Cultivation begins with earning spirit stones

Chapter 8 Temporarily Avoiding the Edge

Swords flashed in the courtyard as several junior disciples practiced with great enthusiasm. One sword slashed out, the sound of it cutting through the air was ear-piercing, but it lacked technique and was mostly driven by brute force.

Qi Yuntian stood with his hands behind his back under the corridor, his face calm and composed. His gaze swept over each of his junior brothers, occasionally shaking his head slightly, but he did not offer any guidance.

Zhang Lin stood at the door for a moment, and when he saw Qi Yuntian looking over, he went over to him.

"Senior Brother Qi."

"Junior Brother Zhang." Qi Yuntian nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on him for a moment, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. "You... seem somewhat different."

Zhang Lin's heart stirred slightly, but he remained expressionless: "I made some progress in my cultivation last night; perhaps my energy and spirit are better."

Qi Yuntian didn't press further, he simply nodded.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Lin suddenly spoke up: "Senior Brother Qi, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"you say."

"Has our Shangqing Temple ever had a disciple who was bullied or humiliated outside?"

Qi Yuntian glanced at him, his gaze now filled with scrutiny.

"Are you in trouble?"

Zhang Lin did not deny it, and briefly recounted the incident when he sold medicine in the market that day, and Sun He reminded him that someone was watching him.

After listening, Qi Yuntian remained silent for a long time.

The sounds of swords clashing in the courtyard gradually subsided. Several fellow disciples sheathed their swords and dispersed in twos and threes, leaving only the two of them under the corridor.

"Shangqing Temple has been established in Qingyun Town for over sixty years. It may not be considered a major sect, but it is not a pushover to be bullied," Qi Yuntian said slowly, his voice low.

"Although the abbot is in seclusion most of the year and doesn't concern himself with worldly affairs, there are still more than twenty fellow disciples in the temple. If someone were to come knocking on our door to bully us, we wouldn't just sit idly by." Qi Yuntian paused, his gaze falling on the old locust tree in the courtyard, its branches swaying and casting dappled shadows on the ground. "But..."

"Just what?" Zhang Lin asked.

Qi Yuntian turned his head and looked at him, his gaze calm and composed.

"The abbot is at the late stage of Qi Refining, which is considered a master in Qingyun Town. But what is he compared to the entire cultivation world? Those truly established forces can send any Foundation Establishment cultivator and Shangqing Temple will be nothing more than a mud wall that collapses with a single push."

Zhang Lin remained silent, which was a tactful way of telling him that if the trouble he caused was too great, even the Taoist temple couldn't help him.

These words, though harsh, are the truth.

"Therefore, when the abbot first established the temple, he set a rule that Shangqing Temple would not interfere in outside affairs, and outside affairs should not come to Shangqing Temple." Qi Yuntian's lips curled into a bitter smile.

"To put it bluntly, it's about hiding your head and acting like a coward, just to protect yourself."

Zhang Lin nodded.

"Fortunately, your matter isn't too serious. Shangqing Temple can still protect you, but you can only avoid it for a while, not forever." Qi Yuntian turned around and looked at the distant, layered mountains.

"Now that those people have their eyes on you, they won't give up easily."

Zhang Lin's heart skipped a beat: "What does Senior Brother Qi mean...?"

"Fight back or stall," Qi Yuntian uttered.

"You can't fight back right now, you can only stall until they lose patience, or until you have the ability to protect yourself."

Zhang Lin remained silent.

The power to protect oneself.

He now possesses the physique of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, a low-grade magic weapon (iron sword), and superior cultivation techniques. The only things he lacks are the accumulation of true Qi and practical combat experience.

Cultivation can be developed gradually, but real combat requires an opponent.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Qi." Zhang Lin cupped his hands in thanks.

Qi Yuntian waved his hand: "We're fellow disciples, no need to be polite. If you decide to fight back, call me. Two people are always better than one."

Zhang Lin felt a warmth in his heart and nodded in agreement.

---

Back in his room, Zhang Lin closed the door and sat cross-legged on the prayer mat.

Qi Yuntian's words gave him an idea—to stall.

Delay until you break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, delay until you master one or two techniques, delay until those people reveal their weaknesses.

But procrastination doesn't mean doing nothing.

Zhang Lin took out the wooden plaque left by Liu Wenyuan from his pocket and examined it several times.

"Liu Wenyuan..."

He had heard people mention this name before in the temple.

He was a rogue cultivator, with a cultivation level of only mid-stage Qi Refining. He had been living in Qingyun Town for over a decade and had a wide network of connections, knowing people from all walks of life.

When buying medicine yesterday, Liu Wenyuan asked him if he had any good medicine on hand, implying a desire for long-term cooperation.

Zhang Lin didn't agree at the time because he was afraid of revealing too much information.

But now that I think about it, perhaps I could have gotten some information from Liu Wenyuan.

He thought for a moment, then put the wooden plaque into his sleeve, temporarily suppressing the idea.

The most urgent task is to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining as soon as possible.

Zhang Lin closed his eyes and focused his inner energy on his dantian.

Within the dantian, the wisp of true qi had solidified into a thread, becoming several times thicker than yesterday. It slowly rotated within the dantian, resembling a small, silvery-white snake coiled within.

The enhanced "Shangqing Qi-Guiding Technique" unfolded in his mind, the subtle and profound characters moving like living things, each word containing inexplicable mysteries.

"Guide the Qi into the body, guide, gather, refine, and transform..."

Zhang Lin silently recited the incantation, guiding the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to seep into his body through the pores, flowing slowly along the strengthened and widened meridians, and converging into his dantian.

Spiritual energy enters the body, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

The vortex of true qi in the dantian slowly accelerated, compressing, purifying, and refining the spiritual energy entering the body little by little.

The process was tedious and lengthy, but Zhang Lin didn't find it tedious at all.

In his past life, he read those fantasy novels where the protagonists would break through to the next level overnight or reach the Foundation Establishment stage in three days. Now that he was cultivating himself, he realized how difficult it was.

True Qi is like silk, and it takes time and effort to accumulate it before it can gather into mist and condense into liquid.

It can't be rushed.

-----

Silent all night.

The next morning, Zhang Lin got up early and practiced his sword in the courtyard.

The reinforced iron sword felt light in my hand, its silvery-white blade gleaming coldly in the morning light. When I thrust it out, the sound of it cutting through the air was sharp and piercing.

Several junior disciples who got up early gathered around to watch, their eyes full of envy.

"Senior Brother Zhang, your sword is incredibly sharp!" Zhao Yuanqing leaned closer, his eyes sparkling. "Where did you buy it?"

"I brought it from home," Zhang Lin replied casually, sheathing his sword.

Zhao Yuanqing said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions. He just stared at the iron sword for a long time, his eyes full of longing.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Lin's heart stirred slightly.

Zhao Yuanqing's cultivation level was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, and he was using a common iron longsword. He couldn't even infuse it with true qi, so when he fought, he was no different from an ordinary martial artist.

If the opportunity arises, I might lend a hand and recruit them for my own use.

However, he is currently preoccupied with his own problems and has no energy left to care about others.

Zhang Lin shook his head, sheathed his iron sword, and went back to his room to wash and change.

After having breakfast, he meditated in his room for an hour, and only got up and went out after circulating his true energy through three small cycles.

He plans to go to Qingyun Town again today.

It wasn't to sell medicine, but to gather information.

Qi Yuntian is right; you can avoid it for a while, but you can't avoid it forever.

Instead of hiding in the mountains and passively taking a beating, it's better to prepare for a future counterattack by proactively going down the mountain to find out the enemy's strength.

Of course, you can't just swagger in.

Zhang Lin changed into civilian clothes, wrapped the iron sword with strips of cloth, carried it on his back, and took a detour down the mountain via a small path behind the mountain, avoiding the main road.

The mountain path is rugged and overgrown with thorns; an ordinary person would be out of breath after walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Zhang Lin moved with incredible speed. His enhanced physique allowed him to move freely in the mountains and fields, leaping and bounding with the agility of a swallow.

In less than half an hour, the outline of Qingyun Town came into view.