Ninety-nine percent of cultivators in the cultivation world were in the Qi Refinement stage. Because of this, cultivators were accustomed to dividing Qi Refinement into meticulous sublevels, splitting it into nine layers, whereas subsequent realms were only divided into the early, middle, and late stages.
The Dao Seeking Sect was different. For disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect, Qi Refinement was merely the threshold for entry, so why bother categorizing a threshold?
The Dao Seeking Sect only had Qi Refinement, with no minor levels within it.
"Did everyone else achieve Qi Induction like this too?"
Lu Yang was curious. If everyone cultivated this way, how could his own progress be the slowest?
Yun Zhi shook her head. "Yours is the original method of cultivation used by the ancient ancestors. The ancients sensed nature, merged heaven and humanity, and drew spiritual energy into themselves, taking a single leap to become practitioners."
Naturally, the earliest cultivation required no guidance from predecessors, nor was there any talk of cultivation manuals or secret scriptures. There was only continuous comprehension and trial and error with one's own body.
"As for your meridians, while soaking in the medicinal baths, they were already fully opened, allowing spiritual energy to flow unobstructed. In your state of unity with heaven and humanity, spiritual energy circulated through your body in accordance with your instincts. The circulation path at that moment was the one most suited to you, superior to any grade of cultivation technique."
The cultivation world liked to divide cultivation manuals into five grades: Yellow, Black, Earth, Heaven, and Immortal. But for Yun Zhi, there were only two kinds of techniques—those that suited you, and those that did not.
"No cultivation method was specifically designed for you when it was first created. There are plenty of techniques suitable for a Sword Spiritual Root—I have an entire chest of them on hand—but none of them are truly right for you.
"Starting today, I am giving you a long-term assignment: create your own cultivation technique."
When Yun Zhi spoke of creating a cultivation technique on his own, she naturally did not intend to leave Lu Yang to fumble in the dark completely; she would provide guidance from the side. Even so, the sheer difficulty was easy to imagine.
Creating a cultivation technique was something only venerable elders of the cultivation world could accomplish.
The corner of Lu Yang's mouth twitched. "The seniors who created cultivation methods stood so high above the rest, possessing a commanding view and an effortless grasp of every realm. Only then were they qualified to create techniques. For a junior like me who has only just achieved Qi Induction to invent a technique, isn't that a bit too..."
Yun Zhi interrupted Lu Yang's complaints. "Creating a cultivation method isn't as difficult as you think.
"Do you know that the Dao Seeking Sect has a rule that after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, every disciple must complete missions issued by the Mission Hall to fulfill their duty to the righteous path?"
Lu Yang nodded. He had heard about this.
Other sects had similar systems requiring their disciples to complete missions. After all, sects did not support freeloaders, and contributing to the sect was how one proved their worth.
However, the Five Great Immortal Sects were different. They required their disciples to undertake missions not to contribute to the sect, but to contribute to the righteous path.
For the Five Great Immortal Sects, leading the righteous path was not an empty phrase.
"Normal missions require going down the mountain to slay demons, vanquish monsters, exorcise ghosts, deliver souls, and the like. I dislike the dust of the mortal world, so I chose another way to complete my missions."
"What was that?"
"The Mission Hall has a permanent mission: submitting a backup copy of a cultivation method not yet recorded in the Dao Seeking Sect's archives counts as completing a mission."
"Then Eldest Senior Sister, did you..." A thought so bold that it bordered on absurd crossed Lu Yang's mind.
"So, to deal with... to complete the missions, I created many techniques myself, and then lied and told them I had found them in ancient ruins and grotto-heavens."
"Unfortunately, I was eventually caught."
"How did they figure it out?" Lu Yang pressed.
"Based on the missions I reported, the parrot noted that I had visited every single grotto-heaven and ruin on record, and I didn't know which one to make up next.
"So you see, creating cultivation methods isn't hard."
Yun Zhi used her own experience as proof, sound in logic and rich in evidence, making it thoroughly convincing.
Lu Yang opened his mouth, wanting to say, *Eldest Senior Sister, I thought you were an honest person; I never expected you to lie,* or *Eldest Senior Sister, your extraordinary talent isn't something we ordinary mortals can compare to,* or *When you do it, it's called creating techniques; when I do it, it's called making things up out of thin air.*
Meeting Yun Zhi's aloof gaze, countless words condensed into a single sentence.
"Eldest Senior Sister is right."
"Though you have become a cultivator, you are still far from being a qualified sword cultivator. Here, take this book."
Eldest Senior Sister handed over an ancient tome crafted from the hide of some unknown beast. It was large, thick, and heavy.
"Demon Domain Chronicles?" Lu Yang flipped the ancient book open. A wave of baleful aura washed over him. Images of various demon beasts sprang vividly from the pages, and he could faintly hear their roars echoing in his ears.
This ancient book was utterly priceless!
Lu Yang fell into thought. A sword cultivator needed sword intent. He had only just reached Qi Refinement, so how was he supposed to cultivate sword intent?
He had heard that ancient sword cultivators comprehended their first wisp of sword intent during desperate life-and-death struggles against demon beasts, teetering on the brink of survival while confronting the beasts' ferocious malice.
Then the answer was obvious: he needed to visualize the forms of the demon beasts, comprehend their ferocious malice, extract the essence while discarding the dross, condense ten thousand beasts into a single point, and realize a sword intent of his own.
Although this method was difficult, it was perfectly suited for someone with a Sword Spiritual Root like him.
It also showed Eldest Senior Sister's earnest expectations for him.
"I understand everything now." Lu Yang nodded, having grasped Eldest Senior Sister's intention.
Yun Zhi glanced at Lu Yang, having no idea what he had understood. She waved her hand, and the puppet hauled over another cart of tofu.
"It is good that you understand.
"To become a sword cultivator requires precision. Take this Green Blade Sword. Your next task is to use the tip of the blade to carve the tofu into the shapes of demon beasts. All their appearances are in the book."
Yun Zhi retrieved a sharp sword radiating a chilling glint from her storage space. The two characters *Green Blade* were engraved upon its hilt.
Lu Yang: "..."
Tofu again?
Could it be that the dream that night hadn't been a nightmare, but a prophetic dream hinting that his future Daoist title would be Heavenly Venerable Tofu?
*Damn it, I can't be having thoughts like that.*
Lu Yang hastily banished the terrifying thought from his mind.
He took the Green Blade Sword. His first impression was that the sword felt remarkably light.
In truth, it was not that the Green Blade Sword was light at all; in fact, the opposite was true. The Green Blade Sword was entirely unsuitable for cultivators in the first three layers of Qi Refinement, as the sharp blade was so heavy that ordinary cultivators could not even lift it.
Lu Yang was different. After his vat-carrying training, his strength had grown to a point where even he had no clear concept of its extent. To put it bluntly, without using any technique whatsoever, a plain punch from him right now could knock a cultivator in the first three layers of Qi Refinement into next week.
...
Perhaps because he had stepped into Qi Refinement and his sword talent was gradually emerging, coupled with the control he had developed from mastering lifting light as if heavy, Lu Yang wielded the Green Blade Sword with effortless familiarity.
In little more than ten days, Lu Yang was able to carve demon beast figures out of tofu, as well as statues of himself and Eldest Senior Sister. He could even carve the nine lotus-shaped mountain peaks of the Dao Seeking Sect.
Following in the footsteps of a folk acrobat, Lu Yang had acquired a new skill: he could now roll up his sleeves and make a name for himself in a restaurant kitchen.
He had to hurry; he truly couldn't stomach another bite of tofu.
Once Lu Yang completed this stage, Eldest Senior Sister appeared. After offering a word of encouragement, she produced a single white sesame seed.
"A sword cultivator must also train their eyesight. Now, I will toss this sesame seed into the tofu dregs, and you must find it in the shortest time possible."
With a thud, Lu Yang fell to his knees. "Eldest Senior Sister, let's use another method!"
Eldest Senior Sister quietly watched Lu Yang beg for mercy, her eyes unperturbed.
"Oh."
Chapter 14