Meng Yao shook her head; the major examination was still far away.
She decided to stick to her own study plan.
Moreover, the secondary purpose of the major examination was to select attendants for inner disciples.
Of course, one could refuse to become an attendant if they so wished.
Having nearly mastered the techniques, it was time to focus on elevating her cultivation.
The cultivation of the Hidden Spirit Technique was well underway, and now she could try practicing the Manifest Spirit Technique.
The Manifest Spirit Technique could make her cultivation seem a level higher than it actually was.
In the future, if she encountered a cultivator with a higher level, and couldn't win, she could still intimidate them to some extent.
With a slight smile, Meng Yao crossed her legs and began practicing.
In the realm of cultivation where time had no bounds, once Meng Yao entered the state of cultivation, except for the two hours of daily sleep, she remained in meditation and cultivation.
The tremendous benefits brought by the Spiritual Earth in her cultivation, combined with the assistance of Spirit Dew, allowed Meng Yao's cultivation to advance rapidly.
She quickly surpassed the early stages of the third level of Qi cultivation, entering the mid-stage.
After experiencing progress in her cultivation, Meng Yao did not rest. She continued her monotonous routine of meditation and absorption, rarely leaving her cave except to replenish the expended Spirit Dew.
Seasons changed on the mountain, devoid of the typical variations, while time flowed steadily.
In the blink of an eye, another year passed.
After reaching the peak of the third level of Qi cultivation, no matter how much Meng Yao continued to cultivate, her spiritual energy no longer increased.
Finally, Meng Yao ceased her cultivation.
She knew this was the first bottleneck on the path of cultivation.
Embarking on the path of cultivation was not difficult anyone with spiritual roots could practice. However, making significant progress on the cultivation path was a challenging task.
Even in the foundation-building stage, there were three minor bottlenecks to overcome.
The first hurdle is reaching the fourth level of Qi cultivation, the second is reaching the seventh level, and the third and most challenging one is reaching the ninth level of Qi cultivation to the foundation-building step.
Countless talented Qi cultivators, despite their exceptional abilities, get stuck at the ninth level of Qi cultivation, unable to progress to Foundation Building throughout their lives.
Currently, Meng Yao is facing the easiest of these three hurdles.
Most cultivators should be able to smoothly pass this stage without any surprises. However, the duration varies from person to person.
Meng Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
Since cultivation wasn't increasing her Qi level, she decided to take a temporary break.
Over the past year, despite having two hours of rest daily, there was a constant sense of urgency that prevented her from slacking off.
Having been at Xiaoyao Sect for over two years, she entered at the age of eight and is now eleven.
Nourished by spiritual energy, she had grown taller, and her once sallow skin had become fair and glossy.
Only the red birthmark under her right eye remained, as conspicuous as ever, marring her otherwise delicate face.
With her cultivation reaching a bottleneck, Meng Yao decided to take a break from meditation.
She planned to explore the outer sect.
Despite being at Xiaoyao Sect for a while, she had been busy cultivating and hadn't explored many places, especially the Multitreasure Pavilion on the outer sect main peak.
She heard that the Multitreasure Pavilion housed many spiritual treasures and pills only suitable for mid to late-stage Qi cultivators.
Even if she didn't buy anything, it would be an excellent opportunity to broaden her horizons.
Thinking lightly, Meng Yao headed towards the main peak, directly towards the Multitreasure Pavilion.
The Multitreasure Pavilion is a store established by the sect.
Besides selling goods, it also collects various materials from disciples, including herbs, pills, talismans, and more, as long as the quality meets the standards.
The pavilion is quite spacious and crowded with people.
It's lively, with disciples haggling and bargaining, resembling the atmosphere of a market in the mortal realm.
The Multitreasure Pavilion has three levels.
The first level primarily sells lower-grade herbs, inferior talismans, and relatively poor-quality array materials.
Most of the disciples browsing on this level are in the early and middle stages of Qi cultivation.
Examining each item one by one, Meng Yao found that most of the goods were unfamiliar to her.
Only a few were recognizable from her general knowledge classes or the "Encyclopedia of the Cultivation World."
After a round on the first floor, Meng Yao ascended to the second floor of the Multitreasure Pavilion.
The number of people on the second floor was fewer than the first floor, as the items sold here were of higher value.
In this section, the majority of visitors were mid to late-stage Qi cultivators, with fewer in the early stages.
Meng Yao saw some rare herbs, unique talismans, and materials for refining and array formations that she couldn't even identify.
It was almost overwhelming.
At the last counter, she even saw low-grade spiritual weapons for sale.
Approaching the counter, Meng Yao examined them closely.
"Golden Radiance Shield, a lower-grade spiritual weapon.
When activated, it can create a golden light shield capable of resisting an attack from a mid-stage Qi cultivator."
Taking a deep breath, Meng Yao stared at this lower-grade spiritual weapon named Golden Radiance Shield.
Its defensive capabilities against mid-stage Qi cultivators were quite impressive.
However, her excited heart instantly calmed down when she saw the price tag for the Golden Radiance Shield – a whopping eighty spirit stones! At the beginning of the year, she received the last year of sect subsidies in spirit stones.
Considering the seven remaining from last year, she only had a total of nineteen spirit stones, far from being able to afford the Golden Radiance Shield.
Meng Yao shook her head, glancing at another lower-grade spiritual weapon, a flying sword.
Observing that the flying sword was priced even higher than the Golden Radiance Shield, at one hundred and twenty spirit stones, she sighed.
"No wonder during the year-end assessment, when disciples like Zhihao Qi displayed spiritual weapons, others were so shocked and envious.
Spiritual weapons are indeed quite expensive."
Feeling somewhat disheartened, Meng Yao realized that with her limited spirit stones, she could probably only afford some lower-grade herbs or talismans.
In the end, she decided not to make any purchases and left the Multitreasure Pavilion empty-handed. However, the trip wasn't entirely without gain at least, she gained a lot of insights.
Originally, she thought that by focusing on improving her cultivation and mastering her techniques, she could establish herself in the outer sect.
Now it seemed that there was still much to learn.
Aside from other specialties, just in the field of Spiritual Planting, there was a lot of herbal knowledge to grasp.
Deciding to broaden her knowledge, Meng Yao headed towards the Transfer of Skills Pavilion.
In addition to a vast array of techniques, the Transfer of Skills Pavilion also housed various introductory books on different professions, each priced at five spirit stones.
She planned to buy a book on Spiritual Planting and also explore some suitable attack-oriented techniques.
Meng Yao first picked up a copy of "Comprehensive Guide to Level One Spiritual Planting" before delving into her selection.
Due to her high purity in the Water element, she decided to focus on water-based techniques.
Choosing to skip "Water Arrow Technique," as it was similar to the Fireball Technique she already knew, she opted for "Water Binding Technique" to complement her existing skills like the Spirit Burst Technique in combat.
After a moment of consideration, Meng Yao took "Water Binding Technique" from the shelf.
(End of chapter)