Chapter 16: Weirdness

In the Hengyun World, mortals also exist.

In fact, even when cultivators conceive children, there are cases where the offspring are born without spiritual roots. When the Lingzhen Sect selects mortal servants for its formal disciples, they mostly look within the disciples' own clans.

Wang Chuyan was one such case. She had a wonderful older brother who, despite possessing only three spiritual roots, was naturally brilliant, and his cultivation of techniques progressed far faster than that of other disciples. Because Wang Fang had caught the eye of an Elder and was brought under his wing, an exception was made to allow him to select a mortal servant early, which enabled Wang Chuyan to enter the sect.

However, not every cultivator has the protection of a sect or a clan. Most of their opportunities to embark on the path of cultivation come from various coincidences; once they have guided Qi into their bodies, they begin a life known as "rogue cultivation."

Aside from the lone wolves who possess great strength and refuse to be bound by sects, the vast majority of rogue cultivators have low cultivation levels, hovering in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refinement.

They interact and live among mortals, forming cities of varying sizes.

The destination for Zhao Chun and her group this time was a medium-sized city—Jicheng.

Hong Qisheng came from a common background. He was injured by bandits during an escort mission, but fortunately, a passing Great Cultivator gifted him a medicinal pill. This allowed him to immediately guide Qi into his body and even advance all the way to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. He was subsequently granted Daoist techniques and began his cultivation. However, by then he was already over thirty years old and possessed only four spiritual roots, making it impossible for him to join a sect.

After many twists and turns, Hong Qisheng arrived at Jicheng, married, and started a family. However, since his wife and daughter were mortals and could not inherit his Daoist techniques, he feared having no successor and thus conceived the idea of finding a son-in-law for his daughter. He sought someone kind and loyal, not caring how extraordinary their talent might be, only requiring that they be diligent in their cultivation and truly love his only daughter.

Once this news broke, the young men of the entire city were overjoyed.

As a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, Hong Qisheng held a high status in Jicheng. Setting aside the nature of the father-in-law, his daughter, Hong Qian, was in her prime and a famous beauty, possessing a face like a flower and a graceful figure.

Power and beauty—who wouldn't want to claim both?

Hong Qisheng spent heavily to post notices within the Lingzhen Sect. On one hand, he needed to discern whether those coming to select a son-in-law possessed spiritual roots, but since he did not possess such treasures, he could not accomplish this himself.

On the other hand, the Daoist techniques he possessed were passed down by a Great Cultivator and were more exquisite than those of other rogue cultivators. They had long been coveted by others, but since he was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, no one dared to act rashly. However, his future son-in-law would be different; having just stepped onto the path of cultivation with low strength, there was a fear of someone killing him to steal his treasures.

The Lingzhen Sect was not far from Jicheng, but its reputation was formidable. The various large and small sects around Jicheng had to avoid its sharp edge. Hong Qisheng recruited disciples from this sect in the hope of using the Lingzhen Sect's name to intimidate others.

It was only during this trip that Zhao Chun realized the true status of her sect in the surrounding area. While stopping at a small town, whenever they visited an inn, a restaurant, or even a roadside stall, people would bend their knees to kneel the moment they learned they were from the Lingzhen Sect.

Looking at Feng San, Chu, and the others, their expressions remained normal, likely because they were accustomed to such scenes.

After two days of travel, they would arrive at Jicheng by tomorrow noon. The group checked into an inn outside the city and ordered a table of food to enjoy.

Inside the inn, there was no distinction between immortals and mortals, and the air was filled with noisy chatter. At the table next to Zhao Chun's sat seven or eight burly men in plain clothes carrying swords. They drank from large bowls and, without regard for others, shouted, "Have you guys heard?"

Someone replied, "Heard what? Spit it out!"

"You know that Wind-Stopping Forest three hundred miles to the east, right? An immortal has arrived there; they can live without even eating!"

At Zhao Chun's table, though their faces remained calm, their ears were perked up. Qi Refinement cultivators still needed to eat to stay full; only after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage could one practice "Bigu" (abstaining from food) and sever ties with the mortal world. This area was filled with mountains and forests and was quite remote; how could a Foundation Establishment cultivator appear here?

"Is that true? Or are you just dreaming!"

"How could I lie to you! An immortal has opened a sect deep in the forest and even taken a few disciples!" The burly man picked up an empty bowl and said, "With a large white jade plate like this, if you shine it against a person's face, you can tell if they have a celestial fate! Don't you think it's miraculous?"

That was a jade tablet used for testing spiritual roots. It was not commonly seen in the outside world, but every major sect possessed one. One only needed to shine it against a person's forehead to see if the jade glowed, revealing whether they had spiritual roots. Meng Han had brought such a thing to be used at the marriage selection ceremony. However, it was not as mysterious as the Spirit-Reflecting Shadow Wall; it could only distinguish whether one had roots, not the specific quality of those roots.

Zhao Chun still remembered the "Silver Fish" used by Cao Wenguan. Only after joining the sect did she learn that the spiritual Qi in the Flying Gourd Small World was thin, so jade tablets would not react. Instead, they used fish born from the source of the Guantian River, which naturally contained spiritual Qi and were extremely precious.

However, not every small world was like this. The Flying Gourd had been out of contact with the Hengyun World for a long time, so its spiritual Qi had dissipated severely. Most other small worlds still retained some spiritual Qi; though insufficient for cultivators to practice, it was enough to grant the mortals within them longevity and fewer ailments.

The burly man continued, "The immortal is very kind. Anyone under the age of thirty-five, as long as they have a celestial fate, can enter! It's a pity we're all past that age, otherwise, we'd go try too!"

Zhao Chun frowned. Naturally, it was better for a cultivator to embark on the path as early as possible; passing the age of twenty was considered extremely late. Unless one was a genius with a Heaven-grade or Dual spiritual root, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refinement was basically impossible. The threshold for entering small sects was low, but it shouldn't be *this* low.

The whole table felt something was off, but then they thought that some cultivators indeed did not follow conventional logic—like the one who gifted Hong Qisheng the pill, or the Yuanyuan-stage Elder in their own sect who loved associating with mortals. It was indeed difficult for others to guess their intentions.

Deciding not to dwell on it, they finished their meal and returned to their respective rooms.

Since the end of her seclusion, Zhao Chun had opened two more meridians during those two months. She had now entered the sixth meridian, the Small Intestine Meridian of the Hand San Yang, and was reaching the final step of her cultivation.

She sat cross-legged on the bedstead, and the Gold and Fire spiritual Qi moved accordingly, thoroughly connecting the meridian!

With this, half of the twelve meridians were complete. At this rate, in about another six months, she would be able to break through to the third level of Qi Refinement. The speed was so fast it startled even herself!

However, every wisp of spiritual Qi was indeed earned through her daily hard cultivation, and she had thoroughly mastered every meridian.

Zhao Chun had once doubted whether her progress was so fast because her meridians were too narrow. After discussing it with Lian Jing, she became convinced that while her meridians could not be called as wide as rivers, they were indeed superior to those of ordinary cultivators.

Later, during a small lesson, she asked Xun Xian, who speculated: "The Fire attribute is violent, and the Metal attribute is sharp. These two types of cultivators indeed progress faster than others at the second level of Qi Refinement. Since you cultivate two attributes simultaneously, it is likely due to this reason."

He paused halfway through his sentence and then said to the remaining disciples, "There is no need for you to be envious. Once you reach the third level of Qi Refinement, you will need to nourish your acupoints, at which point Wood and Water attribute cultivators will have the advantage."

The disciples bowed their heads like garlic cloves, while only the Earth attribute cultivators wore bitter expressions; they were the ones left behind among the Five Elements.

Zhao Chun pulled a transparent bead from her inner pocket; it was the one she had picked up from the dry well. As her cultivation progressed, the bead became clearer and more translucent, though it never again displayed the radiance it had on that day.

She felt the bead possessed a certain spirituality, so she always kept it on her. Although she felt nothing from it other than it being uncomfortable while sleeping, Zhao Chun always had a feeling in her heart that she and the bead were linked—that neither could ever leave the other.

"What exactly is so special about you?" Zhao Chun murmured, holding it in the palm of her hand.