Chapter 18 – Selection_1
“Forget it, focus on the present tasks for now…”
Mo Hua thought to himself before earnestly flipping through the techniques of lower and middle grades.
“Little Five Elements Jue”: A lower to middle-grade technique, suitable for cultivators with Five Elements-series spiritual roots, capable of cultivating spiritual power for seventy cycles. To reach completion in the Qi Refinement Realm, at least one thousand spirit stones are needed for refinement, and heavenly and earthly treasures such as Hundred Years Soil are required.
“Spring Return Technique”: A lower to middle-grade technique, suitable for those with Wood-series spiritual roots, capable of cultivating spiritual power for seventy-five cycles. To reach completion in the Qi Refinement Realm, at least one thousand one hundred spirit stones are needed for refinement, and heavenly and earthly treasures such as Evergreen Wood or Ten Year Old and Above Evergreen Leaves are required.
“Hundred Flames Jue”: A lower to middle-grade technique, suitable for those with Fire-series spiritual roots, capable of cultivating spiritual power for sixty cycles. To reach completion in the Qi Refinement Realm, at least nine hundred spirit stones are needed for refinement, and heavenly and earthly treasures such as Melting Fire Stone are required.
…
The required spirit stones for cultivating middle-grade lower-tier techniques weren’t few, but compared with superior-grade techniques, it was already much better.
However, you lose some, you gain some. The lower to middle-grade techniques consumed fewer spirit stones but also produced less cultivated spiritual power.
With Mo Hua’s middle-grade lower-tier spiritual roots, cultivating middle-grade lower-tier techniques, his spiritual power in the same realm would be just over half of that of a cultivator with a superior-grade lower-tier spiritual root.
And this was just for the lower tier, the middle and higher tiers of superior-grade techniques would undoubtedly yield even thicker, more robust spiritual power. The further one cultivated, the greater the disparity in spiritual power due to differences in spiritual roots would become, like the difference between the heavens and the mire.
Moreover, spiritual roots were divinely predestined and could not be changed.
“Indeed, some are born under a lucky star…”
Mo Hua shook his head, but since spiritual roots couldn’t be changed, there was no point in dwelling on it.
Mo Hua turned to the last page of the “Spell Skills Catalogue” and was completely stunned by the line of small print he saw.
“Inheritance fee… what is that?”
Mo Hua read the footnote below:
The techniques of Tongxian Gate are the painstaking compilation, dedicated study, and meticulous improvement of successive sect leaders and elders, embodying the efforts of generations of predecessors.
Disciples of the sect must pay a certain amount of spirit stones to gain the qualifications to inherit the techniques.
It also detailed the specific costs for inheritance below.
The inheritance fee for a superior-grade lower-tier technique was one thousand one hundred spirit stones, but due to the scarcity of superior spiritual roots, there was a discount, making it only nine hundred and ninety-eight spirit stones.
The inheritance fee for middle-grade techniques was a bit lower, and even lower for the middle-grade lower-tier, but it was still two hundred spirit stones.
Mo Hua was dumbfounded.
What’s with this inheritance fee?
He hadn’t heard of this before.
Why was the sect charging fees out of the blue? This was extortion!
Mo Hua, with only eight spirit stones to his name, sighed helplessly.
The Tao Cultivation World was proving to be all too real and practical…
“Once you have chosen a cultivation technique and paid the inheritance fee, the sect will impart the technique to you. The choice of technique is critical, so it’s best to consult your parents and elders before making a decision. Don’t overreach for higher techniques, nor should you miss out on your future in cultivation due to short-sighted choices.”
Instructor Yan finished speaking and walked away, seemingly reluctant to handle such matters.
After Instructor Yan left, the disciples gathered in small groups to chat excitedly, some with joyous faces, others frowning in distress, and the room suddenly filled with noise:
“What’s this inheritance fee? I’ve never heard of it before…”
“Who knows, but if the sect is collecting it, can we even refuse to pay?”
“The ‘Heaven and Earth, Mystery and Yellow Jue’, just the inheritance fee alone is over a thousand spirit stones, tsk tsk…”
“If you really learn it, you’ll probably end up in servitude to the sect.”
“Thanks, my spiritual root doesn’t even qualify.”
“Both my parents have middle-grade spiritual roots, so why do I only have a lower-grade spiritual root? There’s hardly any technique for me to choose from…”
“You should read ‘Treatise on the Evolution of Cultivators’ Spiritual Roots’ to find out why parents with middle-grade spiritual roots could give birth to someone like you with lower-grade roots…”
“By the way, do we really have anyone with a superior spiritual root here?”
“Yes, I have a distant cousin who has a superior spiritual root, but his father is a gambler and his mother is lazy. Their family is dirt poor, and he only chose a lower to middle-grade technique, completely wasting his good innate potential. It’s such a pity…”
“Then even if I have a superior spiritual root, I still won’t be able to afford the cultivation.”
“You could always marry into a rich family…”
“Not a chance!”
…
The disciples continued to discuss, while Mo Hua also propped up his little chin in thought.
This sect inheritance fee had exceeded his expectations.
The “Spell Skills Catalogue” did list cultivation techniques that Mo Hua could choose from, but his parents had just managed to scrape together his living expenses, and in the short term, they couldn’t afford to spend that many spirit stones. Even if they could assemble the funds through borrowing here and there, it would impose a heavy burden on the family.
“Since that’s the case, I can’t choose a cultivation technique for now. I’ll make do with the ‘Breath Reclaiming Technique’ for the time being. I’ll wait until I’ve saved up enough spirit stones through drawing formations before I select a technique from the catalogue to cultivate. After all, I’ve only reached the third layer of Qi Refinement. There’s still some time before breaking through to the fourth layer.”
Mo Hua tossed the “Spell Skills Catalogue” into his storage bag, not planning to bring it back home for his parents to see anytime soon. His priority was drawing formations to earn spirit stones.
In the following days, Mo Hua’s life remained the same as before—persisting in his cultivation, attending classes, and drawing formations in his free time.