Before his afternoon class, Chen Che went to the office again to have Ding Dawei evaluate his Pills.
After hearing about the Alchemy process, Ding Dawei came to the same conclusion as Li Xiaoshuang. He not only offered several solutions but even sent over a bundle of relevant files.
"I've already sent you the specific methods. Remember to get plenty of practice when you get home."
Ding Dawei cradled a cup of fragrant Spirit Tea and took a slow sip before continuing, "Your Spiritual Root isn't exceptional, but if you're willing to put in the effort and study hard, you still have a great chance of getting into a Yiben Daoist School."
"Thank you, Teacher Ding."
Chen Che expressed his gratitude.
Next up was Ding Dawei's Alchemy class.
As usual, however, it was dreadfully boring. The class even ran an hour late, causing many students to mutter curses under their breath.
As far as the students were concerned, you could be the Celestial Emperor himself and you still had no right to get in the way of their free time.
After returning home and finishing his homework,
Chen Che turned on his computer, logged into his personal student database, browsed the files Ding Dawei had sent him, and then refined two batches of Pills according to the proposed methods. As expected, the Pill Formation rate increased considerably, and the quality of the Pills improved as well.
Ordinarily, Chen Che would have seized the momentum and continued his Alchemy.
However, his mind was still on that 'Forbidden Book,' so he hastily put away his Pill Furnace and began to pore over its pages.
'No wonder so many people follow it blindly. This is, after all, a chance to become invincible among those at the Same Tier.'
Even though Li Xiaoshuang had warned him in advance, Chen Che couldn't help but feel a stir of temptation.
'Say we're both Cultivators of the same Realm. If my True Essence is several times, dozens of times, even a hundred times greater than yours, how could you possibly win?'
'That massive reserve of True Essence alone would be enough to make me unbeatable.'
'And it wouldn't just be for the Qi Refining Stage.'
'Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul… it would be the same for all of them!'
The only catch was that it came at the cost of one's advancement in Realm.
A Qi Refining Cultivator's time was incredibly precious. If this method delayed one's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, the trade-off wouldn't be worth it. A hundred years later, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would still be alive and kicking, while you would be long dead, only able to pray they didn't dance on your grave.
'The Spiritual Qi in Yunzhou is abundant. I can give it a try there first.'
After long consideration, Chen Che made his decision.
After all,
with his current grades, getting into a Yiben Daoist School was practically a sure thing. If this new method slowed his Cultivation progress and affected his grades in other subjects, forcing him to settle for a second- or even third-tier Daoist School, it would be a terrible trade-off.
Although they were all called Daoist Schools, the difference in tiers meant a massive disparity in the quality of the faculty.
For example,
according to public information, there was a vocational Daoist School in the Six Continents with only two resident Golden Core Cultivators on its faculty.
In a Yiben Daoist School, by contrast, almost every professor was a Golden Core Cultivator. For some of the larger, combined classes, you could even attend lectures given by a Nascent Soul heavyweight. As for the Four Top Daoist Schools, it was a completely different story—lectures from Nascent Soul masters were the norm.
If Chen Che didn't have Yunzhou to fall back on, he wouldn't have even considered this path.
He closed the book and sat quietly for a moment.
The light flickered, and his vision shifted. He was back in the bare-walled thatched hut. It was early morning, and the sounds of crowing roosters and barking dogs filled the air.
He took his usual short nap, waiting until the sun was high in the sky before eating a meal.
Amidst the villagers' muttering that he was a "lazybones," Chen Che finally headed to the Spirit Field to harvest the Spirit Valley.
However,
today was a little different. The villagers, who would normally nod and greet him, now dodged him from a distance. Some even lowered their heads, pretending not to see him at all.
Even Chaoyang, the ox-herding boy, acted unnaturally when he passed by the ridge of the field and Chen Che greeted him first.
"I've gotta go herd my ox! We'll chat when I'm free!"
Waving his hand, Chaoyang urged his ox on, hurrying past the field ridge as if he were fleeing.
'Are they already starting to avoid me like the plague?'
Chen Che, of course, knew why.
His eldest uncle's firstborn son, Chen Jiang, had caught the eye of an 'Upper Immortal.'
Seeing that his family was on the rise, the villagers were all scrambling to curry favor and suck up to them.
And since he had a rift with his uncle's family, it was only natural that they would choose to shun him.
'What a shame.'
Chen Che slowly shook his head.
In truth, he had been planning to pass on a cultivation method for some time.
After all, he would eventually need an ally in this world. And Chaoyang, having grown up alongside his body's previous owner, was the most suitable candidate.
...
He finished harvesting the grain and headed back, carrying the heavy sack on his shoulder. The villagers he passed on the way were just as distant.
As he passed the great scholar tree,
he saw Mrs. Fang of the Chen Clan. Previously relegated to the fringes of the group, she was now the center of attention, with the other women fawning over her like stars around the moon. She was holding a handful of salted fava beans someone had offered her, chewing them with a loud CRUNCH CRUNCH while engaging in petty gossip.
"Mrs. Fang, you want me to teach that disrespectful little beast a lesson for you?"
Seeing Chen Che approaching in the distance, a stout woman with her hands on her hips postured as if ready to stand up for Mrs. Fang. It was Chaoyang's mother.
Her son, Chaoyang, had been on good terms with Chen Che. But after hearing the news yesterday, she had given the boy a harsh scolding, explained what was at stake, and ordered him to stay away from Chen Che.
This gesture was her way of currying favor with Mrs. Fang.
As soon as she spoke,
the other women under the tree chimed in.
"That's right! He even dared to brandish that knife yesterday!"
"And then he claimed his hand slipped! What kind of excuse is that? Who'd believe such a lie!"
Mrs. Fang of the Chen Clan beamed with delight. She was about to nod in agreement when she noticed Chen Che glance in their direction, his right hand unconsciously resting on the handle of his woodcutting knife. She immediately clamped her mouth shut. Only after he had walked past did she break into a wide, smug smile and say:
"There's no need!"
Seeing their confused looks, she added with an air of immense pride:
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'A Jade Artifact does not clash with a Pottery Jar'?"
"My Chen Jiang is going to become a great figure, like an Upper Immortal! My best days are still ahead of me, which makes me a Jade Artifact. That boy is just a mud-legged peasant, a simple Pottery Jar. Why would I ever lower myself to his level?"
Everyone quickly voiced their agreement.
Only the woman who had spoken up first looked slightly disappointed.
...
'A Jade Artifact? A Pottery Jar?'
Carrying the Spirit Valley, Chen Che slowly shook his head.
He arrived at the mountain valley.
It was the place with the highest concentration of Spiritual Qi that he had been able to find so far.
Chen Che wasted no time. He closed his eyes and immediately began to circulate the Energy-Introducing Technique.
Although the Energy-Introducing Technique had a common name, it was actually a foundational technique created through the combined efforts of two Divinity Transformation Ancestors and several hundred Nascent Soul Cultivators. It was the first step in the Immortal Sects' plan to make Cultivation accessible to all.
The Cultivation Technique was designed to be all-encompassing, like an ocean that accepts a hundred rivers.
It could absorb not only Spiritual Qi, but also Evil Qi, Yin Qi, and Death Qi. Furthermore, after hundreds of years of continuous refinement and modification, the technique was nearly flawless and could seamlessly connect to any Foundation Establishment Technique.
As he began to cultivate, the invisible, intangible Spiritual Qi of the world slowly gathered, transforming into a faint white mist that flowed into Chen Che's mouth and nose.
The Spiritual Qi entered his body and circulated, merging with his existing True Essence. Through this process of integration, it was converted into his own power. At the same time, guided by his consciousness, this new stream of True Essence slowly advanced toward a nearby minor meridian.
There were countless minor meridians, spread throughout nearly every part of the body.
However,
these meridians had not yet been opened; most were still blocked. The entire process was like a blind man trying to thread a needle—not only was it incredibly slow, but it was also mentally exhausting.
Time slowly trickled by.
Before he knew it, the sun had begun to set.
"HUUU…"
After what felt like an eternity,
Chen Che opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
'I know it's my first time and I don't have any experience, but it actually took two hours just to open one tiny meridian. This is way too time-consuming!'