Chapter 128: Unlocking the Spirit's Harmony

Chapter 128: Unlocking the Spirit's Harmony

"Is this the formation site, or some large village?" Chu Ning asked, a hint of confusion in his eyes as he surveyed the scene before him. He had expected the formation site to be an impressive, grand location. Yet, what lay before him were rows upon rows of thatched cottages, numbering in the thousands.

"More fellow disciples have arrived? Come, follow me." A familiar voice interrupted Chu Ning's thoughts.

"Brother Zhuang?" Chu Ning immediately recognized the round face.

In fact, it wasn't just him; many of the other disciples also identified the person. After all, most of those who entered with Chu Ning were menial disciples from the Spirit Herb House.

Upon hearing their greeting, Zhuang Yunde smiled and bowed to everyone before greeting them warmly. When his eyes landed on Chu Ning, he paused for a moment. "Oh, Brother Chu is here too?" Zhuang Yunde said, a complex look in his eyes as if he had suddenly remembered something.

Chu Ning was perplexed by his reaction but bowed and greeted him in return.

Zhuang Yunde smiled in acknowledgment and then addressed the group, "Follow me, everyone. From here on, there is no distinction between us. We will be separated according to the attributes of our cultivation techniques." He continued, "This batch of newcomers all cultivate wood-attribute techniques, so the sect has specially arranged a place for us." With that, Zhuang Yunde turned and led the way into the formation site.

As they followed, the disciples discovered that the interior was well-organized. The thatched cottages were arranged in neat rows, spaced evenly apart. After walking through several passages between the cottages, Zhuang Yunde led them to a relatively spacious area. Here, some people were busy constructing more cottages.

Zhuang Yunde pointed and explained, "This is where you will be staying for the time being. Take your tokens to the designated plots and build your cottages. To maintain uniformity, you can refer to the size of your previous accommodations."

"Brother Zhuang, do we have to build the houses ourselves?" asked a disciple with a slightly unfamiliar face, directing his question at Zhuang Yunde.

Zhuang Yunde smiled at him and replied, "Everyone, regardless of their status, has to do it themselves. Even inner sect disciples who entered earlier had to build their own. Surely, you don't consider yourself more noble than them, do you?" Hearing this, the disciple's face turned red, and he fell silent.

Zhuang Yunde then distributed bamboo tokens to everyone. Chu Ning received the token for Wood 919 and located the corresponding plot. It was a square plot of land measuring five zhang on each side.

Just a glance was enough for Chu Ning to spot other disciples cutting down trees and gathering grass not far away. He immediately joined them, digging up some soil, chopping down several trees, and collecting a large bundle of grass. Then, he began constructing a clay brick and thatched cottage on his assigned plot.

Without any tools, the task might have been challenging for ordinary people. However, for cultivators like Chu Ning, who knew a variety of minor spells, it was not an issue. He used the Blade Edge Technique to cut the soil into brick shapes and the Drying Technique to quickly dry the soil, wood, and grass. Soon, they were all enthusiastically working together.

As Chu Ning was busy building his shelter, a figure slowly approached. "Brother Chu," a voice called out.

Hearing Zhuang Yunde's voice, Chu Ning paused and smiled, "Brother Zhuang, I was just thinking about finishing up here and paying you a visit. I didn't expect you to come first."

Zhuang Yunde waved his hand dismissively, "There's no need for formalities between us." His eyes held a complex expression as he looked at Chu Ning and said, "I never expected that in just over a year, you would reach the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. Your cultivation speed is truly remarkable, but it's a pity."

Chu Ning was taken aback, his expression turning serious as he asked, "Brother Zhuang, what's the pity? Could it be that there's something about this formation site that prevents us from leaving once we enter?"

Zhuang Yunde was also slightly startled by the question and replied, "When I say it's a pity, I mean that you took the Breakthrough Pill. Don't you remember, Brother Chu?"

Hearing this, Chu Ning couldn't help but laugh, "So that's what you meant. To be honest, Brother Zhuang, I had just broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement before entering the Spirit Realm, so I didn't take the pill."

"Oh?" Zhuang Yunde's eyes widened as he examined Chu Ning, and the trace of regret on his face vanished. "So, Brother Chu has already cultivated to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. Your speed truly surprises me. I heard from some people in the Spirit Herb House that many disciples at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement took the Breakthrough Pill this time. I assumed you did the same, which is why I felt a bit disappointed."

Chu Ning smiled, "It was a stroke of luck, as I was about to break through anyway." As he spoke, Chu Ning also took the opportunity to assess Zhuang Yunde and noticed that he was still at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement and had not yet broken through.

Intrigued, Chu Ning asked, "Brother Zhuang, what are we doing here in this Spirit Realm? Why are there so many fellow disciples here?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yunde's expression turned complex once more. However, he didn't try to hide the truth, "Even if I don't tell you, other brothers will fill you in soon enough. All I know is that once we enter this Spirit Realm, we are tasked with activating the Five Elements Cosmic Formation to force the Spirit Seed to appear. Apparently, this Spirit Seed is useful even for Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivators who are trying to break through. As for its specific uses, I'm not sure."

As he spoke, Zhuang Yunde pointed to an area in the front, "Look, there's a group of brothers activating the formation right now.

Chu Ning now understood that the place where they were currently residing was not the actual formation site but merely the living quarters for the outer disciples.

After gaining a basic understanding of the situation, Chu Ning turned to Zhuang Yunde and asked, "Brother Zhuang, can we still leave this place? Why did they say that if we can get out of here, we will be directly promoted to inner sect disciples?"

A bitter smile appeared on Zhuang Yunde's face when he heard this. "That was the first thing I wanted to know when I came in too. But, well... after I found out the truth, I..."

Despite his sigh, Zhuang Yunde went on to explain everything to Chu Ning.

Apparently, under the pressure of this Five Elements Cosmic Formation, the Spirit Seed would release a burst of spiritual essence every few years.

And during such bursts, a significant number of disciples operating the formation would be affected.

Some would be crushed by the overwhelming power of the spiritual essence, while a small minority would be lucky enough to not only survive but also absorb a strand of this spiritual essence.

According to the sect members in charge here, this spiritual essence could improve one's cultivation talent and was said to be able to cleanse one's spiritual roots.

As long as one obtained this strand of spiritual essence, their future cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds, and they would almost certainly succeed in forming their Golden Core.

However, after absorbing the spiritual essence, one could not remain in the spiritual domain.

Because if the Spirit Seed sensed the presence of a cultivator with spiritual essence within the domain, it would not only stop releasing the spiritual essence but also refuse to appear.

Since those who obtained the spiritual essence were very few and their talent improved afterward, the sect naturally valued them greatly and accepted them as inner sect disciples, imparting higher cultivation techniques.

Chu Ning now asked a crucial question: "Then, Brother Zhuang, how many people might die during each burst of spiritual essence, and how many might obtain it?"

Hearing this, Zhuang Yunde's bitter smile became more pronounced, but he didn't answer directly. Instead, he transmitted his voice: "You've asked the key question, Brother. Before this, the spiritual essence would burst out every three to five years. Each time it erupted, anywhere from three to six tenths of the disciples would perish, and fewer than ten would obtain the spiritual essence."

Chu Ning fell silent upon hearing this, a chill running down his spine.

The sect must have been trying to obtain this Spirit Seed for a long time.

Considering what the sect had said before, they had been increasing the number of menial disciples over the last fifty years or so.

One could imagine how long this had been going on.

Moreover, according to what Zhuang Yunde had just said, each burst of spiritual essence would claim the lives of anywhere from three to five or six hundred disciples every three to five years.

"The lives of Qi Refinement cultivators are indeed cheap in the eyes of the sect's elders," Chu Ning thought bitterly to himself. Of course, he didn't voice these thoughts aloud.

At this moment, Chu Ning even suspected that one of the reasons the sect valued those who had left the spiritual domain was because they didn't want them to reveal the secret of this spiritual domain.

After all, if these disciples were allowed to leave, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't leak the secret.

And in fact, some of the secrets must have already been leaked.

Otherwise, how did that disciple from the Yin Demon Sect manage to infiltrate?

As Chu Ning was thinking about this, his gaze casually swept the area, and a somewhat familiar figure caught his eye in the distance.

Lu Hongping. The man who had once lived next door to Lu Yunfang.

Since Lu Yunfang had already been killed by Chu Ning, the appearance of Lu Hongping here left no doubt that the Yin Demon Sect had indeed infiltrated.

Chu Ning's heart sank as he waited for Tan Zhang to appear.

If Tan Zhang showed up, then everything would be fine, and he would surely find a way to inform the others.

After all, as one of the disciples under Manager Liao Yunming in the Spirit Rune Pavilion, Tan Zhang's connections within the sect were definitely better than Chu Ning's.

But if Tan Zhang didn't appear, they would have to find another way to send this message.

Chu Ning no longer cared about the sect's interests, but he had to make sure that his companions' lives were not constantly at risk.

Seeing Chu Ning fall silent, Zhuang Yunde sighed softly, thinking that Chu Ning was having a hard time accepting the news. He patted Chu Ning's shoulder and said, "Don't think too much about it. Since we're here, let's make the best of it. I think you have good luck, Brother Chu. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to obtain the spiritual essence."

Chu Ning smiled at Zhuang Yunde. "You're right, Brother Zhuang. We should stay positive."

A smile appeared on Zhuang Yunde's round face as well. "Exactly. You may have been forcibly recruited by the sect, but I came here voluntarily. Although I didn't know the specifics, I was prepared to face the risks. I chose this path myself."

Chu Ning nodded. Zhuang Yunde had indeed mentioned that he could have refused but chose to participate.

However, like Chu Ning, Zhuang Yunde cultivated a wood-attribute technique, so he wouldn't have been able to avoid this even if he hadn't participated last time.

Just focus on cultivating here. The spiritual energy is dense, and there aren't any dangers. If we're just talking about cultivation, this is actually a great place."

Zhuang Yunde continued, offering Chu Ning some unexpected information. "Also, the senior brothers who came in earlier have cultivated spirit fields not far from here. We can grow spirit rice and won't go hungry. There are also spirit beasts, like spirit chickens and spirit pigs, being reared by some brothers in a more distant area.

If we ignore the potential dangers of driving the formation, this place offers better cultivation conditions than the sect. Even we, the Spirit Herb House disciples, have some advantages here since they can't refine pills or artifacts here."

At this moment, Zhuang Yunde shared something that surprised Chu Ning.

He had been so focused on the thatched cottages earlier that he hadn't paid attention to these details.

However, upon further reflection, it made sense. After all, the others had been staying here for quite some time, not just a day or two.

And since they were all at the Qi Refinement stage, they couldn't practice bigu (a technique to sustain oneself without eating) and wouldn't have had an endless supply of bigu pills on hand.

As for Chu Ning, he had bought quite a few bigu pills from Gu Xiaoqin, which could sustain him for a while.

The two chatted for a while longer before Zhuang Yunde bid farewell and headed off to see others or perhaps to greet more newcomers.

Chu Ning resumed his work and finished building the clay brick and thatched cottage in half a day. He then started setting up the bed and other furnishings.

Coincidentally, the only thing Chu Ning had in his new courtyard back at the sect was an empty bed, with no other belongings.

He had intended to buy some items for the room the last time he was in the market but had been unexpectedly summoned by the sect before he could retrieve them from his storage bag.

Now, they came in handy.

After some preparation and arrangement, his thatched cottage began to take shape.

Sitting in his new abode, Chu Ning pondered the information he had gathered and contemplated his current predicament.

His cultivation might be affected. Without the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, his supply of Spirit Nurturing Pills and bigu pills would only last a few months if he took one each day.

If that didn't work, he'd have to rely on spirit stones, but he had no idea how long he'd be stuck in the Spirit Realm.

As for his body refinement cultivation, he only had about 200 remaining Golden Orchid Fruits from the latest harvest.

For the Spirit Refining Technique, he could only rely on consuming spiritual sense by crafting talismans.

However, these crafted talismans would likely be of no use here, as everyone was focused on driving the formation, leaving no need for talismans.

Moreover, he didn't know how the arrangement for driving the formation would work or if he'd have sufficient time for crafting.

As for leaving, there seemed to be only two possibilities.

One was to obtain the Spirit Seed, and the other was to wait for the outburst of spiritual essence and absorb a strand of it.

Recalling Zhuang Yunde's mention of the spiritual essence outburst occurring once every three to five years, and the fact that it had happened three months ago, Chu Ning's brows furrowed slightly.

Did he really have to stay here for three to five years? That seemed like an eternity.

Not to mention, at his current cultivation speed, it wouldn't take him long to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.

And from there, it would probably take less than a year to reach the peak of Qi Refinement and prepare for a breakthrough.

The real challenge would be finding a suitable cultivation technique afterward. He couldn't remain stagnant at the ninth layer forever.

At this moment, the only thing Chu Ning could pin his hopes on was the sect's unusual decision to gather so many disciples with wood-attribute techniques.

Perhaps they had grander plans that would prevent them from being stuck here for too long.

Chu Ning mulled over these thoughts, organizing them in his mind.

Then, he stepped out of his cottage and began strolling casually through the newly constructed housing area, taking in his surroundings.

Many others were doing the same, hoping to spot familiar faces.

Indeed, Chu Ning soon spotted several acquaintances, including Mu Ling, whose cottage was already built and numbered quite low, indicating that she hadn't wasted any time on her way here.

He also recognized some of the more distinctive faces from the Dao Field, including a few Qi Refinement cultivators who had reached the peak.

As he continued his walk, Chu Ning finally caught sight of Tan Zhang and Lin Lan.

Their cottage numbers were in the 700s, suggesting that they had arrived before him.

Since he knew Tan Zhang, Chu Ning greeted them and then continued on his way. After a while, he turned back.

When he returned to his cottage, he noticed that Tan Zhang and Lin Lan were also wandering around, seemingly looking for someone, and he guessed that they were probably searching for him.

However, Chu Ning chose to remain silent about his presence for the time being.

Two more days passed, and it had now been exactly one month since Chu Ning and the others had entered the Spirit Realm.

That morning, as Chu Ning woke up, he reached for the guiding needle and noticed that it no longer displayed anything, just like before he had entered the Spirit Realm.

Apparently, the elder's words about the needle's guidance disappearing after a month if they didn't reach the formation site weren't a lie.

Just as Chu Ning was thinking about this, all the newly arrived disciples were summoned to gather.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end