Li Yan had no idea at this moment how his little tricks could have deceived people who had lived for hundreds of years.
Right now, his Seventh Senior Brother was giving him a lesson on the basics. It was unclear whether Lin Daqiao hadn't had a suitable person to talk to in years or if he was just particularly responsible. He diligently carried out the task Li Wuyi had given him, pouring out all the common knowledge of the cultivation world he knew. This approach, in turn, allowed Li Yan to learn many unknown things.
First, he explained the level divisions of the cultivation world, the attributes of spirit roots, and divine sense—basic things that Li Yan already knew. Of course, Li Yan couldn't show that he knew, or else his previous lies would be exposed. He was a blank slate now. However, after listening carefully, he gained a new understanding and also learned a lot of new knowledge.
Lin Daqiao explained everything one by one, from the major realm divisions to the minor details of cultivation and abstaining from grain, leaving Li Yan utterly enthralled.
For example, with the division of levels, the way cultivators addressed each other changed. It wasn't based on age like in the mortal world, where the older person was the elder. In the cultivation world, everything was divided by strength. Being one major realm higher made you an elder. An eighty-year-old Qi Condensation disciple would have to respectfully call a twenty-year-old Foundation Establishment youth "Senior." If they belonged to the same sect, they would have to call them "Martial Uncle." Otherwise, the other person might kill you with a wave of their hand. The strict hierarchy was several times more brutal than that of a mortal dynasty.
When encountering peers, one couldn't casually scan them with divine sense; it was very impolite. If you met someone with a bad temper, it was common for them to attack immediately. If you encountered a senior, you couldn't casually scan them with divine sense or look at them improperly. Unless you had a strong backer or happened to meet a broad-minded senior, it was basically a death sentence.
If the difference in level was two major realms, you had to call them "Ancestor." For three realms, the respectful title was "Supreme Ancestor." As for four realms, there were currently no Spirit Transformation stage cultivators in the mortal world. It was said that after the late stage of Nascent Soul, if one wanted to advance further, the rules of heaven and earth and the concentration of spiritual energy here could no longer support it. One had to ascend to the Spirit Immortal Realm.
The Malevolent Spirit Sect currently had five Nascent Soul Supreme Ancestors. It was said that two of them were super-powerful late-stage Nascent Soul old monsters. As for why these two hadn't ascended to the Spirit Immortal Realm, Lin Daqiao, with his low cultivation, was not qualified to know these sect secrets.
After hearing all this, Li Yan realized how reckless some of his actions in the main hall earlier had been. He had brazenly looked at everyone after entering. Although it wasn't with divine sense, what was the difference between doing it openly and doing it secretly?
These levels were also reflected in apprenticeship. Generally, a master would only accept a disciple one realm lower. Unless you had excellent aptitude and were favored by an elder, only then would they accept you as a disciple, skipping several realms. But at most, you would be a Disciple-in-Name like Lin Daqiao and Li Yan. Only when you cultivated to a certain realm would you be formally accepted. Therefore, the teaching of cultivation techniques was generally done by a senior brother who had entered the sect earlier at the same level, or a master one realm higher. It was extremely rare for a technique to be taught by someone several realms higher.
This made Li Yan understand the surprised expression of Senior Brother Lin from the Hall of Deacons when he heard Li Wuyi call him "junior brother." He also realized how much this chubby master cared for him. But this matter made him a little surprised. He didn't know why this master he had just acknowledged was so concerned about him. It involuntarily reminded him of everything in the Strategist's Manor, and a wave of unease washed over him.
Lin Daqiao didn't notice Li Yan's uneasy expression and continued to talk eloquently. This made Li Yan temporarily put aside his wild thoughts.
Next, he talked about spirit stones. The three stones in Li Yan's storage pouch were just that.
Spirit stones are a type of mineral born between heaven and earth, a component of an entire spirit vein. Spirit stones contain spiritual energy of different attributes that cultivators need for cultivation. Of course, a spirit stone generally only has one attribute. Only in very few special spirit stones can spiritual energy of different attributes coexist in separate zones.
Spirit veins are divided into living spirit veins and dead spirit veins. A living spirit vein is like the spiritual energy that Li Yan felt traveling freely between heaven and earth in the Malevolent Spirit Sect. It is emitted by a huge spirit vein buried deep underground. Because of the endless cycle of the five elements, it continuously produces spiritual energy. As the days and months pass, the spiritual energy becomes more and more concentrated, eventually gathering in the air. Similarly, spirit veins also have attributes. For example, under the mountain of Four Symbols Peak, there is a huge living spirit vein of earth spiritual energy, which allows people who cultivate earth-attribute techniques to cultivate faster. The mountain of Little Bamboo Peak has a living spirit vein of water spiritual energy.
A dead spirit vein, on the other hand, is a section of a living spirit vein that can no longer produce new spiritual energy due to changes in the rules of heaven and earth. As time goes by, the spiritual energy in these spirit veins slowly settles and solidifies into vein stones, and these vein stones are spirit stones. Of course, a living spirit vein is also composed of spirit stones, but the spiritual energy in those spirit stones is extremely active and difficult toabsorb and control.
Spirit stones are divided into four grades based on the concentration and purity of the spiritual energy within: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. As long as a cultivator holds a spirit stone, they can cultivate in a place without spiritual energy, and they can also quickly recover the spiritual power in their body during a great battle. Of course, spirit stones have many other functions, such as driving magical formations, driving spirit tools and magical artifacts, using puppets, and refining artifacts, all of which require spirit stones.
Therefore, it is an essential item for cultivators. Firstly, it can be used for cultivation, artifact refining, and alchemy. Secondly, it is the common currency in the cultivation world. The gold and silver of the mortal world are useless here.
In addition to being divided by attribute into fire spirit veins, water spirit veins, etc., the spirit stones of these spirit veins are also divided into low-level, mid-level, and high-level spirit veins based on the quality of the spiritual energy they contain. The quality of the spirit stones mined from the same spirit vein is generally similar, but it is not ruled out that high-quality spirit stones will appear at the core of the spirit vein.
Generally speaking, a living spirit vein will not be mined. Who would do such a thing as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Lin Daqiao said that the best spirit stones he had ever seen were a few mid-grade spirit stones belonging to his senior brothers. They all treasured them like precious jewels. High-grade spirit stones were probably only owned by great Golden Core cultivators like their master and the sect's supreme ancestors. As for top-grade spirit stones, he had only heard of them in legends. The entire sect might not even have one or two.
Speaking of spirit stones driving spirit tools and magical artifacts, Lin Daqiao picked up the storage pouch on the table and patted it. A rosy light flashed, and a small, miniature sword and a shuttle-shaped boat-like object appeared in the air.
A bright light flashed in Li Yan's eyes. This was the third time he had seen a storage pouch being used, but he was still curious. He didn't know what the situation was inside this small pouch. He had to ask for clarification later.
"Little Junior Brother, look, these two are spirit tools. They are both forged by artifact refiners..."
The Lord Lao Peak of the Malevolent Spirit Sect not only refined medicinal pills but also had a group of artifact refiners and talisman refiners. This was something that every second-rate and above sect had, more or less. It was just that the four great sects had many of the top-tier artifact refiners and talisman refiners on this continent.
The equipment used by cultivators was not the same as the weapons of mortals. It had to be able to be imbued with spiritual energy of different attributes. In this way, even a divine weapon from the mortal world would immediately shatter and even turn to dust if a cultivator imbued it with spiritual energy, let alone be used against an enemy.
An artifact refiner was a special type of cultivator who could refine some natural treasures into equipment for cultivators to use. The equipment refined by artifact refiners was divided from low to high into: Spirit Tools, Spirit Treasures, Magical Artifacts, Dharma Treasures, Immortal Artifacts, and Immortal Treasures. It was said that in the upper realm, there were also Saint Artifacts and Saint Treasures.
But in this realm, it was already very rare for a Qi Condensation disciple to have a spirit tool. For example, the Qi Condensation disciples of those third-rate sects couldn't even manage to have one spirit tool per person.
A Spirit Treasure was higher than a Spirit Tool, several levels higher in both power and quality. It was second only to a Magical Artifact. This was generally equipment that could only be used by high-level Qi Condensation disciples and early-stage Foundation Establishment disciples.
A Magical Artifact was generally only owned by powerful late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Its power could shake the heavens and earth.
A Dharma Treasure could only be used by great Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul ancestors. It was no exaggeration to say that it could overturn rivers and seas and turn day into night. As for Immortal Artifacts and Immortal Treasures, Lin Daqiao didn't know if the sect had any. Those were legendary immortal objects, one of which could destroy this world.
Similarly, spirit tools and dharma treasures also had good and bad qualities. A good spirit tool or dharma treasure could exert eighty to ninety percent of its power, or even its full power. The power of a poor spirit tool would be less than half, or even more.
As he spoke, Lin Daqiao pointed a finger at the two objects in the air. Instantly, the miniature sword grew to seven or eight feet in size, and the shuttle-shaped boat grew to two or three zhang, almost occupying the entire living room. He then pointed into the air again, and the two objects quickly returned to their original size and fell onto the table. This left Li Yan dazzled and mesmerized.
The reason Li Yan was equipped with this small sword was because he had just reached the second layer of Qi Condensation and could just begin to cultivate with a spirit tool. Unlike other new disciples who were at least at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation when they entered the sect and had already determined the spirit tool they would use, which would be given to them accordingly. So that Senior Brother Lin could only give him this standard-issue small sword. If he wanted to change to a better one in the future, he would have to buy it himself.
That shuttle-shaped small boat was for flying. It could be imbued with spiritual energy or filled with spirit stones. Its flying speed was not weak, and it could travel thousands of li in a day, as long as you could keep up with the spiritual energy and spirit stones. However, some cultivators would use their own flight after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, as it was faster, unless they had a better flying magical artifact or dharma treasure.
Having said this, Lin Daqiao thought for a moment, then pointed to the dark green robe on Li Yan's body and the boots on his feet and said, "These are also spirit tools, but their grade is lower. The clothes can provide some simple protection, and the boots will increase your movement speed in battle. They can be considered a decent low-priced spirit tool. Hmm, also, the cuffs of our various peaks' clothes are marked with different symbols. You can wear them if you want, or you can wear your own favorite clothes. But the vast majority of disciples are unwilling to wear other clothes. The five peaks of the sect have many disciples, and sometimes it's difficult to identify which peak a disciple is from, so they basically all wear this set of clothes. However, if there is an important matter in the sect, you must wear this attire for unified command and management."
Hearing this, Li Yan noticed that the symbol on his sleeve was a small golden bamboo, which undoubtedly represented Little Bamboo Peak.
Next, this Seventh Senior Brother patted the storage pouch on the table again. A brilliant light flashed, and three talisman papers appeared on the table. Then he began to explain again. This time, he didn't make any further moves, because each time a talisman paper was used, its power would be reduced by one part.
Talisman papers could be used to attack enemies, for protection, or even to create a small rain or snow shower. They were also divided into Spirit Talismans, Dharma Talismans, Talisman Treasures, Immortal Talismans, and Saint Talismans.
Although cultivators could also attack with spiritual energy or form a protective shield with spiritual energy to protect themselves, this consumed a huge amount of spiritual energy and was not as fast or effective as talisman papers in some aspects. They only consumed their own material power and did not involve anything else.
Talisman papers were roughly divided into two categories:
Attack-type talisman papers, like "Fireball Talisman," "Wood Thorn Talisman," "Water Arrow Talisman," "Wind Blade Talisman," and so on. When used, they only needed to be imbued with a very small amount of spiritual energy to be activated. This meant that a Qi Condensation stage cultivator might be able to unleash a talisman paper with the power of the Foundation Establishment stage, or even the Golden Core stage. Of course, this depended on the grade of the talisman paper. This was something that some immortal arts couldn't do. For immortal arts, you had to reach the corresponding realm to cultivate the corresponding immortal art, let alone use it.
But the rarest and most expensive type of talisman paper was the protective type. This was a life-saving item, often priceless and unavailable for purchase. The three talisman papers that the Malevolent Spirit Sect gave to new disciples like Li Yan were all protective. This was impossible in a second-rate sect. This was the confidence of a great sect.
According to Lin Daqiao, this Li Fire Iron Wall Talisman was a top-grade spirit talisman. At its maximum, it could resist a full-force attack from an early-stage Foundation Establishment master. It was extremely precious. This was also the greatest protection the Malevolent Spirit Sect gave to its disciples when they were outside. It should be known that the refining materials for each talisman paper were refined from a variety of extremely precious cultivation materials.
After explaining these most basic pieces of knowledge, he paused. Seeing Li Yan's serious and attentive expression as he committed it to memory, Lin Daqiao felt a sense of accomplishment, as if he had found the feeling of being a teacher.