Chapter 7

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

The Greenwood Sect is nestled among the mountains, and the scenery within dozens of miles is distinctly different from other mountain ranges. The first impression of the mountain is its freshness, like after a rain, with the mountain body and trees appearing almost transparent, exceptionally clear and bright.

There is a stone path winding through the mountains, resembling a white ribbon spiraling from the foot to the top of the mountain.

From different parts of the mountain, looking down from the air, one can vaguely see the neatly arranged buildings through the lush trees. These should be the buildings of the Greenwood Sect.

These ancient and elegant buildings are appropriately dotted around the immortal mountain, adding a touch of vitality to the entire mountain.

A white crane landed in a large courtyard in front of the Greenwood Sect, and the figure of Elder Qing quickly disappeared from Sun Hao's sight. However, Sun Hao heard Elder Qing's cold voice again: "Young man, take care of yourself. I remind you again, don't tell anyone about what happens inside the Heaven-Filling Disk except yourself."

Sun Hao's face remained unchanged as he turned to a few middle-aged cultivators in the courtyard and bowed: "My name is Sun Hao, and this is my brother, Gu Yun. We will be麻烦几位师兄了 (troubling the senior disciples) for our entry into the sect."

Only Elder Qing knew about Sun Hao's performance inside the Heaven-Filling Disk, and he had decided to keep Sun Hao hidden.

Thus, Sun Hao found that he was being looked down upon everywhere in the Greenwood Sect.

Senior Disciple Qin told Sun Hao, "You must guide the qi into your body and enter the Qi Condensation stage within a year. If not, you will be sent back to your hometown."

He believed that it was highly likely that Sun Hao would not be able to guide the qi within a year.

Senior Disciple Huang said, "You must enter the middle stage of Qi Condensation before the age of twenty. If not, you will leave the sect and manage the sect's assets or enter the secular world."

Senior Disciple Huang looked down on Sun Hao and Gu Yun, thinking that these two children were more suited for the secular world. He kindly explained, "Entering the secular world is not bad. You can enjoy the glory and wealth of the world, and in the eyes of the common people, you would be living immortals."

Another senior disciple also looked down on Sun Hao: "You are the unlucky Sun Hao with four attributes? Did you get the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique as your immortal connection?"

The other senior disciples burst into laughter.

Sun Hao was startled: "Is the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique so famous?"

Because he was looked down upon, Sun Hao and Gu Yun were assigned to the Southern Lower Courtyard.

The Southern Lower Courtyard is where disciples like Sun Hao and Gu Yun, with four or five spiritual roots, live. In simple terms, Sun Hao's current status in the Greenwood Sect is the lowest and least favored disciple.

Four young boys lived in the Southern Lower Courtyard, the other two being Tong Li and Zhong Lin.

Tong Li was tall, almost like an adult, and Zhong Lin was about the same height as Gu Yun, looking very smart.

Because they were still young, the sect assigned a slightly older maid to take care of their daily lives.

The next day, at the Transmission Hall, Sun Hao continued to be looked down upon.

The Transmission Elder was a Taoist in a green robe, with a kind face and an aura of immortality. He spoke eloquently for an hour, painting a bright and sunny picture of the cultivation path.

He said, "Those with inferior talent can reach the Qi Condensation stage and gain double the lifespan of ordinary people."

When he said this, he nodded slightly in the direction of Sun Hao and the other array and talisman disciples, categorizing Sun Hao as one of them.

After that, the Transmission Elder turned to the direction of the alchemy and artifact disciples, including Qu Youge, and said with a smile, "Cultivate well. If you can quickly enter the Qi Condensation stage, you will automatically become outer disciples, and the sect elders might even take you as their personal disciples."

Sun Hao knew he was being looked down upon and felt a surge of frustration.

What Sun Hao did not expect was that even after choosing a cultivation technique, he was still being looked down upon.

The Scripture Hall is on the western slope of Spirit Mountain, a wooden and stone structure with five floors, covering about five acres.

Today was the day for new disciples to choose their cultivation techniques. The doors of the Scripture Hall were wide open, and from a distance, one could see rows of neatly arranged wooden shelves filled with various scriptures.

Sun Hao had already made up his mind and went directly to the auxiliary cultivation techniques section, quickly finding the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique and flipping through it carefully.

"An extraordinary cultivation technique discovered in an ancient relic, it can complement the five elements and is considered a world-class creation. However, times have changed, and what was once a miracle in ancient times is now of little benefit to cultivation..."

It was good, but not suitable for current cultivation? Sun Hao's eyebrows twitched, no wonder the senior disciples had that expression.

Opening the main text of the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique and comparing it with the one in his mind.

The general principles were roughly the same, and the true qi circulation routes were also similar. The technique in his mind was almost the same, but was this Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique really a chicken rib?

No, it seemed that some content was missing from the book.

After careful consideration, Sun Hao found the difference.

The content in the book and the one in his mind had a small discrepancy. The difference was that Sun Hao's mind had an additional "之" (zhi), the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique's Fire Wheel Technique, and this Fire Wheel Technique clearly explained how to perform the fire wheel and the conditions required, which were not recorded in the sect's scripture.

It was like a disciple going to the Greenwood Sect, and a senior told you that the Greenwood Sect is in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and you should go. The destination is given, but the specific route is not, and you are left to figure out how to get there and how long it will take.

Sun Hao put down the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique and casually flipped through a few other auxiliary cultivation techniques before slowly returning to choose a wood attribute technique.

He picked up a wood attribute technique at random and, before flipping through it, thought of Gu Yun's Nourishing Wood Technique, and called out softly, "Xiao Yun, come over here."

Gu Yun jumped to Sun Hao's side: "Brother Hao, did you find something good?"

Sun Hao picked up the Nourishing Wood Technique from the bookshelf and handed it to Gu Yun: "Take a good look."

Gu Yun nodded and took the Nourishing Wood Technique, reading it for a while, his face showing a puzzled expression, and he opened his mouth to speak.

Sun Hao waved his hand: "You will focus on the Nourishing Wood Technique. Today, you can choose an auxiliary cultivation technique."

"I understand," Gu Yun smiled.

Watching Gu Yun go to the auxiliary cultivation techniques section, Sun Hao smiled and continued to choose a technique. The next book was quite strange; all the other books were paper, but this one was very heavy, made of wood, a heavy piece of wood with a few words carved on it: "The Yearly Rings of Wood," which did not seem like the name of a cultivation technique!

Sun Hao was very interested in this heavy piece of wood and picked up the introduction.

"The Yearly Rings of Wood," a basic wood attribute technique, can be converted to most advanced wood attribute techniques, passed down from ancient times, suitable for those who can read ancient script.

Sun Hao could read ancient script, as his mother's family had a broad heritage, and Sun Hao knew several ancient scripts, including the most common ancient script from ancient times.

"Man has age, wood has yearly rings; one year one turn, a thousand years to become a spirit; swallowing the sun and moon, plants become human..." The cultivation technique on the unknown piece of wood was about two thousand words, and Sun Hao finished reading it in a short while.

"The Yearly Rings of Wood" is a basic technique that can only be cultivated to the third level of Qi Condensation, but each level has "yearly ring differences." The number of yearly rings determines the quality of true qi. Theoretically, at the first level of Qi Condensation, you can cultivate ten-year rings, a thousand-year rings, or even ten thousand-year rings, provided you have the time and can endure the loneliness.

At the end of the technique, it was noted that the yearly rings do not necessarily appear after a year of cultivation. A good auxiliary technique to improve the quality of true qi can promote the formation of yearly rings.

Seeing this, Sun Hao's heart stirred. Speaking of auxiliary techniques, he had the Five Elements Wheel Spirit Technique, which appeared at the top level of the Heaven-Filling Disk, likely of high quality. Combining it with "The Yearly Rings of Wood" might be a good match.

It's settled. Determined, Sun Hao picked up the "The Yearly Rings of Wood," which resembled a ruler but was incredibly heavy, and walked to the senior disciple responsible for registration.

"The Yearly Rings of Wood?" The senior disciple looked at Sun Hao, shook his head, but did not say anything and registered it.

The senior disciple thought that Sun Hao might cultivate the one-year ring to the third level of Qi Condensation and then choose to live a carefree life in the secular world, which might not be a bad choice.