Chronicles of the Green Vine: A Mortal’s Path to Immortality

Three days later, Zhang Ling looked at the redwood box on the table, a smile appearing on his face. Inside the box was a layer of gray-black powder, emanating a faint spiritual light. This was the Spirit Concentrating Incense.

With a tap of his storage pouch, a delicate bronze incense burner appeared on the table. He used his divine sense to wrap some of the gray-black powder and placed it into the incense burner.

With a flick of his finger, a small spark landed in the incense burner, igniting the powder within.

Zhang Ling then put away the box, held the incense burner, and went to the wooden house where he cultivated. He then activated the formation within the house and sat down cross-legged, reviewing the Nameless Soul Refining Art in his mind.

His chest rose and fell continuously, and the rhythm of his breathing between his mouth and nose also changed, sometimes rapid, sometimes slow.

The incense burner on the table slowly emitted a plume of bluish-gray mist, which soon filled half the room.

A few days later, a look of fatigue appeared on Zhang Ling's face. He sat on a rattan chair, his eyes half-closed as he looked at the setting sun on the horizon.

After cultivating the Nameless Soul Refining Art, his divine soul was indeed slowly strengthening, but a problem had also arisen.

This secret art required complete dedication, and the time he could cultivate each day was limited to one hour, consuming most of his mind.

Even with the aid of the Spirit Concentrating Incense, he could only persist for one and a half hours. Any longer, and he would become dizzy, his spirit flagging.

This was what caused him to be in such a state. He now looked as if he had exhausted all his energy, with a face devoid of the will to live.

To alleviate this situation, he could only recover through sleep. Generally, he needed to rest for half a day after cultivating the soul refining art for three days.

He calculated in his mind that if he cultivated the Nameless Soul Refining Art for one hour each day, it would take at least two years to meet the requirements for casting the Soul Splitting Art.

And this did not include his rest time. However, during his cultivation of the soul refining art, the Soul Devouring Insect within his sea of consciousness showed no abnormalities, which reassured him.

To resolve the issue of this strange insect, he could only grit his teeth and persevere. Cultivation emphasized gradual progress, and there was no use in rushing. Only by calming his mind could he avoid mistakes.

...

Thus, two months later, a sect communication talisman flew towards the small courtyard. Soon, Zhang Ling changed into the sect disciple's uniform, cast the Wind Riding Technique, and left Azure Mist Valley.

Two hours later, he arrived at a black hall called the Treasure Pavilion, where more than thirty sect disciples had already gathered.

He recognized many of the disciples, including the rogue cultivators who had joined the Vast Origin Sect with him.

These people all wore expressions of joy, as did Zhang Ling. After waiting for a while, the hall opened. Several people walked out, led by the Vast Origin Sect's Sect Master, Wang Chengfeng.

"Disciple greets Sect Master."

Upon seeing this person appear, the surrounding disciples quickly cupped their hands and bowed in salute.

"You are all elites of my Vast Origin Sect. The sect's prosperity depends on your efforts. Now, we will distribute the rewards you deserve."

The Sect Master smiled and looked at each of them, then waved his hand, and the three Foundation Establishment stage cultivators behind him stepped forward.

"Is Han Yun present?"

One of the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators took out a jade token and a cyan porcelain bottle.

"Disciple is here."

As soon as his name was called, a dark-faced man in his thirties quickly stepped forward.

"This is your reward for leaving the Blazing Flame Valley and handing in the spiritual herbs."

"Thank you, Martial Uncle."

The dark-faced man quickly stepped forward, accepted the jade token and porcelain bottle, and his face was filled with excitement. The jade token and cyan jade bottle drew envious glances from many disciples.

"Lin Xiaofang, Zhang Hu, Zhou Yuan..."

One name after another was called, and these disciples stepped forward to receive their rewards.

"Zhang Ling."

Zhang Ling's name was naturally among them, and he also received a jade token and a white porcelain bottle.

Soon, all the disciples had received their rewards. Not a single disciple present could hide the joy in their hearts, whether it was joy or sorrow. Some disciples even opened the porcelain bottles to inspect them.

However, some disciples had gloomy expressions. They did not seem satisfied with the rewards they received.

"Among you, many disciples have received Foundation Establishment Pills, and some have not. Those who have received Foundation Establishment Pills should not be arrogant, and those who have not should not harbor resentment. You must know that this is all determined by individual strength."

"Having Foundation Establishment Pills does not necessarily mean you can break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and those who do not have them still have opportunities. You must maintain your state of mind to avoid the growth of inner demons, which will affect your cultivation. As long as you cultivate diligently, the sect will naturally not mistreat you."

Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Sect Master Wang Chengfeng's voice echoed in their ears.

"Thank you for your teachings, Sect Master."

After listening to Sect Master Wang's words, the thoughts of the crowd also calmed down. Then, the Sect Master said some more teachings to them and let them leave.

...

Zhang Ling quickly returned to the small courtyard. Sitting in the house, he waved his hand and took out the white porcelain bottle. With a soft "poof," he opened the stopper.

Immediately, a rich fragrance wafted out. Zhang Ling took out a pill from the bottle and carefully examined it before his eyes.

The pill was purplish-brown in color, and faintly emitted some five-colored spiritual light.

This was the "Foundation Establishment Pill."

The elixir that Qi Refining cultivators dreamed of, the ladder to the Foundation Establishment stage, the possibility of further advancement. Countless disciples went crazy for it.

After pinching the Foundation Establishment Pill and looking at it for a few moments, Zhang Ling put the pill back into the porcelain bottle. There was another identical pill inside. He had received two Foundation Establishment Pills in total.

As Wei Laogui had said, this was likely due to the hundred-year-old Flame Yang Flower that he had taken out. Then, Zhang Ling attached two spiritual talismans to the white porcelain bottle and carefully put it away.

He did not need this pill for the time being. Then, he took out the jade token that he had received along with the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Holding the jade token, he waved his hand and took out his silver identity token. He cast a magic spell on it, and suddenly, the jade token flashed with spiritual light, and some small characters flew into the silver token.

Then, with a "crack," the jade token shattered into two halves.

Zhang Ling immersed his mind in the identity token and checked the information within. In addition to his basic information, there were a few more lines of small characters, which recorded several green numbers: three hundred and forty-nine.

These were sect contribution points, which could not be exchanged with spirit stones. Three hundred contribution points were not a small amount for a Qi Refining disciple.

Sect contribution points could be exchanged for spirit stones, but spirit stones could not be exchanged for sect contribution points. Within the sect, sect contribution points were a disciple's wealth.

Whether exchanging for cultivation methods, secret arts, or elixirs and magical artifacts, contribution points were the hard currency. Moreover, they could not be borrowed from each other. Contribution points could only be obtained by doing sect missions.

In the end, sect contribution points were a means of encouraging low-level disciples to do missions. After all, the sect was large and had many miscellaneous tasks that needed to be handled.

There were even many dispatched missions. The Vast Origin Sect's power was enough to spread throughout the entire Cangyun Kingdom.

If Zhang Ling had not been directly accepted as a disciple by Wei Shen and become an inner disciple, he would now have to accept sect miscellaneous tasks. This was also a small benefit for inner disciples. However, if he wanted to obtain more cultivation resources, sect missions were unavoidable, even for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.