The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Preaching and Teaching_1

Autumn ended, and winter arrived. Shen Mo enjoyed a rare period of tranquility. Usually, aside from advancing his Cultivation Realm and delving deeply into magic and martial arts, he spent his time on Alchemy, making talismans, or Forging artifacts. Even without the income from exchanging the merit of slaying demons for resources, the revenue from his three secondary professions and the dividends from his sixty percent stake in four stores were sufficient to cover his daily cultivation costs!

Moreover, after joining the ranks of the core disciples, even if Shen Mo did nothing, he could receive cultivation resources worth fifty middle-grade Spirit Stones every month from the Riverside Sect. The rewards for completing sect tasks were calculated separately! Fifty middle-grade Spirit Stones converted to five thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. This was not a small sum. If he amassed enough Sect Merits, he could save up for another half year and exchange them for a low-grade spiritual level cultivation method from the Magic Tower! When Shen Mo was an outer disciple, even amassing five low-grade Spirit Stones was incredibly challenging.

It only proves that in the cultivation world, the truth upheld for tens of millions of years is that the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker! This couldn’t be blamed on the unfairness of the world. After all, if the vast cultivation resources were spread thinly among every low-level cultivator, each would receive a pitifully small amount. Take the nine core disciples of the Riverside Sect, for instance. Their total monthly stipend was worth 45,000 low-grade Spirit Stones. This seemed like a large sum, but if it were distributed to each outer disciple, everyone would receive less than half a Spirit Stone. In a year, each one would have just over five Spirit Stones!

Hence, there was a reason for the Riverside Sect’s laissez-faire approach to the outer disciples. With a hundred thousand outer disciples, the resources invested in each one were minimal. Yet, when accumulated, it amounted to a terrifying expenditure that even a large immortal sect would struggle to bear! As a result, the Riverside Sect adopted a cultivation model akin to panning for gold; only after outstanding individuals emerged from the outer disciples would they be officially registered, acknowledged as true disciples, and have more resources invested in them. As for those who didn’t manage to stand out, it wasn’t a dead end either. They could venture down the mountain to establish their own cultivation families and provide fresh blood to the Riverside Sect! Or they could continue cultivating on the mountain. As long as they didn’t perish, all their activities could generate some value, allowing them to continuously contribute what they could to the sect and to those with superior Talent!

It’s fortunate that I activated the Destiny Panel; otherwise, there’s a high chance I would have been lost in the sea of mediocrity! Shen Mo thought with some relief. It wasn’t that an ordinary life was bad, but to be reborn and not witness the magnificent, vast, extraordinary world would be too much of a pity!

Besides cultivation, Shen Mo would also find time to spend with Zhao Lingyin, watching the sunset clouds, admiring the moon, and indulging in romantic dalliances. By this time, the initial period of the demonic disaster, with its acute shortage of Demon Suppressing Pills, had passed. Zhao Lingyin found herself with a little more free time. However, due to her ongoing efforts to enhance her Cultivation Realm, the time she could spend being intimate with Shen Mo was still rather limited. For cultivators like them, their own cultivation level was paramount. It could ensure they were not burdened by external calamities and also grant them more years to live in harmony together. Thus, there was no need for them to be inseparable every day. Of course, both Shen Mo and Zhao Lingyin cherished their time together, morning and night. When their feelings were strong, they would also engage in intimate acts that would make one blush! To avoid being disturbed, Shen Mo had specially refined a light gauze veil. When activated, it could conceal their presence. The five senses of anyone below the Golden Core Realm could not penetrate this light gauze barrier. Naturally, such strong concealing power meant it had little use in other aspects. Even a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator could easily tear this light gauze magic artifact.

The rest of his leisure time was spent teaching Ming Yu the Forging Path and instructing his prospective disciple, Qian Xiaofeng.

It had to be said that Ming Yu possessed an exceptional, heaven-sent advantage and aptitude for crafting bead-type magic artifacts. In such a short time, she could already easily condense middle-grade profound level magic beads and occasionally even one or two high-grade profound level magic beads! According to the classification of Human Cultivators, Ming Yu had already entered the ranks of Grade II Forgemasters! However, if she were to forge magic artifacts of other shapes, she would struggle somewhat. She could only successfully forge low-grade profound level magic artifacts and could barely manage to refine middle-grade profound level ones, with an extremely low success rate. In other words, if bead-type magic artifacts were excluded, Ming Yu was only a Grade I Forgemaster. Even so, Shen Mo was very satisfied with Ming Yu. It was important to remember that Ming Yu had been practicing the Forging techniques he had taught her for less than half a year. To achieve such results was proof enough of her extraordinary talent in Forging, at least far surpassing Guo Zhao, who hailed from a prominent clan family!

Qian Xiaofeng had not disappointed Shen Mo either. Not long after returning from Jiyun Town, she stepped into Layer IX of the Body Tempering Realm. When she came to Green Cloud Peak seeking guidance, Shen Mo comprehensively assessed her Talent and comprehension in various aspects such as physique, soul, magic, close-quarters martial arts, and the Sword Path, and tailor-made a cultivation plan for her. Deficiencies were to be compensated for as much as possible, striving to ensure they wouldn’t become weaknesses in combat. As for her strengths, they were to be elevated further, widening her gap with others! Qian Xiaofeng’s physique was relatively weak, but her comprehension of magic and swordplay surpassed that of most cultivators. For this, Shen Mo taught her the Dragon Elephant Blood Fiend Body to temper her physical body and also imparted the Sword Control Spirit Technique to help her better comprehend sword intent and refine her swordplay. As for other magic cultivation methods, they were either obtained from the Riverside Sect’s Magic Tower and could not be casually taught, or they were not quite suitable for Qian Xiaofeng. Furthermore, with Shen Mo, a Grandmaster of the Sword Path, personally guiding her, Qian Xiaofeng’s Proficiency in Swordsmanship improved at an astonishing rate.

Currently, she was still practicing the sect’s foundational swordplay, the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique, and had reached the Senior level. However, when she executed it, her style was completely different from the grand, expansive, and majestic manner of Shen Mo’s Supreme Clarity Sword Technique. Hers followed a path of agility, lightness, and unpredictability! This amazed Shen Mo somewhat. For Qian Xiaofeng to form her own unique style when her Proficiency in Swordsmanship was not yet deep was truly commendable! Then, Shen Mo gave her a sound scolding, which made her cry. Qian Xiaofeng had no choice but to abandon her unique style, meticulously copy each move, and practice the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique anew, returning it to its original form.

Aiming too high too soon is a major taboo in sword practice. Even if she could now rely on her distinctive sword moves and stances to defeat disciples who practiced earnestly, making them cry out, in the future, she would only stray further down a deviant path, her practice becoming increasingly unorthodox! Ultimately, she would find it difficult to achieve true mastery! Only after thoroughly understanding each sword technique, grasping its essence, building a solid foundation, and developing her Proficiency in Swordsmanship would it not be too late to form sword moves with her own distinct style! Otherwise, it would be like a sapling that, instead of focusing on growing tall and sturdy, exhausts all its energy into growing wildly sprawling branches. It might look peculiar, perhaps even beautiful, but in the end, it could only become a bonsai, an ornamental plant for mere display!

However, considering Xiaofeng’s temperament and aptitude, she may be able to cultivate the Maiden Sword Mantra in the future.

Perhaps our Riverside Sect might produce another peerless female sword immortal!