"We are approaching Earth Fire Plain ahead." Zhao Xing used his keen eyes to look far ahead and could see some green vegetation appearing in the distance.
"I have used Earth Splitting Technique three times; this path through Earth Fire Plain should delay anyone following us for a considerable amount of time. No one can catch up for now."
Zhao Xing also felt a sense of relief. After running out of Earth Fire Plain, he immediately found a shady place to rest.
He didn’t use Cloud Skill mainly because "Three Suns Align" had already reached its peak power.
Even the calendar showed a minor disaster warning: [Three Suns Align aligns, clouds are difficult to gather, rain is hard to bring]
"It’s not the time to bring rain, let alone move clouds."
Although Zhao Xing cultivated Swallowing Cloud Skill and could absorb Water Element Power to the greatest extent, the power of the Water Element was minimal at this time. No matter how much he could absorb, it was still useless.
"I wonder if anyone is ahead of me."
When entering the Great Lake, a slightly off angle when drilling through the boundary wall could lead to a significant difference in the actual landing spot.
Zhao Xing judged that his path, from Earth Fire Plain to the Minister of Agriculture Supervision, was relatively close, but there could still be someone closer.
"Forget it, no need to overthink it, a mere ten thousand points, better not get injured." Zhao Xing contemplated pushing through under "Three Suns Align," but he still had to return Master Li Fire’s Dao.
If he got injured, like breaking a leg, it could be a serious problem.
"It’s best to return the Dao within a month. Returning within three months could have some effects; after half a year, it would be torment, continuously targeted by the Fire Element Power, as if placed in a furnace."
Unless urgently needed, indeed, no one would choose to borrow Master Li Fire’s Dao.
If the Dao hadn’t been returned within a year, one would die for sure!
Other Daoist Academies had similar techniques, but the costs were even higher.
If it truly came to that time, unless a Dean-level figure intervened and accepted one as a True Disciple, it could be temporarily deferred, but the debt eventually had to be repaid to eliminate it.
Or having a supreme treasure in hand, or an Imperial Decree from the Emperor.
In the Fortune Dynasty model, the emperor was an invincible existence, and an Imperial Decree could indeed exempt one from repaying the Dao.
However, these methods were harder to achieve than the repayment itself.
After resting for a while, he gradually recovered his Primordial Energy.
Gathering Essence usually absorbed the gentle Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth.
Now, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was mixed with scorching Fire Element Power, making it difficult to absorb through Gathering Essence.
Fortunately, he had taken the Giant Whale Pill, which had significantly strengthened his physique.
His Life Soul had also reached mid-Ninth Grade. The Life Soul determined the endurance capacity of the Seven Spirits.
Thus, Zhao Xing could slowly recover in such a harsh environment.
"According to the ancient cultivation system, Gathering Essence of Ninth Grade, Spirit Bridge of Eighth Grade, Earth Evil of Seventh Grade, Heavenly Gang of Sixth Grade, Pure Essence of Fifth Grade, Primordial Po of Fourth Grade, Primordial Soul of Third Grade, Heavenly Fortune of Second Grade, Fate Palace of First Grade."
"Reaching the Spirit Bridge Realm, one’s body and Heaven and Earth build a bridge, greatly increasing the speed of Primordial Energy absorption and significantly improving the efficiency of refining Primordial Energy."
"Later, one can borrow Earth veins to refine Sha, and stars to refine Gang, further strengthening the physique. At Fifth Grade, the Primordial Qi absorbed can be called Pure Essence, and the body will show extraordinary traits."
"Fourth Grade Primordial Po, nourishes the Seven Spirits with Pure Essence Qi; Third Grade Primordial Soul, where the Seven Spirits are nourished, the Life Soul grows, and one can frequently interact with the Heavenly Soul and Earth Soul, beginning to sense their own destiny."
"At Second Grade Heavenly Fortune, one starts looking for ways to enhance their Qi Fortune by seeking out places of Spiritual Beauty in Heaven and Earth to meditate and strengthen their Qi Fortune. This realm seeks Grotto Heaven for retreat."
"At First Grade Fate Palace, one starts to cultivate their fate, knowing how long they will live, and begins to build the Fate Palace to protect the Three Souls, attempting to alter their destiny."
While recovering Primordial Energy, Zhao Xing also sorted out the information he knew in his mind: "The difference between the ancient system and the Fortune System is that in the Fortune Dynasty, this system is intervened, wanting to ’act on behalf of Heaven.’
"Whether it’s Gathering Essence, Spirit Bridge, Earth Evil, Heavenly Gang, or Pure Essence, the National Fate can easily help one complete this process. Getting to Pure Essence is not difficult; afterward, one needs to use external resources, granting officials Grotto Heaven for cultivation and assisting in the construction of the Fate Palace."
"If the Fate Palace forms, one can live for eight hundred years, but most officials can’t live for eight hundred years. The Fortune Dynasty doesn’t train officials for nothing. Training people also means utilizing them. Those who reach the Fate Palace Realm of First Grade have earned it through life and death experiences, which deplete the lifespan in the process."
Zhao Xing’s demands during Emperor Jing’s reign were not high; reaching the Pure Essence Realm of Fifth Grade was sufficient. Emperor Jing was too stingy, making it tough to advance beyond Fifth Grade under his rule, more difficult than any other period.
He was greatly influenced by the Zhou Gong of the Grand Ancestor era; Zhou Gong’s ’urging officials but not the common people’ was understood by Emperor Jing as ’tough on officials and families.’
A renowned county family like Zong Shichang, trying to become a minor ninth-rank official, had to cut off half of their family assets even if they used connections.
At this moment, the calendar in Zhao Xing’s arms gently trembled.
It showed that one of the suns in "Three Suns Align" had begun to deviate from its position.
"We can continue our journey."
Zhao Xing took out a map and began to meticulously cross-reference the locations.
"From Earth Fire Plain to the Minister of Agriculture Supervision, there are three routes."
"One is to climb over the [Gang Wind Mountain Range]. As the name suggests, the Gang Wind Mountain Range is blocked by strong Gang Winds. This route was set to assess the Reserve Army Minister of Agriculture’s control over Wind Skill."
"The second is to pass through the [Ten Thousand Lei Pool], the Ten Thousand Mile Thunder Zone, which has extremely terrifying Thunder Clouds that remain all year round. They only thin out at the level of Seven Suns Align and completely dissipate at Ten Suns Align."