Chapter 5

Wen Xu never anticipated that the moment the Pill Fragrance King Grass was plucked, all surrounding pill-fragrant herbs on the mountain withered instantly, as if their sole purpose had been to nurture the king grass’s maturity.

He couldn’t quite describe his feelings at this revelation. In the next instant, everyone—including Bian Chunzhou beside him—vanished from sight, leaving Wen Xu alone amidst the desolate landscape.

Lying face-up amid the wilted remnants of pill-fragrant herbs, Wen Xu felt the once-intense herbal aroma gradually fading from his nose. Would Benefactor Bian come rescue him now?

Wen Xu remained composed; after all, entrusting one’s life to another meant being prepared for rejection. He had always understood this reality.

When Elder Zhan hurriedly arrived at Ambergris Slope within the Broken Clouds Secret Realm, he found a young man apparently asleep, eyes covered by a dark strip of cloth.

As an elder with advanced Gold Core cultivation, examining an ordinary mortal should have been effortless. To his surprise, however, he discovered that this youth had already opened his sea of qi and entered the stage of Qi Refinement. No wonder he could locate the Pill Fragrance King Grass!

Feeling increasingly pleased, Elder Zhan deliberately stomped louder, ensuring the feigning sleeper would detect his approach.

As expected, the youth on the ground sat up with a hint of wariness on his face. “Who’s there?”

Is Bian Chunzhou back? Wen Xu felt a surge of happiness and was about to open his eyes to confirm when he heard a slightly deep voice—a tone unmistakably not that of a young man.

“Are you Wen Xu?”

Seeing the youth nod, Elder Zhan strove to soften his expression. “Fear not, young friend. I am aware of your entire ordeal. Please accompany me out of this secret realm, and we’ll decide our next steps from there, alright?” First, bring him along; persuading him to take a master afterward would be a breeze.

So, is this helper someone Bian Chunzhou found? Perhaps from Yonglu Mountain, the owners of these lands?

Wen Xu’s face brightened immediately. “Did Brother Bian send you to find me?”

Elder Zhan strained his memory—yes, that lad’s surname should indeed have been ‘Bian.’ “That’s correct. After submitting the Pill Fragrance King Grass, he mentioned your presence and credited you for its discovery. He implored me to ensure your safe exit from the Broken Clouds Secret Realm.”

My benefactor truly has a kind heart, Wen Xu couldn’t help but think as he nervously fidgeted his fingers. Shaking off bits of grass, he respectfully performed a traditional bow used among mortals. “Many thanks for making this special trip.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Your eyes…” Only now did Elder Zhan notice Wen Xu’s blindness.

“It’s no trouble; I just can’t see.”

Can’t see even after opening your sea of qi? Elder Zhan found this peculiar but didn’t dwell on it. After all, Pill Peak had every manner of miraculous elixirs—curing one’s eyesight would be a trivial matter. “I see,” he said. “Stand steady now, I’ll take you out from here.”

Wen Xu felt momentarily disoriented before realizing that the soft earth beneath his feet had transformed into hard stone slabs. Unsteady, he took a cautious step back, but as this was his first experience with teleportation between secret realms, his balance faltered more than he anticipated. If not for someone nearby steadying him, he would have embarrassingly stumbled to the ground.

“Thank you, I’m stable now.”

Elder Zhan retrieved a bottle of pills from his storage ring and handed it over. “Since you’ve just opened your sea of qi, you may not yet know how to circulate its energy. These Qi-Replenishing Pills will help regulate your internal qi flow.”

Qi-Replenishing Pills—a completely new term to Wen Xu. He didn’t hesitate, knowing well that despite his preference for solitude, he still needed practical social skills. The elder clearly held some fondness towards him, though Wen Xu couldn’t fathom why. Regardless, a wise member of the younger generation should never decline goodwill from their elders. “May I accept these?”

“Certainly. Once you spend more time in the cultivation world, you’ll realize that Qi-Replenishing Pills aren’t particularly valuable in spirit stones. Go ahead, take them.”

Wen Xu gratefully accepted the pill. After all, he was currently penniless, and if someone willingly offered him something, there was no reason to decline.

“Additionally, here’s this jade slip. Since you’ve already opened your sea of qi, it saves me quite some explanation. Even though you can’t see with your eyes now, just channel your internal spiritual energy onto the jade slip, and you’ll understand its contents.”

Such a marvel! Wen Xu found this even more intriguing.

“All right, take some time to read the jade slip here. It’s fine to start slowly at first. I have matters to attend to, but I’ll return after enough time for one incense stick to burn.”

With that, Elder Zhan hurriedly departed, presumably to announce the list of those who passed the initial test.

Hearing the door close firmly, Wen Xu slightly opened his eyes, peering through the hazy cloth. He realized they were likely in a guest room, modestly furnished yet devoid of much decoration. After briefly surveying the surroundings, his focus shifted entirely to the Qi-Replenishing Pill and jade slip in his hands.

He didn’t plan on consuming the Qi-Replenishing Pill immediately, but as for the jade slip—

Wen Xu attempted to mobilize the somewhat sluggish spiritual energy within his sea of qi, but it seemed uninterested in responding. Even when he managed to stir it slightly, the energy quickly sank back down into his dantian.

Wen Xu had an unyielding nature, and his determination surged immediately. While he couldn’t speak for other skills, when it came to patience, even monks in temples might struggle to match him.

In no time, with great effort, he managed to extract a wisp of spiritual energy from his dantian. However, as soon as it emerged, the energy swiftly dissipated, leaving him no chance to channel it into the jade slip.

It seemed that moving spiritual energy within one’s body incurred some loss along the way.

Wen Xu unconsciously furrowed his brow but quickly realized this might be why the elder provided him with Qi-Replenishing Pills earlier. It appeared he had no choice but to consume them. The fact that they left him here to read the jade slip was clearly another test.

With this realization, Wen Xu resolutely took out a Qi-Replenishing Pill and swallowed it. The pill’s effect was remarkably swift; he soon felt a stirring in his sea of qi. A sudden understanding dawned on him—it required using qi to control qi.

But what if he didn’t have these Qi-Replenishing Pills, how would he manage then?

The aspect he found most intriguing was: at what point did his sea of qi actually open? Even he himself wasn’t entirely sure, let alone anyone else. Wen Xu shook his head; ever since arriving here, his list of uncertainties only grew longer. He wondered if becoming a cultivator would indeed prove challenging.

As the Qi-Replenishing Pill continued to take effect, Wen Xu finally gained control over the spiritual energy in his sea of qi. After circulating it around his body once, he successfully managed to direct a thread of spiritual energy into the jade slip.

This was truly overwhelming. Wen Xu wiped the sweat from his brow as, in that instant, information about the cultivation world flooded into his mind from the jade slip.

Stunned for several moments, he finally lowered his hand, which had been frozen mid-wipe.

So that’s how it is! Who would have thought?!

As the saying goes: what may seem like misfortune can sometimes reveal itself to be serendipitous. Never did Wen Xu imagine encountering such a remarkable destiny himself!

He couldn’t help but feel elated; if only the culprit who’d pursued him could see this turn of events—his back teeth would surely grind to dust.

With this thought, Wen Xu felt a significant sense of relief.

The land they were on was called the Hengze Continent, vast and expansive. Bizhou County and even the entire nation where he hailed from were mere specks compared to its size. Mortals experienced birth, aging, sickness, and death within their brief lifespans, while cultivators, blessed by the heavens with extraordinary talents beyond those of ordinary people, could transcend the cycle of reincarnation upon successful cultivation, ascending to the path of immortality. Even novice cultivators, just beginning to grasp their abilities, seemed godlike to mortals, capable of moving mountains or parting seas with a wave of their hand.

Wen Xu never expected that the tales spun by those pedantic scholars in their fictional books were all true!

What delighted him further was discovering that among millions, he too possessed innate talent.

In other words, if he learned just a bit of skill, he could return and seek vengeance, effortlessly manipulating those who tried to kill him.

It sounded almost too good to be true, making Wen Xu suspect this might be a beautiful dream right before his death. However, upon further thought, his imagination wasn’t that vivid; even in a dream, such an outrageous turn of events would seem far-fetched.

Continuing through the jade slip, there were brief introductions about cultivators’ practices: topics like the quality of spiritual roots, divisions of cultivation realms, methods to earn spirit stones—the common currency, guidelines for consuming common medicinal pills, notable sects across the continent, and a rough map of the Hengze Continent—all providing highly useful information.

Wen Xu focused particularly on details about Yonglu Mountain.

Yonglu Mountain was situated within the Yonglu Mountains in the southwestern part of the continent, occupying a vast area. It was one of the Five Great Sects, albeit at the bottom tier. Despite its ranking, aspiring Qi Refinement cultivators still fiercely competed for admission.

Furthermore, unlike what one might expect from the “Five Great Sects,” there were actually only four major sects. The top-ranked Huhe Sect derived its name from the concept of harmony between heaven and man, embracing nature’s flow. As explained in the jade slip, Huhe Sect was originally two separate large sects that later merged into a colossal entity. This merger led to the saying, “Among the Five Great Sects, Huhe consistently reigns supreme.”

Ranking second was the Heaven Breaking Sword Sect, whose very name exuded defiance against fate. The foremost sword cultivator in the world hailed from this sect, rumored also to be one of the two individuals closest to ascending.

The third major sect was called Painful Crossing Temple. Initially, Wen Xu thought it must be a Buddhist monastery, but upon reading further, he realized there seemed to be fundamental differences between monks and Buddhist cultivators.

Yonglu Mountain ranked fourth, with its introduction describing it as an inclusive and accepting sect. For instance, while the Huhe Sect had strict policies against admitting cultivators with four or five spiritual roots, Yonglu Mountain differed significantly. Here, even those with unconventional talents, including those possessing the challenging-to-cultivate five spiritual roots, could potentially become Inner Sect disciples.

After skimming through the entire jade slip, Wen Xu quickly grasped that cultivating to immortality heavily relied on innate talent. While hard work could possibly lead to success, without exceptional aptitude, achieving mastery would be exceedingly difficult.

The information provided also hinted at a hierarchy of disdain within the cultivation world based on spiritual roots. Single elemental roots were considered ideal, with exceptional talents possessing variant spiritual roots or unique constitutions deemed supreme. Following them were dual elemental roots, which could vary greatly depending on whether both elements were equally strong or one dominated the other. Triple elemental roots fell somewhere between good and mediocre. As for quadruple and quintuple elemental roots, they were seen as overly numerous and unevenly balanced—much like the imperial examination system where specializing in a single field could secure success. However, for a quintuple elemental root cultivator to excel simultaneously in all five disciplines, maintaining equal progress across each, would require extraordinary perseverance and innate talent, attainable by few.

Surely I’m not cursed with those unfortunate quintuple elemental roots, am I? Wen Xu pondered this thought when he heard someone’s cheerful footsteps approaching and pushing open the door. The voice preceded its owner:

“Wen Xu, I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have doubted you. How are you feeling now? Still hungry? Would you like another Fasting Pill?”

This time, without even opening his eyes, Wen Xu recognized the newcomer instantly.

“Bian-xiong, I’m fine, thanks entirely to your help; otherwise, I wouldn’t have escaped the Broken Clouds Secret Realm.”

Bian Chunzhou mentally scoffed, Thanks to me indeed? You’re the one who carried us through! Without Wen Xu, Bian Chunzhou might not have passed the initial trial at all. “No need to call me Bian-xiong, just use my name—it’s meant to be called after all. Let me share some good news: I’ve passed the preliminary test! Wen Xu, would you like to join me for Yonglu Mountain’s disciple selection trials?”

Wen Xu was momentarily speechless.