Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

Mu Xue snorted and didn't bother to argue.

Lu Qian watched silently, showing no intention of speaking, but he was certain that there were more than just one or two people like Mu Xue in the Holy Land, while people like Mu Dong were the very few.

In other words, most people actually dislike the students recruited from the Western Continent. They come here only for better resources and a better future, not to truly educate these savages.

The disciples of the Holy Land basically don't even regard outside cultivators as human beings, let alone those from the Western Continent. In their eyes, they are nothing more than primitive people who eat raw meat and drink blood, and may even be worse than primitive people.

Because primitive people at least didn't spend their days pondering those strange and bloody witchcrafts, nor did they regard their fellow human beings as livestock and slaughter them at will.

Although those trained in the Holy Land are certainly different from other indigenous people, in most people's eyes, the difference between the two should not be very big.

Personally, Lu Qian didn't want to work out with unfamiliar teammates, but things never go according to his plan.

So two days later, he, Mu Dong, and Mu Xue arrived at a large open area of ​​the camp.

Almost everyone from the Holy Land has come here. Today they are choosing their teammates, and no one is allowed to refuse.

Many people gathered here, chatting casually, but most of them only talked to people they knew and did not greet people from other academies.

Lu Qian saw the meteor again, with Xiong Kaishan following behind him.

Almost as soon as he saw Mu Dong, Lei Yunxing walked over and asked loudly, "How have your profits been lately?"

Mu Dong smiled faintly, his eyes calm. "It's not really appropriate to say this in public!"

Lei Yunxing seemed oblivious to Mu Dong's resistance, speaking with an air of familiarity: "Lately I've been catching all sorts of poisonous insects. It's a bit disgusting, but under my lightning, they die in droves. Almost no one goes to the Devouring Spirit Valley; there are large quantities of spiritual materials left there. There's no way around it; the evil cultivators here don't really know their stuff..."

Xiong Kaishan scratched his head and chuckled憨厚ly, "We haven't had much rest lately, and we've accumulated several thousand battle merits. Dividing them between the two of us doesn't seem like much."

Mu Dong maintained his smile, "That's already a lot, and considering there are only two of you, this is definitely a substantial gain!"

Lu Qian and his team went to the Chaotic Burial Mountains twice and only gained about 1,300 merits. Although the number of trips was not high, they did encounter danger along the way.

If Lei Yunxing and Xiong Kaishan were not exaggerating when they accumulated several thousand battle merits during this period, it can only mean that they cooperated very well.

Moreover, judging from Lei Yunxing and Xiong Kaishan's appearance, they did not seem to be injured and looked quite relaxed.

However, although Lei Yunxing seemed to have come to show off, he didn't seem to care at all about what he had exchanged for his battle merits.

After all, possessing a treasure is a crime. Judging from Lei Yunxing's appearance, he probably hasn't rested much lately and may not have used up all the resources he exchanged. If he dares to spread even this around, someone might try to ambush him.

If it weren't for the need to verify the merits with the people of the Holy Land, it would be difficult to transfer them privately. Someone would likely choose to seize other people's identity jade tokens to transfer the merits. There would definitely be someone who would do such a thing.

The Western Continent is not like a holy land. Many things that happen here are difficult to investigate, and there are too many dangers and too much chaos. Once an accident occurs, it is difficult to figure out the cause.

While Mu Dong and Lei Yunxing were chatting, Lu Qian and Mu Xue remained silent, showing no intention of speaking.

The only person Lei Yunxing seemed to value was Mu Dong. Mu Xue had only recently entered the late stage of Qi Refining, and Lu Qian was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, so naturally they were not worth his attention.

However, when Lei Yunxing noticed Lu Qian, her expression suddenly changed, and she exclaimed in surprise, "You've already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining?"

Lu Qian smiled faintly, "Just a fluke!"

When facing Mu Dong, he still needed to explain, but when facing Lei Yunxing, he naturally didn't need to think so much and didn't need to care what the other party thought.

Lei Yunxing merely glanced thoughtfully at him and then asked no further questions.

Lu Qian didn't know what the other party was thinking, but he would most likely associate it with Tao Pili, or it could be something else, which was irrelevant.

Then Lei Yunxing walked towards a beautiful girl with sharp eyes and thin lips. Just looking at her was enough to sting his eyes, even though she didn't seem particularly outstanding.

The girl didn't give Lei Yunxing much face, but Lei Yunxing still had to put on a smiling face.

Lu Qian was somewhat puzzled and asked Mu Xue telepathically, "What's going on? Is Brother Lei pursuing her?"

Mu Xue rolled her eyes at Lu Qian and replied telepathically, "How could he possibly have such thoughts? He's probably just inviting the other person to be his teammate!"

Lu Qian couldn't help but wonder, "Is she that amazing? She seems just average!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Lu Qian noticed the girl who was talking to Lei Yunxing staring at him with a cold look in her eyes.

Only then did Mu Dong realize something was amiss. He quickly pulled Lu Qian aside, away from the crowd, and said with a wry smile, "Brother Lu, telepathy isn't foolproof. You need to be careful what you say! Besides, that woman is not someone to be trifled with!"

Lu Qian thought back to the previous situation and felt somewhat helpless. "I just thought it subconsciously, we were at a distance! What? Is she that amazing?"

Mu Xue, who had followed, snorted lightly and said calmly, "She's not that powerful, but she is indeed a bit crazy, and most people wouldn't dare to mess with her!"

Lu Qian became even more curious. "Where is she crazy? Besides, I really feel that she's rather ordinary, about the same as someone with two spiritual roots. Could I be mistaken?"

Unless someone is deliberately hiding it, or there is a significant difference in cultivation level, spiritual root talent can be observed. Those with heavenly spiritual roots or earthly spiritual roots are clearly surrounded by spiritual energy, and the girl from before was obviously not like that.

Does she have some special physical condition?

Upon hearing Lu Qian's question, Mu Dong nodded affirmatively, "That's right, she has dual spiritual roots!"

Lu Qian was even more puzzled. Although he had only caught a glimpse of the other person before, he could tell that the other person was also a student of Zhou Tian Academy. He just hadn't observed him closely before.

However, the other party was clearly not one of those two spiritual roots that dragged her down. You could tell from her demeanor that she wasn't the kind of person who was timid and hesitant.

Mu Dong smiled and explained, "You may not know this, but besides Heavenly Spiritual Roots, Earthly Spiritual Roots, and special physiques, our Holy Land also recognizes another kind of talent: comprehension!"

Although Lu Qian didn't really know much about the Holy Land, he must have known that the Holy Land focused on comprehension, otherwise he wouldn't have paid so much attention to the combat and specifically explained the secrets of it.

Moreover, many of the Holy Land's inheritances require extremely high comprehension. For example, the inheritances of water and fire techniques are difficult to cultivate even for those with a heavenly spiritual root without sufficient comprehension.

Lu Qian wanted to prove himself, and he could be said to have taken this path. Since he couldn't show his spiritual root talent for the time being, he could only use his inner world to disguise himself as a genius of comprehension.

It just hasn't been successful yet.

However, since Mu Dong wanted to say that, Lu Qian naturally wouldn't refute it.

Mu Dong continued, "Depending on one's comprehension, the treatment offered by the Holy Land varies. It's roughly considered a special physique, but its importance is slightly lower."

"If it weren't for their high aptitude for comprehension, the Ten Sons of Canglan wouldn't have been chosen for their dual spiritual roots!"

Lu Qian nodded. "I see!"

Although he had only just learned about this, Lu Qian was not particularly surprised.

The Holy Land is a large and powerful place, so it's impossible for them to select people solely based on their spiritual roots and talents.

Most importantly, whether it's a Heavenly Spiritual Root or an Earthly Spiritual Root, its greatest use is to speed up cultivation at lower levels. However, the Holy Land doesn't need low-level cultivators, nor does it lack disciples with exceptional talent.

Lu Qian was interested in something else: "Is she that capable?"

"Of course! Her name is Jiang Ying. She usually receives similar treatment to Shen Chi; we deliberately ignore her because she cultivates the Void Gold Sword Manual!"

Mu Dong subconsciously lowered his voice, "We don't know much about this cultivation technique. We only know that most practitioners go insane, die with their souls shattered, and that her behavior sometimes is indeed very... very..."

"Isn't that crazy?"

A crisp, cold voice came from the side. Jiang Ying, the person they were talking about, had somehow walked over. She was like a wandering ghost appearing openly in the sunlight, with a sense of unreality. She looked perfectly normal, so normal that it was almost blinding.

From Lu Qian's perspective, Jiang Ying was pretty and energetic, but every smile and frown seemed to be sculpted from a mold. She was too proper and too stereotypical, giving off a sense of artificiality. If you looked at her for a few more seconds, you would feel a sense of dread.

Mu Dong showed surprise again at this moment, "You are also at the eighth level of Qi Refining, yet you managed to intercept my true Qi transmission?"

True Qi transmission is a simple technique that is usually only possible for high-level cultivators to intercept the transmissions of lower-level cultivators. Since Mu Dong and Jiang Ying are at similar cultivation levels, Jiang Ying should not be able to do such a thing.

Jiang Ying simply smiled slightly, "It's very simple. I heard your heart's desire, and your eyes told me the answer!"

"Playing tricks!"

Mu Xue immediately retorted dismissively, her gaze fixed intently on her, "Are you hearing my true feelings now?"

Jiang Ying first looked into Mu Xue's eyes, then she made a noticeable backward leaning motion, as if she had been punched. Coming to her senses, she said with a serious expression, "Your heart is too deeply hidden; I can't see through it. But once I make my move, you shouldn't be able to withstand it!"

Lu Qian had a guess in his heart that Jiang Ying's Void Gold Sword Manual might have the ability to probe the mind and spirit, and also the ability to target the mind and spirit.

His reasoning was simple: when others faced Jiang Ying, they didn't seem to react strangely, but when Lu Qian looked at her, he felt as if his eyes were being stabbed.

Perhaps it was a warning from the star, reminding him of the danger posed by the other party.

The Star Aperture contains a hidden spirit, which incorporates a bit of intention. Since the Star Aperture reacted strongly to Jiang Ying, it naturally demonstrates Jiang Ying's skills in this area.

Lu Qian had a strange feeling that the other party might be restraining himself, mainly because the difference in cultivation level was too great.