The system wasn't done yet. Two new boxes appeared in front of him.
Soul Cultivation Level Up
New level: Initiate [10 / 10]
Rewards:
» 333 x System Points
» 1 x Item Upgrade Tokens
» 1 x Cultivation Method Upgrade Tokens
That was cool, but he was more interested in the second box, which gave him a lot of info.
Status
Name: Geic Wi Fu Pofan
Attribute: Order [0.01%]
Condition: Poisoned Body — Death in approximately 7 days
Cultivation:
Body: Regular [0 / 1]
Cosmic: Initiate [2.34 / 10]
» [LOCKED] Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method — 0.001 — Mortal 5
Soul: Initiate [10 / 10]
» Samsara Soul Cultivation Method — ~10,800 — ?
Soulbound items:
» Samsara Order Spear — Common (from Mortal 3)
System items:
» 1,332 x System Points
» 10 x Item Upgrade Tokens
» 10 x Cultivation Upgrade Tokens
System functions:
Upgrade
Shop
Jake wanted to check everything out, but the world had other things in store for him.
His carriage stopped, followed by a confused yelling and by his carriage being lifted and moving sideways. When it stopped again, he stepped down from it.
The guard had moved three carriages to the side of the road, into the forest. The Imperial Guard stood at the border of the road. Their backs were stiff straight as if in a parade, the butt of their spears on the ground, the spear held by a single hand, the other hand behind their backs.
They looked at nothing as a single woman walked down the otherwise empty road.
Her pacing was tranquil, as if unbothered by everything around her. She looked young, no more than in her twenties if even that old. But she also had an ephemeral aura to her that was hard to put his finger on.
It felt like time wasn't absolute for her, but something she could choose whether she wanted to be affected by or not.
She wore a black and red traditional Chinese dress — although Geic's memories revealed they weren't called Chinese in this world, but Talmor instead. The Talmor dress showed her thin figure well. Her long black hair was held in a simple ponytail.
Her face was excessively white for Jake's tastes, too pale, but he had to admit he could only describe her beauty as perfect.
Geic would have fallen for her immediately, and Jake could feel the attraction seeping into his own tastes. Enough that he might even make a move on her if given the chance. Still, this was way less influence over himself than almost drowning because Geic couldn't swim. No headache came from the different perspectives either.
This was the first time since the Order Seed took care of the other personality that he inspected what was going on in his mind. He was surprised to find Geic's personality had been mixed with his to a small degree.
As far as he could tell, about 10% of himself now belonged to Geic and the other 90% percent to his Earthen self.
While not perfect, it wasn't a terrible setup either. It should even help him pass as the original Geic when required. After all, he didn't think people would be glad to find out this body's original soul had been replaced with someone else's, no matter how innocent Jake was in all this.
Lilly also left her carriage to check the commotion gasped.
"Big Sister Black Lotus Fairy!"
Her voice was but a whisper, but in the absolute silence that had befallen the place, she might as well have screamed. The name-drop helped Jake understand why his Imperial Guard was giving so much face to the lonely traveler.
The Black Lotus Fairy was one of the three Mortal 9 cultivators that ruled over the world. What the hell was she doing in this place and how did Lilly know her though?
The Fairy looked at Lilly and her emotionless face turned into a very subtle smile.
And that was enough for the colors of the place to change.
The vegetation became greener. Birds started singing. The clouds disappeared from the sky and the sun shone brightly.
"Lilly'er," she said almost with emotion. "I found you on time." She waved her hand and Lilly floated from where she had been standing until she was in front of the Fairy.
"On time? Did you come to my wedding, big sister?" Lilly said smiling, with way too much intimacy for someone talking to one of the rulers of the entire world. Someone who could kill them all with but a snap of her fingers.
"Absolutely not," the Fairy replied. "Little sister, I came to take you away from this terrible trap you're walking into."
Lilly frowned. "Big sister? What do you mean?"
The Fairy extended her arm and pointed her finger at Jake. "I was worried about you, little sister, so I had my Black Lotus Temple investigate your fiancé's affairs. A few hours ago, I learned that his Yi'Maya Imperial Family is hideous. They are plagued by kinslayers who seek power above everything else. The beloved ones who are married into the family live brief lives, killed by their own new family. I cannot have that happen to you."
Lilly laughed at that. "You need not worry, big sister. His Highness would never allow anything to happen to me."
The Fairy tsked. "Pray tell, little sister. How is he going to protect you when he can't even protect himself? There's poison in his bloodstream as we speak. Which fate is worse, that of a target for his assassins, or that of a widow in a foreign land?"
Lilly's face turned to Jake, full of astonishment. "That- That's not possible, sister!"
"Are you saying I'm wrong?" The Black Lotus Fairy asked with displeasure.
Her discontent made the colors drain away from the world. Jake felt as if there was a slightly grey filter on his vision. The chirping birds flew away as if scared and the sun couldn't pierce a sudden cold that pervaded the area.
"No! I just... It doesn't matter what he's going through, I'm sure His Highness will overcome it!"
Jake had no idea where that silly girl took such confidence from. Geic couldn't be called resourceful by any means at all.
His death was the perfect example of that. Not only was Mayork — the capital of the Empire — a coastal city with beautiful beaches, but there was also nothing less than thirty swimming pools in the Imperial Palace he had grown up in. Not to mention the bath pools. It was pathetic for him not to know how to swim.
He should have learned even if it were to save his own life if he ever slipped in a pool and there was no one nearby.
And that was the man Lilly expected to save himself from being poisoned? Jake knew about the poison thanks to the system, but how could have Geic dealt with it?! It was too powerful even for elite cultivators of the Western Continent, much less a simple Initiate like him!
Speaking of which...
Jake frowned.
Where had his brother found such a powerful poison that only a Mortal 7 antidote could cure?
He wasn't well-versed in politics, but now that the Fairy was here, he smelled something rotten in the air.
"Impossible," the Fairy replied dryly. "If I'm not mistaken, the poison running through his veins is made from Silver Bat Refuse. Only a Mortal 8 antidote can save him. He cannot find it anywhere on the Western Continent."
The Fairy gave Lilly the wrong information. Jake required a Mortal 7 antidote, not a Mortal 8 one. He wondered whether it was an honest mistake or a deliberate lie.
Lilly's face was filled with confusion for a long time until her eyebrows rose in realization. That only lasted for an instant though, as worry quickly replaced it.
A worry that felt fake after Jake saw her face fill with realization. She knew more than she was letting on.
'What the hell is going on here?!' he thought to himself.
"Big sister, can't you do anything?" Lilly pleaded.
"I cannot," the Fairy replied mercilessly. "I have a Vermilion-Falcon Feather Antidote Pill with me, but it's a Mortal 9 medicine. It's too valuable. So much so, I could buy his fiancé's entire kingdom with it. I have no reason to give it to someone I hate. He stole you from me, Lilly'er."
"Big sister, don't be mean!" Lilly said. "You must save him!"
"I must not. I came to save you, little sister. I won't allow you to marry into such a terrible family. We are leaving."
"I'm going nowhere! I love him, big sister!" she yelled and got red as a tomato right after. Still, she didn't step back. "I won't go with you unless you save him." She crossed her arms.
Her actions were way out of character for her. Geic's memories were of a submissive girl who accepted all kinds of verbal abuse from him. Now, she was standing up to a Mortal 9 cultivator!?
The Black Lotus Fairy didn't look amused. She looked at Lilly in silence for a moment, trying to stare her out of her foolishness.
When it didn't work, she asked, "You said you won't come unless I save him. Does this mean you'll come with me if I save him?"
Lilly opened her mouth in what Jake could now identify as fake surprise. She was a superb actress. But after seeing her mask slip for a moment, together with his own experience dealing with all kinds of liars on Earth, he could easily see through her.
She said nothing for a moment, then just closed her mouth and nodded once.
"Will you also join my Black Lotus Temple?" The Fairy pushed, and this time Lilly bit her lower lip in an honest way. She ended up nodding. "Very well, little sister. I'll waste one of my precious few life-saving treasures on a mere Initiate who I hate. For you."
It was Jake's turn to be brought floating to the woman. Up close, he could feel she radiated a cold aura that felt like ever-moving water on his skin. He could move freely though, unimpeded by the water he felt. It was disconcerting.
As soon as he reached the Mortal 1 level, he would be able to feel other people's power directly, the way the Guard had. Now, he could only use his five senses to determine there was something supernatural about the other person.
"Open your mouth, Initiate, and accept my gift," she ordered in a way that allowed no arguments.
A black pill appeared in her hand out of nowhere. While Asturian's ring took a few instants to materialize items and came with a light effect, whatever treasure the Fairy had used was instant and had no visual cue.
Jake obeyed her, opening his mouth. He wasn't about to disobey a Mortal 9 woman who had already said she hated his guts. As much as she might not want to annoy Lilly by killing him, who knew where her limits lay?
Just before she threw the pill in his mouth, a blue box window appeared over it.
Cosmic Placebo Pill
Level: Common
A placebo made of water and burnt sugar, held in place by a sliver of cosmic energy. The choice of ingredients makes it dissolve on the mouth much like a proper pill.
He silently accepted the placebo. It was much better than poison, and he didn't want her to know he knew the truth about it. Who knows what she could do then?
Jake had drawn a clear picture in his mind.
The pissed-off Fairy had found out about the internal affairs of his family and instead of coming at once to save Lilly, as she claimed, she had instead approached Asturian to help him kill Geic. That's where the poison pill had come from.
And now, she was all too glad to fake saving his life to make Lilly come willingly. He would still die though, forever stopping being something the Fairy had to worry about.
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That had been the plan all along. It was no coincidence she appeared right after he was poisoned.
Jake had had nothing against the woman before. He couldn't care less if she had just kidnapped Lilly either. He barely knew the girl. But now...
...now, the Fairy had pissed him off.
And he promised himself he would make her pay for trying to kill him.
Just like that, the prison pastor's influence over him was gone for good.
"Your Highness..." Lilly said to Jake with genuine sadness. "I'm sorry, I won't be able to attend our wedding. But I promise I'll wait for you. Even if you won't have me, I'll always wait for you, my Prince."
Jake just wanted to shake his head. He really didn't get her. Geic had done nothing to deserve that.
The Fairy didn't allow him to reply. With a wave of her hand, both girls started floating and turned around. Then they flew at high speed into the horizon.
"Well, brother," Asturian said, still from within his carriage. "Don't worry, I'll bring you to the Fair Maidens House when we arrive back in Mayork." He laughed good-naturedly.
Jake said nothing.
But in his heart, the flames of fury were burning with passion.
Everything had been too well executed to guarantee his death. He had seven days to save himself, but the journey back to the capital would take five times that long. The closest city — not counting the villages — was five days away. Even if he lucked out in being diagnosed by a talented physician, there was no way he could be treated on time.
Even if he survived though, what other things would Asturian try until they reached Mayork?
Jake didn't feel confident in reaching his home. Not while his brother was with him. So, he gave himself a moment of respite to think and plan.
He turned to walk to his carriage. "Keep course to Tabula," he ordered the Guard.
"What?!" Asturian replied. "Brother! There's no reason to continue to Arthor Kingdom's capital! It will only humiliate you to reach the house of the bride without the bride you were supposed to protect!"
Jake nodded. "Humiliating or not, I must pay the price for my failure. Not to mention the gifts the Emperor Father sent were also supposed to start negotiations for one of his plans. I would rather face the ire of my ex-future-father-in-law than Emperor Father's displeasure with me.
"Above all this, I'm not even sure the Black Lotus Fairy is planning on telling Lilly's family what happened. How can I not give them news of their beloved daughter joining the mighty Black Lotus Temple? On the more practical side, imagine how our absence at the wedding day could be misunderstood and start an international incident.
"Honor and duty both beseech we move on, brother. And we shall deliver."
That bit of political insight came from Geic's memories. He had been a prince, and had been taught a little. It wasn't hard to predict the shallower consequences of his actions. Whatever hid in the depths was beyond him though.
His luck was that as the groom, he was the official head of the Wedding Delegation and the Guard had to obey him, even though he was both weaker than Asturian both in standing and cultivation.
The wisdom of Jake's words shut Asturian up, and Jake reached Lilly's carriage without trouble.
Yes, Lilly's.
Who knows how Asturian might've tempered with Geic's carriage? Jake would rather not risk it.
Opening the door to her carriage impressed him. His own was dark red velvet, black and gold inside, a statement of power and luxury. Hers was white and black, a statement of refinement. Her good taste in design only confused him more about her poor taste in men.
There were no personal objects anywhere. Although merely a regular, Lilly was beloved by her King Father more than Geic was by his Emperor Father. She had a spatial ring just like Asturian, although she always required cosmic stones to supply energy to use it.
Dismissing the useless thoughts, he sat comfortably and checked his system.
More specifically, he checked the system shop. Could a solution for his poison be hiding in there?
Shop Function
Cultivation Methods
Healing
Enhancement
Jake swiftly opened the healing category.
Healing Shop
At the Mortal Rank and below, the Healing Shop contains a single medicine, the Cure-All Pills.
They will cure any injuries or afflictions of the same level, no matter if they are on body, spirit, or soul.
The only exception is death.
Price (System Points) — Item — Level
1 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 1
9 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 2
81 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 3
729 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 4
6,561 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 5
5,9049 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 6
531,441 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 7
4,782,969 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 8
33,333,333 — Cure-All Pill — Mortal 9
The system had said before that antidotes from that world needed to be at least at the Mortal 7 level to heal his Mortal 5 poison. Its own Mortal 5 Cure-All Pill would be enough to deal with the poison though.
But what was with those prices?! They multiplied by nine for each level. How feasible was it for him to accumulate enough points to buy a Mortal 9 Cure-All Pill if he ever needed one?!
Anyway, the good news was he could use the system to heal himself. He only needed to multiply his 1,000 system points by six and a half in a week.
If his reward for reaching the Initiate level on Soul Cultivation were any hint, he only needed to cultivate quick enough and he would achieve that.
But Jake wouldn't put all his eggs in a single basket. He still had two other venues to pursue how to cure himself.
First, the enhancement shop. By its name, maybe something in there might enhance his health or give him poison immunity.
Enhancement Shop
At the Mortal Rank or below, for safety reasons, only items of your level are available.
They can only be used if the host is at the same level as them.
They will lose their effect if the host increases his level.
Price (System Points) — Item — Level
10 — Body Strengthening Tonic — Common
100 — Cosmic Absorption Lotion — Initiate
100 — Soul Improvement Pill — Initiate
Focusing on the items provided extra information about them.
Body Strengthening Tonic
Level: Common
When consumed, doubles body cultivation XP for one hour.
Cosmic Absorption Lotion
Level: Initiate
When applied to your skin, doubles cosmic cultivation XP for two hours.
Soul Improvement Pill
Level: Initiate
When consumed, doubles soul cultivation XP for two hours.
A cultivator could strengthen their body, spirit, and soul, but spirit cultivation was called cosmic cultivation instead. Jake wasn't sure why, but he guessed it was to avoid confusion with soul cultivation.
As for the items, while they didn’t help directly, they weren't terrible. The Body Strengthening Tonic was especially good as it tied well to the second venue he would check out:
Body cultivation.
His memories told him some cultivation methods could make cultivators immune to the elements, like fire or ice. They also made them immune to many injuries, including internal ones from poison.
Jake opened the cultivation methods shop and unlike the other two, this one had hundreds of thousands of methods of all kinds and prices
Cultivation Methods Shop
Price (System Points) — Technique — XP/h — Max Level
1 — Tarmor Spirit — 0.0007 — Initiate
1 — Su'cha Boli — 13 — Mortal 1
1 — Amu Body — 900 — Mortal 1
...
732 — Thunder-Fire Soul — 8,500 — Earth 1
...
333,333 — Astral Truth — 93,552 — Earth 3
...
999,999,999 — Earthly Divine Revelation — 1,000,000 — Earth 6
The most powerful and expensive cultivation method only reached the Earth 6 level. The Earth Rank came after the Mortal Rank. It was beyond anything he could find in this world.
While he was ecstatic at having so many options to choose from, a glaring issue revealed itself when he checked a random method.
Thunder-Fire Soul Cultivation Method
Max Level: Earth 1
XP/h: 8,500
Required Soul Attributes: Thunder and Fire
Required Race: Shaf Telar
The ten or so methods he checked required specific soul attributes and races, and none of them were for humans or Order-attuned cultivators like him. He didn't even know there were other races in the universe, and now he found countless of different race names.
There was no way he could check them all until he found one he could use. Who knows how long it might take? Maybe even more than the seven days he had remaining!
While the enhancement shop limited what he could buy too much, the cultivation method shop felt stupid. Why could he even buy methods he couldn't use?
Yes, he might be able to sell them for money, but he should be able to filter them! By race at the very least!
As he thought that, the list shifted. He checked a random method and noticed it was for humans. Smiling, he swiftly focused on filtering the list by the Order attribute and by body cultivation too.
And his smile died right after.
Cultivation Methods Shop
Filtering by: Race [Human], Attribute [Order], Cultivation Type [Body]
Price (System Points) — Technique — XP/h — Max Level
3,000 — Bodily Domain — 10 — Initiate
100,000 — Self-Control — 1,000 — Mortal 3
500,000 — Order of Space — 30,000 — Mortal 9
33,666,999 — Ordered Chaos — 100,000 — Earth 1
There were only four items to choose from, and they were ridiculously costly. He did not understand how the system determined the price of things, but the soul attribute was clearly an important factor.
The Order attribute was expensive.
Jake couldn't justify buying a cultivation method for 3,000 system points that would only take him to the Initiate level. Even if he had had the points, that is.
And that was it. His two other venues were useless.
His only chance to save himself was cultivating to get the points he needed to buy the Mortal 5 Cure-All Pill.
How close was he even to leveling up and getting more points?
Cultivation:
Body: Regular [0 / 1]
Cosmic: Initiate [2.34 / 10]
» [LOCKED] Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method — 0.001 — Mortal 5
Soul: Initiate [10 / 10]
» Samsara Soul Cultivation Method — ~10,800 — ?
The system displayed how far he had gone in each of the three kinds of cultivation possible in this world. The number between brackets were how much XP he had accumulated, slash, how much he needed to reach the next level.
Since he had never cultivated his body, it was still only a regular body. He needed to get 1 XP for it to reach the Initiate pseudo-Rank, and then 10 XP for it to reach the bottleneck for Mortal Rank.
The bottlenecks between ranks were different for each type of cultivation. His soul bottleneck involved making the sprout in his soul grow a leaf, but it wasn't something he had to worry about right now.
Below each type of cultivation, the system displayed the cultivation method he was currently using.
After checking the cultivation methods store, he now knew the methods' names were followed by a number representing how much XP they provided per hour when used. Then came the max level Jake could reach by using them.
The Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method wasn't great with its 0.001 XP/h, but it was still top-notch in the Western Continent. If nothing else for how far one could reach by using it, Mortal 5.
As for the Samsara Soul Cultivation Method, the system apparently wasn't sure how much XP it provided, but it was providing an approximation based on how fast he had reached the peak of the Initiate pseudo-Rank. It had taken him a little over three seconds to get 10 XP, meaning over 10k per hour.
The system wasn't sure where its limits lay though, so it showed only a question mark to its max level.
More importantly, he couldn't use his Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method anymore. It was locked for a simple reason.
Status
Name: Geic Wi Fu Pofan
Attribute: Order [0.01%]
Condition: Poisoned Body — Death in approximately 7 days
One's soul attribute changed their very self. The percentage represented his attunement to the attribute. The higher it was, the more it affected everything he did.
A 0.01% attunement meant Jake had barely enough of the Order element in his soul for it to be considered his attribute. Yet, it was still enough to prevent him from cultivating anything not Order-attuned. If he tried, he could easily injure himself.
Or die.
So, he couldn't cultivate his spirit anymore. Just to make sure, he checked Order aligned cosmic cultivation methods in the shop. They were as expensive as the body ones.
Hopefully, the upgrade function and his 10 upgrade tokens would have a solution. He opened it.
Upgrade Function
Buy Upgrade Tokens
Use Upgrade Tokens
Out of curiosity, he checked the prices of the tokens first.
Buy Upgrade Tokens
Price (System Points) — Item
1,000 — Item Upgrade Token
10,000 — Cultivation Upgrade Token
So, the tokens were valuable. That or the system had other ways for him to earn them and didn't really want him buying them. Either way, he shouldn't use his tokens carelessly.
Jake then checked how much each token was worth to him by seeing what they could get him.
Use Upgrade Tokens
Items:
» - none -
Cultivation Methods:
» Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method
He checked the only method on the list. For whatever reason, the system couldn't upgrade his soul cultivation method.
Upgrade Cultivation Method
Name: Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method
Element: Neutral
Absorption Rate: 0.001 XP/h
Max Level: Mortal 5
Price (Cultivation Upgrade Tokens) — Item
5 — Change Element to [Order]
1 — Increase Absorption Rate to [10 XP/h]
6 — Increase Max Level to [Mortal 6]
He liked it already. Finally, something useful he could afford!
The first thing he did was changing the cultivation method's element. There was always the chance that the price of everything else would change if he upgraded something else first. He didn't want to risk not being able to cultivate at all if the price to change the element became too high.
Change Cultivation Method Element
Are you sure you want to upgrade the Xi Family Cosmic Cultivation Method?
After the upgrade, it'll become Order-attuned.
He confirmed it with his mind.
Change Cultivation Method Element
Deconstructing Cultivation Method...
Rewriting to Order element...
Reconstructing Cultivation Method...
Upgrade complete.
The moment the system was done, Jake felt his memories shift. The system modified everything he knew about his Xi Family Cultivation Method, making it Order attuned. That way, he preserved his experience, his "mental muscle memory" developed from using it.
Afterward, the Xi Family Cultivation Method, the old version, was added to his mind as if from a book he had read.
The experience was both exceptional and scary at the same time. Exceptional because he didn't need to take the time to learn anything new. Scary because some alien system was messing with his head.
He could do nothing about the system though, and it was his only chance to survive and grow strong as far as he could tell. He would just roll with it.
The process took a few seconds. He checked if the prices had changed.
Upgrade Cultivation Method
Name: Pathetically Weak Order-Attuned Cosmic Cultivation Method
Element: Order
Absorption Rate: 0.001 XP/h
Max Level: Mortal 5
Price (Cultivation Upgrade Tokens) — Item
1 — Increase Absorption Rate to [10 XP/h]
6 — Increase Max Level to [Mortal 6]
Well, the name of the method had changed. Unflatteringly so. Thankfully, the prices remained the same.
He was about to use his token to increase the absorption rate when something dawned on him.
He didn't need to buy an expensive Order-attuned cultivation method. All he needed to do was buy a random cheap neutral body cultivation method from the system and change its element!
Jake quickly filtered the cultivation methods by the Neutral element and got a much more affordable list than before. He also tried to filter it by "only show the best value offers" and the system accommodated.
Cultivation Methods Shop
Filtering by: Race [Human], Attribute [Neutral], Cultivation Type [Body], Cost-Benefit [Optimal]
Price — Technique — XP/h — Max Level
250 — Basic Body — 0.1 — Initiate
1,000 — Lower-Grade Body — 3 — Mortal 3
100,000 — Medium-Grade Body — 1,000 — Earth 1
Lower-Grade Body Cultivation Method!
He could buy it!
The only issue was that the price to change the element of a body cultivation method might differ from a cosmic cultivation method. He had only five cultivation upgrade tokens remaining.
But this would only cost him 1,000 system points. It was worth the risk if it could save his life.
The Mortal 3 Order-Attuned Cultivation Method he saw in the store cost 100,000 System Points. If his plan worked, the price of buying the method plus the cost of five tokens would only sum up to 51,000 System Points!
Granted, this method only gave him 3 XP/h, as opposed to the 1,000 XP/h from the method in the store, but he was grasping at straws here, searching for anything that could save himself right now.
He bought the Lower-Grade Body Cultivation Method and after the usual information dump on his memories, he was ecstatic to find out the price to change its element to Order was also 5 tokens. He quickly paid the price and found himself the proud owner of an Order-attuned body cultivation method!
Jake didn't lose any time to cultivate it. He closed his eyes and focused inwards.
And that's when the poison acted.
The dysentery symptoms surfaced.
He farted, and the smell was so terrible it became almost impossible to focus enough to cultivate.
His epic fight against the poison had started!