On Extreme Yin Island, the reward for passing the Survival Trial was the status of a Formal Disciple.
The benefits of being favored by a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator and becoming a Named Disciple lay in the Black Fiend Art, Qi Nourishing Pills, and minor privileges in the Market.
If one wanted more, they would probably have to wait five years to gain recognition.
Walking along the dim mountain path, Mu Fan secretly cautioned himself, "I can't stand out too much. The culture of Extreme Yin Island is top-down, those who perform too excellently are the most suitable candidates for Human Puppets."
"Being too excellent turns you into a Puppet, while being too poor leads to elimination. I still need to work hard to maintain a middle or upper-middle profile. It's best to make myself special in some way."
The mountain path wound downward. After exiting the cave, he reached the foot of the mountain, where a green-clad beauty was waiting.
"Junior Brothers, please follow me."
This woman was responsible for reception. She led them to the disciple residential area at the foot of the mountain and explained the details.
Not all new disciples of Extreme Yin Island participated in the Survival Trial. Those with single-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Roots or Variant Spiritual Roots like Lightning or Wind were taken early and did not need to participate.
Other ordinary disciples had to go through the Survival Trial and would become Formal Disciples upon passing.
Being a Formal Disciple was only a change in status and came with no rewards for passing. Afterward, when choosing an island to live on, daily expenses like food, clothing, and housing all required Spirit Stones.
To earn Spirit Stones, one had to take on missions.
If one had skills like Alchemy or Artifact Refining, or a talent for business, they could also trade in the Market.
In short, cultivation was not easy. While managing basic needs, one also had to quickly improve their cultivation stage. In five years, there would be another Disciple Arena Trial. Those eliminated would either die or become materials for Strength Puppets.
Mu Fan stopped in front of a small courtyard.
As a Named Disciple of Jiang Yi, he had extra benefits. Instead of a single room, he had an independent courtyard.
There was also a basic protective Formation.
After saying goodbye to Zhou Long and the others, he used the token given by the green-clad woman to activate the Formation and walked inside.
First was a small open space for planting, followed by a three-room wooden house.
Mu Fan looked around briefly. In the backyard, there was a dusty Earth Fire Chamber. He noted it mentally before returning to the bedroom.
Three days on the deserted island without rest, combined with constant danger, had kept his nerves tight.
Now that he understood the basic rules for lower-level cultivators, he could finally relax.
He slept until the next morning.
{afk complete! Obtained 5 points of Qi, 1 point of Physical Body strength, and 1 point of Divine Sense strength!}
{First afk as a Formal Disciple, obtained a random Immortal Cultivation Skill!}
{Basic Artifact Refining technique!}
Mu Fan looked at the gains. His base Qi had increased by two extra points.
There were bonus rewards for the first afk after a status change. This was where Formal Disciples surpassed Prospective Disciples.
"Just two extra points of Qi per day means over three thousand in five years."
"Moreover, afk gains are tied to cultivation stage. As my stage rises, the daily gains will also increase."
"Time is my greatest advantage."
Mu Fan was in no hurry to earn Spirit Stones.
According to the green-clad woman, Named Disciples under Jiang Yi could buy on credit for five years, and rent could be settled later.
"In that case, I'll cultivate first."
Currently, Mu Fan was practicing the Thick Earth Art, a basic Earth-attribute cultivation technique suited to his Spiritual Root.
Now, he had something better.
The Black Fiend Art.
As he flipped through it, Mu Fan frowned slightly. With his current understanding, he could not see any flaws, but there were likely hidden issues.
"Extreme Yin Island is ruled by the Old Ancestor Extreme Yin, who already betrayed the Reverend Mysterious Bone. But Extreme Yin does not know the technique he inherited has a hidden trap."
"No, with his personality, he must suspect something, but he has no choice but to cultivate it."
"In that case, the techniques passed down at the Foundation Establishment Stage and above have likely been altered."
"I'm in the same situation. I suspect it, but I still have to cultivate it."
The Black Fiend Art was superior to basic methods, faster and producing higher quality Qi.
Extreme Yin Island had rules, but not many. If he was ambushed one day, regret would be useless.
He could only cultivate it for now. Later, if he found a better technique or obtained one from the {Idle Cultivation System}, he would switch.
Making his decision, Mu Fan sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
The circulation path of the Thick Earth Art was already muscle memory. He would first practice it for a few days.
Before, it was the original body's habit. Now, it was his first time truly cultivating.
A day passed.
His Qi increased by 7 points, 5 from afk and 2 from his own cultivation.
A visitor arrived.
After activating the Formation, the green-clad woman returned with a middle-aged man in yellow robes.
"Junior Brother Mu, I didn't introduce myself yesterday. Other call me Green Pearl, and this is Senior Brother Li."
"Greetings, Senior Sister Green Pearl, Senior Brother Li."
Senior Brother Li smiled.
"Junior Brother Mu, do you need Spirit Stones?"
After some explanation, Mu Fan learned that he could borrow one hundred Spirit Stones and repay one hundred and twenty after a year.
Mu Fan's eyes lit up.
His main goal was to improve his cultivation. He wouldn't take missions until at least the late stage of Qi Refining.
With Spirit Stones, he could prepare first.
After negotiating, Mu Fan borrowed five hundred Spirit Stones, to repay six hundred and twenty in three years.
After sending them off, he returned to cultivation.
His path had truly begun.
He liked quiet and had patience. After a few days, he fully switched to the Black Fiend Art.
Then he continued cultivating in seclusion.
[One year later.]
"In this past year, afk yielded 2100 points of Qi, 415 Physical Body, and 369 Divine Sense."
"Adding 850 Qi from my own effort, this speed is not bad."
Lying on a reclining chair, he looked at the panel.
{
Name: Mu Fan
Aptitude: Gold, Water, Earth (Spiritual Root), Endless Vitality (Physical Body), Re-perception (Divine Sense)
Realm: Qi Refining Peak Stage
Status: Extreme Yin Island Formal Disciple
Qi: 3064
Physical Body: 477
Divine Sense: 550
Cultivation Technique: Black Fiend Art
Techniques: Gold Rock Technique, Qi Concealment Technique
}
"Assuming 2800 Qi as the boundary, below would be the 13th stage of Qi Refining, and above the Peak Stage."
"I still haven't sensed the barrier to Foundation Establishment. How high is this peak?"
"From what I've learned, a foundation establishment pill is not absolutely required. The key is the quality and quantity of Qi."
"Old Devil Han needed over ten pills because his Qi was impure. The pills refined it and cleansed his body."
"For true spiritual roots, only a few pills are needed."
"For Heavenly Spiritual Roots, there are barely any bottlenecks."
"They naturally produce high-quality Qi."
"But is the threshold for Foundation Establishment really 5000 Qi?"
Mu Fan lay back
"That's just another year of afk…"