13: Chapter 13 City as Nursery

"Do you all know that the world we live in is called the Great World of Mountains and Seas? It is vast and boundless, far beyond your imagination."

In the schoolhouse, the Old Teacher's voice was gentle yet clear, drifting through the window into Shen Moyan's ears.

"Mountain and Sea is centered around the Holy Court, with the Three Thousand Prefectures surrounding the Four Seas and Eight Desolations. Within this Realm, there are twenty-one Immortal Lineages that control the top-tier cultivation resources. The Four Seas are occupied by the Yao Race, where Transformed Great Powers emerge in endless succession. Meanwhile, the wild barrens are scattered with countless Yao Beast tribes, and ancient Secret Realms lie hidden among them."

Shen Moyan listened carefully, noting down each piece of key information.

"Our East Mountain City is a newly built city, and the City Lord is a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator." The Old Teacher paused, adjusted his glasses, and opened a book scroll.

"cultivation in this world begins with absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the body, known as the Qi Refinement Stage. After Qi Refining comes Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, and Dao Integration. Every Breakthrough in Realm is accompanied by an increase in Lifespan and a leap in power. A Mortal's life is no more than a hundred years, but a Foundation Establishment Cultivator can live to two hundred, and a Golden Core Cultivator can even reach a Lifespan of six hundred years..."

Hearing this, Shen Moyan's expression froze.

Why was he teaching the old immortal dao?

Shen Moyan looked at the lecturing teacher and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

On the lecture platform, the Old Teacher continued smoothly, "To absorb Spiritual Qi, one must possess a Spiritual Root."

"Spiritual Roots are divided into the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. There are also mutated attributes like Lightning, Wind, and Ice. The purer the Spiritual Root, the faster the Cultivate speed. Every three years, Cultivators from the Upper Sect come to East Mountain City to test Spiritual Roots. If one is found to have a High Grade Spiritual Root, they can join a Sect and reach the heavens in a single bound."

Shen Moyan was speechless. To hell with reaching the heavens in a single bound—it was more like reaching the Western Paradise.

In the Great World of Mountains and Seas, teaching the old immortal dao and making people turn into ginseng after absorbing Spiritual Qi—what was the intention behind this?

Looking at the children below the stage with their eyes shining brightly, Shen Moyan let out a long sigh.

From the information gathered from the Cen Family father and son on the road, this East Mountain City was a gray zone, governed only by a City Lord in the Mortal Transformation Realm.

Shen Moyan's thoughts continued to wander. East Mountain City was surrounded by mountains on all sides, with very few passing Cultivators and mostly Mortals staying there.

He feared that the entire city was a nursery, starting with education to control the thoughts of Mortals from a young age for the convenience of harvesting them later.

Shen Moyan snorted coldly.

Fine, it was time to leave this place.

Just as he was preparing to leave, the wooden door of the schoolhouse was pushed open with a bang, and a tall figure stood against the light.

The newcomer was a man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe with a jade belt around his waist. His ink-black hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and his face was as handsome as if sculpted. A faint shimmer of light circulated around him, making him look completely different from the Old Teacher on the platform.

He scanned the room, his gaze finally landing on the Old Teacher in Green Robe on the platform. His voice was clear and resonant, like jade stones striking each other.

"I'm afraid Your Excellency's words are misleading these students."

The room fell silent instantly. The children shrank back in fear, and the Old Teacher in Green Robe's face darkened. "Who are you? What is your intention in trespassing into this schoolhouse?!"

The scholar in the moon-white brocade robe walked in slowly, casually brushing the faint dust from his robes. His tone carried a hint of compassion and determination. "This humble scholar, Jiang Zhiqiu, is but a passing scholar who cannot bear to see children blinded by stale lies."

Hearing this, Shen Moyan, who was about to leave, became interested.

'This person looks so familiar. Did I see him once when I entered the city earlier?'

Just now, when Shen Moyan was entering the city with the Cen Family, he seemed to have almost bumped into this man.

Jiang Zhiqiu turned to the children below the stage, his voice softening. "The so-called Spiritual Root cultivation is already an obsolete old method. After the ancient war, the rules of heaven and earth changed, and the old immortal dao has long since died!"

"Nonsense!" The Old Teacher in Green Robe trembled with rage.

"All the Sects in the world select disciples based on Spiritual Roots. The City Lord is also a Spiritual Root Cultivator and a Great Foundation Establishment Cultivator. How dare you speak recklessly about the path of the immortals?"

Jiang Zhiqiu looked at the Old Teacher with pity. He remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"May I ask, Old Teacher, what is your age?"

"I have Cultivated the Dao for fifty-one years and have reached the fifth level of Qi Refining," the Old Teacher said without hesitation.

"As for you, your aura is weak. How dare you come to this schoolhouse to talk nonsense!"

Jiang Zhiqiu was stunned by the Old Teacher's words and remained silent for a long time.

Similarly, Shen Moyan, hidden in the shadows, also fell into thought.

"Fifty-one years... that's quite young. He must have grown up in this East Mountain City since he was a child."

As the saying goes, one cannot see the true face of Mount Lu simply because they are standing in the midst of it.

If one grows up in this environment and forms a mature worldview, it is very difficult to change.

Shen Moyan couldn't help but think deeper. Perhaps in this East Mountain City, people's perception of cultivation was already deep-rooted.

"Stop talking nonsense! I have personally witnessed every single Upper Sect Disciple Recruitment Assembly held every three years!" the Old Teacher said, pointing at Jiang Zhiqiu's face.

It could be said that for half his life, the Old Teacher had seen dozens of Upper Sect recruitments, witnessing the vicissitudes of the human world and the divide between immortals and Mortals.

Hearing this, Jiang Zhiqiu's face turned pale. "May I ask, which Sect is the Upper Sect of this East Mountain City?"

"Which Sect? Who in East Mountain City doesn't know the title of the Upper Sect?" The Old Teacher could tell that this Jiang Zhiqiu was just a stinking outsider.

"You'll find out just by asking around outside!"

"This humble scholar understands." Jiang Zhiqiu's face grew darker and darker. He pointed a finger and used a silencing spell on the Old Teacher.

"I have roughly understood the situation in East Mountain City."

A flash of indignation crossed Jiang Zhiqiu's brow.

Since its establishment, East Mountain City had always been a safe haven for people outside the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains where Yao Beasts ran rampant.

He never expected it to become a nursery for certain Cultivators. Every three years, who knows how many deceived people become sustenance.

"Let me re-introduce myself. I am Jiang Zhiqiu, Late Stage Mortal Transformation Realm, and I am an Inspector of Langya Prefecture."

"Next, I will tell you all about the true path of cultivation of the present day."

Jiang Zhiqiu's expression was grim. He did not want to tell these ignorant children the cruel reality of becoming ginseng.

"The rules have changed. Spiritual Roots can no longer trigger the core resonance of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. This is now the New Method era. The key to cultivation is not Spiritual Roots at all, but Spiritual Veins!"

"The embryonic form of Spiritual Veins is hidden within the Physical Body Meridians, and everyone has them," Jiang Zhiqiu's voice rang out powerfully.

"New Method cultivation is to shape Spiritual Veins through special techniques, using the Spiritual Vein as a bridge to connect with the Spiritual Qi Tide between heaven and earth. There is no need to look at the quality of Spiritual Roots. Even a Mortal child, as long as their Spiritual Veins are awakened correctly, can still advance by leaps and bounds!"

Jiang Zhiqiu took out a translucent white jade piece from his sleeve. As the jade piece touched his fingertip, it instantly lit up with a soft glow. "This is a Spirit Awakening Jade. It can detect potential that an ordinary Spiritual Root Testing Stone cannot."

After the silencing spell was lifted, the Old Teacher in Green Robe's face turned from green to white, but he was momentarily speechless.

The Spirit Awakening Jade in Jiang Zhiqiu's hand was no ordinary object; the fluctuations of spiritual light were definitely not fake.

Furthermore, what kind of official position was an Inspector? Why didn't he know about it?

The children in the room were already dumbfounded. The bolder ones had already begun to press for answers on how to awaken their Spiritual Veins. The entire atmosphere of the schoolhouse was completely disrupted.

An hour later, the school session ended. Jiang Zhiqiu walked out of the small courtyard with a blank expression.

"Little friend, come out. I mean no harm."

As Jiang Zhiqiu's voice fell, Shen Moyan also revealed his form openly.

"Greetings, Lord Inspector."