The Heavenly Dao Sect Does Not Keep Idlers

"Hoo..."

Zhu Yu took a deep breath and silently warned himself to keep a low profile and remain cautious in all things. In this world, where an individual's might could be boundless, he could not expect others to reason with him by the rules.

A short while later.

Zhu Yu, absorbed in the book, suddenly felt his mind stir. When he came back to himself, a great many insights regarding the "Basic Visualization Method" welled up from the depths of his memory. In a daze, it felt as though he had meditated hundreds, even thousands of times in an instant.

Following that intangible insight, he subconsciously sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

Within his consciousness, the outline of a pattern formed by three Rings emerged. His awareness became a brush tip; taking one point as its foundation, it naturally traced out the outer ring. Without pausing, two more strokes fell, and a complete pattern took shape in an instant.

A faint phosphorescent glow bloomed. Zhu Yu once again felt a trace of coolness. After several breaths, the pattern suddenly collapsed into a pale golden point of light, which vanished into the unseen.

Divine Sea space.

A pale golden point of light, no larger than a grain of rice, drifted up and down, scattering tiny gleams.

"So this is a Soul Particle..."

Zhu Yu was overjoyed. Though he had yet to enter the Qi Refining Realm, he could be considered to have one foot over the threshold of the immortal path. After examining it for a few moments, his consciousness returned to his body.

He then silently sensed the changes in himself.

Compared to before, his mind was clearly more active—or rather, his thoughts had become quicker, and his memory had improved as well. Things he had once been unable to recall now surfaced in his mind with only the slightest reflection.

"Merely opening the Divine Sea has brought such immense changes. Then what about Qi Refining cultivators who draw in spiritual qi and shatter the Mysterious Pass of heaven and earth? And the legendary Foundation Establishment True Persons—what kind of boundless power do they possess?"

Thoughts churned within Zhu Yu. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated his spirit, and immersed himself in meditation once more.

An hour passed.

Zhu Yu opened his eyes and frowned. "So it really won't work..."

According to the Basic Visualization Method, a person's soul aptitude was divided into seven grades.

The souls of those in the first and second grades were weak. By the time they accumulated enough soul power to open the Divine Sea, they were already old and no longer suited for cultivation.

Though there were slight differences among third-grade aptitudes, most could accumulate sufficient soul power to open the Divine Sea between the ages of sixteen and eighteen.

Those with fourth-grade aptitude could do so between the ages of ten and sixteen.

Those with fifth-grade aptitude could do so anytime from birth to the age of ten.

As for the sixth and seventh grades—

They were born Immortal Seeds. Even before birth, they would be accompanied by strange phenomena, their Divine Seas opened innately. After being born, they would awaken spells and Divine Abilities, or else be born alongside treasures.

So long as they did not perish prematurely, they had a great chance of advancing to Foundation Establishment.

And because aptitudes differed—

For someone with third-grade aptitude like Zhu Yu, the soul power that leaked away from his soul each day was limited. It would take roughly one to seven days to accumulate enough to condense a single Soul Particle.

By contrast, Immortal Seeds of the sixth and seventh grades shed vast, surging quantities of soul power each day, enough to support a full day of meditation and Soul Particle condensation.

The gap between them was as vast as clouds and mud.

"Born Immortal Seeds..."

Zhu Yu felt some envy, but not much. With the True Sight Eye, he believed that though his starting point was somewhat inferior, he would surely surpass them in the future.

Suppressing his distracting thoughts, he considered the results of his meditation just now.

After merging with the previous owner's soul, the soul power that leaked from his soul each day, given his current aptitude, was roughly equal to one and a half Soul Particles. In two days, he could condense three Soul Particles.

And materializing the Three-Ring Pattern required three soul lines.

One soul line required fusing ten Soul Particles.

In other words, even the crudest materialized pattern required at least thirty Soul Particles.

And now—

Only one month remained of the one-year deadline mentioned by the Gloomy Old Man.

Though he could condense forty-five Soul Particles in one month, Zhu Yu had not forgotten that the deadline required him to advance to the Qi Refining Realm, not merely materialize the Three-Ring Pattern.

And according to the records in the booklet—

If the Three-Ring Pattern was materialized with the bare minimum of thirty Soul Particles, it would draw in only a tiny amount of heaven and earth spiritual qi, and there was a small chance of breakthrough failure.

If he wanted to avoid failing his breakthrough, the more Soul Particles used to materialize the Three-Ring Pattern, the better.

"The more, the better..."

Zhu Yu frowned and pondered for several breaths. As though recalling something, he picked up Treasures of the World from the table and flipped through it. When he turned to a certain page, joy immediately appeared on his face.

Imprinted on the page was a dark pill speckled with faint golden flecks of light.

"Soul Dispersing Pill."

First-tier low-grade. After consumption, it nourished soul power. One pill every three days was recommended; taking too many carried the danger of the soul collapsing. Value: three Contribution Points/three Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Contribution Points were the universal currency issued by the Heavenly Dao Sect. With Contribution Points, one could purchase most resources within the Heavenly Dao Sect, such as cultivation methods, magic artifacts, pills, talismans... and so on.

One could even hire a Foundation Establishment True Person to personally expound the Dao face-to-face, though the cost was astronomical.

Spirit Stones contained a thread of pure spiritual qi and could be easily absorbed by cultivators. They were mostly used for setting formations, refining pills, forging artifacts... and so on, and were one of the universal currencies of the cultivation world.

"Contribution Points, Spirit Stones..."

Zhu Yu touched his pockets, cleaner than his face. He had neither.

The Dao was precious; methods carried great weight.

The Heavenly Dao Sect upheld fair trade and did not keep idlers.

For newly admitted disciples like them who had not yet formally entered the sect, their benefits extended only to enough food to fill their stomachs, plus a Basic Visualization Diagram. As for anything else, if they wanted it, they could only earn it themselves.

Freeload? Don't even dream of it.

"How do I earn Contribution Points and Spirit Stones..."

Zhu Yu searched through the previous owner's memories, feeling a headache coming on.

The previous owner seemed afraid of showing his face. His understanding of the Heavenly Dao Sect was limited to Records of the Heavenly Dao Sect. In nine months since joining, he had not even made a single friend to talk to.

Fortunately, there were none of the filthy affairs found in some of the novels Zhu Yu had read in his previous life.

After pondering for a while, Zhu Yu suddenly remembered something.

To teach newly admitted disciples, the Earth Cavern had established a Sutra Lecture Hall. Every day, experienced Qi Refining cultivators lectured there on the Basic Meditation Method and the foundational knowledge of certain spells.

It was said that admission cost as much as one Contribution Point or one Spirit Stone, yet people still streamed in and out every day without end. After all, strong soul aptitude did not mean strong comprehension.

For example, with the soul power shed by someone of fourth-grade aptitude, they could condense at least two Soul Particles every day. But if their proficiency in the Basic Meditation Method was low, after meditating all day, they might only manage to condense one Soul Particle.

The effect would be no different from third-grade aptitude—a true waste of their natural gifts.

"There's money to be made here..."

Zhu Yu's eyes lit up. He could teach the Basic Visualization Method to earn Contribution Points and Spirit Stones.

A quarter-hour lesson at the Sutra Lecture Hall cost one Contribution Point or one Spirit Stone. He could charge half a Contribution Point or half a Spirit Stone; even less would be fine.

It was a business without capital. No matter what, he would not lose out!

"But if I'm going to sell lessons, Basic Meditation Method at the proficient level won't be impressive enough..."

The thought flashed through Zhu Yu's mind. He opened the panel, looked at the Skills section, and silently said, "Establish model. Analyze the Basic Visualization Diagram, from proficient to minor accomplishment."

As his thought fell, the panel changed.

["Basic Visualization Diagram" Proficient → Minor Accomplishment, analysis progress "1%", estimated analysis time: seven days.]

"Seven days..."

Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the Code of Discipline and began reading. He needed to look through it carefully—if the Heavenly Dao Sect did not permit fellow disciples to teach one another, then he would truly be left grasping at air.