Chapter 0009: The Heart of the Dao is Firm, a Stick of Incense Burns
There is no urgency, nor any impatience; there is only a heart as calm as water, seeking the path of truth.
Murong Chao sarcastically remarked: "As a disciple of a weaker lineage, one must learn to face reality. What does it matter if one's resolve is strong? In the end, it is still due to poor aptitude that one meets with failure"
Even Elder Chu could not help but feel jealous of such speed, let alone the other new disciples. After the three purple seed disciples succeeded one after another, the vast majority of people became restless. The process of drawing spiritual energy into the body is a task that requires both boldness and meticulousness, and it can only be completed with a calm and peaceful mind. In their restlessness, they focused solely on being bold, hastening the speed of spiritual energy entering the body to break the seed. However, the more restless they became, the less likely they were to succeed. Several disciples even turned pale; had it not been for Elder Chu's timely intervention to assist them, they would have been harmed by the spiritual energy, making it impossible for them to achieve significant accomplishments in their lifetime.
This is akin to a person with a leg injury competing in a 100-meter race against a healthy individual, where the injured party is at a significant disadvantage
Among the weaker disciples, Qin Haoxuan's temperament and presence are the most impressive, and his perseverance in successfully breaking through to the final stage has become widely known. After observing the surroundings, a servant disciple decided to get closer to Qin Haoxuan.
The time is drawing near, and only a faint red dot remains of the incense stick.
For these hopeless servant disciples, the annual initiation training for new disciples is an opportunity
Two breaths
Although Qin Haoxuan also succeeded in breaking through to the next level, he did not possess the same insight and talent as the disciples of the Purple Seed, and was unable to master the Qi Induction Technique instantly; he could only practice step by step like everyone else
At the last moment, Qin Haoxuan finally guided the spiritual energy into his body, breaking through the immortal seed and successfully establishing the immortal root. The next step is to take root! Once the root is firmly established, he will truly embark on the genuine path of cultivation.
Comparing the qualifications of the little snake with his own, he had to admit that his body was indeed too inferior. It seemed necessary to make a trip to the Absolute Immortal Poison Valley to obtain some miraculous elixirs to refine his body and enhance his qualifications
Elder Chu's announcement of the time provoked even more intense discussions and ridicule: "I bet he will definitely not succeed"
Elder Chu called out in greeting, looking at Qin Haoxuan with eyes full of admiration and respect. A weak disciple possessing such a firm determination and willpower, successfully breaking through the celestial seed on the very first day of training, is truly unprecedented! Even Xu Yu, who keeps others at a distance and does not engage with anyone, cast a warm smile towards Qin Haoxuan.
But what if the injured person starts only ten meters away from the finish line during the competition? Even if injured, there is still a chance to surpass a healthy individual
Elder Chu glanced at the incense and said, "There are still ten breaths left"
Qin Haoxuan has not yet given up, his expression remains as calm and peaceful as ever, and his breathing is still remarkably steady. This unperturbed state of mind has left Elder Chu, who intentionally reported the time to test the stability of his Dao heart, utterly astonished.
Unlike others, Qin Haoxuan, who has entered the body of the little snake multiple times, has had numerous encounters with spiritual energy. Therefore, although he is of a weaker lineage, he understands spiritual energy better than disciples of the fully developed lineage. However, the absorption of spiritual energy for a weaker lineage requires control, which is significantly more challenging than for those of a fully developed lineage.
Immediately, many disciples gradually opened their eyes, unable to calm their minds. After all, there are still three months left, so there is no need to rush for just a day or two
Disciples who have not yet reached the stage of guiding energy into the body are both passively practicing the energy guiding technique and waiting for tomorrow's spirit-invoking pill. After all, according to the standard guiding technique, it takes at least one and a half years, and at most eight to ten years, to successfully break through the seed.
Even before the plump immortal seed could sense the aura of immortality, Qin Haoxuan had already experienced it ahead of them.
Compared to Li Jing, Zhang Kuang, and others, Qin Haoxuan, as a weaker individual, did not lose at the starting line. However, Qin Haoxuan is quite dissatisfied, as the gap in aptitude is indeed significant. In the beginning, he is likely to fall behind in terms of cultivation level! If this continues, Zhang Kuang and others will not be polite to me in the future! Do I really have to find a time to use the little snake to take a gamble in the Immortal Poison Valley?
Waste is waste, and a toad also wishes to eat swan meat
After he discussed several key points about luck and energy attraction, he left them to cultivate on their own
... ...
Zhang Kuang possesses an extraordinary talent with limitless potential, and his future achievements are boundless. The servant disciples are currently troubled, not knowing how to curry favor with this genius. Now that Zhang Kuang has taken the initiative to speak, they are all eager to take action. If it were not for the strict rules prohibiting internal conflicts among disciples, they would be eager to immediately behead Qin Haoxuan to claim credit.
Although the old hands in Lingtiangu are of poor quality and sprout late, many of them are senior brothers from the Immortal Seed realm, having cultivated for ten, eight, or even several decades. Qin Haoxuan felt that he was not their match, and a strong sense of crisis arose within him. This is bad! These people would do anything to curry favor with Zhang Kuang! Right now, I am simply not their opponent! I must find a way to quickly improve my cultivation to ensure my own safety! It seems that tonight I have no choice but to take a gamble at the Absolute Immortal Poison Valley! These people would do anything to curry favor with Zhang Kuang! Right now, I am simply not their opponent! I must find a way to quickly improve my cultivation to ensure my own safety! It seems that tonight I have no choice but to take a gamble at the Absolute Immortal Poison Valley! I want to see if it is really as my senior brother said, that there are spiritual herbs within. If I can find a few precious spiritual herbs, it should greatly help me in improving my cultivation.
As time passes, more and more people give up, and that incense is about to burn out, the effect of the spirit elixir is about to fade. In the entire academy, only Qin Haoxuan remains immersed in his cultivation. Unlike others who are concerned about the passage of time, Qin Haoxuan has completely forgotten about it, with all his focus devoted to his sensations.
It is now time for the initial cultivation practice. Elder Chu distributed a booklet on cultivation to each person, which contains a basic technique for guiding Qi. Disciples who have already guided Qi into their bodies can practice this technique to accelerate the absorption of spiritual energy for nurturing the immortal seedlings and books, thereby promoting the growth rate of the immortal seedlings. As long as the immortal seedlings break through the seed, they will reach the second level of the immortal seedling realm
Elder Chu's applause and Xu Yu's smile undoubtedly attracted a considerable amount of hatred towards Qin Haoxuan, especially from those new disciples who could not persevere. They were already consumed by jealousy due to Qin Haoxuan's success, and now their feelings of envy and resentment have intensified.
He had just walked up when a few sycophantic disciples led by Zhang Kuang approached, pointing at Qin Haoxuan and saying: "This is my fellow townsman and friend Qin Haoxuan. When I was in Datian Town, Brother Qin often guided me in my martial arts. Last year, during a sparring session with him, I accidentally broke a few of my ribs and had to lie in bed for three to four months. What a pity! With such excellent skills, Qin Haoxuan is unfortunately a color-blind individual, and it seems there is little hope for him to improve. I kindly ask you, senior brothers, to take care of him more in the future, considering my humble request!"
No one believed that Qin Haoxuan would succeed, not even Elder Chu, who had already prepared words of comfort for this new disciple, whose determination was remarkable but whose talent was quite poor, encouraging him to try again tomorrow. However, before the words could leave his mouth, the sudden surge of momentum from Qin Haoxuan stunned them all
The entire venue was in an uproar
As night falls, the servant disciples in Ling Tian Valley have already arranged food and accommodation for the new disciples. Elder Chu said: "The path of cultivation cannot be pursued in isolation; there are many senior brothers in Ling Tian Valley, and you may seek their guidance. Tomorrow, I will explain some fundamental knowledge of immortality cultivation to you and help you identify some medicinal herbs"
In the Ling Tian Valley, there are hundreds of servant disciples cultivating spiritual herbs, but there are only five disciples of the Colorful Immortal Seed, which naturally leads to a situation where there are many monks and little porridge. Moreover, one's achievements in cultivation cannot solely be determined by the strength of the immortal seed. Many servant disciples who lagged behind have begun to consider finding a pleasing weak-seed disciple, as they might just stumble upon a fortunate opportunity, after all, every year there are weak-seed disciples who achieve remarkable success.
Many complex gazes were cast upon Qin Haoxuan, who was still persevering, some filled with admiration, others with disdain, while Elder Chu's eyes were full of appreciation. Although Qin Haoxuan's talent was lacking, his determination was unwavering. As an enlightening immortal master, he understood that the longer it took to guide the spirit into the body and break through the immortal seed, the greater the difficulty. If one's determination was not stable and one's state of mind was not peaceful, success would be impossible. Qin Haoxuan, sitting firmly, was able to maintain his original intention, breathe steadily, and persistently continue without delusion, folly, or fear. He was one of the newcomers with the most solid determination he had ever seen. He understood that the longer it took to guide the spirit into the body and break through the immortal seed, the greater the difficulty. If one's determination was not stable and one's state of mind was not peaceful, success would be impossible. Qin Haoxuan, sitting firmly, was able to maintain his original intention, breathe steadily, and persistently continue without delusion, folly, or fear. He was one of the newcomers with the most solid determination he had ever seen.
Nonsense, if he were to succeed, he would not be a weakling
The meaning of arrogance could not be clearer; these servant disciples are all seasoned individuals who can easily discern the underlying implications. They immediately cast a wicked smile at Qin Haoxuan, all agreeing that Zhang Kuang would certainly take good care of him. Meanwhile, the servant disciple who had intended to approach Qin Haoxuan was so frightened that cold sweat broke out, and he promptly turned to leave, realizing that if he got too close to Qin Haoxuan, he might not even know how he would meet his end later.
Elder Chu cast an approving glance at Qin Haoxuan. After counting the number of individuals who successfully drew spiritual energy into their bodies, it was found that among the two hundred new disciples, fewer than ten had succeeded in this endeavor. This was only the first day of initial training, and this figure had already left Elder Chu overjoyed.
The three prodigies of the purple lineage successively drew the spirit into their bodies. After a few hundred breaths, the aura of drawing the spirit into the body also erupted from Zhang Yang and Mu Rongchao of the gray lineage. The difference between the gray and purple lineages became apparent when comparing the speed at which they drew the spirit into their bodies and broke through the celestial seed.
Three breaths
The technique of drawing in spiritual energy is naturally not a challenge for geniuses like Li Jing and Zhang Kuang, as they almost understand it at a glance and can learn it immediately. They begin to frantically absorb the spiritual energy from the surrounding environment, leaving Elder Chu astonished. If this continues, it is only a matter of time before they show signs of growth, and it will not take long.
Five breaths
Everyone was waiting to see a joke, but Qin Haoxuan's success dealt them a resounding slap in the face, leaving them all dumbfounded and speechless
Four breaths
There was once a servant disciple who sought to ingratiate himself with a powerful disciple undergoing initial training here. After that powerful disciple achieved great success, he also helped the servant disciple to shed his identity. Moreover, this cohort includes three purple celestial seeds and two gray celestial seeds, making it the best cohort in terms of disciple qualifications since the founding of the Taichu Sect. Even if one could only curry favor with a single gray seed disciple, the benefits would be immeasurable
There is still a quarter of an hour left Elder Chu glanced at the incense that had burned for more than half and reminded
The poor qualifications of Qin Haoxuan brought immense comfort to Murong Chao, who had been punched into a panda eye by him. He and Zhang Kuang shared the same thought, which was to cultivate spiritual techniques to take revenge and settle scores, to torment Qin Haoxuan severely, making him wish for life but unable to escape death.
Although aptitude is not the absolute measure of a cultivator's future achievements, it is undeniable that having good aptitude provides a higher starting point
As enemies of Qin Haoxuan, Li Jing and Zhang Kuang were both astonished by his perseverance and endurance, secretly admiring him. At the same time, they reminded themselves that if they had the chance to strike Qin Haoxuan down with one blow, they would not hesitate to do so with a second. Such a person must not be given a chance to catch his breath; otherwise, they would surely face retaliation
Lingtiangu is not only a place for new disciples to receive initial training, but it also accommodates many miscellaneous disciples who have been at the entry level for over ten or even several decades. Most of them remain stuck at the first level of planting spiritual roots or the early stage of the second level of spiritual seedlings, unable to make any progress. They are assigned to cultivate spiritual herbs in Lingtiangu for the use of other members of the sect. Without a significant opportunity to break through their realm, they will likely spend their lives in a state of stagnation, with no hope of advancement.
... ...
In the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, several fully developed disciples of the colorless immortal seed successfully drew the spirit into their bodies one after another, unleashing waves of overwhelming momentum that made it impossible for others to calm their minds. In order to avoid falling into madness, some individuals had already given up.
Qin Haoxuan remained seated, unaffected by the clamor of discussions from the outside world.
Upon arriving at the dormitory, there were already quite a few servant disciples waiting for a long time, attentively greeting the strong disciples, assisting them in finding their accommodations, and ensuring that all arrangements were made meticulously.