Another Possibility

After they finished discussing the matter, Lin Xiao asked He Yi a few questions out of concern.

For example, whether he was accustomed to life in the sect, whether the food suited his tastes, and whether he had encountered any difficulties in his cultivation.

Everything else was fine. It was only when Lin Xiao asked whether he was having any trouble cultivating that He Yi finally spoke.

“To be honest, Sect Master, I actually have a single water spirit root. But when I attended a lecture at the sect’s Cultivation Hall today, I discovered that there weren’t any cultivation methods suitable for water spirit roots. For some reason, I can’t cultivate the technique I used before, either. You said earlier that once I joined the sect, you would tell me why and explain how to solve the problem.”

“Oh, right, right, right. I almost forgot.”

Lin Xiao slapped his forehead, then pulled a stack of copied cultivation manuals from his personal treasury and handed them over.

“Here. These are copies of the cultivation methods our sect has. Given your current situation… these should be fairly suitable for you. Take them all and choose whichever one you like.”

He Yi reached out to accept them, only to find that the one on top was none other than the cultivation method Baizhu had lent him that morning during the lecture—the Primordial Essence Scripture.

The copies had been automatically arranged by the system’s personal treasury according to quality, from highest to lowest. That meant the Primordial Essence Scripture, which was the highest-grade manual, had naturally ended up on top.

Lin Xiao had asked the system about it before. In fact, all of the sect’s cultivation methods could be used to cultivate primordial qi. It was simply that the Primordial Essence Scripture made it easiest to grasp the underlying principles and was also the most suitable overall.

That was why he had not given He Yi only the Primordial Essence Scripture. Instead, he had handed over several cultivation methods and let him choose for himself.

After all, when it came to cultivation, if one had a choice, personal preference should naturally come first.

Lin Xiao watched as He Yi stood to one side, seriously leafing through the manuals, then spoke up.

“You already have cultivation, so switching to one of these methods won’t require you to cripple your existing cultivation. Your progress should also be much faster than that of someone who has never cultivated before. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask the disciples in the other dormitories, or consult the lecturer who teaches at the Cultivation Hall every morning.”

As he spoke, he pulled another little booklet from inside his robes.

“Oh, right. This is a collection of insights I wrote about comprehending primordial qi and cultivating it through a cultivation method. You can take a look.”

He had written these insights bit by bit in his spare time after comprehending primordial qi. Later, he had gone into seclusion and never found the time to bring them out. Now that he had remembered them, he had already made many copies and planned to place them in the Cultivation Hall and the Scripture Repository.

He Yi nodded and accepted it.

“Thank you, Sect Master.”

“Mm. Work hard at your cultivation. It shouldn’t take long for you to regain your Golden Core’s power…” Lin Xiao began, but suddenly froze halfway through his sentence.

Something about that didn’t sound right. He Yi raised his head to look at him, only to find Lin Xiao staring straight at him as well, his eyes gradually lighting up.

“What is it?” He Yi asked, puzzled.

Why was he staring at him like that? It was as if there were spirit stones growing on his face.

Lin Xiao, however, looked as though he had suddenly had an epiphany. He happily exclaimed, “That’s right! We can do that!”

He had thought of another possibility!

He Yi frowned. What did he mean by “that’s right”? What exactly could they do?

Lin Xiao rose to his feet and placed both hands on He Yi’s shoulders.

“If you cultivate primordial qi, then couldn’t you activate the Binding Annihilation Treasure Formation afterward?”

He Yi was confused.

“How am I supposed to cultivate primordial qi…” He stopped halfway through his sentence. Then, as though he had suddenly realized something, he lowered his head and looked at the booklet Lin Xiao had just handed him.

Because Lin Xiao had given him the booklet so naturally, he had not paid much attention to the words “primordial qi.” He had simply assumed that it was a collection of cultivation insights and accepted it.

“This can be used to cultivate primordial qi?!” he asked, astonished, holding up the booklet and the cultivation manual.

“That’s right.” Lin Xiao nodded.

Only then did he suddenly remember that he had apparently never explained to He Yi what had changed inside his Golden Core.

He coughed awkwardly twice, then put on a solemn expression and asked,

“Has something changed inside your Golden Core?”

He Yi nodded and described the general state of his Golden Core to him.

“It may be because of that little white bead. My original cultivation method has been extremely difficult to circulate lately.”

Lin Xiao then adopted the air of an experienced senior and explained,

“Actually, that little white bead inside your body is the embryonic form of primordial qi that has just begun to take shape. The reason your original cultivation method is difficult to circulate is that you haven’t yet learned how to cultivate and use primordial qi. So when you circulate your old method, the spiritual energy and primordial qi inside your Golden Core clash with each other, which is why it feels sluggish.”

“That’s why I said earlier that this problem could be solved as soon as you joined our sect. The cultivation methods of our sect can be used to cultivate primordial qi.”

Only after hearing this explanation did He Yi understand. However, he still had one question.

“But where did this embryonic primordial qi inside my body come from?”

Lin Xiao felt a headache coming on. This question really wasn’t easy to explain. He did not want He Yi to think he was some kind of brainwashing cult leader.

“Er… As you’ve seen, our Lingxian Sect is just a small sect. We can’t withstand much pressure from the outside world, so I can’t casually expose myself or the sect to the eyes of the world. But you’re different. You already have an identity in the cultivation world, and now you can cultivate primordial qi as well.”

“So! Once you’ve mastered it, you can be the one to activate the Binding Annihilation Treasure Formation! Just don’t reveal that you’re a member of the Lingxian Sect, and don’t draw the cultivation world’s attention here. That’ll be fine!”

Lin Xiao felt that he was truly ingenious.

This way, all he had to do was train He Yi into a powerful primordial-qi cultivator within fifteen years. Wouldn’t that be much faster—and far less troublesome—than comprehensively improving the sect’s overall strength?

In an instant, the heavy burden on his shoulders was reduced dramatically, and he felt wonderfully relaxed.

As for He Yi… what else could he do? The Sect Master had given the order, so he could only accept it.

Besides, he also thought this plan was quite good.

Lin Xiao sometimes seemed rather unreliable. If He Yi could personally activate the Binding Annihilation Treasure Formation, he would feel much more reassured.

And so, the matter was settled in a most agreeable fashion.

Liu Yunan had placed the Lock Ring in the standard package issued to new sect disciples the day before, and He Yi was now wearing it himself.

Lin Xiao had He Yi memorize the secondary formation pattern of his own Lock Ring.

“If you run into any problems with cultivating primordial qi in the future, you can contact me at any time.”

He Yi agreed. Since there was nothing else they needed to discuss, Lin Xiao left his dormitory and went to look for Liu Yunan.

Liu Yunan was in the Affairs Hall, tallying up the tasks completed that day. When he saw Lin Xiao enter, he greeted him happily.

“Brother Xiao, you’re here!”

Lin Xiao walked over, dropped into the seat opposite him, and picked up the register that had already been filled out. He flipped through it casually.

“Busy? What did Village Chief Du say?”

“Village Chief Du said it wasn’t urgent. We just need to find some time to go down the mountain in the next few days.”

“Good. Then let’s go down tomorrow. I may have to spend some time in the Formation Hall afterward.”

“All right. I’ll arrange the Affairs Hall’s work for tomorrow right away.”