Translator: 549690339
Mo Hua returned home and told his parents that he was about to breakthrough to the fourth level of Qi Refinement and needed to cultivate a cultivation technique.
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua were quite pleased. At Mo Huaâs age, becoming a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refinement made him stand out among his peers in Tongxian City.
As for the matter of the cultivation technique, Mo Shan told Mo Hua not to worry:
âYour mother and I have discussed this already. If we canât learn the techniques from Tongxian Gate, we can only seek some experienced Loose Cultivators for guidance. There is a senior Monster Hunter in Tongxian City with the surname Han, who has the Small Five Elements Spiritual Root and is of medium grade. In a few days, I will invite Senior Han for a drink and ask for his help. Senior Han is warm-hearted and he should be willing to help. We can give him some Spirit Stones as a token of gratitude. Itâs justâ¦â
Mo Shan paused and then added, âSenior Han is also from a Loose Cultivator background, and he often says that even though his familyâs cultivation technique is complete, itâs not considered a great heritage. Once you reach the later stages of cultivation, Iâm afraid there wonât be much of a prospectâ¦â
Mo Shan hoped to give Mo Hua the best, but this was all he could offer, and his face showed a tinge of disappointment.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, comforted him, âDad, I want to become a Formation Master in the future. As long as I have abundant Divine Sense, the specific cultivation technique isnât too important. Itâs enough to cultivate steadily. This technique has been passed down through generations by Senior Han, which means itâs reliable and wonât cause any problems. Thatâs better than anything else.â
Mo Shanâs expression finally eased somewhat, and Liu Ruhua also gently stroked Mo Huaâs head, saying warmly:
âLetâs eat. After dinner, rest early. You still have to learn about formations with Mr. Zhuang tomorrow.â
âMhm.â Mo Hua nodded obediently.
Bai Zisheng said he would help Mo Hua find some cultivation techniques, but Mo Hua didnât tell his parents because the larger the clan, the more strictly its heritage is guarded, and it wouldnât easily be shared with outsiders.
Moreover, one shouldnât accept rewards without merit, and he didnât want to owe Bai Zisheng any favors. After all, he wasnât able to repay such a debt at the moment.
Who knew that the next day, Bai Zisheng actually brought several Jade Slips and handed them to Mo Hua like a thief.
âI took these while Aunt Xue wasnât looking. Take a look and see if thereâs something suitable. Choose one if there is, and Iâll return the rest.â
Mo Huaâs mouth fell open, unsure what to say.
Bai Zisheng became smug, âHow about that, arenât you moved!â
Bai Zisheng looked somewhat arrogant, but he was warm and sincere toward others.
Mo Hua asked, âWonât you be punished for sneaking out the cultivation techniques?â
Bai Zisheng snorted, âIâm a direct descendant of the Bai Family. Itâs not just a few medium and low grade cultivation techniquesâeven if I took an ancestral innate treasure, they wouldnât dare do anything to me.â
Doubt filled Mo Huaâs eyes.
Bai Zisheng insisted, âWould I lie to you?â
âItâs probably just a year or two of confinement, no big deal.â
Bai Zixi spoke evenly, but her eyes held a faint smile.
Bai Zishengâs face turned a bit red.
After thinking for a moment, Mo Hua shook his head, âI canât take these techniques. I canât implicate you.â
Bai Zisheng said displeasedly, âIâm not afraid, what are you afraid of?â
Bai Zixi also spoke softly, âThese techniques may be valuable, but for the Bai Family, theyâre not too rare. Go ahead and cultivate them. It wonât be a problem. Otherwise, Aunt Xue wouldnât have let my brother take them out.â
âExactly!â Bai Zisheng nodded hurriedly, then suddenly exclaimed, âHow did Aunt Xue know I took out the techniques?â
Bai Zixi glanced at him lightly, âEverything you do is under Aunt Xueâs watch. Itâs only you who think others donât know.â
Bai Zishengâs shoulders drooped, somewhat dejected.
Mo Hua would be lying if he said he wasnât tempted. He also wanted to know what kind of cultivation techniques the noble clans practiced and explore any mysterious aspects.
After thinking it over, Mo Hua no longer demurred, silently noting the Bai siblingsâ kindness in his heart. He then took the Jade Slips from Bai Zishengâs hands and looked them over:
The Little Five Elements Jue, suitable for those with the medium grade Five Elements Spiritual Root. Itâs a simplified version of the higher-grade Big Five Elements Jue. A cultivator can refine their spiritual power through thirty-three cycles of circulation, and control spells of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. It is simple and versatileâ¦
âHidden Spirit Jueâ, suitable for medium-grade water-series spiritual roots cultivation, can refine spiritual power for twenty-eight Circulations, suitable for concealing-type spellsâ¦
âFiery Flaming Jueâ, suitable for medium-grade fire-series spiritual roots cultivation, can refine spiritual power for thirty-five Circulations, can amplify fire-type spellsâ power by ten to twenty percentâ¦
âWater Wood Spirit Skillsâ, suitable for medium-grade water and wood series spiritual roots cultivation, can refine spiritual power for thirty-six Circulations, cultivating this technique can cleanse the meridians, nurture the physique, and reduce bottlenecks in cultivation. This technique can nourish the body but is not suitable for aggressive body cultivation techniques. Required spiritual objects: Heaven Ginseng Wood, Infinite Water, Spiritual Liquidâ¦
Mo Hua looked dazzled, feeling that everything was good, but as he read on, his brows gradually furrowed.
âIs there nothing suitable?â Bai Zisheng saw Mo Hua frowning and couldnât help but ask.
Mo Hua pondered and asked, âWhat on earth is Heaven Ginseng Wood?â
âHeaven Ginseng Wood is the root wood of Heaven Ginseng. It can nourish the body and isnât considered too precious.â Bai Zisheng said, not entirely sure.
âHow many spirit stones would that cost?
While Heaven Ginseng buds are extremely precious, the Heaven Ginseng Wood is much cheaper, roughly a few hundred spirit stones each,â Bai Zisheng said uncertainly.
âAnd what about Infinite Water?â
Bai Zisheng didnât know either, so he scratched his head and looked at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixiâs beautiful eyes moved slightly, âInfinite Water comes from the Infinite Sea. It requires a Pill Master to refine for forty-nine days, purifying impurities from the seawater. Whatâs finally condensed is the Infinite Water. Infinite Water isnât precious, but itâs laborious. A small bottle of Infinite Water would require approximately one thousand spirit stones, and if itâs from a remote area, it might cost more. Moreover, such spiritual objects are obscure, and itâs not guaranteed one would be able to buy it even with spirit stones.â
Mo Hua took a deep, cool breath.
What kind of techniques were these? He simply couldnât afford to cultivate them!
Techniques similar to âWater Wood Spirit Skillsâ require only one piece of Heaven Ginseng Wood and one small bottle of Infinite Water, but the required spirit stones were far beyond Mo Huaâs expectations.
Not to mention the description of the techniques indicated that cultivation requires spiritual objects, breakthroughs require spiritual objects, plus the daily cultivation spirit stones, the sum is an astronomical figure, far beyond what Mo Hua could afford.
And thatâs just the consumption for the Qi Refinement Realm. Not to mention the Foundation Establishment Realm later on. Itâs common knowledge that the later stages of Tao Cultivation require more and more resources.
Even if Mo Hua really became a first-rate Formation Master who worked day and night drawing formations, he probably couldnât bear the cost of such cultivation.
Mo Hua looked at Bai Zisheng and then at Bai Zixi, unable to help but ask, âDoes every disciple in your clan cultivate such techniques?â
âOf course not,â Bai Zisheng shook his head, âthe direct disciples cultivate even higher-grade techniques requiring more precious heavenly and earthly treasures. Some spiritual objects are so rare they are priceless, and the clan keeps them as tightly-held secrets, never to be divulged.â
âBut these techniques are also not to be disclosed. Even if one wanted to share them, without the specialized spiritual objects needed for cultivation, others could not practice them anyway.â
âWhat Iâve given you are the best of the transferable techniques our clan allows. Even for indirect disciples or those born out of wedlock, unless they possess exceptional talent, they may not qualify to cultivate them.â
âDoes your clan provide the spiritual objects required for cultivating these techniques?â Mo Hua asked.
âIâm not sure about others, but Zixi and I get everything we need for cultivation from our mother,â Bai Zisheng said.
Bai Zixi glanced at Bai Zisheng, speaking indifferently:
âThe clan divides disciples into categories based on their legitimacy and talent. The more direct a disciple is and the better their talent, the higher their assessment and the more cultivation resources they are given. Direct disciples with great talent can take whatever they need for cultivationâ¦â
âOther disciples, if they wish to cultivate better techniques that exceed their assessed resource allocation, have to find their own ways. Usually, it involves the parents or other relatives spending merit points to exchange for spiritual objects from within the clan.â
âWhatever the case may be, the children of noble clans only need to focus on cultivation, not needing to worry about the spirit stones and spiritual objects required.â
âThatâs right,â Bai Zisheng nodded and said:
âOur Bai Family, as well as other noble clans, have been around for at least a thousand years, with rich foundations and ample access to heavenly and earthly treasures. Except for the truly extinct ones, as long as they can be obtained, none of the heavenly and earthly treasures are considered scarce.â
Mo Hua was shaken to his core, the resources of the noble clans were vast as oceans, their inheritances as numerous as the mist. Loose cultivators like himself could only glean the tiniest specks from the vast sea.
No wonder the Qi Refinement Realm is merely the beginning for cultivators, while for low-level loose cultivators, it is a lifetime.