58: Chapter 58 Baotong Tower

Cultivating in the Spirit Cave for one hour leaves the body with a level of exhaustion no less than running in the mountains for an entire day.

For the next few days, Xia Shaoxin rested well during the day and gave his all at night, yet he still could only Cultivate for one hour before he couldn't hold on anymore.

After circulating his Qi through his meridians a few times, he was almost in a state of collapse.

Forcibly lingering in the Spirit Cave meant he couldn't Cultivate, and he also had to endure the suffocating heat like a steamer, so he had no choice but to come out.

Every time he came out, he could see Liu Tingting's kind and amiable face.

Usually indifferent, at this moment she would stand impatiently at the door, kindly take his hand, and with a gentle tug, he would be outside breathing in the cool night breeze.

This proved that his Aptitude was very poor.

Fortunately, Liu Tingting would not spread this embarrassing matter around.

After all, where else could one find such a good person who offered one or two extra hours of Cultivation time every day? Why give other interested parties a chance to covet it?

Xia Shaoxin felt a bit melancholy; the happiness brought by becoming an Inner Sect Disciple had vanished after only a few days.

He privately inquired and learned that Liu Tingting was actually only seventeen years old. She started Qi Refining at ten, and in seven years, she had reached the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, making her a famous rising star in the Chiyan Sect.

Just looking at this crazy drive to Cultivate, the gap between himself and her would only grow larger; it was simply a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

But what else could he do?

A few days later, it was time to distribute the benefits.

Inner Sect Disciples received four Spirit Stones and ten jin of Spirit Rice.

Getting this magical food of the immortals for the first time, Xia Shaoxin was very excited.

After carrying the Spirit Rice back to his room, Senior Brother Shao Junwei and Senior Brother Liang Ruoran invited him to go stroll around Baotong Tower.

Xia Shaoxin had wanted to go for a long time, and it was perfect to have company.

"Inner Sect Disciples get four Spirit Stones a month, how much do Deacons get?" Xia Shaoxin asked them.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran told him that for Inner Sect Disciples, it depended on their Cultivation Rank: those at the Lower Stage of Qi Refining received four per month.

Those at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining received eight per month, and those at the Upper Stage received twenty.

Deacons simply added two more to their own Cultivation Rank's monthly amount.

Elders added fifty.

"Where do the Spirit Stones come from?" Xia Shaoxin was very curious.

"It's a type of mineral that can absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. It's produced in several places, but not in the Yue Kingdom," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran explained.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei added: "The Spirit Stone mines are, of course, controlled by the strongest Sects, who recruit Mortals to mine them, just like you Bug Catchers."

Xia Shaoxin understood in a second.

Mortals cannot absorb Spirit Stones, so it's useless to be greedy for them. This way, they can safely let Mortals do the mining.

Dawu Mountain was under the jurisdiction of the Yue Kingdom. By setting up a few checkpoints on the main roads and dripping the Bug Catchers' blood onto the family register, their descendants would never be able to escape.

What would happen to the Mortals at the Spirit Stone mines?

The Spirit Stone mines were different from the Poisonous Miasma Mountain; they could send Sect Disciples to guard them. It was easy to imagine that the Mortals mining Spirit Stones had it even worse than the Bug Catchers.

"Senior Brother Liang, Senior Brother Shao, why don't you try to become Deacons and get two extra Spirit Stones a month?"

"Hehe, you don't know about that," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said, lowering his voice. "Do you think being a Deacon is very impressive?"

"Isn't it?"

"As long as the Sect thinks you still have a future, they won't let you manage mundane affairs. Cultivation is what's important, understand?" Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said inscrutably.

"I don't understand, they get two extra Spirit Stones."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei said: "We don't rely on Spirit Stones for Cultivation. The longer you Cultivate in the Spirit Cave every day, the more likely you are to make progress."

This was true; Xia Shaoxin knew this deeply.

No wonder Inner Sect Disciples didn't go out often; Cultivating in the Spirit Cave for an hour or two required several hours to recover.

"Our Deacon Wang is over seventy this year. He only reached Qi Refining Level 4 at forty, started working as a Deacon at fifty, and he's still at Qi Refining Level 4 now," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Xia Shaoxin was stunned for a long while, then muttered to himself: "In that case, Deacons are actually just Utility Disciples among the Inner Sect Disciples!"

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran widened his eyes.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei hurriedly covered his mouth: "Little brother, I speak bluntly and often offend people, but I didn't expect you to be even worse than me."

Only then did Xia Shaoxin realize that the gap between Inner Sect Disciples was also very large.

At this moment, he had a deeper understanding of the word "strength."

A Deacon position was high and had power, but it also meant that you were an elderly Disciple with no future in immortal cultivation.

A person whose future height could be seen at a glance.

Others might not feel much, but Xia Shaoxin, having just dealt with the Utility Disciples of Nanxiang Courtyard, understood this too well.

Those guys ostracized him so recklessly and didn't even give him superficial courtesy because they were certain he had no development and wouldn't be able to make waves in the future.

A Deacon had the Sect as a backer, so even if one had no future oneself, it was still a good job.

In the Utility Courtyard, he was his own only backer.

"The few of us are all in our twenties, so the Sect will look at us with more regard. Little brother, Cultivate well and don't let people look down on you," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran advised lightly.

Xia Shaoxin was silent.

He seemed to see his own future.

Perhaps, even if he spent his whole life, he would only be trapped in the Lower Stage of Qi Refining, and when he grew old, he would be assigned as a Deacon to handle mundane affairs, and that would be the end of it.

For someone from a Bug Catcher background who joined the Chiyan Sect over the age limit, this was actually a very good ending.

But he wouldn't think that way now.

Baotong Tower was thirty li away from Xueyan Cliff, located in the middle of the Chiyan Sect's mountains.

Built against the mountain at the foot of the hill, it was magnificent and stretched for dozens of zhang, leaving Xia Shaoxin dumbfounded.

Looking closer, the Baotong Tower was built against the mountain and had five stories in total. Such a splendid building was even more imposing than the Sect's main hall.

The area inside and outside the building was packed with people. Xia Shaoxin was dizzy; did our Chiyan Sect have so many people?

It turned out that today was the day Spirit Stones were distributed, so almost everyone would come here.

Baotong Tower wasn't originally that big. At first, there was only the back part; the front parts were built later for Sect Disciples to set up stalls.

The real Baotong Tower, managed by the Sect and responsible for purchasing and selling on behalf of others, was in the innermost part.

The first floor sold all kinds of Materials, the second floor sold Magical Artifacts, the third floor sold Medicinal Pills, the fourth floor sold Spirit Talismans, and the fifth floor sold the most expensive items, hosting auctions after Spirit Stones were distributed.

Xia Shaoxin was already dizzy from walking around on the first floor.

He hardly recognized any of the medicinal herbs he saw.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran told him that most of these were products grown in Spirit Fields, and a small portion were collected and sold by Inner Sect Disciples who went outside.

Inner Sect Disciples were required to go out for experiential training once they reached a certain Rank.

Xia Shaoxin felt that he really was a country bumpkin, never imagining there were so many miraculous things in the world.

He couldn't understand the Magical Artifact Materials on the first floor, and he didn't recognize most of the medicinal herbs.

Holding an attitude of learning, he went to ask about them one by one.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei was impatient and said softly: "I'm going to the second floor to sell some small Magical Artifacts. Excuse me."

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran pulled him along to the third floor to look at Medicinal Pills.

As soon as they went up, they saw an Inner Sect Disciple standing against the wall, holding a bottle with a piece of paper stuck to it, on which the three characters "qi gathering pill" were written.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran chuckled and also took out a bottle, saying leisurely: "I won't accompany you to stroll anymore today; I'm going to sell this item."

Only then did Xia Shaoxin realize that the two of them were here to do business today, and only he was an idler.