"However, even though the benefits for inner disciples surpass those for peripheral disciples, you must understand that merely entering the Inner Door doesn't guarantee a life free of worries," Chen An said seriously. "While the sect provides monthly stipends and subsidies to inner disciples, these are a mere drop in the bucket compared to the expenses required for cultivation. If you wish to obtain better cultivation resources, you still need to compete."
The Riverside Sect never supports idlers.
If you require a substantial supply of sect resources, you must demonstrate your potential. Prove to the sect that you are worthy of the significant cultivation resources they invest in you.
Therefore, the Inner Door is not a place where you can rest on your laurels; it's an even more brutal arena than the peripheral areas.
"Many areas within the Inner Door have rankings. The higher your rank, the better the resources and treatment you can enjoy. And if you want to raise your rank, you must also rely on your strength! Furthermore, there's the annual New Talent Competition in the Inner Door..."
As Chen An spoke, he glanced at Shen Mo. "Don't think that just because you have this Purple Sun Red Fruit, condensing two Dantians is a sure thing, or that your future cultivation path will be smooth sailing. You must understand, while the medicinal efficacy is potent, success or failure still hinges on your own accumulation. If your foundation is insufficient, even with the Purple Sun Red Fruit's aid, you might not necessarily succeed in condensing dual Dantians."
"Moreover, even if you truly manage to condense two Dantians, there's no room for arrogance. Such geniuses, while rare in the Inner Door of the Riverside Sect, are not unheard of."
"Your path is still long. If you want to distinguish yourself in the Inner Door, you must study and train diligently."
"In essence, cultivate diligently. The path of cultivation is long and arduous."
"Yes." Shen Mo listened quietly to Uncle Chen's words, lost in thought.
"Alright, it's late. I should be going."
"Tonight, the moon is full—perfect for drinking. I need to find Old Liang for a couple of cups."
As he spoke, he got up and left the room.
Shen Mo also got up and saw him off.
PUFF!
Just as they stepped outside, Chen An suddenly stopped. His face turned purple, and he spat out a mouthful of impure blood.
What was happening...
Seeing this, Shen Mo was taken aback. "Uncle Chen, what's wrong with you?"
"COUGH, COUGH... I ate a bit too much of that demon python meat."
Chen An coughed for a long while before finally clearing his throat, saying intermittently, "The stagnant blood in my body from the lightning strike hasn't cleared yet. Spitting that mouthful out actually made me feel much better."
"Uncle Chen, your injuries... haven't healed yet?"
Shen Mo recalled Chen An mentioning he had been injured on Desolate Mountain and had subsequently entered closed-door cultivation for over two months to recover.
"How could it be that easy?"
Chen An shook his head with a bitter smile. "To survive a Heavenly Thunder strike is already a considerable feat."
"Full recovery will take at least three to five years, and even then, there might be lingering aftereffects."
Is it that serious?
Shen Mo's brow furrowed slightly. "Is there any effective medicine that can cure it?"
Uncle Chen was the person closest to him in this world, so seeing his severe injuries, Shen Mo was genuinely concerned.
"The thunder power has invaded my body. Right now, my Chakras are filled with destructive lightning arcs. Elixirs below Grade II can only heal external wounds; they can't resolve the lightning arcs within my body."
Is there no medicine that can cure it?
"There is, but that spiritual medicine is exceptionally rare. I've never even seen it for sale within the sect."
"What kind of spiritual medicine?" Shen Mo asked earnestly. "Uncle Chen, I've learned Alchemy. Tell me what spiritual medicine you need, and I can search for it and try to refine it for you."
"The Thunder Transforming Pill. If you're willing, you can keep an eye out for it for me."
Seeing his persistence, Chen An told Shen Mo the name of the spiritual medicine he needed. However, he didn't hold out much hope, as the entire Riverside Sect hadn't been able to find this spiritual medicine.
「Three days later, in the outer courtyard.」
Shen Mo set up a grill at the entrance to his courtyard.
He skewered strips of demon python meat on wooden sticks, lit a bonfire, and began to roast them.
SIZZLE! SIZZLE!
As the flames danced, the skewered meat began to ooze fat, and a savory aroma filled the air.
SWISH!
Seeing that the meat was almost done, he took the pre-prepared dipping sauce from the stone table and brushed it onto the skewers.
Soon, the richly aromatic roasted skewers were ready.
"Mmm... This flavor was well worth my efforts these past few days."
When he tore off a piece of roasted meat with his teeth, the rich aroma of the dipping sauce exploded in his mouth.
The next moment, the distinct flavor of the python meat also bloomed on his tongue.
He sighed with deep satisfaction. "I never imagined I'd actually figure out a barbecue sauce recipe in this cultivation world."
Ever since tasting the python meat last time, he had been craving a proper barbecue.
So, for the past few days, he had been wandering through the Market, searching among nearly a hundred different kinds of spices and spiritual grasses.
Eventually, he managed to concoct a spicy sauce with a flavor remarkably similar to the barbecue sauce from his past life on Earth.
"It's truly not easy just to get a good bite to eat."
After eating his fill, he lay back comfortably in a rattan chair and sighed. "I've finally satisfied that craving. However, the Thunder Transforming Pill Uncle Chen needs is proving to be quite a challenge."
These past three days, while searching for the taste of barbecue from his previous life, he had also been looking out for the Thunder Transforming Pill that Chen An needed for his recovery.
Indeed, just as Chen An had said, this Elixir was extremely obscure.
The Thousand Elixirs Tower, reputed to house countless Elixirs, had no finished ones for sale.
However, at the Thousand Elixirs Tower, he did find the elixir recipe for the Thunder Transforming Pill, priced at twenty low-grade Spirit Stones.
Shen Mo bought the elixir recipe and studied it carefully, discovering that the Thunder Transforming Pill was a Grade II Elixir.
Its primary effects were to resist lightning and temper one's vitality.
It was typically used by cultivators practicing special thunder-type magic to draw lightning into their bodies and refine Heavenly Thunder.
Using it to heal injuries from lightning toxins, by contrast, was not a common application.
The medicinal ingredients required to refine this Elixir were quite difficult to find, but he had managed to locate most of them during his wanderings in the Market over the past few days.
The only exception was the most crucial primary ingredient for the Thunder Transforming Pill, the Jade Water Pearl; Shen Mo hadn't found any trace of it.
I'll have to try and find it when I have the chance to travel in the future.
With this thought, he tossed the last empty skewer onto the plate.
Just as he was about to continue lying down a little while longer, he suddenly heard a light knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
He opened his eyes and looked towards the sound.
A graceful figure stood at the door: Chen Mengze.
"There's a job I'm thinking of taking you on. Interested?" she asked directly.
"What job?"
"Guarding the Dark Crystal Mine. It's easy work; you just need to be stationed there, similar to when you guarded the mountain gate."
"The main task is to prevent Gold-devouring Rats from stealing the spirit ore. We'll take turns patrolling once a day. You'll just need to clear out any manifested Stone Spirits in the mine tunnels to prevent them from harming the miners."
"It's for two months, and the pay is fifty Spirit Stones."
"Are you in, or not?"