Sea-Calming, Immortal-Seeding

The Heavenly Works Office, as its name implied, was a place of craftsmanship so exquisite it seemed to steal the work of heaven itself—the Heaven-Gazing Sect's artifact-refining grounds.

Compared with arts of cultivation such as pill refining, artifact refining was grueling work.

All kinds of metals, secret woods, and spiritual ores were exceedingly difficult to smelt, and shaping them was even more troublesome. Even once the work was complete, they still needed to be nurtured.

Even if all the miscellaneous tasks were handed to formation arrays and artifact-refining boys, while inner disciples only needed to handle crucial matters such as [Spirit Inscription], it was still harder than the other Spirit Directorates, dealing with earthfire all day long.

It was no surprise to Lu Xuan that this office still had vacancies and had not filled its quota.

He also knew something of the Three Alliances Office. It was a Spirit Directorate jointly established by the Heaven-Gazing Sect, the Woodflower Sect, and the Great Yan Kingdom, responsible for handling the affairs of all three powers.

But the three sects had different intentions, and open and secret struggles were commonplace. Over the years, the Three Alliances Office had gradually become an idle department for the three sides to "wipe each other's asses."

Major matters did not require the Three Alliances Office, while it disdained to handle minor ones.

For cultivators above Foundation Establishment, this office might still have some merit. But for Qi Refining disciples, it was like a "bottomless pit of a job"—unsuitable for beginners.

"Sure enough, the ones left over are all posts nobody wants..."

Lu Xuan shook his head inwardly.

But there was nothing to be done about it. He had passed the Second Grand Rite and missed the unified recruitment, so naturally there would be no good positions left for him.

Yet he had never heard of the final Sea-Calming Bureau during his time at Hibernation Academy. He could only ask Lin Shanhai, "May I ask, Deacon, what kind of Spirit Directorate is the Sea-Calming Bureau? This disciple seems never to have heard of it."

Lin Shanhai answered, "It is only natural that you have not heard of it. It is a newly established Spirit Directorate for this term, tasked specifically with handling all matters in the East Sea."

"In recent years, Spiritual Impetus has surged through the East Sea, and Spirit Monsters within its waters have emerged one after another, constantly harassing our sect's borders. Yet the creatures of the sea often possess marvelous gifts. To our sect, this is also an opportunity, which is why this bureau was established."

"Among the nine great Spirit Directorates, this bureau offers the finest treatment, even a notch above the Heavenly Law Bureau and Mountain-Calming Bureau. But you must go to sea to subdue and slay demons, which carries no small danger. If you wish to enter this bureau, you must consider carefully."

Lin Shanhai did not conceal anything. He laid out all the advantages and drawbacks of the Sea-Calming Bureau, leaving Lu Xuan to choose for himself.

"The finest treatment, but I have to go to sea and slay demons?"

Lu Xuan's brows furrowed slightly.

Though he had broken through Qi Refining, he had only just entered the second realm of cultivation. He was still a "child" on the path of cultivation.

Generally speaking, Qi Refining disciples had to cultivate to at least the Qi Refining Fourth Layer before venturing out for trials and demon slaying.

After all, Mountain-Lifting Prefecture was not peaceful. Even disciples of great sects faced risks once they left the shelter of their mountain gates.

Before gaining a certain measure of strength, it was better to hide one's light and bide one's time.

The Heavenly Works Office and Three Alliances Office might have been more arduous, but they were within the mountain gate after all. He could cultivate steadily there without fear of danger.

"Hm?"

But just as Lu Xuan began weighing the matter inwardly, the character [Sharpness] upon the azure Jade Disc in his mind suddenly dimmed, becoming even hazier. It seemed as though it might vanish at any moment.

"So it really manifested by reflecting me?"

Lu Xuan immediately understood the key to the manifestation of the ancient character.

What did the character Sharpness mean? It was charging forward without hesitation, the keen edge of youth.

To contemplate danger and weigh safety was certainly prudent and mature, but it had already lost that sharp edge.

"Very well..."

With that thought, Lu Xuan no longer hesitated. He had lived two lives—if he still cowered and shrank back, that would be far too pathetic.

"Reporting to Deacon, this disciple is willing to enter the Sea-Calming Bureau and slay demons for our sect."

Lu Xuan bowed and saluted Lin Shanhai.

"Oh? You will not consider it further?"

"Spiritual Impetus is surging in the East Sea. There is something rather strange about this matter, and the Sea-Calming Bureau also bears the duty of investigating it."

Lin Shanhai looked at Lu Xuan's handsome face, raised a brow, and confirmed once more.

"This disciple has decided. I choose this bureau."

Lu Xuan spoke firmly.

If he was choosing, then he would choose the one with the finest treatment.

"What an aggressively enterprising temperament. No wonder you succeeded in the Second Grand Rite."

There was a trace of admiration in Lin Shanhai's voice. Then he lightly tapped a finger, and a thread of spiritual light surged forth, falling into the golden-glowing Jade Disc in Lu Xuan's palm.

Emerald light flowed across the Jade Disc, eventually condensing into two tiny characters: "Sea-Calming."

"Since that is so, from this day onward, you shall belong to the Sea-Calming Bureau. Four days from now, simply take your Jade Disc and report directly to Cangyun Island."

"The bureau's instructional training will take place on the island and last one year."

"Only after one year will you go to the East Sea."

Lin Shanhai said.

Instructional training upon entering a bureau was essentially bureau training. Qi Refining disciples had only just broken through and possessed no techniques at all; they could not possibly take up their duties directly. They had to receive instruction and be taught methods to increase their means.

The other Spirit Directorates generally held only nine months of such training, yet the Sea-Calming Bureau required a full year. It truly seemed different from the ordinary Spirit Directorates.

But since the matter had already been decided, Lu Xuan would not regret it. He immediately cupped his hands in acknowledgment.

After arranging Lu Xuan's bureau assignment, Lin Shanhai reached out as if grasping toward some unseen space. Then the Cloud Sea churned, and countless seal characters flew from that space like streams of light, hovering before the two of them.

"If you break through again in the future, or wish to seek wondrous methods for cultivation, you must go to Heaven-Appraising Hall to receive true scriptures. But since you have only just entered the inner sect, you may skip that step and choose a Qi Refining true scripture directly from my Jade Court Cloud Sea, sparing yourselves the journey."

"The qi you gathered is Dawn Radiance True Qi. It belongs to the morning sun, to the Great Yang. Therefore, you may only choose true scriptures of the Great Yang attribute."

"Our sect's true scriptures were all gained by successive patriarchs through observing and comprehending the Heavenly Dao, and are profoundly mysterious. There are three true scriptures of the Great Yang attribute: Fusang Mirror, Qianyuan Six-Dragon Imperial Heaven True Scripture, and Scarlet Radiance True Lord's Sun-Refining Method."

As though responding to Lin Shanhai's words, countless seal characters amid the clouds transformed into streams of light, gleaming brilliantly as they condensed into three volumes of Cloud Qi scripture, suspended before Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan did not rush to choose. Instead, he frowned and asked, "May I ask, Deacon, is this Scarlet Radiance True Lord's Sun-Refining Method the [Immortal-Seeding Method] mentioned by the instructors at Hibernation Academy?"

The Heaven-Gazing Sect was a great Immortal Cult and placed tremendous importance on educating its disciples. There was no carelessness in studying literature and reading scriptures, so they had also been told many secrets of cultivation.

One warning in particular was this—methods named after honorific titles must never be cultivated casually.

The creators of such methods had embedded the divine ability of [Immortal-Seeding] within them. Any who cultivated such methods would suffer a great calamity should they one day encounter the creator of the true scripture.

Within Mountain-Lifting Prefecture, quite a few barbarian shaman lineages and remote minor sects specialized in passing such methods to their disciples without informing them of the hidden dangers.

But among the Heaven-Gazing Sect's instructors, this was no secret.

Scriptures whose names began with honorific titles could not be cultivated.

Though such scriptures carried hidden dangers, they were also easy to identify: their names could not be changed. Once changed, they would no longer be the original scripture, perhaps not even a cultivation method at all.

Now, this Scarlet Radiance True Lord's Sun-Refining Method was named after an honorific title, leaving Lu Xuan puzzled.

"Do not worry. Our sect observes Heaven and acts accordingly, upholds the Dao and teaches it. How could we harm our own disciples?"

"Scarlet Radiance True Lord was the fourth-generation patriarch of our sect. His achievements rivaled the transformations of creation itself. This scripture was originally created by him for a Desolate Realm, and was passed only to blood barbarians, never to the human race. But later, the patriarch encountered a great calamity and perished. Thus, this scripture lost the divine ability of [Immortal-Seeding]. Our sect's patriarchs then altered it with great wisdom, allowing it to be passed down to our disciples."

"Now, that name remains only as a memorial."

Lin Shanhai sighed softly.

"So that was it."

Lu Xuan came to a sudden realization.

There were only two ways to break free of such true scriptures: one was not to learn them, and the other was for their creator to die. Then there would be no danger.

Though he now understood the reason, Lu Xuan passed over this scripture directly and looked toward the other two.