A Body Too Ordinary

The mission to feed the spiritual cranes sounded simple enough. Lin Yuan made his way toward the Crane Garden, located atop a misty hill surrounded by lotus ponds and willow trees. The air shimmered faintly with gentle spiritual energy.

As he approached, the sounds of rustling feathers and melodious calls echoed like a lullaby.

A senior disciple met him at the entrance, a kind-eyed woman with short white hair. "You're the new one, right? Elder Qingxuan's disciple?"

"Yes," Lin Yuan said softly. "Lin Yue."

She handed him a woven basket filled with pale-blue spirit grain. "Don't let their elegance fool you. They bite when irritated."

Inside the garden, nearly a dozen cranes stood by a shallow spring. Their long, silver feathers shone under the sun. When Lin Yuan approached, they turned toward him in near-perfect unison.

Xiao Hu, hiding in a bush nearby, whispered with spiritual sense, "They look delicious."

Lin Yuan snorted and shooed him away.

The first hour passed peacefully. The cranes, though proud, accepted his offering with little fuss. A few even allowed him to gently stroke their feathers.

Suddenly, the fox lady appeared. "Come with me," she said calmly.

Lady Mingyan's voice echoed from within the jade pendant. "Touch the pendant with her."

Lin Yuan did as instructed. The fox lady vanished instantly.

Moments later, she returned—expression grim. "I was going to let you meet someone… but now I don't feel like it."

Lady Mingyan whispered again, "I just planted a soul bomb in her soul. If she reveals your identity or hints at it, she will die."

After this strange exchange, Lin Yuan headed to the market. He bought twenty small bottles of spiritual milk for Xiao Hu with twenty ordinary spirit stones, and purchased all the live grasshoppers from a vendor for one hundred ordinary spirit stones.

That morning, he returned home and called upon the sect leader.

"I'm ready to begin cultivating," Lin Yuan said seriously.

The sect leader arrived with a soft smile. "Good morning, Lin Yuan."

"Good morning, Sect Leader. Please teach me about cultivation."

"The first step," she began, "is to refine your body so it can withstand spiritual energy. There are ten stages. If you work hard now, your future path will be smooth. But if not, your journey will be filled with struggle—though it's never too late to catch up."

She listed each foundational step:

Skin Hardening

Bone Strengthening

Muscle Refinement

Tendon Tempering

Blood Purification

Organ Fortification

Marrow Washing

Nerve Awakening

Spirit Pulse Formation

Body Completion

She looked at him thoughtfully. "You could start gathering Qi immediately. But would you rather begin with body refinement?"

"I want to refine my body," Lin Yuan replied without hesitation.

"Excellent choice. Refining your body with Taiyin Qi will increase your physical limits."

She continued her explanation. "There are five grades of physical bodies:

Mortal Body

Spiritual Body

Treasure Body

King Body

Holy Body — sometimes called Divine Body.

The higher your body grade, the greater your affinity with spiritual energy. Would you like to know your grade?"

"I'd like to know."

"Good. Let's find out. I think you're at least King Body. Most disciples have Spiritual Bodies. A few have Treasure Bodies. I, your master, and a few elders are King Bodies. But Holy Bodies are very rare ,it exist only in the heart of the Taiyin Sect."

They arrived at a small shrine, quiet and ancient. In its center stood a glowing assessment stone.

"Touch the stone," she said.

Lin Yuan placed his hand on it.

Nothing.

Then… the faintest glimmer. A dull, nearly invisible light.

The sect leader's brows furrowed. "Impossible… it says you have a Mortal Body?"

She stepped closer, staring hard. "Even the old cleaning lady has a Spiritual Body. You? You were supposed to be King Body… or at least Treasure."