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Chapter 40: The rookies cross the threshold
In the past, Taiyi Sect had a somewhat stingy attitude, trying to reduce expenses and save every spirit stone, storing them away to increase the sect's reserves. This approach of building up the sect's savings was not without merit. After experiencing several calamities, both the upper and lower echelons of Taiyi Sect lacked a sense of security and needed to strengthen the sect's foundation to deal with various complex situations.
When Meng Zhang became the Sect Master, he felt that instead of letting the resources gather dust in the treasury, they should be used to cultivate disciples. The biggest problem in Taiyi Sect now was the scarcity of disciples and their low Cultivation Base. Once the sect had grown to a certain size, then they could consider increasing the sect's reserves.
Though Meng Zhang kept his personal wealth separate from the sect's treasury, he didn't hesitate to subsidize the latter. With his talents, he could have pursued a more promising path outside of Taiyi Sect, and to some extent, the sect did hold him back. However, Meng Zhang had a unique attachment to Taiyi Sect, and the previous Sect Master, Daoist Profound Spirit, regarded him as the hope for the sect's revival, a hope he wouldn't disappoint.
While dedicating himself to the sect, Meng Zhang also gained significant rewards. Taiyi Sect had both self-serving individuals like Fang Meng and Zhen Ling, and loyal ones willing to make sacrifices for the sect. People like Daoist Clear Spirit, despite having average Cultivation Base, could thrive outside, thanks to his exceptional Spirit Plant Technique. However, he preferred to work tirelessly within the sect, wholeheartedly contributing to its operation.
Tian Zhen, despite his poor talents, was extremely loyal to the sect and willing to take on responsibilities. With all these considerations, Meng Zhang was willing to spend time on Taiyi Sect's expansion and development, even if it meant delaying some of his personal cultivation.
After the autumn harvest, Sweetwater Oasis brought more good news. Two young individuals awakened their spiritual roots and were accepted into Taiyi Sect. One was Li Kang, and the other was a descendant of the Meng family, Meng Yi.
The Meng family used to be a moderately well-known cultivation clan in the vicinity, with multiple cultivators, possessing a First Rank spirit vein, and their oasis. However, fifteen years ago, during the sand monster rampage, several forces in the area suffered heavy losses. The Meng family's oasis was also breached during that time. Most of the Meng family members, including their cultivators, perished in the attack. Only a few mortals managed to escape during the chaos, and they were taken in by Taiyi Sect, who had a good relationship with the Meng family.
Meng Zhang, as an infant, was also rescued by Taiyi Sect cultivators, along with some of his fellow clansmen. He lived in Sweetwater Oasis until the age of six when he awakened his spiritual roots. His spiritual root was detected to be a top-grade one, but the Sect Master, Daoist Profound Spirit, kept this information confidential and adopted Meng Zhang as his personal disciple, raising him personally.
With new disciples joining Sweetwater Oasis, including one from the Meng family, Meng Zhang was pleased. Although both Meng Zhang and Meng Yi's spiritual roots were detected to be bottom-grade, the lowest grade possible, the sect urgently needed manpower, and their addition was essential.
After a simple initiation ceremony, two more disciples were added to Taiyi Sect. The sect's previously planted spirit herbs began to be harvested gradually. Although the grade of these herbs was not high, and the quantity was limited, Shi Weiming, the person responsible for trading with Meng Zhang in Singing Sand City, was still very satisfied.
Meng Zhang felt that Shi Weiming's wild Alchemist background must have created a significant demand for various spirit herbs. Singing Sand City was only a little over seven hundred li away from Taiyi Sect, and without any obstacles, Meng Zhang could reach there in half a day riding a wind-chasing horse and return to Taiyi Sect the next day.
When not cultivating, Meng Zhang made several trips to Singing Sand City to sell the batch of refined scarlet copper. He exchanged over two hundred low-grade spirit stones and brought them back to the sect.
He often spent the nights in Singing Sand City and would visit the Ghost Market during such times. However, he hadn't encountered any good fortune like the first time he went there. Most of the time, he returned empty-handed, wasting time in vain. Occasionally, he would succeed in finding a good item or two, but the gains were not significant.
Meng Zhang considered these trips as a way to relax and unwind. If he treated it as a serious venture, he wouldn't be able to sustain it. He didn't consume the elixirs he obtained for the sect. After taking elixirs to enhance his Cultivation Base, he would need time to slowly dissolve the pill toxins, during which he couldn't cultivate. For someone with Meng Zhang's top-grade spiritual root talent, using that time to absorb spiritual qi from heaven and earth was much more efficient than taking elixirs.
Daoist Clear Spirit and Tian Zhen, who had inferior spiritual root talents, used the sect's merit to exchange for elixirs to improve their Cultivation Base. With the availability of elixirs and sufficient cultivation resources, their Cultivation Base significantly improved. Especially for Daoist Clear Spirit, who had reached the bottleneck of Refining Qi Sixth Layer, it would be quite difficult for him to break through to the Refining Qi Seventh Layer due to his bottom-grade spiritual root. It would require more resources and a long period of time.
At fifty years old, Daoist Clear Spirit's Cultivation Base had already reached its peak, but he didn't care much about breaking through to higher realms. His main focus remained on Spirit Plant Technique. If not for some Spirit Plant Techniques that imposed limits on the cultivator's Cultivation Base, he might not even spend time on cultivation.
Improving his Spirit Plant Technique allowed Daoist Clear Spirit to cultivate more spirit herbs, and the seeds Meng Zhang brought back were put to good use. As the year passed, Meng Zhang turned seventeen, and his Cultivation Base reached Refining Qi Sixth Layer.
Refining Qi Sixth Layer to Refining Qi Seventh Layer was a bottleneck in the middle stage of Refining Qi, but given his top-grade spiritual root, there was no real bottleneck for him. As long as he continued to cultivate step by step, his realm would naturally break through when the time was right.
After spending so much time in Taiyi Sect, Wang Shenjie and his father developed a certain attachment to the sect and had some aspirations toward sect life. With the willingness of both Taiyi Sect and the Wang family, Wang Shenjie formally left his guest status and became an official disciple of Taiyi Sect. As for Wang Shitou, he was already too old and had no intention to join the sect formally, preferring to retain his guest status.
To show sincerity, Wang Shitou brought all his family members from the mortal world to live in Sweetwater Oasis. The migration of mortals in the Endless Sea of Sand was quite troublesome, but Meng Zhang personally handled the matter, resolving it successfully.
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