Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

Lu Qian returned to his cave and swallowed the Qi-Nourishing Pill. He then began to cultivate. He found that after sitting on the teleportation array, the feeling of being full disappeared instantly, and he suddenly became hungry again.

"I can continue refining pills to improve my cultivation!"

"But now it seems that the pills are no longer given away for free; they need to be exchanged for battle merits."

Of course, the exchange price is not expensive. A bottle of Peiyuan Pill only requires ten battle points, and a bottle of Qingling Pill requires twenty battle points.

As for the Qi-refining pills used in the later stages of Qi cultivation, one bottle requires fifty battle merits.

After a few trips, the battle merits earned should be enough to easily exchange for cultivation pills, provided no unexpected events occur.

"Those comfortable days are gone forever."

"Even if it's just for the most basic pills, you have to go out several times a month to gain some battle merits."

However, even so, it's estimated that not many people would care.

Because everyone comes here to give it their all; those who don't want to take the plunge wouldn't have come in the first place.

Lu Qian naturally had no objection to this. If he were still in the Holy Land, it would be a bit difficult for him to obtain a large number of pills. Now, he only needs to exchange them with battle merits, so he doesn't need to worry about the source of the pills.

All that matters is military achievements.

In the following period, Lu Qian continuously refined the pills, and soon digested half of the pills he had brought, and his cultivation level took another step closer to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

"If we maintain this pace, breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining should only take a month or two."

When Lu Qian calculated this time, he was shocked. According to his original idea, it would take him at least several years to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

However, excluding the possibility of pill poisoning, if Lu Qian takes pills continuously, the time required for him to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining will not exceed half a year, even if we take a longer estimate.

"Won't my cultivation level improve too quickly, attracting the attention of those with ulterior motives?"

"Perhaps we can find a secret technique to conceal our cultivation level, but even if we do, there are Nascent Soul True Monarchs here, so it seems difficult to hide it."

Actually, the best choice is to cultivate the Secret Manual of Inner Demons.

The Heart Demon Manual can silently transform anyone it encounters into a Heart Demon puppet without anyone noticing. Naturally, it possesses the ability to conceal its presence; otherwise, it wouldn't be able to infiltrate and subvert others.

The inner demons are ever-changing, gathering and dispersing at will; concealing one's cultivation level would certainly be easy.

However, Lu Qianming knew that Mu Xue possessed the Heart Demon Manual, but he never thought of finding her to investigate it himself, so there was no need to think about it too much.

"Actually, there's not much point in me hiding my cultivation level."

"Even if my cultivation level improves faster now, it still falls short compared to the cultivation speed of those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots or special physiques. What's the point of hiding my cultivation level then?"

Even with cheat codes, you can't keep up with other people's normal speed, yet you insist on hiding it, worried that others will covet your secrets. Is that really necessary?

"Forget it, there's no need to think about these things! It seems difficult to hide, and even if you do, it won't make much difference, so why bother?"

After a moment's thought, Lu Qian abandoned such an idea.

There are too many geniuses in the Holy Land. Lu Qian's cultivation speed is just a little faster, but not to an astonishing degree. He is completely inconspicuous. What is there to hide?

"I'd better improve my cultivation level as soon as possible! Otherwise, by the time I start cultivating step by step, it'll be too late!"

It's not just about the competition for the position of Holy Son; even here, if Lu Qian's cultivation doesn't catch up, he'll easily fall behind his peers, which wouldn't be good.

Two days later, when Lu Qian, Mu Xue, and Mu Dong met up, they were all stunned.

Mu Dong seemed somewhat uncertain as he said, "It's only been two days, why does your aura seem stronger?"

Lu Qian simply said, "It's just a small breakthrough."

Seeing that Lu Qian was unwilling to talk, Mu Dong did not continue to ask.

There are many things that can improve one's cultivation level. Many pills can do this, and even a hundred-year-old stalactite can.

Moreover, Lu Qian is backed by Tao Pili. Mu Dong guessed that Lu Qian might have used some resources he brought with him, which is why his cultivation level increased rapidly in the past two days.

As for Mu Xue, she didn't ask anything. She had fought alongside Lu Qian and could sense that Lu Qian had some secrets, but that didn't matter, she had secrets too.

"If we want to go to the Burial Mountain Range, we can just head due north. If we want to go anywhere else, we'll have to take a detour."

Mu Dong seemed to have thought of something, his expression turning serious. "And taking a detour means trouble!"

Mu Xue nodded in agreement, and said with feeling, "The outside world is not like the Holy Land. The danger is secondary; the problem is that you have no idea what kind of danger you will encounter."

"During training missions, if a force exceeds our capabilities, the Holy Land will intervene. But here, we might encounter beings beyond our control at any time, and there will be no rescue!"

If the training missions are like taking a test under the nose of the Holy Land, then going to the Western Continent is like hunting alone in the wilderness, and you may very well be hunted by other beings.

However, since they all chose to come here voluntarily, there wasn't much to complain about; they were just a few sentimental thoughts.

After reflecting on the experience, it's time to leave.

It's been three days since we arrived, but there aren't many people at the camp. It's quite different from what Lu Qian expected, with people coming and going. Occasionally, he can see unfamiliar cultivators with cold expressions passing by, all bearing the marks of battle.

After walking some distance from the camp, the group began to chat.

Mu Xue changed into a long black dress that accentuated her slender figure. Although it didn't quite match her usual style, it suited the Black Abyss Forest perfectly. Her originally innocent and cute appearance gained a touch of cold elegance. She almost immediately asked, "Besides sending us here, the Holy Land must have dispatched quite a few people as well. Why can't we see them?"

Mu Dong smiled and pointed towards the wilderness. "They also have their own missions. The Holy Land sent them here, certainly not just to keep them at the base. Besides, these people must have strongholds elsewhere, so it's normal that they don't stay with us."

"The Holy Land sent us here mainly for the future. Once we've grown up and become very familiar with this place, it will be our turn to make a move."

The news that the Holy Land was about to wage a great war against the Heart Demon Sect had been circulating for a long time.

The only difference is that before it was just the boy crying wolf, now the wolf is really coming.

The Heart Demon Sect has already invaded the cultivation world of the East Sea, and the Holy Land has also sent its younger generation of disciples to the Heart Demon Sect's doorstep. It can be said that they are stabbing each other in the chest, and blood has already been drawn. It is impossible to pretend not to see it.

Although these things are not of much concern to Lu Qian and the other Qi Refining disciples for the time being.

However, the Heart Demon Sect cannot afford to nurture a tiger that will become a threat. They will definitely try to eliminate the bridgehead of the Holy Land, so things will probably not be peaceful in the Black Abyss Forest.

The holy land must have made a lot of preparations, not only setting up a teleportation array, but also having a Nascent Soul True Monarch in charge.

The open and covert struggles between the two sides will certainly not be insignificant.

If you want to stay here, you have to be careful!

"Is there still space to hold classes at the new school?"

Lu Qian was somewhat puzzled, because no one had come to visit him during his seclusion. "Or is it that the newly recruited geniuses are trained in a different way than us?"

"There definitely needs to be some distinction between branches and headquarters."

Mu Dong first made a joke before saying, "As far as I know, the way disciples are trained here is indeed different from ours. They first seek out people from the Holy Land to become their disciples, and are taught by those masters. We only gather together when there are things that need to be announced."

"In other words, this place has become a master-apprentice system, no longer the centralized training we had before."

In places like Zhou Tian Academy, most people don't actually have a master. They rely on their own performance to earn resources, and many geniuses don't want to choose a master too early.

After all, as long as there are no accidents, both earth spiritual roots and heaven spiritual roots can become golden cores. Therefore, it doesn't make much sense to take a golden core cultivator as a master. However, under normal circumstances, they cannot come into contact with Nascent Soul True Monarchs, so many people choose not to take a master.

This is a very practical reason. If it's just the resources that Golden Core cultivators can provide, the Holy Land can actually provide much more. Moreover, most geniuses can find someone to consult with high-level cultivators as long as they submit a letter of invitation beforehand. Therefore, for geniuses, not having a master is more cost-effective.

Once you break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, you'll showcase more of your talent and be able to interact with more high-level cultivators. At that point, choosing a master will undoubtedly be much easier.

However, the situation in Black Abyss Forest is clearly different from that in the Holy Land. The biggest difference is that there is no stable environment for growth, and all resources must be fought for by oneself.

Especially those recruited from here, who not only lack background and connections, may also face exclusion from the original inhabitants of the holy land. Having a powerful master would certainly reduce a lot of trouble.

Lu Qian thought for a moment before saying, "Perhaps they are not very trusting to begin with, so they use their master to strengthen their connection with them and see if they are worth cultivating."

Upon hearing this, Mu Dong and Mu Xue didn't say anything more, but just smiled, which was taken as tacit agreement.

As people from the Holy Land, they naturally have pride, but that's no reason for them to look down on newly recruited geniuses.

The real reason is actually similar to why the people in the Holy Land look down on Shen Chi. Shen Chi is born with a Soul-Devouring Ghost Body, which is considered a demonic constitution. On the other hand, everyone who survives in the Western Continent is involved with the demonic path.

A person's background is like a fixed label; once it's on, it's not easy to remove.

The group didn't say anything more and quickly headed towards the Burial Mountain Range.

The trees here are very tall, with lush green leaves, and the air is very moist. All sorts of insects can be seen everywhere, so it's not unusual at all.

In the distance, a thick, black fog could be seen, almost completely obscuring the sunlight, like a sky-covering umbrella blocking all view.

Their encampment was actually just on the outskirts of the Black Abyss Forest. The Holy Land had specially set up an array to block the miasma from the Black Abyss Forest from invading, which could be considered as artificially creating a place that was barely habitable.

The true Black Abyss Forest gets its name from its perpetually gloomy, sunless landscape. The forest is shrouded in thick, dark fog year-round, so dense that even at midday, it is impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face.

Once a mortal strays into the Black Abyss, it is as if they have fallen into a dark abyss, unable to find their way back, with no chance of survival. Even some highly skilled evil cultivators who frequently gather miasma in the Black Abyss Forest dare not easily venture into its depths, fearing they may never return.

This place was originally a remote and sparsely populated area. If the Holy Land hadn't recognized its geographical advantages, it's estimated that even in another hundred or a thousand years, no one would have actually lived here.