After they finished their meal, Chen Jingzhai kept the Magma Technique manuscript.
He prepared to focus on cultivating the Rock Strike Technique. He would consider other techniques after completing the cultivation of his current one.
Pure spiritual power gave him a massive power energy surge, and he would not give it up.
However, he would not neglect Ling Wuque's well-meant intentions either. Hence, he did not search for old trees to dig holes that morning.
Instead, he brought Ling Wuque to the river with tools to scoop out the river sand.
The Aspirant Cultivators Academy stretched across a large area of White Cloud City. A river flowed through its grounds.
There were tens of thousands of aspirant cultivators living in the academy.
From Chen Jingzhai's point of view, the Aspirant Cultivators Academy was more like a boarding school, one where students would spend a decade of their lives once they enrolled. The aspirant cultivators who would join the academy in the same year would all stay in the same area.
A different master guarded each housing area. Aspirant cultivators who stayed in distant places would not mingle with one another. They would not show up in other people's territory either.
Those who stayed in the same area were prohibited from fighting among themselves. If they broke the rules, they would be severely punished.
During the first half of the year, masters from various celestial clans would come and recruit many aspirant cultivators.
So Chen Jingzhai and Ling Wuque could be considered Year 7 aspirant cultivators.
The masters would not pay much attention to aspirant cultivators like them who had just received their manuscripts.
That's why the masters did not even question them when they saw Chen Jingzhai and Ling Wuque going to the river with various equipment on their backs.
As long as neither of them fell over into the river, then there would not be a problem.
"Jingzhai, do we have to do this?" Ling Wuque asked as he filled the bucket with sand from the riverbank.
"Listen to me if you want to speed up your cultivation," replied Chen Jingzhai.
"But I didn't see you succeed after you put your method to test," Ling Wuque complained, frowning.
"Do you not trust me?" Chen Jingzhai's gaze was as piercing as a razor blade.
"Of course, I trust you. Who else would, if not me?" exclaimed Ling Wuque immediately.
Of course, Ling Wuque had faith in his friend. They had spent six years together.
However, Ling Wuque did not trust Chen Jingzhai's method, only taking to his dogged persistence. He knew that it was useless to argue with Chen Jingzhai, so he could only do as the latter wished.
Fortunately, it did not take long for them to dig river sand together.
Although Chen Jingzhai was also at Level 3 of the Meditation Plane, he did not utilize the spiritual power in his body so that the masters would not discover his cultivation level.
By just bulking up his physique, he was much more powerful than before. Hence, with just two trips, they completed their task.
Chen Jingzhai instructed Ling Wuque to dump the sand into a tub in the house.
The river sand immediately filled half of the tub. Then, Chen Jingzhai told Ling Wuque to sit in the tub in his shorts.
Ling Wuque did not hesitate. He sat cross-legged on top of the river sand with a dazed look.
Chen Jingzhai began pouring water into the tub, only stopping when the water reached Ling Wuque's belly button.
Chen Jingzhai left, closing the door behind him so Ling Wuque could cultivate in peace.
Since the location of the house was in secluded area, no one would disturb him. It was even more unlikely that other aspirant cultivators would force their way here. That was taboo.
Hence, Chen Jingzhai left without any worries. He prepared to look for old tree roots elsewhere.
Old tree roots were hard to locate, especially those of large dead trees.
The geography and location were also critical. It was best if the place did not draw attention.
Chen Jingzhai had conceived of a possible place to cultivate seeds. He went straight toward some dilapidated houses.
The aspirant cultivators were all kids and naturally preferred better accommodation. Nobody wanted to stay in shabby houses, so these houses were empty.
Chen Jingzhai inspected the surroundings, and to his joy, he found three old trees.
He prepared to dig a pit here tonight. This time, he would not need Ling Wuque's assistance.
With his incremental state of training, digging a pit was a breeze.
He checked the time by observing the sky. Then, he went to get his lunch.
Ling Wuque was still cultivating when Chen Jingzhai returned with some food. The latter sensed his friend's changes carefully and revealed a smile.
The method worked!
Chen Jingzhai could detect the essence power surging into Ling Wuque's body.
The spiritual power Ling Wuque formed was not as pure as that of a single-attribute technique, but he managed to absorb a large amount of essence power. This was an unexpected gain.
Chen Jingzhai finished his meal slowly and heated Ling Wuque's portion of the food for him. Afterward, he returned to his room and checked out the Magma Technique.
[Technique: The Magma Technique]
[Advantage: This technique yields explosive solid power. It is suitable for refining one's body.]
[Disadvantage: The meridians of the cultivators will be easily damaged. The risk of cultivation is high.]
[Flaw: Use a steam bath to cultivate the technique safely. It can refine one's meridians and strengthen their bones and muscles.]
Chen Jingzhai was puzzled when he saw the flaw of the Magma Technique.
The so-called steam bath was practically a method involving a steamer.
He would have to boil some water in a big pot to prepare a steam bath. Next, he would put a steamer above the boiling water and sit inside it so that the water vapor would surround his whole body.
Even though this method sounded dubious, the benefits it promised were undoubtedly compelling. Refining meridians and strengthening bones and muscles were two essential steps that cultivators desired.
Cultivators at the Meditation Plane sought to open up all the acupoints in their bodies by refining essence power.
If they had strong meridians, the speed of converting essence power into spiritual power would increase.
If they had solid physical bodies, they could withstand the pressure of absorbing more essence power. This could, in turn, increase the speed of refinement as well.
A technique that could improve both the physical body and meridians was hard to come by for cultivators at the Meditation Plane.
The Rock Technique—which Chen Jingzhai cultivated—had an advantage in producing purer spiritual power. However, in terms of strengthening one's body, it paled in comparison to the Magma Technique.
Chen Jingzhai mumbled, "Initially, I thought that the Magma Technique would not suit me. I almost missed out on a special technique because of my misconception."
The other aspirant cultivators would find it incredibly challenging if they cultivated two techniques simultaneously. However, Chen Jingzhai was special.
Perhaps he could search for more techniques and try cultivating them together.
The more Chen Jingzhai pondered about this, the more he believed that there were many benefits in cultivating more than one technique at a time.
The master's advice was not wrong. He had indeed experienced the advantage of focusing on a single-attribute technique.
However, he had an exceptional talent, which would allow him to speed up his cultivation.
It was better for him to dabble in more techniques and explore the best way of cultivation. He would discover what was best for him through trial and error.
This trial and error was a waste of time for others, but it would be perfect for him.
When Chen Jingzhai concluded, he was so thrilled that he almost dashed out the door, immediately searching for more techniques.
Fortunately, he was not that reckless. He put aside all the distractions and meditated quietly. He would contemplate this matter first.
At dusk, Chen Jingzhai had completely calmed down, and he had thought of a detailed plan.
Ling Wuque's shout of joy could be heard coming from another room.
"Jingzhai! Jingzhai! I did it! Hahaha!"
Ling Wuque dashed into Chen Jingzhai's room in his shorts. He was beaming from ear to ear as he opened his arms wide to hug Chen Jingzhai.
Disgusted, the latter avoided his hug, kicking him instead.
"Jingzhai?" Ling Wuque looked at him with puppy eyes.
"Put on your clothes and get ready for dinner," Chen Jingzhai said nonchalantly.
"All right!" Ling Wuque left in haste to put on some clothes.
Then, as he was gobbling down the hot meal, he told Chen Jingzhai about his experience.
When he started cultivating power, he did not have any hope of succeeding at all.
However, he had only circulated the technique in his body seven times, and he could already feel the difference.
He could directly sense earth and water essence powers. Moreover, his spirit root vibrated too.
He carefully channeled the essence powers into his body and spent more than half a day cultivating.
Right now, he had successfully circulated Qi throughout his body and was a cultivator at Level 1 of the Meditation Plane.
"Even those with two-element spirit roots have only managed to induct Qi into their bodies. They have yet to circulate Qi throughout their bodies and refine the essence power into spiritual power. I am much stronger than them!" said Ling Wuque in scorn. "So what if those three with celestial bones are geniuses? Two of them are merely at Level 1 of the Meditation Plane."
"This is merely a shortcut method. It is not truly our talent. It is pointless to make a comparison," said Chen Jingzhai indifferently. "Quickly finish eating and go claim our dinner. I am still hungry."
"No problem," said Ling Wuque as he gobbled down his food. "Since I am at Level 1 of the Meditation Plane, Jingzhai, it must be the same for you, no? Although the Rock Technique is difficult to start with, it should not pose challenges to you."
"Glad that you know that. Do not kick up a fuss. Do you want the masters to force us to make our methods common knowledge?" said Chen Jingzhai in frustration.
Ling Wuque instantly fell silent. He did not want others to gain from this.