Cultivation begins with harvest.

Chapter 247 Mingli Hall

"Is that all?" Chen Guang was a little confused, but he followed Old Zhou outside.

"Let me see your identity token."

Old Zhou pointed, and Chen Guang hurriedly took out his identity token, which had somehow turned into a bronze token with purple and gold borders. On the front were two large purple characters "Qing Heng" written vertically, square and very neat, with nothing else; on the back was a rough map of Tianheng Plain, with five purple and gold rice ears on it, the character "Xue" written at the top, and the characters "Chen Guang" at the bottom.

"The outer disciples' identity tokens are made of white jade. The Earth Hall is one level of cultivation, and they can only enter and exit the most basic buildings of each hall. Some can only be entered when one is in the middle stage of Qi Refining. To leave the Qingheng Sect, one must be bound by the Five Vows of the Curse. They cultivate the Purple Qi Facing the Sun Technique. The stewards' tokens are made of purple gold. They can enter and exit Xiangtian Slope and Black Water Cave. They can break the Five Vows of the Curse and are subject to the Ten Orders of Qingheng. They cultivate the Purple Qi Facing the Sun Technique."

"What you have now is the true inner sect token. Aside from Tianheng Plain, you can enter and exit the Chuqiao Mountains, Blackwater Ridge, Rain Plain, the Imperial Palace, and Qihe Palace. You cultivate the Purple Qi Rising Sun Technique, so you can be said to be unrestricted."

Old Zhou said, "At your level, there are very few restrictions. Only the will of ghosts and gods can monitor you. Sects in the outside world often prefer to use the Soul Lamp. The Soul Lamp can tell life and death and find whereabouts, but it is equivalent to handing over one's life. Others use methods such as Fellow Practitioners, Merit Steles, Talisman Seeds, Life Curses, and Restrictions instead. Without exception, they are all of mixed quality, and none of them are absolutely satisfactory. Therefore, cultivation families prosper because blood ties are a natural recognition and restriction. How they act seems to be the way of heaven, and they do not need to consider personal feelings too much. Sects are different. They are unfamiliar with each other. Without rules and restrictions, chaos is bound to ensue."

"Throughout history, without these restrictions, sects that rely entirely on their own initiative are fortunate to survive for a thousand years. Very few sects have a history of three thousand years. If you still have reservations, you can bring them up as soon as possible, or you can sever your sect status and seek a carefree life."

Chen Guang listened, suppressing his other doubts, and only asked, "I still have one question: when entering the Chuqiao Mountains or Tianheng Plain, which is more important, potential or being highly recognized by the will of the ghosts and gods?"

"Then do you think there are any outer disciples who are more loyal to the sect than you?" Elder Zhou asked in return.

Chen Guang nodded without hesitation. For example, Lu Daxian, once he entered the sect, immediately bound his whole family to the Qingheng Sect. His trust in the sect should be higher than his own. Even if he surpasses Lu Daxian later, his family's loyalty will not be low.

"Yes, there are many outer disciples who are more recognized by the will of the gods than you. With such favorable conditions from the Qingheng Sect, who wouldn't be tempted? But alas, this is the cultivation world. Talent is always the most important factor. Adding considerations such as temperament and loyalty is already a tough decision, filtering out some exceptionally talented cultivators."

"The more talented they are, the greater the probability of precociousness. Most of them treat the Qingheng Sect as a stepping stone for advancement, and most are not truly loyal. However, they possess both intelligence and compassion, so their intelligence leads to their loyalty." From the perspective of enthusiasm, those who struggle through the annual examinations often have greater passion for the sect. Therefore, they are also prone to turning love into hate and targeting our sect's disciples after leaving. Only those who remain have the opportunity to enter the Suling Academy, which is the source of disciples for the Xiantang and Jingwentang.

Old Zhou sighed: "So someone like you, with potential and enough loyalty, can receive good treatment. I won't mention this unless you ask me, but if you do ask, I won't hide it from you. In fact, the sect cultivates more than just one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators every ten years. Many are willing to accept the restrictions and leave the sect after promising a batch of resources. Life is a hundred years, and cultivation is hard for decades. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you should naturally enjoy the present moment. Go south, find any spiritual mountain, and you can dominate a place. Isn't that wonderful?"

In sects, Taoists sometimes have to help Qi Refining cultivators with their tasks, and they can't complain. In people's hearts, there are naturally different levels of respect. Although they aspire to the heavens, most cultivators understand that reaching the Foundation Establishment stage is a great fulfillment in life and a small moment of carefree ease in the world, so they no longer crave more.

"Nowadays, most of the founders or the Taoists who made their sects prosperous in the south cultivated in the Qingheng Sect until they reached perfection before they were able to establish their foundation. They left after they were confident in establishing their foundation. Some of them left after they had completely established themselves by relying on the support of the powerful sects. We do not want our sects to become the property of any one family, so those vassal families do not have such an opportunity. If they are too deeply bound, they will not be able to leave."

"If you have the chance to go to the South, you will know what a privilege it is to be a disciple of Qingheng."

Old Zhou smiled helplessly: "After all, the people who are least likely to buy into this kind of thing are independent cultivators."

The area around Qingheng Sect is filled with either vassals or rogue cultivators. Only now has Chen Guang realized the ingenuity of this situation.

Throughout the journey, Elder Zhou did most of the talking, while Chen Guang listened. When asked a question, Elder Zhou answered without reservation, which gave Chen Guang a fairly accurate understanding of the Qingheng Sect.

"You should still be going to the Mingli Hall on Ziling Peak, so I won't bother you anymore."

After escorting Chen Guang to the cliff entrance where Xiantang had come from, Old Zhou bid farewell and returned. Chen Guang then piloted the Azure Cloud Boat, slowly savoring the conversation and gaining new insights.

Old Zhou didn't say everything. For example, Chen Guang had a feeling that the sect treated him with incredibly generous resources. If he felt grateful, everyone would be happy. But if he was greedy, he would probably show it. After all, he would stay in Tianheng Plain for at least ten years, with countless spiritual resources. Whether he could control himself was probably a threshold for choice. Daoist Fusong had reminded him of this, but Qingheng Sect was in a vague position and needed to figure it out himself.

Wealth, companions, Dharma, and environment are essential for spiritual practice.

A sect is also a kind of "companion," a long-term companionship that supports each other on the path of cultivation. It is a two-way choice. Not only does Chen Guang have to choose and weigh the sects, but the sects also have to. Who would dare to accept it all at once?

Old Zhou's long and eloquent speech not only made Chen Guang realize that there were such twists and turns in the matter, but also enlightened Chen Guang. In fact, the outer sect and the inner sect are the same, only the intensity of training and the distance of observation are different. To truly integrate into the Qingheng Sect, one probably needs to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. From another perspective, does this mean that the Qingheng Sect does not care about the cost of training so many outer sect members, stewards, and even Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators?

The entire Qi Refining realm is within the scope of the sect's assessment and selection!

Lost in thought, he arrived at the Mingli Hall. He had only been here once before, when he had just joined the sect, and had always been confused about why. This time was no different. When he came to his senses, he was already standing before the massive hall gate. The hall was deep and seemed to stretch endlessly. Truly surging purple energy swirled around the hall: the Purple Energy of Dawn, the Purple Energy of Startling Spring, the Purple Energy of Yingmo, and the Purple Energy of Yaodong —

Chen Guang stretched out his palm and, with a slight pull, wisps of Radiant Purple Qi flowed through his palm. If he used the Tuanxuan Qingxuan here, he could collect dozens of wisps of Radiant Purple Qi at once, and obtain a complete True Qi in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Please come this way."

From within the purple mist, a boy in blue robes emerged and casually led Chen Guang to a secluded courtyard. The courtyard was also filled with purple mist, and finally, other colors could be seen. In the courtyard stood a peculiar purple tree covered with tiny blossoms but without a single leaf. Under the tree was a stone table and two or three stone benches. A middle-aged man wearing a purple crown turned around, and when their eyes met, Chen Guang seemed to see nothing at all; all that remained in his vision was a pair of purple eyes.

"Chen Guang." The middle-aged man's voice seemed to come from a great distance, yet it also sounded as if he were speaking right in front of him. "Give me your identity token."

Chen Guang complied somewhat blankly, handing over his identity token. The middle-aged man took it, tapped the token, and then shoved it back: "Your talent is insufficient, but you can receive one [Purple Essence Pill], which will allow your five elements of spiritual root aptitude to reach the lowest level. In the future, you don't necessarily have to choose the Purple Qi Rising Sun Technique for cultivation. Take this token to the Scripture Hall and you can choose any cultivation technique. How you cultivate is up to you."

"You've cultivated the Purple Flower Azure Breathing Technique, let me take a look."

"Yes."

Glancing at the surrounding purple aura, he was slightly startled, not knowing when it had transformed into the Purple Aura of Dawn. He began to use the Purple Radiance and Azure Guidance, releasing a stream of pure spiritual energy. The surrounding Purple Aura of Dawn immediately gathered around, but in Chen Guang's hands, the two true energies that should have been fiercely intertwined instantly transformed into a single, complete stream as the Purple Aura of Dawn merged with the pure spiritual energy. It resembled a snake intertwining its tail, but quickly melted away, turning into a bluish-purple hue. The pure energy gradually spread, and the restless purple aura around him calmed down, drifting leisurely.

Chen Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was very difficult to use the Purple Qi of Dawn in such an environment. He was able to do it to this extent, not entirely because of the secret technique of Purple Flower Green Guidance.

"It's a bit complicated because you haven't mastered everything. Study hard. If you can fully master these two things before you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I will give you everything. Qiutang, take him to pay respects to the ancestral master's tablet."

The middle-aged man pointed, and a beam of purple light entered Chen Guang's brow.

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy in blue tugged at Chen Guang's sleeve and led him out of the courtyard, heading towards another place. Only then did the purple light between his eyebrows slowly dissipate, forming two articles in Chen Guang's sea of ​​consciousness: "Breathing Technique: Purple Flower Azure Guidance" and "Wind Circulation Technique: Purple Flower Azure Guidance".

With a little comparison, Chen Guang could feel that the breathing technique was very complete. The missing part in the initial draft he had learned before had not only been filled in, but also made great progress. However, there was no opportunity to study it in depth at the moment, so he could only put it aside for the time being.