บท 6: Chapter 5: Qiongbi Peak (Please Bookmark!!)
Old Lu, clad in a blue robe, smiled and said, "There's really nothing much, it's just that below Qiongbi Peak, the five spirit fields have long had a precedent of gathering together from time to time. It happens right at the large stone slab at the junction. Young friend, if you're free, feel free to come over and join the fun."
"Oh?"
Ning Daoran had been worried about not having the opportunity to get to know the group of spirit farmers under a mountain peak. After all, expanding his knowledge was also one of the important factors for surviving in the Cultivation World.
"Good!"
He immediately nodded and smiled, "Old Lu and I have just finished eating. Since that's the case, I'll go and have a chat with everyone."
"Very good, very good!"
Old Lu's face was full of smiles, "Then let's go, this little old man will lead the way!"
...
The large stone slab wasn't far, just half a mile away.
The mountain peak where Ning Daoran's No. 77 spirit field was located was called Qiongbi Peak, which was one of the most ordinary peaks managed by the Spirit Field Department of the Outer Mountain of the Chaotic Sect.
When he had just taken over the No. 77 spirit field, Ning Daoran had been somewhat speechless about the name "Qiongbi Peak".
How unlucky the name was, it seemed that one could never become rich overnight living here. Later, after inquiring around, he learned the truth.
It was said that the original founder of the Chaotic Sect was called Chaos Taoist. When he first came here and divided the peaks, he was struck by the perilous terrain, exclaiming "An isolated peak alone, with cliffs rising a thousand feet!"
His disciple, with a stroke of his brush: Qiongbi Peak!
Below Qiongbi Peak was a spirit vein extending from the Main Peak of the Chaotic Sect. The concentration of spiritual energy was roughly at the level of first-tier mid-grade, which naturally couldn't compare to the third-tier mid-grade spiritual energy at the most abundant part of the Main Peak.
But for the cultivation of spirit farmers and practitioners in the Qi Refinement Realm, it was already sufficient.
This was also why many spirit farmers preferred to pay a large amount of spirit rice as rent to the sect every year, just to lease a piece of spirit land here.
Being a spirit farmer within the designated area of the Chaotic Sect, firstly the spiritual energy was rich, and secondly, one could be protected by the Chaotic Sect, so they wouldn't be troubled by loose cultivators or robbery cultivators. These many reasons made the leasing business for the spirit land of the Outer Mountain of the Chaotic Sect extremely hot!
Under Qiongbi Peak, there were a total of five pieces of spirit land, among which No. 77 spirit field, tilled by Ning Daoran and Old Lu, was the largest. This was probably why he, an Outer Disciple, was assigned this plot of land.
There were also four other pieces of spirit land, Nos. 78, 79, 80, and 81, and now they all had their own masters.
...
The large stone slab was located under a big banyan tree, a good place for cooling off and gathering.
When Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer arrived, there were already a few other people there, all with cultivation, and the strong aura of spiritual power could not be concealed.
"Fellow Taoist Ning has arrived!"
Old Lu smiled slightly, "Everyone, shall we introduce ourselves?"
"Very well."
An old granny carrying a little girl smiled and said, "This old body is in charge of taking care of No. 79 spirit field. Since I'm a few years older, everyone calls me Granny Yun Cui. Nice to meet you, Fellow Taoist Ning..."
Ning Daoran immediately bowed respectfully, "I have seen Granny Yun Cui!"
Granny Yun Cui smiled and returned the gesture.
Besides her, a male and a female cultivator cuddled together, seemingly a Taoist couple.
"My name is Xin Yan, at the Third Level of Qi Refining, this is my wife Zhong Yan, at the Qi Refining Second Layer! Fellow Taoist Ning, nice to meet you!"
"Fellow Taoists, nice to meet you!"
Old Lu smiled, "Everyone calls me Old Lu, just like Fellow Taoist Xin, both at the Third Level of Qi Refining. Let's all take a seat. This gathering is just for chatting and getting to know each other."
Ning Daoran and Old Lu sat in one corner of the large stone slab, rather inconspicuous.
"Eh?"
Xin Yan looked up slightly and smiled, "I heard a few days ago that a Qi Refining First Level Outer Disciple came to No. 77 spirit field. In just over two months, Fellow Taoist Ning has already broken through to the Qi Refining Second Layer?"
"By luck, by luck..."
Ning Daoran was a bit embarrassed, "It's also the accumulation of many years that allowed for the breakthrough!"
"Fellow Taoist Ning is being modest."
Old Lu stroked his beard and smiled, "I heard that you just turned twenty and have already broken through to the Qi Refining Second Layer. Such talent and understanding is beyond us; I'm afraid we won't even be able to see your back in this lifetime!"
Ning Daoran was again modest, just saying it was luck.
He could feel that although these spirit farmers were outwardly enthusiastic, they were also harbouring some jealousy.
After all, not everyone could enter the Chaotic Sect.
On this Qiongbi Peak, Ning Daoran's identity as an Outer Disciple – previously looked down upon in the great hall – turned out to be the highest.
Outer Disciples were higher than servant disciples, and servant disciples were higher than spirit farmers. This was the iron rule of the Cultivation World.
If they could enter the Chaotic Sect as disciples, who would want to be a husbandman of Spirit Plants?
For spirit farmers like Xin Yan and Old Lu, advancing even a small realm was extremely difficult, and the spiritual stones, magic artifacts, and other necessities for cultivation had to be squeezed out from between their teeth.
The skill level of Spirit Plant technique was very important!
The rent for leasing spirit land was not low. Every year they had to hand over a large amount of Spirit Rice to the sect. It was fine during bountiful harvest seasons, but if the harvest was bad, that could mean a whole year's hard work was in vain.
As a person skilled in human relations, Ning Daoran naturally also understood the deeper implications, so he kept a very low profile, wishing he could claim the position of a junior.
However, the rules of the Cultivation World were that the strong lead. When everyone was at the same realm, they were supposed to call each other Fellow Taoist.
After a long chat, everyone shared their woes.
Ning Daoran hardly spoke. As a newcomer, he had to have the awareness of a newcomer, to listen more and speak less. When he didn't understand something, he would ask questions humbly, and those few spirit farmers were naturally happy to answer each and every one.
Among the people there, the only one Ning Daoran couldn't see through was Granny Yun Cui. Although her cultivation aura was at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, yet...
Ning Daoran, who had perfected the Concealing Breath Technique, caught a trace of a similar aura. It must be that Granny Yun Cui also had some means of concealing her cultivation.
But that was someone else's business, and he was too lazy to meddle in it.
Meddlers tend to die young, and he had always known this truth.
After holding back for a long time, Ning Daoran finally couldn't resist asking a question, "Why is the person in charge of Spirit Field number 78 not here?"
Xin Yan couldn't help but laugh, "Fellow Taoist Ning may not know, but the owner of Spirit Field number 78 almost came with you, and she is also an Outer Disciple like you, a master and servant pair, two persons. However, that lass is shy so she rarely shows her face, no worries, you'll meet her eventually."
After chatting for some more time, it got late, and everyone went their separate ways.
...
Days went by one by one, and aside from managing the Spirit Field, Ning Daoran also often took Big Stupid Deer to the Contribution Hall.
Inside the Contribution Hall, all kinds of treasures were on display for exchange, stunning both man and deer.
There were flying swords radiating brilliant light, wolf-toothed hammers the size of a large bowl at the head, and some cloth banners wrapped in flames, crafted from unknown materials, the aura exuding from them was incredibly impressive.
"Holy shit... Badass..."
Ning Daoran was like a country bumpkin in the city, constantly amazed, with his vocabulary running low, leaving him with only a four-word mantra.
"Awoo awoo..."
Big Stupid Deer was also a country hick, gazing at those magic artifacts and spiritual artifacts, constantly nudging Ning Daoran's arm with its big head, Look, big brother, that sword is so badass, oh no wait, the hammer to the left is even more badass, if you get hit by that hammer, even an iron skull would turn into a watermelon!
"Junior Brother Ning?"
Suddenly, someone called out to Ning Daoran.
It was Zhao Lichen.
Now Zhao Lichen had changed his attire, from his original deep blue uniform to a white disciple uniform... Had he gone from being an Outer Disciple to an Inner Sect Disciple?
"Senior Brother Zhao, you..." Ning Daoran was surprised.
"Hehe..."
Zhao Lichen was somewhat embarrassed and laughed, "Because I've traveled far and wide with the uncles, I've seen a bit more, and the sect promoted me to Inner Sect Disciple. From now on, I'm responsible for distributing tasks here in the Contribution Hall, as well as explaining various difficulties to the junior brothers and sisters."
He asked with a smile, "What brings Junior Brother Ning here?"
"Just looking around."
Ning Daoran grinned, "Brother, I want to ask, does our sect have a Book Collection Pavilion?"
"Yes!"
Zhao Lichen laughed, "Junior Brother couldn't possibly have been in the sect for three months and still not know where the Book Collection Pavilion is, right? Just follow the path uphill from the Contribution Hall, half a mile away and you'll find it."
He began to talk excitedly, "What, Junior Brother wants to browse the books there?"
"Cough cough..."
Ning Daoran couldn't very well reveal that he wanted to "freeload" on the secret techniques in the Book Collection Pavilion, this was his great advantage, as long as a book passed through his hands, a glance was all it took to record it into the Refining Time System.
He had a photographic memory and didn't even need to check them out.
Just right, Ning Daoran's future cultivation guiding principle was "the more skills, the better", with no particular fuss about techniques—the more the merrier!
"Brother, I'm interested in researching array formations."
He stated another purpose, "To tell you the truth, my talent and gifts are mediocre, but I have a considerable interest in the Array Path, does the Book Collection Pavilion have any books about it?"
"There are some, but on the higher floors."
Zhao Lichen said, "As an Outer Disciple, you can only browse the books on the first layer of the Book Collection Pavilion, and each visit is limited to two hours."
"I see..."
Ning Daoran immediately took his leave from Zhao Lichen and headed to the Book Collection Pavilion to have a look.
...
In the middle of the sect's mountain ranges, an enormous building proudly stood amongst the clouds, with three layers, each very tall, surrounded by mist and clouds, creating a full sense immersion in the cultivation atmosphere.
Ning Daoran presented his Identity Jade Token.
"Oh?"
An Outer Elder glanced at it and smiled, "Ning Daoran... Outer Disciple, quite a new face here. You know the rules of the Book Collection Pavilion, right? You can only browse the books on the first layer for two hours, and you may enter the pavilion only once every ten days."
"Thank you, Uncle Master, I'm aware."
"Go on then, spiritual beasts are not allowed inside, tie it up outside."
"Yes!"
Big Stupid Deer mourned softly, nudging Ning Daoran's arm; it also wanted to go in and gain some insights.
"Alright, alright."
Ning Daoran patted the deer's head and teased, "You can't read anyway, what would you do inside?"
Instantly, a lofty, tea-sipping Elder in the early stages of Foundation Establishment nearly laughed out loud.
...
On the first floor of the Book Collection Pavilion.
Ning Daoran quickly browsed through various books, but had difficulty finding what he needed.
Books on the first floor were generally broad but not deep, such as the "East Desolate Immortal Cultivation World Chronicles," the "Chaotic Sect Sect History," "Cultivation Introduction," "Spiritual Beast Postnatal Care," "Introduction to Joyful Union Sect Dual Cultivation," and so forth, which could almost all be found on street stalls, hence of very little value.
However, after nearly an hour of browsing, hard work paid off, and Ning Daoran finally found two techniques that could be input into the Grass and Wood Holy Spirit System.
[Invisibility Technique. Lower Grade Yellow (Uninitialized)]
[Sound Absorption Technique. Lower Grade Yellow (Uninitialized)]
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง