There were three people who went straight into the inner gate: Lu Nanzhi, Shen Huaixi and Xie Jingshan who was competing with her. Under the envious gaze of everyone, they received tokens and were sent to the thirty-six peaks of the inner gate of Tianyan Sect by special people on flying swords.
Then there were ninety-eight outer disciples, and the rest were all servants.
Inner disciples can join the thirty-six peaks of the Tianyan Sect, where they have abundant spiritual energy, can receive guidance from the Yuanying True Lord, and have the opportunity to become the True Lord’s personal disciple, which is an unparalleled honor.
There are also twenty low-grade spirit stones and a bottle of elixir supplied every month. In the first three years, there is no compulsory completion of sect missions, and the main focus is on cultivation.
The outer disciples are inferior, living in the eighty-one valleys under the thirty-six peaks, with five people in a courtyard. There is a spirit gathering formation in the courtyard. They receive five low-grade spirit stones and three pills every month, and are not required to complete sect tasks in the first year.
Only when a servant first enters the service can he receive five low-grade spirit stones and three medicinal pills.
In the first month, you will learn to read and write, learn the sect rules, and focus on drawing Qi into your body. You do not need to accept any tasks. After that, you will be assigned to work in various places in the Tianyan Sect, and you must complete a sect task every month.
If one is unable to draw Qi into the body in the first month, he will be expelled from the sect.
Fortunately, sect missions will reward contribution points, which can be exchanged for spirit stones, elixirs and other supplies.
There are also some apprentice-based menial jobs, such as farming apprentices, puppet apprentices, etc. Although they also do odd jobs, if they can follow a good master, the treatment is no worse than that of the outer sect, and they can also learn the skills to make a living in advance.
In addition, if the servants meet generous elders while working, they will be given some things. So although the work is hard, they can continue to practice if they work hard.
When you reach the seventh level of Qi training, you can enter the outer sect through the year-end selection and then improve your status step by step.
Jiang Yuebai watched as everyone stepped forward one by one and took away their respective tokens and training supplies.
Lin Suiwan received the token of an outer disciple. Before leaving, he glared at her proudly and told her to wait and see with his mouth.
Jiang Yuebai was nervous, he clenched his fists and told himself not to be afraid.
The starry sky is vast and the moon is faint.
Everyone had left, and Jiang Yuebai was the only one left in the square. He stood straight, staring at Hong Tao with a determined spirit.
Hong Tao took a bundle from the person behind him. Jiang Yuebai's eyes suddenly lit up and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
Hong Tao sighed, picked up his bag and said, "Follow me."
Hong Tao took Jiang Yuebai alone and walked down the path on the west side of the square.
The night wind was chilly, and the grass waves were rolling, one big and one small, one in front and one behind.
Jiang Yuebai kept staring at the bag in Hong Tao's hand that belonged to her but was not given to her.
But she didn't dare to ask, for fear that Hong Tao would send her flying out of the fairy mountain with one palm, and all her efforts would be in vain.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Hong Tao stopped at a fork in the road.
Going down, there is a dark valley with crisscrossing fields and the wind blowing the fragrance of rice in the night.
Going up, there is the Xuanxiao Danque, with dim lights and celestial music lingering in the air, intoxicating the heart.
Hong Tao held the bag in his hand and looked down at the little Jiang Yuebai.
"I deliberately left you to the end. First, I value your character and perseverance. Second, I have a selfish motive. I am just an outer sect disciple in the Qi training stage. I cannot compete with the elders in the Jindan stage, but I don't want to see you die in vain. It just so happens that the Internal Affairs Hall has a mission and needs an apprentice to do odd jobs."
"You have reached the 81st step of the Road of Questioning the Heart. According to the sect rules, you should be an outer sect disciple. But you have also seen that the lowest level of outer sect disciples is three spiritual roots, and there are many seedlings from immortal cultivation families among them."
"I hope you haven't forgotten what happened before you ascended to the Immortal Stage. In the outer sect, you have a high status and many opportunities, but you are more likely to run into that Miss Lin. You may not even have the chance to enter the Dao if you live in the same place as her.
"Being a chorman is a bit difficult, but being an apprentice chorman is different. You have the opportunity to stay away from them. They can't find you for the time being, and someone can guide you into the Tao and teach you the basics of cultivating immortals. You don't have to figure it out on your own. You also have time to practice and improve yourself and master the power of self-protection. And chormen also have the opportunity to pass the outer sect entrance examination. Now it's your choice, whether to enter the outer sect or be a chorman."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes were filled with resentment, "Why can't the five spiritual roots work? How am I worse than them?"
Hong Tao squatted down and looked at Jiang Yuebai, patiently saying, "This is common sense in the world of cultivation. Cultivation is to introduce spiritual energy into the body and store it, polishing the body bit by bit. You will understand these later. I will only talk to you about spiritual roots."
"Spiritual roots are like water tanks, and spiritual energy is the water mist in the air. Without a water tank, the water mist cannot be stored. Therefore, only with a water tank can one cultivate immortality. This is the key to opening the door to immortality."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously, absorbing the knowledge of the world of cultivation eagerly.
"Lu Nanzhi is a natural spiritual body. Her water tank is not in her dantian. Her whole body is that water tank. With a wave of her hand, she can attract spiritual energy into any part of her body. Shen Huaixi and Xie Jingshan both have single spiritual roots. They have a water tank in their dantian."
"And the root value determines the affinity of spiritual energy. Xie Jingshan's root value is nine. In addition to his larger water tank, which can hold more spiritual energy mist, he can sense the existence of spiritual energy without using elixirs, and can easily absorb spiritual energy into his body."
"Of course, Xie Jingshan, who has a root value of nine, will practice slower than Shen Huaixi, who has a root value of eight, because the water tank is large and it takes more time to fill it up. However, in the future, his casting speed, spell endurance, and power will be slightly stronger than Shen Huaixi. This is the importance of root value."
Hong Tao was slightly shocked. He didn't expect Jiang Yuebai to be so quick-witted at such a young age, and he was very smart and found the key point.
"The five spiritual roots do have their advantages. With all five elements, you can practice all kinds of magic. However, the water tank must be filled to overflowing before the spiritual energy and mist in it can flow to all parts of the body."
"What's more, if your root value is lower than five, the spiritual energy will hardly be close to you. You will need to spend more time and patience to fill five water tanks."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes darkened and he immediately understood.
Hong Tao nodded in appreciation, "Before forming the elixir, a person's life span is seventy or eighty. If they have practiced well and have a strong physique, they can live to over a hundred years old. If they take a low-level longevity elixir, they can live to around a hundred and fifty years old."
"For example, if you have three spiritual roots, it takes an average of 10 to 20 years to go from Qi training to foundation building, and 30 to 50 years to form a pill. You still have five spiritual roots. Others can start training after filling up a water tank, but you have to spend five times more time."
"Others only need to comprehend one attribute to forge a golden elixir, detach from the mortal body and become a real person, but you need to integrate the changes of the five elements. Not to mention forming an elixir to prolong your life, even the foundation-building stage is extremely difficult for you. There are many resources in the outer sect, but the resources are no more than those of those who seek immortality. Open and covert competition has become the norm. It is even more difficult to practice when you have no power to protect yourself and have made enemies with others."
"Then the spiritual roots can't be changed?" Jiang Yuebai asked.
Hong Tao sighed and said, "If it can be changed, then everyone in the world can ascend to heaven, and how can there be any saying that cultivating immortals is against the will of heaven? However, spiritual roots cannot be changed, but there is a chance to change the root value."
"After you have formed your elixir, when you have established your Dao heart and comprehended the Heavenly Dao, the Dao rhyme of heaven and earth will be added to your body for the first time, which will increase your root value. How much it will increase depends on the will of Heavenly Dao. You only have that one chance in your life."
After all, one must first build the foundation and then form the elixir before one has a chance to change one's destiny.
Before that, spiritual roots are one hurdle, and root value is another hurdle.
Jiang Yuebai clenched and unclenched his fists, looking towards the fairy mountains and pavilions in the distance, with uncontrollable envy and yearning in his eyes.
How she wished to live in such a beautiful building, have a bottle of good wine, and be a free and easy immortal.
But she knew that she couldn't go yet because she was too weak to protect her belongings.
She is not afraid of competition from the outer sect, nor is she afraid of Lin Sui Wan. But she is afraid of Lin Sui Wan’s ancestor, Lin Xiangtian!
But she won't be afraid forever!
Just like when I was begging in the past, I was hungry and had no strength to beat those little beggars, so I had to be beaten when I met them.
Only by finding food first, eating your fill, gaining strength, and finding a suitable weapon, can you turn defeat into victory, defeat them once and for all, and make them avoid you next time they see you!
"I'll do the chores."
Hearing Jiang Yuebai's firm voice, Hong Tao felt relieved and a bit of admiration appeared in his eyes. He handed the bag in his hand to her. In this way, the difficult task could be completed. It was also a good opportunity for the child and everyone was happy.
"There are ten low-grade spirit stones and six Qi-inducing pills in here, which is twice as much as other menial tasks. This is my personal compensation to you. I will arrange for a kind person to guide you into the Tao, so that you can avoid disputes and have time to concentrate on cultivation."
"The Qi-Attracting Pills can help you sense and attract spiritual energy. Six of them have a high chance of helping you break through to the first level of Qi training. As long as you are still willing to fight for it, you may be able to reach the top of Xianyun with the talent of five spiritual roots, just like Tianyan Sect's founder Lu Xingyun in the future."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes lit up slightly, "So people with five spiritual roots can also reach the top of Xianyun?"
Hong Tao stood up and said, "There has only been one person like him in the cultivation world in the past 100,000 years."
"Then I'll be the second one!"
Hong Tao couldn't bear to shatter her beautiful vision. Ignorance is fearless. Once she really starts practicing, she will know how difficult it is.
You spend five times more time and five times more resources, but you don't live five times longer than others.
But the difficulty of cultivating immortality is more than five times.
"Let's go. I'll take you to Huaxi Valley to find Master Tao. He started teaching at the age of thirty and was once a private school teacher in the mortal world. He is honest, kind, and patient. He is also a spiritual farmer, which is equivalent to an outer disciple. With his protection, if you can learn a little bit of his skills, it won't be a problem to support yourself and practice. Besides, the menial work of cultivating spiritual fields is relatively free, which is very suitable for your current situation."
"good!"
In Huaxi Valley, the night is deep and quiet, insects are chirping and the rice fields are fragrant.
In a small courtyard in the field, Tao Fengnian, who was in his seventies, sat cross-legged on the bed, lit an oil lamp, and counted the spirit stones over and over again.
Three hundred and ninety-seven, no matter how much we count, there won’t be one more.
He picked up his pipe and started puffing on it, his back hunched and his face full of worry.
"I have cultivated for thirty-nine years with four spiritual roots and failed twice in building my foundation. This is all I have left. Now that my time is up, I can't even afford a ten-year longevity pill. But I have more than enough to make a coffin, haha~"
The road to immortality is difficult? The road to immortality is difficult!
It's not about the water or the mountain, it's only about the quality of the immortal root!
If you find this book useful, please add it to your bookshelf and make an investment. It would be great if you could leave a few words of encouragement.
Qingxie would like to express his gratitude here!
(End of this chapter)