From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 15 Breakthrough
Qin Chuan returned to the house and sat quietly for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before he calmed his mind.

He let out a long sigh, a resolute look flashing in his eyes.

"Now that we have embarked on this path, we should forge ahead bravely and never retreat."

The path of spiritual practice is inherently like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind.

The path to officialdom is the same.

Dongsheng Tianxia closely integrates cultivation with official career. On this path, one must either walk on thin ice or eventually reach the other shore, where one will hold a high position of power, enjoy great honor and longevity.
Otherwise, they will only become roadside stray dogs, unknown and forgotten.

"Fortunately, I have the Heavenly Essence Furnace. Compared to my fellow cultivators, my chances of reaching the other shore are much greater. Therefore, I must strengthen my resolve!"

After closing the door, Qin Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed, took a few deep breaths, and tried to suppress the disturbances at Nongling Temple, the inspection by the new county god, and the sudden "Lingcheng Mission" for the time being.

The most urgent task is to break through to the first level of Qi Refining. After all, if one can enter the fourth level of Qi Refining ahead of time, one will have the opportunity to become a full-fledged Qi Refining master and be officially ordained.

At that time, becoming a formal Celestial Register Daoist would greatly reduce the chances of being expelled and increase the likelihood of escaping the Spirit Orange vortex.

He focused his mind inward, his consciousness sinking into the "sea of ​​qi" formed by the gathering of spiritual energy particles.

Following the route described in the "Cultivation of Vitality Technique," he began to carefully guide the spiritual particles, which had already exceeded one hundred thousand.

Unlike the almost spontaneous and ferocious sense of impact he felt in the spiritual field during the day, this breakthrough felt more like a natural and controlled process.

The "Peiyuan Gong" truly lives up to its reputation as a fundamental method taught by the government. Its path is clear, balanced, and harmonious, greatly improving the efficiency of spiritual particle concentration and transformation.

Qin Chuan could clearly "see" that the originally somewhat scattered spiritual particles, under the constraint and guidance of the cultivation technique, began to rotate, compress, and collide in an orderly manner...

Time passes little by little.

The moonlight outside the window gradually brightened, casting its gentle glow through the windowpanes.

Qin Chuan's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, his brows were slightly furrowed, and he was completely absorbed in the dramatic changes taking place within his body.

The transformation of condensed spiritual particles into spiritual waves is a qualitative change that requires extremely strong control of divine sense and patience. Several times, the rotating and compressed cluster of spiritual particles almost lost control and collapsed.

But Qin Chuan, with his extraordinary resilience and spiritual awareness, always managed to stabilize it again at the most critical moment.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe an hour, maybe two hours.

Suddenly!

Qin Chuan's body trembled slightly.

At the center of his dantian, a point that had been compressed to its limit suddenly lit up with a faint light.

Immediately, a subtle yet incredibly clear "ripple" spread out from that point like ripples on water!
hum...

It was as if a silent roar was echoing in his mind.

Wherever that "wave" passed, the originally loose, sand-like spiritual particles seemed to be given life and connection, jumping and resonating, rippling and eventually completely merging into the rhythm of that "wave".

Transforming particles into waves, spiritual waves are naturally formed!
An aura several times stronger than before naturally emanated from Qin Chuan's body, but he quickly suppressed it.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and a flash of lightning seemed to appear deep within them.

He gazed at the three-inch spiritual wave suspended in his dantian.

"Qi Refining Level 1... Success!"

He exhaled a long, drawn-out breath, so long that it even stirred a faint breeze in the silent room.

Feeling the spiritual wave flowing gently and endlessly within his body like a stream, and the accompanying stronger power, sharper senses, and clearer consciousness, Qin Chuan felt an indescribable joy and excitement welling up inside him.

More importantly, he confirmed one thing—his previous inability to break through was indeed due to the lack of a correct method like the "Peiyuan Gong".

Even the most basic level of official training is far superior to that of unorthodox methods.

After the initial joy, the practical problems of the day resurfaced in my mind.

"The first level of Qi Refining is only the lowest level of cultivation in Jiuchuan County Government and even Nongling Temple."

Qin Chuan calmed down and pondered to himself, "And that Spirit Orange quest..."

He thought of the fields, the sorrowful yet subtle expressions on the faces of the deputy temple chief and Old Huo, and the seemingly gentle but actually unquestionable attitude of Sun Qinghan, the new county magistrate.

The two acres of red soil that I was responsible for were chosen as a trial planting site. This seemed like an opportunity, but upon closer examination, it could be a hot potato.

If successful, the credit is mostly due to the superiors' effective planning and leadership; if it fails, or if anything goes wrong during the process, the newcomer Huogong Daoren, who is directly in charge and has no background, is undoubtedly the best person to be held accountable.

"If what Brother He said is true..." Qin Chuan recalled the conversation during the day and the troubled expressions of the Nongling Temple group, and felt a chill in his heart. "If they don't want things to go smoothly and deliberately cause some mistakes, then it will be perfect to push me, the temporary worker, into the position."

Having figured this out, Qin Chuan was not discouraged at all; on the contrary, his eyes became even more determined.

Since there's no way to avoid it, we can only face it head-on. This Spirit Orange mission is a crisis, but it may also be an opportunity. If we can achieve something in this, we might be able to gain a foothold more quickly and acquire more resources.

"The most urgent task is to quickly familiarize myself with the application of the first level of Qi cultivation in the 'Neiyuan Gong' and stabilize my realm. Then, starting tomorrow, I need to do my best to understand the habits of that 'Liuxiang Orange,' and... how much practical support the temple can actually provide me." He silently planned.

He glanced out the window; the moon was already setting in the west.

I turned my head and went to sleep.

The next day.

Qin Chuan arrived at the No. 3 spirit field early.

After the breakthrough, he was full of energy, his eyes were clearer, and his perception of the surrounding spiritual energy became much more acute.

He first checked the healthy red Ganoderma lucidum, just like yesterday, and then his gaze fell on the two acres of empty red spiritual soil.

At this moment, Huo Yuanjue, the elder, also walked over with his hands behind his back, his face still showing that he was not to be approached by strangers.

He glanced at Qin Chuan, seemingly noticing something, and asked in surprise, "You broke through?"

Qin Chuan's heart tightened, and he quickly and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Elder Huo, we were fortunate to succeed last night."

Huo Yuanjue took a deep look.

Now I finally understand why Sun Qinghan praised him with the words "quite talented" yesterday.

The results were announced and the official documents were issued half a month ago.

In other words, this new fire worker reached the first level of Qi Refining in just half a month.

Unfortunately, in the world of cultivation in Dongsheng, sometimes talent is not the most important thing. If you encounter something like this, without a miracle, even the most talented person will be doomed.

With this thought in mind, looking at Qin Chuan again, he couldn't help but fall silent.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"Yes, Not Bad."

When asked whether Qin Chuan's success in cultivating Qi was due to luck, Old Master Huo gave a noncommittal answer and then turned his gaze to the two acres of open land.

"You heard about what happened yesterday?"

"This disciple...heard some of it," Qin Chuan replied cautiously.

Old Huo snorted, "Liuxiang Orange, a new variety developed from outer space, is very delicate, requiring high soil fertility, rainfall, and spiritual energy. Our Jiuchuan area is already poor in spiritual energy, so the chances of successfully cultivating and planting it and bearing fruit are not high."

He spoke conservatively, but his meaning was clear.

Qin Chuan paused for a moment, then asked, "Elder Huo, what is the temple's stance on this matter...?"

"What else can we do? It's a task personally assigned by the county magistrate, so we have to do it even if it's tough. It's just that no one in the temple knows how to take care of this thing, so we can only let you manage it for now, and the temple will have someone else study it slowly..."

We'll investigate it slowly, but who will do it is anyone's guess; he certainly didn't agree to it.

Old Huo's tone was flat.

"Therefore, from today onwards, you will continue to manage those two acres of land."

Once the orange trees are transported over from the county temple, you will be given a jade slip with instructions on planting fragrant oranges. If you have any questions, just refer to the instructions on the jade slip.

The necessary farm tools and basic fertilizers should be applied for according to regulations.

He paused, glanced at Qin Chuan, seemingly expressing great regret over the other's talent, and his tone softened slightly:
"If you encounter a problem that you really can't solve, you can ask me. But don't expect too much, after all, I've never grown that stuff myself."

Qin Chuan understood, and felt somewhat at ease, at least Old Master Huo hadn't completely abandoned him.

"This disciple understands and will certainly do my best," Qin Chuan said, bowing.

Old Huo didn't say anything more. He put his hands behind his back and strolled over to look at the other spirit fields.

Qin Chuan stood there, gazing at the two acres of vacant land that could potentially change his fate, his gaze gradually sharpening.

He reached out and gently pressed his hand on the red soil, the newly formed spiritual energy within him flowing slightly as he tried to sense the characteristics of this land.

He had to take advantage of the public resources, but he also had to do his best to handle this unexpected task and prevent the path to immortality from being cut off.

"Fragrant Orange..."

He whispered to himself:
"Then let me see just how difficult you are to please."

　Thank you, AoAo, for the 5000-point donation!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)