Like Qi, the simplest way to recover cultivation energy was to cultivate, but unfortunately, that possibility was off of the table.
Zhou Fan's physical body and soul were disconnected. Perhaps in the past he would have been able to instantly create a method to cultivate while only in soul form, but now, he could not.
He was far too injured, and even his mind was greatly affected.
As for regaining his body, it would be very difficult. As it was his body, it would recognize his own soul, but the difference in power was too great. Perhaps if his soul form recovered to the true god realm it would be possible.
Until then, what he could do was very limited. He could not even move the river of cultivation and could only let it idly flow around him.
He had luckily discovered a way to recover. Qi, or rather, spirit stones. Spirit stones were pure Qi unaffected by any cultivator, which was why Zhou Fan would be able to recover with them.
Chaos Qi would be countless times better, but he had no access to it. For now, the only way to recover his strength was spirit stones, and perhaps in the future, godly stones. With godly stones, he may be able to recover to the god realm, but with only spirit stones, he would require unending amounts.
Luckily, this boy had found his body. Zhou Fan had been able to connect a ring to the boy's soul, before connecting his soul to the ring.
It had been thought of in a single instant, so it was not the most thought out plan, but it was all he could have done in the timeframe he was given.
The boy soon reached Zhou Fan's body and pointed it out.
"See. You look exactly like that body." The boy said.
"Yes. This is my soul form. I was severely injured in a battle and passed out from my injuries. When I regained consciousness, you were the first person I saw." Zhou Fan said.
"Soul form. Wow. You must have been powerful!" The boy exclaimed.
Zhou Fan nodded. "You could say that. How would you feel about helping me regain my strength? I can even take you in as a disciple."
The boy nodded excitedly. "I've always wanted to cultivate. I'll help you as best I can."
The boy had never been so excited. He had finally come upon a fortuitous encounter. From the looks of it, he may soon become a cultivator.
"Good. You are my third disciple. What is your name?" Zhou Fan asked.
"My name is Zhu Yi, master."
"Good name. Now, I have a few questions."
Zhou Fan had no clue how long it had been or what was going on in the world. He could only feel relieved that the cultivation world was still intact.
Zhu Yi nodded. "Whatever you need to ask, master."
He gave a thumbs up while nodding his head.
Zhou Fan spoke. "Have you heard of the name, Zhou Fan?"
"Is that your name? I've never heard of it." Zhu Yi shook his head.
"How about the Origin God?"
"Nope."
"The cosmic sect?"
"Nope. Sounds strong."
"Anything with the name Zhou?" Zhou Fan asked. It seemed that the boy knew nothing.
This time, Zhu Yi paused for a moment.
"Ah! Yes!" He exclaimed.
"What?" Zhou Fan asked curiously.
"There's a girl named Zhou Hen I used to know." He said with a thumbs up.
Zhou Fan sighed and shook his head.
"Alright. What about the destruction race?"
"Nope."
"Ying Xiong?"
"Nope."
Zhou Fan put his hand on his chin as he thought seriously. "Do you know anything outside of this village?"
"Not really. Just some local stuff and the closest sect, as well as some fairy tales." Zhu Yi said.
"What are the fairy tales about?" Zhou Fan asked.
He knew that there was often some sort of truth behind a story, even if he did not recognize it.
"Well there's the one with the princess in the castle, one about a frog in a well, one about animals stalking each other. There are also some cool ones like the sky pillar, the paper crane, Pangu splitting the Heavens, Car…."
"Wait." Zhou Fan exclaimed. "What was that about Pangu?"
"It's a classic throughout the world, or at least I've heard. It was said that in a battle long ago, a powerful cultivator named Pangu was fighting a powerful, unknown enemy. His words echoed throughout the world, "HeavenBreaker". We assume that his enemy was some other powerful cultivator named Heaven."
Zhou Fan nodded. As expected, a story had some sort of truth.
The fairytale might have been referring to the battle he had with Yao Mun long ago, or some other time.
At the very least, Pangu's name had not been lost as history passed. It was a sign that not too much time had passed.
Zhou Fan asked about more fairy tales, but nothing else was familiar.
He also asked for any information that Zhu Yi knew about the world. He didn't know much outside of the village at all.
The closest sect was named the "Heart Scalp Sect", a weird name, but from Zhu Yi's words it was a good sect, not an evil one.
"Alright, Zhu Yi. In order to help me recover, you must absorb Qi from spirit stones." Zhou Fan said.
Zhu Yi looked around, but almost all of the spirit stones in the mine were gone. It had already taken that much to simply allow Zhou Fan to exist in soul form. How much would it take for him to recover?
Zhou Fan saw Zhu Yi's worried face and reassured him.
"Don't worry too much. This is a low quality spirit stone mine. When I help you cultivate, I can also help you find spirit stone mines." Zhou Fan said.
Zhu Yi looked up and nodded. At the mention of cultivation, he was excited once again.
"Master. When will you teach me how to cultivate?" Zhu Yi asked.
"We can start now if you want."
Zhou Fan acted calm on the surface, but he was worried inside. Zhu Yi had no talent.
With the river of cultivation, Zhou Fan could still passively see talent. Zhu Yi luckily had meridians, but unfortunately, they were weak rank meridians.
One rank above the lowest rank meridians.