"Spirit stones! I have to earn more spirit stones! How do I get more of them?"
Sitting inside his hut, Han Xuhan could simply not enter the deep, meditative phase described by Mu Ran. However, sensing qi without being in that phase was not possible for a beginner.
In each of his hands were a spirit stone, the cheapest type that resembled a coin. Mu Ran taught him that the minuscule qi trapped in the center of these coins was far easier to sense than the qi spread across the natural elements like air, earth, wood, water, and fire.
The only drawback of using such qi to kickstart his cultivation journey was its highly polluted state, unlike the free unrefined qi around him.
But Mu Ran assured him that as long as he switched his method after mastering how to sense and control qi, the Zeroth Layer foundation would easily mitigate any damage caused from absorbing the qi from spirit stones.
Getting up from the meditation mat, he brought a small booklet under the lamplight. This was the rulebook Xuanyuan Zhou had advised him to read this morning. He had almost forgotten about it.
"Maybe there will be something in the rules about earning spirit stones as a disciple. After all, few can sustain their cultivation solely relying on their families..."
As it turned out, his guess was correct. He found several methods to earn spirit stones through the sect's activities. Unfortunately, he wasn't qualified to take on any of those tasks. It wasn't entirely because of his servant status, though.
Deliver 400 kg of shredded logs to the sect's kitchen every morning.
Go deep into the mountain range to search for the herbs listed by the Medicine Pavilion.
Mine the mountain soil for precious crafting materials listed by the Weaponry Pavilion.
Assist the Arraymakers of the sect in their group projects.
Assist the Apparatus Factory in building new gadgets and repairing old ones.
Volunteer to test the latest version of poisons produced in the Poison Frost Mountain Peak.
Collect protection fees and taxes from the nearby settlements.
These were the simplest tasks in the list. The remaining ones seemed so technical that he didn't even understand what he was supposed to do in those.
Either these tasks required a good cultivation base of a Mystic Art, or an immensely enhanced Physique, or some kind of secondary skills like making arrays, crafting weapons, brewing potions, or building devices that he had no familiarity with.
However, as he went through the rest of the rulebook, a highlighted chart caught his eye.
Rule No. 211: An outer court disciple must accomplish the achievements listed below or risk facing expulsion from the sect.
211.1- Reach the 2nd layer in any orthodox path within 3 months.
211.2- Reach the 5th layer in any orthodox path within one year.
211.3- Reach the 8th layer in any orthodox path within 2 years.
211.4- Reach the peak of any orthodox path within 3 years.
211.5- Break through to the Soul Reformation realm within 5 years.
For a moment, Han Xuhan was greatly relieved to see that these rules were applicable only to proper outer court disciples. He was just a personal attendant of one. He would be exempted from such strict requirements.
But then he realized that if he didn't find a way to improve his status within the sect, making substantial progress as a cultivator would not be easy at all. The resources and guidance that Xuanyuan Zhou and Mu Ran could provide him would never be comparable to what the Sect could give him!
Just a full free access to half the floors of the Archives would boost his potential by a great margin. Not to mention, the intensive personal guidance of the Elders, their secondary skills, their training methods—he would have access to so many more opportunities if he could become a legitimate disciple!
So, even if he didn't have to abide by these cultivation speed requirements right now, it would be best to stay above the lines drawn in the chart.
Han Xuhan set a small goal for himself at that moment. Within the next two months, he was going to hit the peak of the 2nd layer of the Skeleton Monarch Technique!
By then, it would be time to pay a ton of fees to the sect again for his residential package. He couldn't just ask Xuanyuan Zhou to pay for him this time. As long as he had some ability by then, he could go out to earn spirit stones!
Henceforth, inside the dimly lit hut, a mortal with a steeled heart began his unpredictable journey on the path of Mystic Arts.
Zeroth layer of Skeleton Monarch Technique!
I'm coming, baby!
First phase—sink into the deepest pit of your mind, and feel the emptiness!
Second phase—feel the bubbling movements of the raw, concentrated qi in your hands!
Third phase—become one with the rhythm of the qi! Your thoughts are in harmony with its movements!
Fourth phase—guide your thoughts, guide the harmony, guide the qi!
Fifth phase—take shallow breaths to force open your skin pores, where the guided qi will enter, attracted by the heavenly order between meridians and qi!
Sixth phase—channel the qi in your meridians according to the paths memorized from the diagrams!
Seventh Phase—Complete the cycle—
Han Xuhan no longer remembered what took place once he reached the endpoint of the seventh step. He blacked out with an extreme itch plaguing his entire body.
The Salted Fish Mountain Peak was quiet that night, cloaked under darkness and fog. In a dark hut on this very mountain peak, another person was cultivating the same technique as Han Xuhan.
The moment Han Xuhan passed out, their head snapped towards the window in shock.
"He did it?! He really did it!"
"I told you he's a heavenly anomaly," another voice spoke in the dark.
"If any ordinary human could accommodate the Zeroth Layer in their spiritual world, this method would have never been lost to your civilization!"
"It's great that he happens to be such a genuine and kind person. He'll accept my secrets with an open mind, perhaps, and I will gain a true confidante in this world."
"Wrong!" The other voice roared in agitation.
"How many more times must I warn you? Your only true confidante could be someone like you, someone like me, someone on our unique path! Never leak our secret! Cut off such dangerous thoughts and focus on getting stronger!"
After a long pause, the voice spoke one last time.
"Remember, once we reveal our true selves, the whole macrocosm will be after us. Not even an anomaly like him will dare to oppose the heavenly mandate!"