Xiao Yue smiled and raised an eyebrow. “It seems you aren’t planning to give up. Good thing I brought your items over.”
“Things?” Su Twelve tilted his head up, momentarily stunned.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xiao Yue waved her hand, and several items appeared in her grasp. They consisted of a set of cyan clothes, two books, and an iron token.
“This is your identity token. Your name is on it, and it’s used within the sect to verify a disciple’s identity.”
“This is your disciple uniform. It’s made from Cloud Dream Silkworm silk and will automatically adjust to fit your body type. Amazing, right?!”
“And these two books are the sect manual and the entry-level cultivation method—the Basic Breathing Art!”
Xiao Yue introduced each item with a smile before handing them to Su Twelve.
After thinking for a moment, she added, “Also, all disciples who join the sect can go to the Pill Pavilion every year to collect three bottles of Essence-Nourishing Pills.”
“Of course, if your cultivation reaches the sixth level of Qi Condensation, not only can you go to the Scripture Pavilion to select a formal cultivation method, but you can also collect an additional ten Spirit Stones and three bottles of Qi Gathering Pills.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister!” Su Twelve accepted the items. His gaze swept over the Basic Breathing Art manual, and an intense longing flashed through his eyes. He hurriedly cupped his hands in salute and thanked Xiao Yue.
To him, everything else was unimportant. This manual that taught one how to cultivate was the treasure he had been dreaming of.
“All right, seeing how impatient you look, I won’t disturb you. Cultivate well. Han Yu has already reached the peak of the first level of Qi Condensation, so you should work hard too.” Xiao Yue gazed at Su Twelve with a smile, seeing the eagerness in his eyes.
That said, she did not truly think Su Twelve could compare to Han Yu, who possessed top grade dual spirit roots. Still, words of encouragement had to be said.
With that, she smiled, shook her head, and hurriedly left.
Su Twelve saw Xiao Yue off, firmly memorized her instructions, and returned to his room. He impatiently picked up the Basic Breathing Art and began to read it carefully.
The manual not only recorded the cultivation methods for the first six levels of Qi Condensation, but also some basic cultivation knowledge and two minor spells: the Fire Control Art and the Wind Summoning Art.
Su Twelve did not pay much attention to this information. But his memory was good, and after a single skim, he had roughly memorized it.
The manual detailed the techniques for drawing Spiritual Qi into the body and circulating it through the Meridians at each level of cultivation.
In this regard, Su Twelve actually had some talent. After a single read, he basically understood the meaning.
To be safe, he read the book carefully twice more. Only then did he sit cross-legged and anxiously try to cultivate.
After having consumed large amounts of Essence-Nourishing Pills, he could already clearly sense the faint, elusive Spiritual Qi in the air around him.
But when he actually tried to draw it into his body, he discovered it was truly incomparably difficult. Those strands of Spiritual Qi were like unbridled wild horses, extremely hard to tame.
For several consecutive days, Su Twelve cultivated day and night. At first, he was somewhat worried, afraid the black-clothed man might come looking for him at any time.
But on second thought, he realized the black-clothed man might not guess that he actually possessed spirit roots and had even joined the Cloudsong Sect.
With that thought, he temporarily set his mind at ease.
Despite his young age, he displayed tremendous patience in his cultivation.
But it was not until the fifth day that he successfully drew his first strand of Spiritual Qi into his body.
Feeling the new strand of Spiritual Qi in his body, Su Twelve brightened and quickly focused his mind on it.
He strained to control the Qi and circulate it through his body according to the method. After one complete cycle, it condensed into a grain-sized bead of True Essence and flowed into the qi sea in his dantian.
The next second, his body trembled as an extremely comfortable sensation quickly spread throughout his entire being.
Exhaling a breath of white air, Su Twelve’s face filled with joy. He excitedly clenched his small fists.
“Great! From today on, I can also be considered a Qi Condensation Cultivator!”
“This bit of True Essence might not be able to do anything yet, but it’s a good start! Continue!”
Taking a deep breath, Su Twelve continued to draw qi into his body and refine the Spiritual Qi.
But after cultivating for ten days straight, he had only refined a few more strands of Spiritual Qi, and his body had gained only a few barely visible traces of True Essence.
“This won’t do. At this rate, truly reaching the first level of Qi Condensation is hopelessly far off!”
“If I can’t raise my cultivation as soon as possible, forget about finding that black-clothed man for revenge—I’m afraid I won’t even be able to complete the Newcomer Trial three years from now.”
“It seems I’ll have to try the Qi Gathering Pill. But this pill can only be collected once a disciple’s cultivation reaches the sixth level of Qi Condensation. There must be a reason for that.”
Su Twelve sat cross-legged on his bed. After muttering to himself for a few moments, he took out a Qi Gathering Pill from his robes.
Gazing at the Qi Gathering Pill in his hand, his expression froze slightly.
“According to the manual, the grades of pills for cultivators are divided into four types: Low Grade, Middle Grade, High Grade, and Top Grade. Top Grade pills, because they contain no impurities, appear completely crystalline and translucent, like flawless white jade.”
“Because these pills contain no pill poison, cultivators can consume them without limit, making them incomparably precious. Could it be that the pills refined by that mysterious pill furnace are all Top Grade pills?”
Thinking of this, Su Twelve’s emotions surged with excitement.
Other people had to be extremely careful when taking pills, periodically finding ways to purge the pill poison from their bodies. But with the help of the mysterious pill furnace, he didn’t need to worry about such things at all with the pills he refined.
Forcefully suppressing his excitement, Su Twelve’s gaze returned to the Qi Gathering Pill in his hand.
To him, the most important thing right now was still raising his cultivation as quickly as possible.
After hesitating for a moment, he resolutely swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill.
Once the pill entered his body, it immediately transformed into a massive surge of Spiritual Qi that flooded his entire being. The next second, Su Twelve’s face turned bright red. His veins bulged, and he was struck by unbearable pain.
Although he had mentally prepared himself, only when truly facing it did he understand just how agonizing this feeling was.
Although the Spiritual Qi contained in the Qi Gathering Pill was not as violent as the raw Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, its quantity was massive. It was absolutely not something a Qi Condensation Cultivator below the sixth level could withstand.
At this moment, he simply could not cultivate normally. The pain was so intense he was on the verge of fainting. The terrifying Spiritual Qi nearly burst all his Meridians!
Teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, the thought of the blood feud he carried forced Su Twelve to clench his teeth. Barely mustering a sliver of consciousness, he desperately pushed the Basic Breathing Art, enduring the agony as he refined the Spiritual Qi rampaging within his body.