The Little Daoist Child clapped a hand over his mouth, utterly stunned by Huang Yulang’s grand gesture.
Even the old Daoist’s breathing grew ragged, but inwardly, he was ecstatic.
‘He had seen Huang Yulang’s firm resolve to walk the path of the Dao, but with such poor aptitude, the old Daoist would never have accepted him as a disciple.
Still, he’d felt a pang of pity and planned to give the boy a chance—hand him an insignificant Qi Refining technique.
Whatever achievements he managed after that would be up to his own fortune.’
‘But who would have thought the kid would be so generous?
He’d pulled out ten thousand taels before I could even say a word.
And then, while I was still reeling, he pulled out even more.
It was enough to blind an old man’s eyes.’
The old Daoist gulped, silently accepting the one hundred thousand taels in silver notes from Huang Yulang.
His old face flushed an embarrassed red, and a wide grin split his lips.
“Hahaha, my good disciple!
Your talent may be lacking, but the path of cultivation isn’t paved with talent alone.
Resources, companions, techniques, and a blessed land are all indispensable, but what’s even more crucial is destiny.
Since the heavens have allowed us, master and disciple, to meet here, this must be your destiny.
How could I, your master, go against the will of heaven?
From this day forward, you are my Registered Disciple, a thirty-sixth generation disciple of Qingcheng Mountain.”
Seeing his master agree to take on a disciple, the Little Daoist Child was naturally happy for Huang Yulang, though he couldn’t help but grumble to himself.
‘Master swore he’d never take a disciple when we came here,’ he thought.
‘Is this all because of the silver?’ Of course, with an extra hundred thousand taels of silver lying around, it would all be his once his master passed on.
The thought made the Little Daoist Child exceptionally excited.
“Disciple Huang Yulang pays his respects to Master.”
Huang Yulang was overjoyed.
‘I can finally cultivate!’ It didn’t matter whether he was a registered disciple or not; he had only wanted a Cultivation Technique in the first place.
Plunking down one hundred thousand taels of silver had actually made him a Registered Disciple—that was an unexpected bonus.
‘As for how the old Daoist had gone from “taking a disciple is impossible” to accepting a Registered Disciple in the blink of an eye…
well, Huang Yulang could only scoff at that.’
‘Immortals are just people, after all; they can’t escape worldly conventions.
There’s a reason wealth comes first in the list of resources, companions, techniques, and land.’
Only then did the old Daoist stuff the thick stack of silver notes into his robes, his grin so wide he couldn’t close his mouth.
He helped Huang Yulang to his feet.
“My good disciple, rise.” As Huang Yulang got to his feet, the Little Daoist Child hurried over, grabbing his arm with a mischievous grin.
“I say, Junior Brother, you’ve paid your respects to Master.
Surely you haven’t forgotten about your senior brother?”
“Junior Brother Huang Yulang pays his respects to Senior Brother.”
“Hahaha, good Junior Brother!
My family name is Li.
From now on, you can just call me Li.”
“Yes, Li.” The Daoist Child was delighted to hear Huang Yulang call him “senior brother” so readily.
He felt a strong urge to drag his new junior brother off to play.
Daoist Xuanmu just smiled, shook his head, and said,
“Your dedication to the path of cultivation is rare.
Originally, I planned to simply give you a random Cultivation Technique and be on my way.
But since I’ve accepted you as my disciple, the transmission of my teachings cannot be so casual.
My Qingcheng Mountain possesses the Nine Chapters of Qi Refining, suitable for disciples with various Spiritual Roots to perceive the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.
Today, I shall pass them on to you.”
Before Huang Yulang could say another word in his excitement, Daoist Xuanmu extended a finger and tapped him right between the eyebrows.
Huang Yulang let out a muffled grunt.
He felt a massive torrent of information forcibly surge into his mind.
The impact sent him staggering backward before he collapsed limply to the ground.
His head felt like it was about to split open, and he clutched it, screaming in agony.
However, the sensation faded as quickly as it had come.
A moment later, Huang Yulang recovered.
A ‘Qi Refining Art’ had appeared in his mind, crystal clear.
“Thank you for imparting the technique, Master.” Huang Yulang was ecstatic.
‘I finally have a Cultivation Technique!
I wish I could start cultivating in seclusion right now.’
The Daoist Child standing nearby also broke into a wide grin, genuinely happy for his new junior brother.
“Congratulations, Junior Brother.
As your senior brother, I hope you comprehend the Mystic Technique and achieve great success in your cultivation soon.” Huang Yulang nodded excitedly, but the old Daoist’s expression turned serious as he spoke,
“Yu Lang, I will say this again: these arts are not to be taught lightly, nor displayed carelessly.
All actions have consequences, and fortune and disaster are two sides of the same coin.
You must be careful.”
‘This old man…
er, Master…
is being completely serious, he’s definitely not joking with me.’ Huang Yulang’s own expression turned solemn as he nodded.
“Your lesson is well-received, Master.
This disciple will remember your teachings.” Daoist Xuanmu nodded in satisfaction.
“I will stay for three days to guide your practice.” Huang Yulang was taken aback and asked tentatively,
“Three days?
Master, are you leaving in three days?
Why don’t you take me with you?” The Daoist Child also looked at the old man with anticipation, but the old Daoist just shook his head.
“Your senior brother and I have important business to attend to.
Bringing you along would be a great inconvenience.
When you’ve achieved some small success in your cultivation, you may travel to Qingcheng Mountain, one hundred thousand li to the east, to find me.”
Huang Yulang was speechless.
‘Isn’t he just saying I’m a burden?
Fine, don’t take me.
What’s the big deal?’
The Little Daoist Child sighed helplessly.
‘Even though Junior Brother Huang Yulang has become Master’s Registered Disciple,’ he thought, ‘Master doesn’t truly intend to accept him as a student.’
‘Master’s end is near, so of course he must return to Qingcheng Mountain, like a falling leaf returning to its roots.
But this junior brother’s aptitude is so poor…
forget ten or even eight years, he probably won’t see any results in his entire lifetime.
It’s likely impossible he’ll ever make it to Qingcheng Mountain to see Master one last time.’
“Very well, I’ll remember.
I will definitely go to Qingcheng Mountain to pay my respects to you then, Master.” The old Daoist smiled, nodded, and then rose to his feet.
“Come.
I will take you to a quiet place and help you comprehend the esoteric arts.”
“Yes, Master!” Overjoyed, Huang Yulang eagerly scampered after the old Daoist.
They left the Huang Mansion and came to a lush, forested mountain more than ten li away.
They found a nice spot with a mountain and a stream.
His senior brother personally began to carve out a cave dwelling for him in the face of a stone cliff, while his master produced several Small Banners from out of nowhere and drove them into the ground around the area.
“These are Array Banners.
The Spiritual Qi in this place is far too thin, so I’ve laid out a small Spirit Gathering Array for you.
It will gather Spiritual Qi from all directions to help you perceive the existence of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.”
Huang Yulang looked at the unremarkable valley.
Where the Array Banners had been placed, a faint breeze began to stir.
It carried the nearby water vapor, which gradually condensed into thin wisps of mist.
Beyond that, Huang Yulang couldn’t discern anything else.
“Tsk, tsk.
What an incredible technique, Master.
Is this a so-called Array?” Daoist Xuanmu nodded.
“The so-called hundred arts of cultivation are all-encompassing: Arrays, Talismans, Elixirs, Artifact Refining, Puppets, Corpse Control, Ghost Hunting, Invoking Gods, and so on.
But the foundation of it all is your own cultivation base; the rest are merely auxiliary skills.
You don’t need to be in a rush to ask about them.
Once you achieve some small success in your cultivation and venture out into the world, you will encounter them one by one.”
“Yes, Master.” Huang Yulang nodded forcefully.
‘Without a sufficient cultivation base, everything else is just pointless talk.’
“Master, the cave dwelling is ready,” his senior brother said, walking over with a grin.
Huang Yulang looked and saw that a new opening, large enough for a single person to pass through, had indeed appeared in the rock face nearby.
He quickly expressed his thanks.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.” The Little Daoist Child grinned and waved a hand dismissively.
The master and his two disciples then entered the cave.
The cave dwelling wasn’t large, not even half the size of his room back at the mansion.
It was empty inside, furnished with nothing but a large stone bed.
“Come, I will explain the contents of the Nine Chapters of Qi Refining for you.”
Daoist Xuanmu sat cross-legged at the head of the bed, while Huang Yulang and his senior brother knelt at the foot.
The two of them listened together as their master expounded on the Dao.
The so-called Nine Chapters of Qi Refining involved selecting a corresponding Qi Refining Art to practice based on the Attribute of one’s Spiritual Root.
Each art was followed by several Small Magic spells, and Huang Yulang grew quite excited at the prospect of one day mastering them all.
Spiritual Roots were divided into grades: low, medium, high, supreme, and celestial.
The grade of a Spiritual Root was a separate matter from the number of roots a person possessed.
Someone with a single, celestial-grade root was generally known as a specific type of Spirit Body—a true child of the heavens.
Most Cultivators possessed two or more Spiritual Roots.
The one with the highest grade was called the Main Spiritual Root, and they would primarily focus on its corresponding Cultivation Technique.
Most Cultivators would decisively abandon their lower-quality Spiritual Roots.
After all, different Attributes couldn’t coexist within the same meridians.
It would be a waste of countless cultivation resources and time to open up new meridians for them—a laborious and unrewarding effort.
A minority of Cultivators chose to cultivate their other Spiritual Roots as a secondary focus.
The cultivation progress of such people was much slower, but if they succeeded, the Magical Power within their bodies and the number of techniques at their disposal would be far greater.
Naturally, their combat prowess would also be significantly enhanced.
But everything has its pros and cons, and it wasn’t for an outsider to judge.
It was only when Huang Yulang learned that not only did he possess the Five Elements Origin Spiritual Roots, but they had even partially mutated to produce a Wind Spiritual Root and an Ice Spiritual Root…
…that the problem became apparent.
The crucial point was that all seven were low-grade.
He didn’t have a single medium-grade Attribute among them.
The corners of Huang Yulang’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
‘I’m a Transmigrator, for crying out loud!
Fine, I don’t have a Celestial Spiritual Root, I can accept that.
But what the hell is this?
I have a ton of Spiritual Roots, but they’re all low-grade!
Not even one is medium-grade!
If I wanted to abandon some, I wouldn’t even know where to start.’
‘The heavens must be doing this on purpose.
They know I’m a Transmigrator and that I won’t just lie low, so they’re trying to limit my cultivation.’
‘This is just too cruel!’ At that moment, Huang Yulang felt nothing but pure malice from the heavens directed at him.
Huang Yulang cursed inwardly, praying desperately for his ‘golden finger’ to finally show up.
If he had to rely on his own miserable efforts, he feared he’d be lucky to reach the middle stage of Qi Refining in this entire lifetime.
Huang Yulang was deeply indignant.
It took many kind words of consolation from his master and senior brother to improve his mood.
He secretly swore that he would achieve something spectacular with his cultivation, just to show those malicious heavens what he was made of.
「Three days passed in a flash.」 His master was quite diligent, clearly explaining all the various problems he would likely face in his cultivation.
The next step—whether he could successfully draw Spiritual Qi into his body—was all up to his own fortune.
“Yu Lang, my boy, I believe in you.
Cultivate well.
If you truly can’t draw Spiritual Qi into your body right away, don’t be discouraged.”
“This is a Martial Arts Manual I practiced in my youth.
Though worldly Martial Arts are nothing in the eyes of us Cultivators, the practice of Refining Essence and Qi can help open one’s meridians.
It should be of some help to you in understanding cultivation.”
“Also, I have a prescription for a Washing Marrow and Veins elixir.
It can help improve your physique.”
“Junior Brother, I don’t have much to give you,” his senior brother said.
“This is a Spirit Wood Sword Master crafted for me from Thousand-Year Spirit Wood.
It’s indestructible.
Once you have Magical Power, you can channel it into the sword, and its might will be comparable to a Divine Weapon.
I’m leaving it for you.
Cultivate hard.
I’ll definitely come and visit when I have time.”
Daoist Xuanmu then pulled his reluctant senior brother, and before Huang Yulang’s eyes, the two of them transformed into a streak of green light and vanished.
One Qi Primordial Skill.
This was the Martial Arts Manual his master had left him.
It involved cultivating a breath of Essence Qi, circulating it throughout the body to naturally open the meridians, and then using it with corresponding martial stances to unleash various kinds of power.
‘Just how little faith did that old man have in my cultivation?
He deliberately left a worldly martial arts manual just to placate me.’
But then he thought of his seven low-grade Spiritual Roots, and a sense of powerlessness washed over him.
He took the blood-red Jade Pendant from his robes and said with a sigh,
“Oh, Jade Pendant, Jade Pendant…
are you my golden finger or not?
You brought this young master to this world of Cultivators.
You’re not just going to abandon me now, are you?”
But the Jade Pendant in his hand remained perfectly still.
Huang Yulang had already tried everything: burning it with fire, dripping blood on it to claim ownership…
all of it was completely useless.
“Sigh…
But I, Huang Yulang, will not give up.”