"Not so fast."
Li Jiangping waved a hand and said solemnly:
"Now that you've entered the outer sect, there are many matters you need to know."
"This jade slip contains the outer sect's rules, and this is the list of your allowances. You may collect five spirit stones and one bottle of Grain Abstinence Pills each month."
"The first floor of the Scripture Pavilion is open to you. You may choose two cultivation methods or spells to study."
"There are also steward duties that must be completed on time, mainly coordinating some of the medicinal garden's affairs and reporting regularly."
Xu Xuan took the jade slips and swept them with his spiritual sense, committing all their contents to memory.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Li."
After seeing Li Jiangping off, Xu Xuan did not rush to deal with his duties, but headed straight to the Scripture Pavilion.
The pavilion was old and simple, its aura deep and unfathomable.
The elder guarding it inspected his identity jade token and said indifferently:
"You have four hours on the first floor to choose two cultivation methods to copy. They must not be passed on to outsiders."
Xu Xuan bowed in acknowledgment and stepped inside.
Rows of shelves stood packed with jade slips, most containing basic cultivation methods and low-tier spells.
Everlasting Spring Art, Deep Earth Formula, Flowing Gold Art...
The five elements were clearly distinguished, yet none caught his eye.
His goal was clear: he had come to find a method suited to his five elements spiritual root.
After some searching, Xu Xuan finally found a dust-covered jade slip in a secluded corner: Treatise on the Fundamentals of the Five Elements.
This jade slip did not contain a cultivation method.
Instead, it contained a predecessor's informal notes and insights on cultivating with a five elements spiritual root,
Its discussion was rudimentary, but precisely suited to his needs.
"The five elements revolve, generating and overcoming one another. Even a useless spiritual root can serve as a foundation for the Dao, absorbing the spiritual energy of all things..."
Xu Xuan read it carefully, gradually gaining clarity.
Although a five elements spiritual root had mixed spiritual affinities and made cultivation slow.
If one could balance the five elemental attributes and temper the richness of one's spiritual power, however, no single attribute could compare.
Yet cultivating all five elements in balance was truly difficult, and few had successfully walked that path.
He also selected the balanced and gentle Spirit-Nourishing Formula.
This method could nourish the Yellow Court and strengthen spiritual sense.
Once the copying was complete, Xu Xuan returned to his courtyard and began studying.
Treatise on the Fundamentals of the Five Elements gave him a new understanding of his own aptitude.
The Spirit-Nourishing Formula helped him stabilize his early Yellow Court stage cultivation.
As a steward, Xu Xuan did not wield much authority, but compared to before, he had far more room to maneuver.
First, he made personnel appointments in the medicinal garden, transferring Xu An, Xu Ping, and the others to more crucial positions, making it easier for them to cultivate and obtain information.
Then, taking advantage of his inspection rounds, he secretly sent some unusable scraps produced by the medicinal garden back to Hundred Fragrance Valley through discreet channels.
At the same time, he used his position as a steward to befriend other steward disciples in the outer sect.
Whether exchanging insights on planting or helping handle minor matters, he expanded his network of connections anew.
Xu Xuan had always been generous.
He used some of the profit shares and spirit stones he received to grease palms.
Through this, he naturally came to understand the Azure Wood Sect better.
Another half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
One day, Xu Xuan chatted with a steward responsible for distributing supplies.
He unexpectedly learned that the sect had been secretly buying several obscure types of ore in recent years.
After a little investigation, Xu Xuan discovered that most of these ores were used to set up formations.
It seems the sect is preparing for war too, Xu Xuan thought.
He also noted the ores' names and began keeping an eye out.
There were definitely business opportunities here.
Before long, Li Jiangping came to visit as well.
He mentioned to Xu Xuan that the sect's Mission Hall had recently posted a new long-term mission.
"Explore the fringes of the Southern Wilds, draw maps, and locate potential resource sites. The contribution points are considerable, but so are the risks."
"The Southern Wilds..." Xu Xuan's gaze shifted slightly.
That region lay far from the front lines of the conflict between the sect and the Profound Sword Gate. Its territory was vast, and perhaps there really were opportunities there.
It could serve as a fallback route for the lineage.
Seeing Xu Xuan lost in thought, Li Jiangping asked.
"Interested, Brother Wang?"
"My cultivation is low. I still need to build a firmer foundation in the sect." Xu Xuan shook his head. "I probably won't be able to take this mission in the near future, but there's never any harm in learning more about developments outside."
Xu Xuan did not rush to accept the mission.
In this life, he still had a long lifespan ahead of him, so there was no hurry.
After seeing Li Jiangping off, he immediately summoned Xu An and the others and had them systematically gather information about the Southern Wilds, the movements of the demonic path, and the factions within the sect.
Having laid plans across two lives, patience was now the last thing Xu Xuan lacked.
At night, he practiced spells in his courtyard.
Five-element spiritual power flowed through his fingertips. Though weak, it could form a cycle, generating endlessly.
He tried combining the wood spell Green Vine Entanglement with the earth spell Earth Collapse Art.
He failed again and again, yet never tired of it.
"Resources, cultivation methods, information, a fallback route... all require planning."
"The threat of the demonic path and the struggles between sects are crises, but also opportunities."
He drew a deep breath, and wisps of spiritual energy from the courtyard flowed into his body.
The five elements circulated, slowly strengthening his Yellow Court.
A year passed in the blink of an eye.
In the Azure Wood Sect's outer sect, Xu Xuan's small courtyard had effectively become a center for handling medicinal garden affairs.
Manager Zhao trusted him immensely.
Though Xu Xuan's position as a steward was minor.
He held authority over allocating some of the medicinal garden's output, assigning menial workers, and conducting daily inspections.
Xu Xuan understood well that water too clear held no fish, and he was not rigid in his dealings.
He often offered others small drops of kindness to win their hearts.
Xu Xuan's means of transporting supplies to Hundred Fragrance Fruit were not particularly clever.
Yet Manager Zhao seemed not to see them.
Sometimes, making things convenient for others meant making things convenient for oneself.
Being summoned by an inner sect elder showed that Xu Xuan had already caught the attention of people in the inner sect.
Such minor dealings did no real harm.
What Xu Xuan sought had always been "Qi Refining."
To enter Qi Refining, one had to refine a pure strand of "qi of heaven and earth" into the body.
Using it as a catalyst, one could transform spiritual power and forge a foundation for the Dao.
Such qi of heaven and earth.
Might be "qi of earth sha," nurtured within a spiritual wellspring in an earth vein.
Or "qi of heaven gang," descending from the nine heavens.
Or some unusual qi contained within certain unique secret realms or spiritual objects.
Whatever its kind, it was exceptionally precious.
Without a great opportunity or a great price, it could not be obtained.
Outer sect disciples with neither outstanding contributions nor powerful backgrounds had almost no chance of acquiring it.
Although Xu Xuan was still some distance from Qi Refining, he needed to plan ahead for this strand of qi of heaven and earth.
One day, after finishing his daily duties, Xu Xuan strolled to the outer sect's Steward Hall to hand over documents. Inside, several stewards he knew were gathered in discussion.
"Have you heard?"
"The Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Cloudmist Market is holding a small auction next month. Apparently, the final lot is a strand of 'yi wood azure qi'!"
A steward responsible for purchases spoke in a lowered voice.
"Yi wood azure qi?!" someone else exclaimed.
"That's top-quality wood-attribute qi of heaven and earth."
"Refining it would greatly benefit wood-attribute cultivation methods! Even the senior brothers and sisters in the inner sect will probably be tempted."
"So what if they're tempted? The starting price alone is probably beyond what outer sect disciples like us can imagine."
"Besides, there'll certainly be plenty of people eyeing it."
Hearing this, Xu Xuan felt a stir within.
Although yi wood azure qi suited only one of the five elements.
If he could obtain it and use it as a catalyst, perhaps he could try gradually deriving the other attributes through the principle of the five elements generating one another.
Though difficult, it was still a path.
He moved closer without betraying anything and asked casually:
"Senior Brother Zhang, are there any requirements for attending the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's auction?"
Seeing that it was Xu Xuan, the steward surnamed Zhang smiled. "Are you interested too, Senior Brother Wang?"
"The requirements aren't high. You just need to pay ten low-grade spirit stones as a deposit to prove you're qualified to bid."
"But, hehe, the things inside aren't anything we can covet on our stipends."
Ten spirit stones!
Xu Xuan frowned inwardly.
Even counting everything he owned, including what could not bear the light of day, he could not scrape together twenty low-grade spirit stones.
Moreover, even if he got inside, the price of that yi wood azure qi...
"Thank you for telling me, Senior Brother Zhang. I was only curious."
Xu Xuan cupped his hands and said no more.
In his heart, however, he firmly committed "the Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction" and "yi wood azure qi" to memory.
After returning to his courtyard, he pondered for a long time.
If he accumulated spirit stones through conventional means, it would take until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse to gather enough to purchase qi of heaven and earth.
He had to find another way.