Dong Lin seemed to have no great advantage when cultivating the Dao Xuan Heart Sutra.
He had thought that the peculiarities of his divine sense might aid him in cultivating this kind of heart sutra, but Dong Lin shook his head in disappointment.
After five days of secluded cultivation in the Spirit Chamber, he could only be said to have glimpsed the doorway of this technique. Truly getting started still lay a considerable distance away.
On the contrary, the Thunder Summoning Art, which he had barely practiced, gave Dong Lin a tremendous surprise.
Over the past few days, Dong Lin had painstakingly studied the Dao Xuan Heart Sutra, yet his cultivation of the Thunder Summoning Art had unexpectedly advanced by leaps and bounds.
Now, he had traveled ever farther down the path of minor mastery, and had vaguely gained some understanding of the Mystic Spirit Heavenly-Thunder.
Presumably, if he secluded himself for bitter cultivation a while longer, he would be able to grasp this immensely powerful Mystic Spirit Heavenly-Thunder, and naturally step into the major mastery stage of the Thunder Summoning Art.
Five days were not worth mentioning to a cultivator, but to a Spirit Plant farmer who labored hard every day, they were quite a long interval.
Dong Lin hurried to the Spirit Field and, following the usual process, killed the strange insects and spread spiritual fertilizer.
Sure enough, after his technique had improved, the power of his Lightning Arts had increased somewhat.
Dong Lin estimated that its power had risen by at least ten percent.
Do not underestimate that mere ten percent. The power of his Lightning Arts was already so terrifying,
that its destructive force could even contend with the trump cards unleashed by Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators.
For its power to increase another ten percent in just a few days—if word got out,
it would surely make countless jaws drop.
When he arrived at Shouyang Storehouse, Zhang Tao was inside arranging the shelves.
These disciples who went into business seemed to spend every day busy with matters unrelated to cultivation.
Dong Lin could not help shaking his head. Wouldn't this delay their cultivation?
What Dong Lin did not know was that after several years of hard work, the resources these disciples earned were often enough to make others green with envy.
Most shops, however, hired servants to help manage them. The cost was merely some mundane silver, hardly worth mentioning.
He did not know why Zhang Tao handled every matter personally instead of hiring a few clerks to save himself some time.
The road of cultivation was long. Time flew like a white steed glimpsed through a crack; if one wasted the years and delayed cultivation, regret would come too late.
Dong Lin had devoured more than a hundred volumes of cultivation novels in his previous life, so he naturally understood this principle.
Although he had started with an incredibly lucky hand, he still did not dare slack off.
Judging from historical records collected by the sect and from his own experiences, this world was by no means a peaceful place.
It was only because the Heaven Sect was powerful, and because the sect's Law Enforcement Hall possessed formidable strength,
that petty villains were suppressed and did not dare act recklessly, leaving the sect's sphere of influence peaceful and tranquil.
There was not much friction between disciples either.
In the more than half a year since Dong Lin had arrived here, he had encountered no trouble at all.
None of those showboating, face-slapping events from the novels had occurred.
Even after entering the sect, Dong Lin had not made many friends.
He had kept his head down and cultivated, paying no attention to anything else.
Not a single incident had happened where arrogant senior brothers with greater seniority came looking for trouble as soon as he entered the sect.
Perhaps this was also because the Heaven Sect's management of newly admitted disciples was rather lax. Even their studies were left to them to attend at the Immortal Arts Hall according to their needs.
Only the deadline for completing their studies was set on a broad level.
The time allotted was exceptionally generous. Dong Lin had focused on studying for only two months before completing the first stage that the sect required to be finished within five years.
Such a sect seemed even freer than the universities of his previous life.
This was also why Steward Xuan had taken such good care of him. Every department of the outer sect had plenty of miscellaneous tasks, yet not a single one had fallen onto Dong Lin's shoulders.
"Having someone watching over you really is much more convenient," Dong Lin sighed as he enjoyed his privileges.
"Junior Brother Dong, you're here! What do you need? I just received a batch of high-quality pills refined by the sect's alchemists. Want to take a look?"
Dong Lin took out the six strange insect carapaces he had collected from the fields and handed them to Zhang Tao.
"Did you kill these, Brother Dong?" Seeing the melted holes in the carapaces, Zhang Tao was so surprised that even his form of address changed.
"Amazing, amazing. I tried planting Spirit Fields before, and even after I broke through to Foundation Establishment,
I still found these little pests in the fields a real headache. It often took a great deal of spiritual power
and a considerable price to kill these insects. You're impressive, Brother Dong.
This was caused by Lightning Arts, right? I never expected you to be a Lightning Arts cultivator too.
I nearly misjudged you!"
"You flatter me, Brother Tao. Please help me take a look. Are these carapaces worth anything?"
"Of course. Whether used in medicine or in refining magical artifacts, the carapaces of these strange insects are excellent materials.
Generally, one intact First Rank spirit insect carapace sells for around twelve Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
The exact price depends on the species of spirit insect, its specific rank, and the condition of the carapace.
You have six here in total: one First Rank mid-grade Profound Locust, three First Rank low-grade Profound Locusts,
and two that should be First Rank low-grade Spirit-Drilling Insects. But the power of your spell was too great, Brother Dong.
It damaged the integrity of the carapaces, so their value has to be discounted.
I'll give you a fair price—fifty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones. How does that sound?"
The fat man asked with a grin.
"Fine. I don't understand this stuff anyway. Just don't cheat me, Brother Tao."
"Would I do that? My Shouyang Storehouse has an excellent reputation.
Don't let the fact that I'm a Heaven Sect disciple fool you—I am also an official employee of Shouyang Storehouse. I would never do anything that damages the shop's reputation."
Fifty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones was truly a considerable income.
"Why does planting Spirit Fields feel less profitable than killing these strange insects?"
Dong Lin pondered for a moment, sensing that something was off.
Killing insects was this profitable, so why plant fields at all?
Only Dong Lin could kill these strange insects so efficiently and without cost.
If it were an ordinary Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment disciple trying to kill these strange insects,
while also preserving the carapaces as much as possible, it would truly be harder than ascending to heaven.
The price they would have to pay would not be as convenient or worthwhile as simply driving the insects away.
"This earns money ridiculously fast. I remember seeing plenty of pest-removal missions on the Merit Affairs Hall board last time.
Never mind the rewards—even if I removed insects for others for free, I could still make a killing."
Dong Lin silently calculated this business that cost nothing and yielded ten thousandfold profit, feeling it had great potential.
No sooner said than done, Dong Lin returned to Heaven Hall and headed for the Merit Affairs Hall.
As soon as he stepped out of the teleportation array, he could not help glancing twice more at the Rootless Mountain in the distant center.
This majestic mountain floating in midair gave the inexperienced Dong Lin a fresh shock every time he entered the small world within Heaven Hall.
"I wonder what kind of scenery lies above that mountainside shrouded in clouds and mist."
It was said that atop this Rootless Mountain, a damaged immortal-grade Spirit Vein condensed by the founding patriarch ten thousand years ago served as the formation eye,
gathering most of the spiritual power from the heaven-grade Spirit Vein beneath the sect's mountain range to form an All-Heaven Spirit-Gathering Divine Sun Formation.
This made the spiritual power atop the mountain incomparably dense, while the clouds and mist enshrouding Black Mountain were themselves transformed from spiritual power.
They could prevent petty villains from spying on the sect's secret grounds, while also locking in spiritual power to the greatest extent and preventing the dense spiritual energy from continually dissipating.
It was said that if ordinary Qi Refining disciples ascended the mountain, the spiritual power there was so dense that their Dantians would burst after only a moment.
The spiritual power in the air was too dense. For low-level cultivators who had yet to reach Foundation Establishment and had only shallow control over their own cultivation, it was harmful rather than beneficial.
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