This woman turned out to be one of the top ten inner sect elders, so she was undoubtedly a Golden Core cultivator, and at the very least, she should be several hundred years old. Yet, she looked just like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl. Ian Quinn clicked his tongue in amazement, but on the surface, he dared not show the slightest disrespect. On the contrary, he was inwardly overjoyed and bowed deeply to the ground. “Elder, please help me. As long as I can stay in the Immortal Sect, even if my qualification for spiritual awakening is revoked, I will have no complaints whatsoever.”

Of course, these words were insincere. People are not made of wood; it was all too easy for the other party to erase more than ten years of his hard work. In his heart, Ian Quinn naturally felt dissatisfied and resentful toward the Immortal Sect. But as the saying goes, “the fish is at the mercy of the knife,” and since he did not want to give up the path of cultivation, he had to say these pretty words against his will.

“I’ve already told you, even if you have the chance to awaken your spirit, you may not be able to form a Foundation in this lifetime. Rather than toiling in vain, it would be better to become a wealthy man and live a carefree life.” Elder Murray spoke indifferently.

Ian Quinn was naturally unconvinced when he heard this. He had never even cultivated before, so why was it assumed that his achievements would be limited? However, the difference in their statuses was so great that he could not refute her. Still, with resentment in his heart, a look of disapproval naturally appeared on his face.

Elder Murray saw this clearly and let out a cold snort. “It seems you don’t believe me. The newborn calf fears no tiger. Let me show you the cruelty of the cultivation world.”

“I’ve read your record. To be honest, I quite admire you. At such a young age, born into poverty, and without the aid of medicinal herbs, you managed, through sheer perseverance, to cultivate your internal energy from the Immortal-Seeking Manual to a rather solid level. That’s remarkable and not easy at all. To be fair, you are a fine seedling for cultivation. If you were born into a family of cultivators, I wouldn’t dare say how far you could go in the future, but forming a Foundation would be no problem. Unfortunately…”

At this point, she shook her head and sighed.

Ian Quinn became even more unconvinced upon hearing this. After all, he was still young and could not hold back: “So what if I’m just an ordinary mortal? If the Immortal Sect hadn’t taken away my chance to awaken my spirit, who’s to say I would fall behind others?”

“Hmph, naïve.”

“You think cultivation is that simple? I know you’ve suffered a lot to get this far. When you were cultivating your internal energy, the pain of ten thousand ants biting your body is something most people couldn’t endure. You think that just because you have a strong will, you won’t fall behind others? Let me tell you, it’s not that simple.”

Chapter 12: Cultivation Is Harder Than You Think

“Please teach me, Elder.”

Ian Quinn bowed deeply, his brows full of stubbornness.

“Fine. Since you insist on knowing, I’ll tell you just how difficult cultivation is, so you won’t keep harboring such foolish hopes.”

“Listen carefully. In cultivation, talent and effort are certainly important. If you’re useless or unwilling to endure hardship, your achievements in this life will definitely be limited. But that doesn’t mean that just because you have good spiritual roots and are willing to work hard, you’ll be able to achieve success in this life. It’s not that simple. Wealth, companions, methods, and land—cultivation consumes an enormous amount of resources.”

“I understand that, of course.” Ian Quinn’s face was full of determination.

“No, you don’t.” Susan Murray shook her head. “The cost of cultivation is far greater than you imagine. Here, gold and silver are completely useless—just worthless junk. What cultivators need to consume are all kinds of rare treasures, spirit stones, pills, talismans, and magical artifacts. Any one of these things would be worth a fortune in the mortal world.”

“Doesn’t the Immortal Sect provide these things?”

Ian Quinn was still young. Although he had always hoped to embark on the path of cultivation and had read some miscellaneous books on the subject, what he knew was just a drop in the ocean. There was much he didn’t know.

“The Immortal Sect…”

Susan Murray sighed. “That kind of thinking is a bit too naïve.”

“Naïve?”

“That’s right.”

She didn’t mock his ignorance; instead, there was a hint of pity in her eyes. “If it were possible, of course the Immortal Sect would want to provide these things for everyone. After all, what sect or family wouldn’t want their disciples to succeed? But the problem is, it’s just not possible.”

“Not possible?”

“That’s right. Too many monks, too little porridge. Although there are very few people in this world who can embark on the path of cultivation, the number of rare treasures in nature is even more pitifully small.”

“Let me put it this way: after you enter the sect, the Immortal Sect will provide some cultivation resources, but for ordinary disciples, it’s just one spirit stone a month. To call it a drop in the bucket would be an exaggeration—it’s barely anything at all. It’s not that the Immortal Sect is stingy, but even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. Resources are limited, and there are many disciples. Elders and stewards alike consume even more. When it comes down to distributing to ordinary inner sect disciples, it’s really stretched thin.”

“And I can tell you, even when you’ve just set foot on the path of cultivation, one spirit stone is nowhere near enough. In fact, it’s far from sufficient. Let me ask you, what will you do then? To cultivate properly, you need a lot of resources. Where will you find the rest?”

“This…”

A trace of confusion appeared on Ian Quinn’s face, but soon his expression became resolute again, and he said firmly, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. If the resources provided by the Immortal Sect aren’t enough, can’t I earn them myself? I can find my own way to earn spirit stones.”