perfection and the qi and blood within him grew increasingly vast, setting up arrays became easier instead. Yesterday, he had completed it twice.

"With every point of proficiency gained, the array can draw down the power of one more star. How powerful will it be once it reaches perfection?" Bai Jing looked forward to it immensely.

The key was that once his proficiency was full, he should be able to set up the array in mere moments.

Of course, so-called star power was merely a description, not actual stellar force.

"I've heard that the super-enhanced version of the Minor Star Array, the Heavenly Cycle Star Array, draws down actual stars. A single one can destroy an entire city."

He muttered to himself, then shook his head. Such things were far too distant from him.

Then Bai Jing went out to the cafeteria for a meal.

An immortal sect's cafeteria naturally had Spiritual Meat that could nourish qi and blood. If he ate it every meal, his cultivation would improve much faster.

However, all the Ascension Coins on him were reserved for his third technique, so he could not use them for now.

Time slipped away in the blink of an eye. Two days later.

Boom!

Inside the thatched cottage of District Eight, Bai Jing sat cross-legged. The qi and blood in his body surged like a roaring river, vast to the extreme.

Qi and blood flowed from all over his body into his kidneys, gathering at his waist.

For a moment, his kidneys were like blazing furnaces, crimson and scorching.

Immediately afterward, his qi and blood scattered again, flowing from his kidneys into his limbs and bones. Bai Jing felt tremendous strength in every lift of his hand and every step he took.

"After the Minor Formless Technique reached perfection, my qi and blood nearly doubled in density." He opened his eyes and felt the changes in himself.

"Unfortunately, my kidneys have not yet been fully developed. My qi and blood can still increase." Bai Jing could feel that his cultivation had improved considerably, but it was still one step short. He could not break through perfectly.

"Let's try setting up the array."

He rose and walked to the front yard of the thatched cottage.

Arrays were, in truth, a means of borrowing powers such as the Laws of heaven and earth. Array Flags were used as guides, inscribed with runes, then arranged in special patterns. With an array disk commanding the whole formation, the one setting it up could unleash different powers through the array disk.

It could also be said to be a special kind of domain, an indirect means of communicating with the energy of heaven and earth.

Some arrays even gained or lost power depending on changes in their environment.

After choosing the Minor Formless Technique, Bai Jing had selected arrays as his second discipline. One reason was to fill out his Talent Tree and not waste its branches. The other was that arrays possessed extremely great power for cultivators like them in the Qi and Blood Realm.

That was because arrays controlled spiritual energy, while those in the Qi and Blood Realm could not come into contact with such high-level energy!

Of course, the Minor Star Array bore the word "Minor" because it was a simplified version of the true Star Array. Its power was not especially lethal, and it was still insufficient to threaten Dao Platform Realm cultivators.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bai Jing took out his Array Flags and array disk and began setting up the array.

Only as the setting sun drew near, casting fiery red light over the earth, did he finally stop, panting heavily.

Minor Star Array (20/50)

"I can still only set it up twice a day, but I'm not far from a third time. If I advance into the Second Stage of Qi and Blood, perhaps I can gain another point of proficiency each day!"

Bai Jing wiped the sweat from his brow as he thought.

Still, it was not bad. Under his efforts, this array was growing stronger and stronger.

"With the Minor Star Array's current power, perhaps it can even kill cultivators in the Second Stage of Qi and Blood. But I set it up too slowly. Neither demons nor people are fools—they will not wait for me to finish setting up an array."

He made the guess inwardly, then shook his head in the end.

Better to play it safe and go take on some tasks.

After taking a bath, Bai Jing hurried toward the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria were still the same familiar group of people to Bai Jing. Of course, as many disciples completed their third task, the cafeteria gradually became more crowded.

Yet Chen Ping and the others remained relaxed and cheerful, as steady as an old dog.

"Auntie, give me more meat. I'm still growing."

Bai Jing stood at the serving window and spoke, only to see the cafeteria auntie's hand trembling terribly. He was rendered speechless.

Cultivating alone, eating alone, sleeping alone—he had long since grown used to it.

However, when Bai Jing, who had been burying his head in his meal, happened to look up, he found someone sitting across the table from him.

"Brother Xu, when did you get here?" he asked after his puffed cheeks shrank back down.

"A little while ago." Xu Shan smiled, then pushed a plate of meat dishes before him over to Bai Jing. "Fresh pork. Would Fellow Daoist Bai like to try some?"

"One should not accept rewards without merit. Brother Xu is too courteous."

Smelling the meat's fragrance, which seemed capable of nourishing even the soul, Bai Jing shook his head.

He had already recognized it as the Spiritual Meat sold by the cafeteria, a great tonic.

"It is Brother Bai who is being too courteous." Xu Shan smiled. "That day, when I invited you to dine with us, I had wanted to make a friend. I never expected you to be ridiculed because of it. That was my fault. Consider this plate of meat dishes an apology."

"There is no need for this. I never took it to heart." Bai Jing had lived two lives, so he did not care in the slightest about such verbal disputes.

Besides, he believed that if one wanted respect, one had to be strong enough oneself.

"Brother Bai is broad-minded, but Xu truly feels guilty. Just eat it. They may judge people by talent, but I truly wish to be friends with Brother Bai. Otherwise, with so many people there, why would I have invited only you?" Xu Shan urged.

Bai Jing looked at the plate, then at Xu Shan, and asked, "I heard that after completing three tasks, one receives ten Ascension Coins as a reward. Brother Xu treated people to this great tonic last time, and with your own cultivation expenses as well, I'm afraid you do not have many coins left, do you?"

"The Qi and Blood Realm places great emphasis on nourishment. Ascension Coins are indeed consumed far too quickly." Xu Shan nodded. "But Brother Bai, do not underestimate me. Even without this Spiritual Meat to nourish me, I am confident that I can reach the Third Stage of Qi and Blood before the next assessment."

"Then I'll have just one piece." Unable to refuse such earnest hospitality, Bai Jing could only politely pick up a piece of meat.

Yet the moment the Spiritual Meat entered his mouth, it melted instantly, transforming into streams of warmth that entered his body.

In an instant, much of the fatigue from a day spent setting up arrays was eased.

And his qi and blood was growing.

His eyes lit up, and he could not help picking up another piece.

Across from him, Xu Shan revealed a satisfied smile.

"Well? How is the meat?"

"Excellent!" Bai Jing gave him a thumbs-up.

He somewhat understood Ling Qinghe's words from before. Whether medicinal pills or Spiritual Meat that nourished the body, they were undoubtedly a tremendous aid to a cultivator's cultivation.