Water Classic Commentary (Seeking Recommendations)

Senior Brother Hua was handsome and dignified, and his manner with people was beyond reproach. Every disciple who arrived received a few cordial words from him. He moved smoothly among the different groups without neglecting a single person.

A moment later, every seat in the small pavilion was occupied.

"Everyone... we are all newly initiated disciples. In the days ahead, we should grow closer to one another."

Senior Brother Hua raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.

"Of course..."

Everyone voiced their agreement. A freckled youth flattered him, saying, "Senior Brother Hua, your surname is Hua? Could you be from Flying Fish Island?"

A hint of pride immediately appeared on Senior Brother Hua's face. "That's right. Relying on the lingering blessings of my ancestors, I was fortunate enough to enter this sect..."

"Flying Fish Island? Where is that?"

A female disciple asked the question that had also been on Fang Qing's mind.

"Haha, this junior sister must have come from the mortal world. Flying Fish Island is the island where the Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan, the Hua Family, resides. It has a Second-Order Spiritual Vein and produces Dragon-Soaring Silk, Jewel-Eyed Fish..."

Another disciple, one who looked somewhat more mature, explained before turning to Senior Brother Hua. "I never expected Senior Brother Hua to come from a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan. Your future is surely boundless."

"Alas... the immortal path is arduous. I too tread every step as if on thin ice."

Senior Brother Hua shook his head with a bitter smile. "Besides... though we are called an immortal clan, compared to the Azure Sea Sect, where Core Formation cultivators arise generation after generation, what do we amount to?"

The banquet continued, but Fang Qing noticed that the atmosphere felt somewhat off.

Before long, everyone had divided themselves into several small circles according to their backgrounds.

Senior Brother Hua, naturally, was the center of attention among those from Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans, outshining everyone else.

Beyond that, disciples from Qi Refining families also carried themselves with a certain pride. While flattering Senior Brother Hua, they subtly excluded Rogue Cultivators and disciples like Fang Qing, who came from the mortal world.

Of course, these displays were extremely subtle. Moreover, Senior Brother Hua was no fool, and he did his best to mediate. Few of these inexperienced disciples noticed anything.

Thus, the banquet still appeared harmonious, with hosts and guests alike enjoying themselves.

Fang Qing kept his head down, drinking wine and eating dishes, and found it rather pleasant.

Before he knew it, the banquet had come to an end.

"I shall see everyone off here. May all my junior brothers and sisters enjoy eternal prosperity on the immortal path..."

Senior Brother Hua escorted the others out, radiant and dazzling.

Meanwhile, Fang Qing blended in with several disciples of mortal origin, returning the courtesy alongside them. He was utterly inconspicuous.

Just then, a streak of crimson light flew over, trailing shimmering, colorful tassels.

The crimson light descended and transformed into a red sash tied around the waist of a young girl with skin like congealed cream and features like a painting.

Her gaze swept over the crowd as she asked, "Who is Fang Qing?"

Under the astonished gazes of Senior Brother Hua, Yu Taohua, and the others, Fang Qing braced himself and stepped forward, bowing. "I am Fang Qing. Greetings, Senior Sister."

"Mhm. I am Hua Lingsu of Pill Island. By order, I have come to take you to Pill Island and promote you to an inner sect disciple. Let us go!"

Hua Lingsu lifted a hand. The red sash darted forward like a living thing, winding around Fang Qing's waist and carrying him up into the blue heavens, where they vanished without a trace.

"Junior Brother Fang... no, Senior Brother Fang truly hid himself deeply."

One disciple could not help clicking his tongue, then secretly glanced toward Senior Brother Hua.

Senior Brother Hua's expression remained unchanged, though his smile deepened. "I never expected Junior Brother Fang to have such connections. We must grow even closer in the future..."

After thinking it over, the disciples decided that Pill Island was simply too far beyond their reach. It was more important to flatter Senior Brother Hua, so they hastily put on ingratiating smiles once more...

Standing high and looking into the distance, Fang Qing saw a bank of dense mist swiftly disperse, revealing a small island.

Strange peaks rose sharply from the island, where many buildings gleamed with treasures of ten colors. There also seemed to be quite a few hot spring vents.

Naturally, even more of the island remained shrouded in dense mist and restrictions, impossible to see clearly.

"Junior Brother Fang, Pill Island chiefly practices Water-Method Alchemy. Since you have joined Pill Island as an inner sect disciple... by rights, you could take an elder as your master. However, no elder currently intends to accept disciples. Using your disciple token, you may visit the Cauldron Altar on the first and fifteenth of every month to listen to senior brothers and sisters discuss cultivation and the Dao of alchemy. At times, the elders will also come to give lectures..."

Hua Lingsu descended from her flight and explained things to Fang Qing.

"Water-Method Alchemy? Not the kind that uses an alchemy furnace?"

In Fang Qing's impression, alchemy could scarcely do without fire.

"Fire-Method Alchemy naturally exists as well, but in our Azure Sea Sect, Water-Method Alchemy is the main path... and it has produced quite a few great alchemy masters."

When Hua Lingsu smiled, faint dimples appeared on her cheeks. "Moreover... compared to Fire-Method Alchemy, our Water-Method Alchemy produces gentler medicinal effects and less Pill Poison. With Pill Island's unique Hot-Cold Twin Springs for tempering, it can even process more medicinal ingredients in a single batch..."

Naturally, Hua Lingsu did not mention that Fire-Method Alchemy was faster and better suited to refining most fire-attributed pills.

"Besides... Water-Method Alchemy is better suited to cultivators like us with Water Spirit Roots."

That final point made Fang Qing nod repeatedly. "Senior Sister is right... our Water-Method Alchemy is simply better than Fire-Method Alchemy!"

Fang Qing had always believed that one's position determined one's thinking. Since he possessed a Water Spirit Root and Pill Island favored Water-Method Alchemy, there was nothing more to say: Water-Method Alchemy was superior.

If he had possessed a Fire Spirit Root and apprenticed himself to a master of Fire-Method Alchemy, then Water-Method Alchemy would have been nothing but heretical nonsense!

"Enough. This is your cave abode."

Hua Lingsu brought Fang Qing before a cave abode and prepared to leave. Then she turned back. "Alchemy is among the most difficult of the hundred arts of cultivation. Junior Brother, you should first go to the Heavenly Books Pavilion and borrow some materia medica to familiarize yourself with the properties of herbs. Do not begin refining blindly..."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. I understand."

Fang Qing clasped his hands in thanks.

He too vaguely felt that alchemy was no simple matter and that he could not act rashly.

Even in his previous life, those who blindly followed trends were all leeks waiting to be harvested. Anyone who invested blindly in an industry without spending three years learning its inner workings would sooner or later be cheated until not even scraps remained.

"Hm? This place?"

After entering the cave abode, Fang Qing looked around. The place was not large, with only a few stone chambers. Its furnishings were exceedingly plain as well, consisting of only a stone table, stone chairs, and a few other pieces.

Yet for some reason, his mind felt clear here, and his entire body felt comfortable.

"Could this be the effect of a Second-Order Spiritual Vein? If I had an immortal cultivation technique, this feeling would surely be even stronger..."

Fang Qing recalled what he had learned before. Spiritual energy in the mortal world was thin, while Lakeside Manor possessed a first-order spiritual energy environment, enough for Qi Refining disciples to cultivate.

As for the seven islands of the inner lake, even the poorest possessed Second-Order Spiritual Veins. Cultivating here would certainly allow for far swifter progress than at Lakeside Manor.

"Cultivation technique! I forgot to ask about that just now... But aside from her final reminder, Senior Sister Hua's overall attitude was rather ordinary. Does she look down on me for entering through the back door? Or perhaps... she simply felt there was nothing to say?"

Fang Qing stroked his chin and began to look forward to tomorrow.

The next day.

Myriad Treasures Island.

Fang Xing stepped off the boat and gazed at the Heavenly Books Pavilion in the distance, wrapped in restrictions of every color. He did not slow his pace. "Finally..."

Only upon drawing close could he better sense the majesty of the Heavenly Books Pavilion. Its entire structure had been built from a kind of agarwood, giving off a calming fragrance.

Upon entering the first floor, he saw bookshelves of every kind surrounding the room, packed with thread-bound books.

"Heavenwave Method? Qi Shark Force? Twelve Transformations of Divine Movement? They're all second-rate, even first-rate martial arts. Hm? There's even the Divine Martial Canon? Isn't that the peerless martial art of legend in the mortal martial world?"

After only one glance, Fang Qing was secretly astonished.

A vast number of miscellaneous books had been piled up as though they cost nothing, available for disciples to browse at will.

"This junior brother must be a newly initiated disciple, correct?"

At that moment, an Azure Sea Sect disciple approached him. "I am a pavilion-guarding disciple, assigned to explain things to my junior brothers and sisters... The Heavenly Books Pavilion has nine floors in total. The first floor contains mortal martial arts, geography, mechanisms, and nearly everything else. Any sect disciple may freely browse and borrow them. The second floor involves immortal cultivation techniques, and each disciple may borrow only one book. Only inner sect disciples may enter the third floor, where the cultivation techniques, secret arts, and texts are all of exceptional quality... As for the fourth floor and above, only Foundation Establishment cultivators or True Disciples may enter."

"So that is how it is. Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

Fang Qing took out his disciple token and displayed the pill insignia Hua Lingsu had marked on it the previous day. "I wish to visit the third floor. Do you have any recommendations?"

"So Junior Brother is actually an inner sect disciple of Pill Island. My apologies, my apologies." The pavilion-guarding disciple's expression immediately shifted from casual indifference to a beaming smile. "My name is Zeng Shu. We are fellow disciples from now on. May I ask what spiritual root Junior Brother possesses?"

"A mid-grade Water Spirit Root."

Fang Qing answered, transferring ten contribution points along with his words.

Choosing a cultivation technique was a serious matter. Though he had countless chances to regret it and start over, he could not expose that fact. The cultivation technique he presented to the world still needed to be as outstanding as possible.

Spending a little money on this was nothing.

Zeng Shu had not expected this junior brother to be so perceptive, and his smile became several degrees more sincere. "The foundational cultivation techniques on the third floor are all excellent. Those suited to Water Spirit Roots include the White Water Formula, Gazing at the Vast Sea, and the Water Classic Commentary... Among them, the White Water Formula was originally the inherited cultivation technique of the Wu Family of White Profound Island. It is said that while the spiritual power cultivated through it is water-attributed, it also carries a chill. During battle, an enemy may be caught off guard and have their dharma body frozen stiff, suffering a heavy loss..."

"Gazing at the Vast Sea is an ancient cultivation technique, renowned for the vastness of its dharma power. It is said that senior brothers and sisters who cultivate it possess one or two tenths more dharma power than other cultivators at the same realm..."

"The Water Classic Commentary, meanwhile, was derived from the Azure Sea Method, the primary cultivation technique of our sect's Azure Sea Ancestor. If one can achieve Foundation Establishment through it, one may later switch to the Azure Sea Method without any loss whatsoever..."

Having received his benefit, Zeng Shu truly explained everything in meticulous detail.

"Potential... that is very important."

After listening, Fang Qing had already made his decision. "The Wu Family of White Profound Island is only a Foundation Establishment family, and the White Water Formula has no subsequent Core Formation section... Gazing at the Vast Sea is likewise an incomplete fragment of an ancient cultivation technique. Though it is said to be quite famous, the sect has no further chapters."

"Though both techniques have their own special traits, while the Water Classic Commentary is plain and unremarkable, it has fewer bottlenecks and can be seamlessly continued in the future."

For someone who only cared about reaching Foundation Establishment, there was not much difference between choosing any of the three techniques.

But for Fang Qing, Foundation Establishment was certainly not the end. Choosing the Water Classic Commentary, carefully selected by Azure Sea True Person, clearly could not be wrong.

Even if the other two cultivation techniques might offer further opportunities someday, opportunities within his own sect were clearly more suitable for him.

"I'll take the Water Classic Commentary!"