Chapter 15: No Wonder He's the Worst of the Worst

The bed was nothing more than a hard wooden plank covered by a single layer of coarse cloth padding — not the least bit soft.

Yet Bai Chen was thoroughly satisfied.

Because he could finally sleep in a bed!

Over the past month, he had curled up in wild grass out in the open and huddled beneath inn beds.

The hard-packed dirt and jagged stone floors had left his back and waist aching.

Night after night, he had kept his body coiled tight and his nerves on edge, never daring to fully stretch out — the less said about that, the better.

Now, with his back against a proper mattress and all four limbs free to spread out, he was so comfortable he almost let out a satisfied groan!

He might be nothing more than the lowest-ranked Outer Sect Disciple right now, but this was still sect territory.

Safety was absolutely guaranteed.

No need to worry about some petty thug targeting his life — he could finally get a good night's sleep.

After rolling around on the bed a few more times, Bai Chen reluctantly sat up.

It was too early to sleep, and it wasn't yet time for the evening meal.

Cultivation was not something to be neglected — he should first take a look at what this "Hexu Qi-Drawing Art" was all about.

What if he turned out to be a once-in-a-generation genius and managed to draw Qi into his body before dinner?

With a pleased grin, he spread open the booklet. The pages were filled with archaic seal-script characters.

Bai Chen could make out the words, but the terminology woven between the lines was obscure and difficult to parse — after just two pages, his head was already buzzing.

"Goodness, so the very first step of cultivation is ancient text comprehension? This is even harder than memorizing classical Chinese back in school."

He grimaced, then forced himself to keep working through it patiently.

He'd already got one foot in the door of the cultivation world — he couldn't let a piece of classical writing stop him now.

Calm the heart and focus the mind; breathe in rhythm with the primal cycle.

Mirror the patterns of Heaven and Earth; gather the pure and flowing mist.

Guide the Qi along the meridians; connect and open every channel.

Hold to the One and embrace simplicity; let the Qi settle into the elixir field.

Return to stillness through Void Harmony; establish the Foundation and plant the root…

He had no idea how long he sat there pondering, but gradually he noticed a faint, clean scent of grass and wood drifting around the tip of his nose. Then, all at once, a subtle coolness flickered across his fingertips — something faint and elusive, swirling gently against his fingerpads.

Spiritual Energy!

Bai Chen's heart leapt with joy. He immediately steadied his mind and, following the technique's instructions, carefully tried to guide that wisp of Spiritual Energy toward his elixir field.

But the Spiritual Energy was like water cupped in his hands — it had barely traveled halfway along his meridians before it slipped away entirely.

He refused to give up and tried again.

With great effort he managed to stir up another thread of Spiritual Energy, but the result was the same: it dissipated midway, leaving his meridians hollow and empty, as though the tiny amount he had gathered moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.

Bai Chen was completely dumbfounded.

He stared blankly at his own palm, then slapped himself on the forehead.

"No wonder they say a Five-Element Spirit Root is the worst of the worst — it's basically a sieve! Can't even hold onto Spiritual Energy. What kind of cultivation is this supposed to be?!"

Bai Chen sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, his brow knotted into a tight frown.

With his Five-Element Spirit Root, gathering Qi was already several times slower than for other people.

At this rate, forget about Foundation Establishment and entering the Inner Sect — by the time others had already climbed several layers of the Qi Refining Stage, he'd still be stuck fumbling at the threshold of drawing Qi into his body.

If things continued like this, he'd probably spend his entire life stuck at the very bottom of the Outer Sect.

No. He absolutely could not just waste away like this.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck him — the cultivation world was never short of rare treasures and Pills. Surely there had to be some kind of Pill that could speed up the gathering of Spiritual Energy?

And if such a Pill existed, even if he couldn't afford to buy one, with his hundred-percent Alchemy success talent, he might not be unable to try refining one himself.

But right now he hadn't even managed to draw Qi into his body yet — he had not a single trace of Spiritual Energy in him. Could Alchemy even work without Spiritual Energy?

"Forget it."

Bai Chen leapt off the bed.

Thinking too much was just daydreaming. Better to first go ask whether such a Qi-gathering Pill even existed.

Wang Kun had said earlier that if there was anything he didn't understand, he could go to the Affairs Hall or the Mission Hall to ask. So he'd head to the Outer Sect Affairs Hall.

His mind made up, Bai Chen immediately changed into his disciple robes, hung his identity token at his waist, and set off, heading straight for the Affairs Hall in the direction Wang Kun had pointed out earlier.

After walking for about ten minutes, the winding bluestone path beneath his feet gradually widened.

More and more Outer Sect Disciples began to appear along the way.

When they passed each other, they exchanged slight nods of acknowledgment — it all looked quite harmonious.

Bai Chen followed their example, nodding to each Outer Sect Disciple he encountered before going his separate way.

Rounding the grove of trees ahead, the view opened up, and the Outer Sect Affairs Hall stood before him on a clearing of green bamboo.

The Affairs Hall was a modest cluster of green-tiled wooden buildings — nothing grand. Above the entrance hung a black wooden plaque, upon which five bold characters were carved in vermilion: "Outer Sect Affairs Hall."

Bai Chen walked up to the doorway and peered inside.

The hall contained four plain wooden desks, each piled with jade slips, thin booklets, and writing implements.

About four or five people dressed in dark steward robes were each busy with their own tasks.

At the desk nearest the door, one steward was giving solemn instructions to two Outer Sect Disciples about a menial assignment.

In the corner of the hall, two young errand disciples were wiping down the edges of the desks.

The steward at the door noticed Bai Chen approaching and stepped forward to ask, "Do you have something to take care of?"

Bai Chen quickly bowed with clasped hands. "This disciple is Bai Chen. I've just entered the sect and have run into a difficulty with my cultivation. I've come to seek guidance."

The steward nodded. "Go ahead."

Bai Chen lowered his eyes respectfully and asked, "This disciple has a Five-Element Spirit Root. When I try to draw Qi in, the Spiritual Energy won't stay in my body — gathering Qi is exceptionally difficult. I wanted to ask whether there is any method to help retain Spiritual Energy, or perhaps a corresponding Pill that could assist with Qi gathering?"

The steward raised an eyebrow and paused briefly.

"There are indeed Pills that assist with gathering and retaining Qi. You may go to the Outer Sect Pill Chamber and exchange for them using your sect contribution points."

Then, with a slight furrow of his brow, he looked at Bai Chen and added a word of caution:

"However, you have a Five-Element Spirit Root. The root itself is impure and mixed — the difficulty in gathering Qi stems from a fundamental problem with the root itself. A Qi-Gathering Pill would offer you only marginal benefit at best, and could never address the issue at its core."

His words stopped just short of saying outright that if Bai Chen went to get a Qi-Gathering Pill, it would be a complete waste of contribution points.

He'd be better off steadily working on drawing Qi into his body the hard way.

Bai Chen naturally understood the steward's unspoken meaning. He bowed respectfully and expressed his thanks.

"Thank you, Steward. This disciple has learned much. There is one more thing I'd like to humbly ask — are there currently any tasks available for disciples to earn sect contribution points?"

Whether it was only marginally useful or not, useful was useful.

But to get his hands on a Qi-Gathering Pill, he first needed to earn some "currency."

The steward raised a hand and gestured vaguely toward the west.

"Just past the bamboo grove to the west of the Affairs Hall is the Outer Sect Mission Hall. The courtyard there has mission boards with the task details and corresponding contribution points carved on them — you can go look for yourself. Once you've chosen a task you like, register with the disciples at the Mission Hall and you can take it on."

Bai Chen bowed again. "Thank you for the guidance, Steward. This disciple will remember it."

Taking his leave of the steward, Bai Chen made his way to the Mission Hall.

The Mission Hall was a spacious wooden building. Along all four walls inside stood more than ten sandalwood mission boards, each about waist-height, organized into categories such as menial labor, gathering, patrol, Alchemy assistance, and others.

The task contents, required cultivation levels, and corresponding contribution points were all carved onto the boards in vermilion.

Quite a few Outer Sect Disciples were gathered in front of the boards, reading carefully and occasionally exchanging a few quiet words. Once they had made their choice, they would head to the center of the hall to register.

The whole hall was lively with people.

Bai Chen squeezed his way to the front of a board and started reading from the easiest category — menial labor. The more he read, the heavier his heart grew.