Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

After the encounter with Song Jia and Mui and having both managed to improve their cultivation thanks to the spiritual fruits, Chen Qiu and Mo He ended up using the next few months on stabilizing their cultivation while they travelled the last leg of the journey to the Shattered Star Peaks. After all, using spiritual fruits to help increase their cultivation realms did end up making them somewhat unstable afterwards. Of course, the few months it took them to stabilize their cultivation was still far better than having to breakthrough on their own. Saving them potentially years of effort.

For this reason alone, the two brothers took to heart the promise they had made with Song Jia and Mui. Not mentioning anything about what they had experienced to anyone else. Not that they had anyone to share this information with in the first place, as they were still unfamiliar with the Star Shattering Sect and hadn’t befriended any other wandering cultivators so far. Having spent most of their time inside the Star Shattering Sect’s territory travelling towards the Shattered Star Peaks.

By the time that the two brothers officially saw the Shattered Star Peaks emerging in the distance, it had already been 10 months since they had set out on their journey to the Shattered Star Peaks. Although not a short journey by any means, it was far shorter than the two had expected, as they had originally believed that it would have originally taken them a year to reach the Shattered Star Peaks… And that was if everything went according to plans. Knowing that opportunities or deadly encounters could take place along the way, a more realistic estimate had been two years.

But… They had essentially managed to reach their destination in half that time. Not just that, but the original goal of visiting Bright Stone City. Helping Mo He breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, had already been accomplished.

Not that that they had no reason to visit the Shattered Star Peaks, it was just that the original goal had shifted from finding a place for Mo He to breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm to instead finding the shop run by the Star Shattering Sect where they would be able to get their hands on a Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra.

The only worry that the two had regarding this new goal was that they might not have enough spirit stones on hand to buy it.

After all, no matter how cheap it was, a cultivation mantra involving the Core Formation Realm would never be that easy to obtain. Not that this intimidated the two of them, as they had already made plans to make use of the map of the Star Shattering Sect’s territory that they had obtained to earn more spirit stones in case they didn’t have enough.

In any case, as the two brothers discussed their future in the Star Shattering Sect’s territory, it didn’t take long before the two finally found themselves at the entrance to Bright Stone City, a sight that the two would never forget, as their eyes roamed up the sprawling main street cutting straight through the city up the mountain known as the Third Star Peak. The street itself brimming with life, as there was no lack of powerful cultivators wandering around shopping at the different shops and stalls that had been set up along the main street of the city.

The most shocking aspect being the fact that the two could clearly sense the change in the spiritual qi the second they stepped inside Bright Stone City, as the two finally understood why this place was so attractive to wandering cultivators.

The environment around the city itself also had an increased concentration of spiritual qi, but it was nowhere near comparable to Bright Stone City that almost seemed like a holy ground in comparison.

Because of this, even as the two spotted someone in the Nascent Soul Realm amongst the wandering cultivators moving between the shops on the main street, they weren’t the slightest bit surprised. Understanding that Bright Stone City was far more magical than they had originally thought.

However, along with this, the two of them also began to worry about being able to find somewhere to stay. After all, with this kind of great cultivation environment, there was no way those stronger wandering cultivators would be willing to allow weaker ones like themselves to stay and take their place.

Although the two of them were now both at the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, with Chen Qiu even being close to reaching the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment. Standing above the average wandering cultivator. The average strength of the wandering cultivators wandering around Bright Stone City was far higher than the average of wandering cultivators outside with there being no lack of wandering cultivators at the Late Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm and Core Formation Realm.

Luckily, their worries turned out to be for nothing, as they learnt that it was relatively simple to rent a room at an inn. The reason being that the Star Shattering Sect implemented a few rules for staying long term. Rules that had been implemented a little over half a year ago due to this exact thing becoming an issue with large numbers of wandering cultivators rushing to the city.

The rules in question dictate the cost of staying for certain periods of time inside the city, while there were also new rules for those who bought a piece of land inside the city, though the two brothers weren’t too clear about those rules, as they themselves had nowhere near enough spirit stones to get a piece of land inside Bright Stone City.

As for the cost of staying inside the city… One month was not much different from normal inn prices, but beyond that, the prices would skyrocket. Staying for three months out of a year would still be possible for a normal Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator and was also what the time that the two brothers planned on staying inside Bright Stone City after learning about the prices.

Six months was far beyond what they could afford and from what they heard from other wandering cultivators when asking around, only those at the Peak of the Core Formation Realm or in the Nascent Soul Realm could afford staying that long inside the city every year.

Beyond that, they had no idea, but just glancing at the terrifying prices, they had a feeling that not even someone in the Nascent Soul Realm would be able to afford to stay inside Bright Stone City all year round. Even if they forcibly did so, they would likely burn through their saving in a few years.

Aside from the steep cost of staying inside Bright Stone City for long period of time, there weren’t any entrance fees for entering the city itself, so just wandering around and shopping was something that could be done without having to find a place to rest.

In a way, it wasn’t so much rest when it came to renting a place to stay inside Bright Stone City and could more so be considered renting a place to cultivate inside the city.

With that in mind, it was a reasonable price to pay for most wandering cultivators who wanted somewhere safe to stay when cultivating, while the time not spent in Bright Stone City could be spent earning more spirit stones outside.

Chen Qiu and Mo He also intended on using Bright Stone City in this way. Spending nine months a year out earning spirit stones and seeking opportunities, while spending the last three months fully focused on cultivation.

After all, they were not disciples of a major sect and couldn’t spend all their time on cultivation and had to dedicate a large portion of their time to earning cultivation resources, a fact that didn’t change even with the emergence of a city like Bright Stone City.

Even then, the city itself did at least help countless wandering cultivators on their journey forward. Especially the shops established by the Star Shattering Sect, as the one selling cultivation mantras and combat techniques was by far the most visited location in the entire city beside the exchange hall, something that had forced the Star Shattering Sect to expand it twice already to accommodate the large number of wandering cultivators visiting the shop every day.

By the time Chen Qiu and Mo He finally reached this famed shop and found what they were looking for, the two had already been left in a state of awe at the seemingly endless collection of techniques available inside the shop.

Not only were the Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantras they had come for, far cheaper than they had expected. Allowing the two brothers to get one best suited for them while still having spirit stones to spare, but they also realized that it wouldn’t be difficult for them to save up for a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivation Mantra in the future if they worked hard enough, causing both to feel a sense of growing excitement when thinking about their future as the two slowly began settling down inside Bright Stone City.