Inner Sect Benefits, a Letter Arrives

"No wonder it was Flood Dragon meat. Its vital essence was so abundant that even my Qi Sea felt filled to the brim..."

Lu Xuan sat cross-legged within his new cave abode, breathing in and out slowly for a long while. Only after the Flood Dragon's vital essence had been completely absorbed did he gradually open his eyes and exhale a straight plume of vapor.

Just as the attendant had said.

The Flood Dragon meat soup from the Culinary Hall truly contained genuine Flood Dragon meat.

A great tonic!

After he, Zhang Xuange, and the others drank the soup, their vital essences immediately surged throughout their bodies, leaving them all somewhat lightheaded. They barely managed to cultivate through breathing exercises in the Culinary Hall for a time, then collectively summoned their Cloud Qi and returned to their respective cave abodes.

Only after another long session of breathing exercises in his cave abode did Lu Xuan feel clear-headed and refreshed, his spirits restored—and stronger than before.

The first realm of cultivation was the Embryonic Breath Realm. One cultivated the physical body to the peak of mortal limits, then refined Qi into the body. The flesh changed along with it, breaking through a sliver of the mortal boundary, but one's meridians and Qi Sea remained fixed.

Yet after consuming that Flood Dragon meat soup today, his meridians, Qi Sea, and even his flesh, sinews, and bones had all gained a trace of improvement.

"If I could eat this dragon soup every day, I might be able to cultivate by commanding Six Dragons in less than three months..."

A glint flashed in Lu Xuan's eyes.

Commanding Six Dragons in cultivation did not mean his cultivation speed would increase sixfold. Just as six horses pulling a cart would not make it travel six times faster than one horse, transporting spiritual energy did not depend entirely on the number of manifested phenomena.

Still, it would be several times faster overall.

Several times the cultivation speed—this was a heaven-shaking improvement.

Only a great sect could likely afford such extravagance.

The inner sect's benefits were indeed lavish, far beyond the Hibernation Academy.

"If I can command Six Dragons to transport spiritual energy, my chances of advancing to Qi Refining Second Layer within a year will rise considerably..."

"But cultivation alone will probably still not be enough..."

"Let's see what kind of pills the Sea-Calming Bureau provides."

As Lu Xuan pondered, he opened an Ink-Jade Void-Storage Bag, three zhang cubed in capacity.

This void-storage bag was also among the inner sect's benefits. It was much larger than the one from the Hibernation Academy, and inside were standard clothing, Dharma robes, Spirit Stones, pills, and everything else.

"Yellow Ginseng Pills..."

"Yang-Origin Pills..."

"Qi-Drawing Dew..."

"Not bad. They're all high-quality Qi-gathering medicines. With these nine pills every month to assist me, my cultivation speed can rise by several more tenths."

"But even so, it probably still won't be enough."

Lu Xuan calculated inwardly, then could not help shaking his head.

If his Qi Sea were compared to a lake, the amount of water he could currently transport into it each day was barely a few cubic units. Even with the aid of pills and Flood Dragon meat, it would still take at least one year and nine months.

He was still short by nine months.

But Lu Xuan was not flustered, because inner sect disciples received Spirit Stones every month as well.

"Twelve Spirit Stones!"

Lu Xuan glanced into the void-storage bag, and his face immediately lit up with delight.

An ordinary Qi Refining First Layer cultivator earned roughly three Spirit Stones for a month's labor, while an inner sect disciple of the Heaven-Gazing Sect received twelve Spirit Stones in monthly stipend—equal to an ordinary cultivator's income for an entire season.

With this sum of Spirit Stones, there was much more room to maneuver.

"Still, taking nine pills a month is already a great deal. Even if I have Spirit Stones, I can't exchange them for more pills. I'll have to find another way."

At the thought of the words "find another way," Lu Xuan recalled his agreement with Senior Brother Lin.

That day, he had gone to the Red Pine Fief, met the Red Fox Clan, and presented spiritual treasures as a gesture of gratitude. Afterward, he had gone to the Moon-Gazing Rabbit Clan and canceled Senior Brother Lin's wager from that day.

Canceling the wager had been even easier than Lu Xuan had expected. The Moon-Gazing Rabbit Clan had not made things difficult, perhaps because Senior Brother Lin's failure at the Grand Rite had greatly diminished his appeal to them.

After all, Senior Brother Lin's wager differed from his own. If it succeeded, he would still have to marry one of the Moon-Gazing Rabbit Clan's "young rabbits"—only one with better talent.

But the Moon-Gazing Rabbit Clan had agreed to cancel the wager on one condition.

Moonlight Spirit Fungus.

Bring them one Moonlight Spirit Fungus, and the wager would immediately be voided.

Naturally, Lu Xuan did not possess Moonlight Spirit Fungus, but he had used his "familiar face," together with his status as an inner sect disciple, to put it on credit.

He had also managed to arrange matters with the Radiant Deer Clan, after exhausting himself with persuasion, beating drums and dancing, singing around bonfires.

But there was a price: the "betrothal gift" was no trifling matter and required one stalk of Bright-Jade Grass.

Lu Xuan had agreed, but he could only put that on credit as well.

In other words, without doing anything at all, he had already acquired three enormous debts out of thin air: Cold Crystal Lunar Essence, Moonlight Spirit Fungus, and Bright-Jade Grass.

These were all "restricted spiritual treasures" rarely seen in ordinary times. Setting aside their value, without the proper channels, one could not even catch a glimpse of them.

Lu Xuan had originally planned to use his inner sect status and stipend to make these arrangements happen.

But the moment Zhou Xuanpu's three assessments appeared, his "stipend" became extremely tight.

"Forget it. More thought is useless. I'll take one step and see where it leads..."

Lu Xuan pondered for a moment but had no idea how to handle these matters. He could only set them aside for now, intending to familiarize himself with his fellow students and Mystic Masters on Cangyun Island before mobilizing his "connections" to seek out the spiritual treasures.

After sorting away the Spirit Stones and pills, Lu Xuan looked again at the Dharma robes and magical artifacts.

The Dharma robes needed no mention. They could merely ward off water and fire to a simple degree and keep dust away.

They were simply more exquisite.

Lu Xuan focused his attention on three magical artifacts.

A cloud, a sword, and a spirit banner.

"Yang'a Cloud, Golden-Plume Sword, Radiant Light Banner..."

Lu Xuan used his Qi to command the three artifacts and spent a long while refining them. Then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"It seems the magical artifacts bestowed by the inner sect differ from person to person. They correspond to one's Qi nature."

Of the three artifacts, one was a treasure for riding clouds and traveling, one was a sword for killing and battle, and one was a banner for defense.

Yet all carried a majestic brilliance, belonging to the great sun and greatly matching his Qi nature. When used, they possessed several more layers of mystery.

Lu Xuan summoned the three artifacts one by one and tested them, then revealed a satisfied expression.

They were not common goods. Their quality was excellent, sufficient for use through Qi Refining Second Layer.

After all, they were low-grade magical artifacts.

Though low-grade magical artifacts bore the words "low-grade," when forged, their limit was still sufficient to contain all the Qi power of Qi Refining Second Layer.

The limit of mid-grade magical artifacts was enough to withstand all the Qi power of Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

High-grade artifacts followed the same pattern.

If a Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator wielded a low-grade magical artifact, then with even a little full-force exertion, the artifact would crack apart from being unable to bear the strain, like a mortal cart whose wheels shattered from spinning too quickly.

Magical artifacts were, after all, inanimate objects.

Thus, higher rank did not necessarily mean greater strength.

They had to suit their wielder.

Of course, magical treasures were another matter entirely, for they possessed spiritual intelligence of their own.

For Lu Xuan at this moment, low-grade magical artifacts were more than enough.

After accepting all the inner sect benefits, Lu Xuan steadied his mind and took out the Sea-Calming Spell Compendium once more, beginning to select his spells.

True instruction would begin tomorrow. Choosing spells was of paramount importance and could not be handled carelessly.

Though he coveted the many wondrous arts recorded in the Sea-Calming Spell Compendium, Lu Xuan still focused his mind upon the chapter on subduing water.

Whether for entering the East Sea a year from now or for that "Grade A" assessment, he first had to learn Thousand-Foot Water-Evasion, Hundred-Zhang Wave-Calming, and First-Rank Water-Demon Subdual.

After studying for a long time, a plan gradually formed in Lu Xuan's heart.

"Coo coo—"

But just as his plan was taking shape, a cry suddenly rang out beyond the cave abode.

With a thought, Lu Xuan sent out his Spiritual Sense and saw a pure-white spirit pigeon with lively eyes hovering outside his cave abode, a letter clamped in its beak.

A letter?

Senior Brother Wei?

So soon?