The day after the crisis last night, I noticed that half of the wolves waiting below were gone after checking the feeds from my laptop. This is a good thing. I think they realize that their alpha is dead and think this place is not worth the trouble?
I think that will give me some time to build up my strength. Now I have to think about what to do next.
I review the knowledge I got from Xie Wen's memories about cultivator facts. The basics of cultivation is sitting in a proper posture so they can absorb the qi more efficiently. The most proper posture for absorbing qi is sitting crosslegged. Doing this makes it easier for qi to enter the pathways within meridians as the majority of their body are exposed to the elements with this posture, and it relaxes their spiritual nerves, making it easier for qi to flow within their veins.
After the process of properly sitting on the ground is done, next is actually absorbing the qi. This is done by a special breathing technique which will stimulate their spiritual roots and letting it suck on the qi around them in tandem with their breathing. It's a kind of breathing that is done internally instead of externally. They call this method fetal breathing. Fetal breathing is possible even for mortals so long as they know how to do it.
The next process is something much harder that a mortal needs to have prior experience for it before they can do it. This is sensing the qi flowing within their meridians and urging it to move through the proper paths within their nerves. Only those who know the sensation of the qi within their meridians will be able to do it. People who are unaware of it will fumble their way, and there is a chance they damage their meridians with a wrong mindset and method.
The first time Xie Wen was accepted on this destroyed sect, it took him a year and a half of constant exposure to qi and absorbing it before he managed to properly flow it within his meridians. Average people with intermediate talent can do this within three months more or less.
A cultivator has to know where to move their qi before they commit to it. Mortals map out their meridians first by absorbing qi and carefully urging it in a certain direction with their will. Internal qi control is easier than external because it is within their body, though that doesn't mean they can just move it casually. Mortals can't really see their spiritual roots just like how you can't see your own nerves with your mind alone. It's only when they become a cultivator that they can become mentally aware of the existence of their roots, and have a smoother time flowing their qi within. This is why cultivators have an easier time controlling their internal qi than mortals because they acquire the capability to be aware of it after they step foot on the path of cultivation.
Now the final process, cycling. Before cycling occurs, a cultivator has to move their qi within their dantian. Dantian is the center point of our spiritual roots and meridians and it is where the absorbed qi gathers. Other terms for dantian are Profound Sea, Sea of Qi, Cultivation Core, and Spiritual Core/Center. This part is important because it is basically the power source of a cultivator. It doesn't really exist physically but if I have to give an estimate where it is located, it is somewhere between my lower chest and upper stomach area, and a few inches lower than that if I want to be more precise.
Simply gathering qi in their core won't really do anything. People who do that will simply waste their time as that accumulated qi will just find a way out of their body if they don't actively control it within them. This is where the Cycling part comes in.
Cycling is a process in which a cultivator spins the qi they gather within their dantian continuously. Doing this will purify the qi they gather and take the traits of the cultivator doing this. After sufficient time passes, the qi will acquire the traits of the cultivator and it will solidify into a point within their dantian. This signifies the completion of a single cycle.
The time it will take to complete a single cycle depends on a cultivator's affinity. If a cultivator has a fire affinity, then the qi they are cycling will gain the traits of fire qi before it fully assimilates within their core. This is why the rank of the affinity is as important as the quality and amount of their roots.
That is the basics of cultivation facts. Cultivators have to know this part if they want to cultivate, and know why things are the way it is. This fact only tells about the cultivators themselves. There are still outside factors like the environment, the cultivation method, their affinity, supplements, and many more.
What does this tell me then after reviewing this fact?
It is that I need a high ranking affinity if I want to cycle my cultivation quicker. I am an anomaly with this fact because I still have a low rank Earth affinity. Its upgrades elevate my speed a thousand times more than usual when it comes to cycling the qi, but it will be slow compared to other average cultivators if not for my speed multiplier. With the cultivation speed multiplier from my cheat ability, my speed surpasses even geniuses of my sect.
If affinity is so important, shouldn't I buy another affinity then?
That is a bad idea. Affinity is the core concept of the soul. Every person has their own affinity because it represents their soul. One affinity is common for almost every living being though sometimes, there are the special ones who have more than one affinity. They call these people multi-affinity cultivators and they covet these people due to their great potential.
That doesn't mean it will be easier for them to cultivate. No, it will be much harder as a cultivator with two affinity will have to cycle twice as much as a cultivator with a single affinity. As far as Xie Wen knows, only disciples from a Holy Land have these types of personage and, if the rumors from Xie Wen's fellow disciples can be believed, then most of the time these cultivators with multiple affinities focus on one of their affinity while neglecting their other so they can keep up with their peers.
If they want to keep up while not compromising their foundation, then they will need a lot of precious resources. These resources cost quite a fortune that they can buy a whole nation if it's converted to pure cash.
A single affinity is much better than adding a new one.
Then what else can I do then?
Right, there is the option of using supplements to aid in my cultivation. Pills are one of the most basic supplements for a cultivator. They can boost the cultivation speed of a cultivator.
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There is only one problem. Consuming pills at a lower level is harmful. They give an extreme boost that will be impossible for low level cultivators. The Qi Gathering Pill, the most basic pill in every part of this world, requires the person to be at the 5th Stage Foundation Establishment Realm at the minimum if they want to safely ingest it. Those below that will simply destroy their meridians and forever crippling them from the path to immortality.
There is also a cool down period for each consumption of a pill. It depends on what type of pill it is but I know that the Qi Gathering Pill needs at least a month before a person can safely consume another.
So I need to be at the fifth stage before I can think of using a pill.
What else can I do then?
Cycling is dependent on my affinity rank so I need to improve my affinity to increase the speed of my affinity. I can instantly do a hundred cycles in a second. It is why I can reach the 2nd Stage instantly after expelling my Qi. The amount of cycles I need just increases a lot more as I make minor breakthroughs from my current realm. This is normal. Breaking through a minor realm is supposed to take months or years, and a cultivator usually goes outside to look for opportunities so they can shorten that time. I am only staying in this mountain and barely any opportunities are coming at me. I'm just relying on my cheat ability to get to this point.
Is there any way I can further increase my cycling speed?
Hmm... wait, now that I think about it, there is another way right?
Xie Wen's knowledge comes down to what the sect teaches him. Even the process of cultivating lal boils down to a single method that the sect gives him. It's a standard cultivation method that they give every outer sect disciple.
I didn't question it at the time. I think it really doesn't matter and I can just use it while relying on my multipliers to raise me up to the top. Though I really should have done it for a long time now right?
I need a new cultivation method!
That's it. Xie Wen's memories tell me that, unlike outer sect disciples, inner disciples are given superior cultivation methods and techniques by the Elders. That means there are better ways out there than what I simply know!
I should have thought of that! Dammit! This is what happens when I keep procrastinating and being complacent with my perceived safety!
Ugh... I'm so pathetic...
It's a start, but this new avenue gives me another option to increase the speed of my cultivation. I have to stop focusing on my useless hobbies and actually start taking my life seriously.
Dammit, I'm an adult in my past life. I should be better than this!
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"... Holy crap... that is amazing..."
My soul sings upon recently purchasing my new cultivation method. My knowledge expands as I instinctively realize that the new cultivation method that enters my mind is a thousand times better than Xie Wen's original one.
The Prestige Shop calls this method the Unnamed Earth-based Cultivation Method 1 and it feels so uninspiring that I decide to call it Genbu's Method. Surprisingly, the shop recognizes it and renames this cultivation method from its list into the one I prefer.
The Genbu's Method is a strong cultivation method that cost me 2,000 points. It's a technique that seems to be built on my core concept instead of just my affinity. I am extremely suitable for this method, and when I try to cultivate manually using this method, the result shows itself in an explosive manner.
"I reached the 4th Stage that fast...?"
I think it didn't take me a minute before I felt that sense of expansion within my mind. My passive cultivation can instantly reach the 3rd Stage and even if I don't manually cultivate, it will only take a minute or two before I reach the 4th Stage.
And I can feel it. As I try to manually cultivate it, I can easily cycle humongous amounts of traitless qi and turn them into millions of my own traits, consolidating them so fast that I think I might be dreaming.
It is no dream though because after two hours, I feel the familiar strength from when I wake up from this world returning to me.
This is so amazing!
I can't believe that my speed will improve this much by just changing my cultivation method. I think I even manage to absorb a lot of qi than what the array can reasonably gather in this room. My cycling is so fast that I am sucking the qi around my surroundings like a vacuum cleaner.
I look at my hand, and clench my fist. I feel that I am a lot stronger than the original Xie Wen. It might be because of the improvements from my roots and my affinity. I have more qi reserves within my core than when I wake up in this world. If I have to compare the two with my rough estimate, I might have a hundred times more qi reserves than the original Xie Wen.
Now that I am at the 5th Stage Foundation Establishment Realm, I have to try boosting that more.
A Qi Gathering Pill only costs a single point so I bought one. It appears on top of my palm and I quickly take it before popping it within my mouth. The circular golden orb quickly melts from my tongue, and it gives me a lingering taste of sweet candy.
After doing that, I can feel a surge of qi forming within my stomach. In a panic I quickly take a proper meditative position and then process the rampaging amount of qi into my dantian. Cycling them as fast as I can and consolidating them within my core. The speed in which I can cycle them increases tremendously, and the only thing I can see within my mind's eye is the process of the abundant qi swirling like a hurricane within my core.
Then an explosion occurs, and another as my profound sea expands at a quick pace.
6th Stage!
7th Stage!
8th Stage!
9th Stage!
Then it stops just at the tip before I can reach the next major realm. I open my eyes, and quickly notice the incredibly rotten odour that fills up the entire room. My shiba inu is nowhere to be seen, so it likely left me alone. I can't help but gawk at the strong smell, and then grimace when I look down and see the thick black gunk soaking my clothes and body from head to toe.
Impurities? Why now?
Maybe it's because I am simply going back to my former strength so I am not releasing any impurities to my body?
Regardless, because I am close to breaking through anyway, I go all the way and cultivate all the way. I just ignore the smell of rotten egg and flesh hitting my noise as I continue with my cultivation.
Even though I am close to the tipping point, it took me until evening before I felt a great change within my profound sea.
The gaseous-like substance of my consolidated qi turned into some sort of pure crystal liquid. This is the first time I have seen something like this so I don't have anything to compare it to. Along with that, my senses expand greatly along with an exponential increase of power welling up in my body.
I open my eyes, and just know within my heart that I made a major breakthrough to my realm.
"... This is... Qi Condensation then..."
The black gunk that sticks to my clothes slips past my skin as if an invisible barrier is protecting me from its touch. As the disgusting impurities slide away from my movement, I see my palm has become smoother and perfect. The slight tanning on my skin is gone and even some of the imperfections on my body can't be seen anymore.
In just a single day, I reached the Qi Condensation Realm with a change of cultivation technique and a basic pill. How many points will I get if I reset right now?
There is a sense of hesitation within my heart, but I ignore it. What I need is more multipliers and points so I can become a lot stronger than holding onto this strength.
So, I began the process of expelling my qi out of my dantian. There is something different than when I do it as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. When I expel my qi normally, the gaseous substance bearing the traits of my qi leaves my pores like a semi-transparent smoky fog.
This time, crystal clear liquid falls from the pores of my skin and falls on the ground. Even when it drops on the black gunk beneath my feet, strangely this crystal-like dew doesn't mix up with them. Just like how water reacts to oil.
[Reset detected, calculating... successful!]
[Spiritual Roots increased by 10!]
[Cultivation Speed multiplier increased by 0.55!]
[You gain a total of 55 Prestige Points!]
... Wait, what?
No seriously, resetting from Qi Condensation Realm only gives me that much!?
"What the fuck!?"