Three years later.
In the courtyard, Lu Xuanji was circulating the Lihuo Yimu Art. His body was like a magnetic field, absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy. Streams of spiritual energy flowed through the acupuncture points into his body. They circulated in his acupuncture points, growing endlessly. A portion nourished his body and strengthened his physique.
A portion of the spiritual energy was refined, tempering his meridians. It entered his Dantian and merged into the Qi cyclone.
When the first Qi cyclone was formed in the Dantian, it meant that it was the first level of the Qi Refinement stage.
Nine Qi cyclones would signify the ninth level of the Qi Refinement stage.
After a moment, Lu Xuanji restrained his aura, and the aura on his body calmed down.
He opened his eyes and jumped down the bed.
It seemed that due to the refinement of the spiritual energy, his body matured early. He was only nine years old, but he was 1.6 meters tall, like a small adult.
Lu Xuanji gave it a try. He was very strong and could easily lift a weight of 300 tonnes.
In his previous life, if he had such strength, he would easily be the champion of weightlifting. However, in the world of cultivation, he was just a newbie.
"There's still some distance to the second level of the Qi Refinement stage... Now that I've gone through three years of compulsory education, I wonder if I can join the Dan Yang Sect."
A trace of doubt flashed through Lu Xuanji's eyes.
The Dan Yang Sect was a large sect in the Qing province, with three Golden Core stage grandmasters overseeing it.
It was a big business, far beyond what the Lu family could compare to.
The Qing province cultivators wanted to join the Dan Yang Sect as disciples. Even if they were only part-time disciples, they would get top-notch treatment and benefits.
Three Spiritual Roots were the minimum requirement to join the Dan Yang Sect. On top of that, there was a quota.
There was a quota of only ten spots for Qingfeng County every year.
His mother, Ye Xinlan, walked over and said with some regret, "Xuanji, the quota for you to go to the Dan Yang Sect is gone."
"Gone? What happened?" Lu Xuanji asked with some urgency.
"Qingfeng County is located in a remote area. In the past few years, there were always extra spots to be in the quota. However, this year, there are quite a number of geniuses. You are not ranked." Ye Xinlan said with some pity for her son.
"Mother, it's not bad to stay at home instead of going to the Dan Yang Sect," Lu Xuanji consoled his mother. "As the saying goes, it's better to be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail. The Dan Yang Sect has a large family and business. With my Three Spiritual Roots, I can only become an outer sect disciple when I join them. I might not be valued. However, in the Lu clan, Three Spiritual Roots are rare, and everyone has high hopes for me. They expect me to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. I am expected to glorify my ancestors, and I will be valued greatly."
"Silly child, how can the Lu clan compare to the Dan Yang Sect? Even the treatment of servant disciples is better than some of the elite disciples in our clan." Ye Xinlan felt pity for her son.
Who would want to stay in the clan if they could join a big sect?
After all, the clan's resources were inferior to the Dan Yang Sect.
They had more channels to obtain resources like Foundation Establishment Pills.
Lu Xuanji was somewhat disappointed that he could not join the Dan Yang Sect.
After being upset for a while, he calmed himself down.
Actually, it was not bad to be in the clan.
The clan had more than 1,500 cultivators, but 1,200 cultivators had Five Spiritual Roots, 200 cultivators had Four Spiritual Roots, and more than 50 cultivators had Three Spiritual Roots. There was not a single Two Spiritual Roots cultivator.
Lu Xuanji had Three Spiritual Roots, so he belonged to the most talented group of people. He was bound to receive the clan's most important nurturing. This could be considered a blessing in disguise.
...
The next day, in the main hall, Lu Xuanji met with the clan leader, the Zifu Patriarch.
"Greetings, Patriarch," Lu Xuanji said respectfully.
The Zifu patriarch laughed. "Not bad, not bad. You are very good. Your Spiritual Roots have two elements, the wood and fire. You are suitable to be an alchemist. Alchemists need to familiarize themselves with the various elements of medicine. This pill book is for you. Flip through it a bit."
"Many thanks, Patriarch." Lu Xuanji took the pill book and stood there respectfully.
"Cultivation isn't easy. You should focus on cultivation and enter the late stage of the Qi Refinement stage as soon as possible. Only when you reach the late stage of Qi Refinement can you carry out various missions. As for now, go to the foot of Mount Ziyang and farm. This is your area."
"Your mission is to tend to farm a thousand acres of the spiritual field. Your cave abode is number 38."
Patriarch Zifu made the arrangements.
"Many thanks, Patriarch."
Taking the key, Lu Xuanji respectfully departed.
Soon after, he arrived at cave abode number 38. The cave abode was very small, less than ten square meters in size, but it was a fine place for cultivation.
There was a Spirit Cave here, and dense spiritual energy leaked out. Cultivating near the Spirit Cave would allow one to cultivate very quickly.
The cave abode was not just a place for living, one could also distribute spiritual energy here.
Lu Xuanji left the place and walked down Mount Ziyang. Within a hundred miles of Mount Ziyang, there were all kinds of spiritual grains and spiritual herbs planted.
There were many things to do, such as fertilize the crops, remove some weeds, and clean up pests. The crops in the spiritual fields were thriving.
Lu Xuanji looked at the spiritual fields around him and felt a sense of gladness. The spiritual fields were neat and tidy.
He used a hoe and cleaned up some weeds. Then, he began to sow the spiritual grains in the spiritual fields. After planting the spiritual grains, he performed the Small Spiritual Rain Spell with a hand seal. The surrounding spiritual energy turned from a gaseous state to a liquid state, and it began to rain.
The spiritual rain irrigated the spiritual field and nourished the land.
He could control the amount of rain, and he had to make sure that the crops were not exposed to too much, nor too little rain.
Just like that, he began the labor of farming.
Flying on a sword, slaying demons and monsters, living a carefree life, and becoming immortal... Those were just fairy tales and were not the real immortal cultivation.
The real immortal cultivation consisted of working hard for three meals and working hard for money. One would either be a farmer, a miner, or a waiter in a shop, leading a miserable life.
The most important thing in immortal cultivation was resources. Where did the resources come from? One could obtain them by planting spirit herbs and spirit grain, or by running businesses.
The spirit grain and spirit rice planted by the Lu clan was mainly White Yang Rice.
White Yang Rice was a cultivator's food. It could strengthen a cultivator's blood Qi, and nourish the body.
White Yang Rice was also the main ingredient to refine White Yang Pills.
White Yang Pills were supplementary medicinal pills for Qi Refinement cultivators, and their prices were very high on the market.
In the clan's medicinal garden, some of the spirit herbs planted were used to refine medicinal pills for the clan's alchemists, and some were sold on the market for money.
Planting spirit rice and spirit herbs took up as much as 60% of the family's income.
If they did not farm, how long would they be able to last before everyone started to fight and kill each other for resources?
Even if they started to fight, who could they actually defeat?
The nearby cultivation clans all paid tribute to the Dan Yang Sect, so they were not allowed to easily start a war.
Be it a battle between cultivators, or a battle between clans. It would be best if there was no conflict, no fighting. It was best to tend to the fields peacefully.
If they were defeated, it was possible that their entire clan would be wiped out.
On top of that, they were defeated, they would have to pay a pension. Of course, they could choose not to pay the pension, but no one would work for the clan anymore.
The Lu clan's main goal was to tend to the fields peacefully. Then, they would sell White Yang Pills, White Yang Rice, other spirit herbs, spirit pills, and so on. They would accumulate spirit stones and nurture a second Zifu Patriarch. They would nurture a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Basically, it was best not to get into conflicts, and it was best not to fight.