The deadline for Xu Mu to return the second first-rank Formation Legacy he borrowed from the school library had arrived. Xu Mu returned to his residence, tidied up, and took the high-speed train to school.
Now that I have plenty of Spirit Stones and resources, I can consider moving to a better place.
Normally, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone can be exchanged for 100,000. However, if you want to exchange Spirit Stones for money, there are people willing to trade anytime, anywhere. But if you want to exchange money for Spirit Stones, you need certain channels and connections.
Just like Ling Xiuqi before; I wonder if cultivation had rotted his brain. He clearly approached the two of them wanting to buy their Spirit Stones, yet he had an overbearing attitude, as if they were the ones getting a huge bargain.
If you want to exchange cultivation-related items for money, the Immortal Alliance Network is more suitable than the Cave Abode World's trading platform. Xu Mu took out his phone, opened the Immortal Alliance Network, clicked on the posting section, and quickly browsed through various recent posts.
"I am a Beast Tamer, buying all kinds of powerful Spirit Beasts at high prices." "Are there any kind seniors who can share their experience and methods for planting Purple Bamboo Rice?" "First rank mid-grade Artifact Refiner, taking long-term orders." "Sharing insights on various instances in the Cave Abode World."
Whenever Xu Mu saw something useful, he would bookmark it and read while eating. After reading for ten minutes, Xu Mu's eyes suddenly lit up as he clicked on a post.
"Buying fire-attribute Foundation Establishment cultivation method at a high price, price negotiable."
The poster's account had two tags: 'Guchuan Academy Student' and 'Alchemist'. On the Immortal Alliance Network, only verified accounts can post. This way, if any problems arise, they can be quickly traced.
Guchuan Academy is the best Immortal Dao Academy in the Cloud Continent, a place dreamed of by all students of the Immortal Alliance Middle School in the Cloud Continent. Very few people manage to be admitted every year. Either their Grand Exam scores are excellent, or they have a High-Grade Spiritual Root detected at age sixteen like Kou Ying, allowing them to enter without taking the exam.
Xu Mu directly messaged the poster privately to ask if they still needed it. Perhaps the other party was in the Cave Abode World or busy with something else, as they didn't reply.
Upon arriving at school, Xu Mu first went to the library to return the Formation Legacy; this time, he didn't run into Kou Ying. Xu Mu still had one last chance to borrow a first-rank legacy. He wasn't sure which profession he wanted to unlock yet, so he temporarily saved this last opportunity.
Then Xu Mu returned to the classroom and found that Cheng Hongbo was actually there.
"Why are you in the classroom?" Xu Mu asked curiously.
Previously, he had said his parents were prepared to go all out, taking out all their savings to fully support his cultivation. Now he was sitting in the classroom instead of cultivating in his Cave Abode, and he wasn't attending classes either, which left Xu Mu very confused.
Cheng Hongbo's eyes were vacant and his expression dazed, as if he hadn't fully woken up. Upon seeing Xu Mu, he forced a strained, awkward smile.
"Brother Mu, I want to give up."
Obviously, he was talking about giving up on continuing his hard cultivation.
"Why?" Xu Mu was puzzled. Could his Cave Abode have been overrun by demons?
Cheng Hongbo replied, "Cultivating with a Low-Grade Spiritual Root is too difficult. I bought 40 Qi Gathering Pills and cultivated for two months, but I see absolutely no hope of a breakthrough. If I continue, I don't know how many more Qi Gathering Pills I'll need or how long it will take to breakthrough. Even if I breakthrough within a few months, I'll only be at the Qi Refining Third Layer. To break through from the Qi Refining Third Layer to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, the resources required will only increase, and it will be even harder. I can't gamble all my parents' savings on something so uncertain."
Cheng Hongbo spread his hands, his face filled with bitterness and helplessness.
In the Qi Refinement stage, breaking through from Qi Refining First Layer to the second or third layer is relatively easy. But from the Qi Refining Third Layer to the fourth, which is the breakthrough from early stage Qi Refining to middle stage Qi Refining, the difficulty increases significantly. It also requires more resources and time. Most students at the Immortal Alliance Middle School are still at the Qi Refining Third Layer by the time they graduate in their third year, lacking the qualifications to enter an Immortal Dao Academy.
At first, Cheng Hongbo was indeed full of fighting spirit, but as he put in effort day after day without seeing any gains, his patience and confidence were gradually worn away. Eventually, the thought of giving up emerged, and then it was continuously magnified until he completely gave up.
However, this could be considered cutting his losses in time. After all, he had used the Spirit Stones from the newbie gift pack to buy the Qi Gathering Pills; his parents' entire savings hadn't even been touched yet. In fact, most students with Low-Grade Spiritual Roots from ordinary families at the Immortal Alliance Middle School go through a similar mental journey. Those who can continue to work hard day after day without seeing hope are, after all, a minority.
Xu Mu asked, "So, what are your plans?"
Both of them had Low-Grade Spiritual Roots and had cultivated for about the same amount of time, yet Xu Mu had managed to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer. This was because since he started cultivating, Xu Mu ate Spirit Rice for all three meals every day and used more Qi Gathering Pills. Additionally, Xu Mu was cultivating a Foundation Establishment cultivation method.
With these three factors combined, he naturally broke through faster than Cheng Hongbo. Now that Xu Mu's Spiritual Root had improved to Medium Grade, the gap between the two would only continue to grow.
"I've been very lost these past few days and had nowhere else to go, so I came to school," Cheng Hongbo said, raising his hands to scratch his head.
Seeing Cheng Hongbo like this, Xu Mu didn't know whether he should persuade him to continue or just let him be. After all, everyone has their own life, and one cannot impose their own ideas on others. After a moment of silence, Xu Mu patted his shoulder.
"Think it over carefully for the next couple of days. If you really want to give up, I won't try to persuade you otherwise. But if you still want to give it a try, you can contact me."
Xu Mu had plenty of resources; helping out a good friend was no big deal. Of course, he wouldn't just give him Spirit Stones for free; he would lend them to him, at most not charging interest or even giving a discount on a few stones.
"No matter what decision I finally make, I'll let you know," Cheng Hongbo replied.
He knew Xu Mu wanted to help, but he felt that since Xu Mu's family background was even worse than his own, what could he possibly do to help? So he didn't think much of it, assuming Xu Mu was just advising him to think it through carefully.
After sitting in the classroom for a while, Xu Mu left. At this moment, Cheng Hongbo didn't need comfort; he needed to think quietly by himself about where his future lay.
Xu Mu left the school directly and boarded the high-speed train home. On the train, Xu Mu opened the Immortal Alliance Network and saw that the Guchuan Academy student who was buying a Foundation Establishment cultivation method had replied to his message.
"I'm interested. Could you provide a brief description of your cultivation technique?"
Xu Mu sent the characteristics of the Blazing Sun Departing Fire Art to the other party. The other person was online, so this time the reply came quickly.
"Where do you live? How about I come find you to discuss the details?"
Clearly, he was tempted; after all, the Blazing Sun Departing Fire Art was indeed a top-tier Foundation Establishment cultivation method. Furthermore, as an Alchemist, cultivating the Blazing Sun Departing Fire Art would allow him to use the Departing Fire for alchemy, achieving twice the result with half the effort. No Alchemist would refuse such a thing.
Xu Mu replied, "River City, Cloud Continent."
"I can arrive before noon. We'll talk when we meet."
"Alright."