Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World-Chapter 81 Selecting Treasures

The two vermilion doors in front of him, made of some unknown sturdy wood, were three to four zhang high, making Zheng Fa feel somewhat insignificant as he stood before them.

He took a few steps closer, and the doors opened by themselves without any wind, soundlessly.

Inside the door, there were no traces of human decoration, but a stalactite cave instead. The interior was crisscrossed with strange rocks, walking among them felt like being in a somewhat magical rainforest.

Dozens of stalagmite-like rocks emerged from the ground, with various colored lights floating at their tips, evidently the treasure left by the former Jiushan Ancestor.

The number of treasures wasn’t many; compared to the extravagantly large doors, they seemed rather modest.

The Jiushan Ancestor also entered the door, looking at those flowing lights with a bit of a sigh: "The old man left these ancient things, I haven’t seen them in a long time either."

Zheng Fa listened with some confusion and couldn’t help asking: "Ancestor, couldn’t you enter here yourself?"

"Me?" The Jiushan Ancestor pointed at himself: "I am not him. I am the Spirit Vein, I am Jiushan, but not him. All I have are his memories..."

Zheng Fa suddenly understood.

He had thought this Jiushan Ancestor was quite strange before.

Despite being the founding ancestor, his temperament seemed like that of a child.

"If I really have to say who I am," the Jiushan Ancestor said with a peculiar smile: "I’m just a stand-in that can’t leave Jiushan Sect, almost like a Magical Treasure he created."

"He wanted to integrate this True Form Talisman, but couldn’t let go of Jiushan Sect, so he created me..." The Jiushan Ancestor said with a complex expression when talking about the original ancestor: "Sometimes, I don’t know whether to regard him as a father who gave me life, or a master who put a dog leash around my neck."

"Let’s not talk about this anymore." It seemed the Jiushan Ancestor was merely sighing, then he said to Zheng Fa: "You have such talent; according to what the old man left for me, you can take two treasures here."

"How do I take them?"

Zheng Fa tried to discern the shape of the treasures within the lights, but the glow obscured their form.

"Depends on fate!"

"Huh?" Zheng Fa was stunned, wondering if this was a bit hasty.

"Or you could say it’s up to your luck." The Jiushan Ancestor rolled his eyes: "That old man didn’t have any divine calculations, who knows who would come here, and what they would need. His treasures might not suit you... But the treasures have their own spirit and sensitivity, just take a walk around. If something gives you a special feeling, it’s probably useful to you."

Hearing this, Zheng Fa walked into the cave, trying to find the special feeling mentioned by the Jiushan Ancestor.

But most of the treasures were quite aloof; as he approached these rays of light, other than feeling dazzled, he had no other sensations.

After traversing most of the cave, Zheng Fa even began to doubt whether the Jiushan Ancestor was deceiving him.

Until he came to a treasure emanating a cyan and golden glow.

Suddenly, the Qi Force belonging to the Spiritual Crane Body within him became excited, raging through his body as if expressing an instinctual longing.

The phantom of a spiritual crane appeared behind him, its wings spread as if wanting to plunge into this cyan and golden light.

"Huh?" The Jiushan Ancestor understood immediately: "Have you practiced the ’Spiritual Crane Body’?"

"Yes."

"Fire and Wood Dual Spirit Roots, Spiritual Crane Body... no wonder this Green Yang Energy provoked your sensation," the Jiushan Ancestor pointed, and the cyan golden light gradually faded, leaving only a stream of cyan air with specks of golden flame slowly flowing in front of Zheng Fa.

"Green Yang Energy?"

"Yes, back then when that old man transformed into Jiushan, the life within the myriad woods flourished, resonating with the Great Sun Spiritual Energy, giving birth to this Green Yang Energy, which he treasured and collected." The Jiushan Ancestor explained: "Didn’t expect to meet you, it happens to suit you quite well."

"Suit me?"

"You are of Fire and Wood Dual Spirit Roots, Green Yang Energy born from the interaction of Great Sun and the vegetation fits your Spirit Root talent perfectly, not to mention you have also cultivated the Spiritual Crane Body."

Zheng Fa somewhat understood why the Green Yang Energy corresponded to his own Spirit Roots, but the Spiritual Crane Body?

He looked puzzledly at the Jiushan Ancestor.

"The myriad things of Heaven and Earth correspond to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism. The crane is white, the purest and most Yang, some cultivators call it the Yang Bird and even regard it as a symbol of longevity—Spiritual Crane Body is created based on the Pure Yang Dao Body."

Jiushan Ancestor moved his finger, and the Green Yang Spiritual Energy fell in front of Zheng Fa: "This Green Yang Spiritual Energy is extremely rare; otherwise, that old man wouldn’t have kept it until his death. If you can cultivate a Pure Yang Body Refining Skills before reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage and integrate this Green Yang Spiritual Energy, it would be possible for you to achieve the Green Yang Dao Body afterwards, which would be greatly beneficial for you."

Zheng Fa reached out his hand and the Green Yang Spiritual Energy flew into his palm like a swallow returning to the forest, traveling along his meridians into his Dantian.

This Green Yang Spiritual Energy was extremely domineering; upon entering the Dantian, it acted as if it owned the place, squeezing the Spiritual Crane Body Qi Force that Zheng Fa had cultivated to the edge, leaving it no room but to meekly wander around the perimeter of the Dantian.

However, Zheng Fa also faintly felt that the Qi Forces within his body were slowly being permeated by this Green Yang Spiritual Energy, undergoing some different changes, as if they had become a bit more lively.

...

After obtaining the Green Yang Spiritual Energy, Zheng Fa never again had such good luck.

The other treasures ignored him completely, and his body showed no reaction either, creating an awkward mutual disdain.

"Hmm..." Jiushan Ancestor frowned and said: "These treasures are not destined for you, you can only look at the cultivation methods left by that old man."

He waved his hand, and a pile of jade tubes appeared in front of Zheng Fa.

"Choose."

"?"

Zheng Fa was puzzled; this was even more mysterious than just feeling things out—how was he to choose?

"In fact, compared to treasures, cultivation methods are even less helpful to you— that old man was an unusual cultivator, hardly many of his cultivation methods can be practiced by others, which is also why I had you choose treasures first,"

explained Jiushan Ancestor.

Zheng Fa nodded; while many treasures were ready to use, cultivation methods were selective.

Especially with an extraordinary background like that of Jiushan Ancestor, his cultivation path was certainly not conventional.

"However, there are some arrays, or talismanic magic here that might suit you well," Jiushan Ancestor pointed to the pile of jade tubes: "The disciple before was somewhat clever; she picked an incomplete Foundation Establishment cultivation method, which might actually suit her training."

"Incomplete?" Zheng Fa’s spirits lifted, understanding Zhang’s idea—since none can be fully practiced, why not take an unfinished one and modify it?

He was keen to follow Zhang’s approach.

"Forget it, that old man didn’t have so much leisure time—that Foundation Establishment cultivation method was just a byproduct created while he was contemplating the True Form Talisman," Jiushan Ancestor seemed to recall something: "Actually, I was also created at that time."

"?"

"At that time, the old man also created a Spirit Mountain Technique; he originally transformed from a Spirit Vein into a Daoist Body. Later, he reversed his own cultivation process to create the Spirit Mountain Technique, the principle of which is that the Daoist Body is the Spirit Mountain, the meridians as Spirit Veins, using the human body instead of Heaven and Earth to supply spiritual energy for the Jiushan Sect’s cultivation; that’s how I came into existence."

"This Spirit Mountain Technique is useless to you; it’s a cultivation method designed solely for benefiting others, and you..."

"Disciple wants this Spirit Mountain Technique."

Zheng Fa suddenly spoke.

Jiushan Ancestor looked at him, his gaze complex: "I misjudged you..."

"?"

Zheng Fa didn’t understand why he would say that.

"I originally thought you were crafty and shifty, given that the atmosphere in Jiushan Sect is already quite restless, and with you joining Jiushan Sect, the future of Jiushan Sect..."

...

"You have quite a reputation for criticism."

"But I was wrong, when that old man created this Spirit Mountain Technique, he said that it is a cultivation method only those with a selfless heart and great virtue would choose to cultivate, perhaps even in this world no one would choose to cultivate it..." Jiushan Ancestor now looked at Zheng Fa with some respect: "I now feel that it is my Jiushan Sect that is unworthy of you!"

Zheng Fa felt there was some beautiful misunderstanding here.

For him, choosing the Spirit Mountain Technique had only one reason:

This cultivation method solved a major problem for him—how to safely and controllably generate Spiritual Energy in the modern world.