Chapter 1: A Harsh Cultivation Environment
Harvest Day.
The blazing sun hung high in the sky, scorching even the clouds dry.
Lu You worked under the blazing sun, diligently harvesting the spiritual fields assigned to him.
These were the spiritual fields of the Verdant Cloud Sect. Each mu of spiritual field could yield five hundred jin of spiritual rice.
Spiritual rice contained only a small amount of spiritual energy, but it was extremely easy for cultivators to digest and absorb. If one were wealthy enough to eat spiritual rice every meal, then even a mortal without a spiritual root could, after decades of consumption, forcibly break through to the Foundation Establishment realm and gain a lifespan of two hundred years.
Unfortunately, both the planting area and yield of spiritual rice were far too limited to sustain cultivators' consumption.
Within the entire Verdant Cloud Sect, only the core disciples were qualified to eat spiritual rice for every meal.
As for Lu You, he was merely a menial disciple of the Verdant Cloud Sect, responsible for handling production, cultivation, and processing tasks for the sect.
There were over a thousand menial disciples like Lu You in the Verdant Cloud Sect. The reason everyone flocked to this position was simple: once a menial disciple completed three full years of service, the sect would arrange for the inner disciples to test the menial disciples' spiritual roots. Those with outstanding talent could soar in a single leap—some even transforming directly from menial disciples into some elder personal disciples. Those with average talent would receive an entry-level cultivation technique from the sect; as long as they cultivated to the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining, they could become inner disciples and receive more systematic guidance.
Today marked exactly the end of Lu You's third year of farming.
As a transmigrator, Lu You had been waiting for this day for a very long time.
This was cultivation—flying through the skies, escaping through the earth, immortality. What normal person wouldn't want that?
From noon until sunset, Lu You finished sifting all the spiritual rice and spread it out on black silk cloth. Under the sunlight, the grains stood out in sharp contrast of black and white, crystal clear and irresistibly alluring.
Suddenly, a creaking sound rang out as an ordinary horse-drawn carriage slowly approached. An inner disciple wearing the Verdant Cloud Sect robes and an inner-disciple waist token stepped down from the carriage.
Lu You was long used to such scenes. After all, true flight required a person to be at least in the Golden Core realm. The inner disciples responsible for collecting grain and testing aptitude hadn't even successfully established their foundation yet. If they didn't ride a carriage, were they supposed to run here?
"Junior Brother Lu, congratulations, congratulations. Today is your aptitude testing day."
The inner disciple clasped his hands toward Lu You.
This man was named Han Tian. He had also risen from a menial disciple to the inner sect. For the past three years, he had been responsible for collecting Lu You's grain, so the two were quite familiar with each other.
"Senior Brother Han, you're too kind. I've troubled you again," Lu You said with a chuckle, stepping aside.
Han Tian took a gourd from his robes and pointed it toward the spiritual rice on the silk cloth. With a whoosh, all the spiritual rice was sucked into the gourd. He gently shook it and smiled.
"Junior Brother Lu, it's exactly five hundred jin."
"Same rules as always," he continued.
"Ninety percent goes to the sect, half a percent as tax."
"That leaves twenty-five jin of spiritual rice for your personal use."
"Junior Brother Lu, do you want spirit stones or spiritual rice?"
Such daylight robbery!
Even after two years, every time he heard this split and taxation, Lu You's heart still ached.
A whole year of hard labor, and he only got twenty-five jin of spiritual rice.
"Senior Brother, do you even need to ask?" Lu You replied bitterly. "I can't afford to eat spiritual rice, of course I'll exchange it for spirit stones."
Lu You's pain was obvious. Han Tian chuckled and comforted him.
"Junior Brother, our goal is cultivation. Wealth is merely an external possession. I went through the same thing, just endure it, and it'll pass."
As he spoke, Han Tian handed over two low-grade spirit stones and fifty spirit coins, then took out a compass-like artifact.
"Come, Junior Brother. Place your palm on the compass."
This was the spiritual root aptitude test.
As Lu You placed his hand on it, the compass only rotated slightly before stopping.
"Ahem... Junior Brother," Han Tian sighed, "it's a mixed spiritual root."
Common spiritual roots were classified as follows:
Defective spiritual root, mixed spiritual root, low-grade spiritual root, mid-grade spiritual root, and high-grade spiritual root.
Those with defective spiritual roots could only live as mortals, unable to cultivate for their entire lives.
Mixed spiritual roots were the most common—most cultivators had them—and it's possible that they would spend their entire life in the Qi Refining realm.
Han Tian himself possessed a low-grade spiritual root and had been stuck at the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining for years, unable to break through to Foundation Establishment. Only those with mid-grade spiritual roots could directly advance to inner disciples.
"This is the sect's entry-level cultivation technique," Han Tian said, handing something over.
"The Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique."
Placing a thin manual into Lu You's hands, Han Tian continued, "Junior Brother, you also know that the lower the grade of one's spiritual root, the harder cultivation becomes. If you rely solely on bitter cultivation, you'll probably end up spending more than you earn."
"I just happen to have two auxiliary paths here, alchemy and talisman crafting. Would you like to give them a try?"
Hearing that he had a mixed spiritual root, Lu You quietly let out a breath of relief.
He wasn't particularly disappointed.
As long as he could cultivate, that was enough. A mixed spiritual root was still far better than a defective one. Looking at Han Tian's expression—which reminded him uncannily of an insurance salesman from his previous life—Lu You thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Senior Brother Han is right. If I learn alchemy and talisman crafting, I can earn some extra income to support my cultivation. May I ask how much these cultivation techniques cost?"
"Not much, not much at all." Seeing Lu You take the bait, Han Tian immediately broke into a wide grin. Grain collection earned him a fixed salary—selling side paths was where the real money was. "They're only basic introductory techniques. One spirit stone will do."
One spirit stone for two cultivation techniques wasn't expensive.
After all, the Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique had taken Lu You three full years of labor to obtain.
Handing one of the spirit stones he had just earned back to Han Tian, Lu You received two thin booklets in return.
"Junior Brother, I won't disturb you any longer," Han Tian said, patting Lu You on the shoulder. "I wish you an early promotion to the inner sect. See you next year."
With that, he turned and climbed back onto the carriage, heading toward the next spiritual field.
At last—he had cultivation techniques!
Lu You clenched his fists in excitement and hurried back to his room. Cultivating the Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique was not complicated. It was based on one's own spiritual root, drawing in the Five Elements energy of heaven and earth. The so-called "minor" Five Elements meant that in the early stages, cultivation focused more on refining qi and blood, supplementing it mainly through diet.
This technique could be cultivated all the way up to Foundation Establishment. Once one reached that realm, they could become an inner disciple and obtain the more profound Five Elements Longevity Technique. The higher one's spiritual root grade, the faster one cultivated with the same resources. For someone like Lu You, with a mixed spiritual root, without massive financial backing, he would likely exhaust his lifespan without ever reaching the tenth level of Qi Refining.
After memorizing the cultivation technique of the Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique, Lu You sat cross-legged in the center of the room and focused his mind.
Slowly, a small cauldron engraved with dragon patterns appeared in his consciousness.
In the next instant, the cauldron materialized right in front of him.
Aside from the exquisite dragon carvings, one character were engraved on the cauldron:
Cornucopia.
This was Lu You's cheat—his golden finger—after transmigrating to this world.
Reaching out, Lu You took a grain of spiritual rice he had deliberately hidden between his fingers earlier and placed it into the cauldron. In just a single breath, the cauldron suddenly became completely filled with spiritual rice.
Taking out a rice bucket he had prepared in advance, Lu You skillfully flipped the cauldron upside down, pouring all the spiritual rice into the bucket.
This Cornucopia cauldron could turn anything placed inside it into an inexhaustible supply.
However, once it was flipped upside down, everything inside would be cleared, allowing a new item to be placed within.
Placing his last remaining low-grade spirit stone into the cauldron, Lu You immediately obtained a cauldron full of low-grade spirit stones.