Chapter 9

"And this jade slip. You've already opened your Qi Sea, which saves me quite a bit of explanation. Even if you cannot see at present, simply cover the jade slip with the spiritual energy within your body, and you will know what is written inside."

So it was this miraculous? Wen Xu found it even more interesting.

"All right. Read the jade slip here first. It does not matter if you are slow at the beginning. I have some matters to attend to; in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, I will return to see you."

After Elder Zhan spoke, he left in great haste. Evidently, he had gone to announce the Preliminary Trial list.

Only after Wen Xu heard the door close tightly did he slightly open his eyes and look around. Through the hazy gray cloth, he could make out that this was likely a room for receiving guests. Its furnishings were quite antique, though there was little furniture or decoration. After looking for only a moment, he turned all his attention to the Qi-Replenishing Pill and jade slip in his hands.

He did not intend to take the Qi-Replenishing Pill yet, but the jade slip—

Wen Xu tried to stir the somewhat sluggish spiritual energy in his Qi Sea, but it seemed too lazy to pay him any heed. Even when it moved slightly, it quickly sank back to the bottom of his Dantian.

He had never been one to admit defeat, and his interest was immediately piqued. He could not say much about other things, but when it came to patience, even the monks in the temple probably could not sit still as long as he could.

Before long, he laboriously drew out a wisp of spiritual energy from his Dantian. Yet once it was drawn out, the spiritual energy swiftly dissipated, not giving him any chance to inject it into the jade slip.

It seemed that spiritual energy was depleted as it traveled within the body.

Wen Xu frowned instinctively, but quickly realized that this might be why that elder had given him the Qi-Replenishing Pill.

It appeared he had no choice but to take it. The other party had left him here to read the jade slip; clearly, this was also a test.

With that thought, he decisively took out a Qi-Replenishing Pill and swallowed it. The medicine took effect extremely quickly, and Wen Xu soon sensed the restless stirring in his Qi Sea. Then realization dawned on him. So he needed to use qi to command qi.

But what if there were no Qi-Replenishing Pills? What then?

And there was one thing he was most curious about: when exactly had he opened his Qi Sea? Let alone anyone else, even he himself was not quite sure. Wen Xu shook his head. Ever since coming here, the questions in his heart had piled up more and more. He wondered whether being a cultivator was easy after all.

As the Qi-Replenishing Pill took effect, Wen Xu finally managed to mobilize the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea. After the spiritual energy circulated through his body for one full cycle, he was finally able to freely control a wisp of it and inject it into the jade slip.

This truly took a great deal out of him. Wen Xu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, but in the next instant, information about the Cultivation Realm rushed into his mind in a frantic scramble.

He was stunned for quite some time before lowering the hand he had used to wipe his sweat.

So that was how it was. So it was!

What a blessing in disguise—he had never imagined that one day, he too would encounter such a fortuitous opportunity!

Wen Xu could not help but laugh. If the culprit who had hunted him down learned that this had brought him such an opportunity, he would probably grind his back teeth to pieces.

Thinking of it that way, the resentment in his heart finally eased considerably.

This continent was called the Hengze Continent. It was vast beyond measure; Jade Isle Commandery, even the nation where he had lived, was no more than a drop in the ocean. Mortals were born, aged, fell ill, and died, their lifespans brief. But cultivators received the blessings of heaven and earth and possessed talents beyond the reach of ordinary people. If they succeeded in cultivation, they could leap beyond the cycle of reincarnation and enter the immortal path. Yet even cultivators who had merely glimpsed the threshold were, to mortals, immortals capable of moving mountains and filling seas, summoning wind and rain with a wave of the hand.

Wen Xu had not expected that the tale books fabricated by those pedantic scholars were all true!

What delighted him even more was that he was one of those gifted among tens of millions.

In other words, as long as he learned a few skills, he could return for revenge and toy with those who wanted him dead in the palm of his hand.

It sounded far too much like a pie falling from the sky. Wen Xu even suspected this might be a beautiful dream he was having before death. But on second thought, his imagination was not that rich. Even in a dream, he could not dream up such an outrageous turn of events.

Further down, the jade slip contained brief introductions to cultivators' practice: the quality of a cultivator's Spiritual Root, the divisions of cultivation realms, ways to earn the universal currency of Spirit Stones, instructions for taking common pills, renowned sects and factions across the continent, a general map of the continent, and more. All of it was exceedingly useful information.

Wen Xu paid particular attention to the information about Yonglu Mountain.

Yonglu Mountain lay within the Yonglu Mountain Range in the southwestern region of the continent. It occupied an enormous area and was one of the present-day Five Major Sects. Though it ranked at the bottom, Qi Refining cultivators everywhere still sharpened their heads trying to squeeze inside.

Moreover, unlike the other three major sects—yes, they were called the Five Major Sects, but there were actually only four—the sect ranked first was called the Harmony Sect, its name taken from the meaning of "heaven and man in harmony, following nature's course." According to the jade slip, the Harmony Sect had once been two major sects, but the two later merged into one colossal entity. Thus came the saying: "Of the five sects under heaven, only Harmony forever resides in first place."

The second-ranked sect was the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect. Its name alone revealed a spirit of defying the heavens. The foremost Sword Cultivator under heaven was the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect's Supreme Elder, rumored to be one of the two people closest to ascension.

The third major sect was Bitter Crossing Temple. Wen Xu had assumed it was a temple of monks, but from the introduction, monks and Buddhist Cultivators seemed to be fundamentally different.

Yonglu Mountain ranked fourth. Judging by its introduction, it was a sect that embraced all things. For example, the Hehe Sect had publicly stipulated that it would not accept disciples with Fourfold Spiritual Roots or Five-Element Spiritual Roots, whereas Yonglu Mountain was different. If a cultivator possessed an extraordinary talent, then even with the most difficult-to-cultivate Five-Element Spiritual Root, he might still become an Inner Sect disciple.

After roughly reading through the entire jade slip, Wen Xu immediately realized that cultivation was something that tested one's talent tremendously. Hard work might lead to success, but without talent, success was absolutely difficult.

Moreover, according to the information revealed within, the Cultivation Realm seemed to have a hierarchy of disdain among Spiritual Roots. Single Spiritual Roots were best, with geniuses possessing various Mutated Spiritual Roots or special physiques being the finest of all. Next came Dual Spiritual Roots. Of course, Dual Spiritual Roots were also divided into those where both were evenly matched and those where one was strong while the other was weak. Three-Spirit Roots were neither good nor bad. Below that came having too many Spiritual Roots, a mixed crop of good and bad. It was like the imperial examinations: others could earn scholarly honors by specializing in one subject, but cultivators with Five-Element Spiritual Roots had to cultivate five paths at once, and all five had to advance side by side. Few people could likely possess such perseverance and talent.