Chapter 6: The Current Situation

Bian Chunzhou was the type of person who got hyper whenever he was happy. After all, as a modern person, who wasn’t a little crazy? The only difference was how it manifested. Seeing that Wen Xu looked perfectly fine and clearly didn’t blame him, he began to gesticulate wildly in his excitement, describing the thrilling tension of the preliminary results announcement.

“You passed the preliminary test?”

“Yes, yes! I thought it was a close call at first, because Li Zishen, who came in first, actually gathered a fourth-grade spiritual plant. As expected of someone from a spiritual plant clan! The people behind him got to ride his coattails and share the spoils. I heard others predicting that Young Master Li has a high chance of becoming an inner disciple.”

Wen Xu smiled and chimed in, “So there are even spiritual plant clans.”

“Yes, there are also beast-taming, alchemy, talisman-making clans, and many others. It’s a pity that with so many cultivation clans out there, none of them could have spawned a little old me.” In the past, Bian Chunzhou used to lament how many rich people there were in the world. Now that he was in the cultivation world, he still envied others’ good fortune.

Hearing this, Wen Xu felt a sense of shared understanding. “Some things simply cannot be envied, Brother Bian. You should put your mind at ease.”

Bian Chunzhou thought of the other man’s eyes and immediately changed the subject. “Ah, let’s not talk about that. I heard Elder Zhan say that the Poyun Secret Realm connects to the Mortal Realm above, and occasionally mortals wander in by mistake. Most of them choose to stay in the cultivation world. What about you, Wen Xuxu?”

Actually, if it were up to him, he would definitely choose the cultivation world. But Wen Xuxu was a native ancient person whose family and friends were still alive. If he chose to stay here, it would be absolutely impossible for him to return before reaching the Golden Core stage.

And the Golden Core stage was not so easily achieved.

Among the many cultivators in the cultivation world, going from the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage was something even those with the worst five-element spiritual roots could achieve, as long as they put in enough effort. This was because Foundation Establishment, to put it simply, only required filling the entire sea of Qi in one’s Dantian.

Once the sea of Qi was full, most cultivators would naturally make the breakthrough.

But the Golden Core was different. It required condensing the sea of Qi inside the body into a smooth, round Golden Core. It sounded simple, but the actual execution was extremely difficult. Going from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core was a process of expanding, merging, and comprehending the sea of Qi within the body. Sects did not even have a concrete, step-by-step guide for this process because everyone’s situation was different. Even if they had the same spiritual roots and similar experiences, the manifestation in each individual would vary.

As the saying goes, the master leads you to the door, but the cultivation depends on the individual. That was exactly how it worked.

Not to mention the subsequent Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Body Integration, and Tribulation Transcendence stages. As far as he knew, the number of cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence Stage in the entire cultivation world was definitely in the double digits at most. Even those in the Body Integration Stage were few and far between. Those in the Soul Transformation Stage were figures at the level of sect masters and vice-sect masters. In slightly more remote areas, a Nascent Soul cultivator would be the lord of a city and the peak of combat power.

Furthermore, rumor had it that the average age for a cultivator to advance to a Golden Core Master was around a hundred years old. By the time a century had passed, the mortal world would no longer be the one Wen Xuxu was familiar with.

Of course, if Wen Xuxu were a cultivation genius, that would be a different story.

“I certainly won’t go back now. The reason I accidentally entered the Poyun Secret Realm was because I was pursued to a dead end. If I return now, how would it be any different from seeking death?”

Bian Chunzhou slapped his thigh. “Right! You’re such a good person. What kind of horrible person would hunt you down like that?”

“I don’t know either, but it seemed that person was hunting me down because of my appearance.”

Wow. Bian Chunzhou instantly imagined a hundred different melodramatic dramas in his head. He quickly shook his head to toss out those rather unhealthy speculations. “Then do you have any other attachments left in the Mortal Realm?”

After all, cultivation was also about cultivating the mind. If one’s obsessions were too deep, it would severely affect their cultivation speed.

“I have not started a family, nor do I have a marriage contract. My adoptive father passed away from illness three years ago. I am completely alone now.”

Bian Chunzhou’s way of comforting him was very unique. “Ah, then we’re the same! My dad passed away a few years ago too. Now, if I’m fed, the whole family is fed. So, can we really not team up to take the entrance exam for Yonglu Mountain?”

Wen Xu did not agree immediately. He was actually quite competitive. Compared to Yonglu Mountain, he naturally wanted to enter the number one Hehe Sect. However, since his spiritual roots had not been tested yet, it was hard to say it out loud. Instead, he asked, “May I ask Brother Bian a question?”

“What question? Just ask. But you can just call me by my name.”

Before this, Wen Xu had been a scholar. Scholars had the most rules, and they would never address an acquaintance directly by their given name. He could not completely change his habits all at once. “Brother Chunzhou, why did you choose to apply for Yonglu Mountain?”

Excellent. He had been promoted from Brother Bian to Brother Chunzhou. Next time, he should be able to drop the “Brother” entirely.

“Oh, that. I have a bit of a prestigious school complex, so I’m not considering other sects for now. Among the five major sects, Kudu Temple is for Buddhist cultivators. Just reading documents gives me a headache, and Buddhist cultivation sounds like a massive headache. Even though you don’t have to shave your head, I’ve unilaterally decided that I have no affinity with Buddhism.”

“Then there’s the Suitian Sword Sect. I actually really want to go there. After all, they’re sword cultivators! If you train well, you can kill opponents above your realm. But… it’s too far. Really too far. From here to the Suitian Sword Sect, the travel fare for the teleportation arrays alone costs a hundred low-grade spirit stones. My financial situation doesn’t allow me to dream about it.”

Wen Xu: …What a realistic reason.

“Finally, there’s the Hehe Sect. It’s the number one sect in the world, the place all cultivators yearn for, and I can make it there in terms of distance. But its strength is also its weakness. Because of its grand reputation, too many genius cultivators apply. To play it safe, I decided to make Yonglu Mountain my top choice.”

After all, a prestigious school complex was one thing, but the application still had to be based on the likelihood of actually getting in.

“Of course, there is another crucial reason why I chose Yonglu Mountain.”

Wen Xu was curious. “What reason?”

“According to local rumors, the five major sects recruit new disciples every six years. Yonglu Mountain recruits the fewest, but the treatment for their outer disciples is the best. The monthly allowance is a full two hundred low-grade spirit stones, and they also distribute twenty Qi Replenishing Pills and twenty Blood Recovery Pills each.”

“Outer disciples?” The jade slip hadn’t mentioned anything about the treatment of sect disciples.

“Yeah. Every sect is divided into outer and inner sects. After all, cultivation resources aren’t so abundant that everyone gets a share. The sects will naturally tilt better resources toward the inner disciples who have better talent, perseverance, and character.”

Wen Xu nodded in understanding. It sounded like the sects of the cultivation world were not much different from academies. Academies admitted many students, but the masters naturally focused their teachings on the ones who wrote the best essays.

The world had never been fair, a fact he had long known.

“If I pass the exam for Yonglu Mountain, can I return to my hometown once my cultivation is successful?” Wen Xu asked the question he cared about most. He was not someone who let a grudge go unavenged.

People said scholars were the most petty. While not universally true, it fit him well enough. He was indeed quite petty. Having owned so little since childhood, he held a deep grudge against anyone who tried to take what was his.

Naturally, that included the person who had tried to take his life.

Bian Chunzhou thought to himself that Wen Xuxu was indeed a nostalgic person. In truth, if it were possible, he also wanted to go back to the modern era for a look. “Yonglu Mountain, or rather the entire cultivation world, has a clear rule. Cultivators who have not reached the Golden Core realm are not allowed to enter the Mortal Realm.”

“Why is there such a rule?”

“I don’t know. I heard it’s because the Boundary Sea separating the two realms is extremely dangerous for those in the Foundation Establishment Stage.”

“Then how long does it take, at the fastest, to reach the Golden Core realm?”

“I knew you were going to ask that. The youngest age to reach the Golden Core in the cultivation world is twenty-five. He is now the youngest Soul Transformation Venerable of the Suitian Sword Sect, Sword Venerable Meixi.”

“And what about the slowest?”

“According to the information published by Jinding Pavilion, it seems to be an elder of some remote family. A Foundation Establishment cultivator has a lifespan of two hundred years, and he broke through by gaining sudden enlightenment just before he was about to die of old age.”

This did not sound good at all, Wen Xu thought. Let alone two hundred years, even if it took a hundred years to reach the Golden Core, his enemy would have long been dead and buried. What would he go back for then? To dig up the grave and scatter the ashes?

What kind of dark joke was this? Wen Xu had not expected things to turn out this way. Even with his usual emotional stability, he could not help but feel a bit anxious now.

“What about Sword Venerable Meixi’s talent?”

Speaking of this, Bian Chunzhou’s eyes began to redden again. “Rumor has it that he has a mutated lightning spiritual root, the kind that might not appear once in a million people, and he is also a natural sword constitution. When Nuwa^[1] sculpted him, she must have bathed and fasted for seven days and seven nights before she started.”

Wen Xu was twenty years old this year. He thought about it and could only hope that his enemy was younger and would live a bit longer.

Since childhood, very few things had gone his way. Most of what he had was obtained through sheer force of will. The old saying went that forced fruit was not sweet, but Wen Xu believed that was just sour grapes from those who lacked the strength to pluck it.

No matter what kind of fruit it was, he would pluck it and have a taste.

“I didn’t participate in Yonglu Mountain’s preliminary trial. Can I still sign up?” Just as Bian Chunzhou had said, among the four sects, Yonglu Mountain was the top choice, and it should be the same for him. Although the Hehe Sect was good, he had no connections there. With so many favored children of heaven gathered, his chances of breaking through the crowd were too low.

“Of course you can! You’re the man who plucked the King Danxiang Grass!” In fact, Bian Chunzhou had come here at Elder Zhan’s request to persuade Wen Xu to participate in the Mountain Exam. Of course, he also really wanted Wen Xuxu to take the exam with him.

“Then in the future, I will have to trouble Chunzhou to be my eyes.”

Bian Chunzhou immediately cheered up. He reached out and patted his new friend’s shoulder. “Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll take you to get the token for the Mountain Exam, and then we can walk around the market in the city. How about it?”

Elder Zhan had been waiting outside the door for a long time. Seeing Wen Xu smile and bow to him, he knew the young man was willing to join Yonglu Mountain. Unfortunately, according to the rules of Yonglu Mountain, the disciples who remained after passing the three stages of the preliminary trial, the Mountain Exam, and the Heart Trial could join Yonglu Mountain regardless of their talent. Therefore, testing the spiritual roots only happened after the Heart Trial.

Watching the two boys walk out side by side in high spirits, Elder Zhan felt as if he were seeing himself when he had first joined the sect, similarly full of youthful vigor and high spirits.

In reality, Bian Chunzhou was gesturing wildly, trying to persuade Wen Xuxu to change out of his tattered, blood-stained clothes. Even wearing just his undergarments would be better than entering the city covered in blood.

The decent young man Wen Xiaoxu: “No, absolutely not!”

“Oh, don’t be shy. You can’t see anyway.”

“Even if I can’t see, it’s still a no!”

“…”

It could only be said that Elder Zhan’s eyes came with a bit of a nostalgic filter.