Li Fan did not mean to scoff.
Rather, this Mountain-Sitting Art had indeed not been created by a cultivator in the first place.
Its exact origins were lost to time.
Yet according to the records within the technique, to raise one's realm with the original Mountain-Sitting Art, one could rely only on "sitting on a mountain."
One relied on a chosen mountain peak continuously rising in height to receive the corresponding feedback in cultivation.
This process was far too protracted.
In ancient times, the mountains and rivers were not like those of today, shifting so easily.
Often, thousands of years had to pass before a mountain peak grew even a sliver taller.
If this Mountain-Sitting Art was not a practical joke, then rather than saying it was meant for humans to cultivate,
it would be more accurate to say it was intended for the trees and boulders atop the peaks.
Yet as far as Li Fan knew, in today's cultivation world, aside from humans, there were no such things as flora spirits or deviant demon beasts.
Even those slightly stronger beasts merely relied on the bloodlines in their bodies to wield a wisp of extraordinary power.
They were utterly incapable of cultivating.
"Could it be that in the very beginning, spirits existed in this world as well? Only later did some upheaval occur, causing all demon beasts to vanish," Li Fan could not help speculating.
Regardless of the truth, however, it had little bearing on Li Fan cultivating this Mountain-Sitting Art. He was merely letting his thoughts wander; delving deeper served no purpose.
Cultivators had been fundamentally unable to cultivate the original version of the Mountain-Sitting Art.
Yet with the advent of the great calamity and the increasingly frequent shifts in mountains and rivers, the Mountain-Sitting Art had instead become barely cultivable.
Later, a thousand years ago, an astonishingly brilliant talent obtained this Mountain-Sitting Art by chance.
Drawing on its core concept of "sitting on a mountain and reaping without sowing," they modified the technique.
One's own cultivation could now advance the technique's progress as well.
Furthermore, the scope of "reaping without sowing" was expanded from mountains to people.
Only then did the Mountain-Sitting Art formally become an exceptionally rare and extraordinary method.
Regrettably, this peerless genius had merely recorded this matter in the technique's preface without leaving behind their name.
Like the Sea-Calming Divine Sword, the Mountain-Sitting Art was a Golden Core stage technique.
In this lifetime, it would certainly suffice for Li Fan's cultivation.
Following the technique's mnemonic incantation, Li Fan circulated his energy, and within moments, he stepped through the threshold of the Mountain-Sitting Art.
Immediately afterward, however, that familiar sluggish feeling during cultivation resurfaced.
Evidently, the Mountain-Sitting Art did not match Li Fan's Foundation Establishment wonder, the Vast Sea Pearl, either.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Fan circulated the Taishang Primordial Scripture.
He dissolved all the cultivation progress of the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos and switched to cultivating the Mountain-Sitting Art instead.
Aided by his vast and refined Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, before long, Li Fan cultivated the Mountain-Sitting Art to the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Next, I need to see just how effective this 'reaping without sowing' truly is."
"If the effect is mediocre, I might as well cultivate the Sea-Calming Divine Sword instead."
Having made up his mind, Li Fan retrieved the jade slip of the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos.
"As the saying goes, no favor is greater than passing on the Dharma, especially in this world where immortal arts cannot be cultivated together. The kindness of imparting a technique is virtually akin to granting a new life."
"He Zhenghao took great care of me before, likely for the sake of 'reaping without sowing.'"
"Pity his vision was too narrow, offering only petty favors. Even if it yielded feedback in cultivation, it probably wasn't much."
"When it comes to investment, the greater the input, the greater the return."
"I might as well play big and see what this Mountain-Sitting Art is really made of."
He promptly produced the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror and checked the market rates for Nascent Soul techniques.
In the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the price of a Qi Condensation stage technique generally ranged between one thousand and three thousand contribution points.
Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques generally ranged between five thousand and ten thousand contribution points.
Starting from Golden Core techniques, prices took a massive leap.
Even the lowest grade required thirty thousand points, and the more exquisite the Core Formation method, the higher the price—
ranging from forty thousand to fifty thousand.
As for Nascent Soul true techniques, they started at fifty thousand, and even one hundred thousand contribution points was not considered steep.
Li Fan even saw a technique named Can Tong Qi of Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation marked at the astonishing price of one hundred and fifty thousand points.
He had no idea what profound mysteries it held.
"Kou Hong, Dao Xuanzi, in this life I certainly will not let you brothers turn on each other."
Li Fan smiled faintly and selected the option to sell a Nascent Soul technique: Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos.
The Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror swept over it with a dim light.
After a long while, it offered a price of ninety thousand contribution points.
Considering that the Heavenly Profound Mirror applied a discount when purchasing items, this proved that the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos was indeed extraordinary.
Without hesitation, Li Fan directly chose to accept.
A golden contract flew out from the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror and came to a stop before Li Fan.
Li Fan read it carefully.
The contract outlined the various precautions for trading techniques.
Once the transaction was completed, the technique would belong to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Any future use of the technique would have nothing to do with the original owner.
The transaction could not be undone.
The original owner's memories regarding the technique would also automatically vanish once the transaction concluded.
Please ensure not to retain any copies of the technique to trade with others; otherwise, face the consequences.
...
Finding no issues,
Li Fan used spiritual energy as an ink brush and signed his name upon the golden contract.
The contract then dissolved into countless golden particles, some vanishing into Li Fan's body,
while others carried the jade slip back into the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror.
With the transaction complete, Li Fan's memories regarding the specific contents of the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos disappeared as well.
He remembered only that he had once possessed this technique, but had no recollection whatsoever of a single word or sentence from it.
Li Fan felt not the slightest sense of loss. It was an item bound to True Reversion anyway, so he had no fear of losing it for good.
"It seems I can use this to make a fortune in every lifetime to come."
With ninety thousand contribution points in hand, Li Fan's experiment regarding the effects of "reaping without sowing" began.
"An experiment needs a control group. Xiao Heng will do."
The first investment target for the Mountain-Sitting Art was naturally Su Xiaomei, possessor of a Natural Immortal Physique and one of the Heaven-Envied.
The clone dressed, concealed its cultivation with a Form-Concealing Talisman, and stood off to the side.
Next, Li Fan summoned the two of them with a communication talisman.
Before long, Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng arrived inside the stone chamber at the bottom of the lake.
They looked curiously at the clone beside Li Fan, wondering who this unfamiliar cultivator was.
However, seeing that Li Fan did not speak, neither dared to ask.
"Greetings, Master!"
"Greetings, Senior!"
The two bowed respectfully.
"How is the cultivation going for the two of you?" Li Fan asked with his back turned to them.
"Master, I cultivate super fast! I'm already at the peak of Qi Condensation and can reach Foundation Establishment very soon. But Foundation Establishment requires some wonder of heaven and earth, plus a Foundation Establishment technique. They cost so, so many contribution points, and I'll have to save up for ages," Su Xiaomei said piteously, her large eyes fixed on Li Fan.
"Replying to Senior, like Xiaomei, I am also preparing for Foundation Establishment." Xiao Heng, on the other hand, appeared somewhat restrained.
Silence fell for a moment, as though Li Fan were pondering something.
After a while, Li Fan turned around and said, "Gathering artifacts with Dao charm for me has held you two back."
Xiao Heng quickly replied, "Senior, please don't say that! Being able to work for you is this junior's honor. If not for Senior, how could the few of us have ever left the Li Realm and embarked upon the immortal path?
"What's more, the techniques we cultivate were provided by Senior.
"The grace of imparting the Dharma is something this junior will never dare forget."
Li Fan waited until Xiao Heng finished before continuing, "When it comes to cultivation, what matters is taking the lead early; one step ahead means staying ahead at every step.
"If you rely solely on saving up on your own, I fear you will have to wait another three to five years.
"Squandering these most precious years of cultivation might result in entirely different future achievements.
"Therefore..."
Li Fan paused, then went on, "Select whichever techniques and wonders catch your eye in this Heavenly Profound Mirror. I will pay the bill.
"Once you have them in hand, establish your foundations immediately. Do not delay any longer."
Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng froze at first, seemingly unable to process such an enormous stroke of luck landing upon their heads.
Just as joy surfaced on their faces and they were about to kowtow in gratitude,
they heard Li Fan speak once more: "Su Xiaomei has always called me Master. Though I have never agreed to it, some sentiment remains after all. Thus, I will not ask her for contribution points. Consider it a master's care for a disciple.
"As for you... the contribution points will be considered a loan from me. In the future, you will need to gather wonders of heaven and earth to repay me. Do you have any objections?"
These words elicited starkly different reactions from the two.
Su Xiaomei cheered, "Long live Master!" and after knocking her head to the ground in a kowtow, she impatiently dashed over to the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror to pick out a technique.
Xiao Heng looked at Su Xiaomei with a wry smile.
Then, his expression turned solemn. "Senior is willing to lend me contribution points so that I may reach Foundation Establishment ahead of time. This is already a boundless favor; how could this junior be dissatisfied?
"Once I establish my foundation, I will certainly spare no effort in gathering wonders of heaven and earth to repay Senior's kindness."
Hearing this, Li Fan nodded slowly. "In that case, you go as well."
Xiao Heng also knocked his head once in a kowtow before walking over to the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror to pick alongside Su Xiaomei.
Watching the excited pair, Li Fan's gaze grew profound.
The vastly different treatment given to Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng was naturally Li Fan controlling variables.
After imparting the techniques, as their cultivation advanced, how much feedback in cultivation could Li Fan receive?
Would it be worth the initial investment?
How much difference would there be between the feedback gained from imparting a technique freely versus on credit?
For the same amount of contribution points, would investing through the Mountain-Sitting Art yield more cultivation progress, or would cultivating in the Heavenly Profound Mirror bring greater improvement?
All of these were questions Li Fan needed to figure out.
This would determine how he utilized the "reaping without sowing" trait of the Mountain-Sitting Art going forward.
After reaching early Foundation Establishment, the cost of Spirit Enlightenment in the Heavenly Profound Mirror had risen to one hundred points per day.
Meanwhile, the boost multiplier had dropped from twenty-seven times to around twenty times.
Furthermore, the difficulty of cultivating in the Foundation Establishment stage was a qualitative leap compared to the Qi Condensation stage.
Neither Kou Hong nor Dao Xuanzi were mediocre talents,
yet both had spent a full two hundred-odd years just to cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment.
To some extent, this demonstrated just how difficult cultivation truly was.
The consumption of contribution points was simply too immense.
Though Li Fan possessed foresight and could easily amass large amounts of contribution points,
he still needed to plan and budget with meticulous care.
Chapter 149