Portable Cultivation Kit
The Heart-Examination Formation, a century in a glance.
The disciples gradually woke up one after another, their gazes blank, lost, and exhausted.
Some of them had been overjoyed and indulgent after experiencing a sudden two-level improvement in their cultivation, causing instability in their Dao’s hearts. Others had experienced a sudden drop in their cultivation, leading to despair and doubt clouding their Dao hearts…
As they opened their eyes in the formation, they felt like they were still trapped in a nightmare, physically and mentally scarred, and with severely depleted energy.
Only a few managed to wake up in good condition.
To maintain their original hearts for a hundred years without change was as difficult as reaching the sky.
Li Dao Wei and the other four teaching masters sternly admonished the disciples after they had regained consciousness.
“Today’s dream is a lesson for the future! Remember it at all times!”
The stone monument in front of the Transmission Hall displayed golden characters, floating in the air.
[Heart-Examination Assessment:
1. Lin Shuang – Transparent Dao-heart, Top Grade
2. Zhou Xuanwu – Solid Dao-heart, Middle Grade
3. Zhao Keran – Persevering Dao-heart, Bottom Grade
…]
The disciples were dumbfounded.
“Lin Shuang? Did they make a mistake?”
“Which Lin Shuang are they talking about?”
“Could it be?”
They all turned to look in the same direction – near the entrance and exit path. There, they indeed saw Lin Shuang wearing an expression of pain.
“Help—”
Lin Shuang groaned in agony.
The disciples: “…???”
Was she in more pain than those who had just gone astray or were struck by lightning and came back?
After a moment, they came back to their senses and realized.
“Same name, same surname?”
“Yesterday, Senior Brother Xu Rui said a new batch of disciples would be coming soon. Could it be today?”
“With over twenty thousand disciples in the Outer Sect, having the same name is common.”
But soon, the stone monument in the Transmission Hall displayed a new set of wavy characters.
[Update on Outer Sect Disciple Rankings:
1. Zhou Xuanwu – 9th Layer of Qi Refining, Rank 1→1
2. Zhao Keran – 8th Layer of Qi Refining, Rank 3→2
3. Chen Sixin – 9th Layer of Qi Refining, Rank 2→3
…
9999. Lin Shuang – 3rd Layer of Qi Refining, Rank 14993→9999
10000. Chen Ming – 5th Layer of Qi Refining, Rank 10021→10000]
“!!!”
In front of the Transmission Hall, silence reigned.
They had searched for so long to find a Lin Shuang!
And her disciple ranking had unexpectedly risen by nearly five thousand places… this speed of improvement was simply soaring!
Such a leap had never happened in the Outer Sect before, nor had they ever seen it. It was equivalent to surpassing a quarter of the Outer Sect’s disciples in a single assessment!
Nine thousandth place wasn’t particularly high, but for her, a Qi Refining Third Layer disciple, to be sandwiched among a group of Qi Refining Fifth Layer disciples was strange and out of place.
The disciples were practically wearing confusion on their faces.
“Seems like my luck is really bad. First, there was spiritual energy forcing me to break through… and now, there’s a high score that greatly improved my ranking…”
Lin Shuang pressed her dull throbbing temple, keeping that bestowed spirituality trapped between her eyebrows, suppressing her instinctual absorption.
While doing so, she mumbled to herself.
Her state of mind was about to collapse!
“The probability of being surrounded and questioned by fellow disciples is 100%, the probability of wasting half an hour is over 80%, and the probability of occupying the entire flexible schedule for the day and hindering subsequent schedules is over 50%…”
“The chance of successfully using the Urinary Escape technique is 0, the chance of being called away temporarily is 0, and the chance of fainting is 100%…”
Lin Shuang closed her eyes and collapsed in a second.
Xu Rui, who had been standing behind her the whole time, said, “…”
Junior sister, he heard everything!
“Fainted from exhaustion?”
The disciples exclaimed in shock.
“Could it be the phenomenon described in ancient texts, where spiritual roots are greatly enhanced overnight and there’s a complete transformation of one’s body?”
Lin Shuang, who had her eyes closed, was supported by her anxious junior sister, Zhao Keran.
She displayed a faint smile of relief.
Very good, everyone was automatically filling in the blanks themselves, and she didn’t need to explain, saving her time!
She immediately cast a ‘sleeping spell’ on herself and peacefully fell asleep.
***
In just half a day, the rumors of three disciples receiving blessings from the Heart-Reading Formation spread throughout the Outer Sect, becoming common knowledge.
Most disciples had awakened after the blessings had dissipated, so they hadn’t witnessed it.
However, that night, the aura radiating from Zhou Xuanwu’s room displayed a vision of colorful light that indicated he had advanced to the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage. Many people saw it.
According to rumors, in the evening, Zhao Keran had gone to the cafeteria as usual.
Her aura overflowed, clearly indicating that she had recently broken through and couldn’t yet control the fluctuations of her 9th Layer of Qi Refining within her body.
“What about Lin Shuang? She must have broken through as well, right? I’m envious.”
“Those blessings helped two people with Qi Refining at or above the 8th Layer to break through. I’m afraid Lin Shuang, at the 3rd Layer, couldn’t handle it, and that’s why she fainted.”
“I haven’t seen her yet, but there’s no doubt she broke through.”
The disciples chatted while on duty, practicing swordsmanship, and having meals.
Not long after, they saw a relaxed figure of a 3rd Layer Qi Refining cultivator walking leisurely past them.
“???”
Why hadn’t she broken through yet?
Lin Shuang swayed unsteadily and looked content as she inwardly observed the new Qi Refining Third Layer, her 91st Dantian, located three inches above her left arm.
The other newly acquired 88th to 90th Dantians had already extinguished, just like other holiday Dantians, and were sleeping, scattered throughout her limbs and bones.
The left side of her body was numbered in odd numbers, and the right side in even numbers.
Everything was in perfect order.
“Junior sister, you’ve broken through.”
“No, don’t talk nonsense. I’ve only gained a mere four Qi Refining Third Layer Dantians—”
But as soon as she finished speaking, she froze for a moment, her gaze fixed. She stiffly turned around.
Behind her, Xu Rui, expressionless, and the Fourth Master with a complex expression stood together, both displaying a series of astonished, puzzled, and shocked expressions.
Lin Shuang: “…”
Could she correct her slip of the tongue now?
[As long as you persistently train, you can master the muscle strength in various parts of your body, and operate it accurately, so why can’t you do the same with your Dantian?]
[Today, I trained my legs; tomorrow, I’ll train my abdominal muscles; the day after tomorrow, I’ll train my arms. Why can’t I do this with my Dantian? Rest the parts you don’t use; why can’t it be like this? The parts at rest, I call them the second Dantian.]
[Scratch that, today I have a third Dantian. I can now rest two Dantians at the same time.]
[Scratch that again, today I have a fourth Dantian…]
—The Fastest Path to Immortality (Third Draft), The Dantian Decomposition Section.
Lin Shuang recalled nervously. Multiple Dantians, was it, not some extraordinary cultivation phenomenon?
“Well, Senior Brother, Masters, what I just said…”
Senior Brother Xu Rui and the four Masters exchanged glances.
Senior Brother Xu Rui took a deep breath. “Lin Shuang, you’re participating in the upcoming Outer Sect Martial Competition in the Eastern Hua Region.”
Lin Shuang stepped back aghast, unable to believe it. She looked at the four Masters.
She was only at the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining!
Li Daowei glanced at her pale face and the faint Qi fluctuations within her body.
The key point was her disciple badge at her waist, marked with “9999,” denoting that she was the 9,999th ranked disciple in the Outer Sect.
During the competition, most sects had their top five disciples participate. Even the Clearwater Sect sent their 9,999th ranked disciple… the outcome was uncertain, but it would be quite embarrassing.
Li Daowei contemplated, feeling that the situation was somewhat hard to watch. How could he explain this to the twelve Sect Masters in the Eastern Hua?
He couldn’t help but ponder. “First, you will be a substitute disciple.”
Lin Shuang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Being a substitute didn’t necessarily mean she would be on the battlefield. Hehe, she still had a chance.
Under the disapproving gaze of Senior Brother Xu Rui, Lin Shuang left happily.
When she returned to her wooden house, she immediately deleted the audio message from Xiao Ai that contained Senior Brother Xu Rui’s version.
That Housekeeping Senior Brother was truly her lifelong nemesis…
***
Inside the Inner Sect’s Honored Treasure Pavilion.
A disheveled disciple riding a flying sword descended rapidly.
“Huangfu Senior Brother, I’m here to pick up something.”
He called out as he rushed towards the mustard seed shelf at the back, colliding head-on with a delicate junior disciple.
“Xiao Bai?”
“Senior Brother Meng.”
Both of them were momentarily stunned.
Meng Zi stopped in his tracks and looked at the junior disciple in front of him, whose features were exquisite. He sighed internally.
“Xiao Bai, don’t go to the Outer Sect lately. If you hear anything about the Outer Sect, don’t take it to heart.”
His expression was solemn.
Bai Yu’s hands trembled. “Senior Brother Meng, could you be talking about the Outer Sect Heart-Reading Formation and the bestowed spiritual energy for the top three disciples?”
It was an unprecedented phenomenon in the Outer Sect for the past ten years.
Even those in the Inner Sect who were well-informed had heard about it.
It was said that the last time such a phenomenon occurred, it was orchestrated by an elite senior disciple from the Inner Sect.
Meng Zi frowned. “You’ve heard about it already? So be it. Don’t dwell on it. Staying lazy and unambitious for a century is also a testament to a strong Dao heart.”
Bai Yu fell silent, biting his lip and shaking his head.
Seeing Bai Yu’s forlorn expression, Meng Zi couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
“Xiao Bai, I have some urgent matters to attend to. I’ll be back in three days, and then we can talk in detail.” With that, he hurried to the back to retrieve the item.
“Alright. I wish Senior Brother Meng a smooth journey,” Bai Yu replied.
Meng Zi bid farewell to him, glanced around discreetly, and realizing that no one was paying attention, he took out a plain wooden tablet from the mustard seed shelf and quickly stuffed it into his mustard seed pouch.
He then departed on his sword.
However, after he left, a slender figure, untouched by dust and dressed in white, floated gracefully into the Honored Treasure Pavilion. This figure approached a swaying bamboo recliner.
On the armrest of the bamboo chair lay a large bundle of fox fur with a pale gold color on a white background, its tail as brilliant as fire, draping down to the ground.
It was half draped over the pale man who sat on the chair, not stained by even a speck of dust.
From the chaotic tufts of fox fur, slender fingers emerged, veined and sinewy, pressing on a projection stone.
Inside the stone, there was precisely the unusual scene from the Outer Sect’s Heart-Reading Formation yesterday.
The pale fingertip of the man touched the image of the woman in the azure robe who had a steadfast Dao heart that remained unchanged for a hundred years.
A lazy voice rang out. “Is this the woman who made you willingly become a man?”
Bai Yu’s breath momentarily halted, and a blush crept up to his ears. However, he quickly straightened up and respectfully said, “My Lord, I have just come of age.”
“…”
“My Lord, I have spread the news about the high-priced purchase of finger bones. I just don’t know if she, Lin Shuang, and Zhou Xuanwu have noticed…”
The pale man on the recliner, with half-closed phoenix eyes, slowly raised an eyebrow from the corner of his eye.
“Oh. Then send the news directly to her.”
***
[Outer Sect Mission Class A: Guard the steward of the Clearwater Hall in the Honored Treasure Pavilion and participate in a transaction with the Wang Residence in Huaming City.]
[Client: Clearwater Sub-Hall of the Honored Treasure Pavilion.]
On the second day, Lin Shuang and Zhao Keran were called to the steward’s office by Senior Brother Xu Rui through a voice transmission.
When they arrived, they found Zhou Xuanwu waiting with a cold expression.
Senior Brother Xu Rui turned his head, pretending not to notice the unenthusiastic expressions of the three.
“This mission was directly issued by the Inner Sect’s Honored Treasure Pavilion. You should know that the Honored Treasure Pavilion has provided a lot of convenience for our Clearwater Hall’s spiritual artifact transactions in recent years. Their prices are not high, and they have a wide variety.”
Senior Brother Xu Rui pointed to the mission scroll in his hand.
“In the past, tasks issued by the Honored Treasure Pavilion were quite generous.”
“This time is no exception.”
The three, who were fanatics about their schedules, closed-door cultivation, and blowing bubbles, reluctantly looked at the mission rewards.
[Upon completion of the mission, disciples can choose one of the following three options:
1. Ten percent discount on the rental price of Inner Sect cave residences;
2. Buy ten, get one free on items from the Inner Sect’s Honored Treasure Pavilion;
3. A free choice of one spiritual artifact from the Honored Treasure Pavilion’s land grid category.]
Upon hearing this, the three lethargic figures suddenly felt invigorated.
A spiritual artifact from the land grid category costs around 2,000 spirit stones.
They weren’t particularly fond of money.
Well, it’s just 2,000, How could they break their good habits of following their daily schedules, enjoying solitude, and following Senior Sister?
However, a discount of ten percent on the rent of an Inner Sect cave dwelling…
—To enter the Inner Sect and start closed-door cultivation, one needed a remote, undisturbed cave residence…
Zhou Xuanwu’s eyes flickered.
—When Senior Sister enters the Inner Sect, she’ll need one too. Then, the two of them will share one. They’ll need a spacious cave residence…
A rosy hue appeared on Zhao Keran’s round face.
—The Inner Sect? It might not be immediate, but prepare in advance with a property that is conveniently close to the Inner Sect’s transmission hall, library, cafeteria, steward’s office, and the mountain gate…
Lin Shuang blinked her eyes.
“Unlike the Outer Sect, disciples in the Inner Sect have to compete for their places of cultivation and rest.”
Senior Brother Xu Rui looked at them.
“The annual rental fees for cave residences in the Inner Sect are enough to make Inner Sect disciples work tirelessly…”
“Senior Brother, can we go now?” The three of them spoke in unison.
“…”
***
The three of them flew on their swords towards Huaming City. Zhou Xuanwu stood on his sword, appearing quite aloof.
However, when he turned to look at his senior sisters, his eyes twitched quickly.
Beside his flying sword, about ten steps away… Lin Shuang’s two broadswords and Zhao Keran’s accompanying flying sword were arranged end-to-end like a long table, with a red and white checkered cloth draped over them.
And on this red and white checkered cloth, there were purple sand tea sets, paper and pens, ink stones, fresh fruit platters, candied fruit dishes, and a stack of books.
The topmost book was the latest volume, “I’m the Mother of Four Immortal Realm Bigshots.”
At this moment, both senior sisters sat cross-legged on the soft cloth of red and white squares.
Lin Shuang wore a wide-brimmed curtain hat to shield herself from the sunlight.
Beside her, Zhao Keran held a teapot and prepared tea. On both sides, there were open books.
It seemed as if they were not flying on their swords but rather, enjoying tea together in a room.
Compared to their previous trip to the desolate wilderness where Lin Shuang collapsed on her broadsword and chatted all the way, this was even more absurd!
Zhou Xuanwu pressed his temples.
“Oh, you mean last time?”
Lin Shuang slowly raised her curtain hat a bit, looked at Zhou Xuanwu through the translucent gauze, and nodded. “Yes, that was a three-day vacation to relax, just sightseeing and chatting.”
“So I didn’t bring my usual travel kit for cultivation.”
“This time on a business trip, I’ve brought everything with me.”
No, what do your books, teapot, candied fruit platter, and regular cultivation have to do with each other?
This is called a travel kit for cultivation.”?!
Zhou Xuanwu suppressed his words and didn’t say anything.
“In any case, for the next two days, don’t take it lightly. You should maintain your cultivation state as if you were in the sect,” Lin Shuang earnestly advised.
Zhao Keran nodded seriously. “Understood, Senior Sister!”
Zhou Xuanwu turned his head away. After all, he had to swallow his irritation. She only spent minimal effort, which was completely different from the state when she sparred with Senior Brother…
Meanwhile, Zhao Keran opened the mission scroll and cleared her throat, “Senior Sister, we estimate it will take another four hours to reach Huaming City. Shall we hold a mobilization meeting now?”
Zhou Xuanwu turned his head in bewilderment, what was this about?
“In the Wang Mansion, Prince Cheng has always aspired to pursue longevity, but his aptitude for cultivation is mediocre. Therefore, he constantly seeks elixirs for body strengthening and cultivation treasures that low-level Qi cultivators can use.”
After saying this, she looked at her senior sister with expectant eyes.
Sure enough, Lin Shuang praised her and clapped her hands approvingly. She nodded with satisfaction.
“Not bad, junior sister, you’ve improved.”
“Being well-prepared before taking action can save you a lot of effort and increase efficiency in the future. Well done.”
Zhao Keran puffed up her chest happily and continued, “Therefore, the items we’ll be guarding in this trade are most likely first-level magical treasures or elixirs, at most second-level. This matches the difficulty level of tasks assigned to us Outer Sect disciples by Honored Treasure Pavilion.”
Zhao Keran quickly concluded. “The estimated strength of our opponents this time should be in the range of Qi Cultivation Stage five to Grand Perfection of Qi Cultivation. Considering the difficulty of the Grade A mission and doubling the number of participants, there may be around six to seven enemies.”
Zhou Xuanwu nodded.
What kind of meeting was this? It seemed to be somewhat useful.
Hua Ming City Inn.
Today, Bai Yu wore a white robe as usual. He bowed respectfully to the man sitting in the chair, who was currently wiping the red fox fur on his body.
“Master, the task to abduct you tomorrow has been posted in the Annihilation Pavilion.”
“Considering that Zhou Xuanwu, Lin Shuang, and Liu Ba were able to win in their fight, the request is for the assassins to be at the Foundation Establishment stage, with a total of three.”
The vivid crimson fox fur set off the man’s pale neck, giving it a faint pink hue.
“Hmm.”
***
“Senior Brother, I’ve finished my cultivation!”
Xiao Qi from the Mountain and Sea Sect finally completed his three-day devilish training in learning the memory pyramid and the forgetting curve, and he came out of seclusion.
But he couldn’t see his senior brother, Zhao Ming, anywhere.
“Senior Brother has something to do and will be gone for four days. Don’t worry – Zhao Ming.”
Xiao Qi sighed. “Why does Senior Brother always appear and disappear mysteriously?”
But when he excitedly opened Lin Shuang’s communication channel, he only heard an automatic reply message.
“I have temporarily postponed the next two Fat Burning sessions. I have something to attend to and will be gone for four days. I will handle the Fat Burning matters on my own while I’m away. I will find you when I return – Lin Shuang.”
Xiao Qi: “?”
Why is it four days again?
At the same time, a disheveled figure, who had just kicked over a table, Meng Zi, touched the two masks on his face and headed westward.
“Ten thousand spirit stones.”
“Cough, Senior Brother Huangfu, Honored Treasure Pavilion’s steward, don’t blame me… I’ll release you after a day. My apologies for the inconvenience.”
…
Near Huaming City.
On the broadsword, Lin Shuang looked up at the sky and pressed her temple.
Hmm, why is her eyelid twitching again?
Author’s Note:
Lin Shuang: Hmm, eyelid twitching, my luck seems to be bad again.
Zhou Xuanwu: No, it’s bad for someone else. I hope you understand.
Lin Shuang: …
[Excerpt from the notes of the 134th generation Sect Master of the Clearwater Sect]: “Although Senior Brother Zhou doesn’t speak much, every word he says is to the point. For some time, I was afraid to talk to him (absolutely not because of his later annotations on my notes).”
Zhou Xuanwu annotated the last sentence: “Talking too much brings disaster, I’m going into seclusion.”
Senior Brother Xu Rui’s annotation: … The Outer Sect is beyond saving.
