Immortality Starts With Ignorant Heart Sword Art

Chapter 121: I, Zhong Cang, do not need to explain myself to others.

"Refuse? Why?"

Zhou Cang: "Does Fellow Daoist Zhong want to lead the team himself? I don't recommend you to do so. Fellow Daoist, although your talent is outstanding, your cultivation level is a bit low, and the other world is full of dangers. Especially the Sacrificial Heaven Array has many benefits for us, but it will extinguish the consciousness of another world. Therefore, such behavior will be met with instinctive retaliation from the other side of heaven and earth. At that time, everything will reject you, and many misfortunes will befall you one by one. It will be very difficult for Fellow Daoist to lead the team through such a disaster."

Yan Ying: "I am willing to let you be the auxiliary sacrifice of the Sacrificial Heaven Array, giving you thirty percent of the luck... This is already quite a lot. I want to recruit more than one person, and the luck is not only shared between the two of us."

Due to the importance placed on Zhong Cang, everyone made offers one after another, but no matter the price, Zhong Cang refused them all.

"You are all right, and the conditions are very generous, but I'm sorry, I don't want to take risks for now... I prefer to cultivate within the sect rather than venture into another world."

"Stay in the sect and not go out?"

This sentence made the group of geniuses who invited Zhong Cang frown in surprise. Obviously, they didn't expect Zhong Cang to make this choice.

Especially Yan Ying, who believed in the need to fight for the Great Dao, had a sense of contempt for Zhong Cang's "cowardly" choice.

However, formation masters are indeed very important, and at the Qi Refining Stage, there are few who are willing to learn formations that consume a huge amount of time.

The slightly famous formation masters are all Foundation Building Perfected Beings.

Not to mention that if Foundation Building Perfected Beings join the team, they cannot maintain control over the team.

Ordinary Foundation Building Perfected Beings are also unwilling to seal their cultivation and venture into a low-energy world, as it would make them feel stifled.

Therefore, they really need Zhong Cang, and Yan Ying advised him accordingly.

"Brother Zhong, I suggest you think about it again. The path requires competition, and if you take one step slowly, you will be left behind easily. There are such great opportunities right in front of you, but you refuse to take risks. It's very likely that you will be surpassed by others."

"And your master values you now, but if someone else surpasses you, his thoughts may not remain the same. After all, he is just your master, not your parents."

This statement makes sense. Qin Lao has only spent less than ten days with Zhong Cang, so it would be a lie to say that they have a deep emotional connection.

If there are better disciples, it is highly unlikely that Qin Lao would directly expel Zhong Cang from the Starry Sky Archipelago, but it is inevitable that he would reduce his treatment and give resources to other geniuses.

However, even after learning all this, Zhong Cang still rejected the proposal to venture together with everyone.

"What you all said is very good, but I still refuse. I just want to cultivate quietly... Besides, I believe that I have some talent, and my cultivation speed within the sect may not necessarily be slower than yours."

"Hehe..."

No one believes Zhong Cang's last words.

At the same time, the golden opportunity is right in front of them, but Zhong Cang, as a genius, does not compete or fight for it. Instead, he retreats in a hurry.

Such a fear of life and death disappointed Zhou Cang and Yan Ying.

"I have misjudged you."

"With such a mindset, you will definitely be surpassed by others... and then you will regret it."

With an expression of anger and disappointment, everyone distanced themselves from Zhong Cang.

In the end, the only person left in front of Zhong Cang was a woman with a fierce temperament.

Zhong Cang remembered her name, Yue Qianqian. She was selected in the first round of the Inner Sect Assessment and ranked second. She was also a sword cultivator with a clear Sword Heart.

From her, Zhong Cang also felt a familiar aura.

"Ignorant Heart Sword Art, are you also cultivating this technique?" Zhong Cang asked. However, among the group of people just now, she was the one Zhong Cang was most concerned about and also the most disappointed in.

Ignoring Zhong Cang's question, she simply shook her head and said, "I wanted to spar with you, but your Sword Heart has been clouded with dust. You are so weak that you are not worthy of being called a swordsman."

...

"Sensing that my Sword Heart has been clouded with dust, is it really the Ignorant Heart Sword Art?" Zhong Cang muttered to himself, and the news of his reluctance to take risks had already spread throughout the Tianxiang Tower.

This also made the onlookers look at Zhong Cang with some curiosity.

Those disciples who had regarded Zhong Cang as a hero because he had "subdued" Yan Lingwei had also left his side one after another.

Obviously, they did not have much confidence in Zhong Cang's future.

As for this, Zhong Cang didn't care too much.

The uniqueness of Tianxin made him unaffected by the opinions of others.

How should I deal with the slander, mockery, and disdain of others?

The answer is, what does it have to do with me?

"I, Zhong Cang, act as I please. Why do I need to explain myself to others?"

This is Zhong Cang's current state of mind.

Of course, what he can tolerate is only the slander, mockery, and disdain that do not affect himself. If someone provokes him, Zhong Cang will let them know if his sword is sharp.

That's for now. If someone provokes him later, Zhong Cang will make them understand that a master cannot be insulted.

...

Knowing the source of the loud noise but not wanting to waste time venturing into the other realm, Zhong Cang left the Tianxiang Tower.

Yan Lingwei, who had been clinging to him all along, hesitated for a moment and followed him.

This behavior made Zhong Cang raise an eyebrow.

"You know I'm a coward, yet you don't leave?"

"I never thought Brother Cang, you are weak... Brother Cang, you must have your own reasons for doing this."

These words made Zhong Cang shrug.

"Perhaps."

The unique Zhong Cang didn't want to explain too much.

However, Yan Lingwei, who followed him, also reminded Zhong Cang of something, so he asked.

"By the way, your clan cultivators must have taken a lot of elixirs. In this situation, how do you determine if a clan cultivator's foundation is solid or not? Don't tell me it's based on experience."

Compared to treasures that directly enhance one's realm, the improvement in cultivation from medicinal pills is slightly more gradual.

However, long-term consumption can lead to a weak foundation. Zhong Cang really wants to know how the family cultivators determine when to take medicine and how often to take it.

Yan Lingwei actually knows the answer to this question.

"There are many methods, but a simpler one is using pure white test paper. By infusing spiritual energy into the test paper, it will exhibit different anomalies and colors. Through these anomalies, one can determine whether the spiritual energy is unstable or mixed."

"The second method is the Eye of the Righteous Law. If this spell is cultivated to a high level, one can instantly discern whether a cultivator's cultivation is solid. However, this kind of detection would expose all of the cultivator's secrets, so unless there is a close relationship, no one would willingly expose themselves to the Eye of the Righteous Law."

"The third method is to use a Law Treasure. I don't know about other families, but the Yan Family has a mirror called the Mirror of Righteous Illumination. When the mirror shines on someone, it forms a reflection inside. By judging and analyzing the reflection, one can determine whether the foundation is solid and even identify the cultivator's flaws in order to find ways to make up for them."

After explaining these three methods, Yan Lingwei spoke again, "I still have one opportunity to use the Mirror of Righteous Illumination. If Brother Cang is interested, we can have the mirror reflect on you."

These words made Zhong Cang momentarily tempted, but in the end, he shook his head.

"For me, the pure white test paper is enough."

After saying that, Zhong Cang turned and headed to the Four Seas Pavilion. As far as he knew, the pavilion had a complete range of goods, making it the best place to buy things with guaranteed quality.

The Four Seas Pavilion did not disappoint Zhong Cang. Soon, he found what he needed here.

They even had test papers for testing blood, spiritual energy, and divine sense.

"Three sets of each type of test paper, and they must be of the highest quality."

"Sure, that will be ninety spirit stones."

"..."

The price was more expensive than Zhong Cang had expected.

However, as the person had said, you get what you pay for. If he wanted to pay less, he could buy lower-grade test papers, where one spirit stone could get him ten sheets.

Because the test papers were related to his foundation, in the end, Zhong Cang gritted his teeth and chose the expensive ones.

After making the purchase, in addition to receiving nine sheets of test paper, Zhong Cang also received a small booklet that explained the various reactions of the test papers.

After obtaining the test papers, Zhong Cang originally planned to use them alone. However, Yan Lingwei said that the information recorded in the booklet provided by the Four Seas Pavilion would not cover everything, and she had a better understanding of the test papers.

"Information is also a kind of resource. Besides selling goods, the Four Seas Pavilion also sells intelligence. Therefore, they won't freely disclose high-quality information."

"If Brother Cang analyzes it alone, he will find that many things don't match the information in the booklet provided by the Four Seas Pavilion."

This made Zhong Cang hesitate for a moment. In the end, considering that his cultivation didn't have many secrets, he allowed Yan Lingwei to observe.

Instead of experimenting in the Four Seas Pavilion, Zhong Cang and Yan Lingwei found a private room in a restaurant. It was there that he took out the test papers and began testing the stability of his own foundation.

The first thing Zhong Cang tested was his blood and physical body.

Using a silver needle, Zhong Cang pricked his fingertip and let a drop of blood fall onto the pure white test paper (blood).

"Buzz..."

As the blood dripped, it immediately spread and stained the test paper.

What made Zhong Cang squint his eyes was that this was indeed a good item worth ten spirit stones per sheet.

The spreading blood color, besides being entirely red, slowly formed the faint images of five Spirit Beasts on the small test paper.

The resonance of the five beasts caused the blood color on the test paper to shimmer and become even more vibrant.

However, the resonance of the Five Beasts only occurred once. The second resonance, although it caused a reaction in the blood on the test paper, ultimately fell short and did not produce a prominent color.

Apart from the crimson color, Zhong Cang also noticed slight variations on the test paper.

The proportion of these variations is four percent.

While Zhong Cang was observing, Yan Lingwei also looked over from the side.

After staring for a while, she began to explain the details of the test paper reaction to Zhong Cang.

"The crimson color represents the quality of qi and blood, which is closely related to one's physical strength. It also represents the intensity of one's physique. Your blood brightness is at level two, just one step away from level three..."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Cang instantly understood.

"Is it related to the resonance of the Five Beasts?"

"Yes, Brother Cang, the quality of your qi and blood is already satisfactory, which is the basic level one. The resonance of the Five Beasts amplified it once, reaching level two. Unfortunately, it failed the second time. If it had succeeded, your physical strength would have reached the Earth Level, surpassing Heavenly Grade, Earth Grade, Profound Grade, and Yellow Grade. But now, it can only reach the limit of Profound Level."

This evaluation made Zhong Cang slightly furrow his brows.

"Only Profound Level? Haven't even reached the Earth Level?"

"... Profound Level is already quite good. Among cultivators, it is considered elite. The evaluation of Earth Level means being able to fight against someone of the seventh level of Qi Refining solely based on physical strength, without falling behind."

"Unless one has a special physique, the upper limit for ordinary people is Profound Level."

Yan Lingwei tried to console him, but Zhong Cang could sense her disappointment.

Indeed, the evaluation of Profound Level for the physical body was good, but that was for ordinary people. As a genius like Zhong Cang, the evaluation of his physical body should be at least at the Earth Level.

Zhong Cang, on the other hand, quickly realized.

"My Five Beasts Infusion Technique is indeed considered good in the outer sect, but in the inner sect, it is completely overshadowed. The physical body cultivated with it is not particularly strong."

This can also be seen from the proficiency level. Other techniques at the third stage have a proficiency limit of three to five thousand, while the Five Beasts Infusion Technique only has a limit of just over ten thousand.

With a low proficiency limit, the cultivated physical body naturally cannot be considered strong.

Furthermore, after Zhong Cang's modifications, his Five Beasts Infusion Technique gradually shifted from strengthening the body to tempering the five qi and comprehending the five laws.

This further weakened the enhancement of the physical body.

Afterward, although Zhong Cang's Five Organs Divine Palace True Form Diagram also had the ability to strengthen the body, it focused more on stabilizing Zhong Cang's physical body rather than enhancing his strength and speed.

All these circumstances made it clear that Zhong Cang could not fight beyond his level solely relying on his physical body.

Understanding this, Zhong Cang did not feel disappointed. Whether in the past or now, his reliance has never been solely on his physical body.

At the same time, the main purpose of this test for Zhong Cang was not to observe the strength of his physical body, but rather:

"Are these variations caused by the medicines and treasures I have taken, resulting in a weak foundation?"

"Do you know how long it will take for me to eliminate these variations in my body and take the treasures for the second time?"

(End of this chapter)