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Chapter 88 Cultivation Methods
"Are you really planning to build a sect?" After listening to Chen Xuan's story, Liu Shuyue's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, I've already thought of a name," Chen Xuan said confidently. "It will be called the 'Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme Sect'."

"Pfft!" Lin Qing, who was standing next to her, spat out the tea in her mouth.

"Above and below heaven... I am the only one who reigns supreme..." Liu Shuyue murmured, "What a domineering name."

"What kind of domineering is this? It's more like domineering on the outside." Lin Qing couldn't help but roll her eyes. "If you were to make a plaque with your name and hang it up, I bet those cultivators would be waiting to laugh at you!"

“Yes, isn’t that exactly the effect the delegation wanted?” Chen Xuan replied easily.

Since the Immortal Alliance has agreed to give him a stage to showcase his abilities, he needs to attract the most attention in the shortest amount of time. Essentially, this is about planning a large-scale advertising campaign, and the sect's name is undoubtedly the first thing people will notice.

"The sect has been built, and I now invite you to join it." He extended his hand to Liu Shuyue.

"So fast!" Lin Qing exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh?" Liu Shuyue was stunned for a moment, then showed a very conflicted expression. "But I'm already a disciple of the Lotus Cloud Sect... This practice of splitting into two sects is a highly illogical and rebellious act. If Master finds out..."

It was clear that her moral standards were very high, but Chen Xuan could also tell that she was actually hesitating about whether to agree.

"First, he definitely wouldn't know. The two worlds are completely different; how could he possibly come to the Immortal Alliance to catch you?"

"Secondly, you don't need to become my apprentice. My position is instructor, so we are at the same level."

"Third, I will disband the sect after completing this task, so that you will not have to suffer the moral condemnation in your heart."

Chen Xuan rattled off a string of words in one breath.

"Actually, the shop manager just wants you to guide the people who come in later in their cultivation," Lin Qing muttered. "After all, he knows nothing about cultivation, and if he really started his own sect, he would be exposed in a second."

"You talk too much."

"Hehe, I'll go get you some more tea." She slipped away to the bar.

“Since that’s the case… then I’ll just take the name.” Liu Shuyue seemed to have overcome a great deal of psychological resistance before finally saying in a low voice, “But I’m not sure I can teach the other disciples.”

"It doesn't matter. There might not even be other disciples. Although the competition requires ten disciples, the Immortal Alliance doesn't specify where these disciples come from. You can bring a few people from Mala Village, it'll be the same."

“Yes, we can let the villagers be our disciples!” Hearing Chen Xuan say this, she breathed a sigh of relief, but then she was a little worried and asked, “Can they meet the requirements? Even the members of the hunting team are only at the same level as independent cultivators.”

"Don't worry about that. I've sensed it with the Heavenly Cloud Technique. The spiritual energy of the Immortal Alliance Governor is three or four times stronger than mine, but still not as strong as yours."

"Are you sure?" Liu Shuyue asked with some doubt.

Because in terms of spiritual energy alone, Chen Xuan is roughly on par with Fu Jiaolu.

If you throw someone into the Lotus Cloud Sect's group of disciples, they're considered not even a proper disciple.

Of course, Chen Xuan doesn't rely on spiritual energy for a living.

“Yes, and he is already the most skilled of all the monks present,” he confirmed.

After all, the governor was appointed by the Immortal Alliance to coordinate conflicts between various sects, and handling political affairs would take up a lot of cultivation time, so the sect leader and the sect's prodigies would definitely not come. This position is usually held by a sect elder, whose strength is certainly not weak, but they are not the most outstanding among them. They are more adept at networking or business management.

In other words, Zhuojiu Jushi can be regarded as a benchmark of intermediate value.

The participants in the sect competition are mainly newcomers from various sects. Each cultivator only has one chance to compete, and it is impossible for all of them to have a level comparable to the elders of the Ascension Platform.

Therefore, the members of the Spicy Village Hunting Team are already strong enough.

Moreover, based on Chen Xuan's current observations, although the Immortal Alliance has a large number of Qi Sensing individuals and cultivators, their overall level is relatively average.

Of course, this is quite normal. Looking at Europe at the same time, witch covens were just emerging, and their political status had improved slightly. From being persecuted everywhere to the restoration of human rights, Joan of Arc's efforts were a great help during this period.

The power of cultivators in the East had grown to the point where they could change dynasties at their own will.

If this trend continues, quantitative changes will eventually lead to qualitative changes. Chen Xuan suddenly thought of that unresolved question from before, "By the way, what exactly is the principle behind cultivation? As long as one can sense qi, will one become stronger and stronger?"

Lin Qing perked up her ears, picked up the teapot, and leaned closer, saying, "I want to know too."

“Hmm…that’s a typical layman’s view, but actually, this guess is correct.” Liu Shuyue’s first sentence greatly surprised Chen Xuan. “Qi is the spirit of life, so when a person can draw qi into their body, a qualitative change has already occurred. In the future, even if they do nothing, their strength, reaction and health level will be far ahead of ordinary people.”

"But for cultivators, this is just the beginning. The essence of cultivation is how to obtain more spiritual energy and how to make better use of it. In this process, the body will also be constantly tempered and strengthened by spiritual energy, just like steel needs to be forged a thousand times to be born."

"And the ultimate goal of cultivation is to transcend the mundane and achieve immortality."

"Wow!" Lin Qing couldn't help but exclaim.

Liu Shuyue waved her hand slightly embarrassedly, "This is just a theoretical realm taught by my master, but no one has ever actually reached it. We are ultimately just mortals with a lifespan of no more than a hundred years. Talking about immortality is just too arrogant."

"Then what does cultivation have to do with demons?" Chen Xuan asked.

"demon?"

"Yes... I find the Immortal Alliance's reaction rather strange. They seem quite interested in the news of a large number of demons appearing."

Liu Shuyue thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Those cultivators wouldn't be planning to absorb the spiritual energy of demons to strengthen themselves, would they?"

"This works?" Chen Xuan immediately sat up straight.

“It works… but it’s very primitive, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Even independent cultivators don’t use this method much anymore.” She was quite puzzled and gave an example: “Spicy Village is actually like this. After bathing in dragon blood, it’s equivalent to absorbing the spiritual energy of a great demon, which is why the villagers can break through that threshold. Slaying the dragon was a choice they had no other option. At that time, survival was the top priority, and they didn’t care about anything else. Their future potential will definitely not be very high. Even if they spend their whole lives cultivating, it will probably be difficult for them to surpass the level of the Lotus Cloud Sect disciples when they left the mountain.”

"Why is this happening?" Chen Xuan's curiosity was piqued.

Does spiritual energy really come in two categories: righteous spiritual energy and evil spiritual energy?

“You don’t think spiritual energy is just like air, that it doesn’t matter who inhales it, right?” Liu Shuyue sighed. “This is basic common sense in cultivation: a person’s soul, spirit, energy, thoughts, and body are interdependent and mutually influential. Spiritual energy refined by demons will naturally carry the demons’ soul, will, and flesh and blood… It would be strange if there were no conflicts.”

“I can understand this simple method of cultivation. Just like how people need to eat to live—obtaining energy from other life forms is a natural cycle. So obtaining spiritual energy from other species that are full of spiritual energy seems natural. But if we follow this logic, wouldn't killing one's own kind also become a method of cultivation?”

"Isn't that right?" Lin Qing jumped onto the sofa with her legs crossed.

"Of course not!" Liu Shuyue said with an unusually serious expression. "Demons are chaotic beings and don't have such strong consciousness, so their influence on people is not too bad. But if they absorb the spiritual energy of others, they will lose their humanity at best, and at worst, they will be born with inner demons!"

Chen Xuan felt his knowledge of cultivation increasing rapidly. "Didn't you say before that inner demons come from the accumulation of impurities in spiritual energy?"

“I did say that, but the cultivation method of absorbing natural spiritual energy takes a long time to reach the bottleneck of inner demons, while absorbing the refined spiritual energy of others will greatly accelerate this process.” Liu Shuyue said seriously, “You could even say that a cultivator who reaches a bottleneck by absorbing the spiritual energy of others will definitely have an inner demon stronger than himself. And the stronger he is, the greater the gap will be.”

"I understand. So killing cultivators is acceptable, but absorbing their spiritual energy is not."

"Oh...that's not what I meant..." she stammered, "Wanted killing is also unacceptable!"

"Very well, if absorbing demons doesn't work, then how do the cultivators of the Lotus Cloud Sect cultivate?"

"Of course, it's about absorbing the free spiritual energy between heaven and earth through mental cultivation techniques. The purer the spiritual energy, the higher the degree of integration with the cultivator."

Hearing Liu Shuyue's answer, a thought suddenly popped into Chen Xuan's mind: absorbing the spiritual energy of one's own kind is the most dangerous, followed by absorbing the spiritual energy of demons, because humans have a much stronger sense of self than demons. So where does the impurity of that wandering spiritual energy come from? Could it be carried by microorganisms invisible to the naked eye?
If one wants to achieve truly pure and flawless spiritual energy, wouldn't it be best to cultivate in a vacuum?
Unfortunately, he doesn't have a way to verify this idea yet.

Chen Xuan then asked another question, "As long as the cultivation method is the same, will everyone's cultivation speed be the same?"

“How could that be? No two people in the world are exactly alike, so no two souls or thought bodies are exactly the same. The efficiency of essence also varies from person to person.” Liu Shuyue patiently explained, “Actually, the biggest influence here is thought, that is, a person’s mind and will. The Dao heart that cultivators often talk about actually refers to this. Why do the disciples of the Lotus Cloud Sect go out of the mountains to train, slay demons and comfort the people? Essentially, it is also to refine their hearts. Otherwise, everyone could just sit in the meditation room and meditate. Why would they need to go out and explore?”

"I see." Chen Xuan suddenly understood. "So the Sword God of Shili Slope won't work."

"What is that?" Liu Shuyue blinked.

“It’s just a legend, you don’t need to worry about it.” He immediately made the decision, “Let’s establish our clan in Chang’an!”

(End of this chapter)