[Second Blood Achievement: You may choose one of the following Roots:
- Golden Vajra Root.
- Verdant Serpent Root.
- Purple Crystal Lotus Root.]
The game interface was rather strange, he could feel that most things were rather clickable, as if his eyes were computer cursors that moved through the blue screen. Thus, he clicked on the Purple Crystal Lotus Root.
The moment that was done, he could feel an unfathomable change occur within him. When he closed his eyelids, he was shocked to find that the familiar dark space was invaded by a bright purple light that illuminated every corner. He was even afraid that his eyes were glowing purple, prompting him to open his eyes and get close to the wall to his right. Yet, the wall remained dark and unilluminated.
A stream of foreign energy appeared out of nowhere and was gently coursing through his body as it washed every nook and cranny in its miraculous energy. With every second his senses became sharpened. If they were dull worn rusty swords, now they were razor-sharp swords that could cut through buildings with ease.
There was a big tree beside their dorm, and he could even hear a squirrel busy biting something hard, presumably a nut. A conversation from the next dorm echoed in his ears, and even a very soft gulp from Zho Tu's throat was noticed. Their room was teeming with lively strands of Qi that flirtatiously danced around them in a dare, something that he was previously blind to.
The stream of energy continued affectionately ravaging his body in its wonderful purple delight, paying even closer attention to his head. A very faint headache that had persisted after the previous heatstroke was magically cured, and he felt as alert and taut as a nocked arrow.
As abruptly as the beginning of the purple light and the energy was, so was their ending. In but a few short seconds, they disappeared as if their existence was the mere fabrication of a fatigued mind. Yet, as his wide eyes stared into the walls, his mind was anything but fatigued.
A new notification echoed that managed to wake him from his dazed dreamy state.
[You Have Received One: Purple Spirit Manual.]
But it also quickly disappeared.
'System,' He shouted in his mind, seeking this invisible gift.
[~Status Window~]
Name: Xie Jing
Age: 16
Cultivation: Body Tempering(9)
Soul Purity: 63%
Affiliation: The Golden Mountain Sect(Wandering Abyss Demonic Sect)
Rank: #844
Access Level: 0
Episodes: 0
Reviews: 0
Views: 0
Followers: 0
Favorites: 0
Game Coins: 5.000
Leaderboard.
Loot(1).
-
His eyes studied the new changes, and most of them made sense. 'Hmm, It seems like my rank has increased?' He mused. 'But the episodes are still a day away from release.' However, he quickly found out the grim reason why that was the case. 'There are are longer 1000 participants.'
Dismissing such thoughts, he zoned in on the Loot(1).
"Aukhman," He whispered once again, and as quick as ever, the demon appeared. "What's with this Loot thing, how to use it?"
"It's simple," Aukhman explained. "Just click here and you'll be able to see your loot inside."
"But," Jing asked, his eyes looking at the other disciples. "Will that manual just magically appear in my hands?"
"Yes," Aukhman said. "But fret not, you can put it back in the same place. The loot is an inventory, and though you can't put just anything on it, things you've won can be placed there."
"Sweet," Jing said, overjoyed by the news.
Upon clicking on the loot, a new blue interface appeared in front of him. Unlike the status window, this one was shorter and wider. In the very first row, a magnificent book rested.
The unfathomable book was enveloped in a faint blue light, its background a curtain of emerald hues that seemed to ripple with mysterious verdant energy. Clusters of shimmering ethereal deep purple crystals lined its surface, casting a soft, magical glow upon the rest of the book. The title, "Purple Spirit," adorned its cover with elegant ancient symbols, each letter pulsating with a mesmerizing iridescence that hinted at some profound secrets.
'Now, that's a book.' Jing commented with beaming eyes, his heart full of praise. The notion of not judging a book by its cover seemed rather childish as he gazed at that beautiful thing with an enthralled stare.
He cautiously turned to look at Zho Tu, but he was deep in his cultivation. Just as he was about to summon the book to appear, the thick door creaked open. From it, Wang Fei entered into the room with curious eyes studying the room.
Jing stood up and went to greet him, "Old Wang," He said, mimicking this world's inhabitants curious phrasings. "Are you alright?"
With his usual polite smile on his face, Wang Fei scratched the back of his head, his eyes turning into crescent moons as his chubby cheeks rose. "Yes," He said. "I was just put on a bed and after I while I woke up. I asked around and some disciples led me here."
"That's good," Jing said. "We can finally get a bit of rest, we've worked hard enough as it is." Saying that, he walked back toward the bed.
"Wait," Wang Fei said. "The dining hall is open, aren't you hungry?"
"Aren't I hungry?" Jing asked incredulously. "I could eat a horse." He winced realizing that he wouldn't be able to go through the manual he had just received and said, "Alright, let's go."
After asking Zho Tu whether he wanted to go as well, which he did, they all exited the room leaving Shen Yun still sleeping.
The layout of the outer sect was a wide paved road in the middle that split the dorms and pagodas from one another. The right side was mostly occupied by dorms for outer disciples of different years and servants.
The distinction between disciples was simple outer, inner, and chief disciples. Every year, the outer disciples would be assessed, and if they hadn't met certain criteria they would be let go. If they have, they either become inner disciples or stay another year as outer disciples. That was precisely why there was an abundance of dorms and an even larger number of disciples. How things worked for inner disciples was still a mystery to him.
Jing and Co were situated close to the outermost edge of the dorms, there were only two large dorms behind them and those were for the servants. As opposed to the male dorms, the female living quarters were at the outermost layer of the left side.
Nestled between two beds in their room, there was a large window. When Jing opened it wide and squinted really hard, he was able to see the gigantic behemoth Golden Veil City on the distant horizon.
At the end of the cobblestone path that separated the right and left areas was a towering golden statue of an old man. Jing learned that it was the founder of the sect Venerable Ancestor they called him. He had even heard some very interesting myths about that old man. It was said that he used to carry the Golden Mountain above his shoulders, and he fought with it. He could summon heavenly phenomenons with a click of his fingers, or the most unbelievable one of them all, He didn't die but ascended beyond the mortal bounds and joined heaven's embrace, becoming one with it.
Jing only rolled his eyes whenever Wang Fei gushed out about his undying love for the long-haired old man. When they reached the cafeteria, he found out that nothing was free, much to his dismay as he was even more broke than a homeless man.
To make matters worse, they didn't accept gold coins, only spirit stones. Fortunately, Wang Fei had a few that he was willing to part with and paid for everything.
After tasting the ridiculously delicious foods, Jing was shocked. Appearance wise it couldn't be farther from ordinary. White rice with a rich brown gravy on top of it and a side dish of meat stripes.
Wang Fei who was far more learned than he was, explained to him that most ingredients were spiritual, hence the expensive price. Spiritual food was rich in Qi, it was like the difference between a mortal man and a cultivator. One had Qi and the other had none.
He also stressed the importance of only eating spiritual food as a cultivator, and the reason was equally convincing that it startled the ignorant Jing. There was something such as impurities in almost everything, and because cultivators were like tubes through which life's breath flows, it was of the utmost importance for them to remain pure and untainted. Otherwise, their Ethereal Bodies risk getting infected by Qi-evolved diseases.
Less severely, the more impurities a cultivator had, the harder their cultivation and breakthroughs became. Fortunately, some of them could be cleansed, but it took an arduous amount of effort, hence the importance of spiritual food. Though it contained some impurities too depending on the quality, relative to normal foods it was far, far cleaner. Of course, spiritual foods also had a bit of Qi so they helped in cultivation.
After the meal was done, all of them returned to their room to rest. On their way back they were greeted by a beautiful view of the sunset at the side of the mountain which delayed their arrival for a few minutes.
Once inside, Jing gave Wang Fei the bottom bed without the slightest hesitation. The man was fat enough that Jing felt that he would be afraid with only a few weak wooden planks protecting him. Shen Yun was still asleep, and so the three all began cultivating.
Jing had also learned a very important fact. The manual could be browsed from the Loot interface, and though he wanted to bring it out to have a closer look, he dismissed that thought for another time.
With a heart overflowing with anticipation and excitement, he breathed out and began going through the manual in his cross-legged position above the top bed.
His wide grin, however, soon froze. As magnificent and unfathomable as each page was, and regardless of how deeply shocking the information contained within, he was unable to begin cultivating it. He had learned that it wasn't a thorough cultivation manual in the very complete sense of the word, it was a cultivation manual for the spirit, something that needed a well-established energized soul to function.
In other words, he needed Qi in his system, and not just the random Qi that was lying out in the world, but personalized Qi, something that needed the establishment of his cultivation base.
But he wasn't distraught, just slightly disappointed. After all, on the day of integration, which was tomorrow, they'd have their first class and be allowed to learn the cultivation manual of the Golden Mountain Sect, and then he would be able to finally break through!
Closing his eyes yet again, with another sigh yet again, he began cultivating. He drew on his consciousness his particular cultivation symbol, and the aloof Qi began to gently but gingerly approach him.
The change between this cultivation session and the last ones was immediately noticeable. The amount of Qi that was filtered through his cultivation symbol was much larger than last time when he only had 53% Soul Purity. Another interesting change was the fact that it seemed more potent, it passed through his cells faster than last time, and the itch he felt was stronger as well.
His leg muscles were still burning from everything he had done in the past few days, and so naturally his sole focus was on them. As every strand of Qi's passed through his cultivation symbol, its properties changed. It was as if its natural mind morphed to resemble his, or it had no mind of its own and his will was injected into it. All Jing knew was that it became his, and so as easily as lifting a finger, he swam with his Qi inside of his body, gently caressing every muscle fiber in his thighs.
With every strand of Qi, more and more change could be immediately felt. The burn lessened to an enormous degree, and his legs felt rejuvenated, powerful, and ready to poorly ride a horse for an even longer period.