Chapter 177: Chapter 176: Major and Minor Thresholds
After studying it for a long time, Chu Mu returned the One-Patterned Vein Nourishing Pill to the Wooden Box.
He then found some spare time to easily refine the raw materials Wang Mazi had brought into Grain Avoidance Pills. Once finished, Chu Mu sat down at his desk.
The palest ink is better than the best memory.
It was a habit that had carried over from his past life into this one, and he maintained it still, even on the long road of his Immortal Path.
Jade Scrolls were the common medium for recording information in the Cultivation Immortal Realm. While they were expensive, they weren’t beyond his current means.
But he was more accustomed to writing with a brush. For him, each stroke was a form of contemplation, a way of reviewing the old to understand the new.
Through years of habit, though the characters themselves were different from his past life, his penmanship clearly retained its old style.
He dipped his brush in ink. Each stroke was sharp and chiseled, as if carved by a blade or an axe. They were firm and fierce, yet held a subtle, underlying sense of restraint.
As the saying goes, the writing reflects the man, and it seemed to fit Chu Mu’s somewhat contradictory nature.
As his brush danced, lines of text appeared on the page. The process of refining the Vein Nourishing Pill replayed over and over in his mind, ultimately flowing through the brush tip and onto the white paper.
Several hours later, a thick stack of white paper lay on the desk, filled with detailed records of the Vein Nourishing Pill refining process and his various insights.
He bound the papers into a volume and stacked it on his desk.
He rose and walked to the door. It was late, but the streets below were still brightly illuminated by flickering lamps.
Everywhere he looked, the doors to the surrounding pavilions were tightly shut. It felt just like being in one of the high-rise apartment buildings from his previous life.
Everyone was so close, yet there was hardly any communication between them.
Chu Mu took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and hesitated for a moment before putting it away.
His expression calm, Chu Mu returned to his room and closed the door.
In the past, a single Vein Nourishing Pill, worth fifteen Spirit Stones, had been a heavy burden for him.
Each month, he could only scrimp and save enough to buy a few. Despite the small number, the cumulative effect, combined with the dense Spiritual Qi in his residence, had put his Cultivation on an unprecedented fast track.
In just half a year, he had advanced to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.
And now, he had twenty-five Vein Nourishing Pills to use, one of which was even a One-Patterned Vein Nourishing Pill!
Converted to market value, and not even counting the One-Patterned Vein Nourishing Pill, their total worth was a staggering three hundred and sixty Lower Grade Spirit Stones.
To put it in perspective, during that entire half-year on the fast track, he had only purchased a total of thirty Vein Nourishing Pills.
’I hope I don’t hit a bottleneck.’
Just as he was calming his mind, the thought suddenly surfaced.
The Immortal Path was fraught with barriers, and the lower one’s aptitude, the more barriers they would face.
Advancing to a new Grand Realm was always a major barrier, but even breaking through to the next Small Realm could present a bottleneck.
And according to a long-established law in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, the lower one’s aptitude, the more frequent and formidable these barriers were, making them that much harder to surpass.
The reason was simple: lower aptitude corresponded to a greater number of Spirit Root Attributes, whereas most Cultivators based their Cultivation on a single Attribute.
With impure Spirit Roots, even when practicing a single-Attribute Cultivation Technique, the other latent Spirit Root Attributes would subtly influence one’s practice, causing the resulting Magical Power to become impure.
Magical Power is the very foundation of one’s Cultivation. If that power is impure, cultivation naturally becomes more difficult.
Furthermore, long-term reliance on Elixirs to aid one’s Cultivation also resulted in a much higher chance of hitting a bottleneck compared to simply cultivating by breathing in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
The fundamental reason was that no matter how pure the Medicinal Power of an Elixir, its nature was ultimately different from the naturally-formed Spiritual Qi of the world. It would always contain trace impurities that were difficult to perceive and expel—what was commonly known as Erysipelas.
Over time, the buildup of these impurities would inevitably affect one’s cultivation progress, creating what were known as bottlenecks.
Undoubtedly, with the exception of the major bottlenecks between Grand Realms, all other barriers were rooted in the state of one’s Magical Power.
Chu Mu focused on the phantom Long Saber within his Divine Soul, sensing the subtle fluctuations it emitted. As he did, the anxiety in his heart gradually subsided.
’Aside from the Spiritual Radiance, perhaps I really am different from others in some way.’
The thought vanished as quickly as it came. He popped a Vein Nourishing Pill into his mouth.
The surging Medicinal Power was enveloped by his Magical Power and rapidly underwent Refinement. It strengthened his Magical Power, which had already transformed into a misty state since the appearance of the phantom Long Saber.
By now, his understanding of Qi Cultivation was worlds apart from what it had been before.
The so-called Qi Cultivation Thirteen Layers, with each layer representing a new step, was fundamentally a process of strengthening and condensing one’s Magical Power.
In other words, the thirteen layers of Qi Cultivation were a process of enhancing both the quantity and quality of one’s Magical Power.
And under the influence of the phantom Long Saber, despite his relatively low Cultivation, the quality of both his Magical Power and Divine Soul had already taken a huge leap forward.
While this did slow down his Cultivation speed significantly, his Magical Power was far more profound than that of other Cultivators at the same level.
Profound Magical Power and Divine Sense undoubtedly meant... an increase in combat prowess and survivability.
As his Cultivation advanced, this profoundness would inevitably become even more apparent.
He was getting closer and closer to the level of strength Chu Mu believed he needed to protect himself.
A single Vein Nourishing Pill was completely refined in just half an hour.
His Magical Power still circulating, Chu Mu didn’t stop cultivating. His Divine Sense merged with the phantom Long Saber in his Divine Soul, silently perceiving the mysterious fluctuations and feeling his Divine Soul and Magical Power being tempered by them.
The deeper his understanding of Cultivation grew, the more cautious and reverent Chu Mu became.
On the path of Cultivation, the slightest bit of negligence could ultimately transform into an insurmountable chasm.
Nearly an hour passed before Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes. The Light Curtain Panel materialized in his vision.
[Name: Chu Mu.]
[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Peak of Perfection) 6238/10000.
Fireball Skill (Peak of Perfection) 2896/10000.
Flame Barrier (Peak of Perfection) 98/10000]
[Flame Decision Fourth Layer (300/2000)]
[Alchemy: Grain Avoidance Pill: Peak of Perfection (8953/10000)
Vein Nourishing Pill: Entering the Hall and the Room (235/2000)]
[Spiritual Radiance Value: 2103.3%]
His gaze lingered on the stats for his Flame Decision for a moment before the Light Curtain Panel faded away.
For the past two months, he had been focused on studying and experimenting with the Spirit Medicines for the Vein Nourishing Pill. His Sword Technique and Magic had been neglected, but he still found time to ensure his Cultivation of the Blazing Fire Technique didn’t fall too far behind.
Without the support of Elixirs, his progress was slow, but it was progress nonetheless.
And this one Vein Nourishing Pill...
Chu Mu’s brow furrowed in thought.
When he first began taking Vein Nourishing Pills, refining each one would increase the Skill Level for his Flame Decision by about sixty points.
Afterward, as his Cultivation level rose, the effect gradually diminished.
Now that he was at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, the session just now...
’...yielded about fifty points!’
Chu Mu quickly confirmed the approximate number.
With his increased Cultivation, the effectiveness of the Vein Nourishing Pill had diminished by about one-sixth.
Then, Chu Mu’s gaze subconsciously fell upon the One-Patterned Vein Nourishing Pill.
He had plenty of experience with elixirs exceeding their normal effects, particularly with the Grain Avoidance Pills.
Ever since he started refining them, he rarely felt the need to eat, relying almost entirely on One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pills for sustenance.
Normally, the Grain Avoidance Pills he refined could only provide sustenance for five days, but a One-Patterned one nearly doubled that time.
This might be due to the unique properties of the Grain Avoidance Pill, but it still demonstrated just how special an Elixir with a Pill Pattern was.
BOOM!
Just as he was lost in thought, a deafening roar shook the entire residence. In that instant, the hidden Array Restriction flared to life, its dense markings enveloping the building.
The shadow of that past incident seemed to reappear.
Chu Mu shot to his feet, his body tensing as Magical Power surged through him. Wisps of flame began to flicker at his fingertips.
Then, he saw a flash of blood outside his window as a figure darted past.
Chu Mu’s pupils shrank. He slowly approached the window, the scene on the street below coming into sharp focus.
A mangled corpse lay sprawled at the entrance of the pavilion across the street, seemingly still clutching a Talisman in its hand.
Looking around, he could see other Cultivators watching from a distance, but there was no other sign of commotion!
...
