Upon hearing this, Shi Jiu and the others perked up their ears.
After all, having just arrived in a new environment, it was best not to unknowingly commit a major taboo due to carelessness and not clearly hearing the rules.
Seeing the new children below with serious expressions, Elder Ma was quite satisfied.
He looked at Shi Jiu, who was noticeably older than the others, with a slightly strange gaze, and then began:
"First, upon arriving at the Spirit Herb Hall, each person will receive a complete set of Spirit Plant cultivation equipment for daily use in cultivating Spirit Plants. This equipment will be replaced every three years.
Second, during the first year, basic knowledge of Spirit Plant cultivation will be explained in the Spirit Herb Hall's classroom every five days. In the second year, explanations will be given every twenty days. Unexcused absences from these courses are not permitted.
Third, in addition to Spirit Plant cultivation work, although your Aptitude is not high, and some of you are even a bit older, you still need to Cultivate.
Whether it's the cultivation of Spirit Plants or the improvement of personal strength, the foundation is your cultivation strength.
Therefore, everyone can go to the Cultivation Method Hall later to receive a basic Five Elements Cultivation Technique for daily Cultivation.
Fourth, after three months, each person must undertake and receive a piece of Elementary Spirit Field. After one year, you will begin to submit the produce from your respective Spirit Fields in exchange for contribution points from the Helian Family.
Anyone found to have excessively low output will be eliminated by the Spirit Herb Hall. Those eliminated will be expelled from the Spirit Herb Hall. As for where you will go, you will know when the time comes, hehe."
"Let me remind you one more thing: although the cultivation time for a Spirit Plant Master is greatly compressed, I advise you by no means to neglect your personal cultivation.
The higher your cultivation, the more choices you will have. I hope you understand this principle as soon as possible."
After listening to Elder Ma's words, Shi Jiu finally understood why Spirit Plant Masters, despite having more opportunities to come into contact with Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine, and even many Spirit Plant Masters dabbling in Alchemy,
while not consuming Medicinal Pills like candy as many high-level Alchemists do, still had more exposure than ordinary Cultivators.
The reason their cultivation often wasn't high despite such opportunities was likely due to the sheer amount of energy they had to expend.
All of it was fragmented time, making it difficult to concentrate energy on improving cultivation.
Thinking of this, Shi Jiu secretly made up his mind: he was, after all, a Huaguo person, with the gene for farming inherited from his Old Ancestors.
Moreover, he didn't dislike cultivating Spirit Plants, but being a Spirit Plant Master was not his inner aspiration.
Only by improving his cultivation and ascending to the Immortal Realm could he find his way home.
At this moment, Elder Ma had already arranged for an Old Disciple named "Su Wen" to lead Shi Jiu and the others towards the Cultivation Method Hall.
Shi Jiu was secretly encouraging himself at this time: as soon as he finished the Spirit Field work and learned the knowledge of Spirit Plant cultivation,
he must seize the time to meditate and Cultivate, cherishing every minute.
No useless socializing, no melodramatic romances; he needed to distinguish between primary and secondary matters, and everything should be directed towards higher cultivation.
After receiving the order, Su Wen quickly led Shi Jiu and the others to the Cultivation Method Hall.
He showed Elder Ma's handwritten order to the Disciple on duty at the Cultivation Method Hall, and Shi Jiu and the others smoothly entered the Cultivation Method Hall.
Su Wen introduced to everyone:
"The Helian Family's Cultivation Method Hall has three floors. The higher you go, the rarer and more powerful the Cultivation Techniques become. Furthermore, the second and third floors have Restrictions, and you cannot go up without a token.
For the Qi Refinement Stage level, the Cultivation Techniques on the first floor are completely sufficient.
You will have one hour to choose from the basic Five Elements Cultivation Techniques inside. Do not pick some flashy but impractical Cultivation Techniques.
In fact, whether for Disciples of the Spirit Herb Hall or other halls, I believe that in the Early Stage of cultivation, it is best to choose the most basic Five Elements Cultivation Technique. It is easy to pick up and also provides a solid foundation."
"I guess most of you are probably Four or Five Spiritual Roots, and I am the same.
Our Aptitude is already ordinary, and if we choose other Five Elements-evolved Cultivation Techniques,
whether we can learn them aside, more importantly, it might not be beneficial for your later Spirit Plant cultivation, because if you can't complete the task, you will really be expelled from the Spirit Herb Hall."
"Big Brother Su Wen, if we really can't complete the task and are expelled from the Spirit Herb Hall, will they send us home?" a round-faced girl asked curiously.
"Hehe, little girl, you'd better pray that you can definitely complete the task.
According to the Helian Family's rules, those who are expelled from their respective halls for failing to complete tasks,
regardless of the reason, must work as miners in the Family's Spirit Stone Mine for one year before they can return to the Helian Family and choose another hall.
Don't think that mining in the Spirit Stone Mine is an easy job. The work intensity there is extremely high; many people can't even last a month.
And besides being extremely exhausting, almost all Spirit Stone Mines are accompanied by various Spirit Insects.
These Spirit Insects live by gnawing on Spirit Stones, and almost all of them are extremely ferocious.
A slight oversight can result in them biting a bloody hole in you, and encountering an insect swarm might not even leave you a chance to escape."
After Su Wen finished explaining, he looked at the pale and frightened expressions of the new Disciples around him, feeling that he had instilled in them the determination to diligently complete the Spirit Herb Hall's tasks. This also meant he had completed the task Elder Ma had privately entrusted to him.
Moreover, he hadn't actually lied to Shi Jiu and the others; the situation was indeed as he described, he had merely exaggerated a tiny bit.
Upon hearing this, Shi Jiu was also quite shocked that the punishment for failing the assessment task in the Helian Family was so terrifying, and that such terrifying strange insects actually lived in the Spirit Stone Mine. It truly lived up to its name as a cultivation world.
However, Shi Jiu was confident that his learning ability was quite good, given that he could pass Professor Lin's graduate school entrance exam amidst fierce competition.
Moreover, his practical skills should be much stronger than these young children, so completing the task would certainly be no problem.
Thus, Shi Jiu settled down and focused on reading through the many basic Five Elements Cultivation Techniques to see which one was more suitable for him.
After a quick search, Shi Jiu selected three Cultivation Techniques that he felt were more suitable for him: one "Formula of Azure Wood," one "Formula of Primordial Water," and one "Formula of Geng Metal."
The "Formula of Azure Wood" almost universally promoted the growth and maturation of all wood-type plants, and its Cultivation of magical power was long-lasting and endless, making it much deeper than other Cultivation Techniques.
However, its drawback was that its cultivation speed would be slightly slower, as the extra magical power gained compared to Cultivation Techniques of the same stage did not come from thin air. Furthermore, its offensive capabilities in combat were average, leaning more towards defense.
The "Formula of Primordial Water" was somewhat similar to the "Formula of Azure Wood"; its magical power was also quite enduring, and it had a nourishing effect on wood-type Spirit Plants. However, in future combat, it seemed even inferior to the "Formula of Azure Wood," and it was noted to be more suitable for female Cultivators.
The "Formula of Geng Metal" was a Metal-type Cultivation Technique, excelling in attack power, sharp and incisive. It allowed the Cultivator to condense a trace of sword light at their fingertips during the Early Stage of Qi Refinement, with extremely strong penetrative power.
Moreover, its cultivation difficulty was slightly simpler than both the "Formula of Azure Wood" and the "Formula of Primordial Water," and Metal-type Cultivation Techniques had extremely convenient effects for stages like pest removal for Spirit Plants.
After much deliberation, Shi Jiu reluctantly put down the "Formula of Primordial Water" and the "Formula of Geng Metal."
Compared to these two Cultivation Techniques, Shi Jiu still felt that the "Formula of Azure Wood," with its long-lasting magical power and excellent growth-promoting effect on Spirit Plants, was more suitable for him. As for the cultivation difficulty, Shi Jiu was confident that with his learning ability, he could overcome it.
Just as Shi Jiu had made up his mind and was about to find Su Wen to make a copy of the "Formula of Azure Wood," he suddenly noticed a Cultivation Technique placed in the highest central position on the first floor of the Cultivation Method Hall.
When he first entered, he was only looking around and didn't notice this Cultivation Technique high above. Upon closer inspection, it was a Cultivation Technique called "Formula of Guiding the Stars."
Su Wen, who was sitting aside in meditation, saw Shi Jiu staring intently at the "Formula of Guiding the Stars" and spoke:
"The 'Formula of Guiding the Stars' before you is quite special. Legend has it that it was once even the Seven Luminaries Sect's sect-guarding Cultivation Technique.
Even at the Qi Refining Stage, its cultivation difficulty is top-notch, because the 'Formula of Guiding the Stars' is said to require cooperation with the Seven Luminaries Sect's Star Grinding Grand Formation to slightly reduce its cultivation difficulty.
But legend has it that during the last invasion by the Demon Realm and the Ghost Clan, the Seven Luminaries Sect, as the leading Immortal Dao power at the time, fought a desperate, bloody battle against these two races, to the point of heaven and earth collapsing. Even the ten Star Grinding Grand Formations, built and accumulated over generations, were destroyed, all but one.
Only the current one Star Grinding Grand Formation remains, and its effectiveness is clearly not as pronounced as when there were ten Grand Formations."
"Alas, when the Seven Luminaries Sect was at its peak, how could the Canghai Sword Sect or the Bodhi Temple even compare?
The entire eastern part of the cultivation world was dominated by the Seven Luminaries Sect alone. However, even after declining so much, the Seven Luminaries Sect is still a behemoth now."
Su Wen said with considerable emotion.