Cultivation: From Menial Laborer to Immortal Venerable Section 17

The gifts were worth over 150 Spirit Essence.

Dan Xiong Hai was even more direct, gifting Zhou Xun 100 Spirit Essence outright – a truly generous gesture.

As for the dozen or so neighbors and Lan Song's contributions, they added up to over sixty Spirit Essence.

What surprised Zhou Xun the most was the middle-aged man surnamed Gao. Their relationship wasn't particularly close, yet he gifted 50 Spirit Essence as a congratulatory present, which was a significant gift.

The last item opened was the wooden box gifted by Hong San.

Lifting the lid, an egg-sized, jade-like, pale green stone lay quietly inside the box.

As soon as the stone appeared, the spiritual energy within a foot of it fluctuated slightly.

"A Spirit Stone!"

It was a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, which could be exchanged for at least 105 Spirit Essence.

This was the first time he had obtained a Spirit Stone since his transmigration; he had only used Spirit Essence before.

Holding it in his palm, he sensed the pure spiritual energy within the stone.

Zhou Xun suppressed the urge to refine it and put it away.

Besides, the cultivation effect of a Low-Grade Spirit Stone was at most half that of a Qi Induction Pill.

He wasn't extravagant enough to cultivate by refining Spirit Stones yet.

All the congratulatory gifts combined amounted to over 410 Spirit Essence.

This was wealth that Zhou Xun hadn't accumulated in the many years since his transmigration.

Now, just by being selected for Danbao Pavilion, his net worth had increased severalfold.

This made Zhou Xun even more expectant of his future life at Danbao Pavilion.

Soon, the third day arrived. Zhou Xun tidied himself up and headed out.

Today was the day to report to Danbao Pavilion.

Danbao Pavilion, South Courtyard Entrance.

When Zhou Xun arrived, people had already begun reporting in.

The reporting queue was divided into two lines.

One line was for apprentices reporting, and the other was for general laborers.

Passing cultivators looked at the two long queues with envious expressions.

In front of Zhou Xun was a young man with an honest face and slightly dark skin.

Zhou Xun vaguely recalled this person was named "Wang Erniu."

"Big Brother, my name is Wang Erniu, and I'm here to report today too!"

Wang Erniu smiled honestly when he saw Zhou Xun looking at him.

"I am Zhou Xun, pleased to meet you, fellow Daoist Wang!" Zhou Xun bowed.

The young man's simple smile made a good impression.

Upon joining Danbao Pavilion this time, he intended to make a few friends.

Those selected by Danbao Pavilion were all extraordinary individuals, worth befriending.

"Big Brother, just call me Erniu. That's what they call me in the village!" The young man waved his hand, as if the term "fellow Daoist" made him a bit reserved.

"Alright, I'll call you Erniu from now on!" Zhou Xun readily agreed.

Then, the two began to chat.

It was more like Wang Erniu talking and Zhou Xun listening.

Perhaps it was because the young man had never met someone so patient and willing to listen to him, but he recounted his entire background clearly, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

Wang Erniu was born in a village called Wang Family Village.

The village was deep in the mountains, making communication with the outside world extremely difficult.

He had lived a life of herding cattle since he was young.

Until one day when he was 14 years old, he accidentally rescued a severely injured old man, a rogue cultivator at the third level of Qi Condensation who had come chasing a demonic beast.

While the old man was recovering, he passed on a cultivation technique to Wang Erniu, just to see.

Coincidentally, Wang Erniu had excellent talent and succeeded in cultivating it.

The old man had drifted through life, with no children and his cultivation stuck in the early stage of Qi Condensation.

Upon meeting someone with Wang Erniu's exceptional aptitude, he was overjoyed.

He immediately accepted Wang Erniu as his personal disciple and taught him the ways of cultivation.

Afterward, he took Wang Erniu away from the village and settled on the outskirts of Red Leaf Square.

It wasn't until Danbao Pavilion recruited apprentices that the old man told Wang Erniu to try his luck, and unexpectedly, he was selected.

Hearing this, Zhou Xun's heart stirred.

"Erniu, you said you only started cultivating at fourteen?"

"That's right!" the young man nodded.

"Then how old are you this year?"

"17!" the young man replied honestly.

"You've only been cultivating for three years and you're already at the third level of Qi Condensation. It seems his spiritual root aptitude isn't low. At least it's above Medium grade, or even Superior grade!" Zhou Xun guessed.

While he was thinking, it was soon Wang Erniu's turn to report.

"Name?"

"Wang Erniu."

"Input a trace of Mystic Force!"

Wang Erniu obediently complied, inputting a trace of Mystic Force into a bamboo tube-shaped artifact.

After the person in charge confirmed it was correct, they nodded, gave him a green token, and had a young attendant lead Wang Erniu inside.

It was Zhou Xun's turn, and the process was the same.

Zhou Xun also passed.

The attendant led Zhou Xun through a corridor to a courtyard covering an area of over ten zhang.

"Young master, please wait here," the attendant whispered before leaving the way he came.

Looking up, the courtyard had already gathered quite a few people, all of whom had been in front of Zhou Xun earlier.

Wang Erniu and Wei Shangyi were both here.

However, these people all stood respectfully and dared not speak loudly.

In front of the crowd stood a middle-aged man with an imposing aura, Lin Zhishan.

The middle-aged man seemed to sense Zhou Xun's gaze and looked over.

Seeing it was Zhou Xun, he nodded almost imperceptibly.

Zhou Xun was surprised by this.

He didn't seem to know this Grand Elder Lin.

Perhaps this person was kind, and his imposing aura was merely a result of holding a high position for a long time.

With a hint of strangeness, Zhou Xun also found a spot to stand and wait.

Soon, all the apprentices had arrived.

Lin Zhishan cleared his throat and announced loudly:

"Young friends, I welcome you all to Danbao Pavilion on behalf of the pavilion!"

"You will undergo a six-month period of study here. After six months, there will be an assessment, and fifteen people will be selected as apprentices!"

"During the study period, your treatment will be half that of formal apprentices, with twenty Spirit Essence per month!"

"The alchemy furnace and earth fire during the study period will be provided by Danbao Pavilion, but the materials needed for refining pills will have to be prepared by yourselves."

"The first half-year will focus mainly on pharmacology, alchemy techniques, fire control, and so on. Refining pills will only happen in the last month, so the expenses won't be too high."

"Once you officially become alchemy apprentices, the basic expenses will not be much!" the middle-aged man explained simply.

"Of course, if you wish to learn new pills, you will have to rely on contributions to obtain the pill recipes and materials!"

"Finally, I must say that the alchemy techniques learned within Danbao Pavilion are not to be disseminated. Violators will be hunted by Red Leaf Square!"

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, his aura as a cultivator spread outwards, startling everyone.