On the path to immortality, I can see destiny.

The Sutra Repository is located on the mountainside of the main peak of the sect. It is a three-story pavilion built entirely of bluestone, with flying eaves and brackets, and is simple and solemn.

The pavilion is surrounded by lush bamboo, whose leaves rustle in the wind, making the place exceptionally tranquil.

Zhao Fan walked up the stone steps and saw two stone tablets standing at the entrance. The left one was engraved with the three large characters "Scripture Pavilion".

There were no guards at the door, only an elderly man with white hair sitting in a wicker chair by the door, his eyes closed, as if he were dozing off.

Zhao Fan approached, slowed his pace, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Senior, this disciple wishes to enter the Sutra Repository."

The old man didn't open his eyes, but only slightly raised his chin. Zhao Fan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, took the jade pendant from his waist, and handed it over with both hands.

The old man then opened his eyes, took the jade pendant, glanced at it, and returned it to him, his voice hoarse.

"Go in. You may browse freely on the first and second floors. Only inner disciples and above are allowed to enter the third floor. Remember, you may not make copies of any cultivation manuals or books that have not been exchanged, and you may not take them out. Violators will be dealt with according to the sect rules."

Zhao Fan clasped his hands in thanks, then pushed open the door and went inside.

The interior of the Sutra Repository was much larger than I had imagined. The hall on the first floor was spacious and bright, with rows of tall bookshelves standing against the walls. The bookshelves were filled with all kinds of jade slips, books, and bamboo slips, neatly categorized and arranged.

In the center of the hall, there were several rows of long tables, and several disciples sat around the tables, engrossed in reading. The only sound was the rustling of pages.

Zhao Fan walked past the bookshelf, his gaze sweeping over the labels: cultivation techniques, spells, formations, pill formulas, spiritual plants, demonic beasts... everything was there, dazzling him.

But the cultivation method he needed wasn't there.

He didn't stop and went straight to the second floor.

The second floor is smaller than the first floor, and there are fewer bookshelves, but the classics here are clearly more profound.

Most of them are high-level spells and secret techniques, and some are cultivation methods that can only be practiced by those in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhao Fan wandered among the bookshelves, his eyes constantly searching, and finally found what he wanted in a corner.

It was a jade slip, sitting alone on the edge of the bookshelf.

Zhao Fan reached out and picked up the jade slip, probing it with his divine sense.

A moment later, he withdrew his divine sense, his expression not very pleasant.

The technique recorded in the jade slip is called "Spirit Nourishing Technique," which is a technique specifically for cultivating spiritual consciousness and is of a high rank.

Because of the restrictions, Zhao Fan could not see the whole picture and could only see the introduction.

The introduction clearly states that although this cultivation technique does indeed have the effect of condensing spiritual consciousness, only an incomplete version is available here, and it is very troublesome to cultivate.

It requires the use of divine consciousness to create a seed, which is then nurtured day and night within the sea of ​​consciousness. Once the seed sprouts and grows, the divine consciousness will also increase accordingly.

In theory, this technique can infinitely enhance the strength of one's spiritual sense, but the technique only has the first three levels, and progress is slow, requiring a lot of effort to slowly cultivate.

Most importantly, this technique is worth one thousand contribution points.

Zhao Fan didn't know what a thousand contribution points meant, but just looking at the number, he knew it was no small amount.

He hesitated for a moment, then put the jade slip back in its place and turned to go downstairs.

The old man at the door was still sitting in the wicker chair, his eyes closed, as if he had never opened them.

Zhao Fan walked up to him, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Senior, I would like to ask if there is any other way to obtain the 'Spirit Nourishing Technique' worth 1,000 contribution points?"

The old man opened his eyes, glanced at him, and raised an eyebrow.

"The only way to take the books out of the library is by exchanging points."

"If you wish to seek a method for cultivating divine sense, you should wait until you become an inner disciple before making any plans."

"This Spirit Nourishing Technique looks good, but frankly speaking, it's nothing more than a useless technique."

"There are also many spiritual cultivation techniques on the third floor, which are far more useful than the Spirit Condensation Technique."

Upon hearing the old man's words, Zhao Fan immediately clasped his hands in greeting and asked.

"Please enlighten me, senior, what is wrong with this Spirit Nourishing Technique?"

The old man took a sip of tea and spoke softly.

"The Spirit Nourishing Technique progresses slowly and the technique is incomplete. Most importantly, this technique is most effective when practiced from the early stage of Qi Refining. The higher the cultivation level, the less effective it becomes."

Zhao Fan remained silent for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior."

After saying that, he turned and left the library, walking down the stone steps.

Zhao Fan walked up the stone steps, silently making plans in his mind.

If what the old man said is true, then it would be better to wait until one becomes an inner disciple and then choose other cultivation methods.

However, if he wants to become an inner disciple, he needs to meet the requirements for spiritual sense. To meet the requirements for spiritual sense, he needs to cultivate spiritual sense techniques.

Thinking about it this way, this Spirit Condensation Technique is probably just something from a fictional story.

With that thought in mind, Zhao Fan no longer hesitated and turned to head straight for the Internal Affairs Hall.

The Inner Affairs Hall is located at the foot of the sect's main peak. Unlike the tranquility of the Sutra Repository, it is much more lively here.

Zhao Fan could see a tall hall from afar, with disciples coming and going in an endless stream. Some were in a hurry, some were in groups of three or five, some had happy faces, and some had worried faces.

He quickened his pace and walked over, entering the gate.

The interior of the Imperial Household Department was more than twice the size of the Sutra Repository.

The hall was spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and the floor was paved with bluestone that was so shiny it could reflect a person's image.

The wall directly opposite the gate was covered with wooden plaques, densely packed together, numbering at least a hundred.

The wooden signs come in various sizes and colors.

A row of disciples stood at the foot of the wall, looking up at the wooden plaques. Some were pointing and gesturing, while others were discussing in hushed tones.

There was a row of counters on each side of the hall, and behind the counters sat several cultivators, busy with their work.

Zhao Fan walked to a counter, behind which sat a young female cultivator, who was writing something with her head down.

He waited a moment before the female cultivator raised her head and glanced at him.

"What is it?"

"Senior sister, I would like to take on a mission."

As Zhao Fan spoke, he handed over the jade token.

The female cultivator took the jade token, glanced at it, and then returned it to him. She then pointed to the wall covered with wooden tokens.

"All the tasks for the Qi Refining stage are listed there. Take a look, and if you find one you like, just register it with your jade token."

"After completing the task, return to turn it in, and the contribution points will be automatically recorded on your nameplate."

Zhao Fan looked in the direction she was pointing, and saw that there were even more wooden plaques on that wall than he had seen at the entrance. He walked to the wall, looked up, and examined each plaque one by one.

"Collect ten 10-year-old Qingxin Grass plants in the back mountain, and you will be rewarded with twenty contribution points."

"Hunting a mid-stage Tier 1 Ironback Boar in the Cangyun Mountains will reward you with 30 contribution points."

"Assist a Danfeng disciple in refining one batch of mid-grade first-tier pills, and you will be rewarded with 15 contribution points."

"Weapon Peak is recruiting menial disciples, with a daily reward of two contribution points."

"Cleaning the scripture pavilion will reward you with one contribution point per day."

Zhao Fan looked at each task one by one, and his heart sank more and more as he looked. The cheapest task only had a few contribution points, and the most expensive one was only thirty or fifty points.

Even if he takes on the most expensive tasks every day, it would still take him more than a month to complete a thousand points.

Moreover, those high-contribution-value tasks either require hunting monsters in the Cangyun Mountains or refining pills and weapons, neither of which he can easily complete; they all take at least ten days to complete.

After looking around for a while, his gaze stopped on a wooden sign.

"Find the missing disciple, reward 100 contribution points."

Zhao Fan stared at the wooden sign for a while, then looked away.

One hundred points is a high number, but finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack; it's hard to say when it will be completed.

He looked around for a while longer, and finally his gaze fell on an inconspicuous wooden sign.

"Danfeng is recruiting menial disciples to manage the medicinal fields. They will receive two contribution points per day. If they do a good job, they will receive additional contribution points based on the yield of the spiritual fields. Requirements: Familiarity with common spiritual herbs, meticulousness and patience."

At two points a day, it would take about a year and a half to accumulate a thousand points.

Zhao Fan gritted his teeth, took the jade pendant from his waist, and aimed it at the wooden pendant.

The jade tablet flashed briefly, and the characters on the wooden tablet flickered slightly before fading away. He knew he had successfully accepted the mission.

Zhao Fan tied the jade pendant back to his waist and turned to walk towards the door.

As he passed the counter, the female nun looked up at him, then lowered her head and continued writing.