Chapter 30 Reunion with Liu Yu

The General Affairs Hall was unusually lively today, bustling with people as many spirit farmers brought their harvested spirit grains to repay the sect's land rent.

The crowd formed several long lines, and the air was filled with the sweet fragrance of spirit rice.

The procession moved slowly, and it took about an hour before it was finally Ji An's turn.

"196 jin of spirit grain, hmm. The quality is not bad. Let's say you get 200 jin of spirit grain, which will earn you 40 contribution points."

Ji An frowned slightly upon hearing the words of the cultivator in charge of weighing.

When he arrived, he clearly weighed 200 jin of yellow sprout rice, and then he added two more handfuls, so it was a few jin less here.

"Senior brother, this doesn't match the measurement I made."

The cultivator squinted and said with a forced smile:

"Junior brother, are you new here? I think there's something wrong with your scale."

Ask the senior brothers behind you, how could the scales used by the General Affairs Hall to weigh the spirit rice be wrong!

"Hey you, tell me, is there something wrong with the scale here?"

Behind Ji An was a cultivator who looked just as old as Lao Huang.

“The scales of the General Affairs Department are certainly not wrong,” the old man said with a smile, subtly winking at Ji An.

Ji An pursed his lips and handed over the jade token in his hand:

"My scale must be wrong."

"Thank you, Senior Brother. Please exchange the contribution points you've earned for three acres of spirit grain seeds and one acre of low-level talisman grass seeds."

The people in the General Affairs Department must know that the scales here are faulty, and they also know that these Spirit Farmers know that their scales are faulty, yet they still do it so blatantly, there must be a gray interest chain behind it.

As a mere Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator, I can't afford to offend anyone right now.

He didn't want to ask Li Changfeng for help; it was too small a matter to be indebted to him.

Besides, now that everyone is watching, Li Changfeng will definitely still side with the General Affairs Hall.

The cultivator took the jade token, swiped it on the spirit plate, and said with a smirk:

"He really is a new disciple."

200 catties of spirit grain can be exchanged for 40 contribution points, three mu of spirit grain seeds can be exchanged for 12 contribution points, and one mu of talisman grass seeds can be exchanged for 4 contribution points.

Your jade token originally had no contribution points; you now have 24 contribution points remaining.

Ji An took the jade token and left, heading towards the library.

Today, the disciples on duty in the General Affairs Hall are busy collecting land rent and don't have time to exchange jade slips for him.

Upon arriving at the library, I exchanged jade slips for talisman paper and ink, spending 20 contribution points.

Ji An didn't rush to leave. Taking advantage of the free time he had today, he found some books on cultivation and miscellaneous matters to read, hoping to broaden his horizons.

I was so captivated by it that I didn't come to my senses until the sun was setting.

Ji An left on the talisman bird, looking somewhat preoccupied.

The book clearly records that the Golden Spirit Sect is a sect that migrated from the Central Continent more than two thousand years ago, along with more than twenty other sects of varying sizes.

After thousands of years of trials and tribulations, only three sects remain standing: Jinling Sect, Luofeng Valley, and Yuanhe Mountain. All other sects have perished.

The book subtly suggests that the sect's relocation here was not entirely voluntary.

The book also mentions that every few thousand years, humans would engage in a protracted war with the demon race in the heart of the Western Continent's mountains.

Ji An, with the strategic vision he had cultivated from reading novels over many years in his previous life, understood a key message: if war were to break out again, the sects of the Western Continent would serve as a buffer zone between the forces of the Central Continent and the demon race!

After advancing to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, you need to quickly accumulate 200 contribution points to exchange for the attack spell jade slip.

He knew that if a major war broke out, everyone in the sect would be affected.

The Golden Spirit Sect has been rooted in this land for over two thousand years, and no one can say for sure how long it will be before the next war.

Ji An would rather worry unnecessarily than be completely helpless when it comes to actually fighting.

No matter what, the only person you can truly trust is yourself.

Of the three acres of spirit fields, two and a half acres were planted with spirit grains, and half an acre was planted with talisman grass.

The basic talisman grass also matures every three months, at which point you can try making talisman paper.

Learning another skill allows you to make more efficient use of your time.

Earning crystals by condensing wood element beads all over the mountains and fields is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also yields low returns.

Ji An cast spells one after another, and clouds and mist enveloped the three acres of spiritual fields, with spiritual rain pouring down and a misty fog spreading out.

Nodding in satisfaction, he prepared to leave when he suddenly caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure walking along the path not far away.

He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile:

"I saw Senior Brother Liu again today. I guess he has broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining!"

"Haha, I just broke through last night."

Liu Yu was in a good mood, smiling broadly and nodding gently.

Ji An's eyes flickered slightly. It had been about five months since the two last met.

In such a long time, the other party's cultivation level has only increased from the sixth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level, which is very different from the previous rapid progress. Is it really that difficult to break through the bottleneck of the mid-stage of Qi Refining?

Ji An thought for a moment and said:

“Senior brother, you didn’t attend the sect’s lecture for new disciples who are at the Foundation Establishment stage. I heard a point of view and I’d like to share it with you.”

He carefully recounted Qin Yan's explanation of the methods for improving qualifications, closely observing the other person's expression.

He noticed that the other person's expression remained calm and unwavering, and thought to himself that this secret technique was probably not a secret to the other person either.

After hearing this, Liu Yu smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for informing me, Junior Brother."

He hesitated for a few seconds, then said:

"I'll also tell my junior brother a little trick: Qi Refining disciples with aptitude below Earth Grade will encounter some bottlenecks when breaking through to the middle and late stages of Qi Refining."

If you have enough time, it's best not to buy pills that can help you break through bottlenecks; just grind it out slowly.

Otherwise, it will have some negative impact on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

If one needs elixirs to break through the bottleneck in the Qi Refining stage, then the chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage is half a percent lower than that of someone who does not take breakthrough elixirs.

A 50% chance may seem insignificant, but the Foundation Establishment Pill itself cannot guarantee a cultivator's breakthrough. If you're unlucky, one Foundation Establishment Pill might not be enough!

The other party's talk about improving aptitude was useless to him, because he already knew that. But when he saw the range of the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique from afar, he knew that the spell had been mastered.

This junior brother has an amazing aptitude for magic. With this talent for spiritual cultivation, he'll definitely have a bright future.

In theory, as long as one has enough resources, it is not difficult to advance to Foundation Establishment during the Qi Refining stage; the only difference is when one achieves Foundation Establishment.

For cultivators, Foundation Establishment is just the beginning; Qi Refining is merely the foundation upon which the cultivation world is built.

Is there really such a saying?

Ji An was startled, realizing why the other party had taken so long to break through this time.

He became even more enthusiastic about finding a master in the future, because without a teacher to guide him, he might fall into a trap at any time.

"Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother. I am deeply grateful."

Ji An bowed respectfully. He had originally planned to buy pills to quickly break through when he encountered the bottleneck of the mid-stage Qi Refining realm, but now he had to reconsider.

(End of this chapter)