Chapter 2: If It's About Grinding, Who Among Us Is Afraid?
For the past three years, with the help of the Cauldron of Cornucopia, Lu You was able to eat spiritual rice at every meal.
However, without a cultivation technique—and with the duration still being relatively short—aside from improved physique and strength, Lu You hadn't experienced any major changes.
Now that he had obtained the Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique, Lu You immediately began cultivating.
Three years of accumulated spiritual energy burst forth like floodwaters released from a dam.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Continuous sounds echoed from within Lu You's body as his meridians, bones, and muscles shifted and refined themselves.
From afar, his physique became noticeably sturdier.
Even the skin that had been sun-scorched from farming under the blazing sun all year round slowly healed, turning smooth and fair.
After cultivating seriously for an entire night, Lu You finally let out a breath and opened his eyes.
"Just one night, and I've already reached the peak of the second level of Qi Refining."
Sensing the spiritual energy flowing within his body, Lu You forcibly suppressed his excitement.
"Don't get happy too soon. This is just the result of three years of nonstop spiritual rice consumption."
Reaching the peak of the second Qi Refining level had completely exhausted Lu You's three-years reserves.
Only then did he truly realize the drawback of a mixed spiritual root.
Even if he ate spiritual rice every day and cultivated day and night without rest, reaching the peak of the third level of Qi Refining would still take a full year.
By calculation, to reach the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining, to meet the requirements for entering the inner sect, he would need another eight years of cultivation.
And cultivation only became harder the further one went.
In reality, it would likely take over a dozen years before he could truly enter the inner sect.
"So what if it's just grinding? Who's afraid of that?!"
Lu You glanced at the small cauldron and felt utterly confident.
With the Cauldron of Cornucopia in hand, Lu You decided to fight longevity itself to the bitter end.
But even reaching the peak of the tenth Qi Refining level in a dozen years was already a fantasy for someone with a mixed spiritual root.
In order not to expose the existence of the small cauldron, Lu You turned his gaze to the two auxiliary paths in his hands.
"This is a cultivation world, there is no rule of law here."
Without a legitimate source of income, and with his cultivation speed being far too fast, Lu You would be unable to hide the Cauldron of Cornucopia's existence for more than a decade.
Once the Cauldron of Cornucopia was discovered, in this cultivation world where strength reigned supreme, he would very likely be killed and robbed of his treasures.
Even if the Cauldron of Cornucopia was a cheat others couldn't take away, his fate would still be either control... or being sliced up for research.
Opening the alchemy manual, Lu You studied it for a while and quickly realized that alchemy was far too troublesome and offered no means of self-defense. Even if he used the Cauldron of Cornucopia to infinitely pile resources and refine top-grade pills, he wouldn't have the ability to sell them safely.
He then picked up the talisman manual.
After reading just a few pages, Lu You made his decision.
Compared to alchemy, talisman crafting was far more comprehensive. Not only could talismans be sold, they could also be used for self-defense and offense. More importantly, Lu You had the Cauldron of Cornucopia—as long as he successfully drew a single talisman, he could obtain an infinite supply of that talisman. When the time came, if anyone harbored ill intent toward him, he could simply bury them under thousands upon thousands of talismans.
"Alright, talismans it is!"
Lu You rubbed his hands together, ready to start grinding. But when he flipped to the final page of the introductory talisman manual, he suddenly let out a strange shout.
"Damn it—Han Tian is way too black-hearted!"
It turned out that cultivating talismans required a special talisman brush and talisman paper made from refined spiritual wood, as well as spiritual ink refined from monster beast blood.
These three items combined were even more expensive than cultivation itself. Most cultivators could struggle all the way to Foundation Establishment and still never manage to become talisman masters.
On top of the talisman brush, paper, and spiritual ink, the talisman creator also had to pour spiritual energy into the process. With his current cultivation at the peak of the second Qi Refining level, drawing just four talismans would completely drain his spiritual energy.
Being limited to creating four talismans a day—how many could one possibly master talisman crafting in a lifetime?
That was why talisman masters also had to consume spiritual rice or pills to rapidly recover their spiritual energy. Taken together, the talisman path was a bottomless pit.
But then...
Lu You let out a low chuckle.
A bottomless pit of a profession just happened to suit him perfectly.
Looking at the small cauldron filled with spirit stones, Lu You did not pour them out this time. Instead, he directly recalled the Cauldron of Cornucopia back into his consciousness.
This was a usage he had discovered by accident.
After being recalled into his mind, the Cauldron of Cornucopia's ability remained fully intact.
Whenever he wanted spirit stones, all it took was a single thought for them to appear in his hand.
It was even more miraculous than the immortal sects' storage treasures.
"If I want to buy talisman paper, brushes, and spiritual ink, I'll have to go to the black market in the lower city."
"Once I leave the jurisdiction of the Verdant Cloud Sect, danger will exist."
The Verdant Cloud Sect was built deep in the mountains outside the city, and the spiritual fields cultivated by menial disciples like Lu You were among the sect's key protected areas.
There was absolutely no danger here.
However, menial disciples like Lu You were not qualified to enter the inner sect, and thus could not purchase talisman supplies from the Verdant Cloud Sect. They could only go down the mountain to the black market where rogue cultivators conducted their trades.
In this world, cultivators wielded lethal power, and killing intent arose easily. Rogue cultivators who killed and robbed others for resources were countless.
On top of that, sects were constantly in conflict with one another. The Verdant Cloud Sect had even suffered incidents where inner disciples were ambushed and killed after descending the mountain.
Lu You did not dare to leave the mountain lightly to make purchases.
After pondering for a long time, Lu You took out a wooden box and filled it with spiritual rice. He then retrieved three low-grade spirit stones from the Cauldron of Cornucopia and stepped out of his room.
Living next to Lu You's spiritual field was a female cultivator named Zeng Yan.
Although she had only been farming for a single year, she came from a small family in the main city below the mountain. The moment she entered the sect, she already possessed cultivation at the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Among all the cultivators Lu You knew, aside from Han Tian, she was the strongest.
Earlier on, Lu You had deliberately formed a friendly relationship with her, helping her with sowing and the autumn harvest.
Leaving the spiritual fields behind, Lu You arrived at Zeng Yan's residence and knocked on the door.
"Senior Sister Zeng, congratulations. Endure for one more year and you'll be able to enter the inner sect."
Creak—
The door opened.
Zeng Yan appeared to be around twenty years old. Whether she was truly young or simply skilled at preserving her appearance was hard to say. Dressed in a plain Daoist robe, she opened the door and ushered Lu You inside.
"You should have tested your aptitude today, right? What kind of spiritual root do you have?"
For cultivators like Zeng Yan, who entered the sect already trained, the three years of farming were essentially just a show of loyalty. Once the time was up, they were guaranteed to enter the inner sect.
This was also one of the ways sects bound themselves to various families through mutual interest.
Hearing her question, Lu You gave a bitter smile.
"It's as one would expect... mixed spiritual root."
Zeng Yan fell into thought for a moment. She didn't offer any comfort; instead, she spoke frankly.
"Without a family or sect providing resources, a mixed spiritual root cultivator has little hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment realm."
Hearing this, Lu You relaxed instead.
What he feared most was Zeng Yan immediately cutting ties upon learning he had a mixed spiritual root.
Her blunt honesty instead proved that she wouldn't befriend—or reject—him simply because of his spiritual root.
"Yes. That's why I'm planning to see if I can become a talisman master."
Lu You quickly took out the wooden box and the three low-grade spirit stones, placing them on Zeng Yan's table.
"Senior Sister, this is just a small token of my sincerity. I only hope that when you go down the mountain, you can help me purchase some materials needed for drawing talismans."
"Helping you purchase?"
Hearing the term pop out of Lu You's mouth, Zeng Yan's eyes lit up, as if she had suddenly understood something.
But when she saw the items placed on the table, she shook her head.
"This spiritual rice and these spirit stones... you probably had to save for a long time, didn't you? You may not know this, Junior Brother, but talisman masters..."
Zeng Yan hesitated and did not continue.
Lu You had just tested as having a mixed spiritual root today. Shattering his hopes of becoming a talisman master as well would be far too cruel.
"I won't do the purchasing for you," she said instead. "But if you want to buy materials, you can come down the mountain with me at dawn three days from now."
Zeng Yan intended for Lu You to personally see the materials and their prices, so that he would retreat in the face of difficulty.
'So I still have to go down the mountain myself?'
'But with Senior Sister Zeng's seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation, and since I wasn't planning to reveal any wealth anyway, it should be fine.'
Lu You no longer hesitated and agreed to come again at dawn three days later.