Bai Yutong called out respectfully toward the great hall: “Outer Sect Disciple Bai Yutong pays respects to Elder Wu.”
A deep, heavy voice echoed from within: “Enter.”
Bai Yutong whispered to Lu Qinghe: “Inside is Martial Uncle Wu, third layer of Foundation Establishment. Mind your manners.”
Lu Qinghe thanked her sincerely: “Many thanks for the reminder, Senior Sister.”
Since entering the cultivation world, this was the first time Lu Qinghe had encountered someone with such a mild temperament.
Before this-whether the Outer Sect Disciples who had come recruiting in Stone Village, or Zhou Tong and his ilk-they all carried themselves high above, never sparing a proper glance at lower cultivators.
He, with his Five Spiritual Roots, had been the most despised of all.
Bai Yutong smiled faintly: “Junior Brother is too polite. When you become an Outer Sect Disciple, I receive a reward from the sect for my role as the duty disciple at the Affairs Hall. Quite a few benefits, actually.”
The two walked inside. A red-robed elder sat upright at the center of the hall, and the weight of his aura pressed down on Lu Qinghe until he could barely breathe.
A Foundation Establishment True Person. Lu Qinghe had seen one before, when he first entered the menial courtyard. That had been during the sect’s once-a-decade recruitment, with a Foundation Establishment Elder overseeing the proceedings.
But back then, the True Person hadn’t released any pressure-or perhaps Lu Qinghe, with no cultivation of his own, simply couldn’t sense it.
Now he felt the terror of it. Vast Magic Power, deep and boundless as the sea.
The red-robed elder glanced at Lu Qinghe with mild surprise. He wasn’t interested in the boy-merely puzzled as to why Bai Yutong had brought a Menial Disciple here.
“Paying respects to Martial Uncle!”
The red-robed elder spoke: “Martial Niece Bai, what brings you to the Outer Sect Affairs Hall? Don’t tell me you’ve broken through to late-stage Qi Condensation and are ready for the inner sect?”
Bai Yutong replied: “Reporting to Martial Uncle, this disciple is still far from late-stage Qi Condensation. Without three to five more years, a breakthrough won’t come easily.
“This disciple was assigned to oversee Menial Disciple Peak. A Menial Disciple there has cultivated to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation and qualifies to become an Outer Sect Disciple. I’ve brought him here to request Martial Uncle register him.”
The red-robed elder turned his gaze fully upon Lu Qinghe. A piercing chill swept over him, as though every inch of his body had been laid bare.
After a moment, the red-robed elder said: “Your bone age isn’t high, yet you managed to cultivate to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation on Menial Disciple Peak. Interesting.”
“However-your entire cultivation was raised by medicinal force. Your foundation is hollow and unstable. Difficult to achieve anything of note.”
With a single glance, he had seen that Lu Qinghe’s strength was built entirely on pills. He’d been curious at first-how could a Menial Disciple so young reach the fourth layer? This chapter is updated first at g.com.
But now his interest vanished entirely. He judged that Lu Qinghe had almost no hope of ever reaching late-stage Qi Condensation.
Pills were fine things, but they were also slow poison. Swift progress in the early stages, then an impassable wall once a certain realm was reached.
Lu Qinghe hadn’t expected a Foundation Establishment True Person to read him so thoroughly in a single glance. Deep wariness toward such beings took root in his heart.
He answered carefully: “Reporting to Elder, this disciple happened upon a Blood Ginseng. After consuming it, I broke through smoothly to the fourth layer.”
The red-robed elder nodded: “I can tell. A hundred-year Blood Ginseng-what a waste, squandered like that.”
“Hand over your token.”
Lu Qinghe respectfully produced his identity token. The red-robed elder flicked his hand, and the token flew across the hall into his palm.
He drew out a second token, formed several seals with his fingers, and Lu Qinghe’s identity token merged with the new one before his eyes.
The red-robed elder then produced a Storage Bag and tossed it to Lu Qinghe along with the fused token.
“You are now an Outer Sect Disciple of Taixuan Sect. Inside the Storage Bag are your benefits: one bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills and five Spirit Stones.
“Henceforth, you may collect one bottle of Hundred Herbs Pills and one Spirit Stone each month. As for this identity token-it is no ordinary thing. It is a Low Grade Magical Artifact.”
“Cultivate well. Do not disgrace the name of Taixuan Sect.”
Lu Qinghe hadn’t expected the token to be a Magical Artifact.
He bowed deeply: “Thank you, Elder.”
“Now get out. Find yourself a spot in the outer sect and carve out a cave dwelling. Unless your cultivation reaches late-stage Qi Condensation, don’t come bothering this old man again.”
Lu Qinghe and Bai Yutong were unceremoniously driven from the hall.
Bai Yutong gave Lu Qinghe a helpless look: “Elder Wu has always been like that-fiery temper. But he’s a High Grade alchemist. His status in the sect is extraordinary.”
Lu Qinghe hadn’t expected the elder to be an alchemist-and a High Grade one at that, capable of refining High Grade pills.
Elder Wu’s manner had been poor, but he hadn’t made things difficult over the registration. For Lu Qinghe, that was more than good enough.
Bai Yutong prepared to take her leave: “The details of outer sect life are explained in the materials inside Junior Brother’s Storage Bag, so I won’t waste words. If you ever develop an interest in the Dao of talismans and formations, come find me at Talisman Formation Peak.”
She stepped onto her flying sword and departed.
Lu Qinghe watched her go with envy. He was already at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation-technically capable of riding an object through the air.
But he hadn’t yet learned the method. More importantly, the flying sword in his possession was a Middle Grade Magical Artifact.
Bringing it out for sword flight would only invite unwanted attention.
He could only walk.
Along the way, Lu Qinghe opened the Storage Bag. Inside, as expected, lay a set of white robes marking him as an Outer Sect Disciple.
They weren’t Magical Artifacts, but they were woven from resilient spirit silk-warm in winter, cool in summer, resistant to water and fire.
There was also a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills, familiar as an old companion by now, and five Spirit Stones, clear as crystal.
None of these held his attention. What drew his eye were the two items beside them: one was the Outer Sect Rules, and the other-the one that truly mattered-
The complete Cloud Clearing Qi Refinement Art.
This was what Lu Qinghe needed. The Cloud Clearing Qi Refinement Art was a High Grade Yellow-tier Qi Condensation cultivation method-more precious even than techniques and divine abilities of the same rank.
Compared to Low and Middle Grade methods, it offered not only faster cultivation speed but also greater power.
Most critically, it increased one’s chances of Foundation Establishment by a full twenty percent. This was why countless cultivators fought tooth and nail for superior methods and scrambled to join major sects.
It also made Lu Qinghe understand, at last, why Menial Disciples struggled so desperately to reach the outer sect.
The difference in treatment alone was heaven and earth.
His thoughts drifted to two people. One was Shi Rou, who had left Stone Village alongside him-Three Spiritual Roots, placed directly into the outer sect. He wondered what realm she had reached by now.
The other was Sun Hao. A genius with Two Spiritual Roots. His cultivation must have soared, reaching heights Lu Qinghe could scarcely imagine.
The further one walked the path of cultivation, the more clearly one understood how terrifying the gap between Spiritual Roots truly was.
Lu Qinghe had heard that geniuses with Two Spiritual Roots faced no bottlenecks before Foundation Establishment-unlike him, who had to grind through a wall at every minor realm.
More terrifying still were those with a Single Spiritual Root. No bottlenecks before Golden Core. Even when attempting the breakthrough to Nascent Soul, they held fifty percent better odds than anyone else. Truly heaven-defying.