Cultivation Starting from Full Talent

The entrance to the secret realm slowly closed.

At this moment, any disciples who hadn't come out meant they never would; there was no suspense in this outcome.

"Senior Brother Lin Sheng…"

Xu Ning Daoran leaned on Big Stupid Deer's neck, limping through the crowd looking for someone.

The Chaotic Sect had suffered heavy losses; there were now only around eighty disciples remaining—a loss rate exceeding sixty percent!

Within the crowd, a despondent figure sat atop a moss-covered green rock. It was none other than Lin Sheng.

But Lin Sheng's entire essence and spirit seemed completely off, like a frostbitten eggplant, already withered.

Furthermore, Lin Sheng had sustained severe injuries.

Burn marks covered his chest and abdomen from the neck down, with flesh torn and twisted, fused with scorched black patches. His cultivation level had even fallen from Perfect Qi Refining to Qi Refining Ninth Level.

"Senior Brother, what happened?"

Xu Ning Daoran rushed forward, looking at Lin Sheng's defeated appearance. He couldn't reconcile this broken man with the once ambitious Inner Sect disciple he remembered.

"Junior Brother, it's nothing…"

Lin Sheng let out a bitter laugh, his eyes seemingly devoid of light.

"Lin Sheng faced a Second Order Demon Beast and sustained heavy injuries. His heart meridians have been damaged."

A Foundation Establishment Elder shook his head and said, "Once we return, let him rest well. There might still be a chance for Foundation Establishment in the future."

His tone was indifferent, as if such misfortunes were commonplace—and indeed, they were. Of the disciples who entered the Cangnan Secret Realm, how many truly met a good end?

After all, it was a life-or-death gamble, and the mere fact that Lin Sheng had returned alive meant he fared better than many.

Xu Ning Daoran discreetly scanned Lin Sheng's injuries with his Divine Sense. The damage was indeed severe. He gently placed his palm atop Lin Sheng's shoulder and injected a trace of Evergreen Technique power.

This was merely to temporarily stabilize his heart meridians. He swiftly withdrew his palm to avoid exposing his cultivation of the Evergreen Technique.

"Junior Brother?"

Lin Sheng's face showed gratitude.

Xu Ning Daoran nodded, signaling to speak further once they returned.

...

His gaze swept through the crowd, eventually landing on a disheveled Inner Sect disciple—it was Lin Zhuojun.

In the secret realm, Lin Zhuojun's plea, "Junior Brother, save me," had nearly cost Xu Ning Daoran, at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, his life.

Lin Zhuojun's actions were driven by self-preservation. Though understandable, they couldn't be easily forgiven.

"..."

Lin Zhuojun met Xu Ning Daoran's eyes briefly before lowering his head, his face flushed with guilt and shame.

Soon, Xu Ning Daoran spotted Liu Ruyan among a group of female disciples from the Chaotic Sect.

Liu Ruyan, as always, possessed elegance and beauty that could outshine the moon and flowers, but her expression was less than cheerful. When her gaze briefly met Xu Ning Daoran's, she quickly averted her face, unable to maintain eye contact.

"Junior Brother Ning, did you know about this?"

A disciple under the Great Elder Gongyang Yan furrowed his brows and softly said, "Senior Brother Lin Sheng had a falling-out with Junior Sister Liu Ruyan in the secret realm."

"Oh?"

Xu Ning Daoran immediately leaned closer and asked, "Senior Brother, could you explain in detail?"

"Sure."

The disciple said, "I heard from others that Senior Brother Lin Sheng and Junior Sister Liu Ruyan teamed up to explore the secret realm, but they encountered a Second-stage Late-stage Green Flame Flood Dragon.

Senior Brother Lin Sheng drew his sword to respond, initially intending to hold off the Green Flame Flood Dragon with Liu Ruyan to create an opportunity to escape. However, Junior Sister Liu Ruyan panicked and abandoned Senior Brother Lin Sheng, fleeing on her own.

Later, Senior Brother Lin Sheng faced the Green Flame Flood Dragon alone. Fortunately, he had previously set up a First-tier Middle-grade Array he had somehow obtained, which allowed him to narrowly survive."

The disciple shook his head lightly and said, "Green Flame Flood Dragons possess combat strength comparable to False Core cultivators, their power unimaginable. Even so, Senior Brother Lin Sheng still sustained heavy injuries.

Besides the physical injuries, his emotional scars are the most harmful. His cultivation level has dropped, and if he fails to overcome this mental hurdle, he'll likely lose all hope of advancing to Foundation Establishment."

"Such things transpired…"

Xu Ning Daoran's brows furrowed tightly. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for sharing. Much appreciated…"

"Hmm."

The disciple nodded and turned away.

Xu Ning Daoran stood there, emotions swirling.

He thought back to the time when he, Lin Sheng, Liu Ruyan, and Lin Zhuojun had ventured into the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range to hunt the Fire Qilin. They'd once shared life-and-death camaraderie, but now, their bonded relationship was irreparably broken.

"Whooo~~~"

Beside him, Big Stupid Deer nudged Xu Ning Daoran's arm gently, noticing his despondent demeanor.

"I'm fine."

Xu Ning Daoran rubbed the deer's head and hugged it tightly once more.

...

Soon, the various sects began gathering spiritual medicine.

For the Chaotic Sect, all disciples emptied their Storage Bags of Purple Blood Ginseng, Earth Ganoderma, and Heart-focusing Grass. A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder then used a spiritual artifact to scan their Storage Bags, verifying no additional medicines remained.

"Senior Brother Wang managed to obtain a full nine prime medicinal herbs…"

Among the crowd, someone whispered in awe, "It seems his Foundation Establishment Pill is virtually guaranteed this time."

"Indeed, Senior Brother Wang's fortune is enviable."

Other disciples displayed envious expressions. With the Supreme Path ahead, witnessing such luck naturally ignited jealousy in all.

Each disciple handed over their spiritual medicine. Some had one or two herbs, while others were less fortunate, having none at all.

One female disciple hadn't contributed even a single herb and sat weeping, her eyes red.

"Sigh…"

Her master, an Outer Elder, shook his head and said, "It's okay; returning alive is already fortunate without collecting spiritual medicine."

Of course, "it's okay" was merely platitudes.

Such a disciple would inevitably be marked as "useless" within the sect. Her access to sect resources would diminish, and she'd receive "special" treatment going forward.

Not far away, Jiang Yu's beautiful eyes lingered on the spiritual medicine gathered by the disciples. She sighed softly.

The quantities were simply too low. With these meager herbs, let alone competing with the Sea Burning Sect or Soul Devouring Sect, even maintaining rank alongside sects like the Star Moon Pavilion or Purple Cloud Sect seemed uncertain.

Finally, the Elder collecting spiritual medicine reached Xu Ning Daoran.

"Nephew Ning," the Elder asked, "did you manage to gather any Purple Blood Ginseng, Heart-focusing Grass, or Earth Ganoderma?"

No one had high expectations for him. A Qi Refining Seventh Layer disciple couldn't possibly compete with others at Qi Refining Ninth Level or Perfect Qi Refining.

"I managed to collect a bit."

Xu Ning Daoran didn't conceal anything. He tapped his Storage Bag, and rows of spiritual herbs appeared—each one a prime medicinal herb, picked from prohibited zones with solid-aged potency.

Altogether, 44 herbs sprawled before them.

"A total of forty-four herbs…" To report errors, please visit the original post on M|VLEMPYR.

The Foundation Elder's face showed both astonishment and joy. "Nephew Ning, how did you gather so many spiritual medicines?"

Jiang Yu's gaze also shifted, mirroring the collective curiosity of many Elders and disciples nearby.

"Master Uncle may not know."

Xu Ning Daoran had long prepared his explanation and said, "I've trained in a Wood Escape Technique during my free time. I've advanced it to Small Accomplishment.

When the Sea Burning Sect and Soul Devouring Sect were locked in battle, I used Wood Escape to circumvent the area and sneak into the prohibited zone. That's how I managed to gather so many herbs.

Unfortunately, the breached area of the prohibition was very limited. Otherwise, I could have collected even more."

"You've done amazingly well!"

The Foundation Elder's eyes shone with admiration. Xu Ning Daoran's explanation was reasonable, leaving him completely convinced.

"With this, Nephew Ning is undoubtedly the top contributor from our Chaotic Sect in this year's Cangnan Secret Realm mission. It's clearly his serendipitous good fortune!" A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder praised with a smile.

"Hmm."

Jiang Yu nodded and immediately announced, "Junior Brother Ning, fear not. A Foundation Establishment Pill will certainly be delivered to you shortly!"

"Thank you, Senior Sister Jiang!"

Jiang Yu's promise elicited envy from many disciples.

Not far away, Outer Sect Elder Xu Ning frowned.

He hadn't expected Xu Ning Daoran to emerge as the top contributor among disciples. He inwardly cursed the obstinate luck of this young man, whose fortunes were inexplicably robust!

Under a mission with such high mortality rates at the Cangnan Secret Realm, for a Qi Refining Seventh Level disciple to not only survive but also succeed, it truly defied reason.

...

Soon after, the sects compared their results.

Unsurprisingly, the Sea Burning Sect ranked first, with their medicinal harvest far surpassing the second-ranked Soul Devouring Sect by over half.

Unexpectedly, the Chaotic Sect ranked third. Jiang Yu laughed so hard her face seemed unable to contain her joy.

Following them were the Star Moon Pavilion, Steel Gate Sect, Purple Cloud Sect, and other sects. The faces of sect masters showed little cheer.

"Old Ghost Tian Hai."

The Soul-devouring Demon waved his hand, sending three stalks of 8,000-year-old Jade Flower Grass toward the other. "I admit defeat. Your Sea Burning Sect has won this time, but don't get complacent. We'll settle this again in fifty years!"

"Hmph!"

Old Monster Tian Hai activated a prohibition to seal the spiritual medicines tightly before placing them into his Storage Bag.

The two were seasoned schemers—Old Monster Tian Hai took precautions lest the Soul-devouring Demon tampered with the herbs. His wariness ensured nothing suspicious occurred.

Still, despite winning the wager, Old Monster Tian Hai showed no exuberance.

This trip to the Cangnan Secret Realm yielded the first rank for the Sea Burning Sect, but the loss of True Disciples such as Qin Buhui and Qin Wuyou cast uncertainty upon the sect's future legacy, leaving Old Monster Tian Hai deeply dissatisfied.

"Soul-devouring Demon!"

He furrowed his brows and said grimly, "By ruleset, my Sea Burning Sect is entitled to select any two of the three high-grade spirit stone mines. I won't exploit my position, so relinquish the southwestern mine to us."

"Hmph!"

The Soul-devouring Demon flicked his sleeves and responded, "Your sect disciples may take over in half a month."

With that, the Soul-devouring Demon waved a small flag, summoning demon-headed flying boats. He led the remaining disciples back to his sect.

One by one, the sects departed.

"Let's return to the Chaotic Sect as well."

Jiang Yu turned to look at the group of recently battered disciples, their spirits akin to frostbitten vegetables. Feeling some sympathy, she said, "The sect won't neglect you all after this."

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

The disciples' spirits lifted at her reassurance.

...

The Lei Peng broke through waves as it headed back to the Chaotic Sect.

Xu Ning Daoran sat in a corner with Big Stupid Deer, gazing at the rolling clouds in the distance, his heart filled only with calmness and detachment.