Chapter 37: Ahead of Schedule

"Found it, found it! But it gave me quite a hard time to look for."

Perhaps because there were too few people buying such cultivation methods that had no requirements for attributes, after a long while, the shop assistant patted a dust-covered book with an ancient-looking cover and spoke with a face full of pleasant surprise.

"Oh? You really found it?" A flash of joy crossed Lu Xiaotian's face as well. He took two steps forward, took the manual in hand, and saw that it was indeed the *Hunyuan Sutra*.

Having searched for so long without success, obtaining a Qi Refinement late-stage cultivation method at this moment was truly unexpected. Lu Xiaotian flipped to the first page and asked, "Does your establishment have the Foundation Establishment stage version of this manual?"

"You must be joking, Immortal. In the entire Moon-Watching City, there are probably very few Foundation Establishment stage manuals, and they are usually not available to the public. Naturally, we don't have it here. However, a few years ago—about three years or so—there were some rumors regarding the *Hunyuan Sutra*," the assistant said, lowering his voice in a mock-mysterious manner.

Lu Xiaotian was startled. "Rumors about the *Hunyuan Sutra*? Are they about the subsequent parts of this manual?"

"Yes. I heard it is related to the Lingxiao Palace. At that time, several Lingxiao Palace disciples happened upon an ancient cultivator's ruin by chance and obtained some treasures. However, before they could return to their sect, most of the disciples were ambushed and killed by several powerful rogue cultivators. Some treasures were stolen by those rogue cultivators, including a portion of the cultivation method."

Several rogue cultivators? His cultivation method was given to him by the black-robed elder; could the black-robed elder and his companions be those rogue cultivators? Lu Xiaotian's heart stirred. The Kingdom of Beiliang was a quite impoverished and remote secular nation with limited spiritual resources. Although many cultivation families had resided in Beiliang for generations, most were at the early stage of Qi Refinement; there should not be many at the middle stage. The black-robed elder and his group were almost all at the late stage or Great Perfection of Qi Refinement. If it weren't to evade pursuit from the Lingxiao Palace, why would they travel to such a remote place?

The assistant continued, "Later, the Lingxiao Palace sent disciples to hunt down those rogue cultivators everywhere, but they soon lost all trace of them. Perhaps the other parts of the *Hunyuan Sutra* are in the hands of those rogue cultivators, or perhaps they are with the Lingxiao Palace. As for the specific details, outsiders cannot know. Many years have passed, and the matter was almost forgotten; if you hadn't come to buy this manual today, Immortal, I almost would have forgotten it myself."

"Thank you. This is for you." After paying the required spirit stones for the manual, Lu Xiaotian directly gave the assistant a low-grade spirit stone.

"Thank you, thank you, Immortal Lord!" The assistant was extremely excited, bowing repeatedly in thanks. Although he was around thirty, he was a secular person; most cultivators usually didn't give him a second glance, let alone such a tip. The owner would never be willing to give him spirit stones; a single low-grade spirit stone was enough for him to live the rest of his life in comfort and without worry. By the time he stood up straight, Lu Xiaotian had already left the shop.

"It seems I must find a way to open the black-robed elder's storage bag. However, these people likely stole treasures from the Lingxiao Palace. If word gets out, I might soon invite death upon myself."

Lu Xiaotian considered this as he walked, and soon, following the map of Moon-Watching City, he arrived at Immortal Gate Street. It wasn't called this name in the past, but since all the major immortal sects set up points here to announce disciple recruitment tasks, everyone had gradually become accustomed to the name.

With the annual recruitment of the immortal sects only a few months away, rogue cultivators from all over would come to Moon-Watching City. At this time, there were thousands of people at the various sect reception points, discussing the announced tasks.

Lu Xiaotian also squeezed into the crowd in front of the stone monument for Immortal Rankings. The requirements for recruitment varied among the major sects.

Ranked first was the greatest sect in the cultivation world, the Ancient Sword Sect. They specialized in weapon forging—spiritual tools or the level of dharma tools used at the Foundation Establishment stage—which directly related to a cultivator's combat power. Thus, the combat power of Ancient Sword Sect cultivators was often a notch higher than other sects.

The Ancient Sword Sect's requirements were the most stringent; they actually required obtaining a fourth-tier demon core, equivalent to the strength of the early Foundation Establishment stage. For Qi Refinement cultivators, this was undoubtedly as difficult as ascending to heaven. Consider that rogue cultivators would do anything to join an immortal sect just to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. Even a hundred Great Perfection Qi Refinement cultivators would find it hard to threaten a Foundation Establishment expert. This effectively barred most mediocre rogue cultivators from entry.

Second in rank was the Qingdan Palace, whose foundation was alchemy. Because they had relatively more medicinal pills than other sects, their cultivation and advancement were often faster, making their overall sect strength extremely formidable.

The Qingdan Palace's requirements were also not low; they required collecting no less than fifty types of spiritual herbs. If one was a high-level alchemist, the quota could be halved; a mid-level alchemist could reduce it by one-fifth.

Alchemists were already rare among rogue cultivators. Lu Xiaotian estimated that he was currently at the level of a mid-level alchemist and would need more time to accumulate experience to reach the high-level stage.

Aside from the top-ranked sects, the requirements for the ones following were slightly lower, but completing the tasks was by no means easy.

Some sects had rather peculiar requirements. For example, the Demonic Sun Sect only required a spiritual root value exceeding thirty-five, but men had to be handsome and women had to be beautiful. Age could not exceed twenty.

Or the Earth Fire Sect's sect task stated: "The sect's Third Elder has contracted a strange illness and sleeps in an ice coffin all year round, barely clinging to life. Anyone who can cure it or provide information regarding this illness may join the sect."

Lu Xiaotian smiled as he read this. If even an immortal sect was helpless against such a severe illness, how could these rogue cultivators have a solution? They were truly desperate enough to try any doctor. A sect elder was at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator; it seemed that even upon reaching higher realms, one was not free from worry.

Lu Xiaotian then focused on the Lingxiao Palace sect tasks. They were also related to collecting spiritual herbs, but most of the herbs were different from those required by the Qingdan Palace, and they also required several types of ores. The Lingxiao Palace ranked seventeenth among the immortal sects, placing them in the upper-middle tier with considerable strength.

After comparing the various sects, Lu Xiaotian locked his targets onto the Qingdan Palace and the Lingxiao Palace. The Qingdan Palace excelled in alchemy; entering them would offer a higher possibility of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The Lingxiao Palace could also perform alchemy, though not as exceptionally as the Qingdan Palace, so the chance of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill was naturally lower. His greatest goal at this moment was to successfully reach Foundation Establishment. However, the Lingxiao Palace had information regarding the *Hunyuan Sutra*, and there were not many cultivation methods suitable for five-element spiritual roots. If he could obtain the *Hunyuan Sutra*, he did not wish to easily switch to another method.

Soon, Lu Xiaotian shook his head with a bitter smile. Completing any single immortal sect task was not easy, let alone two simultaneously. If other rogue cultivators knew his thoughts, they would likely laugh their heads off. He would have to see what opportunities arose later to see which sect he could join.

Having preliminarily locked in his targets for the sect tasks, he had also finished most of his shopping. Lu Xiaotian returned to the small courtyard. Just as he reached the door, Luo Qing was already waiting there. Judging by her expression, she had likely been waiting for some time.

"Brother Lu, you're back!" Seeing Lu Xiaotian, the anxious look on Luo Qing's face was instantly replaced by a hint of joy.

"What is so urgent that you need to find me?" Lu Xiaotian asked.

Luo Qing said, "The other sixth-level Qi Refinement expert in our group is the leader of this team. He has decided to enter the Moon-Watching Mountain Range ahead of schedule. My brother can't make up his mind, so he sent me to ask you."

"Wasn't the time already agreed upon? Why move it forward without reason?" Lu Xiaotian frowned. If this small team was entirely subject to the whims of the leader, then there was no point in joining.

Luo Qing said, "Perhaps he obtained news related to his sect task and is worried others will snatch it first, so he made this decision. However, that person holds the recipe for the Vitality Pill, so my brother sent me to ask for your opinion."

Lu Xiaotian's expression shifted as he asked, "Vitality Pill? Where are they now?"

"They are right here in our courtyard. I'll take you there immediately." Seeing Lu Xiaotian relent, Luo Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

"Big brother, I'm back!" Soon, the two arrived at the courtyard where Luo Yuan was located. From several yards away, Luo Qing shouted.

"Brother Lu, you've come as well. Come, let me introduce the members of the team to you."

Luo Yuan was very happy to see Lu Xiaotian arrive. He pointed to a fair-faced middle-aged Taoist. "This is our leader for this trip, Taoist Fan Qing. He is the strongest in terms of cultivation."

Through Luo Yuan's introduction, Lu Xiaotian got to know the team members.

There was Wang Yuan, a voluptuous woman with a cultivation level comparable to his, at the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

There were two men in their forties. One was Zhang Guang, whose head was shiny and bald; the other was a middle-aged scholar holding a fan, named Zheng Shiqi. According to Luo Yuan's introduction, Zhang Guang was a great general from a secular kingdom called Jin. He used to command thousands of troops, and one could sense a murderous aura about him from a distance. Zheng Shiqi had previously been Zhang Guang's strategist. It was quite a marvel that both of them had managed to step onto the path of immortality. Their cultivation was slightly lower than his, at the fourth level of Qi Refinement. Both lived in this courtyard with Luo Yuan, and the group had a good relationship.

"Haha! I heard from Brother Luo long ago that he knew an extremely skilled alchemist who lived in seclusion, and I never had the chance to meet him. I didn't expect it to be such a young fellow. Not only are you an alchemist, but your cultivation is actually a level higher than mine, old Zhang. I truly don't know how you cultivate!"

Zhang Guang was very hearty. He slapped Lu Xiaotian's shoulder with a thick palm, his fingers feeling like iron hooks. It hurt so much that Lu Xiaotian grimaced.

"Brother Zhang, you're using a bit too much strength," Zheng Shiqi reminded him. When Zhang Guang was in the secular kingdom, it was because of his bluntness and fiery temper that he had offended many in the officialdom. If not for Zheng Shiqi's reminders and his subsequent entry into the path of immortality, he might have died long ago in the political infighting.

"My apologies, my apologies. I used to practice the Iron Sand Palm, so my strength is a bit excessive," Zhang Guang said with an apologetic smile.

"It's more than just a bit excessive; my bones were about to break," Lu Xiaotian said, rubbing his shoulder with a grimace. Although he was already at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, his physical strength was naturally far inferior to someone like Zhang Guang, who had previously practiced external martial arts.