Chapter 242: Different Paths of Cultivation
"Yes!"
At those words, Gu Mo quickly took out the meditation cushion he had obtained from the Heavenly Chosen Battle, the one forged from top-grade spirit stones.
Qing sovereign received the spirit stone cushion, his fingers brushing lightly across its surface. Instantly, the formation lines upon the cushion shifted.
"All right, now this spirit stone cushion is in its complete state." Qing Sovereign handed the cushion back to Gu Mo.
This top-grade spirit stone cushion had been offered up by the righteous side during the Heavenly Chosen Battle. Since no one knew who would ultimately obtain it, Qing Sovereign had weakened some of the formations within it.
That way, if the cushion fell into the hands of a demonic sect genius, the loss would not be too great. But if their own side obtained it, the restrictions could later be undone.
Now that the restrictions had been lifted, the cushion's ability to gather spiritual energy would see a tremendous increase. Still, the aura it condensed remained of fourth-rank top-grade quality.
To reach the fifth rank, other heavenly materials and earthly treasures would be required. The simplest way would be to amass more top-grade spirit stones, stacking them together until the ambient spiritual energy concentration rose to the fifth rank.
Yet top-grade spirit stones were already exceedingly rare treasures. Their natural property of gathering spiritual energy made them incredibly sought after.
This was why a spirit stone the size of this cushion was considered equal in value to the top-grade flying sword that the demonic sect had contributed.
That demonic sect flying sword, like this cushion, had been deliberately weakened. The difference was that while the cushion's restrictions could be undone, the top-grade flying sword Gu Mo's incarnation had obtained likely could not.
Even so, its power as a top-grade spiritual weapon was undeniable. The restrictions were only on less critical aspects; its main functions remained intact.
After all, the treasures in the Heavenly Chosen Battle were jointly reviewed by both the righteous and demonic sides. Anything too outrageous was never allowed in.
"Also, give me your identity token," Qing Sovereign continued.
"There are two accounts of contribution. One is sect contribution, which you can use to exchange for resources within the sect. The other is righteous merit, which can be used within the Righteous Alliance to trade for what you need." With a sweep of his hand across Gu Mo's true disciple token, two messages were instantly imprinted inside.
These were the true disciple resources Qing Sovereign was granting Gu Mo. Rather than directly bestowing him with specific items, he provided contribution and merit points so that Gu Mo could exchange according to his own needs.
For the top geniuses, sect cultivation methods always left the choice to the disciple. Only when they strayed too far down the wrong path would guidance be offered. For those of lesser talent, the sect arranged everything.
A true prodigy had to carve out his own path, to challenge the higher realms himself.
"Thank you for your reward, Patriarch!"
Gu Mo accepted the token and bowed deeply.
"This is what you earned for yourself." Qing Sovereign waved his hand. Gu Mo's performance in the Heavenly Chosen Battle had outshone the other two true disciples and brought honor to Shennong Valley. Naturally, he deserved his reward.
…
"Disciple, I shall return to my cultivation first." The three took their leave of Qing Sovereign, and Qi Chunde spoke up. Originally, he had hoped to impress his disciple by showing off the power of the Ten Thousand Laws Tree. But Gu Mo, unexpectedly, had also grasped the Shennong Herbal Sutra. This gave Qi Chunde enormous pressure.
He needed to return and continue his comprehension. At the very least, when Gu Mo encountered difficulties in his cultivation, he should be able to provide answers as a master.
"Xiao Mo, I need to look after the flower fields." Xiaohua was likewise eager to leave. The days spent comprehending the Shennong Herbal Sutra had taken quite a while. Although Xiaoli had been tending the Radiant Sunflower Glaze fields, Xiaohua still worried.
"Don't forget the gift you promised me!" she reminded Gu Mo before leaving.
After Qi Chunde and Xiaohua departed, Gu Mo began wandering about the secret realm. As a true disciple, he was now entitled to build a cave dwelling here.
Since Qing Sovereign knew Gu Mo had a top-grade spirit stone cushion, he hadn't prepared a spirit vein for him. All Gu Mo needed was to find a spot he liked—once he set down the cushion, it would become an excellent cultivation site.
However, Gu Mo did not intend to cultivate within the secret realm. He still harbored too many secrets; staying here would risk exposure.
For now, he remained, partly to look around, but also because he wanted to meet some of the sect's other true disciples.
With this in mind, Gu Mo made his way toward the Nourishing Lotus Pool. According to Ji Xinglan, most true disciples spent much of their time cultivating there. If he wanted to find them, that was the best place to start.
After threading through lush spirit plants for a while, a vast lake came into view. Wisps of spiritual energy hovered over its surface, while within the waters floated enormous lotus leaves. Amidst the sea of green were nine lotus blossoms, each as tall as a person.
At the moment, all the lotus flowers were closed, meaning true disciples were cultivating inside. When shut, the lotus isolated them from outside disturbances.
Splash!
As Gu Mo arrived, suddenly one lotus unfurled, revealing within it a wooden figure.
"You must be Junior Brother Gu Mo."
The wooden figure flickered and appeared before Gu Mo in a flash. Seeing this, Gu Mo's eyes narrowed. The man had just used Wood Escape.
Though not on par with Xiaohua's mastery, it was still a true initiation into the Wood Escape Art.
"I am Mu Ran."
The wooden figure smiled as he introduced himself. Though his body was wood, his expressions were no different from a living man's.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Mu." Gu Mo bowed slightly.
"As you can see, I abandoned my human flesh and fused my soul into this tree body." Mu Ran offered the explanation he always did—whenever a new junior brother or sister came, he had to address their curiosity.
"Is this the cultivation path Senior Brother has chosen?" Gu Mo asked. Strikingly, this path resembled Qi Chunde's in some ways.
Qi Chunde had transformed his Golden Core and Nascent Soul into a Dao Seed and the Ten Thousand Laws Tree, while this Senior Brother Mu Ran had forsaken his flesh to become a tree himself.
"You understand this, Junior Brother?"
Mu Ran looked at him in surprise. His other juniors had never been able to comprehend his path, but Gu Mo seemed different.
"My master also walks a different path." Gu Mo briefly described Qi Chunde's cultivation.
"Elder Qi is truly a genius!" Hearing this, Mu Ran clapped his wooden hands in delight. Though their directions differed, their thinking was kindred.
Of course, Qi Chunde's path was far more difficult, but its potential for the future was also much greater. Mu Ran's path, on the other hand, already had its ceiling fixed—the upper limit of the tree he had fused with.
The tree Mu Ran had merged with was a fifth-rank spirit plant seedling. This meant Mu Ran's limit was the Soul Transformation stage. While other cultivators had to construct tall towers out of nothing, Mu Ran only needed to keep excavating the latent potential of his tree body. The difficulty was reduced by an incalculable degree.
It was no exaggeration to say that this Senior Brother Mu Ran was absolutely the most likely of all the true disciples to reach Soul Transformation. However, to go beyond that realm, his tree body would become a colossal shackle.
But even ensuring the sect had a single Soul Transformation elder would guarantee Shennong Valley's continuation. In that sense, Mu Ran was the sect's bottom line.
And with that bottom line secured, the other true disciples could devote themselves wholly to striving for higher realms.
"A new junior brother has arrived, everyone come out to meet him!" Mu Ran called toward the closed lotus blossoms in the Nourishing Lotus Pool.
At his words, the lotuses opened one after another. Figures emerged, among them the familiar Ji Xinglan and the somewhat-acquainted Miao Lu. The rest, however, were complete strangers.
"Junior Brother, how did you come out so early?" Ji Xinglan was visibly stunned to see Gu Mo.
As a true disciple, Ji Xinglan naturally knew the process. Upon becoming a true disciple, one was entitled to cultivate the Shennong Herbal Sutra, and its inheritance was always completed within the secret realm.
Ji Xinglan had expected Gu Mo would need at least a few months to comprehend it, which was why he himself had come to the Lotus Pool to cultivate, planning to seek out Gu Mo only when enough time had passed.
But it had only been a few days, and Gu Mo had already emerged.
When Ji Xinglan had accepted the inheritance of the Shennong Herbal Sutra, it had taken him half a year just to reach basic comprehension—and that was still short of true entry.
"It was Patriarch who asked me to come out." Gu Mo smiled. He knew this Senior Brother Ji Xinglan had not yet entered the scripture himself, so he refrained from striking a blow to his confidence.
"Oh."
Hearing it was arranged by the Patriarch, Ji Xinglan did not question further. The Patriarch's realm was beyond their grasp; every action he took carried meaning.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo, let me introduce you to the others." With everyone gathered, Ji Xinglan promptly began his introductions.
Though the introductions were brief, from those few words Gu Mo could sense the sheer strength of these people.
One in particular stood out—a little girl whose head only reached his thigh. While most of the other true disciples bore Golden Core auras, this child radiated the pressure of a Nascent Soul True Lord.
Yet she was not truly a Nascent Soul cultivator. Long ago, she had attempted her breakthrough, but due to insufficient preparation, the heavenly tribulation destroyed her body. Her freshly-condensed Nascent Soul, however, escaped.
Whether this was due to poor preparation or hidden foresight, Gu Mo could not say. But from what he observed, the latter seemed far more likely.
This senior sister had clearly found her own path: abandoning her flesh to directly cultivate her Nascent Soul. Of course, the risks were immense. Yet with a unique spirit plant like the Nourishing Lotus sustaining her, she had managed to refine her Nascent Soul further.
Originally palm-sized, her Nascent Soul had now grown into the size of a child. If one compared pure Nascent Soul strength, she could absolutely crush the vast majority of Nascent Soul True Lords.
Her method of combat was brutally direct—she would dive straight into the dantian of a Nascent Soul True Lord and engage in soul-to-soul combat with their Nascent Soul. Though entering another's body was a highly disadvantageous battleground, by relying on the sheer power of her own Nascent Soul, she truly had the ability to slay ordinary Nascent Soul True Lords.
Among the true disciples, some blazed unusual trails like her and Mu Ran. Others followed relatively conventional routes: one specialized in battle-oriented spirit plant cultivation, another in medicinal herbs, another in healing.
As for who was the strongest true disciple in Shennong Valley, there was no final word. But the two commonly acknowledged as the top were Mu Ran, the tree-being, and Yu Wanyu, the Nascent Soul spirit body.
Miao Lu, despite her lack of combat power, was ranked third. Any time a true disciple suffered injury from a cultivation mishap, they came to her. Though her fighting ability was weak, her importance was undeniable.
After exchanging greetings with Gu Mo, the senior brothers and sisters soon returned to their lotus blossoms to continue cultivating. For true disciples, raising their strength was the first priority.
To become strong, every moment had to be used to the utmost.
Seeing this, Gu Mo did not disturb them further and quietly departed from the secret realm.
Influenced by his fellow true disciples, Gu Mo too felt a growing urgency to improve himself. He could not help but sigh—indeed, the environment truly shaped people.
The others relied on cultivation to raise their strength; Gu Mo, however, relied on farming.
Returning to his cave-heaven space, Gu Mo buried the top-grade spirit stone cushion. With it, the carrying capacity of his spirit fields would rise a full tier, which meant he could expand the number of fourth-rank sunflowers he planted.
Once he had enough fourth-rank top-grade sunflowers, he could attempt to cultivate a fifth-rank sunflower. Then, by concentrating his cave-heaven's spiritual veins, combining the cushion with other heavenly materials, he would be able to create a fifth-rank spiritual energy environment.
From that environment, the fifth-rank sunflower would produce a portion of fifth-rank Sun Essence, which could help him ascend to the Soul Transformation realm.
Of course, that was a plan for the future. His immediate goal was to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Still, having glimpsed a clear path toward Soul Transformation filled him with joy.
Speaking of cultivation, he needed to return the sword pills within his body to his incarnation. To do so, all he had to do was expel them; they would naturally fly back to his avatar.
But such an act was far too dangerous. Instead, Gu Mo summoned Xiaohua. With her mastery of the Wood Escape Art at the great completion stage, the delivery would be much safer.
"Mission guaranteed!"
Having received five portions of fourth-rank Sun Essence as her gift, Xiaohua was in ecstasy. Hugging the box containing eleven sword pills, she immediately slipped out of Shennong Valley.
At the Grand Yan Sword Sect.
The moment Xiaohua emerged from a tree, carrying the box, she saw Gu Mo's incarnation already waiting for her. She was not surprised; every time she delivered something, this mysterious friend of Xiao Mo's always seemed to know in advance.
"Remember to give me a good review."
After handing over the goods, Xiaohua offered a reminder before disappearing once more. With those five delicious treasures in hand, she was eager to return and enjoy them.
Watching her vanish, Gu Mo's incarnation only shook his head before opening the box. Instantly, the eleven sword pills flew out and fused back into his body.
In that instant, his cultivation returned to the Golden Core realm.
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