Methods Are Not Taught Lightly-What Good Cultivation Method Could the Li Household Offer?

Elder Jiang's laughter was tinged with scorn as he continued:

"Over the years, the occasional Core Formation junior has passed by without detecting the slightest trace of my presence. Even if those young whippersnappers from the Li Household came right up to you, they wouldn't see the least hint of your origins."

During this time, Ye Xiufan and Elder Jiang had examined the Li Household's circumstances with great care. After turning the matter over repeatedly, they concluded that the Li Household was most likely a fallen lineage that had fled some calamity. They had suffered a devastating disaster somewhere, and the survivors had brought what little their ancestors had left them to this place, hoping to rebuild their lineage on this remote island.

From deep within his Dantian, Elder Jiang's voice drifted out once more.

"A fallen lineage like this will cling all the more tightly to what little its ancestors left behind as its fortunes decline. They probably don't even have enough to share among their own direct descendants. Why would they be willing to let outsiders have the real thing?"

"You should give up on getting a high-grade cultivation method as soon as possible, lad. Once they teach you an introductory method and you scrape your way into Qi Refinement, enough to ride the wind and fly, set out at once and take me to Gold-Bearing Mountain to retrieve that spirit object."

"Afterward, we'll leave Jade Wave Island for the Flowing Cloud Market. I left a contingency there, enough to get you to Foundation Establishment."

Ye Xiufan fell silent for a moment at that, then sighed.

"If only you could teach me a Law Technique directly, Elder Jiang. Otherwise, we wouldn't have wasted so many years on Floating Return Island."

The words seemed to strike a sore spot. Elder Jiang's voice suddenly rose several notches, and he spoke bitterly:

"If those old bastards from the Azure Cloud Sect hadn't struck me with the Forget Life Incantation back then, sealing my Primordial Spirit and locking away my Dao arts, how could I have fallen so low that I can't even teach you one complete cultivation method?"

"Four hundred years of cultivation, gone in a single day. Those old thieves tore my memories of Dao arts to pieces. Even what I learned myself is broken and incomplete, so naturally I can't teach it to you."

He caught his breath. His anger vanished as quickly as it had come, and he continued:

"But never mind, lad. Once you've cultivated a method, whatever its grade, even if it's the lowest Qi-guiding technique, you only need to recite it to me in full. With the Dao resonance remaining in this remnant soul of mine, I can work out improvements for you. When you become a True Lord, you'll storm the Azure Cloud Sect for me and slaughter those old bastards to the last man!"

Ye Xiufan nodded solemnly, ate the Demon Beast flesh he had hidden in his room, then pushed open the door and headed toward the imperial palace.

By his reckoning, it was about time for the Li Household's cultivators to come and teach them their methods.

Hanyuan Hall.

This magnificent hall, where the emperors of the Ning Kingdom had once held grand court assemblies, had now been set aside by the Li Household as a place to pass on cultivation methods.

All the Spirit Root youths of suitable age in the Ning Kingdom had gathered here. They had been tempering their physiques and had completed their initial body tempering with the Li Household's medicinal brews.

In their spare time, people gathered in groups of three or five to chat.

"We've been here half a month, haven't we? Our bodies have been refined who knows how many times. Why hasn't anyone come to teach us to cultivate?"

As soon as the words fell, a burly young man shook his head and said slowly:

"Everyone, hear me out. My elder brother was one of the Grandmasters who took part in this year's palace examination, and he's now serving in the Li Household's clearing team. He said cultivators' methods are extremely precious, worth far more than gold or silver can measure. We may have been tested and found to have Spirit Roots, giving us the qualifications, but I doubt they'll hand over something like a cultivation method so easily."

He looked around at the youths who had gathered close and sighed.

"Just like in those cultivation tales, newcomers to an immortal sect all have to start as menial workers, carrying water, chopping wood, and tending spirit fields. After enduring it for three or five years, they earn a little trust, and only then do the immortal masters reward them with a few introductory mnemonics."

Once he had spoken, everyone chimed in agreement. "That's right. I heard some of those Grandmasters don't have Spirit Roots, but they earned Contribution Points by helping the Li Household wipe out the lingering remnants of the devil path in the various commanderies. They can save those Contribution Points and exchange them for cultivation methods and such. We might have to start with chores too, and only later get a chance at an immortal opportunity."

Back when Daoist Lu had been here, seeking immortality and the Dao had been all the rage.

With those Devil Cultivator disciples fanning the flames, some scholars had drawn inspiration from strange tales of the cultivation world they had "chanced upon" and produced a great many cultivation stories.

Once published, they had become wildly popular.

Most of the Spirit Root youths had read them, and they nodded helplessly.

"When all's said and done, methods aren't taught lightly."

Someone shook his head with a wry smile and took up the thread.

"Those stories are mostly made up, but they got that part right. Cultivation methods are the most precious things in the cultivation world and aren't readily passed on to outsiders. Things like Demon Beasts and Spirit Plants are rare too, but ordinary folk can still stumble across them in the mountains now and then, so they're no great secret."

That much was true. Jade Wave Island was thick with mountain forests and crisscrossed by waterways and marshes. Demon Beasts occasionally emerged from deep in the mountains into inhabited areas. Ordinary people dared not approach them, but it was common enough to catch a glimpse from afar.

As they spoke, two streaks of light suddenly swept across the sky and landed atop the high steps before Hanyuan Hall in the blink of an eye.

The man in front looked unfamiliar, but they recognized the one behind him as Li Dongping, master of the Method Transmission Hall.

Even this immortal master, who was usually so stern, now followed half a step behind and to the side. Was there any need to guess who the man in front was?

Everyone called out in unison:

"Greetings, Household Head! Greetings, Hall Master!"

Li Zhengjun wore a smile as his gentle gaze swept over the eager faces below the steps.

With the help of a Law Artifact belonging to his lineage, he spotted Ye Xiufan hidden in the crowd at a glance. But his gaze did not linger. He smiled and nodded.

"Everyone, rise. Starting today, Hall Master Li will teach you the methods of cultivation."

At these words, the Spirit Root youths filling the hall held their breath.

"Anyone with a water Spirit Root may cultivate my Li Household's Cold River Qi-Guiding Scripture, drawing upon the Frozen Water spiritual force between heaven and earth for their own use. When you are not cultivating and have no other affairs to attend to, you may identify and gather relevant spirit objects according to the methods recorded in the Illustrated Guide to Spirit Objects, which will be distributed shortly, and exchange them for Contribution Points. Contribution Points can be exchanged at the Method Transmission Hall for the subsequent parts of this method and medicinal pills. The medicinal brews you took while tempering your bodies are merely the most ordinary of the medicinal pills available in exchange for Contribution Points."

A faint stir ran through the crowd below the steps. Those medicinal brews had seemed wondrous beyond measure to them, yet they were only the most ordinary kind?

Li Zhengjun continued without pausing.

"Those without a water Spirit Root will cultivate the Knock on the Court and Receive Qi Instruction. This method emphasizes tempering the sinews and bones. Once mastered, it grants astonishing combat strength, allowing you to serve as guards for the lineage and take on the duties of exploring the Ning Kingdom and clearing out Demon Beasts. By completing tasks issued by the lineage, you can likewise earn Contribution Points and exchange them for what you need to cultivate."

At this, the youths filling the hall could no longer contain themselves. The uncertainty and unease vanished from their faces.

So the Li Household was not like the immortal sects and lineages in those stories, which refused to teach their methods lightly. They had only just joined, yet they had already been given a way to cultivate!

What was more, so long as they were willing to put in the effort and do the work, they could accumulate Contribution Points and exchange them for the high-grade cultivation methods and miraculous spirit pills they dreamed of!

Ye Xiufan had a water Spirit Root and, as expected, was assigned to the Frozen Water branch. He joined the others in receiving the Fetal Breath method of the Frozen Water Dao Path.

This time, however, he could not return to his own residence. To help them sense the spiritual force of the water vein, Li Dongping personally led this group of Frozen Water Spirit Root youths out of the capital to the bank of the great river that flowed through the city.

Looking up, they saw the broad expanse of the river and heard its water murmuring. Reeds crowded both banks, rustling in the cold winter wind.

After Li Dongping gave them careful instruction, the cultivators sat cross-legged on the riverbank and followed their cultivation method, trying to grasp the Frozen Water spiritual force nearby.

Ye Xiufan also sat cross-legged. Just as he was about to enter meditation and cultivate, Elder Jiang's lazy voice sounded at an unhurried pace.

"Lad, what did I tell you? The Li Household really is going to have you gather spirit objects, using you as unpaid labor. Still, this Li Household is a little more generous than I expected. At least they aren't like those third-rate little sects, stringing you along as menial workers for three years before giving you a cultivation method. Heh heh, that's openhanded enough."

He paused, then continued with a chuckle:

"But that said, openhanded or not, this is just a way to win people over. The cultivation method they've brought out probably isn't all that high-grade. Recite it silently to me, sentence by sentence, from beginning to end. I'll check its grade and see what it's really made of."

Ye Xiufan nodded without betraying any reaction and slowly recited the text of the cultivation method within his sea of consciousness.

At first, Elder Jiang listened at his leisure, occasionally giving an indifferent hum.

But as he listened, his humming grew less frequent, replaced by a long silence.

When the recitation ended, there was no sound at all from his Dantian.

Ye Xiufan waited a moment, a trace of puzzlement gradually arising in his heart.

For three years, no matter what he said or asked, Elder Jiang had always answered his questions. This was the first time he had fallen completely silent like this.

He could not help calling out tentatively in his sea of consciousness, "Elder Jiang?"

There was still no reply. Ye Xiufan raised an eyebrow slightly, and just as he was about to ask again, Elder Jiang's incredulous voice came from within his sea of consciousness.

"This cultivation method... is a Foundation Establishment method! It might even... lead to Core Formation?"