Chapter 80 - 1-10 Cultivating Immortality with Small Tower

Chapter 1 Robbing a Cultivator

The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight.

Zhao Kingdom, a desolate area on the eastern edge, along a trade route.

...

"This mountain is mine, this tree is mine... Miss, let's have a little robbery."

A boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a coarse cloth outfit and carrying a broken blade, spoke in a deliberately fierce tone, though his face was still quite youthful.

Behind him stood more than ten men, dressed in tattered clothes like beggars.

Except for a few with iron weapons, most of them held wooden sticks, appearing poor and ragged, yet their menacing demeanor still posed a significant threat to ordinary people.

They were bandits of the area, surviving by robbing travelers on the trade route.

The boy leading them was named Lin Hao.

He was the only one among the bandits who could read, having recently become the leader of this group.

In front of them stood a woman, appearing to be in her twenties, with an extraordinarily beautiful face.

She wore exquisite clothing, a stark contrast to the ragged appearance of the bandits.

The woman was blocked by this group of men, but her expression remained cold and unmoved. Her gaze fell on the leader, Lin Hao, as she spoke: "I didn't expect to find someone with cultivation potential in such a desolate place. Since you're here, you might as well come with me."

Her voice was as cold as a winter wind, carrying with it a mysterious power.

To the bandits, her words sent a chill down their spines, leaving them inexplicably terrified.

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman stretched out her hand toward the air in front of her and grasped it.

Instantly, a force wrapped around Lin Hao, and in his terrified expression, his body was uncontrollably pulled toward her.

The woman's pale hand waved again, and a green light enveloped Lin Hao, rendering him immobile.

"Boss!"

The bandits trembled in fear, their hands gripping their weapons in cold sweat, but none dared to move.

Clearly, the woman's abilities were beyond their understanding.

"Please... let me go..."

Lin Hao, with a terrified expression and a pleading voice, cried out: "Miss... spare me! I... I only rob for money, I've never harmed anyone... Please let me go!"

Lin Hao had originally been an ordinary high school student on Earth. He had fallen off a mountain during a trip, and for some inexplicable reason, had been transported to this world.

It wasn't a soul transfer; he had physically traveled here.

When he woke up, he found himself in a bandit's hideout. Using his modern knowledge, he had managed to fool the bandits and rise to the position of their leader.

He hadn't been in the bandit business long, but he never imagined that he would run into a cultivator so soon.

"Silence."

The woman gave him a cold look, her gaze as terrifying as that of the King of Hell.

Lin Hao immediately shut up, trembling in fear, unable to even dare to breathe.

The woman paid no attention to the other bandits.

She quickly formed a seal with her hand, summoning an incantation Lin Hao couldn't understand.

A gust of green wind appeared, lifting both Lin Hao and the woman into the air.

They flew over towering mountains, and the landscape below rapidly retreated.

"People can actually fly! Could this world be a world of cultivation?"

Lin Hao's heart raced in shock.

The howling wind turned his face pale, and his thin, coarse clothes were no match for the cold, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

Despite the immense physical discomfort, Lin Hao had no idea how long they had been flying.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness from the altitude, the woman finally descended, landing on a mountain surrounded by clouds.

Surrounding them were beautiful, majestic buildings, resembling works of divine craftsmanship.

It was clear this was no ordinary place.

After the flight, Lin Hao, still disoriented and dizzy, stumbled as he landed. He couldn't even stand up straight.

"Senior Sister Liu, is there something you need from us?"

Two young men in blue robes came forward and bowed respectfully.

"This person I encountered while handling some business outside. He has cultivation potential, so arrange for him to stay, but don't treat him any differently."

Senior Sister Liu's tone was cold and indifferent.

Without waiting for the two men to respond, she quickly formed another hand seal, summoning the green wind again, lifting her into the air. In an instant, she vanished from sight.

"I wonder when I'll be able to fly like Senior Sister Liu, as a true disciple..."

One of the young men in the blue robe sighed, watching as Senior Sister Liu disappeared into the distance.

"Sigh, flying isn't so easy. Unless you're like Senior Sister Liu and reach the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of thirty, becoming a true disciple and receiving the Wind-Controlling Pearl from the Sect Leader, or unless you reach Foundation Establishment, you can't fly. With my cultivation talent, I probably won't have the chance in this lifetime," the other young man responded with a sigh.

After a brief conversation, they turned their attention to Lin Hao, who was still sitting on the ground, struggling to recover from the aftereffects of high-altitude flight.

"Get up, follow me," one of the young men in the blue robe ordered coldly, his tone dismissive, as if he didn't care much for Lin Hao's presence.

"Yes, sir," Lin Hao responded obediently.

The cultivators possessed an overwhelming aura, and Lin Hao felt as though he was standing before an immovable mountain—he was merely an ant beneath it.

Even the smallest stone falling from such a mountain could crush him.

Not daring to disobey, Lin Hao struggled to stand up and followed the young man, stumbling through the unfamiliar environment for a long while.

"You'll live here," the young man in the blue robe said, pointing to a wooden house.

"Yes," Lin Hao nodded.

"From now on, you're a servant disciple in the mining district of Xuan Yue Sect. You cannot leave without permission, or you'll be killed according to the sect's rules. As a servant disciple of Xuan Yue Sect, you'll have to complete tasks before you're allowed to eat."

The blue-robed youth continued in a detached tone, "Here's the Qi Refining method and the clothes for a servant disciple. If you can cultivate according to the method and reach the third level of Qi Refining, you'll no longer be a servant disciple, but an outer disciple."

With that, a jade slip and a set of gray clothes appeared in the young man's hand, and he handed them to Lin Hao.

Lin Hao quickly reached out and accepted the jade slip and clothes.

"The jade slip contains the cultivation method. Focus your mind, and you'll be able to see the instructions inside," the young man added. "That's all I have to say. You'll find out how to work by following the other servant disciples in the mining district."

After briefly instructing Lin Hao, the blue-robed youth turned and left.

"Sigh, I finally became the bandit leader, just got to eat well, and now I've had the misfortune of robbing a cultivator and ending up here... I wonder what life as a servant disciple of Xuan Yue Sect is like."

Though Lin Hao felt uneasy, he couldn't help but look at the jade slip and feel a bit of hope: "Cultivation is definitely a better future than being a bandit leader. Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it!"

Chapter 2 Sister Liu, Xuanyue Sect

Holding the Qi Refining Sutra jade slip and the servant disciple clothes, Lin Hao walked into the wooden house ahead.

The house was a double room with two simple wooden beds, looking very shabby.

"At least it's a cultivation sect, but the treatment for servant disciples is poor!" Lin Hao frowned. The place was worse than the house he had lived in when he was the leader of the bandits.

"Are you a new servant disciple?" A chubby boy in the room, seeing someone enter, brightened up and asked.

"Yeah." Lin Hao nodded, noticing the word "servant" on the boy's clothes, realizing they were in the same position. He politely introduced himself, "My name is Lin Hao. What's your name, senior brother?"

"Lin Hao? I can't be called a senior brother, I've only been here for half a month longer than you," the chubby boy waved his hand. "Just call me Wang Fu."

"Alright." Lin Hao continued, "Wang Fu, I just became a servant disciple. What exactly do we do as servant disciples?"

"We're servant disciples in the mining district, and our main job is mining," Wang Fu said with a worried expression. "The rule in the mining district is that for every five jin of spiritual iron mined, you get one meal. Since I came here, I've been starving every day. Sigh, I miss the days when I was a young master at home. I could eat until I was full, spend money freely, and had beautiful maids to serve me. But after my cultivation aptitude was tested, my old man spent five thousand taels to send me here to Xuan Yue Sect to cultivate... and now, I'm just mining. Not only do I not get enough to eat, but sometimes I even get beaten."

"Five thousand taels...?" Lin Hao was stunned. He was very surprised. He could barely make a few taels of silver a month as a bandit. Five thousand taels was such a large sum of money; how long would it take him in his bandit career to earn that much?

"Yeah! Xuan Yue Sect is one of the four major cultivation sects in Zhao Country. Although it's ranked at the bottom, it's not a place for ordinary people to enter," Wang Fu continued. "The five thousand taels I spent were because I have decent cultivation aptitude. Those with worse aptitude than mine had to spend more money. For example, the young master of the Han family, Han Dali, had such poor aptitude that he spent ten thousand taels just to barely enter Xuan Yue Sect."

"To enter a sect... it costs this much money!" Lin Hao was shocked.

He originally thought being caught by that woman and brought to Xuan Yue Sect as a servant disciple was bad luck. But after hearing Wang Fu's story, it turned out he had gained a huge windfall of several thousand or even ten thousand taels.

With that thought, Lin Hao's mood brightened a lot.

"Lin Hao, how much money did you spend to enter Xuan Yue Sect?" Wang Fu asked when he noticed Lin Hao's strange expression.

"I didn't spend any money. A woman named Liu Shijie, who can fly, brought me here," Lin Hao hesitated and told the truth.

"Fly? She's either a Core Formation expert or a direct disciple with exceptional talent!" Wang Fu's face suddenly showed shock. "There's only one person in the sect who fits that description. You... you wouldn't be the disciple brought back by our sect's head disciple, Liu Qinghan, would you? What's your relationship with her?"

"I don't know Liu Shijie. Is she that important?" Lin Hao was somewhat surprised.

"You don't know Liu Shijie, but she brought you here and didn't make you pay, so your cultivation talent must be very good," Wang Fu said with admiration, raising Lin Hao in his esteem.

"Can you tell me more about Liu Shijie?" Lin Hao couldn't help but ask.

"Liu Shijie is amazing. She's one of the strongest geniuses in our Xuan Yue Sect." Wang Fu's face showed respect. "She's just over twenty and has already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. Her name is known throughout the cultivation world in Zhao Country. She has a great chance to reach the Golden Core stage in the future. She's the hope of our Xuan Yue Sect..."

Wang Fu, the chubby boy, was very enthusiastic and, besides telling Lin Hao a lot about Liu Shijie, also shared some other details about Xuan Yue Sect.

After some conversation, Lin Hao got a better understanding of the unfamiliar Xuan Yue Sect.

"Lin Hao, there's someone you absolutely shouldn't mess with in our mining district—Yan Heng," Wang Fu's tone became serious. "After you finish your mining task and get your spiritual porridge, don't eat it right away. You have to give half of it to Yan Heng. Otherwise, he'll beat you up."

When mentioning Yan Heng, Lin Hao clearly noticed the fear on Wang Fu's chubby face.

"Who is Yan Heng?" Lin Hao frowned.

"Yan Heng is the son of General Yan from Zhao Country. He arrived at Xuan Yue Sect three months before me and has already reached the first level of Qi Refining," Wang Fu explained. "He's extremely strong in martial arts, and in our new servant disciple district, he's the most formidable. No one dares to provoke him."

"He robs other people's spiritual porridge, and the sect doesn't do anything?" Lin Hao asked.

"Our Xuan Yue Sect encourages disciples to work hard in cultivation and to compete with each other. Servant disciples don't have any status here; we just do the hard work. If we get into a little conflict, the elders won't intervene," Wang Fu said. "As long as it's not too serious, the elders will just turn a blind eye. That's why we, the new servant disciples, have to be cautious. Only after becoming outer disciples will we have some protection under the sect's rules, and the situation will improve."

"Thank you for telling me all this, Wang Fu," Lin Hao said, his mind sharpening.

He now understood that the cultivation sect, Xuan Yue Sect, was not a place to take lightly. It would be tough to make it here.

"Sigh, this servant disciple district is not a place for humans to stay. You never get enough to eat," Wang Fu sighed. "Anyway, I need to focus on cultivation. I hope I can reach the third level of Qi Refining soon and become an outer disciple, so I can leave this terrible place."

With that, Wang Fu sat down on his wooden bed, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes to meditate.

Lin Hao still had more questions to ask, but seeing that Wang Fu had already begun cultivating, he didn't want to disturb him. Instead, he changed into the servant disciple clothes he had just received.

Then he picked up the jade slip containing the Qi Refining method and prepared to try cultivating. Lin Hao followed the method provided by the blue-robed youth and focused his attention on the jade slip.

After a moment, the contents of the jade slip appeared in his mind.

Xuan Yue Qi Refining Sutra—Upper Section!

The jade slip contained detailed methods for Qi Refining from the first to third levels, along with a diagram of human meridians.

Lin Hao's mind was particularly sharp after his reincarnation. Anything he saw a few times would be firmly imprinted in his memory.

In no time, he had memorized the upper section of the Xuan Yue Qi Refining Sutra and understood how to cultivate.

"Let's try cultivating."

Lin Hao sat cross-legged on his bed, closed his eyes, and began focusing on the surrounding spiritual energy, as described in the Xuan Yue Qi Refining Sutra.

He didn't know how much time passed, but Lin Hao entered a meditative state that was profound and mysterious.

He noticed that the darkness around him suddenly began to shimmer with light spots.

Lin Hao was overjoyed, realizing these were the spiritual energies of the world.

To cultivate, he needed to draw these spiritual energies into his body and channel them to a certain scale to start circulating and enter the first level of Qi Refining.

He calmed his mind and began absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, using the Xuan Yue Qi Refining Sutra to guide the light spots toward him. After some effort, several spiritual light spots gathered around him and entered his body.

"So comfortable!"

As the spiritual energy entered his body, he felt warm and relaxed.

Lin Hao continued to circulate the Xuan Yue Qi Refining Sutra, absorbing more of the spiritual energy and guiding it into specific meridians.

However, the amount of spiritual energy he had was still too little to circulate in his meridians properly.

Soon, a whole night passed unknowingly.

The next morning.

Lin Hao opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.

There was still not enough spiritual energy in his body, and he hadn't yet reached the point where he could make it circulate in his meridians to reach the first level of Qi Refining, but he could clearly sense that after a whole night of cultivation, his strength had increased significantly.

Chapter 3 Snatching the Spiritual Porridge

"Let's go, we need to get to work. If we're late, the supervisor will punish us."

Not long after finishing his meal, the voice of the chubby boy rang in Lin Hao's ears.

"Alright."

Lin Hao nodded and followed the chubby boy out of the hut.

Together, they joined the other miscellaneous disciples, all dressed in the same attire, and headed toward the Spirit Ore Mountain.

About half a cup of tea later, they reached their destination.

After receiving mining tools, Lin Hao and the chubby boy, under the supervision of an inner sect disciple in charge of the mining area, entered the mine.

The mine was not dark. Every so often, special lighting lamps were placed along the tunnel.

As Lin Hao walked through the mine, he looked around.

He noticed the walls were made of reddish-brown stone.

There was no worry about the mine collapsing because, as he had heard from the chubby boy Wang Fu last night, the mine had formation arrays set up to ensure the safety of the miscellaneous disciples working inside.

Furthermore, from time to time, powerful disciples from the sect would enter to maintain the formations.

Holding his mining pick, Lin Hao and Wang Fu arrived at a huge underground cavern.

The ground was littered with broken stones and uneven pits left by the other miscellaneous disciples who had been mining.

"Bang! Bang! Clang! Clang!"

A group of miscellaneous disciples began working.

Although Lin Hao had only just arrived in this world, he had worked in the fields before, so he wasn't afraid of hard work. He picked up his mining pick and began to dig earnestly.

The stones in this mine were much harder than ordinary rocks. It was a tough job, and he had to use all his strength to dig!

After less than an hour of mining, Lin Hao's hands were sore.

So far, he had barely mined half a jin of spirit iron, still far from the five jin required to exchange for a meal of spirit porridge.

Enduring the exhaustion, he kept mining, and time slowly passed.

By the time the sun had set, and it was nearly dark, Lin Hao had only mined four jin of spirit iron. He was still one jin short of the amount needed for a meal. If it hadn't been for Wang Fu helping him, he probably wouldn't have even had enough for one meal.

"Let's go! Time to eat."

Wang Fu and Lin Hao took the spirit iron they had mined to the inner sect disciple in charge of the mining area and received meal vouchers.

At the dining hall, they got their bowls and used the meal vouchers to fill them with a generous serving of spirit porridge.

Hungry and exhausted, the two of them sat down at a table with their porridge.

"Give me half of that porridge."

As soon as Lin Hao placed his bowl of spirit porridge on the table, a muscular young man with a fierce expression walked over, holding an empty bowl.

Before Lin Hao could agree, the young man reached for his bowl and began to pour the porridge into his own.

Lin Hao recognized who this person was. He was likely the son of General Yan from the Zhao Kingdom, Yan Heng, who had joined the sect three months earlier and had already reached the first level of Qi Refining. He was someone they currently could not afford to provoke.

Exhausted and weak, Lin Hao watched as his hard-earned porridge was about to be poured into Yan Heng's bowl.

Although Wang Fu had warned him earlier, Lin Hao couldn't accept it.

"Hold on!" Lin Hao suddenly shouted.

Startled, Yan Heng froze for a moment.

"Do you want to get beaten?" Yan Heng growled in response.

Yan Heng was the bully of the new miscellaneous disciples in the D-grade mining area. He oppressed the newcomers, and no one dared to oppose him.

Upon hearing Lin Hao shout at him, a look of shame and anger appeared on Yan Heng's face.

"Brother Yan, Lin Hao is new and doesn't know the rules. Please don't take it to heart."

Although Wang Fu was clearly afraid of Yan Heng, he still stood up, bowing his head and pleading for Lin Hao.

"Hmph, if you don't know the rules, I'll teach you what the rules are."

Yan Heng's eyes narrowed, and he put the porridge down on the table before clenching his fists.

With a cruel smile on his face, he prepared to teach Lin Hao a lesson and establish his dominance.

"Do you know who brought me into the sect? If you dare hit me, you're done for."

Lin Hao remained calm, despite his growing nervousness. He spoke in a composed tone.

"Heh, don't try to scare me, brat. Who do you think you are, coming to the miscellaneous mining area? Do you think anyone has a background bigger than mine?" Yan Heng sneered.

"Here in the sect, strength is everything. The sons and daughters of nobles from the secular world are no different from ordinary miscellaneous disciples. If your cultivation doesn't measure up to mine, you'll just have to obediently take a beating from me."

He was arrogant, raising his fist and still intending to strike Lin Hao.

"I was personally brought into the sect by Senior Sister Liu, and didn't spend a single silver coin. If you hit me, you're disrespecting Senior Sister Liu."

Lin Hao looked straight at Yan Heng, his mind racing, but his face showed no sign of fear.

He planned to use Liu Senior Sister's name to scare Yan Heng off and protect himself from the beating while also keeping his spirit porridge.

"You joined the sect without paying a single silver?" Yan Heng was slightly taken aback. He had tested his own spiritual root aptitude and found it to be the fourth-grade Water-Wood Dual Spirit Root, which was considered average to above-average. He had spent eight hundred silver to enter the sect.

But this newcomer, who claimed to have joined without spending a single coin, was obviously someone with extraordinary talent.

His face lost some of its fierceness, and a trace of caution appeared in his eyes.

"Who is your Senior Sister Liu?" he asked, his voice tense.

"The Senior Sister who brought me into the sect is Liu Qinghan, the only personal disciple of the sect master and a Qi Refining ninth-level practitioner," Lin Hao replied confidently.

"Senior Sister Liu?" Wang Fu, understanding Lin Hao's plan, quickly added, "I can vouch for it."

"Senior Sister Liu, that kind of person would personally bring disciples to the miscellaneous area?" Yan Heng frowned, clearly skeptical. He had never heard of Senior Sister Liu personally bringing disciples into the sect.

"Don't you believe me?" Lin Hao said with an air of certainty. "If I'm lying about being personally recruited by Senior Sister Liu, then I would be dead if the word got out."

Yan Heng's eyebrows furrowed as he thought it over. No one would dare to use Senior Sister Liu's name falsely. His skepticism began to waver.

Despite his reluctance, Yan Heng knew better than to risk angering Senior Sister Liu. With a forced smile, he said, "Alright, Brother Lin Hao, since you're personally recruited by Senior Sister Liu, I won't take your porridge."

He returned Lin Hao's bowl of porridge, then took Wang Fu's porridge and poured it into his own bowl.

"Wait a moment," Lin Hao's voice rang out again.

"What? Brother Lin Hao still has something to say?" Yan Heng's anger flared, but he suppressed it, trying to keep his composure.

"Wang Fu is my brother. From now on, you're not allowed to take his porridge," Lin Hao said expressionlessly.

"You..." Yan Heng clenched his fist, his anger rising.

In the D-grade mining area, which was filled with newcomers, Yan Heng had the power to take porridge from any of the eight new disciples, since it was a rule that newcomers could only stay in the area for six months. During this time, they worked less than the older disciples, to allow them time to adjust to the sect.

After six months, the newcomers would be transferred to the "old disciples" area, where they would have to work harder.

Before he left the new disciple area, Yan Heng hoped to reach the second level of Qi Refining by consuming the spirit porridge. By then, he would be strong enough to not be bullied, and he wouldn't have to be worried about getting beaten by others.

This made every bowl of porridge that he could take from newcomers particularly valuable.

Chapter 4 The First Level of Qi Refining

"Are you not convinced? Do you dare to disrespect Sister Liu?"

Lin Hao suddenly stood up, glaring fiercely at Yan Heng, his voice loud enough to draw the attention of everyone around them. Several outer disciples from the cafeteria also turned their gaze towards them.

"Of course not! Someone like Sister Liu, I respect her more than anyone," Yan Heng said, cold sweat running down his back. If word got out that he had disrespected the sect master's personal disciple, Liu Qinghan, the consequences would be dire.

Although Yan Heng was reluctant to give up the bowl of porridge from Wang Fu, he had no choice but to concede. "Since Brother Lin Hao has spoken, I naturally have to give face. From now on, I won't interfere with Wang Fu's porridge."

After saying that, Yan Heng suppressed his anger, grabbed his empty bowl, and left with his tail between his legs.

"Let's eat!"

Seeing that Yan Heng was scared off by the name of Liu Qinghan, Lin Hao sighed in relief. Hungry as he was, he and Wang Fu wolfed down their porridge.

Lin Hao wasn't worried at all about his words spreading. Since it was the truth that he had been personally recruited into the sect by Liu Qinghan, he wasn't lying.

"This porridge is so good!"

The spirit porridge was made from spirit rice, not an ordinary item, and it tasted incredibly good. After eating it, Lin Hao felt a lot of spiritual energy filling his body, about one-fifth of the total spiritual energy he would accumulate after a night of cultivation.

The bowl of porridge was quickly finished, and Lin Hao, still feeling hungry, glanced at Wang Fu's bowl. To his surprise, Wang Fu's bowl was cleaner than his own face, and the fatty was licking the bottom of the bowl as if the spirit porridge would regrow if he licked it enough.

Lin Hao looked at the remaining little bit of spirit porridge in his own bowl, and, not wanting to waste it, he began licking the bowl as well.

After a long while, they finally left the cafeteria and returned to their wooden house.

"I've been bullied ever since I came to the sect. I've never even had a whole bowl of spirit porridge before," Wang Fu said, his face full of gratitude. "Lin Hao, I really owe you one. If it weren't for you, Yan Heng would have taken my porridge. I, Wang Fu, am willing to follow you as my boss and respect you from now on."

"Ha! No need to thank me. If it weren't for you helping me, I probably wouldn't have been able to mine enough spirit iron to eat tonight," Lin Hao waved his hand. "As for you calling me boss, that's fine, but let's just leave it at that."

"I'll help Lin Hao, the boss, mine, that's the least I can do," Wang Fu, who came from a merchant family and had a thick skin, pretended not to hear Lin Hao's refusal and tried to flatter him. He immediately called Lin Hao "boss."

Lin Hao couldn't do anything about it and, seeing Wang Fu insist on calling him boss, reluctantly accepted the title. It didn't hurt him any.

Well, what could he do? This was his charm. Wherever he went, people couldn't resist but bow their heads and follow him.

...

Ever since Lin Hao invoked Liu Qinghan's name in the cafeteria, no one dared to cause trouble for him and Wang Fu. The two of them mostly mined and cultivated, and soon, half a month passed.

In these fifteen days, Lin Hao had gained a rough understanding of cultivation.

To become a cultivator, one needs a spiritual root.

Spiritual roots were ranked from first to ninth grade, with higher ranks signifying better cultivation potential. Moreover, there were different attributes for spiritual roots. A single attribute spiritual root was much faster to cultivate than a multi-attribute one.

Wang Fu, who followed Lin Hao, had a second-grade single attribute gold spiritual root. Although his rank wasn't high, his single attribute meant he had medium-level aptitude. In the future, he had a chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, his lifespan would be about two hundred years.

Cultivation was difficult, harder than climbing to the sky.

Out of the thousands of Qi Refining disciples in the Xuanyue Sect, only a few had the chance to enter the Foundation Establishment stage.

Once Foundation Establishment was achieved, a cultivator was considered one of the top experts in the entire Zhao Kingdom.

Above Foundation Establishment was the Golden Core stage, a level of power held by only a few high-level elders in the four major sects of Zhao Kingdom.

"I wonder what kind of spiritual root I have," Lin Hao thought to himself.

He had been personally recruited by Liu Qinghan, but he had never tested his spiritual root.

However, his cultivation speed was pretty fast.

"Tonight, I should be able to break through to the first level of Qi Refining, according to the Xuanyue Qi Refining Method!"

Lin Hao muttered to himself.

Wang Fu had been in the sect for half a month longer than Lin Hao, but he hadn't shown any signs of reaching the first level of Qi Refining, showing just how extraordinary Lin Hao's cultivation talent was.

On his wooden bed, Lin Hao crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

The spiritual energy from the surroundings began to flow into his body.

...

Meanwhile, in the inner sect area of Xuanyue Sect…

Liu Qinghan had finished her cultivation and decided to go out for a walk. Not long after she left her cave residence, an elderly figure appeared in front of her.

"Qinghan, I heard that the new outer disciple, Lin Hao, whom you personally recruited, has quite amazing aptitude?"

The old man asked.

This old man was Liu Qinghan's master, Chi Yunzi, the current sect leader of Xuanyue Sect, and a powerful cultivator at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

"Yes, Master, that's true," Liu Qinghan said, after a moment of contemplation, in a cold tone. "Half a month ago, I was out doing some work and happened to meet him. He has a six-grade single-attribute fire spiritual root, so I brought him back with me."

"A six-grade single-attribute fire spiritual root? Such excellent cultivation potential, why didn't you bring him directly to the inner sect? Why put him in the outer disciple area?"

Chi Yunzi's calm expression revealed a hint of surprise as he questioned.

"Lin Hao was once a mountain bandit, and when he saw me, he even tried to rob me," Liu Qinghan replied. "So, I decided to place him in the outer disciple area to temper his character first."

"A six-grade single-attribute fire spiritual root is such a rare gem. You should have taken him under your wing and taught him directly. I'll go look for him tomorrow morning and take him as my disciple," Chi Yunzi said.

...

Under the night sky, all was quiet.

Back in his wooden house, Lin Hao greedily absorbed the spiritual energy from the surroundings.

In the past half month, apart from mining, he had been cultivating diligently.

"The spiritual energy is enough. I can try to guide it through my meridians now and break through to the first level of Qi Refining."

Lin Hao thought to himself, focusing on guiding the spiritual energy according to the Xuanyue Qi Refining Method.

About half an hour later, Lin Hao felt a loud rumble in his body, and then a wave of comfort spread through him.

"I've finally reached the first level of Qi Refining!"

Lin Hao felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Reaching the first level of Qi Refining made him one of the stronger disciples in the outer disciple area. Now, even if he faced someone like Yan Heng again, he would have some means of defending himself, even without relying on Liu Qinghan's name.

"Boom!"

Just as Lin Hao was about to continue circulating the Xuanyue Qi Refining Method to solidify his cultivation, a thunderous sound suddenly rang out in his mind, and he felt a sharp pain.

He fainted on the spot.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a mysterious space.

In front of him stood a floating tower, about three feet tall.

Chapter 5 Am I a Five-element Spiritual Root?

"Where am I?"

Lin Hao looked around with uncertainty.

"Kid, we can finally meet."

Suddenly, an old, hoarse voice came from within the tower.

"Who are you? Why am I here?"

Lin Hao asked, somewhat afraid.

After all, in his past life as a person from Earth, he couldn't tolerate the older monsters taking over bodies.

He had been cultivating well, yet suddenly entered a strange space, which made him anxious.

"Kid, don't panic. I won't harm you. This is your sea of consciousness."

The old, hoarse voice spoke slowly, "I am the remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun. The tower in front of you is called the Wangu Changsheng Tower, a spiritual treasure of mine. Do you wish to become my disciple?"

"Why would you take me as your disciple?"

Lin Hao asked cautiously.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. The name Changsheng Xianzun sounded grand, and if he wanted to take someone like Lin Hao as a disciple, there must be some hidden motive.

"Because you are the one I've been searching for, someone with the Five Elements Spiritual Root."

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun laughed.

"I have the Five Elements Spiritual Root? That's impossible! The Five Elements Spiritual Root is a well-known waste root in the cultivation world, it's impossible to cultivate with it."

Lin Hao, who had gained some understanding of the basic knowledge of cultivation over the past half-month, frowned and said, "And I've only been at Xuanyue Sect for half a month, but I've already reached the First Stage of Qi Refining. My cultivation speed is comparable to those who possess a Grade Six single-element spiritual root... how could I have a Five Elements Spiritual Root?"

"What's so impossible about it?"

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun pondered for a moment before saying, "You do indeed have the Five Elements Spiritual Root. The reason you've been cultivating so quickly is because I've been supplying you with spiritual energy through my spiritual treasure, the Wangu Changsheng Tower."

"If I hadn't been supplying you with energy, with your Five Elements Spiritual Root, it would've taken you years to reach the First Stage of Qi Refining," the remnant soul continued.

"If my Five Elements Spiritual Root is really considered a waste, why did Sect Master Liu, the closed-door disciple, personally recruit me into the sect?"

Lin Hao persisted.

"Hehe, naturally, I used a little trick. I forged a Grade Six Fire Attribute single-element root to attract her attention. That's why she brought you here."

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun explained, "The mountain bandit camp you were in before had too little spiritual energy. Only in a sect with abundant spiritual energy like this, could my treasure, the Wangu Changsheng Tower, truly demonstrate its effect."

"If you still don't believe me, just find a Spiritual Root Testing Stone and test it yourself. You'll know that I'm not lying."

Hearing this, Lin Hao began to believe the remnant soul to some extent.

"Since my Five Elements Spiritual Root is considered a waste, why would you still want to take me as your disciple?"

Lin Hao asked after a brief silence.

"Who says the Five Elements Spiritual Root is a waste?" The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun's voice was ancient and hoarse. "In ancient times, the Five Elements Spiritual Root was the most powerful root, capable of overwhelming opponents of the same realm. It was known as invincible at the same realm..."

"Your Five Elements Spiritual Root is so powerful, but why is it considered a waste root in the cultivation world now?" Lin Hao asked, puzzled.

"Because, a great calamity once occurred in the world, reducing the amount of spiritual energy in the land compared to ancient times."

"The multi-element roots, which require more spiritual energy to cultivate, no longer have the advantage."

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun continued, "On the other hand, in ancient times, the single-element roots, which required less energy, became favored due to their faster cultivation speed, and now they are the darlings of the cultivation world."

"I see now!" Lin Hao understood, but then he grew worried. "Even if my Five Elements Spiritual Root was the best in ancient times, with the current reduction in spiritual energy, will I still be able to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"Others with Five Elements Spiritual Roots might not succeed, but with me and the Wangu Changsheng Tower, as long as you become my disciple, not only will you reach Foundation Establishment, but you also have the chance to become an immortal in the future."

"In fact, I specially created a cultivation method for the Five Elements Spiritual Root."

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun spoke with great pride. "With this method, even without my continued supply of spiritual energy, your cultivation speed will be as fast as that of a Grade One single-element root."

"Only as fast as a Grade One single-element root?" Lin Hao felt a bit disappointed.

Spiritual roots are ranked from Grade One to Grade Nine, with Grade One being the lowest and Grade Nine the highest. Even with Changsheng Xianzun's special method, his Five Elements Spiritual Root could only match the cultivation speed of a Grade One single-element root, which would still place him in the lower ranks of cultivation talent.

Even Fatty Wang Fu's Grade Two Gold Element single root was better than his.

"Why are you still not satisfied? Without my unique cultivation method, with the current spiritual energy on Earth, a Five Elements Spiritual Root would cultivate at only one-tenth of the speed of a Grade One single-element root. So consider yourself lucky."

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun chuckled, "Kid, do you want to learn my unique method?"

"Learn... of course, I do."

Lin Hao no longer hesitated.

If he truly had a Five Elements Spiritual Root, without a special opportunity, he would most likely be unable to cultivate. So, Lin Hao decided to try Changsheng Xianzun's unique Five Elements cultivation method.

"Then become my disciple. Kneel before my life treasure, the Wangu Changsheng Tower, and you'll be my disciple."

The remnant soul of Changsheng Xianzun said.

"Master, please accept my disciple's bow."

Lin Hao respectfully knelt and performed the disciple's bow in front of the floating tower.

"Hehe, good disciple, rise quickly."

A proud laugh came from within the tower about three feet high. The old man in his heart sighed, "The Five Elements Spiritual Root has been rare from ancient times to the present. Even if someone with the Five Elements Spiritual Root is found, they are always of low grade, unable to even reach Grade One. I never thought that I, Changsheng Xianzun, would fall to this level and still find a disciple with a Grade One Five Elements Spiritual Root."

"Since I have already become your disciple, can you now pass on the Five Elements cultivation method to me?"

Lin Hao got up from the bow, shamelessly extending his hand.

"Good disciple, don't rush."

Changsheng Xianzun laughed, "Let me first introduce this method to you!"

"Master, please."

Lin Hao's face showed eager anticipation.

"The cultivation method I created is called the Five Elements Longevity Technique. As the name suggests, cultivating this method will grant you more longevity than others of the same realm, allowing you to live longer."

Changsheng Xianzun didn't beat around the bush and began his explanation.

"More longevity!"

Lin Hao's eyes lit up.

He was someone who feared death the most, and the thought of living longer with this cultivation method was extremely appealing to him.

Seeing that his disciple was interested, Changsheng Xianzun continued with a smile, "By practicing the Five Elements Longevity Technique, you will have 50% more lifespan than others in the same realm."

"For example, a Qi Refining Ninth Stage cultivator would live to be 120 years old, but with the Five Elements Longevity Technique, you would live to be 180 years old, with a lifespan just short of a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator lives up to 200 years, but with the Five Elements Longevity Technique, you could live up to 300 years..."

"A Gold Core cultivator lives up to 500 years, and you could live up to 750 years at this stage..."

"Immortality, immortality, the key is who can live the longest. The Five Elements Longevity Technique not only grants you long life but also provides you with abundant spiritual energy, making you invincible at the same realm."

The ancient voice of Changsheng Xianzun echoed in the special space.

Hearing that cultivating to the Ninth Stage of Qi Refining could let him live to 180, Lin Hao, who feared death, became extremely excited, his blood boiling.

This Five Elements Longevity Technique—he was determined to learn it!

Chapter 6 Spiritual Treasures

"Master, have you finished introducing the Five Elements Longevity Art? Can you pass it on to me now?"

Lin Hao asked eagerly.

The soul of the Longevity Immortal, observing his disciple's impatient expression, gently shook the three-foot-tall tower floating before him.

A piece of animal skin scroll flew out from the tower, landing right in front of Lin Hao.

"Disciple, this is the Five Elements Longevity Art."

The Longevity Immortal's soul continued, "You should memorize it first."

"Okay, I got it," Lin Hao replied.

In the mysterious space, Lin Hao unrolled the animal skin scroll.

Powerful and vigorous words appeared before his eyes:

'Spirit Qi enters the body, flows through the Ren meridian... then passes through the Du meridian...' The scroll recorded the meridian pathways needed to cultivate the Five Elements Longevity Art.

"This is so complicated! It's several times more complex than the Xuan Yue Sect's Xuan Yue Qi Refining Technique, which only uses a few meridians!" Lin Hao thought.

With his excellent memory, it took Lin Hao some time to memorize the meridian paths.

About fifteen minutes later, he looked up from the scroll and said, "Master, I've memorized everything inside."

"Mm, your memory is quite good," the Longevity Immortal's soul said, "The technique has been passed to you. Now, as I am but a remnant soul and have nothing left, I will give you this Eternal Longevity Tower as a token of my apprenticeship."

The Eternal Longevity Tower looked like a treasure, and Lin Hao's heart leapt with joy. He immediately expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Master."

"Disciple," the Longevity Immortal's soul continued, "I need a drop of your life essence blood to make the tower recognize you as its master."

The soul warned, "This process may hurt a little, but bear with it."

"Buzz!"

Before Lin Hao could respond, the three-foot-tall tower trembled lightly, and a beam of light shot towards him, entering his chest.

"Poof!"

Lin Hao felt as if his heart had been pierced; the pain was unbearable.

Fortunately, the pain disappeared after a brief moment.

The light from the tower left his chest, carrying a drop of bright red blood, and returned to the tower.

Immediately after, Lin Hao felt a mysterious connection with the Eternal Longevity Tower.

"This is the spiritual artifact recognizing its master! How amazing!" Lin Hao thought, sensing the familiar presence coming from the tower.

"The Eternal Longevity Tower was originally an immortal artifact," the Longevity Immortal's voice echoed again, "but during a great battle, it was severely damaged and downgraded to a superior-grade spiritual treasure."

The Longevity Immortal's soul continued, "Although the tower's offensive powers were destroyed, it can still aid you in your cultivation."

"Please, Master, tell me more about how to use this spiritual treasure."

Lin Hao asked respectfully.

"This spiritual treasure is quite simple to use. It has two main functions. The first is to accelerate your cultivation speed. For example, when others absorb a spirit stone, they only absorb about half of its spiritual energy. The rest gets wasted."

The Longevity Immortal's soul explained, "But with the Eternal Longevity Tower, you can absorb all of the energy from a spirit stone, without wasting a single bit."

Lin Hao's eyes lit up. With this treasure, a single spirit stone could be used as if it were two.

"Master, what is the second function of the Eternal Longevity Tower?" he asked.

"The second function…" the Longevity Immortal's soul paused for a moment, "is to turn waste into treasure."

"For example, if you have a low-grade Qi Supplementing Pill that's a failed batch, you can place it into the Eternal Longevity Tower along with some spirit stones. The tower can turn it into a high-quality pill."

The Longevity Immortal's voice continued, "The Eternal Longevity Tower can improve not only the quality of pills, but also spiritual herbs and magic tools."

"For example, a low-grade spiritual herb, if you add a few low-grade spirit stones into the tower, can be transformed into a mid-grade herb."

"Even a regular sword, if you give it spirit stones, the tower can enhance its quality, turning it into a magic weapon…"

After hearing the Longevity Immortal's soul describe the functions of the tower, Lin Hao understood that the Eternal Longevity Tower was an incredibly powerful treasure.

Just the ability to improve the absorption efficiency of spirit stones alone would cause a huge uproar if anyone in the outside world learned about it.

With its ability to turn waste into treasure, it was clear that this tower was a coveted item, and even the old monsters of the cultivation world would fight to seize it.

No wonder this tower had once been an immortal artifact. Even though it had been downgraded, it was still immensely powerful. Lin Hao couldn't help but feel his heart racing with excitement.

"Alright, the Five Elements Longevity Art and the Eternal Longevity Tower have been passed to you. As for me, I am but a remnant soul and cannot remain awake for long. I need to enter a period of slumber to rest and recover."

The Longevity Immortal's soul said, "Before I fall asleep, there is something I must remind you of."

"What is it?" Lin Hao asked.

"I originally used a secret method to influence that girl's mind to arrange for you to stay in the Xuan Yue Sect's outer disciple area."

"However, you, in order to avoid being bullied, pulled that girl out to act as your backing, and spread the word that you were talented."

"Now, I'm afraid your fake six-grade fire attribute single spirit root won't be able to stay hidden for long. Your true one-grade Five Elements spirit root will soon be exposed. You must be mentally prepared."

The Longevity Immortal's soul continued, "When that happens, they will likely be curious about how your one-grade Five Elements spirit root is cultivating so fast. Just say that you ate a fire-red fruit two years ago, and they'll probably let it go."

The Longevity Immortal's soul then fell silent.

"Master, Master…" Lin Hao called several times, but received no response and had no choice but to give up.

He then turned his attention to the three-foot-tall tower in front of him, gazing at it for a moment.

Having become the tower's master, he simply concentrated, and his consciousness withdrew from the mysterious space.

On the wooden bed, Lin Hao, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes with a look of astonishment on his face.

What had just happened was too strange.

"Was that a dream?" he wondered.

He tried again to communicate with the tower using his mind, and successfully entered the tower's mysterious space once more.

After several attempts, Lin Hao confirmed that everything that had happened was real.

He glanced at the bed next to him, where the chubby Wang Fu was still sitting cross-legged, meditating.

Lin Hao secretly picked up a water cup not far from his bed. With a flick of his mind, the cup disappeared from his hand and reappeared inside the Eternal Longevity Tower.

In addition to improving the efficiency of spirit stone absorption and turning waste into treasure, the tower had a third function: it could serve as a storage space.

"In the future, I can store important items in the tower," Lin Hao thought.

A moment later, he retrieved the cup from the tower and placed it back in its original position.

"Am I really a one-grade Five Elements spirit root?" Lin Hao murmured to himself.

He then closed his eyes and began cultivating as usual, using the Xuan Yue Qi Refining Technique.

Sure enough, without the spiritual energy being supplied by the Longevity Immortal, Lin Hao felt his cultivation speed had slowed down by at least thirty times, moving at a glacial pace.

At this rate, he thought, he might never reach Foundation Establishment, and even cultivating to the second layer of Qi Refining would be difficult.

"Let me try using the Five Elements Longevity Art, which is specifically designed for Five Elements spirit roots," Lin Hao decided.

He stopped using the Xuan Yue Qi Refining Technique.

Taking a deep breath and clearing his mind, he began to channel the spiritual energy according to the Five Elements Longevity Art, guiding it through the specific meridians in his body.

The meridians involved in the Five Elements Longevity Art were incredibly complex.

Some of the meridians were so fine that when Lin Hao tried to circulate the spiritual energy, it moved painfully slowly.

Moreover, when the energy flowed through certain meridians, he felt sharp, needle-like pains.

His whole body trembled slightly, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through, continuing to cultivate.

After several hours, when the sky outside began to brighten, Lin Hao had finally completed one cycle of spiritual energy circulation using the Five Elements Longevity Art.

"Not bad!" he said, a surprised expression on his face.

The cultivation speed, which had been thirty times slower than before, had now improved. Under the Five Elements Longevity Art, his one-grade Five Elements spirit root was cultivating only six or seven times slower than when the Longevity Immortal had been supplying him with spiritual energy. This was roughly equivalent to the cultivation speed of a one-grade single spirit root.

Chapter 7 Chi Yunzi's Dao Heart is Unsteady.

It's almost time to get to work. Lin Hao stopped his meditation and got up from the wooden bed.

"Let's set a goal, cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refining."

He was filled with determination.

As long as he uses the Five Elements Eternal Life Art to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining, he would have a lifespan one and a half times longer than others at the same cultivation level, which is about 180 years.

"Big Brother, have you broken through to the first level of Qi Refining?"

Fatty Wang Fu asked Lin Hao, as he had heard that Lin Hao might break through in the last few days.

"Yeah, I have."

Lin Hao smiled and replied.

"Big Brother, as expected of someone chosen by Senior Sister Liu. You're truly amazing."

Fatty Wang Fu's chubby face showed admiration.

"Don't mention that I'm a talent disciple, we need to keep a low profile."

Lin Hao's face grew slightly unnatural when Fatty mentioned 'Senior Sister Liu'. He wasn't sure what Fatty would think when he found out the truth, that his real spiritual root was a first-grade Five Elements root, not a sixth-grade single fire attribute. Would he still call him "Big Brother"?

The two chatted as they left the room together and headed toward the spirit mine mountain.

After receiving their mining tools, Lin Hao and Fatty entered the mine.

"Clink, clink! Ding, ding!"

A number of outer disciples were working in the mine, and the sound of chiseling rocks echoed continuously.

"My strength has increased!"

Lin Hao swung his pickaxe and found that after breaking through to the first level of Qi Refining, his strength had tripled compared to before.

Before his breakthrough, after eating a month's worth of spirit porridge, he had close to 200 jin of strength, but now it was at least 600 jin.

With this increase in strength, Lin Hao's mining speed surged.

In just two hours, he had mined enough spirit iron to exchange for a meal.

This was with him deliberately holding back—if he used his internal spiritual power and mined with full force, he could probably mine enough for a meal in just over an hour.

"Big Brother, you're too strong!"

Fatty Wang Fu, who was nearby, looked at Lin Hao with admiration. "Even Yan Heng, who's close to the second level of Qi Refining, can't mine as fast as you!"

"Heh, it's just average."

Lin Hao smiled modestly, but inside he was thrilled. The Long Life Immortal Sect's teachings had been right—his Five Elements spiritual root made him invincible at the same cultivation level.

Just from his increased strength, it was clear.

Feeling joyous inside, Lin Hao smiled at Fatty and said, "Let's work hard and try to get more spirit porridge today."

Back when they first arrived at Xuanyue Sect, he couldn't even mine five pounds of iron, and it was thanks to Fatty's help that he could get some spirit porridge. Now that he had broken through to the first level of Qi Refining and his mining speed had increased, he could exchange for more spirit porridge, and he didn't mind sharing some with Fatty to repay the favor.

"He's really a talent picked by Senior Sister Liu, breaking through in just half a month."

In the mine, the outer disciples watching the mining couldn't help but be impressed by Lin Hao's speed.

"Lin Hao's at least a six-grade single fire spiritual root with how fast he's advancing. His future achievements will be limitless. We can't compare."

"Good thing we didn't provoke him."

Yan Heng, who was about to break through to the second level of Qi Refining, heard the other disciples talking and felt a sense of relief. He was glad he hadn't tried to pick a fight with Lin Hao due to his fear of Senior Sister Liu. A talent like him would be difficult to handle if provoked in the sect.

"Greetings, Sect Master! Greetings, Senior Sister Liu!"

While the other disciples were praising Lin Hao's talent, suddenly, all the outer disciples in the mine knelt down and bowed.

An elderly man with a smiling face entered, accompanied by the stunningly beautiful Liu Qinghan in a purple gown, along with several inner disciples from Xuanyue Sect.

"You may rise, no need for formalities."

Xuanyue Sect's Sect Master, Chi Yunzi, was in a good mood after hearing that his disciple, Liu Qinghan, had taken in Lin Hao, who supposedly had a six-grade fire spiritual root. He appeared very approachable.

"Thank you, Sect Master."

The outer disciples in the mine were somewhat overwhelmed, but they thanked the Sect Master and got back up.

"Qinghan, which one of these is Lin Hao, the one with the six-grade fire spiritual root?"

Chi Yunzi asked.

The outer and servant disciples present were all envious. They all realized that the Sect Master had come to see Lin Hao personally.

They couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, wishing they could take Lin Hao's place.

"That's him."

Liu Qinghan pointed at the young man holding a mining tool.

At once, all eyes in the room focused on Lin Hao.

"So soon!"

Lin Hao felt uncomfortable under their gazes. He wasn't happy about the attention; in fact, it felt like a pressure weighing down on him.

He was a first-grade Five Elements root, not the six-grade fire root they thought he had. If they tested his spiritual root with the stone, his secret would be exposed.

"Such dense fire spiritual energy... hmm, you've already reached the first level of Qi Refining so quickly. This kid is impressive!"

Chi Yunzi's gaze landed on Lin Hao, his expression full of joy. "To have such a talent, our Xuanyue Sect is surely going to thrive!"

He was glowing with excitement. Even when he personally broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he hadn't been this happy.

If this six-grade fire root really grew to its full potential, and combined with his disciple Liu Qinghan's five-grade wood attribute spiritual root, it could raise Xuanyue Sect's standing in the Zhaoguo Four Great Sects. Perhaps, they could even rise to the top.

Suddenly, Chi Yunzi flashed in front of Lin Hao so quickly that no one could track his movement.

"Good boy, come, quickly place your hand on this spiritual root testing stone."

Chi Yunzi pulled out a transparent stone from his storage bag, his face full of warmth as he spoke gently.

Seeing the old man's eager expression, Lin Hao felt a cold sweat run down his back. He knew his real situation. He wasn't a six-grade fire spiritual root.

He couldn't avoid it.

Reluctantly, he placed his hand on the stone.

After a moment, the transparent stone began to glow with five-colored light.

"Huh...! This...!"

Chi Yunzi's smile froze on his face as he stared at the spiritual root testing stone, his expression stiffening as if his Dao heart had been shaken.

"It's impossible! Based on the energy released, it should be a six-grade fire root!"

Liu Qinghan's pale face showed disbelief, her delicate body trembling. "Why is it only a first-grade Five Elements root?"

"Could it be that the testing stone is broken?"

Chi Yunzi wasn't ready to give up. The fire energy coming from Lin Hao was pure, and with how quickly he advanced to the first level of Qi Refining, there's no way he was just a first-grade Five Elements root.

He took out another spiritual root testing stone and asked Lin Hao to place his hand on it again.

The result was the same—five-colored light.

"The testing stone is fine. Could it be that Qinghan and I were mistaken?"

Chi Yunzi's face darkened, struggling to accept the reality.

"It really is a first-grade Five Elements root."

He tested a few more times, but the result remained unchanged.

Chi Yunzi tried to steady himself, and his mind began to form a guess. He reached out with his aged hand and grabbed Lin Hao's wrist, releasing a hint of spiritual power into Lin Hao's meridians to investigate.

About fifteen minutes later, Chi Yunzi's sharp gaze focused on Lin Hao as he asked, "Did you eat some strange elixir or spirit fruit?"

"Sect... Master..."

Lin Hao, under the intense pressure of the old man's gaze, felt like a heavy mountain was crushing him, suffocating him. He nervously replied, "I... I once... found a very fragrant red fruit on a mountain... At that time, I was really thirsty and hungry, so I couldn't resist eating it..."

"Destruction! This is wasteful destruction!"

Before Lin Hao could finish his sentence, Chi Yunzi began shouting, his fists clenched tightly. "This fruit must have been a treasure for fire attribute cultivation, and you—a person with only a Five Elements root—ate it. Ugh... what a waste..."

"A Five Elements root is a rare useless root, and yet it was able to reach first grade. This must be the effect of the fire attribute treasure fruit. If it had been given to a talent with a fire attribute, how much would it have improved... I'm furious!"

The more Chi Yunzi thought about it, the angrier he became, to the point where he seemed almost crazed.

Lin Hao, who was now under the old man's furious gaze, began to feel intense anxiety, fearing that Chi Yunzi might lose control and strike him in his rage.

Chapter 8 Revenge

"Master, please calm down. It's all my fault, I misjudged his spiritual root. Please punish me as you see fit," said Liu Qinghan, bowing in apology.

She had never seen Master Chi Yunzi lose his composure like this. She stepped forward and asked for his forgiveness.

"Sigh, Qinghan, it's not your fault. Even I, when I first saw this boy, mistook him for having a six-petal single fire attribute spiritual root," Chi Yunzi said, his tone gradually calming.

After years of cultivation, the sect leader of Xuan Yue Sect, Chi Yunzi, finally managed to compose himself and accepted the fact that the rumored six-petal fire attribute spiritual root was actually a first-grade five-element root.

He paused, then stared directly at Lin Hao, his voice stern. "Tell me, where did you find that fire-red fruit you ate?"

Lin Hao, following the instructions from the Long Life Immortal's soul, responded cautiously, "Master, three years ago my hometown was ravaged by disaster, and I was forced to flee for my life. I found the fruit on an unnamed mountain during my travels. I can't remember the exact name of the mountain, but it was within the Xuancheng region."

"Xuancheng?" Chi Yunzi's brows furrowed.

There were countless mountains in the Xuancheng area. Finding an unnamed one was like looking for a needle in a haystack. And after three years, there was no way to know if the tree that bore that extraordinary fruit still existed.

With that thought in mind, he sighed, giving up on the idea of searching for the fire attribute treasure.

"Let's go. We'll head back," Chi Yunzi ordered, clearly frustrated. He didn't want to stay in the cave for another minute and waved his disciples to follow.

"Master, with his talent, even if we give him ten thousand taels of silver, he still wouldn't qualify to join our Xuan Yue Sect," said one of Chi Yunzi's trusted inner disciples, who held an administrative position. He asked carefully, "What should we do with him?"

"Although his talent is poor, the fruit he ate is extraordinary. He should be able to reach the Qi Condensation stage from level three to five without any problems," Chi Yunzi said, after a moment's thought. "Since we've already accepted him into the sect, it's his fate. Let him remain as a miscellaneous disciple. Don't treat him any differently."

After making the decision regarding Lin Hao, Chi Yunzi didn't spare him another glance and left the cave in a hurry, clearly in a bad mood, with his disciples following him.

"Turns out it's just a first-grade five-element root. I thought he was something special!"

As the Xuan Yue Sect leaders departed, the expressions of the miscellaneous disciples in the mine changed from envy to mocking sneers.

"This kind of waste, if he hadn't eaten the extraordinary fruit and looked like he had a six-petal fire root, he wouldn't even be qualified to join Xuan Yue Sect, even if he paid a huge sum of silver," they whispered, deriding him.

Though Lin Hao had mentally prepared for such treatment, it still stung to hear the insults.

"How should I handle those who mock, slander, insult, laugh at, belittle, and despise me?" Lin Hao thought to himself.

"Just endure them, let them be, avoid them, tolerate them, respect them, and ignore them. In a few years, we'll see who has the last laugh."

Lin Hao remembered a famous quote from Earth, and his gloomy mood lifted a little.

"As long as I'm not kicked out of Xuan Yue Sect and forced to become a rogue cultivator, that's the best outcome," he thought, clenching his fists. "With the Long Life Immortal's soul and the Five Elements Longevity Technique, I believe I won't need much time before I can make these people shut up."

In the half month he had been at Xuan Yue Sect, Lin Hao had already witnessed the intense conflicts among the miscellaneous disciples. Cultivating required resources, and the power struggles within a sect were often more vicious than those in the mortal world.

If he wanted to make a good life for himself, he knew he needed not only connections but also enough strength.

"Boss, are you okay?"

Wang Fu, the plump boy, hesitated before stepping forward to check on Lin Hao.

Lin Hao was a bit surprised by Wang Fu's concern. After learning that Lin Hao had a first-grade five-element root, Wang Fu had not ridiculed him like the other miscellaneous disciples. He still called him "Boss."

"I'm fine," Lin Hao shook his head.

"Boss, now that Yan Heng knows you're not a genius, he'll probably try to cause us trouble. Maybe if we apologize publicly, we can avoid a beating," Wang Fu said, his face full of concern.

Without Liu Qinghan as their backing, and no more way to flaunt their status, their situation was likely to get worse.

Lin Hao frowned when he heard Wang Fu mention Yan Heng. He looked up and saw Yan Heng in the distance, smiling cruelly as he stared in their direction, clearly waiting for his opportunity to take revenge.

Yan Heng had been upset for half a month because he hadn't been able to get any of Lin Hao and Wang Fu's spirit porridge, and he was now clearly holding a grudge.

"If we apologize, he probably won't let it go," Lin Hao thought, analyzing Yan Heng's expression. He knew that some people would take advantage if you backed down.

"Boss, what should we do?" Wang Fu asked anxiously.

Wang Fu had seen Yan Heng beat up other new miscellaneous disciples in the past. The guy was ruthless, and once he had a grudge, he didn't stop until the victim was seriously injured.

Lin Hao understood Wang Fu's fear. He himself had been the leader of mountain bandits for a while and had learned a few things about how to deal with such people. He smiled coldly and said, "We'll take it one step at a time. If it comes to it, we'll fight him."

"But, Boss, Yan Heng reached the first stage of Qi Condensation two months ago. Even if we fight him, we can't win," Wang Fu sighed.

"Let's just mine for now. There's no use thinking about it right now," Lin Hao said, picking up his mining tools.

With his cultivation at the first stage of Qi Condensation, Lin Hao's strength had greatly increased. By noon, he had already mined ten jin of spirit iron, which was enough to exchange for two bowls of spirit porridge.

"Wang Fu, let's go eat," he said, smiling.

"Boss, I only mined two jin of spirit iron, that's not enough for a meal," Wang Fu said.

"Don't worry, I mined ten jin. We can exchange that for two bowls of porridge. I'll give you one," Lin Hao offered.

Wang Fu hesitated. He knew that if they went to the dining hall now, they would likely face Yan Heng's retaliation. But whether they went now or later, they couldn't avoid it. They'd only delay the beating.

"Well... okay, Boss. I'll go with you," Wang Fu said with a sigh.

Lin Hao and Wang Fu collected their mining tools and exchanged the iron they had mined for two meal tickets. They headed out of the mine.

Yan Heng had been waiting for them, and when he saw them come out, his face twisted into a sinister grin. He immediately swaggered after them, ready to make his move.

This action made Wang Fu shiver as they walked, and Lin Hao's expression grew serious as he prepared to deal with Yan Heng's retaliation.

Chapter 9 It's Going Too Far!

After leaving the mine, the two of them deliberately walked towards a crowded area, hoping to make Yan Heng hesitate, hoping the crowd would make him less likely to act too rashly.

However, Lin Hao's and Wang Fu's actions were exactly what Yan Heng had hoped for. The more people who were watching, the better it was for him to establish his dominance.

When they encountered other new servant disciples, he directly called them over to walk with him, so they could all watch the spectacle of him beating Lin Hao and Wang Fu senseless.

Under Yan Heng's intimidating presence, the new servant disciples had no choice but to follow, their faces full of unwillingness.

"Lin Hao, Wang Fu, stop right there."

Seeing that there were already a lot of people around, Yan Heng spoke in a tone that brooked no refusal, his words carrying a hint of menace.

"Is it starting now? Lin Hao is doomed this time," muttered some of the other servant disciples, some with gloating expressions, while others looked on with sympathy.

"What do you want?"

Lin Hao knew there was no escaping this. He took a deep breath and turned around, trying to stay calm.

At the moment, he had only reached the first level of Qi Refining, whereas Yan Heng had already reached the first level of Qi Refining, and was not far from the second level.

Though his master, Chang Sheng Xianzun, had a five-element spirit root that was superior to others of the same cultivation level, Lin Hao still felt a bit uncertain.

"What do I want? Lin Hao, don't act dumb. Heh, how comfortable you two have been these past few days, depriving me of how many bowls of spirit porridge," Yan Heng sneered coldly, his eyes flashing with cold light. "You two will kneel down and call me 'Yan Grandpa,' then beg me to spare you and take my punches. Only then will I let you off easy."

"Do we really have to go this far?" Lin Hao's face changed slightly. Kneeling and begging for mercy? That was too humiliating, and he would never agree to such a thing.

"Yan Heng... Yan, Big Brother, please have mercy. Let us go!" Wang Fu, trembling under Yan Heng's menacing aura, couldn't help but beg.

"Kneel or not?" Yan Heng shouted at Lin Hao and Wang Fu in front of the crowd, his voice full of threat. "Otherwise, I'll have you both beaten to death today!"

Thud!

"I... I was wrong," Wang Fu muttered under his breath, recalling the tragic fate of the servant disciples who had opposed Yan Heng in the past. Unable to resist the pressure, he fell to his knees.

"Lin Hao, it's your turn now," Yan Heng's eyes narrowed as he looked at the kneeling Wang Fu. His smile twisted into something cruel.

The surrounding servant disciples all watched in silence. No one dared to speak up, for they knew that interfering with Yan Heng's business was akin to courting death.

"You want me to kneel? No way."

Lin Hao clenched his fists tightly. At this moment, the survival-of-the-fittest rule of the cultivation world weighed heavily on him.

He had wanted to submit, but since he would be beaten anyway, he chose to fight back. Yan Heng's strength was on par with his own, and he was not strong enough to defeat him outright, but he wouldn't just give up.

"You're going to regret this!" Yan Heng shouted as he lunged at Lin Hao with incredible speed. His fist was clenched tightly and swung with terrifying force. The sound of air exploding around him was deafening.

His speed and the pressure of his punch made the onlookers shudder. They could only imagine how painful it would be if that punch landed on them.

"Never mess with Yan Heng again," many of the servant disciples thought to themselves, their faces full of fear.

"Yan Heng, you're going too far!" Lin Hao gritted his teeth, seeing Yan Heng charging towards him with murder in his eyes.

He had fought many times on Earth, but this was his first real battle with a cultivator. Lin Hao drew in a deep breath, channeling all the energy in his body as he yelled, "I'll fight you to the end!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was twisted in fury. His five-element spirit root was much stronger than ordinary roots of the same level, and he poured all his energy into his fist.

Bang!

In their desperate struggle, Lin Hao's fist came at Yan Heng so quickly that it almost overtook him. The two fists collided in mid-air.

Yan Heng felt a sharp pain in his hand. His expression changed in shock. He hadn't expected that a newly-minted cultivator like Lin Hao could unleash such a powerful punch.

"You forced my hand," Lin Hao muttered under his breath. He knew that in a fight between equals, what mattered was who could be more vicious.

"Those who are ruthless fear nothing; those who fear nothing are the ones who win!"

After delivering the first blow, Lin Hao didn't hesitate. He swung another punch with all his strength.

Yan Heng was skilled in martial arts and had plenty of techniques at his disposal. However, the distance between them was too short. Moreover, Lin Hao's five-element spirit root was incredibly strong, making his Qi far more potent than Yan Heng's.

Faced with another strike, Yan Heng tried to back off and prepare a counterattack, but there was no time. He could only brace himself and block the punch.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lin Hao didn't give him a chance to regroup. He knew that Yan Heng was a skilled fighter, but if he allowed the distance between them to widen, he would lose the advantage.

With his fists flying in quick succession, he kept hitting Yan Heng without pause.

"Dammit, is he not afraid of pain?" Yan Heng gritted his teeth. He had never expected that Lin Hao would fight back so ferociously.

Yan Heng's hands were bruised and bloody, and his face showed signs of fear. "This... this can't be happening. How can a newly promoted Qi Refining cultivator fight like this?"

"Yan Heng, so that's all you can do?" Lin Hao sneered, seeing his opponent falter. He gathered all his Qi and unleashed it with the full power of his punches, targeting Yan Heng's body.

With his speed and strength, Yan Heng had no time to evade, and could only take the blows head-on.

Cultivators at the first level of Qi Refining were still relatively weak in comparison to those in the Foundation Establishment stage, but this kind of brawl was raw and simple—no flashy spells or magic tools, just brute force.

Bang!

Yan Heng's dual-element spirit roots could not compare to Lin Hao's five-element root. With his energy depleted, his defense crumbled under Lin Hao's relentless assault.

In front of the astonished onlookers, Yan Heng was sent flying by a punch, crashing hard into the ground.

Spit!

Yan Heng spat out a mouthful of blood as he collapsed to the ground.

"This is impossible! Yan Heng actually lost!" the surrounding disciples gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief.

"W-What? He's that strong?" Wang Fu, still kneeling, rubbed his eyes in astonishment. He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"Let me show you what happens when you try to bully me," Lin Hao muttered, his adrenaline rushing. He had been afraid he wouldn't be vicious enough to avoid being defeated, but now, with Yan Heng on the ground, he didn't hesitate to continue his attack.

He rushed forward and began kicking and punching the fallen Yan Heng.

"Ah! Ah! Ah..." Yan Heng screamed in pain, the sound echoing throughout the area. The surrounding disciples could hardly bear to listen.

The reputation of Lin Hao, the toughest newcomer in the servant area, spread like wildfire. Even the older disciples in the area couldn't help but look over, their eyes filled with shock.

"Stop!"

The situation might have escalated into something far worse if it hadn't been for the outer disciples on guard. Realizing that things were getting out of hand, they rushed over to intervene and prevent a death from occurring.

It was clear that Lin Hao wasn't about to stop until Yan Heng was completely beaten down.

Chapter 10 Dominate the Newcomer Area of the Servant Disciples.

The person who came to stop them appeared to be a newly promoted outer sect disciple at the third level of Qi Refining. His aura and distinctive clothing immediately made Lin Hao's heart skip a beat, and he stopped his violent assault on Yan Heng.

"Although the sect encourages competition among disciples," the outer sect disciple said coldly, "we do not wish for someone to be so badly injured that they cannot work. With these injuries, Yan Heng will likely be unable to mine for some time. You will need to make up for the missing spiritual iron."

"Yes, Senior Brother," Lin Hao replied, not daring to refuse. He clasped his hands and respectfully bowed to the outer sect disciple.

"Hmph, disperse! Go eat your meal. If you're late for work in the afternoon, it will not be good," the outer sect disciple snorted, swiftly taking the bloodied Yan Heng away.

"Boss, you're amazing! You actually defeated Yan Heng!" Wang Fu, who had been forced to kneel earlier, climbed to his feet and asked with concern, "Boss, you're not hurt, are you?"

"It's just a minor injury," Lin Hao replied. His body was covered in blood, making him look quite terrifying, but his injuries weren't serious. The only damage was a scrape on his fist from the continuous punching. Most of the blood on him was from Yan Heng.

He started walking towards the dining hall, and the surrounding disciples looked at him with awe.

"Yes, Boss." Wang Fu followed behind, standing straighter than before. The fat boy felt that with such a powerful leader, at least for the next half-year in the Newcomer Area, no one would dare bully him.

"Senior Brother, two bowls of spirit porridge, please," Lin Hao said, handing over two meal tokens to exchange for two large bowls of steaming porridge. He gave one to Wang Fu, who was extremely touched.

"Thank you, Boss," Wang Fu said with excitement, receiving the porridge.

"You've helped me a lot over the past half-month, so this porridge is well-deserved," Lin Hao said with a smile.

"I... I didn't help much," Wang Fu replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.

The two of them found a seat and began to wolf down their food.

Soon, Lin Hao finished his bowl of porridge, and he habitually licked the bottom of the bowl for a while before reluctantly setting it down.

Today, there was no Yan Heng causing trouble in the dining hall for the spirit porridge. The other new disciples who had gotten their porridge didn't dare to start eating right away. They were not used to having no one steal their porridge, and they sat restlessly.

"Senior Brother Lin," one tall newcomer disciple suddenly stood up and hesitantly walked over with his bowl of porridge, offering half of it to Lin Hao. "I... I want to give you half of my porridge."

Lin Hao's gaze fell on him, and he hesitated. Stealing someone's porridge seemed wrong.

However, in the Newcomer Area of the sect, the most important resource was the spirit porridge, which contained spiritual energy. The more porridge one ate, the faster they could cultivate.

Cultivation was all about survival, fighting for resources, partners, and territory.

Spirit porridge was one of those resources!

"With my Five Elements Spirit Root, I need a lot of spiritual energy to break through. Since I've already offended Yan Heng, he will definitely try to get revenge later," Lin Hao thought. "In Xuan Yue Sect and the entire cultivation world, if I want to avoid being bullied, I have to become strong enough."

After thinking for a while, Lin Hao decided that since the newcomer disciple was offering the porridge of his own will, it wasn't considered stealing.

He smiled and said, "Junior Brother, just give me three-tenths of your porridge."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lin!" the tall newcomer disciple said with gratitude, relieved that Lin Hao was not asking for all of it.

Compared to Yan Heng, who used to dominate the Newcomer Area and forcefully take half of everyone's porridge, Lin Hao's demand for only three-tenths seemed quite fair.

Soon, the tall disciple poured the best portion of his porridge into Lin Hao's bowl.

"Glug, glug, glug!"

Lin Hao wasted no time and gulped it down. In no time, his bowl was empty, and he looked as though he hadn't had enough.

He was used to the heavy physical labor of mining, and if he had seven or eight bowls of spirit porridge, it still wouldn't be enough to satisfy him.

The other newcomer disciples saw what the tall disciple had done and hesitated. Fearing that if they didn't give Lin Hao their porridge, he might beat them up too, they stood up and said, "Senior Brother Lin, we'll give you some of our porridge as well."

"Three-tenths is fine," Lin Hao said indifferently.

The six newcomer disciples from the Newcomer Area all voluntarily gave him some of their porridge. Each one handed over three-tenths, which amounted to nearly two full bowls.

Lin Hao ended up having about three bowls of spirit porridge, and he could feel the spiritual energy flowing into his meridians, nourishing his body.

After finishing his meal, he briefly returned to his wooden cabin and began circulating his Five Elements Long Life Technique.

Soon, Lin Hao's face lit up with joy. With the extra porridge from others and the one he had earned from mining, plus the assistance from the Eternal Life Tower, he was able to absorb the spiritual energy without any loss. His cultivation speed had increased significantly.

He estimated that, at his current pace, while it wasn't as fast as the Sect Master's disciple, Liu Qinghan, who had a five-element wood spirit root, it was certainly faster than Wang Fu's two-element gold spirit root.

"Earn more spirit porridge and break through to the third level of Qi Refining as soon as possible, so I can become an outer sect disciple of Xuan Yue Sect," Lin Hao thought. He was motivated by the prospect of receiving two low-grade spirit stones each month if he became an outer sect disciple.

With those spirit stones, he could use the Eternal Life Tower's ability to turn waste into treasure to upgrade weapons and pills.

After practicing for a while, Lin Hao was in a good mood as he left the wooden cabin and headed back to the mines.

For the next few days, Yan Heng, who had once tried to bully Lin Hao, was nowhere to be seen in the mining area.

Fearing retaliation from Lin Hao, Yan Heng had applied to transfer to the older disciples' mining area, a decision made after being frightened nearly to death by Lin Hao's berserk attack.

Thus, Lin Hao had firmly secured his position as the leader of the tenth team in the Newcomer Area of the mining district. No one dared to challenge his authority. He was enjoying the perks of being the boss, and he was making good progress in his cultivation.

He was drinking plenty of spirit porridge every day, and his once-slim physique was visibly gaining weight.

He was starting to look almost as plump as Wang Fu.

However, rumors began to spread among the disciple areas.

They said that Lin Hao, with his so-called "useless" Five Elements Spirit Root, was wasting the sect's cultivation resources by eating so much spirit porridge.