Stepping out of the Soul Hall, that faint, chilling aura instantly vanished from Ji An's spiritual sense.
He couldn't help but glance back, his eyes lingering once more on the plaque above the hall.
"Did you feel a little uncomfortable just now?"
Ye Changqing, noticing his movement, stopped and asked.
"There was this cold, yin-like presence."
"That's normal," Ye Changqing explained. "The strands of essence we drew from your body contained a wisp of soul force. Soul essence is yin in nature. One or two soul lamps wouldn't matter, but our sect has nearly a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators. So many lamps gathered in one hall form a special domain.
Since the human body is inherently yang, standing within that domain naturally makes one sense the opposing force."
After clarifying, he continued forward. The two soon returned to the Labor Hall, where Ye Changqing pulled out several sets of clothing.
"As a B-rank beneficiary, you're entitled to: two golden-silk cloud-pattern robes, two sets of daily wear, and three sets each of inner garments, hairpins, shoes, and socks.
These robes are woven from top-grade silkworm thread blended with tempered wind-forged copper into golden strands. They're embedded with twelve layers of restrictive inscriptions. Light, comfortable, offering solid defense, and best of all, they require no conscious control from the wearer.
Oh, by the way, what cultivation method have you decided on?"
He continued with a smile:
"I'll issue you the cultivation pills that best suit your chosen technique. Of course, you may opt for other types if you wish.
But you should know that different techniques cultivate different types of spiritual power. If you're practicing a fire-based method but take water-aligned pills, you're asking for misery. Not only will the process be painful, but the refined result will barely advance your progress."
Ji An clasped his hands respectfully.
"Following my master's guidance, I've chosen the Evergreen Aetherwood Art."
"An excellent choice!" Ye Changqing said warmly. "That method is like swallowing a second-tier top-grade longevity pill.
Hah… only when you're nearing the end of your life do you truly understand the value of a few extra decades."
Sighing, he took out two fist-sized jade bottles, each faintly glowing green.
"These are Azure Spirit Pills, the best match for the Evergreen Art.
As a B-ranked Foundation Establishment disciple, you'll receive twenty-four pills annually. If you want more, you'll need to purchase them with contribution points."
He then handed over a jade slip.
"This contains a full record of the benefits available to Foundation Establishment cultivators at each rank, as well as the obligations required. Fail to complete your duties for three consecutive years without a valid reason, and your status will be downgraded.
In the past, new Foundation Establishment disciples were given three years free of assigned duties to stabilize their realms and adapt. But in recent years, that rule changed. You'll only have one year of freedom. After that, you must report and select a sect mission."
Ji An pressed the jade slip to his forehead, quickly scanning its contents. He compared the B-rank benefits with the resources he'd just received, and nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Senior Brother. I still need to visit the Hall of Transmission to choose my cultivation technique. In a few days, I'll return to you about selecting a cave-dwelling."
"Safe travels, Junior Brother."
Leaving the hall, Ji An followed a path lined with tall green bamboo until he reached the entrance of the Transmission Hall, an ancient stone cavern carved into the mountainside.
As he advanced, he sensed three successive defensive barriers ripple over his body. Without his identity jade token, he never would have made it this far.
No surprise here, Ji An thought. Cultivation methods are the foundation of a sect's heritage. For both the sect and the individual, they are the very root of survival. Such heavy protection is only natural.
Above the cave entrance, the words "Hall of Transmission" were carved into the rock face, painted with cinnabar so dark it looked like fresh blood.
He stepped onto the mossy stone steps and entered the hall.
Inside, a thin old man with an immortal's bearing sat hunched over a desk. Piles of jade slips lay spread across its surface. A cup of spirit tea beside him released curling wisps of mist, filling the hall with a faint, refreshing fragrance.
The old man's aura was vast and unfathomable, like an endless sea, pressing down with an oppressive weight.
Sunlight poured in from above, scattering golden patches across the stone floor.
All around, the stone walls were carved into alcoves, each holding jade slips that shimmered with various colored glows. A faint light screen covered each alcove.
The areas were clearly divided and labeled Cultivation Methods, Spells, Beast Taming, Artifact Forging, and Alchemy, each section neatly marked.
Every alcove had a small tag beside it, written in tiny calligraphy, listing the details of the jade slips within.
Ji An gave a light cough, stepped forward, and bowed respectfully.
"Newly advanced Foundation Establishment disciple Ji An, here to select my cultivation method."
The old man didn't even lift his eyelids. His tone was flat, cold, and dismissive:
"I heard you. Go pick it yourself. When you've chosen, bring it to me. Place your identity token on the light screen of the alcove, and the restriction will open."
His voice carried the kind of chill that kept people at a distance.
Ji An wasn't offended. A place like the Transmission Hall was bound to be guarded by dragons and tigers. Without extraordinary skill, no one would be entrusted with its safekeeping.
The man's aura was deeper and heavier than even his master's; it felt like facing an ocean of fire. Ji An guessed he was very likely an Origin Ascension stage cultivator.
At first, Ji An quickly browsed the hall, getting a rough sense of the layout, before carefully making his selections.
As a B-ranked disciple, he was entitled not only to a cultivation method but also to two Foundation Establishment-level spells for free.
But his knowledge was far too limited, and he urgently needed to broaden his horizons. So he picked out every jade slip that might be useful.
When the old man finally saw the pile of dozens of jade slips laid out on the desk, he raised his head at last. The faintest hint of a smile tugged at his lips.
"Basic knowledge jade slips don't require contribution points. They're part of the benefits all sect disciples receive. But spell jade slips…" He shook his head slightly. "…those will cost contribution points."
Most new Foundation Establishment disciples were broke after spending enormous sums to obtain their Foundation Establishment Pills. Few ever dared to take so many spell jade slips at once.
The old man quickly scanned the selection, muttering under his breath:
"Cultivation method Evergreen Aetherwood Art. Foundation Establishment spells Spring Breeze and Gentle Rain Technique, Thick Earth Returning Chant, Verdant Wood Vitalization Art, Surging Wave Art, Mountain-Steadfast Formula, Exploding Fireball, Golden Light Technique…"
His brows furrowed.
"This is nonsense. A wood-element cultivation method, yet you've chosen a metal-element spell? Hand me your identity token. Let me see which idiot master took in such a fool of a disciple!"
His voice was edged with irritation. To him, only a late-Foundation cultivator might deliberately study opposing spells to grasp their essence from the reverse side. But for a mere beginner at the Foundation Establishment stage? Absurd.
A sudden flicker of his aura swept out, and Ji An felt as though he were plunged into a raging inferno. His skin prickled with the pain of being scorched.
Suppressing the thundering of his heart, Ji An thought to himself, Sometimes being too strict isn't a good thing either.
He handed over his identity token and explained in a steady voice:
"This disciple chose the Evergreen Art because I excel in cultivation and planting. As for selecting Golden Light Technique, it is because I have already gained some insight into metal-element spells."
To prove his words, Ji An circulated his spiritual power and performed the Sharp Gold Art. Golden brilliance flared, flowing lively and sharp around his fingertips.
The old man narrowed his eyes, watching the golden light coil with agile spirit at Ji An's fingertip. His expression softened, the anger fading.
"So that's how it is. Very well. But remember, once your spiritual power bears the imprint of the wood element, casting metal-element techniques will cost you far more energy."
He paused, then asked slowly:
"Have you ever studied the Golden Armor Technique?"
Ji An shook his head.
"Not yet."
Ji An replied that since the stone turtle rarely absorbed Qian, Dui, or Li spiritual qi, any progress he made in metal- or fire-element spells relied entirely on his own effort, and time simply didn't allow for much advancement.
"The Golden Light Technique holds tremendous potential," the old man said. "If you wish to achieve real mastery, you must also train extensively in the Golden Armor Technique. It will help you grasp the deeper mysteries of Golden Light. And don't neglect the Sharp Gold Art either."
Taking Ji An's identity token, the elder placed it on the spiritual tray and gave a slight nod.
"Mm. You enjoy the privileges of a B-rank disciple. Removing the two spells with the highest contribution point cost, you still need to pay 2,500 contribution points. That leaves you with over five thousand."
Ji An smiled wryly.
"My planting spells are solid. I've been helping Master manage the herb garden, and I've rented dozens of mu of spirit fields myself. That's how I managed to save up this bit of wealth."
He quickly copied the jade slips, bowed to the elder, and departed.
...
Leaving Lingxiao Mountain, Ji An mounted his Gray-Feathered Sand Goose and flew westward. Two days later, he finally reached the region of Chiyan Peak.
It was midday, the sun blazing overhead, when he saw smoke and clouds roiling in the distance.
After another half hour's flight, Ji An finally beheld the peak in full.
It was a bare, reddish-brown stone mountain shaped like a cone with its tip lopped off. From its summit billowed golden-red vapors, boiling and steaming into the sky.
The mountainside bore no trace of greenery, but at its base, verdant trees encircled the stone peak, and a dark green pool spread over some twenty or thirty mu.
As his beast flew closer, Ji An realized the mountain was in fact an ancient volcanic crater.
Even separated by the protective mountain array, he could feel the violent turbulence of the air, the surging and brutal essence that shook the very atmosphere.
When the sun dipped toward the west, the volcano ceased spewing its fiery mists, and the chaotic aura gradually softened.
Landing outside the array, Ji An found a quiet corner to meditate and rest.
The Gray-Feathered Sand Goose, exhausted from the journey, slumped in the grass, wheezing as though the very air burned its lungs.
The Spirit-Seeking Rat fared a little better but still lay listlessly nearby, eyes dull with fatigue.
As the sunset painted the sky in fiery crimson and violet hues, the once-barren land stirred with life. Birds cried out, and beasts emerged to roam; vitality seemed to bloom from the twilight.
Ji An withdrew the jade slip of the Evergreen Aetherwood Art and pressed it to his brow, carefully studying each line, turning the cultivation method over and over in his heart.
...
Dawn broke with mist draping the mountainside. Ji An sank his mind into his dantian, connecting once more with the stone turtle.
[Spiritual Qi: Kan 1653.2, Gen 505.4, Zhen 16.4, Xun 70.8, Kun 1422.5, Qian 1.7, Dui 0.1, Li 0.2]
Every attribute had grown this, even while staying outside the formation.
Opening his eyes, Ji An gazed at the mist-wreathed land, marveling at nature's strange ingenuity.
Beneath this furnace of molten fire and blazing metal pulsed veins of earth and water, nourishing wood-essence. Here, the five elements clashed yet balanced, harmonizing in coexistence.
This is the place.
For others, this node might be riddled with flaws. But to Ji An, it was a blessed land, superior to his old home at Verdant Cliff by severalfold.
Soon, the rising sun burned away the mist, and the volcano once more spewed golden-red fumes.
The scorching winds and fiery essence spread outward, turning the previously calm aura into a storm of wild stallions.
The Gray-Feathered Sand Goose whined in misery, clearly unable to endure much longer.
Even the Spirit-Seeking Rat squeaked pitifully, eyes brimming with tears.
Ji An chuckled softly. "Don't worry, you two will have good days ahead."
Stowing the rat away, he leapt onto the Sand Goose's back, let out a long howl, and soared away.
At the foot of the mountain, outside a cave-dwelling, Chen Xingzhou watched coldly as that silhouette vanished into the horizon.
"Stay sharp these next few days," he ordered. "If you see anyone else sneaking near the formation, inform me immediately."
Yesterday, he had already noticed someone circling the array on their beast. To find that same figure keeping watch all night outside the barrier could only mean they harbored some ulterior motive.
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