Chapter 48 - 42: Everything Is Ready, Except the East Wind

Chapter 48: Chapter 42: Everything Is Ready, Except the East Wind

On the way to Spirit Fire Daoist’s cave dwelling, Ji Chang whispered a warning to Lu Chen. "Junior Lu, when you meet Master later, remember not to mention anything about women or romance. Remember this well. You must remember!"

"Why do you say that, Brother Ji?"

"...Come closer, I’ll tell you quietly. But you must absolutely not tell anyone else about this. If Master finds out, I’ll be dead meat."

Lu Chen looked at the screen, watching Ji Chang act like a cautious whistleblower. The fire of gossip began to burn fiercely in his heart.

There was juicy gossip to be heard; he could smell the drama!

Lu Chen looked at Ji Chang with unprecedentedly firm eyes and a resolute expression. "Please speak, Brother Ji. My lips are sealed. I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone."

Perhaps convinced by Lu Chen’s attitude, or perhaps wanting to build a good relationship with this promising talent, Ji Chang nodded and immediately started sharing some secrets about their Master, Spirit Fire Daoist.

"Junior Lu, have you ever heard of the Pure Yang Spiritual Root?"

"Pure Yang Spiritual Root? Brother Ji, do you mean..."

"Exactly. Our Master, Spirit Fire Daoist, has the Pure Yang Spiritual Root."

"GASP!"

Outside the phone screen, Lu Chen sharply inhaled a breath of cold air, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of sympathy for this Master he had yet to meet.

What was the Pure Yang Spiritual Root? It was a mutated Fire Spiritual Root, a type of Abnormal Skill among Fire Spiritual Roots. And possessors of this Spiritual Root shared specific Features.

That was, as long as they maintained their Pure Yang Body, their Cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds. But if their Pure Yang Body was broken, their Cultivation would plummet disastrously.

Because of this, the Pure Yang Spiritual Root was also known as the ’Single Spiritual Root’ or the ’Pure Love Spiritual Root.’

With this Spiritual Root, unless one no longer wished to advance their Cultivation, they had to remain single until reaching Divinity Transformation.

But how could Divinity Transformation be reached so easily?

Thinking of this, Lu Chen finally understood why Ji Chang had warned him not to mention women in front of Spirit Fire Daoist. Talking about romance in front of a century-old bachelor—how was that any different from rubbing salt in his wounds?

However, Lu Chen was still slightly curious about one thing. What exactly was the standard for a Pure Yang Cultivator to maintain their Pure Yang Body?

Apart from the physical deed itself, would other methods...

He thought, "Forget it, forget it. I don’t have the Pure Yang Spiritual Root anyway, so why am I even thinking about this?"

"Thank you for telling me all this, Brother Ji."

"It’s nothing. I suffered a loss because of this in the past, so I don’t want you to follow in my footsteps."

As he finished speaking, Ji Chang’s Immortal Vessel arrived right in front of Spirit Fire Daoist’s abode. Before the two could even approach, a voice echoed from within the cave dwelling.

"Ji Chang, why are you here instead of staying in your own abode to diligently study the Dao of Alchemy?"

Ji Chang led Lu Chen off the Immortal Vessel and stopped respectfully before the entrance. "Reporting to Master, Junior Brother said he had something to discuss with you, which is why I brought him here."

"Junior Brother? When did I get another disciple?"

"...Master, have you forgotten? All the newly promoted Outer Disciples of Danyang Peak over the last twenty years have been registered under your name."

"Oh, I remember now."

The tightly shut doors of the abode swung open. A chubby, slightly unkempt Cultivator flew out and landed before them.

This person was Spirit Fire Daoist·Jing Gong.

Jing Gong first glanced at Ji Chang, then looked at Lu Chen, and said, "For you to make a special trip here, this little Junior Brother must have something to tell me."

Ji Chang nodded and then turned to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen immediately understood and bowed respectfully. "Disciple Lu Chen pays his respects to Master."

"What do you need from me?"

Lu Chen took out a Secret Manual from his Storage Pouch and presented it to Jing Gong.

Looking at the Secret Manual, Jing Gong paused in surprise. As a Golden Core Stage Daoist of the Cyan Cloud Sect, the Cultivation Techniques and Divine Techniques Jing Gong had encountered, while perhaps not peerless in the world, were definitely top-tier among their kind.

Where did this little disciple get the confidence to be so certain that his Master would be interested in this Cultivation Technique?

Driven by curiosity, Jing Gong took the book. But the moment he glanced at the first page, his eyes immediately lit up.

It was for no other reason than the very first sentence written in the manual.

[To practice this Cultivation Technique, one must not break their chastity before reaching Great Success!]

"What a great Cultivation Technique!" Jing Gong slapped his thigh and exclaimed in sheer awe.

Standing nearby, Lu Chen and Ji Chang wore bizarre expressions.

How could he declare it a great Cultivation Technique after just flipping to the first page? Could it be that a Golden Core Cultivator evaluated Cultivation Techniques differently from Foundation Establishment and Qi Cultivation Cultivators like them, able to determine its quality with just a single glance?

Was a Golden Core Cultivator really that incredible?!

Jing Gong paid no attention to their reactions and continued reading. After skimming through the contents of the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique, he said with excitement, "Purple Mist Body Refining, nourishing the Circulation, gathering morning glow within, and achieving Purification... The person who created this method is truly a genius!

"Not bad, you’re quite good, kid. I’m very satisfied with this Cultivation Technique. Go ahead, what is it that you need from me?

"Wait a minute, you seem..."

Before Lu Chen could react, Spirit Fire Daoist instantly appeared in front of him. After looking him up and down, he said in surprise, "All Five Elements present, flawless and spotless, emitting a rosy glow, and Heart Fire rising...

"This makes no sense. Your Talent is far superior to that of most True Disciples; how are you only an Outer Disciple?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen immediately brought out his prepared script.

"Reporting to Master, this disciple suffered from a hidden ailment in his early years, which damaged his foundation.

"I was later fortunate enough to obtain this Cultivation Technique, which allowed me to repair my foundation and advance further. It was purely a stroke of luck.

"Aside from offering this Cultivation Technique, the reason I came today is to ask Master for a Thousand-Year Spirit Flower to aid in my Cultivation."

Spirit Fire Daoist gave Lu Chen a serious look, seemingly judging the truthfulness of his words. In response, Lu Chen maintained a perfectly calm expression.

After all, in a certain sense, everything he had just said was the truth.

Perhaps unable to find any flaws, or perhaps truly believing Lu Chen’s words, Spirit Fire Daoist merely observed him for a few more moments before taking out a Jade Bottle and a special silver Token from his Storage Pouch and tossing them over.

"Besides the Spiritual Lotus you asked for, this bottle also contains some other Spirit Flower Immortal Grass. It should be enough to sustain your Cultivation for a while.

"As for this Token, it’s your Inner Sect Disciple Token. When you are able to independently refine a Foundation Establishment Pill Formula, I will accept you as a True Disciple of Danyang Peak.

"Alright, if there’s nothing else, you two can head back. I need to go to the Main Peak to find the Sect Leader.

"A Cultivation Technique with a low difficulty level that can also improve a disciple’s Talent—I definitely need to have the Sect Leader promote this throughout the entire Sect, so that all disciples of the Cyan Cloud Sect can learn it!

"As for the restriction of not being able to break one’s chastity before Great Success, it’s harmless!

"After all, as a Seeker of the Dao wholly dedicated to Cultivation, one shouldn’t waste their mind on messy, trivial matters like romance and love!"

With that said, Spirit Fire Daoist excitedly flew off.

Lu Chen and Ji Chang stared at his retreating figure, both wearing strange expressions. They both had the nagging feeling that Spirit Fire Daoist’s goal in promoting the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique wasn’t entirely for the sake of the Sect’s future.

He probably just wanted everyone else in the Sect to experience the misery of being single for over a century. It gave off the distinct vibe of, "Because I was left out in the rain, I want to kick everyone else into the mud."

Thinking of this, Lu Chen immediately turned to Ji Chang and said with a serious face, "Brother Ji, if anyone asks about the origins of this Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique in the future, I hope you won’t mention that I was the one who offered it to Master."

"Don’t worry, Junior Lu. Your Brother Ji absolutely will not tell a fourth person about this!"

After chatting casually for a little longer, Lu Chen had Ji Chang take him back to his original cave dwelling.

Once Ji Chang left, Lu Chen opened the Jade Bottle that Spirit Fire Daoist had given him. This Jade Bottle was no Mortal Grade item; it was a Magical Treasure specifically designed for storing Spirit Flower Immortal Grass.

After searching around inside, Lu Chen quickly found the Thousand-Year Spirit Lotus he needed.

All the pieces were in place; he only needed the final catalyst.

With this in hand, he was just one final step—gathering the required Experience Points—away from reaching the entry-level of the Cyan Lotus Transformation Pupil.

...

PS: Bad news. I, Pang Hu, feel like I caught a bit of a cold. It might be because I didn’t dress warmly enough while running errands outside this morning. I’m going to take some cold medicine and see how it goes. The second update will still be uploaded before 10 PM.