Azure Mystic Art

Ye Han sat cross-legged in the Cultivation Room, his hands resting flat on his knees and his brows slightly furrowed as he worked hard to circulate the cultivation art.

After more than two hours, Ye Han opened his eyes, disappointment showing on his face. He muttered helplessly, "What's going on? This is already the third day, and I still haven't felt that sensation of spiritual energy Zhang Qingshan mentioned!"

Indeed, thanks to Ye Han's smooth words, Zhang Qingshan firmly believed his story about his identity and told him everything he knew, explaining it all in detail.

Whatever Ye Han wanted to know, he poured it all out for him.

In just two or three days, Ye Han had already gotten a basic understanding of the Azure Profound Sect and Seven Mysteries Peak.

But at present, the situation in the Azure Profound Sect and Seven Mysteries Peak was not particularly important to him. What mattered most was becoming a cultivator.

Zhang Qingshan had told him something important: although Ye Han had entered Seven Mysteries Peak as an Inner Sect Disciple, he was still a mortal, and cultivators would look down on him wherever he went.

Even being brought back by the Seventh Elder would not change that. Among cultivators, strength commanded respect. How could Ye Han, a mere mortal, possibly earn their respect?

Besides, in truth, he had little connection to the Seventh Elder. The Seventh Elder had also told him that he could rely only on himself if he wanted to become a cultivator.

Moreover, this was not one of the outer sect Mountain Peaks, where stewards taught basic cultivation knowledge to newly admitted outer disciples.

Ye Han could also go there to join, have his name entered in Qing Xuan Peak's register, and receive a basic cultivation art or something similar. But he had no way to reach the outer sect Mountain Peaks, which lay dozens of miles away across the mountains...

So he simply decided not to go.

Instead, he had Zhang Qingshan teach him some basic cultivation methods.

Of course, his explanation was that he wanted to become a cultivator before the Seventh Elder saw him again, so he could give the elder a pleasant surprise.

Zhang Qingshan did not suspect Ye Han. He told him that to cultivate, he first had to sense the presence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy—the so-called energy perception.

Only after sensing the presence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy could he circulate a cultivation art, absorb it to strengthen himself, and wield spells, treasures, and so on.

In short, absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and acquiring magical power formed the entire foundation of cultivation.

At the same time, in response to Ye Han's questions, Zhang Qingshan told him many other things about cultivators.

For instance, anyone who wanted to become a cultivator had to possess spirit roots. Without spirit roots, no matter how clever they were, how strong their constitution was, or how exceptional their talents and abilities were, they could never cultivate to immortality.

That was because their cultivation arts required them to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Only someone whose body could absorb it could become a cultivator.

Zhang Qingshan had always assumed Ye Han possessed exceptional talent. Otherwise, the Seventh Elder would never have brought him to Seven Mysteries Peak, let alone given him such a fine cave abode.

Every time the subject came up, Zhang Qingshan seemed ready to bleed with envy.

It never occurred to Zhang Qingshan that a grown man like himself was being led around by the nose by a mere young boy like Ye Han.

But Ye Han did not dare reveal the truth to Zhang Qingshan. If he learned that the Seventh Elder had merely dumped Ye Han here, he would not even bother with him.

In short, to become a cultivator, absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and cultivate, and survive on Seven Mysteries Peak, Ye Han had no choice but to do this.

But now Ye Han was growing a little anxious. He had been constantly planting an impression in Zhang Qingshan's mind, using all sorts of verbal hints to make him believe Ye Han might be an exceptionally talented prospective cultivator with tremendous potential.

Otherwise, even with the temptation of his cave abode, Zhang Qingshan might not bother with him.

Ye Han had also considered seeking out other people. But on second thought, he was a mortal to begin with, and he had lied to Zhang Qingshan. There were too many holes in his story, and the more people he knew, the greater the chance of being exposed.

Besides, not every cultivator was as warmhearted and easy to fool as Zhang Qingshan.

So Ye Han did not wander around. He would keep a low profile and cultivate first.

Yet he had already spent three days practicing the Golden Spirit Art, the basic cultivation art Zhang Qingshan had taught him to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and develop energy perception, without making the slightest progress. This left Ye Han deeply troubled.

At this rate, Zhang Qingshan would see through him sooner or later.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Footsteps sounded outside, and Zhang Qingshan called from beyond the door, "Junior Brother Ye! Come out for a moment."

Hearing Zhang Qingshan, Ye Han frowned, stood, and walked out. Looking at him, he asked, "Senior Brother Zhang! What is it?"

Zhang Qingshan looked Ye Han up and down. "Junior Brother Ye, have you still made no progress?"

Then he took an oilpaper bundle from inside his robe and handed him a roasted beast's leg. "Don't worry just yet. Have something to eat first!"

Ye Han was a mortal, so eating, drinking, and relieving himself were necessities. Whatever else might be said, Zhang Qingshan really did treat him well, taking it upon himself to prepare three meals a day for him. His cooking was merely so-so, though.

Still, Ye Han was not picky. What hardship had he not endured back in Green Ox Village?

This time, however, the meat was quite good. Grease coated Ye Han's mouth as he ate and complained, "Senior Brother Zhang! Do you think my talent might be fake? Why is there no response at all when I practice this cultivation art?"

Hearing this, Zhang Qingshan frowned. "I don't think so. I told you before that I have metal-wood-fire spirit roots, so the Golden Spirit Art suits me perfectly. You might not have a metal spirit root, which could be why this art isn't working for you! You should find a way to switch to another one."

Indeed, when Zhang Qingshan taught him the art, he had already explained that without a metal spirit root, it was impossible to successfully practice a Metal Type cultivation art.

Ye Han could do nothing about it. Apart from the Golden Spirit Art, Zhang Qingshan had no other basic cultivation arts. To get another one, he would have to buy it from the outer sect.

And in this world of cultivators, ordinary gold and silver were not the currency. Instead, they used spirit stones, which contained Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Depending on how much energy they held, they were divided into low-grade spirit stones, mid-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones, and supreme-grade spirit stones.

A single low-grade spirit stone was worth over a thousand taels of silver, and even then, one might not be able to exchange silver for it.

Ye Han had only ten taels of silver in his pocket. How could he possibly have a low-grade spirit stone?

A single basic cultivation art cost five low-grade spirit stones. Where would Ye Han get that many?

Zhang Qingshan said he had no spirit stones either, having used his up long ago. Ye Han did not know whether he was unwilling to help or truly had none...

Hearing Zhang Qingshan's words, Ye Han felt helpless. If he really had chosen the wrong cultivation art, he could only think of another way.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through Ye Han's mind. "Right! Senior Brother Zhang! The Seventh Elder gave me a cultivation art and told me to practice it. I'll bring it out for you to take a look."

With that, Ye Han hurried into the Storage Room. When he first arrived at the cave abode, he had put all his belongings there. After rummaging around, he took a paperbound book from his bundle.

The words "Azure Mystic Art" were written on it.

Just then, he also spotted the stone-like Small Cauldron there. He casually tucked it inside his robe and walked out.

Seeing the cultivation art Ye Han handed him, Zhang Qingshan's expression changed drastically. "What? The Azure Mystic Art! How do you have this?"