3: Chapter 3 The Last Rank

The Quiet Room was small but fully equipped with a futon, a low table, and a small bronze oil lamp. The window faced the bamboo forest on the back mountain, making it very peaceful.

The content of the Qi Guiding Art was not profound; it was mainly to guide beginners on how to sense the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, draw it into their bodies, circulate it along a specific route, and refine it into their very first wisp of 'spiritual energy'.

This was the most basic Foundation-laying work of cultivating immortality. Only by refining the first wisp of spiritual energy could one truly touch the threshold of cultivation.

According to the Qi Guiding Art, one had to accumulate a total of thirty-six wisps of spiritual energy in the Dantian to stabilize their Foundation and truly step into Level 1 Qi Refining.

Lin Xuan calmed his mind, followed the formula, and tried to sense it.

However, the process was even more difficult and obscure than he had anticipated.

The Spiritual Root was the bridge to communicate with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. His Lightning Spiritual Root attribute was only thirty; this 'bridge' was not only narrow, but also seemed to be covered in 'rust' and 'obstructions'.

As his mind sank into that blurry perception, his surroundings were not completely empty. He could vaguely perceive some drifting, faint light spots of energy of various colors, representing Spiritual Qi of different attributes.

Among them, an extremely tiny, pale purple light spot with a numbing sensation would occasionally flash by. That should be the thunder Spiritual Qi, but the quantity was pitifully scarce and extremely difficult to capture.

He tried to guide those thunder Spiritual Qi light spots closer, but the attraction from his Spiritual Root was weak. Out of ten attempts, being able to successfully attract a wisp twice was already not easy.

Furthermore, drawing this wisp of Spiritual Qi into his Meridians was like steering a small boat against the current in thick glue—progress was slow and the loss was immense.

Often, before he could even complete the simplest cycle, that faint thunder Spiritual Qi would completely dissipate.

Time passed bit by bit. The sunlight outside the window shifted, and the bamboo shadows lengthened.

Inside the Quiet Room, fine beads of sweat oozed from Lin Xuan's forehead, and his face turned slightly pale.

For the entire afternoon, besides mental exhaustion, his body was completely empty; he had not refined even a single wisp of his own spiritual energy.

He knew that having poor Aptitude would make it difficult, but experiencing this almost 'insulated' feeling of obstruction firsthand still made his heart sink slightly.

"Lin Xuan! Lin Xuan!" Chen Hao's loud voice rang out from outside the courtyard, carrying uncontrollable excitement. "I think... I think I felt something! My stomach feels warm!"

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, suppressed the bitterness in his heart, stood up, and walked out of the Quiet Room.

Chen Hao was standing in the yard, his face flushed with excitement as he gesticulated wildly, "Really! I just followed the formula, calmed my mind, and before long, I felt a lot of small red light spots gathering around me. I inhaled a wisp, followed that route, and hey, it stayed in my Dantian! Although it's only as thin as a strand of hair, it's definitely spiritual energy!"

"Congratulations." Lin Xuan was genuinely happy for him.

"What about you? How is it going?" Chen Hao asked with concern.

"I'm still trying to sense it, not that fast yet," Lin Xuan said calmly.

Chen Hao scratched his head and patted Lin Xuan's shoulder. "It's fine! Yours is a mutated Spiritual Root, so the path might be different. It's normal to be slower! Let's go, let's eat first. I heard that eating the spiritual rice from the Dining Hall is beneficial for cultivation!"

In the days that followed, the new Disciples officially began their cultivation life in the outer Sect.

Every day, besides practicing the Qi Guiding Art on their own, they also needed to complete some simple Sect chores, such as cleaning public areas and tending to Low Grade Spiritual Plants in specific areas.

Occasionally, a deacon Senior Brother or lecturer would explain the key points and cultivation insights of the Qi Guiding Art on the Dao-Expounding Platform. Lin Xuan attended every time on time and listened extremely carefully.

But the gap brought by Aptitude was fully reflected in the speed of cultivation.

On the third day, a piece of news spread among the new Disciples: Chen Yufei, who possessed an Earthly Spiritual Root, had successfully refined his first wisp of pure earth-attribute spiritual energy, officially starting his journey!

It was said that the Elders of Houtu Peak had specially encouraged him with a few words, faintly regarding him as the leading figure among this batch of new Disciples.

On the fifth day, Chen Hao also excitedly ran over to tell Lin Xuan that the wisp of fire spiritual energy in his Dantian had stabilized, which was considered firmly stepping into the entry phase.

On the tenth day, more than a dozen Disciples with Medium Grade Spiritual Roots successfully refined their first wisps of spiritual energy one after another.

By the twentieth day, among the fifty to sixty new Disciples who had entered at the same time, fewer than ten were still struggling and had failed to 'enter the gate' and refine their first wisp of spiritual energy.

Without exception, these ten people all had Aptitude that was on the lower end among Low Grade Spiritual Roots.

Lin Xuan was one of them.

He spent almost all his free time sitting in meditation to sense and guide the Spiritual Qi.

He only could bring himself to take one pill from that bottle of Low Grade qi gathering pills every three days, using the medicinal power to impact that barrier.

Holding a Spirit Stone in his hand, he absorbed the pure Spiritual Qi within to assist his cultivation.

Yet, his progress was despairingly slow.

The thunder Spiritual Qi he could draw into his body was still as thin as a gossamer thread, stumbling along in his Meridians, often dispersing before even completing half a cycle.

His Dantian Qi Sea remained completely empty.

Besides his own cultivation, Chen Hao would come to find Lin Xuan whenever he was free, sometimes bringing some small cultivation tips he had heard from the Dao-Expounding Platform, and sometimes just to keep him company.

Seeing Lin Xuan's pale face and the exhaustion he couldn't hide between his brows, Chen Hao was anxious but didn't know how to help, only able to repeatedly say, "Take it slow, don't worry, you can definitely do it!"

The other Disciples living on Emerald Bamboo Peak occasionally met him. When they looked at Lin Xuan, this 'neighbor' who was among the last batch to move in and whose cultivation progress was clearly lagging behind, their eyes inevitably carried a sense of realization and aloofness.

Such was the reality of the cultivation world; Aptitude determined almost all the starting resources and attention.

A Low Grade Lightning Spiritual Root with an attribute that barely crossed the line—in everyone's eyes, being able to stay in the outer Sect was already a stroke of luck, and he would likely achieve nothing great in the future, so it naturally wasn't worth wasting time to make friends with him.

Lin Xuan endured all of this silently. The mindset of a transmigrator allowed him to tolerate loneliness and pressure better than his peers, but facing this almost deadlocked situation, a trace of anxiety still quietly bred in the depths of his heart.

Could it be that after transmigrating and entering an immortal Sect, he would ultimately be trapped in this Qi Refining Realm, living a mediocre life?

He could only suppress this anxiety deep in his heart, turning it into even more frenzied perseverance in cultivation.

Every day, besides completing necessary chores and attending lectures, he spent all his time curled up in that small Quiet Room, running the Qi Guiding Art over and over again. Even if he could only make that wisp of Spiritual Qi travel one inch further, it was still a glimmer of hope.

By the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth day, news of successfully refining the first wisp of spiritual energy also came from the last few Disciples with Low Grade Spiritual Roots.

Among this entire batch of newly admitted Outer Sect Disciples, the only one who had still failed to 'enter the gate' and whose Dantian remained empty seemed to be Lin Xuan alone.

The title of 'The Lowest Aptitude' was quietly placed upon his head.

No one said it openly, but the occasionally sweeping glances and whispered discussions had already made everything clear.

Chen Hao was so angry that he wanted to argue with others several times, but he was pulled back by Lin Xuan. "It is a fact; arguing is pointless."

Lin Xuan's voice was somewhat hoarse, a result of the fatigue from prolonged intense mental concentration. "It's the final step; I can feel it."

Yes, after nearly a month of grinding and suffering, the barrier separating 'sensing' and 'refining' seemed to have finally been worn down to an extremely thin layer.

Although the thunder Spiritual Qi drawn into his body was still weak, it was already able to persist in running a longer route.

On the thirtieth day, early morning.

Lin Xuan swallowed the last qi gathering pill, holding a Low-Grade Spirit Stone in each hand.

The warm current from the melted Medicinal Pill and the pure Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Stones surged into his body. Guided by his powerful willpower, they merged into that pale purple airflow that he had persisted in circulating countless times.

That tiny thunder Spiritual Qi, like a flickering candle in a violent storm, tenaciously advanced bit by bit along the initial route of the Meridians recorded in the Qi Guiding Art.

Passing through the Shanzhong point, down to the Dantian... every inch of progress seemed to consume immense mental effort.

Sweat had long since soaked his clothes, his face was as pale as paper, and his body trembled slightly from maintaining the posture for a long time and extreme mental tension. But there was only one thought in his mind: Succeed! I must succeed!

"Boom!"

It was as if an invisible membrane had been completely pierced through.

The drifting pale purple airflow, which seemed like it could dissipate at any moment, suddenly stabilized the instant it painstakingly completed the final cycle and returned to his Dantian Qi Sea!

A faint yet incredibly clear wisp of spiritual energy, carrying a numbing and stinging sensation, took root like a seed in the center of his empty Dantian.

It was tiny, yet incomparably solid, emitting a unique thunder-attribute aura that belonged to Lin Xuan.

The entry into Qi Refining was successful!

To reach Level 1 Qi Refining, he still needed to accumulate thirty-five more of the same spiritual energy.

At the very instant this wisp of his own Thunder Spiritual Energy was generated—

Lin Xuan only felt an ancient bell chime suddenly explode in the depths of his mind! It was not heard by his ears, but directly vibrated in the depths of his Soul!

Immediately after, countless fragmented images and chaotic information flooded into his consciousness like a bursting dam!

Ruins, blinding car headlights, the crisp sound of shattering glass, violent impact and rolling... A small tower-shaped glazed ornament with a red safety knot swayed behind the shattered windshield, stained with dark red blood... Darkness, a long darkness...

Earth... car accident... death...

Then came some clear yet profound streams of information:

spirit control tower... master recognition... Divine Soul binding... control... slave... Divine Soul Restriction... absolute loyalty... memory protection... Beast-Storing Space... talent sharing... Realm Restriction... control two, countless slaves...

The information surged like a torrent, yet it was understood and absorbed by him in an instant.

That tower... it was it! It was that ordinary glazed ornament in his car from his previous life!

Was it what brought his Soul to this world? It was actually an unimaginable treasure?

Ecstasy erupted from the deepest part of his heart like a volcanic eruption, instantly washing away all the depression, fatigue, anxiety, and endured despair of the past month!

Golden Finger! The standard Golden Finger for transmigrators! At this most difficult and least promising moment, it had finally awakened!

Lin Xuan's body trembled violently from extreme excitement, his face turning from pale to an abnormal flush. He could barely resist the urge to throw his head back and roar, venting this sudden, earth-shaking joy and hope!

But in the next moment, the cautious personality developed in the transmigrator's previous life, combined with the strict hierarchy and cold reality of the immortal Sect he had experienced this past month, poured down on him like ice water.

"Possessing a treasure brings trouble!" These words exploded in his heart like a clap of thunder.

The functions of the spirit control tower were simply Heaven-Defying! They far surpassed the ordinary beast-controlling methods of this world!

It could force the signing of a contract of eternal loyalty, hide the master's information when a Spirit Beast was subjected to Soul-searching, provide immense growth space, and most importantly—share the Yao Beast's talent!

What did this mean? It meant he could use the powerful talent of Yao Beasts to make up for the absolute shortcoming of his own Spiritual Root Aptitude!

If even a fraction of such a treasure were leaked, let alone an ant like him who had just entered the gate with the lowest Aptitude, even the Sect Master of the Sanyang Sect, or even more powerful existences, would snatch it at all costs!

He had to hide it! He had to bury this secret deep in his heart, making it his greatest trump card. He must never mention it to anyone, including Chen Hao!

Taking a deep breath, and then another deep breath, Lin Xuan used all his willpower to force his violently heaving chest to calm down, letting his boiling blood cool and his ecstatic eyes return to tranquility. He slowly opened his eyes.

The Quiet Room was still that same Quiet Room, and the bamboo shadows swayed outside the window, as if the earth-shattering change in the depths of his Soul just now had never happened.

Only the faint but tangibly existing Thunder Spiritual Energy in his Dantian, and the phantom of the nine-storied small tower in his mind—which, though illusory, was closely connected to him and exuded an ancient, vast aura—proved the reality of it all.

He had succeeded. With the worst Aptitude in the Sanyang Sect, taking the longest time, he had finally refined his first wisp of spiritual energy and truly entered the gate.

And the true immortal path, perhaps, had only just begun.

Lin Xuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and a very faint yet incredibly firm curve slowly curled up at the corner of his mouth.

From outside the door came Chen Hao's familiar, boisterous footsteps and shouting, "Lin Xuan! Lin Xuan! Today, Senior Brother Liu is lecturing on 'small tips for compressing Spiritual Qi' at the Dao-Expounding Platform. If we go late, there won't be any good spots! How is your sensing going?"

Lin Xuan adjusted his expression, stood up, and pushed open the door of the Quiet Room.

The sunlight spilled down, a bit dazzling. Looking at his friend in the courtyard whose face was filled with concern and urgency, he smiled calmly. His voice carried a bit of weakness from his recent Breakthrough, yet there was also a hint of relief:

"Just now... I seem to have formed the first wisp."

Chen Hao was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened, and a huge wave of pleasant surprise blossomed on his face. "You did it?! You really did it?! That's great! I knew you could do it, kid!"

He rushed forward, wanting to pat Lin Xuan's shoulder again, but seeing Lin Xuan's pale face and sweat-drenched clothes, his hand paused in the air. Instead, he gently supported him and chuckled, "Let's go, let's go, hurry and listen to the lecture! Senior Brother Liu said that compressing Spiritual Qi is beneficial for accumulating spiritual energy! Our entry is only the first step. Later, we need to accumulate thirty-six wisps of spiritual energy to be considered Level 1 Qi Refining. The road is still long, but at least we've started!"

Lin Xuan looked at his friend who was genuinely happy for him. A warm current welled up in his heart, and he nodded, "Yeah, the road is still long, but at least we've started."