Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The Cultivation World’s Anomalies
Hearing that, Ning Ri revealed a look of surprise, then offered his thanks once more with deep sincerity. “Many thanks to all the elders.”
At those words, Zhou Heng fell silent for a moment, visibly conflicted. In the end, he still gave a dry cough and said, “You should especially thank Elder Mo Cuidao. He was the one who took the initiative to propose this.”
Ning Ri was taken aback again. So it had been that bandit elder.
He could not help saying gratefully, “Many thanks to Elder Mo! And many thanks to Elder Zhou as well!”
The conflicted Zhou Heng immediately smiled again and continued, “All right then. Which choice do you want to make?”
Ning Ri said, “This disciple dares to ask: what are the benefits of entering the Inner Sect in advance?”
Zhou Heng replied, “In the Inner Sect, the most important thing is that the cultivation environment is better, and mission rewards are more generous.”
“And since you have already learned artifact refining, the place where your skills can be put to their fullest use is the Inner Sect.”
“In the Inner Sect, contribution points are worth more. Prices are lower than in the Outer Sect, and there are also more options.”
“Additionally, once you have accumulated a certain amount of contribution points in the Inner Sect, you may ask us to search for spiritual medicine on your behalf.”
“However, the downside is that if you enter the Inner Sect as an exception, the pressure you bear will likely be considerable.”
“For example, you may be subjected to cold looks and contempt.”
Ning Ri pondered for a moment, then said, “For this disciple, cold looks and contempt do not matter much. I only need to ignore them. It is simply that I feel this matter would place tremendous pressure on all of you elders...”
“So let us set aside the first option for now.”
Zhou Heng did not persuade him or interfere with his decision. He merely nodded slightly and allowed Ning Ri to make his own choice.
In truth, out of these options, what tempted Ning Ri most was directly changing his aptitude.
Now that he had a complete Qi Refining Art, reaching the peak of Qi Refining was practically within easy reach.
If he wanted to become Foundation Establishment, all he needed was to find a Foundation Establishment cultivation method, and that would be a matter of minutes.
As for cultivation methods, he could just do a few missions in the Outer Sect and earn contribution points for them.
As for the timing of the breakthrough, he could simply choose a moment when he was away from the Defying Heaven Sect and say that he had stumbled across a fortunate encounter outside and had luckily reached Foundation Establishment...
It sounded a little far-fetched, but it was still plausible enough.
That way, he could even lay the groundwork in advance for the persona of “Lucky Brother,” letting them know that his breakthrough had not come from cheating, but from luck. Then, even if he pulled off some heaven-defying feat again in the future, it would all seem perfectly natural.
No big problem!
So what he wanted more was the pill!
Ning Ri asked, “Elder Zhou, regarding the second option, this disciple would like to know—would the elders have to bear any risks?”
Zhou Heng replied, “We would need to make a trip into an ‘anomaly.’ This anomaly is not particularly dangerous, but we cannot guarantee that we will definitely bring back that pill, so it will likely cost us quite a bit of time.”
Hearing that, Ning Ri froze. “Elder Zhou, this ‘anomaly’ is...?”
“An ‘anomaly’...”
Zhou Heng pondered for a moment, then said, “You may understand it as a space governed by specific rules. After entering it, you can only survive by satisfying those rules. Then, by exploring the rules of the anomaly, you may obtain its rewards—or leave it alive.”
“The rules of anomalies are strange and varied beyond measure. Encountering an unfamiliar anomaly is especially dangerous, because if you do not understand its rules, it is very easy to die on the spot.”
“For that reason, there are also methods in the disciple token for avoiding anomalies.”
Startled, Ning Ri picked up the disciple token, looked it over from side to side, and asked, “What method?”
With a straight face, Zhou Heng said, “Do not go out.”
Ning Ri: “?”
His expression, which had just been full of anticipation, immediately turned speechless.
He first put away the disciple token, then forced out a bitter laugh. “Ahaha... yes, that is indeed true...”
Zhou Heng laughed, amused by his own sudden sense of humor. “Haha, I was only joking, but in practice that really is the case. Any place where a sect can be established does not have anomalies.”
Ning Ri asked curiously, “Could it be that the elders have already swept away all the anomalies?”
Zhou Heng waved his hand. “No. If there were anomalies, we would all be dead. Since we are not dead, that means there are no anomalies.”
After saying that, he cracked himself up again. “Hahaha, I made another joke. My apologies, my apologies.”
Ning Ri: “...”
You seem pretty anomalous yourself.
Ning Ri said, “Since this matter would take up some of the elders’ time, then please allow this disciple to think it over first. May this disciple give you an answer tomorrow?”
Zhou Heng smiled faintly. “Of course.”
“All right then, we will set this matter aside for the moment. Is there anything you would like to ask?”
Ning Ri pondered and said, “Mm... I would like to know whether this disciple is perhaps still inside an illusion right now?”
Zhou Heng: “...”
“Of course not. The disciple trial has already ended, and you have already left the illusion... no, that is not quite right. What you entered just now was not an illusion at all. That was actually a tamed ‘anomaly.’”
At those words, Ning Ri revealed a surprised expression. “So that trial with the bandit and the woman was an anomaly?!”
“Correct.”
Zhou Heng nodded. “That anomaly can amplify the desires in the hearts of those who enter it.”
“That is why using it to test character is a rather good choice. Look—the one and only eliminated trial-taker was someone who, under those circumstances, exposed the true desires within his heart.”
“You could also say that it let the sect sweep out an evildoer in advance. We cannot allow someone like that to enter the Defying Heaven Sect and ruin the environment.”
“Of course, from this we can also see that you truly are a cultivator with an intense thirst for knowledge.”
Hearing Zhou Heng’s words, Ning Ri smiled awkwardly. “Elder Zhou flatters me.”
Although Ning Ri’s methods had been somewhat bizarre, the elders were actually quite satisfied with Ning Ri’s “desire.”
Both the woman and the bandit had fallen under his control.
What he chose to do with those two people had been entirely up to a single thought from him.
Yet under those circumstances, this boy had only wanted to wring a few spells and cultivation methods out of them for a look...
He had not even stuffed the artifact-refining techniques the bandit gave him into his own pocket...
Zhou Heng felt that his earlier evaluation of Ning Ri had been absolutely correct.
This boy was simply born with a saintly physique for cultivation!
Then Zhou Heng glanced at his palm. It was unclear what he had seen, but after a moment’s thought, he said, “I have something to attend to, so I cannot keep chatting with you for now. If you have any questions, just ask your disciple token. The disciple token... mm, you could say it sort of has an artifact spirit.”
Ning Ri was startled. “An artifact spirit?!”
He stared at the token in his hand in shock...
The artifact-refining knowledge he had just learned told him exactly how precious an artifact spirit was.
That was top-tier stuff!
Only truly supreme dharmic treasures could possess one.
Once a dharmic treasure had an artifact spirit, it was as good as alive.
And with that being the case, even the token that the Defying Heaven Sect casually handed out to Outer Sect disciples had something like an artifact spirit?
Was the Defying Heaven Sect really this heaven-defying?!
But Zhou Heng waved a hand. “There is no need to be so shocked. Strictly speaking, it only ‘sort of has an artifact spirit.’”
“But it is not a real artifact spirit.”
Only then did Ning Ri show a trace of understanding...
So there was something fishy about this artifact spirit.
The only question was whether it was a proper one.