The room matched the descriptions he had read countless times in cultivation novels—specialized for martial training and seclusion. Its interior was shrouded in a gentle fog, yet the air felt refreshingly crisp and invigorating. Each breath he took seemed to lift his spirits and bring a sense of tranquility.
Though the room appeared small from the outside, resembling a dorm room or a cheap hotel, inside it was much larger and different, as he saw a garden within a dimly lit cave.
"It's nothing much, but this is the best we have," Ming Mei remarked, gesturing towards the bed. "A place for rest and recuperation."
She then pointed out another area within the room, resembling a training hall or dojo. "This is the training room for martial arts or Spirit Arts."
"And here," she continued, leading him to a separate section, "is the Pill Crafting room. If you're interested in pill crafting, you can utilize the materials and books available here." She offered a brief overview of the pill crafting facilities.
"This whole room is carved with a Spirit Gathering Formation," Ming Mei explained, gesturing around the room. "The quality of the Spirit Essence here will always be higher than outside. You can insert Spirit Beads into these carved stones," she continued, pointing at a small, intricately designed stone with circuit-like patterns, all connecting to a small hole at the center. "Place the Spirit Beads here to enhance the efficiency of the Spirit Gathering Formation."
Turning to Lu Sheng to see if he had any questions, she noticed he was like a small child lost in a toy shop, drowned in fascination.
"You can stay here for a week. Will that be enough?" She asked, insinuating and indirectly trying to understand if Lu Sheng would have some results in a week or not.
Lu Sheng nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Yes, thank you, Big Sister. This is more than enough." Not knowing that Ming Mei would ask for his help after one week.
Ming Mei smiled, pleased with his enthusiasm. "Good. Remember, this is a place for focused cultivation. Make the most of your time here, and don't hesitate to ask if you need any assistance or guidance."
Lu Sheng nodded and couldn't wait to start.
"Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention," Ming Mei interjected before leaving. "Follow me." She motioned for Lu Sheng to accompany her. As they ventured deeper into the cave, they arrived at a small entrance leading to another room.
Entering the dimly lit space, Lu Sheng's eyes were drawn to a dark pillar glowing softly at the center, adorned with intricate runes and scripts carved into its surface. However, when he looked closer, it was not carved but more like woven.
"This is?" He was very fascinated to see this.
"This is a Void Anchor," Ming Mei explained vaguely, "a pillar anchored in the void. It also acts as an entrance."
Lu Sheng was thoroughly fascinated as he examined it more closely. He noticed that the runes or scripts were separate from the pillar itself. They seemed to be made of a different material altogether, as if someone had woven the stone pillar like a fabric with metallic threads, creating a calligraphic edict upon it.
A storm of questions formed in his mind, and as if Ming Mei had anticipated them, she presented him with a jade slip. "All your questions are answered here. I'm late for my duties, so cultivate diligently, and let's have a dao discussion in a week, okay?"
Lu Sheng nodded, accepting the jade slip, and watched as Ming Mei smiled and left with a spring in her step.
He was now alone, with of course, his Automated System.
"Are we finally kicking off our Hero's journey?" Lu Sheng's voice quivered with emotion. "I can't believe it! We're actually going to start cultivating. This is it—power, wealth, and beauties are finally within reach!" There was a determined edge to his tone.
[You are getting emotional like it's been months or years, it's not even a week yet.]
"You are a mood killer, you know that?" Lu Sheng was so enthusiastic, but the system's words brought him back to reality. Now he also felt cringe thinking about his emotional words as if he had struggled for years for this.
[I am just stating the fact.]
"Yeah, yeah...let's start. Start with this, tell me what this Void Anchor is all about? Automate Data analysis."
[We are out of juice, we need to fill our tanks first to run the engine.]
"Oh, then Automate Cultivation."
[Automation Initiated.]
His body turned and left the Void Anchor room and returned to the Meditation Seat as it sat down. It started taking long, full breaths.
"Tell me too what is going on." Lu Sheng got bored within seconds, as if he did not need to do anything, so it was even more boring for him. He was too excited for all the other things, but the actual grind was boring as usual.
[Host, I'm breathing in, absorbing the natural essence around us. Then, I'll follow the earlier method of Eternal Life Core Elixir to transform the natural essence into Eternal Life Core Elixir Essence and fill the meridians to their capacity. Should I utilize all the open pores?]
"Yes, but why take such a route? Get the required amount to open the spatial ring and then use the proper method given to us," Lu Sheng suggested.
[Agreed, I will follow these steps.]
As the Automated System started working its wonder, Lu Sheng's skin started to itch again.
"What is going on?" He scratched the itchy part.
[It seems, Ming Mei was correct in her assessment. Your meridians have not only fortified, but your pores have also been widened. They are breathing in much faster with much bigger quantities. The itchiness is the side effect.]
"Does it not sound good to hear? I don't know why Ming Mei thinks it's a bad thing to get wider and stronger meridians?" Lu Sheng was still confident in his belief of 'strong is best,' not able to understand the concept of 'balance in all' shared by Ming Mei.