Following the map in the handbook, the four of them arrived at the cafeteria. Immediately, someone came over to greet them. "Senior Brothers, here for a meal? Please, have a seat. In the future, if you want meals delivered, just say the word."
Mo Tiange saw that this person was quite old and only at Qi Refining Level 1. He was likely a descendant of a cultivation family with an inferior Spirit Root, forced to work odd jobs here to make ends meet.
Among them, Xu Jingzhi was the most familiar with such matters, so he spoke up. "We'll just have whatever is usual."
The man acknowledged and retreated. Soon after, mortal women brought out the food, clearly prepared in advance.
Mo Tiange glanced over the spread: stir-fried mustard greens, pickled cucumbers, steamed pork ribs, stir-fried rabbit meat, and a bowl of fish soup. All contained faint traces of Spiritual Qi. It seemed the Yunwu Sect's meals were quite decent.
Mo Tiange and Xu Jingzhi picked up their bowls and chopsticks, but noticed the other two hadn't moved. Xu Jingzhi said, "Senior Brothers, don't worry. Actually, eating food containing Spiritual Qi is fine. You can just purge the pill toxins periodically; it won't affect your cultivation."
Liu Yidao hesitated. "Is that so?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "It is. Otherwise, why would the sect even have a cafeteria? They could just give disciples Fasting Pills."
Thinking it made sense, Liu Yidao asked another question. "Couldn't it be because Fasting Pills are troublesome to refine?"
Mo Tiange and Xu Jingzhi were both stunned for a moment, unsure how to respond.
Qin Xi, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "The sect encourages taking Fasting Pills. It reduces distractions from appetite and aids one's cultivation mindset. However, eating food with Spiritual Qi is also acceptable. If it's from spirit beasts or the like, it can even increase one's own Spiritual Qi. There's no harm in it."
Mo Tiange and Xu Jingzhi nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"So that's how it is." Liu Yidao then picked up his chopsticks, and the four began their meal.
For the most part, only Mo Tiange and Xu Jingzhi ate heartily. The other two merely tasted a few bites. It was clear these two were individuals of firm Dao-heart, unconcerned with mere physical appetites.
After hastily eating, Mo Tiange and Xu Jingzhi arranged for daily meal deliveries, deciding not to waste time coming here in the future. Most sect disciples did this; no one wanted to spend time traveling back and forth daily. They would simply have meals delivered.
Leaving the cafeteria, the four, led by Xu Jingzhi, toured the Cloud Mist Mountain, familiarizing themselves with the layout before returning together.
Mo Tiange also got a good sense of the mountain's geography. Cloud Mist Mountain had two peaks, North and South. New disciples like them were all on the South Peak. The South Peak was shorter, with poorer Spiritual Qi. The mountain gate led directly to the market district, making it very convenient for low-level disciples. The North Peak was much taller, with Spiritual Qi several times better. She heard that one had to reach Foundation Establishment to move to the North Peak. Qi Refining disciples like them couldn't go to the North Peak without a specific assignment.
On the South Peak were several important locations: the True Treasure Hall, the Deacon Hall, and the Doctrine Transmission Palace. The True Treasure Hall was where the Sect Leader conducted affairs, though usually the Sect Leader resided on the North Peak. Disciples on the South Peak were managed by the deacons of the Deacon Hall. The Deacon Hall handled all matters for Qi Refining disciples: assigning tasks, distributing Spirit Stones and pills, arranging accommodations, settling disputes, and so on. The Doctrine Transmission Palace was for lectures. Every ten days, a Foundation Establishment cultivator would lecture there. Occasionally, a Core Formation cultivator would come—this was the most anticipated event for Qi Refining disciples.
As for tasks, general sect chores were handled by Servant Disciples. These Servant Disciples differed from officially admitted disciples like them. Every ten years when the sect opened its gates to admit disciples based on Spirit Roots, some of those who failed the selection due to poor Spirit Roots would voluntarily become Servant Disciples, specializing in miscellaneous tasks like gatekeeping, running errands, and cleaning. The person who greeted them at the cafeteria was a Servant Disciple. Servant Disciples also received Spirit Stones, varying by task, but no pills. If a Servant Disciple caught the eye of a Foundation Establishment senior, they could be promoted to Official Disciple. Therefore, many were still willing to become Servant Disciples.
Of course, Official Disciples like them weren't completely exempt from work. Tasks like guarding the mountain gate required Official Disciples to lead. Tending spirit herbs, assisting in alchemy and artifact forging—these were all done by Official Disciples leading a few Servant Disciples. However, compared to Servant Disciples, Official Disciples only needed to perform one or two tasks a year, leaving plenty of time for cultivation.
Returning to their residence, they found an unfamiliar cultivator watering two spirit herbs beside the first house. Yesterday, when the two Qi Refining disciples brought them here, they had mentioned that the first house was the manager's quarters. The manager for their residence was Senior Brother Zhou, who was temporarily absent.
Seeing this person, their expressions all changed. His cultivation was actually higher than a Qi Refining Level 10 cultivator, yet he hadn't reached the Foundation Establishment Stage. He was likely at Qi Refining Level 11.
According to Qi Refining stage divisions, Levels 1-4 were early stage, 5-7 were mid-stage, and 8-10 were late stage. Level 10 perfection was the peak of the Qi Refining stage. However, there was a situation where one's cultivation exceeded Qi Refining Level 10 but wasn't at the Foundation Establishment Stage: that was after taking a Foundation Establishment Pill, failing to establish a foundation, but fully absorbing the pill's medicinal power, thus advancing to Qi Refining Level 11.
Normally, failing Foundation Establishment wouldn't increase Spiritual Qi. If this situation occurred, that cultivator would need at most two Foundation Establishment Pills to definitely succeed—a Qi Refining Level 11 cultivator taking a Foundation Establishment Pill might even advance to Qi Refining Level 12, but a Qi Refining Level 12 cultivator taking one would certainly enter the Foundation Establishment Stage. For ordinary disciples, the success rate of a single Foundation Establishment Pill was only ten to twenty percent. Therefore, any disciple who reached Qi Refining Level 11 would definitely be allocated a Foundation Establishment Pill in the next distribution. In other words, they were almost guaranteed future Foundation Establishment cultivators!
It seemed this was their manager, Senior Brother Zhou. No wonder the manager of the Women's Courtyard was a Foundation Establishment Uncle-Master, while theirs was a Senior Brother. This Senior Brother was no ordinary disciple.
While they were still in shock, Senior Brother Zhou finished watering the herbs. He turned and swept his gaze over them. As he went to put away the watering tools, he said, "You're the new disciples?"
They snapped out of it and hurriedly bowed. "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhou."
Senior Brother Zhou grunted in acknowledgment and went to trim the branches and leaves. "Since you live here, you must follow my rules. I don't care if you cultivate or play around normally, but you must not disturb others, go where you shouldn't, or engage in private fights. If you need to leave the mountain for any reason, you must inform me. Any disputes with others must also be reported to me. Of course, if you encounter problems in your cultivation, you can also come ask me. Understood?"
They chorused, "Yes."
Senior Brother Zhou waved his hand. "Alright, you may go."
They bowed once more before returning to their common room.
As soon as the door closed, Xu Jingzhi immediately said enviously, "So that's Qi Refining Level 11. Senior Brother Zhou is really lucky."
Mo Tiange felt the same way. With her Spirit Root, the possibility of Foundation Establishment was very slim. Qi Refining Level 11 wasn't the Foundation Establishment Stage, but it was like having one foot already across the threshold.
Liu Yidao said, "Everyone who joins the sect is here for the Foundation Establishment Pills. We just don't know if we'll have Senior Brother Zhou's luck, to reach Qi Refining Level 11. If we do, Foundation Establishment is within reach."
Qin Xi merely stated, "I hear the sect's internal competition is in three years. Work hard."
The other three nodded repeatedly. The internal competition awarded Foundation Establishment Pills based on ranking; of course they wouldn't miss it. However, Mo Tiange was deeply worried. Liu Yidao was at Level 10; in these three years, he only needed to practice combat. Qin Xi was at Level 9 and had a good chance of reaching Level 10; he was also skilled in Dharma Combat. Xu Jingzhi, no matter what, had higher cultivation than her and his family as backing. Only she, at Qi Refining Level 7, had gotten into the sect largely by luck. Reaching Qi Refining Level 9 within three years would already be ideal. Winning a Foundation Establishment Pill would be far too difficult.