The next day, the sky had not yet brightened.
When Uncle Cang dragged Qin Mu out of bed, he was still in a daze.
Seeing him like this, Uncle Cang worried that he'd be punished by his superior for dozing off while on duty, so he simply brought over a basin of cold water.
After washing up with the cold water, Qin Mu did indeed become more alert.
As he came to his senses, he immediately recalled the prompt sound that had rung out in his mind just before dawn.
"Your Ruyi Jingu Bang has increased to level 87. You will receive Gold Element Spiritual Root +1 as feedback. You may choose the feedback recipient."
Level 87 already!
Even as he walked along the road, Qin Mu's mind kept dwelling on this level.
"That person's Fortune really must be great — every time the Ruyi Jingu Bang devours more than twenty pieces of Cold Iron Ore, a piece of Cold Iron Essence Ore appears!"
"At the rate from last night, this person could probably raise the Ruyi Jingu Bang to level 100 sometime today, or at the latest, tonight!"
For a weapon with unlimited levels like the Ruyi Jingu Bang, level 100 really wasn't much.
But the prompt from the Qiankun Realm had made one thing clear.
Only when an innate supreme treasure reached level 100 could he obtain a second supreme treasure.
Just the thought that he would soon obtain his second innate supreme treasure was enough to make Qin Mu's heart grow excited.
"I hope the second innate supreme treasure I'm about to unlock is one that's relatively easy to level up!"
"That way, the third one can also be unlocked quickly."
"If one day all ninety-nine supreme treasures in the Qiankun Realm are unlocked, with someone leveling them up at the same time, then even if I just lie at home all day, I'd still be unrivaled under heaven."
At the thought of this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
But no sooner had the laughter started than a cold voice suddenly sounded right beside his ear.
"What joyous occasion has befallen Scribe Qin, that he's laughing out loud while walking down the road?"
Hearing the voice, Qin Mu subconsciously looked up.
Only then did he realize that, without noticing, he had already arrived in front of the Demon Suppression Division yamen.
Clad in Black Armor with a Black Robe draped over it, her expression cold, Qi Shayu stood on the steps with her arms crossed.
Seeing this, Qin Mu quickly wiped the smile off his face and bowed with a cupped fist.
"This one pays respects to the Banner Lord."
Qi Shayu nodded expressionlessly, not pressing further, and said directly, "Yesterday I was too busy with official matters, so I didn't take you to the Dharma Transmission Pavilion to receive a Cultivation Method, nor did I arrange any duties for you."
"For that reason, I've come to wait for you here early this morning."
Qin Mu had wondered yesterday why, as a clerk of the Demon Suppression Division, he had no duties to attend to and instead sat idle all day.
Now, hearing Qi Shayu explain it, he finally understood.
He immediately spoke up to offer his thanks.
As Qi Shayu turned and walked into the yamen, she said, "Although a clerk holds a civil post, as a member of the Demon Suppression Division, you cannot be without any Cultivation Level at all."
"For that reason, every colleague who joins the Demon Suppression Division may choose one Cultivation Method from the Dharma Transmission Pavilion."
"But after that, if you wish to obtain another Cultivation Method or Spell Technique, you'll need to render meritorious service."
"For those in military posts, aside from slaying demons and eliminating evil, one can also choose to complete tasks within the yamen to render meritorious service."
"But for someone in a civil post like yourself, aside from diligently working through the years, you may also selectively choose to complete certain tasks."
As she spoke, she passed by building after building, arriving before a tall wooden building.
As the two of them drew close to this building, Qin Mu subconsciously looked up.
He saw that beneath the eaves of this wooden building hung a Plaque with a red background, on which were written the three large characters "Dharma Transmission Hall," while on either side, the red-lacquered pillars each bore a vertical long plaque.
The one on the left read "The Dao Knows No Good or Evil," and the one on the right read "Dharma Has No Superior or Inferior."
Qi Shayu stood off to the side with her arms crossed, saying coldly, "I won't go in. You can go choose your Cultivation Method yourself."
Having said that, she thought for a moment, then still offered a reminder.
"Remember, don't rush. It's best to look through all the Cultivation Methods before making your choice."
"Official duties can be arranged at any time."
"But if you fail to choose a Cultivation Method suited to you, you'll regret it for a long time to come."
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu quickly cupped his fist and bowed in thanks.
Qi Shayu nodded, then turned and left.
After she left, Qin Mu looked up once more at the building.
"So this is the Dharma Transmission Pavilion?"
As a surge of anticipation welled up in his heart, he stepped forward and walked inside.
The first floor of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion was spacious, laid out like a large bookstore.
To the left of the entrance was a wooden counter, and beyond it stood three rows of bookshelves, towering like walls against the wall, holding countless books.
In the open space at the very center were arranged more than twenty Long Desks, upon which were placed writing tools such as brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
At that moment, five men and one woman — six people in total — were bent over the desks, transcribing something.
Behind the counter near the entrance sat an old man, his entire body wrapped in a large Black Robe, only his face exposed.
The old man's eyes were deeply sunken, and his thin and gaunt cheeks looked like a Skull wrapped in a layer of sallow skin; though his Facial Appearance remained calmly composed, it revealed a thick sense of dread.
Although he gave off no Aura whatsoever, the mere sight of that face stirred a deep unease within Qin Mu.
With just one glance, he knew this old man was absolutely no pushover!
At that moment, the old man slowly opened his eyes, and the coldness within them felt almost tangible.
Under his gaze, Qin Mu felt a slight chill in his heart.
His Heartbeat also began pounding violently at that moment.
Struggling to control his emotions, he bowed respectfully and said, "This one pays respects to the senior."
The old man glanced at him and said calmly, "Bring your Jade Pendant here for this old man to look at."
Qin Mu hurriedly removed the Jade Pendant from his waist and offered it to the old man with both hands.
After casually glancing it over, the old man pulled a black-covered Booklet from beneath the counter and tossed it lightly onto the counter.
"Since you're a newcomer to the Demon Suppression Division, there's no need for verification. You may freely choose one Main Cultivation Method from this Booklet."
"Based on the number marked in the Booklet, go find the original on the bookshelf yourself, then transcribe a copy to take with you."
"Thank you, senior."
After respectfully offering his thanks, Qin Mu put away the Jade Pendant, picked up the Booklet, walked over to a Long Desk, sat down, and carefully began flipping through it.
Every page of this Booklet recorded one Cultivation Method, described in great detail.
The Cultivation Method recorded on the first page was one called the "Green Wood Longevity Record."
According to the introduction, this Cultivation Method emphasized nourishing the body, requiring one to cultivate in a place lush with grass and trees, drawing on the Grass and Wood Essence to nourish oneself in return.
Its advantage was that it made no demands on one's Spiritual Root, and the Spiritual Energy cultivated through it was gentler, with no risk of going berserk, while the Spiritual Energy of grass and trees could even cleanse one's marrow.
Most importantly, after cultivating this method, every breakthrough of a minor Realm would grant five more years of Lifespan compared to fellow Cultivators.
Its drawback was that cultivating it relied heavily on resources — a single day of cultivation would consume the greenery of an entire acre of land.
After cultivation, all the greenery on that acre of land would wither and die.
But as long as resources were sufficient, the cultivation speed would surpass that of over half of all Cultivation Methods.
Reading this, Qin Mu secretly clicked his tongue — consuming an acre of greenery for every single day of cultivation. If one were to cultivate for ten or even eight years, the amount of greenery consumed would surely be an astronomical figure!
Thinking this, he lowered his head to look at the Cultivation Method recorded on the second page.
It was a Cultivation Method called the "Blood Spirit Art."
This method required consuming the Essence Blood of animals to cultivate; its advantage was rapid cultivation speed, while its drawback was that one could easily be influenced by the residual ferocity within the animal's Bloodline.
Qin Mu naturally had no wish to take such a risk, so after learning a little about it, he flipped the page to look further on.
Before he knew it, half an hour had slipped by in the blink of an eye, and he had already flipped to page sixty-seven.
This page recorded a Cultivation Method called the "Five Qi Towards Origin Art."
He had already read through this Cultivation Method carefully twice, and was now reading it a third time.
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