Foundation, Such Consumables

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

"Phew..."

Zhu Yu let out a soft breath, opened his eyes, and summoned the panel.

[Attributes: Physique 1, Soul 4.3]

Three days had passed. His physique had recovered to that of an ordinary person, while the Soul Particles nurtured within his Divine Sea had grown to fifteen. He was one step closer to giving birth to Divine Sense.

Meanwhile.

Of the Gloomy Old Man's one-month deadline, barely twenty days remained.

"Nothing must go wrong..."

Watching the days slip away, Zhu Yu could not help growing anxious. Just as he was thinking this, voices drifted in from outside.

Knock, knock...

The door sounded. Delight flashed through Zhu Yu's eyes as he hurried forward and opened it. Xiang Sui's increasingly hollow face greeted him.

Behind him, a broad, plump figure in a black robe stood with his back turned, chattering endlessly with five others dressed the same way.

"Senior Brother Xiang, Senior Brother Liang, please come in."

Zhu Yu swept his gaze over them, his face blooming with a warm smile as he gestured them inside.

"You are too polite, Junior Brother."

Xiang Sui waved a hand, then leaned close and lowered his voice. "I specially selected these five. They have only recently entered the Sect, and every one of them has quite a bit of family wealth..."

He gave Zhu Yu a look that said, You understand, then led the group into the small room.

The day before yesterday, Liang Kuan had delivered several meditation cushions. Though the room looked even more cramped now, at least everyone had somewhere to sit.

The group removed their hoods and exchanged a few polite introductions.

Without any needless chatter, the lesson began at once.

Perhaps Xiang Sui had already assured them on the way here. The four men and one woman sat solemnly upon their cushions, studying Zhu Yu, who sat cross-legged before them and looked far too young. No one voiced any doubts, though surprise and curiosity shone in their eyes.

"Every one of them is fine cultivation material!"

Seeing that they all looked somewhat simple-minded, Zhu Yu finally relaxed completely. He gave a light cough, picked up the Basic Visualization Method, swept his gaze around the room, and smiled.

"Junior Brothers and Junior Sister, you are all well versed in the Basic Visualization Method, yes?"

The five nodded in turn.

Zhu Yu continued, "Have any of you succeeded in meditation?"

Four of the five nodded. Only one youth, strikingly handsome with red lips, white teeth, and clear eyes, shook his head slightly.

Zhu Yu glanced at him, then asked again, "Has anyone opened their Divine Sea?"

This time, the remaining four all shook their heads.

"Perfect."

Zhu Yu cast a deep look at Xiang Sui, who wore a faintly lecherous smile, and Liang Kuan, whose face was split by a grin. He silently praised them. Such promising seedlings—Senior Brothers truly did not take their fifty percent share for nothing.

With that thought flashing through his mind, he organized his ideas slightly and began with meditation.

Using the brief annotations written in the Basic Visualization Method as examples, he broke down the profound meanings within bit by bit in plain, simple language, making it as easy to understand as possible.

Time trickled by...

Yet the five cultivation seedlings were like blank sheets of paper, listening in rapt fascination. Zhu Yu too was teaching to his heart's content. Only when Liang Kuan refilled who knew how many cups of tea and gave him a meaningful look did he finally stop, still wanting more.

"Junior Brothers and Junior Sister, you may try meditating now. If there is anything you do not understand, ask me afterward."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhu."

The five clasped their hands in salute and eagerly closed their eyes to meditate.

Zhu Yu nodded with complete satisfaction. After glancing around, he followed Xiang Sui and Liang Kuan out at an unhurried pace. They stopped beside a patch of grass not far away that gave off rosy-red motes of light.

Xiang Sui pointed toward the stone house and chuckled. "Junior Brother Zhu, are you curious where they came from? Why they seem... like blank sheets of paper?"

Zhu Yu nodded, puzzled. "If they are willing to spend Spirit Stones on lessons, then even if they were not born into cultivation lineages like you, Senior Brothers, they must have elders who are cultivators, right? Before entering the Sect, did their elders not teach them the Basic Visualization Method at all?"

Xiang Sui was stunned for a moment. Then, remembering that Zhu Yu had come from a Spirit Desert, he immediately understood. He shook his head with a laugh. "Junior Brother, you do not know this, but the Basic Visualization Method is not some common thing found everywhere..."

As he listened to Xiang Sui explain point by point, Zhu Yu's expression turned to understanding.

Though it was called the Basic Visualization Method, it was actually the foundation of the Dao for cultivators of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Its importance far exceeded even what Zhu Yu had imagined.

According to Xiang Sui, anyone who was not a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect and attempted to cultivate the Basic Visualization Method would die violently without exception.

"Junior Brother, do not underestimate them either."

Perhaps afraid that Zhu Yu would be perfunctory or look down on them, Xiang Sui specially reminded him, "Unlike you, cultivation lineages and Rogue Cultivators do not find it easy to send their descendants into the Sect. And anyone who manages to enter is no simple person."

"For example, that somewhat effeminate Xun Su. He comes from the Xun Clan, a Foundation Establishment lineage. Rumor has it that his soul aptitude is extremely close to sixth grade..."

"And that girl, Ni Ying. Her grandfather is a famous Foundation Establishment True Person."

"Qiao Hewei's elders are ordinary, but he has an elder brother with hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment. Bai Meng's parents are both late-stage Qi Refining Rogue Cultivators, following the path of raising demon beasts and embroidered maidens. Fu Hongxi has fifth-grade soul aptitude..."

The introduction left Zhu Yu deeply shocked.

Even the least talented of the five possessed fourth-grade aptitude, and every one of them had an extremely solid background. The weakest among them, Fu Hongxi, had apparently even signed a contract with some Foundation Establishment True Person and received resource support.

"Just teach the Basic Visualization Method with peace of mind. Do not think too much about anything else." Xiang Sui patted Zhu Yu on the shoulder.

After waiting for a while.

The three returned to the stone house.

Only when eleven full moons hung in the sky and the crescent moon first appeared did Xun Su and the others, their minds stuffed full of knowledge and somewhat dazed, deeply salute Zhu Yu. After arranging the time for their next lesson, they dispersed.

Stone house.

A small pile of softly glowing stones and wooden blocks lay atop the modest wooden table.

The three looked at one another.

"Cough, cough..." Xiang Sui coughed twice and said apologetically, "Junior Brother, although you are highly capable, you are not a cultivator after all and have no reputation. So, for now, it can only be one Spirit Stone per half hour."

After a pause, he raised one finger and promised, "Once you succeed in Qi Refining, the price will at least double!"

"Double? The senior brothers at the Sutra Lecture Hall do not teach for three whole hours at a time. Once Junior Brother Zhu reaches Qi Refining, I think it should rise at least threefold!" Liang Kuan happily chimed in, then said indignantly, "We are letting them off cheaply for now. In the future..."

"I will listen to both Senior Brothers."

Zhu Yu's eyes were entirely fixed on the Spirit Stones atop the table. "Then... shall we divide them now?"

"Divide them!"

Xiang Sui had emptied his coffers refining Meditation Fluid, while Liang Kuan had also been left with empty pockets after buying Meditation Fluid and supplementary pills. At those words, they nodded without hesitation.

Very soon, the thirty Spirit Stones were divided cleanly.

Zhu Yu received fifteen alone. He picked up one dark-yellow, pebble-like stone to inspect it. It felt cool in his hand, like jade yet not jade. Within it, a wisp of earthy-yellow mist flowed and shifted, exceptionally beautiful.

"So this is a Spirit Stone..."

Memories concerning Spirit Stones surfaced in Zhu Yu's mind.

Spirit Stones came in two kinds.

One was naturally formed by heaven and earth.

The other was formed when ordinary objects were irradiated by a cultivator's aura over long periods, changing their material nature and drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Though the two differed in appearance, there was no difference in essence.

"Such consumables..."

As Zhu Yu studied the low-grade earth-attribute Spirit Stone in his hand, a thought suddenly stirred within him. Remembering the Gloomy Old Man's mention of "consumables" several months ago, he now somewhat understood exactly what those consumables were.

They would raise consumables into cultivators, then pen them in.

Until the day they died, they would produce Spirit Stones and spiritual materials for the Sect.