Chapter 99: How to Grasp Parting Sorrow (1)
The general process of creating a cultivation method was not all that different from writing an essay. First, he needed to grasp Outlawed by Heaven and Earth’s principles and basic framework. Wei Yuan had already completed this step. Second, he needed to grasp other secret techniques of fortune and Dao Foundation stage cultivation methods, drawing upon their strengths and thereby establishing a clear direction. Third, he needed to create the cultivation method. Fourth, he needed to test the cultivation method and identify its problems. And five, he needed to return to step two or step one depending on the problems he discovered and begin the process anew.
Right now, Wei Yuan was at the second step. The spirit vein restoration process looked like it was going to be a big project with no definite end date. Thus, Wei Yuan went to the Enrichment Hall.
During the Body-tempering stage, disciples went to the Enlightenment Hall for knowledge. During the Dao Foundation stage, they went to the Enrichment Hall for the same thing. Of course, the Enrichment Hall was much bigger than the Enlightenment Hall. Specifically, it was a palace complex consisting of nine main halls and pavilions. Although Wei Yuan lacked immortal silver right now, he had a fair amount of merits to spend. Thus, he paid merits to enter the Enrichment Hall and followed a caretaker’s guidance to the secret technique of fortune and Dao Foundation stage cultivation method areas. After choosing a dozen books or so, he sat at a table and started reading.
Unlike the Enlightenment Hall, the Enrichment Hall did not restrict the number of books a disciple could borrow. A large number of tables inside the hall for use as well. The tables were all mystic artifacts that could clear one’s mind and nurture one’s spirit, allowing one to read for three days and nights without feeling tired. Besides that, the Enrichment Hall charged by day. The staff even offered free Qi-drinking Pills if someone were to use their facilities for a prolonged period of time.
Wei Yuan went through the cultivation methods and secret techniques of fortune one by one. Before he knew it, six hours had passed in the blink of an eye. After returning the books to their original positions, he picked up another twenty or so books and resumed his study. When a full day and night had passed, Wei Yuan finished reading fifty or so books on secret techniques of fortune.
After consuming a Qi-drinking Pill, he grabbed a pile of Dao Foundation stage cultivation methods and continued his research.
By the time Wei Yuan had studied over a hundred books of secret techniques of fortune and Dao Foundation stage cultivation methods, a rough idea was beginning to take root in his mind. Although it was still a little blurry, there was no doubt that he had found his direction.
On a related note, he finally understood why the literary test was part of the immortal sect unified examination. Most of these secret techniques of fortune and cultivation methods had been collected from the outside world, and for the most part, the Palace had chosen to preserve their contents as they were. Consequently, they contained language from various eras. Many of the cultivation methods employed obscure terminologies and were written in an unnecessarily complicated fashion. Although cultivators had meticulously edited and revised the text during compilation—removing errors, omissions, and excessively archaic vocabulary—these Distant Antiquity Era and Middle Antiquity Era cultivation methods remained difficult to comprehend on the whole.
If a disciple’s literacy was poor, and they were unable to comprehend even the most basic cultivation methods, then there was simply no way they could innovate or forge their own Dao paths.