Chapter 0063 – The Tai Shu Clan
“I am called Ning Cheng, and indeed I am new here.” Ning Cheng cupped his fists in front of him as he said, though he did not say that he came through the Daan Forest from the Ping Continent.
This Tai Shu Shi said with an extreme interest, “This really is good, I have been out here for almost six months gathering experience, and have already reaped a lot of benefits. Only this one does not dare to go further deep, firstly I am scared of getting lost, and secondly I am not particularly strong by myself. For Brother Ning to come to the Daan Forest, surely you are also looking for people like us to go in adventuring.”
Ning Cheng immediately understood the meaning of the words spoken by Tai Shu Shi, he wanted to find an opportunity to go into the depths of the Daan Forest, but he knew that his strength was somewhat bad, so he was looking for another person to form a team. He saw him near the edge of the Daan Forest, so he walked towards him to try and recruit him into forming a team with him.
Ning Cheng had stayed in the Daan Forest for several months, so he was well aware of the dangers inside, even though he had a detailed map of the forest, it still took him a few months to come out from there. Once you got lost in there, then it definitely would not be a good thing. Moreover, Ning Cheng also knew that there were also not many treasures in the Daan Forest. Compared to the danger, taking this kind of risk was just not worth it.
Besides Ning Cheng did not want to return to the Daan Forest at this moment, so he just smiled and said, “I did not know if Brother Tai Shu wants to go inside the Daan Forest to gain experience and train oneself or are you looking for some high rank Spiritual Grasses? If you are looking for a high rank Spiritual Grass, then I advise Brother Tai Shu to look for those at other places. I am somewhat familiar with the Daan Forest, although there is no doubt some high quality Spiritual Grasses in there, but they are extremely rare, one might not even find a single one of them even in a year. Brother Tai Shu I have already stayed in this neighbourhood for almost 6 months, so you can say than I am somewhat clear in this matter.”
“If Brother Tai Shu is just looking for increasing his experience, then there is no need to go into the depths of the Daan Forest, as long as you are near the edge of the forest you can receive the same desired effect.”
After listening to the words of Ning Cheng, Tai Shu Shi tapped his head and said, “Oh, how come I did not think of it. I’ve already been here for six months, and the highest rank of Spiritual Grass that I was able to obtain was a meagre Rank 2, going by your words it is not necessary to continue to stay here. With regards to gaining knowledge and experience, I am already tired of fighting against Monstrous Beasts that have no brains. Although I have a heavy need for a lot of the low ranking Spiritual Grasses, but it is not enough or necessary for me to want to stay in the Daan Forest.”
“You need a lot of low grade Spiritual Grasses? Are you a pharmacist?” Ning Cheng asked in a puzzled tone, he now knew that there are not a lot of people in the low class continents who are able to refine actual pills, these people who are able to refine actual pills were called as Pill Masters. Only people who are able to refine actual pills can be called a Pill Master, and those who cannot refine Pills and can only refine Elixirs and mixture pills are called pharmacists.
This Tai Shu Shi does not look too old, so he thought that it was impossible for him to be a Pill Master, so when Ning Cheng heard that he required a lot of low grade Spiritual Grasses, he naturally thought that he was a pharmacist.
Tai Shu Shi gave a proud smile and said, “Brother Ning you cannot underestimate me, I am a genuine hundred percent Tier 1 Ordinary Pill Master, moreover I even have the confidence to refine a Level 2 Pill.”
Ning Cheng had on more than one occasion heard people say that Alchemy was difficult, moreover people also said that trying to find the resources for Alchemy was also very difficult. Even when he heard of it from Fang Jiyan, or the old woman, their tone was still the same. Even Fang Jiyan said that Alchemy was a very difficult thing to cultivate. But that old woman not only said that Alchemy was difficult, but she even said that the Dao of Alchemy was just a minor one.
Moreover, Ning Cheng also wanted to find someone who could refine a True Condensation Pill, at this time when he actually met a Pill Master, he immediately wanted to inquire about it. Even if the present Tai Shu Shi was not able to refine the pill that he wanted, he could still come into contact with other people related to him who were definitely better than him.
Thinking of this, Ning Cheng quickly asked, “Brother Tai Shu, I often hear people say about Pill Masters and Alchemy, I do not know much about Alchemy, could Brother Tai Shu enlighten me about it?”
When Tai Shu Shi heard Ning Cheng’s query, he looked at Ning Cheng with some doubt, and asked again, “Is it possible that Brother Ning is not a person from the Yuan Continent, did you come here by crossing through the Daan Forest?”
Ning Cheng secretly thought that this Tai Shu Shi was very astute, but since he had nothing to hide so he replied, “That’s right, this time I was very lucky, and was able to cut across the Daan Forest after suffering through a lot of things for the past several months.”
What Ning Cheng said was very simple, but in the mind of the person with surname Tai Shu who was in front of him it was actually a difficult situation, as he was almost killed many times at just the edges of the Daan Forest. For Ning Cheng to pass through the Daan Forest, this was simply too good to be true. Moreover, the way Ning Cheng said about crossing through the Daan Forest, it seemed as easy as eating bread and drinking water, in fact it certainly was not the case, no one could only rely on luck to cut across the Daan Forest. With this it can be seen, that the heart of this person was not false, as he did not boast to other people, even his mind was calm, this person would definitely have a bright future.
Thinking about his own pride that he had displayed for his Alchemy, and comparing it with the calm and serene heart of Ning Cheng, Tai Shu Shi felt really ashamed of himself.
“So that’s is how it is, originally Brother Ning came from the Ping Continent. The Spiritual Qi of the Ping Continent is the scarcest of all the continents, as a result many people do not go there, I did not know if it was normal.”
After Tai Shu Shi quelled his shocked feelings on his own, he once again said in a very detailed manner, “Actually the Pill Masters in the Yi Xing mainland are divided into different categories – Ordinary Pill Master, True Pill Master, Profound Pill Master, Earth Pill Greater Master and Heaven Pill Grand Master. The ranks of the pills concocted by them are also divided into 9 Levels from 1 to 9, the ones who could refine a Level 1 and Level 2 pills are known as Ordinary Pill Masters, those who can refine Level 3 and Level 4 pills are the True Pill Masters, those who are able to refine Level 5 and Level 6 pills are known as Profound Pill Masters. Only those Pill Masters who can refine Level 7 and Level 8 pills can be called as Earth Pill Greater Master, as for the ones who are able to refine Level 9 and above pills, they are the Heaven Pill Grand Masters.”
Listening to Tai Shu Shi’s words, Ning Cheng then came to understand, that originally these Elixirs and the Mixture Pills were really not even the fundamentals in the Dao of Alchemy.
“Brother Tai Shu, how many Heaven Pill Grand Masters are there in the Yi Xing Mainland? I think that there should not be many of them right?” Ning Cheng asked.
Tai Shu Shi gave a bitter smile and said, “Actually even I am not very clear about it, but I am sure, that even if there were Heaven Pill Grand Masters, there wouldn’t be more than 1 or 2, it just isn’t a question of how many.”
Ning Cheng suddenly thought of that old woman and the conversation he had with Fang Jiyan, rushing to catch a problem, he immediately asked again, “Brother Tai Shu, I heard from a person that in the Lower Class Continents, the cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm are not able to bring out their Spiritual Sense. But Alchemy also needs a strong Spiritual Sense, then how is Brother Tai Shu able to cultivate in Alchemy?”
Tai Shu Shi looked at Ning Cheng with a bit of incredulity on his face, and after a good while later he said, “I finally understood why Brother Ning could pass through the Daan Forest, Brother Ning is the same as me.”
Seeing Ning Cheng wanting to continue to speak, Tai Shu Shi raised his hands and stopped Ning Cheng, and continued on himself, “I am sure that Brother Ning does not cultivate a simple Cultivation Method. This is in fact not a secret, in the high level Continents, and even in Intermediate Class Continents, most of the cultivators cultivate the complete Cultivation Methods, unlike the simplified Cultivation Methods that people in the Lower Class Continents cultivate, thus they are able to utilise their Spiritual Sense from as early as the Qi Gathering Realm. After advancing to the Qi Gathering 4th Level, they can then use their Flying Swords to actually fly. On advancing to the True Condensation Realm, it is possible for them to right away from a Sea of Consciousness, which then transforms their Spiritual Sense into Spiritual Consciousness. It is not unusual that one needs to advance to the Essence Building Realm in the Lower Class Continents for this to happen, as only then would they have the ability to perceive the existence of the Sea of Consciousness.”
Speaking till the end Tai Shu Shi gave a self-deprecating smile, “I think that Brother Ning is the same as me, who cultivates a complete Cultivation Method, and should be able to bring out your Spiritual Sense.”
Ning Cheng thought that it was only his secret, and actually did not know that there would be a person in the Yuan Continent who would also know about it. He once again asked that what he could not understand, “Do all the people of the Yuan Continent know about this matter?”
Tai Shu Shi shook his head and said, “How would it be possible for all the people to know about it? However, there are some people who are aware of it, it is simply because the Spiritual Qi here is very scarce, to want to advance in this place, one could only cultivate low levelled Cultivation Methods. It would be better if you did not look at the members of the Lower Class Continents who advanced to the True Condensation Realm, if a True Condensation Cultivator from a Lower Class Continent went to the High Levelled Continent, they perhaps would be beaten easily by one of the so called geniuses in the Qi Gathering Realm, this is just a fact, and nobody can change it.”
Indeed, it was just as he guessed it, Ning Cheng felt a bit gloomy after hearing this. He had thought that with his cultivation, arriving at this continent was already a very great achievement, for him wanting to go to an Intermediate Class Continent, he knew that it was going to be much more difficult than he had imagined.
“Brother Ning you are able to pass through the Daan Forest, so you should be the same as me, and is always thinking about going to an Intermediate Levelled Continent. It’s a pity though, although we are able to understand this truth, but the Spiritual Qi here is not enough for us to advance to a higher level. If only we could become escorts of a Profound Pill Master and above, only then would we be able to go to one of the intermediate levelled continents, otherwise it’s just a delusion for us.” Tai Shu Shi did not know how to persuade Ning Cheng so he could only comfort himself with those words.
Ning Cheng immediately abandoned such distracting thoughts, who was even sure if he could even advance to the peak of the Qi Gathering 9th Level? Furthermore, he could not cultivate like the others. For something that would happen in the future, who could clearly say that what would happen?
“Brother Tai Shu, I heard you speak about it before, are there other mainlands outside Yi Xing Mainland?” Ning Cheng already wanted to ask this question, he wanted to know more about this world other than the Yi Xing mainland, are there other mainlands here just like on Earth?
“That’s right, Yi Xing mainland is just a small part of this entire chaotic universe, in this chaotic universe, there are innumerable other mainlands, in some of these mainlands you can rely on your cultivation to go through to it, while there are some other mainlands where you cannot rely on your cultivation to go through. In other words, unless you have an extremely powerful and terrifying cultivation level to deal with any situation, only then would you would be able to pass through the other mainlands.” When Tai Shu Shi spoke of the innumerable planes, even his expression was very dignified.
But Ning Cheng was not able to understand these completely, listening to Tai Shu Shi’s words, his heart sank. From what Tai Shu Shi said, it was unlikely that he would even be able to return to Earth.
“Brother Tai Shu, how do you know all these? Is it possible that all the cultivators of the Yuan Continent know about these things?” Ning Cheng knew that Tai Shu Shi had no reason to lie to him, although in his heart he thought that something was missing, he hoped that he could be an exception.
Tai Shu Shi shook his head and said, “Brother Ning and I really feel like old friends, I truly wish to become good friends with Brother Ning. The Cultivation Method that I cultivate in is from my Tai Shu Clan, My Tai Shu Clan appeared several thousand years ago in the Yi Xing Mainland’s High Level Continent, the Le Continent. Afterwards our ancestors, in order to find a way back, left the Le Continent. After our ancestors left, my Tai Shu Clan began to decline gradually. Today, I am the only person left from my clan wandering around in this low levelled Yuan Continent.”
Tai Shu Shi’s expression was very desolate, it was obvious that he was feeling aggrieved in his heart and was very lonely.
But Ning Cheng in heart was very excited, the ancestor of Tai Shu Shi was able to go across planes, it was obvious that he was one of the most absolutely powerful cultivators out there, would he be able to achieve this level in the future?
Ning Cheng did not take into account Tai Shu Shi’s loneliness and asked with some urgency, “Brother Tai Shu, your ancestor must be an individual with a frightening ability, the cultivation manual of your Tai Shu Clan should be the one passed down by your ancestor from generation to generation, right?”
What Ning Cheng originally wanted to ask was, some information on how the Tai Shu Clan’s ancestor was able to cross the planes, however he thought that their friendship was not very deep, so asking about such a topic would be somewhat offensive. He decided to approach this problem in a slow and steady way.
When listening to Ning Cheng talk about his ancestors, Tai Shu Shi immediately had an extremely proud look on his face, “My ancestor that I just spoke about is Tai Shu Yi, according to the knowledge that is inherited in my Tai Shu Clan, because of accident with my ancestor, when crossing through the planes, he ended up landing on the Yi Xing Mainland, although the power he was able to wield was only a billionth of his cultivation level. But even then, in the Yi Xing Mainland, he was the most formidable person, in front of my ancestor, even the strongest people of the mainland were just like ants.”