The Exchange Meeting

According to information Wang An had obtained from official sources over the past few days, fewer and fewer Class Change Stones were being found in small mountain ranges like Mount Huaiyu. Basically, they had all been used or found.

If they wanted to continue their exploration business afterward, they would have to venture into mountain ranges stretching a thousand li and deserts stretching ten thousand li.

Exploring those truly harsh uninhabited regions would require even more preparation.

While the surrounding mountains remained unexplored over the next month or two, they had to accumulate funds and expand the team as quickly as possible. Otherwise, no matter how willing they were, they would lack the means.

Wang An had already received word from Changnan Interstellar that they would head to the Jinggang Mountains after returning this time. The terrain there was treacherous, with numerous lofty peaks, making exploration extremely difficult. It was the only area nearby that had yet to be explored on a large scale.

That afternoon, Wang An had just returned from the Special Administration Bureau. He had joined under another identity and was now an official member.

Just as Zhang Mingqing had said, the Special Administration Bureau placed practically no restrictions on cultivation-type class holders.

But there was one thing he had not mentioned: the lack of restrictions also meant that the authorities would not invest too much in class holders like them.

Apart from the large collection of cultivation books gathered by the authorities, which members could borrow for free, and a monthly living allowance for official members, there were basically no further resources.

Today, Wang An and Zhang Mingqing had also settled on the talisman inheritance for their exchange. He would trade the Zhengyi Celestial Master's Mansion the class information for [Martial Artist] in exchange for their Zhengyi Talismans.

Both sides were fairly satisfied with the exchange.

After all, it was only an exchange of information, and neither side lost anything. They had merely traded information that could be copied endlessly for another piece of information, making it essentially a win-win outcome.

Of course, the Celestial Master Mansion would never trade away a core inheritance like the Orthodox Five Thunder Method. After all, it was the foundation on which a sect stood.

For Wang An, aside from the two classes [Feng Shui Master] and [Qi Refiner],

information on other classes meant little to him. If he could trade it for information he needed, he would not hesitate.

From what he currently knew of the Celestial Master Mansion, aside from the core Orthodox Five Thunder Method, they also had spells and divine abilities they had not revealed.

Those were what Wang An actually wanted to learn about. In modern society, hardly anyone could master these spells and divine abilities anymore.

Although these spells and divine abilities could not destroy heaven and earth, they possessed some unfathomable mysteries when it came to enhancing individual abilities, making them extremely useful.

Wang An had spent most of the past few days at the Special Administration Bureau. The Changnan branch was located beneath a history museum, in what was essentially a civil defense facility.

From his observations over the past few days, the place was at least several dozen meters underground.

Its total area was enormous. Judging by the space he had seen so far, it covered at least a dozen mu.

It included a specially designated library that housed a large collection of basic cultivation methods from various domestic sects.

There were also classic books such as the Taoist Canon. It even had a special selection of cultivation methods from foreign cultivation factions to broaden everyone's horizons.

Today was his third day here, and he had come mainly to take part in a cultivation exchange.

Following the directions of the staff, Wang An arrived at a conference room.

As soon as he entered, he saw several old Taoists with long beards and their hair in Taoist topknots, dressed in plain Taoist robes and resting with their eyes closed.

An old monk with white eyebrows hanging below his eyes was muttering to himself, holding a string of prayer beads and wearing a monk's robe.

He even saw a middle-aged man dressed as an ancient Confucian scholar, holding a book and leafing through it with a deeply furrowed brow.

Judging by the look of things, all three teachings-Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism-are here, Wang An thought.

The others showed no surprise at the young man's arrival. They carried on with what they were doing as though he did not exist.

Since no one paid him any attention, Wang An simply found a seat and sat down.

In his mind, he worked through the changes in terrain and feng shui aura at the various places his Avatar had seen over the past few days, testing his various conjectures against them.

Before long, several more young men dressed as Taoists and monks entered the conference room. Zhang Mingqing and a Special Administration Bureau staff member came in last.

The staff member switched on a recording device to one side, while Zhang Mingqing took the seat at the head and spoke.

"Fellow Daoists, I will be presiding over today's exchange meeting."

Hearing this, the others stopped what they were doing and looked toward him, marking the official start of the meeting.

"We have a young friend here whom I met a few days ago. According to him, through self-study and independent cultivation, he has now reached Foundation Establishment Perfection and attained a Leakless Body, with Refining Essence into Qi in sight."

The moment he said this, the others fixed their eyes on Wang An.

It was not that Foundation Establishment Perfection was so extraordinary. For them, a few years of diligent, undisturbed cultivation would be enough to reach it.

What truly caught their attention was Zhang Qingming's statement that Wang An had studied and cultivated on his own, with Refining Essence into Qi in sight.

For someone who had never come into contact with their cultivation circle, who had no inheritance or teacher and had studied and cultivated entirely on his own,

it would have been good enough if he had not crippled himself through cultivation. Yet judging by this young friend, his foundation was extremely solid, and he still had a path to further advancement. In modern society, he was as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Hearing Zhang Mingqing's introduction and praise, and seeing the people around him looking at him as though he were some curiosity, Wang An felt somewhat speechless.

If they knew he had already reached proficiency in Refining Qi into Spirit and no longer needed to pay attention to the Warm Nourishment of the great elixir, which had become an unconscious, automatic process, wouldn't they take him for a monster?

He could only say,

"Daoist Zhang, you flatter me. I only managed to complete Foundation Establishment a little faster because I happened to take the [Student] class.

I'm still a long way from Refining Essence into Qi. I've been lucky to cultivate this far, and I still need to seek guidance from the seniors here."

"Hehe, young friend An, there is no need to be so modest. There has never been such a thing as luck in cultivation."

Zhang Mingqing's words drew nods from the others. How could there be any question of luck in cultivation?

Without an orthodox method, a solid foundation, and an inheritance from one's teachers, even the slightest mistake could cause one's qi to go astray-and that was a minor matter.

In serious cases, it could even endanger one's life and cause all sorts of illnesses.

Wang An knew that they did not really believe him, so he merely smiled.

Seeing that everyone more or less acknowledged Wang An's cultivation, Zhang Mingqing continued with the introductions. He first looked at the four Taoists, young and old, on his right.

"Young friend An, these two are Daoist Mingxin of the Jingming Sect and his disciple, Daoist Jingling."