Cultivation Starting from Full Talent

[In the 128th year, you felt a vigorous vitality inside you, as if you were a spirit tree of eternal greenery harboring unimaginable life force. Now, the only thing missing from your mental state was the tempering of time.]

[In the 256th year, you had an epiphany, and the Evergreen Technique improved further.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow Rank Top Grade (Third Layer)]

[In the 842nd year, the progress of the Evergreen Technique began to stagnate. It seemed you had encountered some invisible bottleneck. Realizing your limited talent and comprehension, you decided to bury yourself in cultivation, focusing solely on advancing.]

[In the 1,300th year, a strand of green spiritual energy spawned within you, and the Evergreen Technique once again made a remarkable progress.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow Rank Top Grade (Fourth Layer)]

[In the 2,229th year, the Evergreen Technique once again fell into a state of stagnation. You began to cultivate your mind freely, fishing in the lake, racing through the mountains, shouting from the treetops "Wang Lijuan, I love you," and becoming one with the forests and mountains.]

[In the 3,300th year, one clear early morning, you woke up in a shack on the mountain, looked at the stars, felt the vibrant life force in the forest, and suddenly had a realization.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow Rank Top Grade (Fifth Layer)]

"Huff..."

Ning Daoran took a deep breath after his cultivation practice, feeling an overwhelming vital force surging within him, as the Evergreen Technique's emerald green spiritual power swiftly flowed through his meridians and spread to his limbs and bones.

The profound mysteries of the Wood Attribute Technique were simply indescribable!

He could feel his life span continuously increasing, and considering he still had plenty of time to refine, he decided to push the levels of the Evergreen Technique even higher!

[In the 4,500th year, the Evergreen Technique had been at a standstill for over a thousand years. You felt helpless about your natural talent and comprehension but were unwilling to let your pursuit of longevity come to a halt here, so you ceased overthinking and simply immersed yourself in cultivation.]

[In the 6,432nd year, the bottleneck of the Evergreen Technique suddenly loosened, and you took the opportunity to enter seclusion, making progress after half a year.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow Rank Top Grade (Sixth Layer)]

[In the 8,600th year, you, fishing in the courtyard, resembled a withered old man. The fish in the water flicked their tails and blew bubbles, as if mocking your stupidity. Why would someone like you even bother with such a difficult technique as the Evergreen Technique?]

[In the ten thousand and three hundredth year, as time and the world went on, you had witnessed countless passersby. Now, there was only tranquility and detachment left in your eyes. The moment you lifted the fishing rod, whether the fish were hooked seemed no longer important.]

[Evergreen Technique. Yellow Rank Top Grade (Seventh Layer)]

[Time left for Refining: 4,036 years]

...

"My goodness..."

Ning Daoran let out a deep sigh and exited his meditative state. Although he was sweating profusely from the practice, an endless life force was bursting within him.

Evergreen Technique, seventh layer, had taken roughly ten thousand years' worth of time.

This would be impossible for an average cultivator, which naturally is why no one from the Chaotic Sect had ever managed to cultivate the Evergreen Technique beyond the fourth layer.

The Evergreen Technique has always been difficult to cultivate. Those who managed to reach above the fourth layer were all peerless talents that amazed an era.

Ning Daoran introspected with his Divine Sense, examining his own body.

After reaching the seventh layer of the Evergreen Technique, his meridians seemed as if they had been refined anew, glinting with a verdant sheen and looking crystal clear. His body was now like a vibrant, lush tree.

His life vein emerged distinctly clear, and Ning Daoran could see his remaining life span: one hundred forty-six years.

Indeed, as one cultivated to the higher levels of the Evergreen Technique, their life span would increase.

He calculated with his fingers. He was twenty-four years old this year, and based on the Qi Refinement Realm's life span of one hundred years, as a Qi cultivator, he should live up to one hundred seventy years.

This meant that the seventh layer of the Evergreen Technique had added a full seventy percent to his original life span!

What a divine skill!

A slight smile formed at the corner of his mouth. To cultivators, nothing was more dreaded than the depletion of their lifespan. From the moment they embarked on the path of cultivation, cultivators were racing against the clock.

A mere hundred years of life span in the Qi Refinement Realm, it was advised to succeed in Foundation Establishment before reaching sixty years of age; otherwise, with the decline of vitality and blood after sixty, you would not overcome the Blood Qi Barrier needed for Foundation Establishment.

Even if you succeed in Foundation Establishment at sixty, one must form the Golden Core before the age of one hundred and forty. Most cultivators progress too slowly and cannot outrun time.

Now that Ning Daoran had a life span of over one hundred forty years at the Qi Refinement stage, he could slowly plan for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation.

Moreover, with the remaining time for Refining, the Evergreen Technique could be cultivated to even higher levels!

In short, with the Evergreen Technique, the great path is within reach!

Suddenly feeling in high spirits, Ning Daoran got up in the middle of the night and stir-fried a couple dishes for a late meal with Big Stupid Deer.

...

The next morning, Ning Daoran decided to descend the mountain.

He took out a heavy bag of Spirit Rice from the underground storage room; this was no ordinary Spirit Rice, but Second-order Green Bamboo Spirit Rice.

He decided to make another trip to Yellow Dragon Square to pave some connections.

This time he didn't wear casual clothes; instead, he wore the light blue robe of an Outer Disciple and carried the Qiushui Sword on his back, given to him by his Junior Sister, as he went down the mountain side by side with Big Stupid Deer.

In the morning, the square was as bustling as ever.

Not only were all the big shops open for business, but both sides of the stone steps leading from the Chaotic Sect were also full of Loose Cultivators with their stalls, their cries overlapping one another.

"Low Grade Cold Wind Talisman, Wind Walking Talisman, essential items for any Immortal, selling cheap!"

"A slightly worn First-tier Low Grade Spiritual Artifact, just eighty low-grade spirit stones, fellow Daoists who are interested come and have a look!"

"First-tier Middle-grade Spirit Beast Skin and Demon Blood, do not miss out if you need them for talisman making, fellow Daoists!"

Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer wandered up and down the streets, their eyes lingering on the stalls, unwilling to leave.

There were so many good things, but there were too few spirit stones in their pockets!

"Old Lu, let's go there!"

Ning Daoran pointed towards a distant spot, the prime location of Yellow Dragon Square, where a splendid building adorned with carved beams and painted rafters stood tall.

Wind Stopping Tower, the Chaotic Sect's base in Yellow Dragon Square.

It was said that to manage Yellow Dragon Square, the Chaotic Sect had stationed two Foundation Establishment Elders in the Wind Stopping Tower.

As the name suggested, whether it was the power struggles of cultivation families or the grudges and feuds between loose cultivators, once they entered Yellow Dragon Square, they had to cease all conflicts and lay down their arms.

The two Foundation Establishment Experts stationed at Wind Stopping Tower, one was public while the other remained hidden.

The one who was known at the moment resided within the Wind Stopping Tower, Ning Daoran had already inquired clearly, an Outer Elder named Huang Chengyan, who once was a loose cultivator but later joined the Chaotic Sect.

Of course, being assigned to guard Yellow Dragon Square was not exactly a coveted position. Leaving a third-tier spirit vein cave mansion meant that cultivation was half as effective; it was assigned only to those Foundation Experts who were not favored within the sect.

Being a Foundation cultivator and stationed here, discontent was unavoidable; the higher-ups of the Chaotic Sect were aware of this, so they implemented a rotation system for this position, not keeping any two individuals permanently at the square.

...

"Eh?"

At the entrance of the Wind Stopping Tower, a disciple guarding the gate saw Ning Daoran's attire and chuckled, "Junior Brother, what can I do for you?"

"Um."

Ning Daoran bowed respectfully, "Senior Brother, I would like to request an audience with Martial Uncle Huang?"

"See my master?"

The Senior Brother laughed, "The master is overseeing the square, busy with welcoming and sending off visitors, it's not something Junior Brother can wish for and achieve just like that."

"Don't misunderstand me, Senior Brother."

Ning Daoran patted the rice bag carried by Big Stupid Deer with a smile, "I have some Green Bamboo Spirit Rice that I've cultivated myself and would like to offer some to Martial Uncle to taste, and incidentally get acquainted, no other intentions."

"Oh?"

The Senior Brother opened the rice bag and was instantly astounded, "Second-tier spirit rice?"

"That's right."

"Good, I'll go inform the master right away!"

Before long, Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer entered the Wind Stopping Tower.

Observing the hundred jin of second-tier spirit rice in front of him, a Foundation Elder dressed in elder's robes squinted his eyes with a smile, "Junior Nephew Ning Daoran, right? I've heard of you. You've cultivated the Rain Transformation Technique to the fourth layer in just a few years. Your progress in the way of spirit plants is rapid, truly impressive for a younger generation!"

"You flatter me, Martial Uncle."

Ning Daoran smiled slightly, "Your humble disciple has dull aptitude, achieving little in cultivation, yet has managed to gain some insights in planting spirit rice, for which I am quite ashamed."

Saying that, he quickly got to the point, "Knowing that it's not easy for Martial Uncle to oversee the square, I bring a hundred jin of Green Bamboo Spirit Rice as a sign of respect, please do not disdain it, Martial Uncle."

"Oh?"

Huang Chengyan's eyes narrowed, his heart stirred. Though he was a Foundation Establishment Expert, it wasn't true that he wouldn't be moved by a hundred jin of Green Bamboo Spirit Rice.

After all, only about fifteen people in the Chaotic Sect could cultivate Green Bamboo Spirit Rice, and the amount allocated to the sect each year was fixed while dozens of Foundation experts in the Chaotic Sect, as well as True Inheritors and Inner Sect Disciples, all had their needs.

Therefore, the amount of Green Bamboo Spirit Rice Huang Chengyan could get each year was at most a few dozen jin, to get more would mean spending spirit stones...

However, Green Bamboo Spirit Rice obtained without having to spend spirit stones was bound to taste sweeter.

"With such intention from Junior Nephew, of course, your Martial Uncle should accept."

With a raise of his hand, Huang Chengyan welcomed the bag of spirit rice weighing a hundred jin into his storage bag. His eyes still squinting, he smiled, "With this gesture... what would Junior Nephew ask of your Martial Uncle?"

Both were clever people, neither hiding nor hoarding.

"Cough cough..."

Ning Daoran scratched his head, "Yellow Dragon Square is very safe with Martial Uncle overseeing it, but outside the square is less so. Last month alone, there were two or three incidents of murder and robbery. As someone who can't sit still and often goes to the square, thus..."

"Hahaha~~~"

Huang Chengyan let out a hearty laugh, flicking a jade token through the air, "This is the Wind Stopping Tower's Peace Token. Take it, and with this token, no one in Yellow Dragon Square will dare to target you."

"Thank you, Martial Uncle!"

...

Amid the bustling square, Ning Daoran walked with Big Stupid Deer by his side.

He did not wear the Peace Token on him but tucked it away in his bosom.

In fact, simply visiting the Wind Stopping Tower was enough for the eyes of the major powers in the square to notice him, which was sufficient.

If he were to wear the jade token openly, it would be over-the-top and might displease Martial Uncle Huang if the news got back to him.

Ning Daoran was clear about such ins and outs.

"Old Lu, let's go to Qingfu Square!"

He decided to head over to Qingfu Square to buy some fish fry. After that, he planned to develop a fish pond in the backyard to become self-sufficient in raising spirit fish and make some pocket money on the side.