Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lu Shitu set down the scroll and turned his head to gaze out the window. In the courtyard, a century-old ginkgo tree stood tall, its golden leaves catching the last, slanting rays of the evening sun.

Even after several days, he still felt as if he were caught in a dream.

The side chamber was sparsely furnished with only a bed, a couch, a table and chairs, and a set of cabinets, all crafted from sandalwood, exuding a faint, pleasant aroma. Every detail of the room was both elegant and comforting.

Having a room of his own felt like a world away. His more familiar abodes had been the dark, damp water dungeons and the crowded, privacy-lacking dormitories of outer sect disciples. As for his time as the sect leader’s favored disciple, those memories had long since become distant and blurred, like events from a previous life.

Just when his entire world had been utterly shattered, when everyone and everything he deeply loved had cast him aside like refuse, when he believed he was doomed to fall into an eternal abyss—everything unexpectedly took a turn for the better, so surreal it felt like an illusion.

Lu Shitu unconsciously stroked the cultivation manual in his hand.

Logically, with his spiritual roots destroyed, he was no different from an ordinary mortal devoid of any connection to cultivation. Naturally, he couldn't practice any cultivation method. No matter how diligently he studied, without spiritual roots, it would be impossible to draw spiritual energy into his body or make any progress in cultivation.

But since Rong Yu had asked him to read it, he would study it with utmost seriousness. Over the past few days, he had immersed himself in the text, carefully poring over it.

After a while, the door creaked, and someone pushed it open and entered.

Lu Shitu looked up, his pupils subtly contracting.

Rong Yu appeared to have just bathed, his outer robe loosely draped, his hair unbound, exuding an air of languid weariness. In his hand, he held a lamp, his peach-blossom eyes casually sweeping across the room.

This attire was a stark contrast to his usual formal wear—like a general shedding his armor, revealing a gentle inner self beneath the cold steel.

“It’s almost nightfall. Why haven’t you lit the lamp?” Rong Yu asked casually, not truly expecting an answer. He then cut to the chase, “How is your study of the cultivation method progressing?”

Rong Yu knew Lu Shitu must be eager to restore his spiritual roots and would likely study the manual quickly, so he had timed his visit accordingly, arriving early.

The *Wu Wei Mind Method* he had given Lu Shitu was something he had stumbled upon in a corner of the storage room shortly after transmigrating. He quickly recalled: this book was mentioned in the original story!

It was a legendary ancient celestial-grade cultivation technique, one of the protagonist’s major advantages in the later stages. However, due to its ancient origins and the passage of thousands of years, these ancient methods were no longer suitable for modern cultivators. Consequently, few people knew about them. In the original story, Rong Yu had obtained it by chance, and later, the protagonist Jiang Ziliu borrowed it from him. Rong Yu, who greatly admired Jiang Ziliu, generously gifted it to him along with other treasures.

Remembering this, Rong Yu felt a pang of profound regret on behalf of the original owner. That was an ancient celestial-grade technique, friend! One of only three limited copies in the entire world! Was it really just a "click to get celestial-grade technique" situation?

However, after calming down, Rong Yu was inspired by it and recalled many related settings from the original story, which eventually led him to the method of helping Lu Shitu rebuild his spiritual roots.

Rong Yu found it quite remarkable—this cultivation method, originally the protagonist’s golden finger, had now become the key to the cannon fodder character’s resurgence.

Lu Shitu replied, “Master, I have already read through it once as you instructed.”

Rong Yu sat down opposite Lu Shitu, feeling quite satisfied. He thought to himself that he hadn’t misjudged the boy—he truly wanted to recover!

He said, “Good. Then you must have discerned something unusual about it. This cultivation method is not from our sect. It is, in fact, an ancient technique.”

Lu Shitu was profoundly shocked, his eyes widening as he looked at Rong Yu. His astonishment stemmed not only from the extreme rarity of ancient techniques, which were nearly lost to time, but also because such techniques were widely regarded as utterly useless in the modern era!

It was common knowledge that ancient cultivation methods were obscure and incredibly difficult to practice. They placed extremely high demands on the cultivator, involved immense hardship, and produced results very slowly. Their only advantages were their high upper limits and immense power in the later stages, making them a type of technique that required long accumulation for a sudden, powerful breakthrough.

It was said that in ancient times, spiritual energy was abundant, and cultivators generally possessed high talent. Thus, everyone could focus on arduous cultivation and eagerly sought out such techniques. But now, with spiritual energy in decline and highly talented cultivators becoming scarce, everyone rushed to practice fast-progressing, powerful techniques. Ancient methods had thus become universally acknowledged as worthless.

Seeing Lu Shitu’s expression, Rong Yu guessed he understood most of it. He said seriously, “Shitu, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

“Practicing the *Wu Wei Mind Method* is exceptionally difficult and arduous, as you may have heard. But there’s another, lesser-known requirement: the practitioner must have an upright character, free from worry and fear, with a pure mind. Otherwise, it’s easy to develop inner demons.”

Lu Shitu listened quietly, showing no signs of disgust or fear. He simply focused on Rong Yu, waiting for him to continue.

Rong Yu nodded inwardly and continued, “But I want you to practice it because only this method can allow your spiritual roots to be rebuilt.”

After studying the original settings, Rong Yu gradually discovered that while this cultivation method was indeed useless to the vast majority of people, it happened to be able to nourish the spiritual roots and the sea of consciousness. More importantly, it could help Lu Shitu rebuild his spiritual roots—precisely what he needed most.

So, brave youth, come with me and create a miracle!

Lu Shitu’s eyes widened slightly, suddenly brightening. “I… I can really…”

Rong Yu said, “I promised you. I will definitely ensure you win first place in the Sect Tournament.” He thought to himself, *Silly child, isn’t that obvious? If I couldn’t help you recover, why would you even bother becoming my disciple?*

Lu Shitu suddenly remembered the blood oath Rong Yu had made for him and felt a momentary daze.

“This path is perilous and exceedingly difficult. Whether you practice it or not is up to you. I dare not claim a hundred percent certainty, but this is the only way. Do you trust me?”

A faint smile still lingered on Rong Yu’s face. Lu Shitu stared at him without blinking and, after a moment, slowly nodded.

Rong Yu thought contentedly, *It seems I really do have a knack for… motivational speaking.*

He beckoned to Lu Shitu. “Good. Come here, into my arms. I’ll first explain the key points of the first layer of the *Wu Wei Mind Method* to you.”

Having studied the *Wu Wei Mind Method* beforehand, he knew this was the best way to teach it and naturally proceeded accordingly.

Lu Shitu stood up immediately when Rong Yu beckoned, but upon hearing his words, he froze on the spot, his ears turning red.

Seeing him hesitate, Rong Yu realized: *This kid was originally a genius; he probably doesn’t need such detailed instruction. I’m just worrying unnecessarily.*

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Lu Shitu actually walked over and gently nestled into his embrace. Even though the boy was thin, his body was warm and soft, feeling quite pleasant to hold.

Rong Yu was momentarily stunned, then thought: *As expected of a top student, always humble and eager to learn, striving for excellence just to become stronger!*

Using his own body as a reference, he patiently pointed out the key points on Lu Shitu’s body, slowly explaining the cultivation method.

At first, the boy’s body was very stiff, as if he didn’t know how to position his limbs, but he gradually relaxed over time.

Unbeknownst to them, dusk had long passed.

Rong Yu had long stopped speaking, quietly resting his head on his hand while still holding Lu Shitu.

Lu Shitu heard the breathing of the person behind him gradually become light and soft. He gently lifted his head to look.

Rong Yu had actually fallen asleep. His sleeping face, so close, appeared gentle and serene under the candlelight, his skin almost translucent like jade. His smooth black hair cascaded down one side.

Even in sleep, his embrace remained firm, as if subconsciously afraid Lu Shitu might fall, holding him securely.

His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly like a butterfly's wings, shimmering golden in the lamplight.

Lu Shitu stared at those eyelashes as if bewitched. After a long while, holding his breath, he involuntarily raised a fingertip and lightly, ever so gently, touched them.

“Elder, this is the sect message jade slip you requested. It’s an invitation to the sect trial from Qingxu Peak.” A novice disciple bowed respectfully and handed a jade slip to Rong Yu.

Rong Yu accepted it, thinking: *Perfect timing!*

He had previously instructed the disciples of Broken Peak to collect and review the sect’s daily message jade slips recently. If there was a trial invitation from Qingxu Peak, they were to pass it to him.

Everyone found this quite peculiar in private, because in the past, Elder Taiqing would typically ignore such routine messages without a second glance.

Rong Yu actually understood the original owner’s behavior very well. These daily sect communications were basically mass-distributed sect tasks—equivalent to daily quests in a game, usually meant for novice disciples to level up. As for a max-level character like Rong Yu, he naturally wouldn’t give them a second thought.

The reason Rong Yu had issued such an unprecedented order after arriving was that this Qingxu Peak trial was an essential part of his plan.

According to the original timeline, this trial would occur shortly after the Sect Tournament. Therefore, he had been monitoring it closely early on.

Qingxu Peak is the southernmost mountain in the Taixu Mountain Range, known for its mild climate and abundant rare spiritual herbs, earning it the nickname "Herb Peak" among disciples.

Disciples who pass the Qingxu Peak trial can later take on missions at the peak and receive spiritual herbs as rewards. Those who achieve outstanding results in the trial may even select any cultivation manual from the sect’s library.

Rong Yu’s next step for Lu Shitu required precisely one hidden cultivation manual from the sect’s library and the spiritual herbs from Qingxu Peak.

Rong Yu toyed with the jade slip, gazing at the Qingxu Peak emblem engraved on it, recalling the details of the trial from the original story.

In the original plot, the protagonist Jiang Ziliu participated in this trial as the sect leader’s disciple, while Lu Shitu also took part as an outer sect labor disciple.

At that time, Lu Shitu had just ingested the fake spiritual root. Despite arduous cultivation, he made no progress. With no other choice, he entered the Qingxu Peak trial while still recovering from old injuries, hoping to find the Flame Spirit Grass—an advanced version of the Spiritual Fire Grass—to refine a pill and stabilize his spiritual root.

During the trial, Jiang Ziliu, with his cheat-level luck, gathered many high-scoring spiritual herbs, won first place, and even selected a heaven-grade fire-attribute cultivation manual from the library, earning everyone’s envy.

Lu Shitu, however, focused solely on searching for the spiritual herbs he needed and ended up with a low score, failing the trial.

In the end, the Flame Spirit Grass that Lu Shitu painstakingly found once again fell into Jiang Ziliu’s hands, helping him undergo another marrow cleansing. This turned him into a dual spiritual root genius, paving the way for his smooth path to immortality.

Rong Yu snorted coldly. The Qingxu Peak trial, huh? This time, let’s see if you, Jiang Ziliu, can still have it so easy.