I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 172: 170

As dusk approached,

Zhou Yi finally finished lecturing on the four methods of drawing the Godspeed Talisman, the nine secrets of the Light Body Skill, and the top eighteen mundane Qinggong techniques.

"Today's lecture has concluded. Next time we will discuss the second level of Qi Refinement and the instant casting method of the low-level defensive spell, Golden Light Technique!"

With that, he transformed into a streak of light and departed.

In the hall, only a few disciples left; the majority either sat cross-legged to contemplate or conversed with familiar sect members.

The disciples listening from outside saw empty spots appear and immediately took the seats, sitting cross-legged and taking out their jade slips to carefully consider the content of today's lecture.

Yu Shou, who was about to leave, showed a puzzled expression upon seeing this.

"Junior Brother, the lecture has already ended. Why don't you leave and instead come in?"

"In the future, this Dharma Lecture Hall will be our cave dwelling until Elder Tang has finished explaining the Qi Refinement Realm. Only then will I go back to closed-door cultivation!"

"I see."

Yu Shou said, and sat back down at his original spot, much to the disappointment of the onlooking fellow sect members, who saluted, "Thank you for the reminder, Junior Brother. Once the content of Elder Tang's lecture spreads, there will undoubtedly be more people next time. Perhaps I'll have to hang from the wall to listen."

"Elder Tang's insights on Qi Refinement have given me a bit of confidence that one day I can achieve the completion of Qi Refinement. I must not miss out on these lectures!"

"Junior Brother, with your superior aptitude, you have the prospect of reaching the Foundation Establishment. I offer my early congratulations. On the other hand, I find those escape techniques most mysterious. Elder Tang is right; only by preserving one's life can one discuss the path of cultivation!"

"Indeed, indeed! Once I have made some achievements, I will exchange all my Spirit Stones for the essence of the Five Metals to forge a precious cauldron!"

"What you say is very true, let's go together!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Yu Shou and his fellow disciple continued to share their insights. Spending a long time listening to lectures together, they soon felt a closer bond.

This shameless behavior irked the disciples waiting outside; the matter of listening to lectures was vital to their path of cultivation and could not be so easily conceded. Those with mild temperament still spoke politely, while the hot-tempered ones were already clamoring to determine their order through a duel!

Ding!

"Silence!"

The enforcer of the law, a True Person, struck the Jade Chime, and, displaying the imposing manner of someone in the Foundation Establishment stage, quelled the tumult.

Afterward, they closed their eyes and pondered, contemplating the essence of the elder's teachings. Even subtleties in mana operation at the Foundation Establishment stage were quite useful.

As Zhou Yi's teachings spread, they caused a huge stir in the Earth Fire Palace. The importance of the Qi Refinement techniques goes without saying, but the subsequently proclaimed principle, "the cultivation way values life," sparked considerable ripple effects.

Most of the family disciples found this hard to accept. Their ancestors were born in the Earth Fire Palace, and for generations, they had served the sect. How could they talk of fleeing at the first sign of trouble?

Of course, this didn't stop them from learning the escape skills; after all, life is indeed very precious!

The common disciples supported this with both hands; not because they were disloyal to the sect, but simply because life in the Cultivation World is hard. The resources they obtained for cultivation were already scarce, let alone having extra Spirit Stones to spend on expensive magic artifacts and talismans.

In a duel, if you slap on a self-drawn Godspeed Talisman without spending any Spirit Stones, as long as you're still alive, you haven't lost!

As debates grew more heated, Feng Yang issued a public statement.

"The purpose of cultivation is not to fight and kill. Learning more life-preserving techniques is very beneficial for cultivation!"

The final verdict.

With Feng Yang having protected the Earth Fire Palace for nearly two hundred years, his authority was far beyond Zhou Yi's, resulting in the square outside the Dharma Lecture Hall being packed with people.

Looking down from above, Earth Fire Palace disciples were either immersed in contemplation or exchanging experiences, all in an atmosphere of striving and aspirations.

"I still remember to this day when our master, before passing into nirvana, created a scene in the Earth Fire Palace of thriving vitality and exuberance. How similar it is now!"

"Master, those words sound somewhat ominous."

Sect Leader Yuan Qi floated in the air, standing behind Feng Yang, and hearing those words, he felt a chill down his neck.

...

After the lecture had ended.

The disciples of the Earth Fire Palace looked at Zhou Yi with even more reverence and respect, and they would bow when passing by the Hall of Spiritual Fire.

One after another, the heads of the external island families came to visit, willing to offer their services under his command.

"When the time comes, even heaven and earth lend their strength. Am I really imbued with the aura of a king, with disciples bowing their heads in submission?"

Zhou Yi did not turn anyone away and rewarded those who did good work. It seemed as though he accepted them, yet he did not truly incorporate them, engaging in a purely fair trade.

Such an attitude, on the contrary, gave Shi Bin a sense of crisis. He personally went to Red Cloud Island to inquire in detail and, upon learning the intricacies of how Elder Tang managed the Four Arts Hall, he keenly spotted an opportunity.

He meticulously gathered a good number of illustrated storybooks and selected more than a dozen beautiful female cultivators, each charming, enchanting, innocent or aloof in their own way.

"Elder Tang, you have worked hard giving sermons. Please allow them to serve your daily needs and diet."

"You have done well, leave the storybooks. The female disciples... go back and cultivate diligently!"

Zhou Yi found it very difficult to refuse, but he had to maintain the dignity of an elder, not to mention that a rabbit does not eat the grass around its burrow.

Having lived alone for eight hundred years, Zhou Yi not only felt uncomfortable and restrained when the array of slender beauty appeared in the Hall of Spiritual Fire, but he was also wary and cautious.

The female disciples felt very saddened upon hearing this, as their Spirit Roots were of inferior quality, and serving a Golden Elixir True Monarch was a rare opportunity for their Foundation Establishment!

Shi Bin could not understand Elder Tang's unique tastes. Having been more attracted to the illustrations in the storybooks than the beautiful female cultivators, he surmised there must be profound secrets within them, perhaps helpful for cultivating mana. He planned to review and comprehend them one by one.

Days passed by, one after the other.

The swordfights between the righteous and demonic in the Nine Continents became increasingly fierce, but the Eastern Sea was without war.

Zhou Yi devoted himself to cultivation and gradually became accustomed to the identity of a supreme elder of the sect.

More than twenty Foundation Establishment Pills were gradually exchanged, and the Earth Fire Palace gained three newly ascended real entities. Because the pills came from Zhou Yi, they naturally had a close relationship with him.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed, and Zhou Yi had effectively taken control of the Earth Fire Palace, with Feng Yang in a semi-retired state.

Time was the true majestic force that no one could resist should the seas turn wild.

That day.

In the meditation room.

With a thought from Zhou Yi, the Xuanwu Divine Armor transformed into a semi-illusory, semi-real large turtle shell, enveloping the entire room and isolating any kind of spells or Divine Sense probing.

With his hands forming a spell, the floor's restrictive light flickered, revealing a large portion of a tree root buried underground.

The tree root was lush and dripping with green, as if alive, with a half-inch sprout growing from its tip, emanating a surging and powerful life force.

The Spirit Ginseng baby, smelling the scent, immediately used its Escape Skill to dart into the meditation room, taking big breaths, and unconsciously drooling clear saliva from its mouth.

Zhou Yi gave the creature a glance and coldly snorted, "If I catch you coveting the Innate Spirit Root again, it won't just be chopping half of you for soup; I'll feed your entire self to the cattle!"

"Immortal, please spare me!"

The Spirit Ginseng baby clasped its head in its hands and knelt to plead for mercy, still not forgetting to absorb the fragrance emitted by the Spirit Root.

After more than thirty years of continuous efforts from Zhou Yi, which consumed who knows how much of his lifespan, the tree root finally regained its lush vitality and sprouted.

As the sprout emerged, a stream of information entered Zhou Yi's mind, and he finally learned the origin of the tree root.

The Innate Spirit Root, Heaven-reaching Divine Wood!

Zhou Yi, who had mingled in the Cultivation World for over eight hundred years, had never seen any records of the Heaven-reaching Divine Wood. Instead, he had vague recollections of it from the memories of his previous life.

"In ancient times, there was a tree with green leaves, purple stems, mysterious blossoms, and yellow fruits, named the Heaven-reaching Divine Wood! Legend has it that the wood is a bridge connecting heaven, earth, and man with the gods. The gods could descend to earth along the wood, and mortals could climb it to reach the Heavenly Court..."

"Such a supreme treasure, even the Azure Dragon Demon Saint cannot compare. It's a wonder how it ended up in the Hall of the Four Spirit Sanctums."

"Once the Heaven-reaching Divine Wood grows into the legendary Heaven-reaching Divine Wood described in legends, gradually restoring the images and memories once engraved within, perhaps more messages will come through, allowing the discovery of ancient secrets and even Divine Skills and spells!"

Zhou Yi cast the Jade Dew Art to condense Creation Dew and watered the sprout.

The Heaven-reaching Divine Wood shone with a faint light, emitting strands of pure Spiritual Energy, many times more than what it released slowly on its own.

"The Heaven-reaching Divine Wood converts lifespan into Spiritual Energy. This is truly marvelous..."