I'd been standing outside Wei Lin's door for maybe an hour, trying to decide if enough ti had passed since his breakthrough, when the door suddenly swung open.
"Ah-ha!" Wei Lin stood there with his usual rchant's grin, looking distinctly un-exploded. "My custor sense was tingling!"
"I'm not here to buy anything," I said automatically. Then I actually got a good look at him and paused. There was sothing different about his spiritual presence, a new depth to his qi that hadn't been there before.
We both stood there for a mont, staring at each other. Then, at exactly the sa ti:
"Congratulations on reaching Third Stage!"
Wei Lin burst out laughing. "I should have known you'd break through too." He looked up and down. "Though I have to say, you're handling it better than . I nearly blew up my ceiling when my inner world expanded."
"Is that what that noise was yesterday?" I'd heard sothing that sounded like a small explosion, but that wasn't exactly unusual around the cultivation quarters.
"Just a minor mishap with spatial dynamics," Wei Lin waved it off. "Nothing a few repair talismans couldn't fix. Though I did have to convince Senior Brother Mo that I wasn't trying to create a new technique marketplace in my room."
"Were you?"
"Of course not!" He looked offended. "I was clearly trying to expand my storage space for new technique scrolls. Completely different thing."
I couldn't help but smile. So things never changed, breakthrough or not. "Actually, I ca to ask what primary cultivation thod you picked. I'm still trying to figure out which one would work best for ."
"Ah!" Wei Lin's eyes lit up with that special gleam he got when talking about spiritual techniques. "As it happens, I haven't chosen one yet either. I was just heading to the sect archives to browse their selection. Care to join ? We can compare notes."
"You haven't picked one yet?" That was surprising. Wei Lin usually had plans within plans when it ca to cultivation resources.
He shrugged, falling into step beside as we headed toward the archive building. "I have so ideas, but my father suggested I look through the sect's collection first. If I don't find anything suitable there, he said he'd ask so of his cultivator friends if they have any recomndations."
"Must be nice having those connections," I said, not entirely keeping the envy out of my voice.
"Speaking of which..." Wei Lin gave his best sales smile. "I could probably convince Father to look for two thods instead of one. For a very reasonable finder's fee, of course."
"Let guess - the fee would happen to match exactly what I have in contribution points?"
"What a fascinating coincidence that would be!"
I shook my head, smiling despite myself. "Let's see what the sect has first. I'd rather not owe any favors until I know what my options are."
"Such suspicion! And here I am, rely trying to help a friend expand his cultivation possibilities." He put on an expression of exaggerated hurt. "Though now that you ntion options, I do have so excellent—"
"Wei Lin."
"—totally reasonable—"
"Wei Lin."
"—practically giving them away—"
"Focus," I interrupted before he could really get going. "Archives first. Sales pitch later."
He sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine. But just so you know, I'm having a special sale on premium cultivation thods next week. Buy one, get a second at only twice the normal price!"
"That's... not how sales usually work."
"Ah, but these aren't usual cultivation thods!" He grinned. "Did I ntion they co with complentary technique scrolls? Only slightly singed from that minor spatial incident yesterday."
I was saved from responding by our arrival at the Sect Archives.
It was an imposing building that looked like soone had tried to architect "ancient wisdom" and "don't touch anything" into physical form. The walls were covered in formation arrays that made my eyes hurt if I looked at them too long, and the doors... well, let's just say they probably weren't worried about theft.
"Impressive, isn't it?" I asked, looking at the mini fortress standing in front of us. "Though I don't get why they keep it separate from the regular library."
"The Archives are different from the regular library," Wei Lin explained with the air of soone who'd morized every detail about anywhere important texts were stored. "The library is for general knowledge - cultivation theory, sect history, that sort of thing. The Archives are where they keep the actual techniques. You know, the stuff that might actually kill you instead of just boring you to death."
"Comforting," I muttered.
"After you," Wei Lin gestured grandly. "Let's see what profound mysteries await!"
The inside of the Archives was exactly what you'd expect from a place dedicated to storing potentially lethal knowledge - lots of dark wood, glowing formation arrays, and the kind of silence that feels like it might bite if you breathe too loud.
"Look at these formations," Wei Lin whispered, eyes gleaming with professional interest. "The containnt arrays alone must be worth a fortune. I wonder if they'd sell the schematics..."
An elderly woman sat at a desk near the entrance, radiating that special "I've forgotten more cultivation techniques than you'll ever learn" energy that all Archive keepers seem to have. She looked up from a scroll that was definitely trying to escape.
"Na and purpose?" she asked, casually pinning the rebellious docunt with one finger.
Wei Lin stepped forward with his best rchant's bow. "Wei Lin and Ke Yin, Outer Disciples. We've both reached the third stage of Qi Condensation and are here for primary cultivation thod selection."
She nodded, pulling out a much more cooperative scroll. "Verification first. Please channel spiritual energy into this formation, one at a ti."
We each placed our hands on the indicated array. The formation flared blue both tis, confirming our breakthroughs.
"Third stage confird," she announced, making notes. "I am Elder Chang, head archivist. Follow ."
She led us deeper into the Archives, past rows of sealed shelves and what looked suspiciously like a cage containing angry paper. The silence felt heavier here, like the knowledge itself was watching.
Wei Lin kept stopping to examine various formations, until Elder Chang's pointed looks convinced him to keep moving.
"Before we proceed," she said, stopping in front of a heavily warded door, "there are so things you should understand about cultivation thods."
"Ah, the mandatory 'don't kill yourself with ancient wisdom' lecture," Wei Lin whispered. "Father gives this one to all his new custors."
Elder Chang cleared her throat aningfully.
"Cultivation thods are ranked in three primary tiers," she explained, her tone suggesting this was very important information that I better not forget. "Human, Earth, and Heaven. The ranking indicates both potential and difficulty."
She gestured at the door, which opened silently at her touch. Inside was a smaller room lined with shelves, each containing carefully sealed jade slips.
"Human-rank thods are the foundation," she continued. "Reliable, stable, and well-understood. Earth-rank builds on those principles, offering greater power but requiring more careful cultivation. Heaven-rank..." She smiled slightly. "Well, those are beyond your current concern."
"Are there ranks above Heaven?" I asked, rembering so ntions in the cultivation novels I'd read in my past life.
Her expression grew careful. "There are... rumors of such things. thods that transcend normal understanding."
"But that knowledge is not accessible to Outer Disciples?" I asked.
"Precisely." Elder Chang's expression softened slightly. "And with good reason. Your inner world is still developing - trying to implent even Earth-rank or Heaven-rank thods now would be like trying to build a palace on quicksand. Not to ntion those other monstrous techniques. The foundation must be solid first."
She gestured at the shelves around us. "These contain the Human-rank thods currently available to third-stage Qi Condensation disciples. Each focuses on different aspects of inner world developnt, creating distinct foundations for future advancent."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Wei Lin leaned forward with interest as she began removing jade slips from the shelves, laying them out carefully on the reading table.
"The Flowing River thod," she said, placing down the first slip. "One of our most traditional approaches. It guides disciples in creating water-based terrain within their inner world - rivers, lakes, even small seas if properly developed. The flowing water helps stabilize spiritual energy circulation and provides excellent foundations for healing arts or fluid-based techniques."
She lifted the slip, showing us the cultivation diagrams etched into its surface. "See how the energy patterns mirror natural waterways? Many disciples find this thod intuitive since it follows patterns they can observe in the physical world. The main challenge is maintaining proper water pressure - too much force and you flood your spiritual landscape, too little and it stagnates."
"Sounds... wet," Wei Lin comnted. "Though I suppose the maintenance costs would be lower than so alternatives."
Elder Chang ignored his talk about prices and placed down another slip. "The Mountain Heart thod. Rather than water, it focuses on creating mountainous terrain in your inner world. Very stable, excellent for defensive techniques and anything requiring firm spiritual foundations. However..." She paused aningfully. "The process of 'growing' mountains in your inner world can be quite uncomfortable. Many disciples describe it as feeling like their dantian is full of rocks."
"Pass," Wei Lin said imdiately. "I prefer my internal organs unpunctured."
The third slip she placed down had patterns that seed to shift in the light. "The Wind Palace thod. Instead of solid terrain, it teaches disciples to shape their inner world's atmosphere itself. Wind corridors, pressure systems, even small-scale weather patterns. Excellent for movent techniques and very adaptable. The downside is that maintaining stable atmospheric conditions requires constant attention - let your focus slip and you might end up with a spiritual tornado."
"Now that has potential," Wei Lin mused. "Weather control is always marketable..."
"It's not ant for external weather manipulation," Elder Chang said sharply. "The conditions exist purely within your inner world to facilitate cultivation."
"Of course, of course," Wei Lin agreed quickly, though I caught him making notes anyway.
She placed a fourth slip on the table, this one decorated with intricate botanical patterns. "The Verdant Garden thod. Focuses on creating plant life within your inner world - trees, flowers, dicinal herbs. Very gentle on the cultivation base and excellent for those interested in dicine or plant-based arts. However..." She smiled slightly. "It requires trendous patience. You must literally grow your inner world's features from seeds, nurturing them with your spiritual energy. Many disciples find the pace too slow."
"Do the spirit plants have any dicinal properties?" Wei Lin asked hopefully.
"They exist in your inner world, young disciple. They cannot be harvested or sold."
"Ah. Much less interesting then."
She continued laying out slips, each describing another approach to inner world developnt. The Stone Forest thod, which taught disciples to create crystalline formations. The Cloud Palace thod, focused on aerial terrain. The Valley Spirit thod, which helped shape spiritual landforms through water erosion.
"Each has its strengths and weaknesses," she explained. "The key is choosing one that resonates with your spiritual nature and cultivation goals. So disciples choose based on their elental affinities, others on their intended cultivation path. A few even pick thods that complent their personalities."
"Like how Wei Lin's inner world should probably be a marketplace?" I suggested.
"One ti I try to set up a small technique stall in my dantian and you never let forget it," Wei grumbled.
Elder Chang's eye twitched slightly. "That is... not recomnded. Your inner world is a foundation for cultivation, not a comrcial venue."
She gestured at all the displayed thods. "These are proven paths, refined over generations. Each one, if properly cultivated, can support advancent well into the next realm. They may seem basic compared to Earth-rank or Heaven-rank thods, but they are fundantal building blocks of cultivation."
"What about disciples who want to develop multiple types of terrain?" I asked, thinking about the diverse landscapes I'd need to support different techniques.
"That cos later," she explained. "Once you've mastered your primary thod and established stable foundations, you can gradually expand and diversify your inner world. Trying to develop everything at once only leads to instability."
"It's like building a house," Wei Lin added unexpectedly. "You don't start with fancy decorations - you need solid foundations first." He caught our surprised looks and shrugged. "What? I do occasionally listen during Father's business lectures."
Elder Chang nodded approvingly. "A surprisingly apt analogy. Your inner world is indeed like building a house - one that will eventually beco a palace, a fortress, perhaps even a small universe unto itself. But first, you need walls that won't collapse."
She gestured at the displayed thods. "Each of these provides a different architectural approach, so to speak. The Flowing River thod creates fluid but stable foundations through water circulation. The Mountain Heart thod builds solid groundwork through compressed spiritual stone. The Wind Palace thod establishes dynamic support structures using atmospheric pressure."
"And they're all equally viable?" I asked.
"For outer sect disciples? Yes. Beyond that..." She smiled slightly. "Well, so paths do reach higher than others. But that's a concern for much later in your cultivation journey."
I looked at the various thods, trying to imagine how each would affect my inner world. The two-leafed seed and the miniature sun would need space to grow, room to develop whatever strange powers they manifested. And if I kept world-walking, having diverse terrain might help adapt to different realities...
"Take your ti choosing," Elder Chang advised. "This decision will shape your entire cultivation foundation. So disciples spend weeks examining each thod before deciding."
"Or you could do what I do," Wei Lin suggested, "and pick whichever one has the best resale value."
"That is not a valid selection criterion," Elder Chang said firmly.
"Everything has value," Wei Lin protested. "Even cultivation thods! For instance, the Wind Palace thod's atmospheric manipulation principles could be adapted for—"
"Young disciple," she interrupted, "if you finish that sentence with anything involving selling weather, you will be banned from the Archives."
Wei Lin closed his mouth, but I caught him still making notes about "potential alternative applications of spiritual atmospheric conditions."
I turned back to studying the thods, trying to imagine how each would interact with my unique circumstances. The Flowing River thod's adaptability was appealing, but water could be unstable. The Mountain Heart thod's solidity would be secure, but possibly too rigid for world-walking. The Wind Palace thod's atmospheric control was interesting, but maintaining it while jumping between realities seed risky...
"These looks promising," Wei Lin mused, then frowned. "Though compared to what Father's contacts might have available..."
He spent the next half hour examining various techniques, but I could tell he wasn't really satisfied with any of them. Finally, he straightened up with a sigh.
"I think I'll pass for now," he announced. "These are good foundations, but Father ntioned so interesting options from his last trade eting." He turned to with a grin. "Sure you don't want to ask about a second thod? His cultivation friends always have so fascinating techniques available..."
I was actually considering it - the sect's offerings did seem rather basic - when sothing caught my eye.
On a shelf near the back, partially hidden behind other slips, was a jade tablet that looked... different. Older, sohow, with patterns I'd never seen before.
Could it be…
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