Chapter 545: General Knowledge of Cultivation

When the Flying Boat landed on the Reception Platform, it was exactly afternoon.

Sunlight passed through the thin clouds, spilling evenly onto the cyan-white stone bricks, making the entire plaza shine with a clear, bright light, as if a layer of crushed jade had been spread across the ground.

The crowd filed off the boat, passed through three archways, and were led to the Outer Sect Courtyard.

No one spoke along the way, and it was only after everyone had settled into their respective quarters that people began to whisper about the sect's grandeur and the arrangements for the days ahead.

Cheng Feng stood in his Jia-3 Courtyard, a blue cloth bundle appearing in his hands.

This was handed to him by an Outer Sect Deacon when he left the Reception Platform, who said it contained the provisions for an Outer Disciple for the first seven days: two sets of change-of-clothes Daoist robes, three bottles of Outer Sect Bigu Pill, one copy of the General Knowledge of Cultivation for new sect disciples, and a jade Identity Token engraved with his name.

The previous Jade Tablet had naturally been collected back.

He first took out the Identity Token to take a look; the surface was smooth and clean, engraved with the two characters "Cheng Feng," with the characters for "Outer Sect" and "Jia-3" on the back.

After tucking it into his robes, he took out the General Knowledge of Cultivation.

The book was not thick, its cover bound in deep cyan coarse cloth, with four neat regular-script characters written on it—General Knowledge of Cultivation.

Cheng Feng sat down on the stone bench under the maple tree in the courtyard and opened the book.

He was in no hurry to try out the facilities in the courtyard, nor did he pay any mind to the bell tolls coming from the main peak in the distance.

The sunset light fell onto the pages through the maple leaves, the fragmented light like scales.

He read it word by word.

The opening of the General Knowledge did not talk about how to cultivate, but only discussed one thing.

What is Spirit Qi.

The book wrote that there is Qi between heaven and earth, called Spirit Qi, divided into yin/yang and the five elements, hidden in mountains, rivers, plants, and trees, and fused into wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

Spirit Qi is the root of all things and the foundation of all living beings.

Yet its nature is violent, and not something an ordinary person can bear.

"When a mortal touches Spirit Qi, the light result is severed meridians, and the heavy result is the body exploding and death." Cheng Feng recited this silently to here, his fingertip pausing on the corner of the page.

He had long heard that Spirit Qi was poison to those who could not cultivate.

But he did not know the reason until he saw the following paragraph.

After Spirit Qi enters the body, it will spontaneously rush against the meridians and acupoints.

The meridians of an Ordinary person are as narrow as a stream, and Spirit Qi is like a flood pouring in, which they simply cannot withstand.

Therefore, if there are no sufficient conditions, one must not easily attempt to absorb Spirit Qi.

Otherwise, it is not only of no benefit, but will instead cost one's life.

But there are exceptions.

The book also wrote that when heaven and earth create people, their Qi fortune differs.

One in ten thousand is born with a Spirit Root, their meridians naturally clear, able to contain Spirit Qi without collapsing.

Even rarer is the born Spirit Body, which is passively absorbing heaven and earth Spirit Qi at every moment; even without practicing techniques, Spirit Qi will automatically gather around them.

Such people, even if they do not actively cultivate, will have their cultivation level grow slowly; they are people naturally suited for the Immortal Dao.

Cheng Feng's gaze shifted, and he thought of Bai Wugou, Lu Zhen, Mu Qing, and even Zhou Yanran and Chen Jiuling.

White Flame Body, Cold Abyss Body, Panshi Body, Qingyuan Sword Body, Clear Wind Body—these so-called "Different Bodies,"

as the book stated, were precisely a subordinate branch of the Spirit Body.

He turned the page and saw that there was indeed an explanation regarding Different Bodies later on.

A Different Body is something passed down through bloodlines.

Perhaps an ancestor was a great power who used their heaven-reaching cultivation to carve their own Dao rhyme into the bloodline, bestowing blessings upon their descendants;

or perhaps they had heaven-reaching Qi fortune and consumed rare treasures to alter their constitution;

or perhaps they practiced special techniques, using the body as a furnace and Qi as firewood, day after day for decades, tempering the physical body into an existence unlike a mortal frame.

The three paths lead to the same destination, and all can be called a Different Body.

So it just means becoming a person who isn't ordinary???

Cheng Feng muttered to himself.

As expected, immortal cultivation is not something an ordinary person can practice.

But Different Bodies are also divided into different ranks.

A low-grade Different Body is merely one acupoint being innately clear, making the speed of cultivation a step faster than others.

Mid-grade ones are the likes of the White Flame Body, Clear Wind Body, and Panshi Body, which have five-element attributes and the ability to protect the body and kill enemies.

A high-grade Different Body can form a domain, influencing a region of heaven and earth; it cannot be obtained without great opportunity.

Cheng Feng closed the book and remained silent for a long time.

He finally understood why everyone he met on the Flying Boat was unwilling to show weakness.

Whether it be a Different Body or a Spirit Root, for these people, it is a ticket to the immortal path and the hope of their family.

Who would be willing to give the cultivation resources in their hands to others?

But what about himself?

Cheng Feng looked down at his hands.

His fingernails were trimmed short and neat.

His palms were like jade, fair and warm.

This was the manifestation of his body tempering reaching perfection.

Spirit Root?

He did not know.

Different Body?

He didn't know if the Flood Dragon Body counted either.

He only knew that from this moment on, in this place, relying solely on a tempered physical body could only be considered a rough draft.

Everyone here is rushing forward, either relying on a Different Body inherited from their family, or relying on cultivation techniques pointed out by experts.

Yet he has nothing, only a life and a heart that does not fear death.

The evening breeze brushed through the maple tree in the courtyard, the leaves rustling.

Suddenly, a knocking sound rang out from outside the courtyard gate.

"Come in." Cheng Feng set the book aside.

Zhou Tieyi pushed the door and entered, holding an identical General Knowledge of Cultivation in his hand, along with a cloth bundle that was clearly still unopened.

He wore a somewhat strange expression on his face, and without waiting for Cheng Feng to greet him, he sat down opposite and slapped the book onto the stone table.

"Finished reading?" he asked.

"Finished half of it," Cheng Feng said.

"Then what do you think?" Zhou Tieyi winked at him, "Spirit Root, Spirit Body, Different Body... The more I read, the more I feel that it was lucky we managed to make it into the top twenty-five.

Look at someone like Bai Wugou; doesn't the book describe exactly his White Flame Body? No wonder he's like a furnace just standing there.

And there's Mu Qing's Panshi Body, eight thousand catties with a single punch. What about us?"

"I heard that you awakened the Blood Battle Spear Body,"

Cheng Feng teased, and poured him a cup of water.

The water was drawn from the Spirit Well in the courtyard, clear and cold with a hint of sweetness.

"How can you still have the nerve to call yourself an Ordinary person?" Cheng Feng pushed the cup over.

Zhou Tieyi scratched his head: "It was all thanks to my father's planning along the way, otherwise I really wouldn't have had this opportunity. But it might also be because my dad pushed me hard."

Cheng Feng nodded: "Someone like you is also very enviable."

Zhou Tieyi looked up at him and suddenly asked: "Cheng Feng, do you think one can still cultivate if they have no Spirit Root and no Different Body?"

Cheng Feng was silent for a moment, picked up the General Knowledge of Cultivation, flipped to a page in the middle, and pointed to a passage for him to see.

"The book says that the Spirit Root is the gate and the Spirit Body is the path, neither of which can be attained by ordinary people.

However, heaven and earth do not cut off all paths. If one has a Mortal Body, one may use techniques to guide Qi, return from the Acquired Realm to the Innate, use the physique to contain spirit, and refine it day by day; perhaps one can break through and then establish, carving out a path in a dead end. This path is extremely dangerous, with fewer than one in ten surviving.

It can be considered giving mortals a glimmer of hope."

After reading it, Zhou Tieyi's eyes lit up: "Isn't this talking about people like us with no background!

If it's one in ten, then it's one in ten; at least there is a path to walk."

The corners of Cheng Feng's mouth curved slightly.

"You still count as an Ordinary person???"

He watched Zhou Tieyi's excited appearance, but his heart thought much further ahead.

Fewer than one in ten means that the corpses of nine people lie on this path.

Those nine people might be the ones on the Flying Boat who ultimately failed to enter the top twenty-five.

He reopened the book and lowered his head to read a few more lines.

The spirit mist in the courtyard gradually grew thicker, like a thin veil spilling from the mouth of the well, flowing along the ground.

The daylight grew dim, and the lights on the distant main peak lit up one after another, outlining the towering silhouette of the Shangqing Immortal Sect in the twilight.

Cheng Feng closed the book and said softly: "First survive, then think about the Immortal Dao."

Zhou Tieyi gave a hum, picked up the water cup and drank it in one gulp, then suddenly said: "The outer sect is testing Spirit Roots tomorrow, remember to go, okay?"

Cheng Feng nodded: "Rest assured, I will definitely go."

"Then we brothers will see each other tomorrow."

Zhou Tieyi got up and left, and the courtyard returned to silence.

Cheng Feng sat for a while longer, tucked the General Knowledge of Cultivation into his robes, stood up, and returned to his room.

This book still needs to be read again.