Chapter 4

"Alright, you don't know swordsmanship, so don't look at this thing anymore." Elder Sikong woke Jiang Yuanchen and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Jiang Yuanchen had been here many times and was quite familiar with Elder Sikong, otherwise, he wouldn't have helped him arrange the tables and chairs.

The teapot in front of Elder Sikong suddenly whistled, and Jiang Yuanchen got up to pour two cups of tea for Elder Sikong and himself, grinning, "I stayed until the end just to get a cup of tea from Elder."

The tea Elder Sikong drank was spiritual tea. Besides the tea leaves being specially supplied by the inner sect, the water was also the unique spiritual spring of Gold Spring Peak.

Taking a sip of the spiritual tea, the tea water turned into spiritual energy as it went down Jiang Yuanchen's throat. The pure spiritual energy merged with his innate true qi, making his true qi even stronger. One sip of spiritual tea saved him several days of qi cultivation.

"Unfortunately, even though this spiritual tea is good, it still can't help me break through to the Foundation Establishment stage." Sighing, Jiang Yuanchen put down his teacup.

"Do you still want to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage so urgently?" Elder Sikong suddenly thought of something and took out a jade box from his sleeve, placing it in front of Jiang Yuanchen.

"Do you want to eat this?" The elder's words were full of temptation.

"This is—" Jiang Yuanchen opened the jade box, but immediately closed it and returned it to Elder Sikong, as if it contained a deadly poison. However, for Jiang Yuanchen, this thing was indeed a deadly poison.

"Elder, don't take out such poison to tempt the disciples."

"This Foundation Establishment Pill is hard to come by, and I'm giving it to you for free, but you don't want it?" Elder Sikong smiled and opened the jade box, revealing three orange-yellow pills the size of longan fruits.

"If it were a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, it would be fine. It has no side effects, and the innate spiritual energy can help disciples solidify their Dao foundation. But these low-grade Foundation Establishment Pills are not worth it. I still value my life."

The Foundation Establishment Pill is a pill used to assist in Foundation Establishment cultivation, divided into three grades. A high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill has no pill toxicity and is merely a pure innate spiritual energy that can help any qi cultivation practitioner successfully establish their foundation. A mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill has some pill toxicity, and the spiritual energy within it has impurities. If one uses this pill to establish their foundation, the impurities will interfere, and the residual pill toxicity will take a lot of effort to expel, delaying future cultivation. Compared to a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, this pill's effectiveness is not high, and one might need to take several pills to break through. As for low-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, they have too much pill toxicity, and the success rate of taking just one pill to establish a foundation is very low. Taking multiple low-grade Foundation Establishment Pills can even harm the body. Even the low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, which forces the body to reach its potential, can damage the foundation and shorten one's lifespan.

"Then how about a mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill?" Elder Sikong asked again.

"No!" Jiang Yuanchen shook his head repeatedly, his originally handsome face furrowed with worry. "Elder, don't play with me. I'll still focus on establishing my foundation on my own." Whether it's a low-grade or mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, for the current Jiang Yuanchen, they are all major obstacles. Taking this pill will inevitably become a tiger blocking his path in future cultivation, delaying his progress.

"What do you want to ask?" After teasing Jiang Yuanchen, Elder Sikong asked again.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuanchen's spirit was lifted, and he asked solemnly, "Not long ago, Elder asked me to learn from nature. May I ask, what is nature?"

"The extreme of heaven, the boundary of earth, everything in between is nature!" Elder Sikong pointed to the scenery outside the pavilion without hesitation. "All beings and the world are like this, nothing is outside of this, nature is the Dao!"

Elder Sikong had lived for many years and had seen many disciples ask about the method of Foundation Establishment, so he understood where Jiang Yuanchen's question lay.

The Great Void Dao Sect had just experienced a siege by demons a few decades ago. After that, they closed their mountain gates to rest and recuperate until 28 years ago when they began to recruit the first batch of outer sect disciples. The second batch was recruited 18 years ago, and Jiang Yuanchen was part of the third batch, recruited 8 years ago.

Because the Great Void Dao Sect likes to recruit disciples from a young age, the age range they choose is from 7 to 13 years old. Therefore, in the first batch of outer sect disciples, although some disciples successfully established their foundation within ten years and entered the inner sect, the remaining disciples could still strive to establish their immortal foundation before the age of 30. However, with the second batch of disciples also having some who established their foundation within ten years, the remaining first batch disciples became more restless. Some of them were already over 30 years old when Jiang Yuanchen started his cultivation, facing the choice of descending the mountain to return to the mortal world or continuing their cultivation. The Foundation Establishment Pills in Elder Sikong's hands were prepared for them.

Jiang Yuanchen was now seeing these people and imagining his own future tragic scene. If he couldn't establish his foundation within ten years or even until after 30, he was worrying needlessly.

Seeing Jiang Yuanchen deeply pondering his words, Elder Sikong thought: This boy is wise, and although it often helps his cultivation, his many thoughts make him different from Li Wen's innocent heart at this moment.

After thinking, Elder Sikong said, "You've been on the mountain for eight years and have rarely been tainted by the secular world. Since you can't calm your mind to cultivate the Dao, why not go down the mountain to travel and visit your family?" Understanding that Jiang Yuanchen was feeling sad for the failures, Elder Sikong thought it would be good for him to go down the mountain to travel.

Learning from nature, the scope of nature is too broad. The famous mountains and rivers are nature, and the myriad aspects of the secular world are also nature. Since Jiang Yuanchen couldn't achieve enlightenment and establish his foundation on the clear and spiritual mountain, perhaps his opportunity lay in the human world.

Elder Sikong handed a token to Jiang Yuanchen, "It's time for the outer sect to go down the mountain to procure supplies. You can go with the outer sect's executive elder to the human world. After that, you can visit your family and travel around the states of Chen and Chu."

Jiang Yuanchen took the token, thanked Elder Sikong, and went to the outer sect's administrative hall.

The outer sect's administrative hall is the institution that manages the outer sect's Gold Spring Peak, also known as the Gold Spring Hall. It has five departments responsible for various aspects of the outer sect disciples: the Miscellaneous Affairs Department handles laundry, cooking, fetching water, and chopping wood; the Discipline Department enforces the outer sect's rules; the Teaching Department teaches reading, writing, and cultivation guidance; the Dispatch Department issues tasks and manages external travel; and the Storage Department manages various items, from large magical artifacts and talismans to small items like oil, salt, and vinegar. For convenience, the five departments of the Gold Spring Hall and the outer sect disciples' residences are built together in the Backwind Valley.

The Backwind Valley is located at the foot of Gold Spring Peak, along with the Spirit Mist Rock and the Dew Platform, known as the "Three Scenic Spots of Gold Spring Peak." It is one of the three places on Gold Spring Peak with the densest spiritual energy. The Spirit Mist Rock is where many disciples cultivate, and the Dew Platform, located at the peak of Gold Spring Peak, collects the golden spiritual spring water, several miles above the Gold Spring Pavilion.

Although the outer sect's administrative hall has limited power, it is staffed by inner sect disciples, usually old practitioners at the Heart Movement and Jade Liquid stages. Since they have no hope of advancing and cannot leave the mountain, they take on executive tasks in the outer sect, living a life of idleness. They might discover talented individuals and invest in them early, hoping for a return on their investment when these individuals advance in cultivation, giving them a chance to turn things around.

When Jiang Yuanchen arrived at the Dispatch Department, Elder Li Jian, who was planning how to go down the mountain to procure supplies, was surprised, "You actually came here? Apart from the annual ceremony when you go down the mountain once, you never come out to take tasks. This is quite unusual."

Elder Li Jian is Li Wen's great-uncle. Jiang Yuanchen, because of his good relationship with Li Wen, is quite familiar with this elder and even relies on this senior to understand the temperaments of many elders.

"This is Elder Sikong's idea. He said that since I have been living in the deep mountains for a long time without being tainted by the secular world, I should go down the mountain to travel and see things."

"Hmm!" Elder Li Jian stroked his goatee, "Elder Sikong has a point. You might be able to establish your foundation successfully by going down the mountain." Elder Li Jian, a Jade Liquid practitioner, was not far from the stage of harmonizing the dragon and tiger and forming the yellow sprout, so his insight was not weak.

"Is Senior Jiang going down the mountain?" Li Wen suddenly emerged from under the counter and said to Elder Li Jian, "Great-uncle, I have also reached a bottleneck and need to go down the mountain to travel!" Li Wen had come to Elder Li Jian to record various accounts before the meeting ended and immediately got excited upon hearing Jiang Yuanchen's words.

Elder Li Jian rolled his eyes, "What are you getting excited about! Wait until you reach the peak of Qi Cultivation." You just came here and are already thinking of slacking off? Elder Li Jian knocked on the table, making Li Wen continue calculating the accounts for the month.

Due to the demon raid several decades ago, Elder Li Jian's foundation was damaged, and his cultivation progress was slow. Therefore, he specially took care of his descendants, selecting outstanding individuals to join the Great Void Dao Sect, hoping to cultivate a Golden Core practitioner to take care of him. Li Wen is the most talented individual of this generation of the Li family, so Elder Li Jian treasures him greatly, always urging him to cultivate diligently and not to have a moment of idleness.

"Great-uncle, why not let Li Wen go with us? He doesn't cultivate well on the mountain, and it might be good for him to see the secular world and be disciplined." Jiang Yuanchen had a thought and secretly transmitted his voice to Elder Li Jian.

How precious is the opportunity for cultivation? It's just that Li Wen, with his youthful heart, doesn't know to cherish it. Going into the world and seeing the fleeting life of a hundred years will naturally touch his Dao heart and make him desire immortality.

Elder Li Jian thought about it and realized it was true. Didn't he also desire immortality because of such experiences?

"Fine, you can go with us, but you must not cause trouble on the way." Elder Li Jian said sternly. If Li Wen's lively nature causes trouble outside, even he won't be able to protect him.

"I understand, Great-uncle." Li Wen was delighted and quickly pulled Jiang Yuanchen to take leave.

In the Miscellaneous Affairs Department and the Teaching Department, Jiang Yuanchen and Li Wen also had their own tasks. Jiang Yuanchen and Li Wen had to chop wood and fetch water every day, so they naturally handed these tasks to others when they left. They also had to inform the lecturers in the Teaching Department that they would be absent for a few days.

After that, they packed their clothes and money and followed Elder Li Jian down the mountain. However, leaving the mountain gate was not easy. They had to report to the mountain guards and leave an estimated return time. Elder Li Jian and Li Wen, who were going down the mountain to procure supplies, found it easier because they had done it before. Jiang Yuanchen, who needed a longer time for his travels, ranging from a few months to a year, was fortunate to have the token given by Elder Sikong, which allowed him to leave the mountain smoothly.

Jiang Yuanchen's hometown is in the heart of the Great Void Dao Sect, only a thousand miles from the sect's mountain gate. With Elder Li Jian, a Jade Liquid practitioner, using a flying magical artifact, they flew over mountains and rivers and soon arrived at Jiang Yuanchen's hometown.

Jiang Yuanchen had only been on the Gold Spring Peak for a short time, and they set out at around 9:00 AM. With Elder Li Jian's flying magical artifact, they arrived at Jiang Yuanchen's hometown, Qinglin Town, by 3:00 PM.

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