Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 374: Chapter 7: Preparing for the Competition, Temporary Reinforcement

If you ask a cultivator what they spend most of their life doing, the answer will definitely be “sitting in meditation and practicing breathing techniques”.

The so-called “breathing techniques,” involve exhaling turbid air and inhaling pure qi, thus continuously purifying themselves and slowly raising their cultivation realm. This is the traditional method of Daoist cultivation.

The Kunlun Cultivators, who place great importance on cultivation level, are even more outstanding in the path of sitting in meditation and Qi Refinement, with each able to stay in their cave abodes for decades without stepping outside.

But if you ask a cultivator where most of their cultivation progress comes from in their lifetime, the answer will definitely be “secret realms and fortuitous encounters.”

How much cultivation progress can sitting in meditation and practicing breathing techniques provide? You must know that the life limit of someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm is at most around two hundred years.

Yet, if one is fortunate enough to find a Purple Mansion Secret Realm, they could gain a cultivation progress of ten to thirty years, with rarer ones offering fifty years, seventy years… which is many times more than what sitting in meditation and practicing breathing techniques can offer.

Most cultivators don’t seek out secret realms, and the reasons are simply twofold:

First, there’s no opportunity.

In this ancient world, there’s no internet, naturally precluding the possibility of an information explosion.

The vast majority of ancient records that may contain information about secret realms are controlled and treasured by the big clans and sects, making them difficult for common cultivators to obtain.

As for the cultivators of the big sects, there is too much material to look through and consult, so much so that it is described as “vast and boundless” and “filling a house to the brim.”

Among these, the easy-to-interpret ones have mostly been scavenged by predecessors, leaving behind more obscure and difficult to distinguish materials, with real and fake indiscernible.

Second, they lack confidence.

Secret realms were created by ancient powerhouses, each with a different intended purpose.

Some are designed to train descendants, others to pass down the Daoist legacy, and some are simply made for living or storing items… with all sorts of purposes.

Accordingly, the level of risk involved could also be incredibly high, while the gains might be pitifully small.

To struggle and risk one’s life exploring a secret realm, only to return empty-handed, is difficult for any cultivator to accept.

In summary, if breathing techniques and Qi Refinement are like “working a job,” providing a stable yet meager return; then exploring secret realms is like “starting a business,” where risks and rewards have absolutely no correlation and the instability is extreme.

The more resource-abundant cultivators from the big sects tend to prefer daily breathing techniques and Qi Refinement over wasting time in search of secret realms.

Loose Cultivators are more willing to take a “gambler’s chance” and “strive for a path,” but when looking at the proportion of the base number, the vast majority also prefer breathing techniques and Qi Refinement. Only when their natural lifespan is near its end do they stake their lives in a final gamble. It shows that aversion to risk is a human instinct, whether for cultivators or mortals alike.

Of course, I am different. Qiu Changtian thought to himself.

Although I dislike risk as well, I bear a heavy mission, which is to struggle for the continuation of the whole world. @@novelbin@@

Therefore, I must overcome the innate desire for ease and aversion to hard work, to search for those elusive relics and clues, explore the ancient secret realms, brave great perils, and risk life and death. Only then have I forged such a powerful base of cultivation!

“If it weren’t for the peerless talent Yao Yao gave you, along with the informational advantage brought by mingling with multiple sects, would Sword Master still have achieved today’s accomplishments?” The Green Duckweed Sword suddenly teased.

“Certainly,” Qiu Changtian replied calmly, “Does a phoenix chick raised in a magpie nest not grow up to be a phoenix? I admit that my starting point was a tiny bit higher than others, but the main factors for my success still lie in great determination, great wisdom, and great capability…”

“…and this astonishingly thick skin,” the Green Duckweed Sword sighed.

“What are you aimlessly speaking the truth for?” The Kunlun Mirror scolded, then turned to comfort Qiu Changtian, “Don’t worry, Guan Shui, ignore it. It’s just jealous.”

Qiu Changtian:……

You two are playing good cop, bad cop, mocking me, do you think I can’t tell?

As he opened his eyes from a restful meditation, he saw that his junior brothers and sisters had already gathered.

Xu Yinglian, Guan Zhan, Yan Zhitui, Chen Zhen, Zhong Tianhuai, and Jian Qingnan, who had finally regained some color, had all assembled in the cave abode, ready to listen to his lecture.

Yet, Qiu Changtian wasn’t in a hurry to start, but after pondering for a moment, he suddenly asked:

“I’ve been thinking lately, for a cultivator to achieve success on the path of Tao, what is ultimately more important? Is it their background and foundation, or is it their temperament and abilities?”

Xu Yinglian pondered thoughtfully.

If asked this question before, when she had first entered the sect, she would have unquestionably answered “temperament and abilities are more important.”

However, ever since she joined the Kunlun Sect, no matter how hard she strived, she was always suppressed by Senior Brother Qiu, to the point that she had begun to realize:

Temperament and abilities, these postnatal qualities that can be cultivated, are just the foundation for a cultivator. What’s really important is the innate talent for cultivation that one is born with.

You struggle ceaselessly, honing your temperament and abilities. But what if someone naturally talented does the same, and their cultivation talent is stronger than yours? How can you compete with them?

“Naturally, it’s temperament and abilities,” the other junior brothers and sisters also fell into contemplation, only Guan Zhan answered without hesitation, “Without abilities, mere talent is no different from that of pigs and dogs.”

“Indeed,” the Kunlun Mirror and the Green Duckweed Sword chimed in simultaneously.

Qiu Changtian: ???

He was about to frown and say something when suddenly a streak of light shot into the cave from outside, dropping a jade slip into the palm of his hand.

It was a message from the Sect Leader via Flying Sword Messaging!

Qiu Changtian quickly read the message and stood up, saying:

“Let’s go.”

“Go?” The junior brothers and sisters looked at each other, and the impatient Zhong Tianhuai directly asked, “But Senior Brother, you haven’t finished the lecture for today.”

“We’ll skip it for now,” Qiu Changtian said with a hearty laugh, “A great fortune is coming our way, follow me and you shall see.”

Everyone then left the Golden Ridge Cave Abode, each riding their sword light into the sky.

Jian Qingnan quietly approached Xu Yinglian and asked softly:

“Sister Ying Lian, what exactly is this great fortune…?”

“It must be that a sect’s secret realm is about to open,” Xu Yinglian said in a low voice.

“A sect’s secret realm?” Jian Qingnan’s eyes lit up, and upon hearing this, the other junior brothers and sisters were also tremendously excited.

Ahead of them, Qiu Changtian maintained a calm expression, thinking to himself that Sister must have heard some clues from the Xu Family ahead of time.

As the leader of the Orthodox Sects, occupying the Kunlun Mountain Range, the Kunlun Taiqing Sect had access to the most secret realms in the world.

However, the sect was very cautious about opening secret realms and elevating the cultivation levels of its disciples, unlike the Shushan Demon Locking Tower, which opened every few years, continually bestowing blessings on everyone.

This was because the conservative elders of the sect believed that if the disciples relied too much on the fortuitous encounters within the secret realms, they would no longer be willing to practice diligently and earnestly.

While this reasoning sounded somewhat far-fetched, considering it came from the Conservative Faction, it seemed normal.

But with the White Jade Capital’s grand competition ahead, if the Shushan Sword Immortal took first place, what face would Kunlun have left to claim its position as the leader of the Orthodox Sects?

Therefore, seizing the opportunity, the Ziwei Master gave a command, and the elders unanimously agreed to open the secret realm of the Bright Palace deep in the mountains for a last-minute boost to Kunlun’s elite disciples.

As Qiu Changtian knew, the Bright Palace was once the dwelling place of the great Emperor Zhu Rong and had since become a secret realm.

It was filled with countless treasures, and unlike the East Sea Pavilion, which selected items that suited you, it purely distributed rewards at random after completing the challenges of the secret realm… hence, the disparity between the highest and lowest rewards was huge, somewhat like the gacha pools in mobile games, where luck dictates the outcome.

Thinking of this, Qiu Changtian couldn’t help but feel a mixture of resentment and regret.

The Bright Palace was a consecrated place of the Kunlun Taiqing Sect, which had never been accessed by anyone outside Kunlun disciples.

Otherwise, if he could explore it with Miss Shi, depending on her unreasonable luck, wouldn’t they just skyrocket?