Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: The Scripture Repository

On the entire Lushan Mountain, there were three spots with the most abundant spiritual energy. One was in the back mountain, reserved for the Clan Leader's cultivation. Another was the Moon-Watching Pavilion, mainly for minor clan cultivators and elderly cultivators to practice. The last was at the mountain peak—where almost all adult clan cultivators living in the mountain practiced.Zhang Zhixuan moved lightly, tapping the ground with his foot to leap three zhang forward in an instant—this was the advantage of mastering the Light Body Technique. A Sixth Layer Qi Refining cultivator like him, if rushing at full speed, could travel three hundred li in an hour—no slower than a car from his past life. Unfortunately, his mana was still insufficient; if he kept rushing at full speed, his mana would be exhausted after just two hours.In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhang Zhixuan reached the mountain peak. There, over a dozen tall green bamboos stood—these were no ordinary bamboos, but Second-Rank High-Grade Spiritual Wood known as Green Spiritual Jade Bamboo.Cultivation realms for immortals were divided into nine stages: Innate, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spiritual Soul, Void Returning, and Dao Integration. Spiritual herbs and spiritual woods were also classified into nine ranks (with Rank 9 being the highest). Rank 9 spiritual woods had long vanished from this world, and even Rank 7 spiritual woods had been rarely seen in the past tens of thousands of years. Each rank was further divided into high, middle, and low grades.If these dozen or so Second-Rank High-Grade Green Spiritual Jade Bamboos were refined into magical artifacts, they could provide every clan cultivator with a Second-Rank High-Grade Dharma Sword. These bamboos were arranged in an orderly manner, each planted in a carefully selected spot abundant with spiritual energy. Through the clan's arrangements, these bamboos had been formed into a Low-Grade Third-Rank Formation—the Green Light Bamboo Sea Formation. As long as one Qi Refining cultivator stood under each Green Spiritual Jade Bamboo holding a formation flag, this Low-Grade Third-Rank Formation could easily resist an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's attack.Zhang Zhixuan glanced carefully and saw a golden futon placed under each Green Spiritual Jade Bamboo. Over a dozen cultivators over thirty years old sat motionless on the futons, meditating quietly.Zhang Zhixuan took out a jade token from his waist, infused a trace of mana into it, and the token emitted a faint spiritual light that shot straight into the formation. In an instant, the dozen or so bamboos swayed gently, and the spiritual light rippled—suddenly, a gate appeared on the empty ground ahead.Zhang Zhixuan walked through the gate and took over thirty steps, entering a hall over eighteen zhang tall. Dozens of bookshelves lined the hall, and over a dozen jade slips rested on the main altar at the front—this was the Scripture Repository, the most important building of the Zhang Clan.The clan's Second Elder, Zhang Mengling, sat atop the hall. He was a Ninth Layer Qi Refining cultivator, not yet fifty years old. Zhang Mengling had exceptional aptitude—he was a Two-Spiritual-Root cultivator and had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining over ten years ago. Regrettably, due to the clan's declining power in recent years, it had been unable to provide him with a Foundation Establishment Pill. Under normal circumstances, Zhang Mengling might wait another ten years. Only after the age of sixty would a Qi Refining cultivator's vitality gradually decline, and their chance of Foundation Establishment would grow slimmer and slimmer.Although Zhang Mengling had excellent spiritual roots, he dared not risk attempting Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill. Foundation Establishment was always extremely dangerous; without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, a single misstep could cost him his life. Cultivators like him would usually only risk Foundation Establishment as a last resort before the age of sixty."Nineteenth Uncle summoned me—do you have a task for me?" Zhang Zhixuan glanced at Zhang Mengling and asked."Recently, your Seventh Uncle, Eleventh Uncle, Thirteenth Uncle, Seventeenth Uncle, and Ninth Uncle will all return to the mountain. The clan still has some properties outside the mountain that can't be left unattended. So we have to trouble you to go down the mountain and take over for a while," Zhang Mengling cupped his hands and said with a kind expression."What about the subsequent cultivation techniques I'll need after going down the mountain?" Zhang Zhixuan asked next."You can copy the remaining Qi Refining stage techniques of the Blazing Gold Refinement Art you're practicing. You can also freely choose five spells from the Scripture Repository for your future cultivation," Zhang Mengling replied.In the entire Zhang Clan, apart from the Clan Leader, Zhang Mengling held the most authority. According to the clan's rules, Zhang Zhixuan still had two years of free cultivation time—by age, he was not yet supposed to go down the mountain. Thus, when summoning Zhang Zhixuan this time, even though Zhang Mengling held great power, he still spoke gently and offered generous terms.Per the clan's regulations, every time a minor cultivator broke through a cultivation layer, the clan's Scripture Repository would provide one layer of cultivation techniques and one spell. Once a cultivator reached adulthood, they had to contribute to the clan by completing clan tasks, and could only exchange for resources using clan merits.Zhang Zhixuan had already reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining—he was originally entitled to exchange for one layer of techniques and three spells from the Scripture Repository. By going down the mountain two years early, he could exchange for three additional layers of techniques and two more spells at once. Converted into Spirit Stones, these resources would be worth at least three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones to a loose cultivator.This special treatment was because Zhang Mengling recognized Zhang Zhixuan's good spiritual root aptitude and resolute character—seeing great potential in him. If Zhang Zhixuan were a Four-Spiritual-Root or Five-Spiritual-Root cultivator (with almost no chance of Foundation Establishment), Zhang Mengling would not even spare him a glance, let alone allow him to go down the mountain early. After all, such "false spiritual root" cultivators often couldn't even break through to the Qi Refining Realm after reaching adulthood. Even if they went down the mountain, they could only guard market shops or manage mortal towns—providing little help to the clan. Usually, they could only reach the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining after the age of sixty, by which time their vitality would have declined and their mana would be insufficient. Though they might have more experience, they would still be no match for younger cultivators of the same rank. At that age, they could only return to the mountain to teach young disciples. If they were fortunate enough to master one of the "hundred arts of immortal cultivation" (such as talisman-making, artifact-refining, or pill-refining), they could continue contributing to the clan by practicing that craft on the mountain.Immortal cultivators needed to absorb spiritual energy daily. Outside of spiritual mountains and spiritual lands, there was barely enough spiritual energy in the world to sustain their cultivation. Thus, once immortal cultivators went out, they had to rely on spiritual objects containing spiritual energy to practice. These spiritual objects included spirit shells, Spirit Stones, spirit jade, spirit water, etc., and were classified into high, middle, and low grades based on their spiritual energy content. One hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones equaled one Middle-Grade Spirit Stone, and one hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones equaled one High-Grade Spirit Stone.A single Low-Grade Spirit Stone could support a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator in practicing once every ten days, or sustain them in cultivation at the foot of the mountain for a whole year. If more than a year passed and the cultivator had no other spiritual objects, their mana would fail to replenish, their cultivation would gradually decline, and eventually, their spiritual essence would be exhausted—reverting to an Innate Realm cultivator."What does Nineteenth Uncle want me to do after going down the mountain?" Zhang Zhixuan asked further."Your Seventh Uncle is preparing to return to the mountain. The thirty mu of spiritual fields near Lushan County at the foot of the mountain will be left unattended. If you're willing, you can go take care of those spiritual fields. However, to guard the spiritual fields, you must learn spells for pest control and irrigation. You've already mastered the Golden Needle Technique—this technique can not only be used to attack enemies but also kill pests in the spiritual fields. If you choose to guard the spiritual fields, you must select the Spiritual Convergence and Rain Formation Technique as one of your spells. With the ability to gather spiritual energy and conjure rain, you can irrigate the spiritual fields, eliminate pests, and wait for the harvest season," Zhang Mengling said with a relieved smile when he heard Zhang Zhixuan was willing to go down the mountain.