Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Cultivation Difficulty?
Han Tian and the others had already been thinking about heading down the mountain. Now that it was morning, it was the perfect time to do so.
A Wu was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Sure. I can take you down the mountain. As it happens, our Spirit Fields need to be restocked with Spirit Grass Seeds, so you can just follow me then."
Han Tian nodded. "Then please wait a moment, First Senior Brother. We need to take care of our Spirit Fields first."
Han Tian and Zhou Xiao still had to wait for Jiang Ya to log on, as they had promised to go with him.
The other players were both curious and a little worried. "You experts are heading down the mountain already?"
Han Tian nodded. "We’re going with First Senior Brother to take a look. With a small group, it should be fine."
The other players wanted to say more, but stopped themselves. For now, everyone was immersed in the joy of being able to cultivate and wasn’t thinking about anything else.
They really didn’t want to go down the mountain either.
The main reason was that if anything went wrong in this game, you’d get your account banned, one hundred percent. They had all just started; most players didn’t dare to be so reckless.
Since some experts were willing to test the waters, it was only natural to wait for them to bring back intel. After all, everyone had the same tasks right now.
If this game had infinite respawns, they would have been running wild all over the place by now.
Han Tian also had his Spirit Root tested. Unsurprisingly, it was also a purple Spirit Root.
This had A Wu exclaiming that it was a real eye-opener.
’What a pity, though.’
Generally speaking, the earlier a talent is discovered, the better. People whose Spirit Root talent is found later in life are already considered quite old. They’ve missed the golden age for beginning Cultivation, so Major Sects are unlikely to recruit them—unless they possess an exceptionally talented Orange Spirit Root.
A Metal Spirit Root was even more incredible; it was never too late to discover one of those.
The distinction in Spirit Root talent came down to this: the better the Spirit Root, the more Spiritual Energy one’s body could contain. This makes it easier to break through to the next Realm compared to those with inferior Spirit Roots.
This was talent.
Comprehension, on the other hand, was something you were born with. Sometimes, even with great talent, it’s all for nothing if your comprehension is low.
This was also why many people could only choose to enter a small sect.
And if you entered a small sect with poor resources and average aptitude, your progress through the Realms would naturally be slow.
’It was all a vicious cycle.’
The best Spiritual Energy-rich lands and resources were monopolized by the Major Sects, while small sects couldn’t even get the scraps.
For example, disciples from Major Sects were blessed with all sorts of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from the start, while a sect like the Longevity Sect could only be considered "nurtured by heaven and earth"—which really just meant "make do and survive."
Han Tian and Zhou Xiao picked two adjacent Spirit Fields.
The land here wasn’t picky about water or terrain. As long as it was cleared, you could plant on it. After all, the most important thing for cultivating Spirit Grass was simply having a place with Spiritual Energy.
As Han Tian and Zhou Xiao walked over, he asked her, "Have you noticed any changes since you logged on?"
"Yes!" Zhou Xiao took a sharp breath. "I can see more clearly. And I’m nearsighted in real life. I never dreamed I’d be able to see this clearly one day without glasses."
This game had truly given people a new life.
Han Tian also remarked with feeling, "I think so too. This game’s realism is a little uncanny."
Except for the lack of a sense of pain.
Of course, there was one other thing: it seemed their bodies didn’t need to use the toilet after eating.
Other than that, all their bodily functions were exactly the same as in reality.
But Zhou Xiao laughed. "No matter how realistic it is, being able to cultivate is pretty unrealistic in itself."
Han Tian said, "What do you think is more shocking: the fact that we can cultivate, or the existence of a game like this?"
Zhou Xiao asked in confusion, "Is there a difference? Aren’t they both shocking?"
Han Tian replied, "From the moment this game appeared, its genre became unimportant. What’s important is, why Cultivation of all things?"
He tilted his head back to look at the vast, desolate land. In the distance, clouds and mist roiled as golden sunlight began to peek through, painting the clouds with a rosy glow.
Everything felt like a dream, both fantastically unbelievable and yet so real.
"The game company is the Longevity Sect, and our sect in the game is also the Longevity Sect. There has to be a connection." Han Tian didn’t want to overthink it for now. "I think we need to seize this opportunity. We have to stick with Jiang Ya and Chen Miaomiao—those two heavyweights. We must group up in the early stages. The game will definitely open up to more players later, so getting a head start will be to our advantage."
Zhou Xiao made an "OK" gesture. "You’re the expert, I’ll listen to you. I know Ms. Miao Miao. Her younger sister is one of the female players this time, and I’m friends with her in real life. I’ll pull her into our group when the time comes."
Han Tian nodded.
Han Tian and Zhou Xiao had already heard some theories about Spiritual Energy from the other players.
’The conversion of matter.’
It was a concept they started learning in middle school, so it was easy to understand.
But at most, they only understood the concept. It was like memorizing a math formula—just because you’ve memorized it, does that mean you truly know how to use it?
Arriving at the edge of the Spirit Fields, Zhou Xiao and Han Tian sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate, trying to understand and use Spiritual Energy.
It was a profound feeling, as if Spiritual Energy had existed alongside them, a companion, since the day they were born.
It felt as if their bodies had become a channel, connecting them to all things in heaven and earth. All they had to do was follow that channel to control it.
Everything followed a pattern.
And so did cultivation.
Han Tian’s comprehension was quite good. After trying for a long while, he learned how to make Spiritual Energy circulate automatically within his body. However, controlling it to interact with other substances was still troublesome, and one attempt left him drenched in sweat.
But he was starting to get the hang of it.
Besides, once he was immersed in it, the feeling was so much more satisfying than studying.
In real life, Han Tian had graduated from a top university, but he’d long since forgotten most of what he’d learned. Back then, he had only gotten by through sheer hard work; he didn’t have much natural talent for academics and only remembered it as a very, very tiring time.
But now, even though he was studying just as hard, he felt that no matter how difficult cultivation was, it was worth it!
He didn’t know if his own progress was considered fast, but Zhou Xiao, next to him, was advancing quite well.
Because even though she had just started, she had quickly grasped how to use Spiritual Energy and could already manage to control a clump of dirt.
Even if only for a brief moment.
"PHEW—"
Zhou Xiao opened her eyes, sweat trickling down her forehead, but she felt fantastic. "Awesome!"
That feeling of wielding Spiritual Energy was a pursuit buried deep in the bones of all Huaxia people.
It was simply marvelous!
Han Tian was also a little surprised. "Your comprehension is really good."
"Hehe." Zhou Xiao wiped away her sweat. "It’s okay, I guess. It’s just... that feeling... this stuff is really out there... It’s hard to describe."
And just like that, in what felt like a short while, an hour had passed.
It was true what they said about not feeling the passage of time while cultivating. Jiang Ya and Chen Miaomiao had both logged on.
Han Tian knew how difficult cultivation was; they couldn’t become masters overnight. Right now, the Sect’s development was more important, so he called Zhou Xiao to go meet up with the others.
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