Cultivation is just so scientific!

After a successful transaction, Li Shiming and Fan Yiyang grew quite close.

"Fellow Daoist, you're headed to Central Capital, are you preparing to attend next year's Ascension Conference?" Fan Yiyang asked, sipping his tea.

Li Shiming hadn't expected the first piece of news from Fan Yiyang to be this.

He didn't deny it and simply smiled, pouring more tea for Fan Yiyang.

"As long as your background is clean, with your age and Qi Refining Second Level cultivation, joining a sect through the Ascension Conference shouldn't be difficult. However, you must clearly state the origins of your cultivation technique and it must withstand the sect's investigation!" Fan Yiyang, believing his own judgment was correct, continued.

Li Shiming thought it over, his Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique came from the Weiyuan Escort Agency, and he had even obtained it from his own home garden; there was no need to worry on this account.

Even if the sect had some kind of probing method, he could openly admit where he had acquired the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique.

"It seems you're considering the Sky Sea Sect as your first choice, which is also the preference for the majority of those with spirit root seeds. How your spirit root seeds fare will need to be tested at the Ascension Conference, but given your age and having reached the Qi Refining Second Level, it's likely your spirit root seeds are not bad!" Fan Yiyang said, trailing off into a reverie about something.

This was the first time Li Shiming had heard of spirit root seeds, what he had known before was that cultivating immortality required talent, which must be these spirit root seeds.

"How are spirit root seeds judged as good or bad? Besides the Ascension Conference, is there any other way to test them?" he then asked.

"Of course, the fewer spirit root seeds, the better. Both single and dual spirit roots are indicative of a genius, but those who possess them are extremely rare. Then comes those with three spirit roots, who are the main force of the Cultivation World. Of course, most have either four or five spirit roots, the vast majority of discovered spirit root seeds are these two types.

Having four spirit roots is slightly better; there's still a chance. But five spirit roots are considered useless; practitioners with them are almost always stuck at the early stages of Qi Refinement for their entire lives.

As for detecting spirit root seeds, there is another method. If you cultivate a fire attribute technique and can sense the fire attribute spiritual energy, then you have a fire spiritual root.

However, cultivation techniques are not to be practiced lightly, especially while laying the foundation. A small mistake can ruin everything," Fan Yiyang explained seriously.

Only now did Li Shiming realize how lucky he'd been.

He had only one cultivation technique, 'Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique,' and he had also obtained a Gathering Spirit Plate, which had allowed him to successfully form a spiritual energy vortex.

If he had known earlier that cultivation techniques should not be practiced at will, he probably wouldn't have dared to cultivate the 'Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique.'

Moreover, he guessed he had at least three spirit root seeds because he had sensed three types of spiritual energy while cultivating the 'Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique.'

"If you join the Sky Sea Sect, you must look after me a little. This is my life!" Fan Yiyang let out a sigh.

"Are you a disciple of the Sky Sea Sect?" Li Shiming finally learned of Fan Yiyang's background.

"I am but a servant disciple, assigned to the mundane world to procure some worldly materials!" Fan Yiyang revealed his status.

Li Shiming didn't think any less of him. Even a servant disciple was still a disciple of the Sky Sea Sect and besides, a servant disciple dispatched on such procurement tasks must have some sort of background.

Such procurement tasks are generally cushy jobs, in both worlds this is the case, and presumably not much different in the Cultivation World.

Fan Yiyang, whether due to a lack of interaction with peers or reassured by Li Shiming's age, told everything he knew about the Cultivation World, apart from particularly secretive matters.

Li Shiming also learned the timing of next year's Ascension Conference: it was to be held at the beginning of October.

Having finished their first interaction, he didn't return to his cabin to activate the Gathering Spirit Plate. On one hand, it wasn't just a matter of having spirit stones to activate the plate, but also figuring out how to harness it properly.

With Spirit Stones in hand, activating the Gathering Spirit Plate became only a matter of time.

On the other hand, he learned from Fan Yiyang that magic artifacts capable of gathering Spiritual Energy were extremely precious.

Of course, Li Shiming did not directly ask Fan Yiyang about the Gathering Spirit Plates, but instead indirectly inquired about how to gather Spiritual Energy to accelerate cultivation. He learned various methods for doing so, including the use of Gathering Spirit Plates.

The Gathering Spirit Plates were very expensive, at least for cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm.

After learning this, Li Shiming naturally did not attempt to activate the Gathering Spirit Plate on the official ship.

With everyone on the same deck and only wooden partitions separating them, nothing could stop the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy caused by the Gathering Spirit Plate.

He would not use the Gathering Spirit Plate to test Fan Yiyang's human nature—human nature cannot withstand such tests.

In the evening, as he leaned against the railing and looked into the distance, the canal followed by the official ship bore a special name, the Immortal Cutting Canal.

It was said that the Immortal Cutting Canal was carved out by a powerful being with a sword; Li Shiming initially thought this was just a legend.

After some time spent navigating, he noticed the distinct nature of the Immortal Cutting Canal.

The Immortal Cutting Canal was a straight waterway, unlike normal rivers that twist and turn according to the terrain.

From his vantage point, looking straight ahead, he could see the canal stretching in a line to where the sky met the horizon.

The scent of Spirit Rice reached his nostrils; it seemed Fan Yiyang was using Spirit Rice.

Li Shiming smiled. Meeting a cultivator like Fan Yiyang, he considered himself extremely lucky.

Although he could not sense Fan Yiyang's strength, Li Shiming deduced from Fan Yiyang's behavior that he was not very powerful.

Especially when Fan Yiyang spoke of having Four Spirit Roots, the gloom in his eyes was unmistakable.

Li Shiming guessed that Fan Yiyang might have Four Spirit Roots, which is why he was still just a servant disciple, appearing to be in his thirties.

Judging a cultivator's age by appearance is not accurate, for even without practicing techniques to maintain eternal youth, cultivators age much more slowly than ordinary people.

Li Shiming wore a Confucian Robe over his Low Grade Magic Robe, and the Lower Grade Longsword at his waist was tucked into his storage bag.

This was Fan Yiyang's advice; in the secular world, no one could recognize a magic artifact, but upon reaching Central Capital, where the Ascension Conference would be held, many cultivators would be present, and some of them might kill for treasure.

Even though Low Grade Magic Robes and Lower Grade Longswords were considered very low-level magic artifacts, they were still exceedingly rare for Loose Cultivators. Murdering for these two Low Grade Magical Artifacts was considered worthwhile.

Li Shiming recalled the contents of the 'Concealing Breath Skill' in his mind. Due to the lack of Spiritual Energy, he hadn't even practiced the Geng Metal Skill or the Earth Spirit Technique, which were the first techniques he acquired.

However, the Concealing Breath Skill was different; it was a spell that could hide one's Spiritual Energy fluctuations.

According to Fan Yiyang, Li Shiming's fluctuation of Spiritual Power Patterns were like candles in darkness to other cultivators, noticeable from a great distance.

In the Cultivation World, indeed, many cultivators let their Spiritual Power Patterns fluctuate freely because those cultivators had the strength to protect themselves and were not afraid of their Spiritual Power Patterns leaking out.

Instead, they used the fluctuations of Spiritual Power Patterns to warn other cultivators with ulterior motives, reducing their own trouble.