Chapter 16: Attaining the Third Layer of Qi Refining

After Mo Hua entered Tong Xian Gate, his new year of sect life began.

Tong Xian Gate is a first-grade sect. First-grade sects are the lowest level sects in the cultivation world.

The grades of sects in the cultivation world are strict.

When a sect is first established, its grade must be determined, subject to review and decision by the Dao Court.

The requirements for determining the grade are very strict. There are rigorous examinations of the sect's assets, the mountains it occupies, the depth of its foundational inheritance, whether the sect master has any moral deficiencies, the cultivation level and number of elders and instructors within the sect, the number of disciples it can accept, and so on.

The promotion of a sect's grade is even more stringent. It requires several high-level cultivators to be stationed and teach for a certain number of years before an application for promotion can be made to the Dao Court's Tian Quan Pavilion.

Promotion is a top priority for any sect, requiring many years of preparation and coordination with the Dao Court, consuming significant manpower and financial resources.

In Tong Xian Gate, only the old sect master is a Foundation Building cultivator, which is far from meeting the requirements for a second-grade sect. Moreover, it is estimated that there will be no eligibility for promotion within a hundred years.

Furthermore, Tong Xian Gate's entire holdings consist of only three mountain peaks: Tong Ling Peak, Tong Xuan Peak, and Tong Ming Peak.

In the outer gate of Tong Xian Gate, disciples in the early stage of Qi Refining (levels 1-3) cultivate and learn the Dao on Tong Ling Peak. Disciples in the middle stage of Qi Refining (levels 4-6) are on Tong Xuan Peak. The very few outer gate disciples in the late stage of Qi Refining (levels 7-9) are also on Tong Xuan Peak because their numbers are too small to warrant separate arrangements.

Inner gate and direct disciples, including the sect master, elders, and instructors, are all on Tong Ming Peak.

It is said that originally there was another peak, Tong Xian Peak, exclusively for the sect master and elders to live and cultivate. Later, because the sect was poorly managed and its assets could not cover its debts, it was tearfully sold off.

Without Tong Xian Peak, how could Tong Xian Gate still be called Tong Xian Gate?

Successive sect masters of Tong Xian Gate all set their ambition to redeem Tong Xian Peak, but unfortunately, this great wish has not been realized to this day.

The disciples on each peak of Tong Xian Gate are further divided into four classes: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. The superiority of the disciples decreases from Jia class downwards, as does the sect's level of attention and the intensity of cultivation.

Jia class generally only recruits the so-called "heaven's proud sons," whose spiritual roots must be excellent, talent and comprehension high, and cultivation speed fast.

Of course, if you have connections with the sect master or elders, or are willing to donate a significant amount of spirit stones to the sect, you can also enter Jia class.

In short, you either have talent, connections, or spirit stones.

Yi class recruits those with average spiritual roots but good talent and comprehension, who are relatively diligent and perform well in various subjects.

Bing class disciples have average spiritual roots and average comprehension and performance, while Ding class disciples have even worse spiritual roots and achievements, basically just getting by.

Mo Hua was assigned to Yi class, belonging to the type of disciple with average spiritual roots but who is relatively diligent and performs quite well in various lessons.

Mo Hua is only at the second layer of Qi Refining, so he lives, eats, and cultivates on Tong Ling Peak. This is also the mountain peak with the most disciples in Tong Xian Gate.

After entering the sect and greeting his familiar fellow disciples, Mo Hua began his year of learning and cultivation.

Even very poor low-level cultivators have to scrape together some spirit stones to send their children to the sect to cultivate, at least to lay some cultivation foundation and gain some understanding of the various knowledge in the cultivation world. Hence, Tong Xian Gate has the most disciples in the early stage of Qi Refining.

As for reaching the middle stage of Qi Refining, whether one can continue cultivating depends first on the cultivator's own talent, and second on the cultivator's family background.

Some loose cultivator families simply cannot afford the spirit stones and have to let their children drop out. They help others refine tools or do odd jobs, or learn to go up the mountain to hunt demons, just to barely survive. A year's tuition of one hundred spirit stones is not a small amount. Otherwise, the family would starve to death before the child succeeded in cultivation.

And those who can reach the late stage of Qi Refining and continue cultivating in the sect are even fewer.

Several of Mo Hua's familiar fellow disciples are gone. Upon inquiry, he learned that several had to drop out because of poor family conditions and difficulties in paying tuition.

The Dao of cultivation is vast and profound. Without guidance, there are countless detours one can take. Dropping out in the early stage of Qi Refining makes it very difficult to make further progress in cultivation unless one encounters heaven-defying opportunities.

Mo Hua sighed slightly, feeling very regretful, but his own situation was not much better, so he didn't have much time to dwell on it.

Mo Hua attended classes while cultivating. In his free time, he drew array formations, living a busy and fulfilling life.

After several months, without realizing it, Mo Hua broke through to the third layer of Qi Refining.

Cultivation during the Qi Refining period relies more on persistence and accumulation. Daily persistent cultivation, accumulation over time, and appropriate use of spirit stones naturally lead to smooth breakthroughs.

But what loose cultivators lack the most are always spirit stones.

Breakthroughs in small realms rely on accumulation, but breakthroughs in middle realms will encounter bottlenecks. These bottlenecks require corresponding heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or pills to help break through.

As for breakthroughs in big realms, such as from Qi Refining to Foundation Building, it's more about fate. For most low-level loose cultivators, it is a lifelong insurmountable chasm.

Each time one's realm elevates, it brings immense benefits to cultivators.

Mo Hua, at the third layer of Qi Refining, felt his spiritual power was more abundant, and his divine sense was naturally stronger.

Drawing the previously effort-consuming Bright Fire Array was now relatively easy, and he didn't need to rest for long after drawing it.

Although it was within expectations, Mo Hua was still very surprised.

No wonder so many cultivators endure the boring cultivation and wholeheartedly think about elevating their realms. This plain and simple joy obtained after the boredom is the real joy.

Mo Hua was ten years old and at the third layer of Qi Refining. This cultivation level was in the middle-upper range in Yi class.

And having reached the third layer of Qi Refining, Mo Hua had to choose a cultivation method.

One day after class, Instructor Yan asked several disciples at the third layer of Qi Refining to stay, including Mo Hua.

Instructor Yan kept Mo Hua and the others, then said straightforwardly:

"This was originally old Instructor Zhou's matter, but he has a slight discomfort in his body, so I will temporarily take over and tell you about cultivation methods."

"The most important thing for cultivators is spiritual power. Whether it's body cultivation or spiritual cultivation, whether drawing arrays, refining pills, or refining tools and making talismans, all require the use of spiritual power. If your spiritual power is strong, you will stand above others. If your spiritual power is weak, you will fall below others. The most fundamental difference between cultivators is the difference in spiritual power."

"A cultivator's spiritual power is determined by their cultivation method, and the cultivation method is determined by their spiritual roots. The type of spiritual roots determines the type of cultivation method one cultivates, and the type of cultivation method determines the abundance of your spiritual power."

"Spiritual roots are innate, predetermined by heaven, and cannot be changed later. You cannot choose your own spiritual roots, but you can choose what kind of cultivation method to cultivate."

"Choosing a suitable cultivation method has great benefits for future cultivation. Even if your spiritual roots are slightly worse, cultivating the right cultivation method can still lead to a relatively long cultivation path. However, if your spiritual roots are superior but you cultivate the wrong cultivation method, that basically equals cutting off your path to immortality."

"So regardless of the superiority of your spiritual roots, the matter of cultivation method must be extremely cautious..."

"Cultivation method, ah..." Mo Hua silently repeated in his heart.

Mo Hua had mid-grade lower-level small five elements attribute spiritual roots, which was considered medium-low spiritual root aptitude among his peers in Tong Xian City.

He wondered what kind of cultivation method he could learn with his spiritual roots.