Volume One, Chapter Five: Clan Studies (Part Two)

After organizing the contents of her storage bracelet, Gu Mingxi took the spirit herb seeds and entered her spatial dimension. Inside, Little Flower was busy working in the spirit herb garden.

Gu Mingxi walked over. "Little Flower, I've brought some seeds. Could you help me plant them?"

Little Flower agreed and began working in the garden. Seeing how busy and enthusiastic Little Flower was, Gu Mingxi decided not to disturb her. She headed toward the spirit fruit orchard, intending to pick some fruit to eat.

As she approached, she was met with an array of fruit trees, their branches laden with spirit fruits. Faced with such an abundance, Gu Mingxi found herself momentarily indecisive about which to pick first.

"Big Sister, just choose the ones you like. We can pick the rest to brew into wine," Little Flower said after finishing her tasks.

"Brew wine?" Gu Mingxi felt intrigued. "Little Flower, do you know how to brew wine?"

"Ah? No, Big Sister, I don't know how, but the previous owner left behind recipes for brewing in the space," Little Flower replied, shaking her head quickly.

These fruits had matured over a long time—the youngest were at least two to three hundred years old, while the oldest had been growing for over a millennium.

Gu Mingxi said, "I'll pick some Snow Spirit Fruit and Xiangxiao Fruit for daily snacking, and some Vermilion Fruit for Father. As for the rest, we'll store half, and use whatever remains that is suitable for winemaking."

After they finished their work, Little Flower led Gu Mingxi to the library room and retrieved a jade slip from the shelf. Upon studying it, Gu Mingxi discovered that only the "Hundred Spirit Wine" recipe had no cultivation requirements. All the other recipes required the brewer to be at least at the Golden Core stage.

Having no other choice, she decided to brew the Hundred Spirit Wine. As the name suggested, it was made from one hundred types of spirit fruits. It was a popular, foundational wine often used as a base for other spirits.

Once the brewing was done, Gu Mingxi and Little Flower worked together to bury several hundred jars in the spirit orchard to ferment. Afterward, Gu Mingxi left the space.

At the main courtyard, Gu Mingxi found Gu Moyuan as expected. "Father!"

Gu Moyuan poured a cup of tea and gestured to a stone stool nearby. "You're here. Come, sit."

Gu Mingxi sat down, took a sip of tea, and said, "Father, I brought you some spirit fruits!" She pulled out a storage bag and handed it to him with a wink.

Seeing his daughter's playful expression, Gu Moyuan couldn't help but smile. He took the bag and scanned it with his divine sense, surprised to see it filled to the brim. It wasn't just the quantity that shocked him—the Gu clan was wealthy and had plenty of fruit—but the rarity and variety of the fruits inside were impressive.

"Since you brought this for me, I'll accept it. But did you save some for yourself?"

Touched by his daughter's gesture, he wouldn't refuse, yet he was concerned for her.

Gu Mingxi laughed. "Don't worry, Father, I saved plenty for myself. I’ve also started brewing a lot of Hundred Spirit Wine; I’ll bring you some once it’s ready!" With a final wink and a promise not to disturb him further, she ran off.

Gu Moyuan watched her retreat with a chuckle. He looked at the storage bag and sent a message to the manager of the Alchemy Pavilion, keeping a small portion for daily use and sending the rest to be used for pill refining. For a long time afterward, the scent of alchemy hung thick over the Gu family’s pavilion.

***

One month later, at the Gu family clan school, the Seventh Elder looked at his disciples—all of whom had successfully channeled energy into their bodies—with great satisfaction. Upon seeing that Gu Mingxi had reached the third level of Qi Refining, he nodded repeatedly.

Indeed, Gu Mingxi had advanced to the third level of Qi Refining in just one month.

It took her one hour to channel energy into her body and one month to reach the third level. Even the talented Gu Mingyue had taken three hours to channel energy and had only reached the second level in a month. It was clear that Gu Mingxi’s talent was exceptional, marking her as the leader of the Gu family’s new generation.

"The Gu family has a bright future," the Seventh Elder thought to himself, stroking his beard.

"One month has passed," the Elder announced. "You have all done very well in channeling energy. Now, your next task is to continue your cultivation. Once you reach the third level of Qi Refining, you may begin to explore the four arts of cultivation: Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman Making, and Array Formation, to see where your talents lie."

"The four arts are each divided into nine grades, with the first being the entry level and the ninth being the highest. In the entire Azure Cloud Continent, there is only one ninth-grade alchemist at the Danxia Sect, one ninth-grade artifact refiner at the Xuantian Sword Sect, and one ninth-grade talisman master at the Tianyan Sect. However, there are two ninth-grade array masters, one at the Tianyan Sect and one right here in our Gu family. This is one of the reasons why our Gu family ranks first among the four great families."

"Because we possess a ninth-grade array master, we have far more sixth-grade and above array masters than any other family."

The benefits of having a ninth-grade master are immense. In cultivation, the most important thing is inheritance. Why is it difficult for rogue cultivators to become experts? While luck plays a role, the lack of a proper inheritance is a major factor. Rogue cultivators must risk their lives killing spirit beasts and raiding secret realms for meager gains. Any rogue cultivator who manages to become a powerhouse is invariably someone who has stumbled upon a great stroke of fortune.

In contrast, families and sects distribute basic resources. Techniques that rogue cultivators might die trying to obtain can be acquired in a family or sect simply by exchanging contribution points.

Of course, those who do rise to prominence as rogue cultivators are all possessors of great destiny. Fortune is both important and unimportant in the cultivation world; those with the potential to cultivate rarely lack luck. As for "destined" figures—like Mo Yuqing, the heroine of the original book—their fortune is naturally excellent. However, the Heavenly Dao always marks a price for what it grants you.

***

After introducing the four arts, the Seventh Elder produced a sword.

"Beyond the four arts, everyone must practice the Gu family’s basic sword technique: the Cloud Spirit Sword Arts. It consists of three forms. I will demonstrate them now. Watch my movements carefully, as I will only demonstrate once."

The Seventh Elder moved slowly, ensuring everyone could memorize the sequence.

Did they begin practicing the sword forms immediately? No.

Next came the long, arduous process of practicing horse stances and sword swings. Only when one’s foundation was stable, when a push could not move them, and when they could sever the thorn trees on the back mountain without relying on cultivation energy, would they be permitted to begin the sword forms.

The Seventh Elder mandated two hours of horse stance and ten thousand sword swings every day; no one was allowed to sleep until the tasks were completed.

On the first day, Gu Mingxi finished her tasks and returned to her room at the end of the Shen hour (around 5:00 PM), collapsing onto her bed, too exhausted to move.

A while later, a servant knocked to inform her that a medicinal bath had been prepared, as the Clan Head had ordered it to help soothe her aching muscles. Gu Mingxi rose after a while and went to the adjacent room. As she stepped into the water, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Half an hour later, after the bath, Gu Mingxi entered her spatial dimension to continue her cultivation. Thus, the days repeated, one after another.

Half a month later, Gu Mingxi finished her final sword swing. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she said to Gu Mingyue, who was still swinging, "Mingyue, I’m heading back."

"Alright, I understand," Gu Mingyue replied, breathless.

After her routine medicinal bath and dinner, Gu Mingxi stepped out.