Zhu Yi - 433

Zhou Fan gestured to the ground. "Sit down and cross your legs. I will explain the cultivation technique."

He knew that all life had the cultivation technique inside of their heads, but he had long known that many humans could not access it without reaching the depths of their minds.

"What's your cultivation technique called, Master?" Zhu Yi asked.

"Huh?" Zhou Fan was confused.

"The name of your cultivation technique." Zhu Yi said again.

"It's just the cultivation technique. Do you know of other techniques?" Zhou Fan asked.

"Of course. Every sect has their own cultivation technique. It is fabled that the greatest cultivation technique is called the universal cultivation technique. Don't you know all this? Even I do." Zhu Yi was also confused.

Zhou Fan didn't like the sound of that. Before the battle, there had been no other cultivation techniques. People had not even thought of creating another one. The only time in history where cultivators made their own techniques was a brief period of time in the Zhou World.

Yet, that history was so long ago that it had faded away.

If this world had different cultivation techniques, then quintillions of years had likely passed at least.

"Alright. Just listen up." Zhou Fan said.

He only had to say a few words and affect Zhu Yi's mind before the cultivation technique in the back of his mind showed itself.

It was only a few minutes after sitting down that Zhu Yi began to cultivate.

Zhou Fan watched him. He had never been so close to such a slow cultivator.

Wait, no, it's not just his fault.

Zhou Fan took a deep look at the world around him. He had not noticed it before, but the Qi here was thin, very thin.

It was a tenth of the density that Qi had been before the battle. Had so long passed that even Qi was beginning to thin out?

It seemed unlikely unless he had been unconscious for septillions of years. But if that was the case, he would have felt such a great change. 

It was likely something else, even if the Qi density in the entire universe had indeed lowered.

Zhou Fan had guesses, but they were meaningless. He turned his gaze back at Zhu Yi.

With Zhou Fan's help, he would be able to reach the core formation realm, even with weak rank meridians. However, it would take a long time. It was not enough to matter in Zhou Fan's eyes, but the issue was the lack of future potential.

It would be no issue if he could switch to another person, but for now, he was connected to this boy, even if not directly. If the boy died, the ring would shatter, and if the ring shattered, Zhou Fan would either die, or his soul would be severely injured. In its already injured state, he would likely die from those injuries.

In other words, nothing could happen to Zhu Yi. 

Zhou Fan could only think of raising his talent. With the river of cultivation still by his side, it would not be impossible, but its difficulty level would be immense.

It would require lots of Qi and for him to have recovered greatly.

Night fell before Zhu Yi entered the Qi gathering realm. He had only done so in a single night due to the spirit stones around.

Zhou Fan decided to delay his own recovery in order to speed up Zhu Yi's cultivation speed. This would be a long process, and he was only just beginning.

When Zhu Yi returned home, he was berated by his parents for being out so late.

"Mother, Father, I won't hide it. An old man accepted me as his disciple. I am now a cultivator." Zhu Yi said once he got tired of their scolding.

His parents paused for a moment before giving him unbelieving looks.

"Come outside, I'll show you."

Under the night sky, Zhu Yi punched the ground and created a fist sized hole. This was all the evidence needed.

His parents no longer scolded him. Although they had not wanted him to become a cultivator, it was mostly because they believed he had no talent like them. Now that he had successfully cultivated, they had no issues with it.

"When can we meet this master of yours?" His mother asked.

Like Zhu Yi, she had light brown hair and brown eyes.

"You can't. He is cultivating in seclusion and only accepted me by chance. He ordered me to make sure that his existence didn't spread, so you must keep it a secret." Zhu Yi said to his parents.

His parents reluctantly nodded and Zhu Yi entered his room. Zhou Fan had watched all along, but they could not see him. Although he was injured, his soul was still the soul of a cultivator above the sage realm.

It would take a god to see his soul even in his current state.

The next day, Zhu Yi set out to the same cave. Now that he was a cultivator and had told his parents, he would not have to return every night. His mother only ordered him to report back once a week so that they knew he was not dead.

Zhu Yi entered the cave, grabbed a spirit stone from the wall, and began to cultivate. Zhou Fan sat on his shoulder and watched.

As he had said, this was not a short process. It would take a while for Zhu Yi to reach the foundation establishment realm, and Zhou Fan could not even help him until he reached that at the very least.

After absorbing spirit stones through the ring, there were only around 300 spirit stones left in the cave. When Zhu Yi cultivated for an entire day, he used up a single spirit stone.

And after 300 days, they were all used up.

Zhu Yi fell backwards in relief. "Finally. I thought I would have to cultivate in this cave forever."

Zhu Yi was happy at his accomplishment, but Zhou Fan's face was dark.

300 days of cultivation. 300 spirit stones. 300 days of having the first cultivator literally sitting on his shoulder.

And what did he have to show for it? Qi gathering level 5 cultivation.