Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

"I will have someone clean up two side rooms for now, please stay at the academy," he said.

Mr. Xi did not linger long. After exchanging pleasantries, he quickly departed.

Upon reaching a secluded corner, he opened the long box given by Chu Zheng and paused as he saw the object inside.

It was an aged ginseng, radiating spiritual light and pulsating as if breathing, nearly achieving spiritual awakening.

A tremor passed through Xi Ji'an's hand; he had never seen spiritual ginseng of such quality in his life, not even in the renowned Yujing Divine Palace.

This aged ginseng was close to transforming into a spirit. If only the roots were harvested for medicine, it could slowly regenerate, truly an inexhaustible resource.

This single item was enough for him to maneuver relationships and gain a position in the imperial court; no need to remain a countryside teacher toiling for reputation.

However, the gift was excessively generous.

For a moment, Xi Ji'an's expression grew solemn as he closed and stored the long box.

To casually offer such a spiritual object, this Chu Zheng, was far more fearsome than imagined.

Qi Cultivators were always elusive, rarely mingling with common folk and shrouded in mystery.

The sudden appearance of such a person, bringing along a newly initiated disciple of the Confucian School, seemed suspicious.

Recalling various rumors about Qi Cultivators, Xi Ji'an's expression turned even graver.

At best, Qi Cultivators avoided the secular world, but once involved, they stirred great turmoil, reportedly linked to baffling calamities, often planning for centuries to the surprise of all.

To his knowledge, it had been a thousand years since a Qi Cultivator had openly walked the earth.

Was this Qi Cultivator positioning a disciple of the Confucian School now in preparation for future deployment?

Certainly, the stakes were high.

Given that Bai Nian had caught the eye of a Qi Cultivator, he must be far from ordinary, and mere introductory texts wouldn't baffle him.

Xi Ji'an found himself in a dilemma.

Entangled with the whirlwind of a Qi Cultivator, his modest cultivation was hardly even enough to be collateral damage.

Yet returning the aged ginseng and outright refusing could provoke Chu Zheng, potentially leading to significant troubles.

Moreover, such a rare spiritual object was hard to part with.

Xi Ji'an paced under the porch for a long time before conjuring an imperfect solution.

If Bai Nian were indeed a gifted candidate, he could use his connections to recommend him directly to an old acquaintance in the imperial court.

Should Bai Nian enter the imperial service, it should detach him enough from the matter, and if worst came to worst, he might even shut down the academy and start afresh elsewhere.

...

...

The side rooms were quickly tidied, and Chu Zheng settled down in Huanhua Academy temporarily with Bai Nian.

To Chu Zheng as he was now, a fifth-order spirit ginseng was merely trivial; even lesser valued items on him were rare.

Some low-grade spiritual materials he didn't need were all left behind in the Taixuan Holy Land, carrying them would be a waste.

Bai Nian entered the side room and closed his door, delving into the study of the Confucian texts, while Chu Zheng began examining books about this realm.

He knew but fragments about the Myriad Realms from Nie Longhu, far from an understanding. Now, ignorant of his location, he could only see how things would unfold.

Basic information was clearly recorded in these books; compared to the territories of the Immortal Alliance, this place's information barriers were relatively open.

The diversity brought about by numerous Taoist orthodoxy meant casually mentioning several predecessors could connect one with outside realms, something the Immortal Alliance couldn't match.

Within the Myriad Realms, realms were also divided. Though many Taoist orthodoxy persisted, there was a clear strength hierarchy.

Few weak Taoist orthodoxy survived, some with barely two or three disciples remaining; many had become extinct, with their cultivation methods remembered but no longer pursued.

Should a more potent Taoist orthodoxy be available, ordinary ones would naturally see diminished interest, unless there was no other recourse.

Among the myriad, the strongest orthodoxy included Daoism and Buddhism at the very top, followed by the Confucian School and Incense Fire Divine Path, with prominent figures from the various schools contesting their supremacy.

Below them were Qi Collection, Demon Control, Ghost Refining, Rashamon Sect, Heavenly Mechanism, and Yin Yang Union Dao among the ancient star-like major factions.

Regarding these orthodoxy, the recorded information was quite vague; the few classics Chu Zheng obtained just briefly touched upon them, without much insight.

The Thirty-Three Heavens of Daoism and the Pure Land of Buddhism were the most deeply rooted in the Myriad Realms, existing since the Ancient Times; even after great wars, their foundations remained notably deeper than many other orthodoxy, comparable to the Great Immortal Realm of the Immortal Alliance.

Only now did Chu Zheng realize that Daoism was not solely comprised of Qi Cultivators; they were relatively few within Daoism, with many others achieving immortality in different ways.

He was now in a Great Realm called 'Qingyun,' defined by the sun and moon, marking the Eight Desolates and Four Seas.

Within the Qingyun Realm, Daoism was scarcely renowned, with some sects in the southeast long withdrawn from the world.

On the northwest lay a vast Buddha Country, home to countless Buddhists venerating the Ancestral Buddha Golden Body, their incense offerings flourishing.

Confucian School revered an Imperial Dynasty as supreme, called "Da Li," widely spreading moral teachings and dominating the southwest.

Chu Zheng's current location fell under the rule of the Da Li Dynasty.

Within the Da Li Dynasty, the Confucian Path was exclusively honored, but there were also many military cultivators; the god of warriors resided within the Da Li Dynasty. It was rumored that his cultivation was mediocre, but if he led a myriad of armored troops, defeating gods and subduing immortals was like slashing grass beside the road, effortlessly reaching into a bag for objects.

Northeast of this land lay a collection of feudal states, where the foundations of various Taoist orthodoxies remained, coexisting rather harmoniously while often producing spiritual and fantastical stories that circulated widely and endured through time.

However, this division of regions was merely superficial as many Taoist paths had already developed intricate connections. In every family, one could always find a few who worshipped Buddha though they did not follow the Taoist path, but countless more worshiped the Ancestral Dao Golden Body.

Among the various Taoist paths, it seemed like each followed its course, but in reality, they were already entangled with each other, inseparable. It was very common to see people cultivating multiple Taoist paths.

Humans are not plants; they are not divided by species or categories, nor divided clearly by the different paths they follow.

...

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Xi Ji'an found Chu Zheng and brought a questionnaire for Bai Nian.

Bai Nian glanced at the questions and without the slightest hesitation, he picked up his pen and began writing vigorously, completing over ten thousand words in less than an hour.

As the final stroke was placed, a momentary pause of the pen tip caused a layer of lustrous white light to emanate from the questionnaire, followed by an outburst of vast righteous Qi.

Seeing this, Xi Ji'an's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, picked up the questionnaire, and carefully scanned it over.

"Good, good!"

After a moment, he repeatedly praised it and looked up at Bai Nian, shaking his head slightly and sighing,
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"What a pity."

Seeing this, Bai Nian became a bit anxious,

"May I ask, Mr. Xi, what is lacking?"

"The answers are very good, forming vast righteous Qi on their own, worthy of being model answers."

Xi Ji'an put the questionnaire away and shook his head, "If we had met twenty years earlier, you would have already excelled and soared to great heights by now."

Hearing this, Bai Nian breathed a sigh of relief and responded with a smile, "A sage once said, 'There is no limit to learning, and it is never too late to study.' It is merely twenty years."

Hearing this, Xi Ji'an turned his head toward Chu Zheng and said gravely,

"Daoist Chu, I shall temporarily take this student under my wing. However, with my limited knowledge, I am afraid I can't teach him for long. Once he shows some progress, I will recommend a better teacher for him. What do you think?"

Chu Zheng didn't reply directly and looked at Bai Nian, "Decide for yourself."

Without hesitation, Bai Nian bowed deeply,

"Student, greets Mr. Xi."

...

...

After completing the initiation ceremony, Bai Nian formally entered Huanhua Academy, becoming an indoor disciple of Xi Ji'an.

Chu Zheng, having nowhere else to go for the time being, stayed in the academy to quietly cultivate, and began extracting Immortal Qi from within Immortal Jade, then with the technique of Returning to the Origin, converted it into Primordial Qi.

He was now in the Myriad Realms, where using Immortal Treasures was inconvenient as it was easy to be tracked and posed high risks. He needed to repair another Eighth Order Supreme Treasure for protection.

In the past, on the battlefield outside the realm, he had collected many fragments, which could now be put to good use.

After leaving the Immortal Alliance's domain, the Incense Fire Willpower grew stronger day by day. A layer of Spiritual Light even wrapped around his Divine Soul, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

In just one year, his Qi Refinement's Cultivation had advanced further, entering the Returning to Void Realm.

Above Returning to Void was Dao Integration. After undergoing a hundred tribulations, one reaches the Heavenly Immortal.

Compared to his Qi Refinement's Cultivation, his progress in Immortal Path was even greater, reaching the peak of Tongxuan. The realm of Immortal Tribulation Secret Realm was within reach.

Now residing in the Qingyun Realm, with no one overseeing the Heavenly Dao, undergoing Tribulation might cause a significant disturbance, so Chu Zheng dared not act rashly and planned to make some preparations.

Most crucially, once he entered the Immortal Tribulation Secret Realm, his cultivation would have caught up with the Order of Repairers.

Given his current Seventh Order Repairer level, he could no longer repair his body as unrestrictedly as before, effectively losing his strongest trump card.

He had had this concern long ago. As his level as a Repairer increased, there wouldn't be as many treasures available for repair, and advancing in level would not be as easy as before.

This was quite the same as the journey of cultivation, which starts easy but becomes increasingly difficult. The farther one went, the greater the obstacles.

During this year, Bai Nian's progress had been even more remarkable. He had already made some achievements in the Confucian Path, and after a year immersed in studies, his vast righteous Qi had become even purer, now reaching Perfection.

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