Chapter 2284: Year of Cultivation

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Zhao Hai stared, he looked at Zhou Feng in confusion and said, “Forbidden Path Sect’s disciple cultivation? What’s different about it compared to others?”

Zhou Feng looked at Zhao Hai, then he smiled bitterly and said, “Difference? Brother, let me tell you, the first year of entering the sect is a hellish year for all disciples of the Forbidden Path Sect. Everyone has experienced this first year, including the current sect leader and several elders.”

Zhao Hai stared. Then he looked at Zhou Feng with a serious expression and asked, “Brother Zhou, what are the differences between this first year of cultivation and other times?”

Zhou Feng looked at Zhao Hai and said with a wry smile, “This year is called ascetic cultivation. All disciples who join the Forbidden Path Sect must undergo this process. Even those disciples who have been nurtured by the Forbidden Path Sect since childhood must participate in this year-long ascetic cultivation when they reach the Soul Integration stage.”

“During this year, the sect will use special methods to seal your spiritual energy, turning you into an ordinary person. For the next year, you will have to work in our Forbidden Path Sect’s mines. And it’s not just working, you will have to wear an iron suit every day. In the first month, the iron suit you will wear will weigh 100 jin (50 kg), in the second month 300 jin (150 kg), in the third month 700 jin (350 kg), 850 jin in the fourth month.” 1000 jin in the fifth month, 1500 jin in the sixth month, 3000 jin in the seventh month, 5000 jin in the seventh month, 7000 jin in the eighth month, 9000 jin in the ninth month, 15,000 jin in the tenth month, 30,000 jin in the eleventh month, and 50,000 jin in the last month.”

“You will wear such an iron suit while working, without any spiritual energy. Most importantly, for the entire year, you will only eat raw demon beast meat, three meals a day. Every seven days you’ll be given a pill, not for cultivation, but to prevent stomach problems and help you digest the demon beast meat. This is the ascetic cultivation of the sect.”

Zhao Hai was stunned. He really hadn’t expected this, it was too astonishing. In the first year of his discipleship, he was supposed to seal his spiritual energy and do hard labor, and eat raw meat every day! Good heavens, a year of eating raw meat! Wouldn’t he turn into a savage? Just thinking about this sent chills down Zhao Hai’s spine.

Seeing Zhao Hai’s expression, Zhou Feng said in a serious voice, “Don’t even think about it. Even if you become a Core Disciple directly, you can’t avoid this year of ascetic training. Just wait to participate in this year of ascetic training.”

Zhao Hai smiled bitterly and said, “It seems I have no choice. Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s have a good drink together. If I really become an inner disciple, I won’t be able to drink alcohol for a whole year.”

Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Zhou Feng burst into laughter. He knew all too well the taste of ascetic cultivation, that year of hardship had almost driven him mad.

However, Zhou Feng had to admit that the ascetic training he underwent that year was very beneficial to his cultivation. It improved his mental state and, most importantly, fully unleashed the potential within his body. That’s why he was able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly and even refine the God Elephant Body to a minor mastery level.

As the two were eating and chatting, a voice suddenly came from outside the restaurant: “Is Zhao Ling here?”

Zhao Hai and Zhou Feng were stunned upon hearing the voice. It was Wan Feng’s voice. Zhao Hai dared not be negligent. He immediately replied, “I’m here,” and then rushed out of the restaurant.

Looking at Zhao Hai’s appearance, Wan Feng couldn’t help but smile faintly. Then he took out a piece of paper and said in a serious voice, “Zhao Ling, listen to my command. From today onwards, you are promoted to an inner disciple of the Forbidden Path Sect and will undergo a year of ascetic training. Now, come with me.”

Zhao Hai really hadn’t expected that this ascetic cultivation would come so soon after he had just heard Zhou Feng talk about it. He had no choice but to reply to Wan Feng, “Yes, Elder Wan, may I go back to my room to pack up first? And then I’ll go with you.”

Wan Feng didn’t make things difficult for him, he nodded and said, “Go, I’ll have a cup of tea at the restaurant. Be quick and come back.” Zhao Hai complied and ran off.

At this moment, Zhou Feng also came downstairs. As soon as he saw Wan Feng enter the restaurant, he hurriedly said, “Elder Wan, would you like to have a drink?”

Wan Feng glanced at Zhou Feng and said, “You brat, why don’t you spend more time cultivating? With your talent, if you had worked hard to cultivate, you would probably have reached the Teleportation realm by now. All you do is eat and drink all day.”

Zhou Feng had obviously heard such words many times and had long since ignored them. He smiled faintly at Wan Feng and said, “Thank you for your concern, Elder Wan. Actually, I have been cultivating very diligently, hehe.”

Wan Feng looked at him helplessly. Zhou Feng was not cultivating the Evil Buddha Lotus Body, so there wasn’t much guidance the sect could give him on how to cultivate. Therefore, they just let Zhou Feng do as he pleased. Fortunately, Zhou Feng knew his limits. Although he liked to fool around, his cultivation speed was not slow. In addition, he was a member of the Zhou family, so the sect turned a blind eye to his behavior.

Before long, Zhao Hai returned to the restaurant and Wan Feng had just finished a cup of tea. Seeing Zhao Hai return, he stood up and said, “Come with me.” Zhao Hai responded and followed Wan Feng. Zhou Feng followed behind them. He said to Zhao Hai, “Brother, a year of ascetic training is extremely important for your cultivation, and it’s a rule of the sect. I can’t help you with this, so it’s all up to you. I’ll find you for a drink a year from now.”

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “I practice Buddhist techniques, which require a period of ascetic training. However, I haven’t had such an opportunity before. As a rogue cultivator, if I dared to practice like that, I would probably have been killed long ago. Now that I have such an opportunity, how could I let it go? Don’t worry about me, Brother Zhou, see you in a year.”

Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Zhou Feng burst into laughter and patted Zhao Hai’s shoulder forcefully, saying, “Good brother, I’ll wait for you. It’s only a year, just hang in there and it’ll pass.”

Looking at Zhou Feng’s expression, Zhao Hai said with a wry smile, “You look like you’re gloating over someone’s misfortune.” This made Zhou Feng burst into laughter.

Wan Feng didn’t interrupt their banter. On the contrary, he was quite envious of them. The Forbidden Path Sect was a demonic cultivation sect, and the competition among disciples in demonic cultivation sects was far more brutal than in righteous sects. Therefore, it was rare to make friends in the Forbidden Path Sect.

Zhou Feng was different from ordinary demonic cultivators. Unlike others, he didn’t always like to compete. He had a straightforward personality and didn’t care about such things at all. Such a person might be a good thing in other sects, where he could make many friends, but it wasn’t a good thing in a demonic cultivation sect. He couldn’t make friends here, and even if he did, those people were very likely to be using him.

However, Zhao Hai was an exception. Wan Feng had met countless people in his life, and he believed he could not misjudge people. Zhao Hai was a loyal and righteous person, and it would only benefit Zhou Feng to befriend him.

Instead of leading Zhao Hai to the inner disciples’ quarters, Wan Feng led him to a teleportation formation. Once there, Zhou Feng stopped outside the formation and cupped his fists to Zhao Hai, who had entered, saying, “Brother, I’ll see you off here. See you in a year.”

Zhao Hai also cupped his fist to Zhou Feng and said, “See you in a year.” Wan Feng activated the teleportation formation, and with a flash of white light, the two disappeared into the teleportation formation. Zhou Feng glanced at the teleportation formation and sighed, then he turned to leave.

The next moment, Zhao Hai found himself in a mine. The mine was very large, and there were many people working inside. These people did not have any spiritual energy fluctuations, and they were all wearing various kinds of iron armor. They all had dark skin, were very thin, and had no body fat at all. Their bodies were all muscles, they looked more like laborers.

Now, seeing the teleportation array formation emit white light, many people looked towards it. When they saw Zhao Hai and Wan Feng walk out, several of them immediately laughed and said, “Hahaha, Elder Wan, another unlucky guy has been sent here. Kid, welcome to hell.”

Wan Feng looked at those people, glared at them, and said, “Stop talking nonsense and get to work. If you don’t finish today’s task, Elder Xing will skin you alive.”

Upon hearing Elder Wan’s words, the men shrank and went back to work. Zhao Hai glanced at what they were doing. Their main job was quarrying stones. The tools they used were quite unique. Some used iron hammers and chisels, some used wooden hammers and chisels, and some didn’t even use hammers and chisels. They used their bare hands.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Hai’s pupils narrowed involuntarily. He recognized the stones here, they were all a type of stone with extremely high hardness called Ironstone. This stone was incredibly hard, its hardness comparable to that of ordinary steel. From this stone, a metal called Ironstone Metal could be extracted, and this metal was a superior material used to forge ordinary weapons. Clearly, this was an Ironstone mine under the control of the Forbidden Path Sect.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but smile faintly. For a large sect like the Forbidden Path Sect, the number of weapons consumed by its disciples each year is not small. Such large sects also have their own weapon-making halls to make their own weapons. Making weapons requires various materials, and iron ore is one of the most consumed materials. However, these Ironstones don’t just come to the sect on their own, they need to be mined. In other sects, they are usually distributed in the form of missions, so that the sect can obtain Ironstone, and the people in the sect can also have some extra income.

The Forbidden Path Sect is clearly different from other sects. They practice body cultivation and regard the Ironstone Mine as a place for ascetic training. Their disciples can also use the quarrying here as a form of ascetic training. In this way, the disciples can train, the sect can obtain iron ore, and they can also save some expenses. It is a win-win method.

Wan Feng led Zhao Hai to a cave dwelling next to the iron mine. The cave dwelling was built in a mountain cave, and sitting in the cave was an old man with a fierce face and a tall stature. When the old man saw Wan Feng arrive, he simply nodded and said, “You’ve arrived. Is this him?”

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