Ling Feng walked into the room and looked around.
The furnishings in the room were extremely simple; there was only a crude wooden couch in the corner, with a wooden table and a few chairs beside it, and nothing else.
Despite this, the entire room appeared exceptionally neat and clean.
At this moment, Ling Feng had no hint of sleepiness.
He walked directly to the table, pulled over a stool, and sat down, then took out two books from his embrace and placed them on the table.
The two books looked somewhat old, but the writing on their covers was still clearly legible.
Ling Feng took a deep breath, opened one of the books, and began to read it carefully, using the faint moonlight that streamed through the window.
His gaze was focused and firm, as if he wanted to deeply imprint every word in the book into his mind.
Time passed by second by second, and before he knew it, an hour had gone by.
Finally, Ling Feng finished reading all the content of both books and thoroughly understood and comprehended them.
He closed the pages, shut his eyes, and silently savored the knowledge he had just acquired.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
The Outer Sect is divided into one Hall, one Pavilion, two Gardens, three Peaks, and four Pavilions.
Discipline Hall: If an Elder makes a mistake, the Discipline Hall handles it.
Discipline Hall: The place for punishing erring Disciples.
Two Gardens: Spirit Herb Garden, Spirit Fruit Garden.
Three Peaks: Human Flame Peak, Earth Flame Peak, Heaven Flame Peak.
Four Pavilions: Pill Pavilion, Refining Pavilion, Library, Mission Pavilion.
The five great Realms of Cultivators: Qi Refining Realm, True Spirit Realm, Spiritual Void Realm, Void Prying Realm, and Heavenly Realm, with each Realm further divided into Nine Heavens.
As for this back mountain, it is also within the Outer Sect.
“Since I can’t sleep, why not try to guide Qi into my body?”
Ling Feng circulated his Qi according to the book, sensing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and drawing it into his body for refinement.
In an instant, the originally thin, almost transparent Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from all directions seemed to be drawn by some mysterious force, converging towards the same direction.
In the blink of an eye, this Spiritual Qi formed a massive, bottomless Spiritual Qi vortex with Ling Feng at its core.
Immediately following, this powerful Spiritual Qi current seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, flowing through Ling Feng’s meridians and continuously surging into his Dantian.
At this moment, Ling Feng’s body seemed to have transformed into an insatiable, bottomless abyss, madly devouring the endless Spiritual Qi from between Heaven and Earth.
As soon as this vast amount of Spiritual Qi entered his body, it immediately rushed wildly like a runaway horse, quickly filling every corner of his entire body, not even sparing the most minute pores.
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching pain surged from Ling Feng’s lower abdomen.
He gritted his teeth, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like heavy rain; white smoke even rose from the top of his head, lingering and not dispersing.
This intense pain came fiercely, making it unbearable, but Ling Feng endured it with astonishing willpower.
He was grimacing, his forehead veins bulging like wriggling earthworms; his eyes were bloodshot, revealing a complex expression of pain and resolve intertwined; even his originally handsome face was somewhat distorted due to the extreme agony.
“Pop…!”
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a faint sound suddenly came from the ethereal.
Accompanying this strange sound, the surging, tidal pain finally began to slowly recede.
In its place was a warm sensation settling in his Dantian, gradually spreading to his limbs and bones, making his whole body comfortable.
Qi Refining Realm First Heaven.
Ling Feng’s face gradually showed joy; he had originally thought Cultivation would be very difficult, but he had not expected it to be so simple, breaking through from a Mortal to Qi Refining Realm First Heaven in just one hour.
Feeling the warm current in his lower abdomen, Ling Feng was startled and immediately realized that this was the legendary Dantian!
At this very moment, he had already achieved the Cultivation of Qi Refining Realm First Heaven!
A night of exhaustion and fatigue instantly vanished, replaced by immense excitement and vigor.
However, just as Ling Feng was immersed in joy, a strong sense of hunger suddenly struck him.
He couldn't help but frown, muttering with a bitter smile, “I haven’t eaten a single grain of rice for several days…”
Helplessly, Ling Feng could only rub his rumbling stomach while trying to recall what had happened before.
Oh, right! That woman named Yu He had given him a bottle of Medicinal Pills; the bottle should contain Grain Abstinence Pills!
Thinking of this, Ling Feng quickly reached into his embrace and pulled out the exquisite jade bottle.
After gently opening the cap, a faint fragrance wafted out.
He carefully poured out a crystal-clear Spirit Pill and swallowed it without hesitation.
As soon as the Spirit Pill entered his throat, it quickly dissolved, turning into a cool current that slid down his throat into his abdomen.
In just a moment, the rampant hunger vanished as if by magic, without a trace.
After solving the problem of hunger, Ling Feng happily opened the precious book again and studied it carefully.
Time passed imperceptibly, and in the blink of an eye, the sky outside had gradually turned a fish-belly white.
A warm ray of sunlight streamed through the window into the room, illuminating Ling Feng’s focused face.
When the last page of the book was turned, Ling Feng slowly closed the book and let out a long sigh.
He stood up, stretched his somewhat stiff body, then walked to the door, gently pushed open the two slightly dilapidated wooden doors, and stepped out of the low house.
The fresh air outside the door rushed towards him, making him feel refreshed.
At this moment, outside the low house, ten people stood in a row. Seeing Ling Feng walk out of the low house, they all cast strange glances at him. The person in the middle was Yu He, and the other nine were presumably the Utility Disciples living there.
Ling Feng cupped his hands, about to speak, when Yu He suddenly walked up to him and smiled charmingly, “Junior Brother Ling Feng is indeed a prodigy! In just one night, he was actually able to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on his own.”
Ling Feng replied, “Ling Feng’s Breakthrough is all thanks to Senior Sister’s great fortune.”
“Smooth-talker, alright! Hurry up and go inside to change into your Daoist robe.” Yu He playfully scolded, then handed Ling Feng a brand new Daoist robe, “Try it on and see if it fits.”
Suddenly, Yu He spoke again, “Oh! Right, Master has been in closed-door Cultivation for the past few days. Your identity token can only be processed after Master comes out of closed-door Cultivation. Don’t wander around outside casually on weekdays, lest the Senior Brothers of the Discipline Hall see you and cause a misunderstanding, that wouldn’t be good.”
Ling Feng acknowledged, keeping Yu He’s words firmly in mind. He turned and walked into the low house, and when he came out again, he had changed into a brand new Daoist robe.
“They all say that Buddha needs gold attire, and people need clothes. This saying is absolutely true,” Yu He sized up Ling Feng and smiled again, “Looking at you in your new clothes, with a little tidying up, you actually look quite handsome.”
Ling Feng responded, “Senior Sister, please don’t tease me…”
“I’m not teasing you for nothing! If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Senior Brothers.” Yu He turned her face, looking at Ling Feng with interest.
One of the Utility Disciples behind Yu He responded, “Senior Sister is absolutely right, Junior Brother Ling does indeed have a distinguished appearance.”
“Alright! It’s getting late! Today, you’ll go with a few Senior Brothers to the back mountain to collect Spiritual Plants. If you don’t understand something, ask the Senior Brothers for advice, don’t be afraid to speak up!”
Yu He pondered for a moment, then continued, “I still need to go back and act as Protector for Master, so I won’t say much else.”
After speaking, she gave a few instructions to everyone and turned to leave.
However, not all Spiritual Plants would be picked by them, but rather picked with a purpose, because once a Spiritual Plant leaves the soil, its medicinal properties will slowly volatilize, and picked Spiritual Plants are not easy to preserve.
And the baskets on their backs contained a special Formation Restriction that could seal Spiritual Plants, preserving their medicinal properties well, but it could only last for one day.
Therefore, they had to collect the required amount of Spiritual Plants and return to the Sect to hand them over to the Elders before nightfall.
Thus, unless it was a Spiritual Plant they urgently needed, Zhang Da Niu and the others generally wouldn't pick it. Of course, if they encountered some relatively rare Spiritual Plants, they would still pick them.
“Everyone, start picking separately! Remember not to damage the roots of the Spiritual Plants, otherwise it will affect the medicinal properties of the Spiritual Plants, leading to poor quality Medicinal Pills during Artifact Refining.”
Zhang Da Niu instructed, then began to assign tasks. Ling Feng’s assigned tasks were much simpler than the others, all being relatively common Spiritual Plants.
Such as Snow Jade Orchid, Blood Coagulation Grass, Sandwood Root, which could easily be found in the back mountain.
Soon, he saw a Blood Coagulation Grass. This Spiritual Plant had strong medicinal properties, was entirely blood-red, and Spiritual Qi coiled around it. When he reached out and touched it, there was still a slight burning sensation.
Taking out a hoe from his basket, Ling Feng carefully dug out the Blood Coagulation Grass with its roots, following the method Zhang Da Niu taught. Zhang Da Niu had said that the Spiritual Plant must be kept intact, and its roots must not be damaged, otherwise the medicinal power would be greatly reduced.
After cleaning the dirt from the roots, he placed it in the basket, and then Ling Feng began searching for the next one.
Soon, the second Blood Coagulation Grass came into view. That Blood Coagulation Grass grew in a crevice among the rocks, and Ling Feng spent a lot of effort to successfully dig it out.
The third was Sandwood Root, which Ling Feng quickly collected.
Half a day later, Ling Feng had almost collected all the Spiritual Plants he needed, only lacking enough Jade Muscle Flowers.
Although Jade Muscle Flower was not a rare Spiritual Plant, it grew in a relatively special environment, and the entire Jade Muscle Flower was transparent, making it relatively difficult to find.
According to Zhang Da Niu’s description, Jade Muscle Flower liked to grow in cool, damp places.
“It seems I’ll have to rely on luck to find all the Jade Muscle Flowers!” Ling Feng thought to himself, but besides the element of luck, lack of experience accounted for a considerable portion. If it were Zhang Da Niu and the others, finding all the Jade Muscle Flowers would be quite easy.
Just like that, Ling Feng crossed another mountain peak, traversed through the dense forest, and crossed stream after stream. After three hours, he still managed to find all the Jade Muscle Flowers.
Looking at the sky, the setting sun was over the western ridge; in the blink of an eye, it was already evening, and he had gone too deep into the mountains, having long lost contact with Zhang Da Niu and the others.
“It’s time to go back.” After a brief rest, Ling Feng shouldered his basket again and returned the way he came.
“This… is a thousand-year three-leaf qingzhi?”
On his way back, by a clear, gurgling stream, Ling Feng suddenly stopped, his gaze drawn to a vibrant green, faintly radiating Spiritual Qi small plant by the stream.
“This… this seems to be an extremely rare Spiritual Plant!” Ling Feng’s heart filled with joy, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice.
He widened his eyes, carefully observing the Spiritual Plant, and after confirming he hadn’t mistaken it, a difficult-to-hide excited smile appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself, “My luck is really good, to actually find a thousand-year three-leaf qingzhi here.”
Ling Feng suppressed the excitement in his heart, chuckled, then gently squatted down and carefully pushed aside the dirt around the Spiritual Plant with both hands.
As he was not familiar with collecting Spirit Medicine, his movements seemed a bit clumsy, but he was exceptionally serious and focused.
Time passed by second by second, and after about a quarter of an hour, he finally succeeded in completely pulling out the entire three-leaf qingzhi.
This three-leaf qingzhi was no ordinary item; it was worth as much as two thousand contribution points!
According to the rules of the Pill Pavilion, Ling Feng, as the discoverer, could exclusively receive one thousand contribution points, while the remaining one thousand contribution points would be equally divided among Zhang Da Niu and others who entered the mountain forest with him to search for Spirit Medicine.
Just as Ling Feng was joyfully placing the three-leaf qingzhi into the basket behind him, a very discordant voice suddenly entered his ears.
“That three-leaf qingzhi is mine!” With this angry roar, six figures emerged from the dense forest. Each of these people had fierce eyes, revealing undisguised greed, and they looked at Ling Feng with interest.
