Chapter 8
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Chapter 8: Becoming a Cultivator
The spiritual vein of the Lin Family was located near the core area, composed of countless buildings.
Viewed from above, it somewhat resembled a Bagua formation.
The very center was where the spiritual vein lay. Cultivating there for one day equaled a year of regular cultivation elsewhere.
However, this area was only accessible to members of the main family. Additionally, exceptionally talented members of the clan might also earn the qualification to enter.
Of course, those like Zhou Luo, who were sons-in-law living with the bride\’s family, were absolutely prohibited.
They could only cultivate within the outermost buildings.
Although it was very far from the spiritual vein, cultivating here was still significantly faster than regular cultivation elsewhere.
Not long after, Zhou Luo appeared before a building marked with the character \"坎\" (Kǎn).
To his surprise, he spotted two acquaintances here.
One was Xu Changsheng, the other was Zhang Da Ben, who harbored hostility towards him.
As soon as Zhang Da Ben saw Zhou Luo, his previously smiling face froze. Without any attempt to hide, he sneered loudly, \"Hmph, wasting this cultivation spot on someone with the lowest-level spiritual roots is a joke. They might as well give the chance to someone else.\"
Faced with the mockery, Zhou Luo merely smiled without speaking, but his gaze shifted to the bundle Zhang Da Ben carried on his back.
This cultivation period within the spiritual vein would last a full month. Naturally, no one wanted to waste any time, so they brought their daily necessities, planning to stay the entire month.
Zhou Luo became thoughtful.
\"Zhou Luo, long time no see.\"
At this moment, Xu Changsheng approached with a smile.
Zhou Luo pulled back his gaze and nodded in acknowledgment. \"Long time no see.\"
Just as they finished greeting each other, Steward Lin appeared.
With an indifferent expression, he scanned the group and began explaining the rules.
In the spiritual vein, each person\’s cultivation area was assigned from the start, and no one was permitted to swap locations privately.
\"Steward Lin, what if both parties agree to an exchange?\"
Suddenly, Zhou Luo asked from within the crowd.
\"Idiot,\" Zhang Da Ben thought to himself upon hearing these words, a look of disdain flashing across his face.
Once they had arrived at the spiritual vein, everyone naturally desired a spot closer to the core. Who would willingly give up their own good position? If spots were of equal value, swapping made even less sense.
In Zhang Da Ben\’s eyes, Zhou Luo\’s very question proved his brain must have been faulty.
Up front, Steward Lin glanced at Zhou Luo and said coldly, \"That\’s permissible, of course.\"
Zhou Luo nodded slightly.
Good, that meant the plan could proceed.
\"Does anyone else have any questions?\" Lin Fu asked again.
Seeing no one spoke, he then announced the cultivation areas and rooms for the ten-odd people present.
As expected, Zhou Luo and others previously ranked in the high-quality group obtained rooms that were farther inside.
As for Zhang Da Ben and his group, they got the outermost rooms.
Naturally, this caused dissatisfaction among them.
But they felt helpless.
After the distribution was complete, everyone entered this one-story building in sequence by passing through the formation.
Just as shown by the Bagua diagram, the building\’s rooms were arranged horizontally, with ten training rooms per row separated by a corridor in the middle, extending sequentially inward up to the core area.
Zhou Luo\’s training room was in the second row, and coincidentally, it was directly behind Zhang Da Ben\’s training room.
After surveying the room briefly, he suddenly stepped out of his door and headed straight to where Zhang Da Ben was.
At that moment, Zhang Da Ben was unpacking his daily necessities. To his surprise, someone suddenly barged in, which startled him.
\"What do you want to do?\"
The moment he saw it was Zhou Luo, Zhang Da Ben\’s face darkened, suspecting the other had come to stir up trouble.
Zhou Luo glanced around the room, his gaze lingering on a water cup on the table for half a second, then he smiled and said, \"I\’ve been thinking it over and over, and I think what you said is right.\"
As he spoke, he unnoticeably edged closer to that table.
\"What do you mean?\" Zhang Da Ben frowned deeply.
\"You\’re right—cultivating here with my Ninth Grade spiritual root is a waste. So how about this: I\’m willing to swap rooms with you, as long as you stop opposing me afterward,\" Zhou Luo said deliberately in a conciliatory tone.
Upon hearing these words, Zhang Da Ben felt slightly tempted.
But on second thought, he sensed something was off.
He had mocked this guy thoroughly, so why would he be willing to exchange rooms now?
Zhang Da Ben stared suspiciously at Zhou Luo, who was already near the table, and suddenly sneered, \"Huh, are you scheming against me?\"
\"I\’m not,\" Zhou Luo replied, spreading out his hands with an innocent expression.
\"Don\’t be hypocritical! I won\’t believe a word from you.\"
Zhang Da Ben wore a look of proud confidence as if refusing to be fooled. He failed to notice that during the hand-spreading motion, Zhou Luo had seamlessly dropped the small red pill hidden between his fingers into the water cup.
\"I truly mean it. Otherwise, why would I have asked Steward Lin about exchanging earlier?\" Zhou Luo pretended to be serious.
\"Hmph, get out! I won\’t swap with you.\"
Zhang Da Ben grew impatient. With a sharp snap, he began to shove him out directly.
\"Then, as you wish.\" Zhou Luo shook his head slightly, appearing regretful as he exited the room.
After Zhou Luo left, Zhang Da Ben cracked a smile.
\"You think I\’m stupid? That room must have something up his sleeve—you\’re trying to plot against me? Forget it!\" He walked up to the table, grabbed the water cup, and drank a large mouthful.
\"Try to fight me? You\’re still way too inexperienced.\"
Meanwhile, Zhou Luo returned to his training room with a broad smile on his face.
He had been pondering how to test the poison he concocted on a person, when unexpectedly, Zhang Da Ben jumped right out at him.
Perfect timing. This would show whether the \"Spirit Leakage Pill\" was effective on humans too.
He put those thoughts aside.
Only then did he walk over to the stone platform in the room, sit down cross-legged upon it, and began his practice.
As soon as he started cultivating, Zhou Luo was astounded to discover that the absorption rate of spiritual energy here was at least ten times faster than the outside world.
Practicing here for a single day would be equivalent to ten days of practice out there.
And this was only the second layer on the periphery. If it were the innermost core area, he scarcely dared imagine the speed.
No wonder everyone was scrambling to practice at the spiritual vein.
The spiritual vein and the outside world were truly worlds apart.
Such a shame it was only for a month.
Not wanting to waste a moment longer, Zhou Luo immediately gathered his focus and began cultivating, leaving no time for further thought.
…
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
\"Finally broken through to Qi Refinement Level One.\"
Inside the training room, Zhou Luo, clad in a white robe, abruptly opened his eyes. His clear pupils glimmered with a hint of delight.
Aided by the spiritual vein, he had finally absorbed enough spiritual energy, completely shedding his identity as an ordinary person and becoming a cultivator.
Though only at Qi Refinement Level One, it gave Zhou Luo immense motivation.
With the system and his long lifespan, surely, given enough time, he would become a true immortal?
This thought alone invigorated him immensely.
However, upon remembering he would soon have to leave this excellent place for cultivation, a shadow of disappointment flickered across Zhou Luo\’s face.
Outside, progressing further would likely take an unknown length of time, stretching even to the year of the monkey.
Resigned, he stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the training room.
Passing Zhang Da Ben\’s room, he suddenly remembered something and deliberately glanced inside.
But this guy wasn\’t there.
Seemed he had already left.
It was unknown how well the \"Spirit Leakage Pill\" had really worked. He would need to investigate thoroughly once he got out.
