Chapter 49: Chapter Fifty: Cultivation Difficulties

The letter is simple; after obtaining the consent of the Sect Master of the Azure Phoenix Sect, Qiu Hu will come to reside in the Cloud Hidden Sect within three days, accompanied by most of the successfully paired sisters; only about thirty female cultivators will remain in the Azure Phoenix Sect, awaiting the Cloud Hidden Sect cultivators to come and live there.

Hongzhi received the news earlier than Wei Yuning.

For the Cloud Hidden Sect, the disciples participating in the marriage alliance are basically considered expendable; this year, however, it's somewhat special, with a dozen or so decent disciples mixed in. A hundred or so disciples going to the Azure Phoenix Sect to stay for three years is nothing major for a sect with tens of thousands of cultivators. Moreover, for cultivators, three years is merely a fleeting moment in their long lives.

Nevertheless, this matter is still quite important for the Azure Phoenix Sect. With the newlyweds' bliss, three years can basically guarantee that the allied cultivators will bear at least one child; although female infants are the sect's priority, if they encounter a male infant of exceptional talent, the Azure Phoenix Sect will occasionally covertly retain him as seed for the sect. After all, besides female cultivators, the sect also has an Outer Sect where a considerable proportion of male cultivators reside.

The Cloud Hidden Sect actually knows about this, but it's not a big deal; after all, most of the future dual cultivation partners will eventually return to the Cloud Hidden Sect, so the sect simply turns a blind eye.

The Azure Phoenix Sect suddenly changed its rules; although Hongzhi felt a bit puzzled, he had no reason to refuse—after all, on the surface the sect was at a loss, and he certainly wouldn't act like someone who takes advantage and then puts on airs, which would be disliked.

To the Cloud Hidden Sect this is a minor matter, but to Wei Yuning it is a major affair.

He actually has a dual cultivation partner he will live with day and night; in earthly terms, he is getting married.

After reading the letter, Wei Yuning turned to look at his twenty-square-meter cave dwelling, feeling anxious; the size of this bridal chamber seemed too small, and he wondered whether the female cultivator Qiu Hu would disdain it.

However, he soon put the matter out of his mind.

These days, aside from understanding the world's overview, he has encountered a cultivation bottleneck: exactly how refined the contemplation structure of the Spirit Butterfly Technique needs to be.

When contemplating the Ancient Pine, he didn't think much about this problem. The branches and leaves were part of his contemplation construct, but the trunk and roots were entirely completed by the Ancient Pine itself in a passive state. He initially didn't notice the difference; recently, while contemplating the Spirit Butterfly, he unintentionally borrowed the Ancient Pine's contemplation object and unexpectedly discovered that the portion the Ancient Pine completed on its own differed greatly from the portion he himself contemplated.

Needless to say spiritually, the Ancient Pine is now a creature with its own independent thoughts; fortunately, the Ancient Pine still regards Wei Yuning as its master, and when he needs spiritual energy, it will readily provide it—though the amount depends entirely on the Ancient Pine's mood.

Secondly, and also quite puzzling, the level of detail in the Ancient Pine's trunk and root portions is extraordinarily high. If we liken his contemplated portion to a macroscopic anatomical structure, the part the Ancient Pine completes on its own is like the microscopic world seen under a microscope. When Wei Yuning sends his divine sense into the Ancient Pine's trunk and roots, the internal textures naturally go without saying; upon further deep inspection, he actually discovers individual structures of various shapes, most of them nearly spherical, with some spindle-shaped and cylindrical.

However, after reaching this point, his divine sense hit its limit, forcing him to withdraw from the contemplative state.

If he weren't a native of the Spirit Beast World from Earth, he would certainly not recognize these strange things; these variably shaped odd entities he had seen in biology lab class were complete cellular structures.

It is certain that the more finely the contemplation object's structure is crafted, the more spiritual it becomes and the more spiritual power it can store; however, the capacity of divine sense is not infinite—even though he has already achieved Body Foundation Establishment, he cannot push the divine-sense-based contemplation object construction process to the extreme.

Because in the microscopic world, there is no ultimate limit.

Guest-Come Peak, Library Pavilion.

Chief Hongxin glanced at Wei Yuning's latest book list and couldn't help but frown.

"Compendium of Contemplation Object Types," "Buddha Contemplation Method," "Record of Demons and Heretics," "A Heretic Cultivator's Repentance," "Travels of Xuan Miaozi."

Earlier, Qingmo's reading list, though varied, consisted entirely of experiential books; today, after finally managing to add a few cultivation-related titles to the list, they all appeared to Hongxin as heretical and deviant paths.

As the manager of the Library Pavilion, Hongxin's cultivation level ranks mid-to-high among her peers, far surpassing Hongzhi; she has reached the Opening Light Middle Stage. Although she possesses a Water Spirit Root, combat is not her forte, but her insight is top-notch.

The author of the Compendium of Contemplation Object Types is merely a loose cultivator at the Heartbeat Stage; although this fellow has traveled to many places in this world and seen various kinds of contemplation objects, limited by his realm, he knows mostly low-grade contemplation objects, and his evaluations of them are often erroneous; thus his work can only be regarded as an ordinary experiential book.

As for the Buddha Contemplation Method, in Hongxin's view it is utterly an external doctrine; Buddhist theory is wholly detached from reality, seeking truth through emptiness, whereas the Cloud Hidden Sect follows the Daoist path of grasping heaven and earth—two completely different things. The legendary Buddha World is said to be an empty void, while the Daoist's speck of heaven and earth teems with myriad living things; therefore, in Hongxin's eyes, she holds no regard for that Buddhist doctrine.

Hongxin did not examine closely the Record of Demons and Heretics or A Heretic Cultivator's Repentance; the endings of such demonic-heretical works are mostly tragic, a fate sealed from the moment one steps onto the heretical path—better to focus on proving the Dao than to spend time studying heretics.

As for the Travels of Xuan Miaozi written by the sect's senior Xuan Miaozi, Hongxin's evaluation of it is quite complex. Xuan Miaozi is a descendant of the Nine Forefathers, naturally unrestrained; if he weren't of direct lineage, he would have long been expelled from the sect. However, this person possesses astonishing talent in cultivation and is erudite and versatile; if he weren't lazy and didn't waste too much time on non‑Daoist pursuits, he would probably have already entered the Earth Immortal Realm.

Besides, Xuan Miaozi is someone who cannot stay put; he wanders about outside year after year, and since his single return to the sect over fifty years ago, he has never come back. His travelogue is naturally enjoyable—it not only records the local customs of various places in the Spirit Beast World, but also describes foreign battlefields and other realms, making it an excellent book for broadening one's horizons.

However, because most young disciples are fickle and restless, after reading this book they become unable to settle into cultivation; thus the borrowing restrictions are set high, allowing only those of the Hong generation and senior members of the sect to view it.

However, since the Acting Sect Master Taiheng agreed, Qingmo also managed to find this book, and naturally can borrow it to read.