Lei Jun quietly channeled his movement and practiced Breath, all five of his Spirit Seas inside him pulsated at once.
The shadow of the Purple-Gold Ganoderma wavered along with it.
A flood of Spiritual Energy flowed endlessly, which Lei Jun refined and absorbed, transforming it into True Qi in his Spirit Seas.
The slight bottleneck he'd encountered before, this time it hadn't taken much effort, and he broke through easily, much faster than he'd anticipated.
The sixth Spirit Sea, newly born!
Lei Jun opened his eyes, exhaling a long breath.
His Cultivation Realm had advanced, rising from the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement to the Sixth Level.
From what Lei Jun knew, current cultivation was customarily divided into nine Great Realms, also called the Ninth Heavenly Layer.
Depending on each sect's inheritance and cultivation path, the specific characteristics of each realm might differ, but overall, everyone divided it by the Ninth Heavenly Layer.
For example, the Taoist Dan Ding Sect customarily called the Ninth Heavenly Layer, from the lowest to the highest, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Cauldron Furnace, Golden Core, Warming and Nurturing, Tao Fetus, Nascent Soul, Nascent Soul Transformation, and Mahayana.
Lei Jun belonged to the Celestial Master Mansion, the ancestral court of the Taoist Talisman Sect, inheriting the lineage of Taoist Talismans, where the Ninth Heavenly Layer from low to high were Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Altar, Original Talisman, Tao Palace, Tao Seal, Connecting Heaven, Divine Court, and Mahayana.
Within some Great Realms, there were smaller Realms, the number varied.
For instance, the initial First Heaven Layer Qi Refinement Realm was divided into twelve inner sub-stages, called Twelve Floors.
The Second Heavenly Layer Foundation Establishment Realm was split into four sub-stages, called Initial, Middle, High, and Perfection.
This kind of division went on, and there was no shortage of variety.
The Celestial Master Mansion, being the ancestral sacred land of the Taoist Talisman Sect, even its most basic introductory dharma teachings had unique merit.
Although Lei Jun had only recently begun cultivating, along the way he had already reached the Fifth Level in Qi Refinement.
However, recently he felt that his cultivation speed was gradually slowing down.
On one hand, the higher his Cultivation Realm, the harder it became, and usually took even longer.
On the other hand, the various Spiritual Objects he used as cultivation resources were relatively limited.
Even though the Celestial Master Mansion was rich and powerful, in most cases, Tao Boys had to take part in the Transcension Ritual to become Taoists—only when one officially became a true disciple did the resources get supplied in abundance.
Luckily, right now, that purple-gold Ganoderma had basically given Lei Jun special treatment.
"But that's just a single resource, once I take part in the Transcension Ritual and become an official true disciple, my opportunities in all areas—method, land, wealth, companions—will be fully elevated."
Lei Jun slowly finished his practice, "Still need to work hard and take part in the Transcension Ritual as soon as possible, leave the Tao Boy Court at the foot of the mountain, and head to our Mansion up on the mountain."
The shadow of the Purple-Gold Ganoderma within his dantian dissolved again into threadlike golden light, dispersing into his limbs and bones.
But if needed, it could be condensed again, though most of the time it stayed hidden.
*A moderately good lot, Fifth Grade Opportunity...* Lei Jun nodded slowly.
*I wonder at Ganoderma Terrace, what was the perfectly neutral lot Sixth-Rank Opportunity?*
The next day, he took part in morning lessons as usual.
After morning lessons, the lucky few who survived, including Lei Jun, were permitted to visit wounded fellow disciples they knew.
"Lei, you didn't go to Elder Du's cave mansion for the selection, so you actually dodged a disaster!" one Tao Boy marveled.
After a night had passed, rumors began circulating throughout the Tao Boy Court:
"Hey, I heard the Spirit Vein at Ganoderma Terrace suddenly revived yesterday!"
"Is it connected to Elder Du's Altar?"
"If there was a way to restore Ganoderma Terrace, why didn't they do it earlier?"
"Maybe it was a lucky fluke..."
The boy beside him nudged Lei Jun's elbow, "Lei, did you hear? Ganoderma Terrace not only revived its Spirit Vein, a brand-new Pure Gold Ganoderma also sprouted!"
"Pure Gold Ganoderma?"
Lei Jun turned to look over.
"Yes!"
The Tao Boy nodded hard, "I heard that it's because the Spirit Vein, clogged and dried up for years, suddenly regenerated its vitality, triggering the Spiritual Energy to reverse and bring fortune from disaster. That's why, right when the vein revived, a Pure Gold Ganoderma immediately grew. Whether there'll be more in the future, no one can say yet.
Legend has it, back before Ganoderma Terrace was damaged years ago, a Purple-Gold Ganoderma also grew, and it was ranked even higher than the Pure Gold kind!
Still, Ganoderma Terrace being revived is already a huge blessing, having a new Pure Gold Ganoderma is double happiness—we shouldn't ask for too much."
Lei Jun said, "…That's reasonable."
"I heard about this too, but there's something else," another Tao Boy suddenly spoke, "That sprouting Pure Gold Ganoderma was picked by one of our Tao Boy Court brothers!"
Everyone around was shocked, "For real?"
The Tao Boy raised his hand, gesturing and talking at once, "Seriously! It was a brother from the eighth branch court. I remember his name... Chen Yi, right, it was Chen Yi!"
Rumor had it, that Chen Yi from the eighth branch of the Tao Boy Court hadn't gone to Elder Du's cave mansion for the excitement that day either.
So, when the Spirit Vein revived, Chen Yi happened to be right at Ganoderma Terrace, winning the jackpot and snatching the newborn Pure Gold Ganoderma.
Having survived, but now weak and battered, Zhang could only be envious and jealous,
"Fucked up! We got hurt by the altar blowing up, and he strolls off with a golden prize!"
Lei Jun said, "…No lie."
Someone said sourly, "How can someone just pick spiritual objects like that? Isn't the mansion supposed to take it?"
The opposite Tao Boy spread his hands, "Heard the mansion said the Ganoderma Terrace revival and new Golden Ganoderma was freak accidental fortune from the heavens. So, whoever bumped into it had good luck, and there was no punishment. Besides... Chen Yi apparently just ate the Pure Gold Ganoderma right there and then!"
Everyone, "That lucky bastard!"
Lei Jun cleared his throat, "It's getting late, those like Zhang who got injured still need rest."
"Lei is right." The crowd finally dispersed bit by bit.
Lei Jun left the infirmary, walking down the road, thinking deeply.
*Elder Du really triggered a big event—making the long-damaged Ganoderma Terrace revive. Must've been some sudden accident, right?*
*That friend called Chen Yi, was the timing just too perfect to catch this coincidence?*
*But if he'd known beforehand Elder Du would pull that kind of stunt, why run off to Ganoderma Terrace rather than hang near Elder Du's cave mansion and seek the Purple-Gold Ganoderma shadow?*
*By quality, the Purple-Gold Ganoderma was a higher grade than the Pure Gold one.*
*Leaving aside whether the lot was lucky or not, just the difference between a Fifth Grade Opportunity and a Sixth-Rank Opportunity came down to this.*
*When Ganoderma Terrace revived, it almost formed the highest-quality Purple-Gold Ganoderma.*
*But fortune and misfortune are mixed, gains and losses intertwined.*
*Due to the Azure-Thunder, Ganoderma Terrace might have revived, but the essence of the Purple-Gold Ganoderma just finished forming and got blasted apart again by rampaging thunder light.*
*So the Terrace could only produce the secondary Pure Gold Ganoderma at the source.*
*The essence of the Purple-Gold Ganoderma changed into a light-shadow, entangled with the thunder light, burst with Light Mist, and flew off to the outskirts, ultimately falling near Elder Du's cave mansion instead.*
*At first, the Azure-Thunder and the essence were tangled up, each canceling out the other's effects.*
*Azure-Thunder masked the Spiritual Energy of the Ganoderma's essence.*
*The essence softened the ferocity of the thunder.*
*When the Azure-Thunder gradually faded, and just before the Purple-Gold Ganoderma essence resurfaced and could be noticed by others, Lei Jun happened to get lucky and picked up the pieces.*
Lei Jun shook his head, focused his thoughts, and as always, finished his Tao Boy Court assignments with care.
At night, he returned to his own little courtyard, following his steady pace, working quietly and calmly on his cultivation.
The essence of the Purple-Gold Ganoderma kept turning into Spiritual Energy, nourishing Lei Jun's flesh and helping him progress.
And after some more days,
True Qi roared in his body, surging like a mighty river, soon carving out the seventh Spirit Sea.
Seventh Level of Qi Refinement, accomplished!
"Hmm, nice, nice."
The next morning, the instructor looked at Lei Jun, nodded in satisfaction, "Your progress was quicker than I expected."
He had felt some regret before.
*This boy Lei Jun had a good temperament and spirit, and some natural talent for enlightenment, but unfortunately his root bone was just average.*
*Not bad, but so-so. Could only be called of average stature.*
*But here at the Celestial Master Mansion, the Taoist Talisman Sect's ancestral sacred land, geniuses and oddballs were everywhere.*
The instructor himself was a legitimate true disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion.
*Above-average talent that others would desperately chase after meant nothing special here.*
*And Lei Jun had come in late.*
*Most kids in the Tao Boy Court had lingered for several years and were just fourteen or fifteen years old.*
*Lei Jun was already eighteen when he first entered.*
But the instructor now felt he'd misjudged him before.
Lei Jun said, "I entered the Tao late, and was no young child when I began cultivation, so I have to put in double the effort, not daring to slack off one bit."
The instructor said, pleased, "If you truly apply yourself, even though you'll miss next year's Transmission Ceremony, you still have a shot at the one four years from now."
In this world's Celestial Master Mansion, Tao Boys could "ascend" to Taoists and become official true disciples only through the Transmission Ceremony, held every three years.
To take part in the Transmission Ritual, one basic requirement was your cultivation reaching the Perfection Stage of the First Heaven Layer, that's the Twelfth Level of Qi Refinement.
The Tao Boys' practice only had the foundational chapters to strengthen Qi Refinement.
After the Transmission Ceremony, one could become a true disciple, receive authentic teaching, and only then look forward to the Second Heavenly Layer Foundation Establishment Realm.