That night, behind Cyan Peak Mountain, on a small island named "Welcome Island," a new guest arrived.
Welcome Island is the island where Cyan Peak Daoist School receives ordinary guests. The island is lush with trees, serene and peaceful, with exquisite courtyards scattered here and there, creating a unique atmosphere.
At this moment, Gu Yuan was resting in one of the Bamboo Courtyards.
For the next half-month, this would be his residence.
The Bamboo Courtyard is tidied by servants year-round, so it's quite clean, ready for occupancy.
After a brief survey, Gu Yuan stepped into the Quiet Chamber at the back of the Bamboo Courtyard.
Sitting cross-legged, focusing his mind, Gu Yuan exhaled a long breath, then closed his eyes.
With regulated breathing, bluish light dots appeared on his skin, and then he slowly opened his eyes with a slight smile on his face:
"As expected of a prominent sect, even a small ordinary island like this surpasses the Spiritual Qi of the Inner Sect Cave Mansion of the Cyan Wood Sect."
In this world of cultivation, Spirit Meridians are of utmost importance.
Generally speaking, a Tier One Low-grade Spiritual Vein suffices for the daily cultivation of a Qi Refining Cultivator, while a Tier One High-grade can enhance their cultivation.
As for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they typically require Tier Two Spiritual Veins, and so on.
The Cyan Wood Sect, where he previously resided, had only one Tier Two Low-grade Spiritual Vein in the Main Peak Sect Leader Hall, while the rest of the place had just Tier One Middle-grade Spiritual Veins.
Even though Welcome Island is merely an ordinary island of the Cyan Peak Daoist School, far inferior to Cyan Peak's Spirit Veins, it is still a treasured place for Gu Yuan because its Spiritual Qi has already reached the level of a Tier Two Spirit Vein.
It's akin to cultivating in the Sect Leader Hall of the Cyan Wood Sect.
"Indeed, even a restroom in the northern metropolitan areas is more valuable than houses in countryside towns..."
Feeling the vast disparity, Gu Yuan couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart.
No wonder the token in the Demon Star Cave contained a hint of golden opportunity.
The benefits of being a disciple alone surpass the myriad of cultivators.
Not to mention, Cyan Peak Daoist School harbors profound foundations like a towering tree, providing ample protection.
Thinking of this, a sudden thought crossed Gu Yuan's mind.
"Wait a minute, simply joining the Cyan Peak Daoist School grants such benefits and resources. What would it be like to live off a Golden Core Ascendant?"
As soon as this thought appeared, it grew wildly in his mind like rampant weeds.
Because this idea wasn't baseless.
He possessed Stone Liquid, which could reveal "opportunities" and "solutions" to pressing matters in his heart.
If he were to cover his eyes with Stone Liquid, perhaps there might indeed be a chance?
Some thoughts, once entertained, begin to spread uncontrollably.
"No, no, this is too absurd a notion, mustn't dwell on it, mustn't dwell on it!"
But Gu Yuan knew well, this undertaking was certainly no easy matter, and overthinking it would only lead to unnecessary mental exhaustion.
"No rush, no rush, the urgent issue at hand is to first shift my cultivation technique and thoroughly integrate into the Cyan Peak Daoist School."
He exhaled a long breath again, silently reciting the Heart Clarity Spell he had learned from the Cyan Wood Sect several dozen times, finally suppressing his distracting thoughts.
During the day, under Qiu Mingshan's guidance, he had already registered in the Hidden Flood Dragon Institute and chosen the most suitable Visualization Diagram among the three True Maps.
"The Toad Moon Divine Light True Diagram, visualizes the Golden Toad worshipping the moon, absorbing the Sun and Moon Essence, follows the Dao of Yin and Yang."
"The Five Elements True Wheel Diagram, assimilates the Five Elements, refines the Five Viscera, follows the Path of the Five Elements."
"Although these two True Maps are both immensely profound, my previous cultivation was in the Cyan Wood Sect's Ten Thousand Wood Technique, all my mana attributed to wood; transitioning to these two True Maps would be laborious and yield little reward."
"Now that I am already twenty years old, I cannot afford further delays. Only by cultivating the Planting Heaven and Earth Evergreen Map, quickly shifting my cultivation technique, and then breaking through to Qi Refining Fifth Layer is the optimal choice."
Gu Yuan looked at the thin as cicada's wings blue Jade Paper in his bosom, pondering in his heart.
In this world, cultivation is unique.
There's no such notion as Five Elements Spirit Root, only the concept of Nine Apertures and Dao Body.
The Human Race is of one kind, so everyone can cultivate.
Yet the difference lies in the disparity in aptitude.
Some people are born with Nine Apertures, inhaling and exhaling Spiritual Qi like nine mouths open at once, managing to absorb ninety percent of Spiritual Qi, considered top-notch geniuses.
In ancient times, it was due to these geniuses, born with Nine Apertures, interconnected meridians, who could set foot on the path of cultivation merely by taking a few breaths, and thus uncover the mystery of Spiritual Qi.
The fewer the apertures, the lower the cultivation talent.
The Eight-Aperture Body can absorb eight-tenths of Spiritual Qi, and so on by analogy.
To embark on cultivation, at least a Three-Aperture Body is required; only with three apertures can one barely set foot on the cultivation path, anything less would be exceedingly difficult.
While most of the world's populace has not even one aperture, known as the Hundred Leaks Body, accounting for ninety-nine percent of the world's population, they are what is referred to as ordinary folk.
Gu Yuan, being endowed with Five Apertures, thus became an Inner Sect Disciple of the Cyan Wood Sect, enjoying substantial resources.
Meanwhile, the Cyan Peak Daoist School classifies its disciples into three categories: Outer Courtyard disciples, generally having less than five apertures and receiving ordinary treatment.
In addition, there are Inner Courtyard disciples, like Gu Yuan, usually possessing five apertures or more.
Above them are the True Disciples; so-called True Inheritance disciples are typically disciples under Golden Core or Daoist Embryo, mostly of the Seven-Aperture Body. Or special types of Dao Body with unique methods of cultivation.
In this world, the levels of cultivation are divided into the Nine Layers of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Dao Embryo.
As for what comes after, at this moment, Gu Yuan does not yet know.
He's just a nobody right now.
What he longs for is merely to break through to Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
In the Qi Refining Realm, there are two major thresholds. The first is Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
After reaching Qi Refining Fifth Layer, a cultivator can possess Spiritual Sense. With it, the abilities of investigation, magical combat, artifact refining, and alchemy will greatly increase. It's a significant advancement.
The second threshold is, naturally, Qi Refining Ninth Layer, requiring the search for "Heaven-Earth Qi" to "use Qi to establish Foundation" and break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Gu Yuan wants to gain a foothold in the Daoist School, and at the very least, he needs to break through to Qi Refining Fifth Layer to have a certain degree of self-defense capability.
Thinking of this, he no longer delays and directly unfolds the cyan Jade Paper, carefully observing it.
This is a True Map replica imprinted by the Transmission Hall, possessing the charm of the True Map, but offering only fifteen days of observation time and cannot be taken out of the Daoist School.
After fifteen days, the Jade Paper will automatically turn to dust.
If within these fifteen days he still hasn't comprehended the True Map, he can only spend Spirit Stones to head to the Transmission Hall for another imprint.
It is precisely because time is limited that Gu Yuan, upon arriving at the Guest Reception Courtyard, went straight to the Quiet Chamber to change techniques.
The cyan Jade Paper, as thin as a cicada's wing, feels smooth yet slightly cool to the touch, giving a shock to one's heart and spirit, as if all distractions are thrown to the rear.
Gu Yuan fixes his gaze and sees that on the cyan Jade Paper, a tiny green seed is drawn.
The seed is no larger than a grain of rice, glowing green and exuding vibrant life.
And around the seed is dense gray mist, heavy yet light, like soil pressing down, covering the seed, hiding it from daylight in darkness, yet a flow of "vitality" seems to swirl in the mist.
After just a glance, Gu Yuan's heart and spirit are drawn in.
In a trance, he feels like he becomes that seed, and all the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth transforms into the "soil" covering him.
Taking oneself as a seed, planted in the Spiritual Qi of the world, seeking eternal green.
This is the true meaning of the Heaven-Earth Evergreen Map.
This technique is extremely profound, only to be comprehended and not verbally transmitted, hence taught through a Visualization Diagram.
If mastered, the entire body becomes "seed", "sapling", "towering tree", able to continuously absorb Heaven and Earth's Spiritual Qi.
This is the exquisite feature of the Upper-class Technique.
Human aptitude is limited, and so is the absorbable Spiritual Qi, but through this technique, one can extend the time of absorbing Spiritual Qi and increase its quantity.
The Cyan Wood Sect's Ten Thousand Wood Technique can only absorb one portion of Spiritual Qi per breath, but the Heaven-Earth Evergreen Map can absorb three portions, needing only to sit cross-legged and focus, allowing nonstop cultivation day and night.
As for whether a cultivator's meridians and apertures can withstand it, that depends on talent.
The talented can refine thrice a day, the weak can only twice a day, more would just "burst" them.
...
...
Gu Yuan feels like he can't breathe.
It's as if he really has become that seed.
All his heart and spirit are compressed into a space the size of a rice grain, suffocating like tidal waves flooding in.
Within the vast expanse of Heaven and Earth, endless Spiritual Qi surges ceaselessly, but between Gu Yuan and it, there seems to be a thick wall, preventing any absorption.
He must "break through the soil", transforming himself into wood, to absorb that Spiritual Qi.
Otherwise, he'll suffocate in the seed.
The process of "breaking through the soil" is to grasp the technique, transforming all his cultivation into the Heaven-Earth Evergreen Map technique.
But the suffocating sensation floods in like tides, in the silent dark space, not a sound can be heard, and an inexplicable fear rises in Gu Yuan's heart.
He feels he might die.
He starts to struggle instinctively.
"Pop!"
And with that struggle, his heart and spirit return directly to his physical body.
"Failed..."
His breathing becomes smooth again, and there's no abnormality in his physical body, yet Gu Yuan can't help but sigh.
Unable to endure darkness and solitude, he can't comprehend the Spirit Charm in the True Map to master the new technique.
Gently stroking the cyan Jade Paper in his hand, Gu Yuan can clearly feel that the strange charm on it has dimmed somewhat.
"If I fail too often, I fear it might dissipate before fifteen days are up..."
Gu Yuan muses in his heart.
In recent days, relying on the legacy of the Golden Core Ascendant, everything has been going smoothly without setbacks.
Yet the path of cultivation ultimately depends on oneself.
Fortunately, having lived two lives, and with his experiences in the Demon Star Cave, his disposition has become incredibly resilient, even cutting off some virtues and goodness from his past life.
"Again!"
He doesn't speak, just lets out a long breath, regains his energy, then grips the cyan Jade Paper once more.
Endless night lies ahead, but Gu Yuan can't afford to pause.