With his Perfected Flesh, Jiang Yan took a moment to adjust to the changes in his body, then put on his Daoist robe first.
He really was not used to being stark naked.
As for the filth and mess in the stone chamber, there were standard cleaning spells for that. A single thought swept everything spotless.
Sitting cross-legged on the cushion again, Jiang Yan closed his eyes and focused, attempting to look within.
A moment later, as though he had found something, he opened his eyes and raised his hand.
A pale white spiritual glow appeared in his palm.
"Sure enough, the instructors were right. Once the Perfected Flesh had reached unity, vital essence surged and spiritual Qi would arise on its own. With spiritual Qi, one could look inward, but projecting one's Divine Sense outward was much harder. Even the Eighth-Rank Fangshi Realm couldn't do it; one had to enter the Seventh-Rank Daoist Realm."
But all that lay in the future. Right now, looking at the spiritual Qi in his palm, Jiang Yan felt only delighted surprise. After so many years of cultivation, he had finally refined Qi and entered the Dao.
Strictly speaking, since he had acquired spiritual Qi, Jiang Yan was no longer at the tenth rank, but in the Ninth-Rank Daoist Attendant Realm.
However, hoping to cultivate on the spiritual Qi his body produced was a fool's dream. After all, this was no longer High Antiquity. The Qi refiners of that era needed no cultivation methods. They only had to sense the principles of heaven and earth, and when the time came, they could lift themselves up and ascend amid rosy clouds to become immortals.
Things were different now. Anyone wishing to cultivate had to wait until they learned a cultivation method.
Looking at the spiritual Qi in his hand, Jiang Yan suddenly had an idea.
"That Stone Book ought to be a treasure, but I couldn't control it. Now that I've entered the Dao, why not try again with spiritual Qi?"
With that thought, he took out the Stone Book and brought his palm down toward it.
Sure enough, the Stone Book, which had stubbornly refused to budge before, showed a little movement once Jiang Yan wrapped it in spiritual Qi.
First, it began trembling faintly. Once it had absorbed that wisp of spiritual Qi, Jiang Yan felt a subtle connection form between himself and the Stone Book.
At a thought from him, the Stone Book immediately turned into a streak of black light and shot straight into Jiang Yan's upper Dantian. When he looked within again, the Stone Book was resting motionless inside his upper Dantian.
"This is excellent. Carrying it around, I was always afraid I'd lose the treasure. This makes things much easier."
Having unexpectedly refined the Stone Book with spiritual Qi, Jiang Yan was in an even better mood.
He raised his hand and drew the Command Tally beside him into his palm. Having spiritual Qi really was convenient. A minor technique like drawing objects over needed only a sweep of spiritual Qi; there was no need for Object-Grasping Talismans anymore.
Of course, anything too heavy was out of the question. Spiritual Qi was too diffuse, unless he controlled it with Divine Sense or improved its quality. Both required a higher cultivation realm.
Activating the Command Tally to open the stone chamber's door, Jiang Yan took the Golden Toad all the way home.
It was still early, and Second Uncle had yet to leave for duty. Seeing him return, he could not help freezing in surprise.
"Why are you back? Did you run out of Qi and Blood pills?"
It had never occurred to him that Jiang Yan could perfect his body overnight. He only thought he might have run short of resources.
"Second Uncle, my flesh is already perfected. There's no time to lose. I want to go to the Dao Academy as soon as possible and choose a cultivation method to practice."
As Jiang Yan spoke, he raised his hand and released a wisp of spiritual Qi as proof.
"Good, good, good! Second Uncle will take you to see the patriarch right now!"
Looking at that wisp of spiritual Qi, Second Uncle Jiang was beside himself with excitement. How could he still think about reporting for duty? He went inside and rummaged around for some things, then came out, grabbed Jiang Yan, and rushed toward the main branch's residence.
"What? You have Perfected Flesh? Truly?!"
In the main residence's meeting hall, a man who looked about Second Uncle Jiang's age held Jiang Yan as he questioned him.
This was the Jiang Household's current patriarch, who also headed the senior household of the main lineage. By generation, Jiang Yan had to address him as Fourth Grandpa.
Only after seeing spiritual Qi emerge from Jiang Yan's hand did he believe it.
"Good, good, good! To think young Yan's talent has reached such heights. We mustn't delay. I'll personally take you to the Dao Academy!"
The County Daoist Academy was some distance from Morninglight Town. Outside assistance was forbidden during the Yearly Examination, so Jiang Yan had spent quite some time traveling there himself.
Now that speed mattered, having Clan Leader Jiang take him was naturally faster.
By rights, Clan Leader Jiang should not have been so anxious. The Jiang Household had no shortage of disciples capable of entering the Prefecture Academy.
Among their disciples at the Prefecture Academy, one had even reached the eighth rank.
But Jiang Yan was different. For an ordinary County Daoist Academy disciple, passing the Yearly Examination was already no easy feat.
They generally only perfected their flesh after entering the Prefecture Academy. That had been the case for all the Jiang Household's previous entrants.
There were even many who could not enter the Prefecture Academy and would never temper their flesh to perfection.
Instead, they found ways to practice cultivation methods, but this somewhat overtaxed their potential, making it difficult to travel farther along the immortal path.
Jiang Yan had only just passed the Yearly Examination, yet he had already finished tempering his flesh. This would count in his favor in the Prefecture Examination.
Moreover, the Prefecture Examination took place at a different time each year, but judging by precedent, there was still at least a month or so before it began.
If he could also get a cultivation method established beforehand, that would be another point in his favor during the examination.
With good results in the Prefecture Examination, he could choose a better instructor when he entered the Prefecture Dao Academy. This was precisely what it meant to gain a step and stay ahead at every step.
Clan Leader Jiang was also a man of swift, decisive action. He immediately pulled the two of them into the courtyard.
With a raised hand, he summoned a magnificent bird. This Azure-Feathered Eagle was his mount.
Second Uncle Jiang held Jiang Yan and offered a few words of advice, then sighed.
"When that boy Jiang Li wakes up and finds out you've left again, he's bound to have a good cry."
As Second Uncle Jiang spoke, he took out a small bundle and stuffed it into Jiang Yan's arms.
Storage law artifacts were hard to come by. Although the Jiang Household had once been wealthy, only those of the eighth rank and above were issued one. He had none.
"Second Uncle, I'll write home when the time comes."
Jiang Yan had only hastily said a few words to his second uncle before the patriarch pulled him onto the eagle.
The ten-foot-tall Azure-Feathered Eagle gave a soft cry, spread its wings, and soared a thousand meters into the sky.
Looking down, Jiang Yan could see the entire town.
Withdrawing his gaze, Jiang Yan opened the bundle his second uncle had given him. Inside lay ten Spirit Stones together with several strings of Talisman Money.
Over the years, the money and provisions his parents had left him had long since run out. He had no idea how long Second Uncle had spent saving these.
He wrapped the bundle back up and stuffed it into Jinbao's mouth.
Seeing his subdued mood, Clan Leader Jiang offered some comfort.
"Young Yan, don't worry about home. Just concentrate on preparing for the examination at the Dao Academy. Before the Prefecture Examination begins, I'll bring Little Two and his family to visit you."
By generation, the patriarch was Second Uncle Jiang's uncle, so there was nothing inappropriate about calling him Little Two.
"Don't worry, Fourth Grandpa. I'll cultivate diligently."
Jiang Yan was merely feeling a little wistful. Second Uncle and Second Aunt were both still fairly young, with many years left before their lifespans reached their limits. Once he had made some progress on the immortal Dao, extending their lives a little would be as easy as turning over his hand.
"Good. Right, you should consider your cultivation path now too. Do you have a preference?"
For Jiang Yan to have cultivated his flesh to perfection at this age, his state of mind was reassuring. The patriarch turned to asking about his future plans.
These cultivation paths numbered six in all. Most of the methods they encompassed had existed in the Dao Realm since High Antiquity, but had not been so clearly classified then.
Only in more recent antiquity had they gradually evolved into their current form.
These six paths were:
The Classic-Reading and Divination Dao,
The Sinew-Shifting and Bone-Transmuting Dao,
The Witchcraft and Gu Ritual Path,
The Qi-Feeding and Method-Practicing Dao,
The Netherworld-Penetrating and Beast-Commanding Dao,
The Furnace-Forging and Cauldron-Controlling Dao.
Techniques such as divination, pill refining, artifact creation, formation raising, talisman drawing, Qi feeding, Yin harvesting, Gu rearing, and Dao soldiers-
Every variety of cultivation method was encompassed by these six paths, with none left outside them.
Before you continue