Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

"The so-called Autumn Harvest is about gathering medicinal herbs in autumn..."

Senior Brother Liao smiled faintly and began to explain the matter in detail.

It turned out that while most of the herbs for the medicinal soups and elixirs refined by the Xingyun Sect came from its own herb fields, some could not be cultivated and could only be harvested from the wild.

Common wild herbs were one thing; the sect could simply hire herb gatherers to collect them. But rare herbs grew only deep in the old forests, on treacherous cliffs and precipices.

These places were not only perilous due to the terrain but were also often home to fierce beasts, and even exotic beasts. Only martial artists possessed the skills to navigate them.

Gathering these rare herbs required not only martial skill but also courage, meticulousness, and exceptional acuity.

Initially, the sect dispatched outer court disciples and graduated martial artists for these tasks. However, they gradually discovered that those who had the most bountiful harvests were almost always the most outstanding disciples, and they also progressed further on their martial path than others.

The sect then turned it into a selection system, establishing rewards and punishments. Those who ranked at the top in the harvest would receive elixirs as a reward.

Over time, it became a tradition. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Every year on the ninth day of the ninth month, when many rare herbs flower and bear fruit, disciples from the Outer Court, Wuxiang Institute, and Inner Court all enter the mountains to gather herbs.

"Understand now? Gathering herbs isn’t just about doing a job for the sect. If you do well, there are rewards."

Senior Brother Liao said with a broad smile.

’So that’s how it is.’

Zhao Lin bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for the clarification, Senior Brother. May I ask one more thing? What are the rewards for the harvest? I think the medicinal soups we usually drink are already quite good."

Hearing this, Senior Brother Liao and Senior Brother Gu couldn’t help but chuckle. The former laughed and said, "Junior Brother Zhao, you’ve only just joined the sect, so it’s understandable that you think the Guiyuan Soup and Eight Treasures Soup are good. But honestly, compared to the elixirs given as rewards, these two soups are far from comparable."

Senior Brother Gu also smiled. "The rewards vary slightly each year, but as long as you rank in the top ten during the September harvest, you’re guaranteed a medicinal bath with Marrow-Cleansing Soup."

"Junior Brother Zhao, you probably don’t know what Marrow-Cleansing Soup is. We Qi Realm martial artists cultivate our meridians and acupoints."

"The First Layer of the Qi Realm cultivates the Yang Meridians, the Second Layer cultivates the Yin Meridian, and the Third Layer cultivates the Ren and Du Meridians. The Yang Meridians are the easiest to cultivate, followed by the Yin Meridian. Only the Ren and Du, despite having the fewest associated acupoints, are the most obscure and difficult to grasp."

"Many disciples linger at the Second Layer of the Qi Realm for years, unable to even find the entrance to the Ren and Du Meridians!"

Zhao Lin didn’t speak, only nodding slightly. He had experienced this firsthand; opening the Yin Meridian was indeed much more difficult than the Yang Meridians.

The senior-most brother of the Liuhe Sect, Yuan Cheng, and Chu Liu had all been stuck at the Second Layer of the Qi Realm for many years, with no prospect of breaking through to the Third Layer in sight.

Senior Brother Gu continued, "This Marrow-Cleansing Soup stimulates the Twelve Main Meridians and the Ren and Du Meridians. With each tempering wash, the meridians become a little more distinct."

He sighed as he spoke. "Unfortunately, while Marrow-Cleansing Soup is a wonderful thing, the herbs used to make it are too rare. It’s impossible for everyone to have a share, so only those who rank highest in the harvest can obtain it."

Senior Brother Liao chimed in, "And that’s just the reward for the top ten. If you can make it into the top five, or even the top three, there are even greater rewards."

Zhao Lin was greatly tempted by this. He asked, "Do all the disciples gather herbs on the same mountain?"

Senior Brother Liao shook his head. "How could that be possible? The Outer Court disciples are mostly at the Power Realm or Qi Realm, while the Inner Court disciples are all at the Blood Realm. It would be too unfair to put them all together."

"During the harvest, the sect assigns mountains based on cultivation level. We Wuxiang Institute disciples and the Third Layer of the Qi Realm disciples from the Outer Court are assigned to the same mountain."

"The rewards I just mentioned are for us. The rewards for Power Realm and Blood Realm disciples will be different."

Zhao Lin thought for a moment, and a question suddenly occurred to him. "Senior Brothers, if we are all gathering herbs on the same mountain, then some will naturally harvest more than others."

"Is it possible that someone with high martial skill, but bad luck, might not find many herbs and decide to rob others of their harvest... or even... kill for their herbs?"

Senior Brother Gu and Senior Brother Liao were stunned. They hadn’t expected Zhao Lin to hit the nail right on the head. After a long moment, the former said, "Junior Brother Zhao, you are truly sharp. Such things do indeed happen."

"The sect doesn’t forbid snatching. In fact, they even encourage it as one of the goals of the assessment. If you have the skill to gather but not the strength to protect your findings, you can only blame your own bad luck. However..."

At this point, Senior Brother Gu’s tone shifted. "Killing is absolutely forbidden!"

"If the sect discovers a death, and it is determined to be a homicide, they will investigate it to the end. A Primordial Realm martial artist can track down the perpetrator just by following the lingering aura they left behind."

"In the past, there have been incidents of disciples harming their peers to steal herbs. Without exception, the culprits were found and beaten to death!"

Zhao Lin nodded lightly, his opinion of the Cloud Sect rising. ’They handle things with a certain elegance. There’s a touch of humanity in it, rather than just pitting disciples against each other in a fight to the death.’

’This is undoubtedly good news.’

Yanyun Mountain was home to numerous exotic beasts, but the Xingyun Sect had designated the areas where they appeared as forbidden zones, prohibiting disciples from entering.

’This is the perfect opportunity to enter the deep mountains and search for exotic beasts.’

It was now the eighth month. The Autumn Harvest was still a month away.

’I will strive to finish opening the last acupoint for the Stone Roar Fist during this time and further increase my combat power.’

’Even if it’s not for the exotic beasts, the rewards from the Autumn Harvest alone are enough to make it worth the fight.’

"What about the Spring Competition?"

Now that he understood what the Autumn Harvest was, Zhao Lin also asked about the Spring Competition that had been mentioned earlier.

"The Spring Competition is a contest of combat strength among all Wuxiang Institute disciples to determine the top five and bottom five."

"The top five also receive elixirs as a reward, though not as generous as those from the Autumn Harvest. As for the bottom five, they are kicked out of the Wuxiang Institute and replaced by disciples from the Outer Court!"

Senior Brother Liao said casually, "Don’t worry, Junior Brother Zhao. This rule only applies to disciples who have been in the Wuxiang Institute for a full year. It would be unfair to get kicked out right after joining, before you’ve had a chance to achieve anything, wouldn’t it?"

"Kicked out of the Wuxiang Institute?"

Zhao Lin repeated the phrase and slowly nodded.

On the surface, the Wuxiang Institute’s management of its disciples was quite lax. Disciples were free to enter and leave the mountain gate on a daily basis, and occasional absences were ignored.

If a disciple wanted to visit their family or even go into the city for fun, they could leave the mountain at any time.

However, this was just a facade.

Every month, the instructional elders would review the cultivation progress of the disciples.

Because of the existence of a miraculous Cultivation Technique like the Jade Illumination Skill, the elders didn’t need to hold a tournament or conduct troublesome tests. They could directly use their Primordial Qi to probe a disciple’s cultivation level.

If a disciple’s cultivation stagnated for a long time—whether due to laziness or a lack of talent—they would be sent back to the Outer Court after failing a few of these reviews.

After all, the Wuxiang Institute was established to cultivate Blood Realm disciples. Its benefits were far superior to the Outer Court’s, and those who were not worthy of their position had to make way for others.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the Wuxiang Institute was deceptively relaxed but intensely competitive. The only way forward was up, and everyone cultivated desperately, terrified of falling behind.