Chapter 25 - Cultivation Techniques

With a decision made, Li Lang quickly decided to check out the basic cultivation technique he found.He took out his sect token and placed it on the counter by the entrance, along with the book. The old lady at the counter took hold of the items for a few seconds before returning them with a smile."I have deducted five contribution points. You have ninety-five left.""Thank you, Senior."The old lady raised an eyebrow at the strange kid."There is nothing to thank me for. Work hard, child."Li Lang nodded, and wasted no time, heading straight back to his room where he could read in silence. While there was a lot more to explore and various ways he could spend his contribution points, his thirst for knowledge had won out.His lifelong obsession was to find a way to attain immortality. Having found such an outlandish method to reach his goals, he was determined to dissect its mechanics using the scientific method.The room he was assigned wasn't large enough for him to pace around, so he shifted and turned while reading on the bed. The Spirit Grove Basic Cultivation Technique wasn't particularly long, just like all the other cultivation techniques at the library, so he quickly finished it.A lot of the content was filler text that went on about nature and the cycle of life, and the main point was simple. It taught the reader that the cultivation techniques in the Energy Gathering realm simply affected how cultivators absorbed Qi.The absorption of Qi relied on the power of imagination, and Spirit Grove's manual went into detail on how to do so by picturing yourself as a tree, absorbing nutrients from the ground.The simplicity of it was the reason why cultivation techniques weren't that valued in the Energy Gathering realm. Cultivators didn't spend much time absorbing Qi as they reached their limit quickly, and if they persisted, they would feel sharp pain, followed by other, more serious conditions.Having a top-class cultivation technique in this case would only save several minutes of time during each session at most unless you were a genius with shockingly high aptitude.While the contents weren't that helpful to Li Lang personally, they clarified a lot of insights Li Lang had accumulated in the matter of cultivation.That was well worth the contribution points.However, just learning about the cultivation technique wouldn't satisfy Li Lang. Every respectable scientist had a thirst for knowledge and the habit of testing out new knowledge to verify them and Li Lang was no different.He immediately crossed his legs, got into a lotus position on his bed, and began cultivating using the new technique. Imagining himself as a tree that sucked the nutrients and water out of the earth.The Qi entered into his lower body before he willed it to merge with him. The flow was slow and steady. It was especially difficult to increase its speed, as it felt like he was trying to force an overfilled suitcase closed.He wasn't able to stay in such a state for long as a sharp pain rang throughout his body.Li Lang had cultivated already this morning, so he was already close to his limit. Still, he attained the results he desired, having gauged how effective Spirit Grove's technique was. Once he was done, he took his red gem and placed it against his forehead."Ruby, were you able to observe my cultivation session just now?" Li Lang eagerly asked, as he wanted to digest his findings by conversing with someone."Yes, master! I was able to feel the flow of your Qi. Is something the matter?""No, but I wanted to confirm that the intake of Qi this time was much slower than usual, right?""That is correct, master. Your intake was less than half of your usual speed.""Hmm…"I had been using the concept of black holes to draw the ambient Qi in, so I guess it's a given that it isn't the norm. I doubt people here even know what black holes are.With the investigation into basic cultivation techniques done, Li Lang shelved all matters pertaining to it for another time as it wasn't vital to his current progress. What he needed the most right now was test subjects to do cultivation experiments with. He wasn't sure how exactly he would find these subjects, but he knew getting lost in several research directions wasn't the right way.He left his room when the sun was high in the sky and continued his tour of Spirit Grove, his new sect.On his way out, He spotted one of the young boys from the previous day who had questioned him."Hello again. I am Li Lang. Do you remember me?"He looked up from his book for a second before giving Li Lang a slight nod."Yuan Quan.""So, Yuan Quan, I was wondering if you have any suggestions about where I should go?""Where you should go? You're free to go wherever you please.""Yes, I know, but I've been told I should take a tour around the sect and learn all the ways I can make use of my contribution points."He looked up at Li Lang as if he was stupid, but just as he was about to say something, he shook his head and sighed."If you are serious about cultivation, you should only spend your contribution points on things that would either help you earn more points or aid you in cultivation.""I see. Any idea where I should start?""If you know a craft, then work on that to earn points. Otherwise, go to the mission hall. Once you have enough, spend them on what you need to cultivate, whether it be Qi stones, pills, talismans, artifacts, or new techniques you would like to learn."Having mentioned crafts, Li Lang was instantly reminded that his auto-analyzer was currently idle.He had previously used it to examine his blood samples to see his condition after cultivating. However, the results remained consistent, where he needed to rest for about half a day, so he had stopped.It was a vast waste of his resources, so his next destination was set.He headed for the alchemy building that Elder Wang had led him to before and went straight to one of the idle counters."I would like to buy a pill. Can I see the list of what you have for sale?"The disciple wordlessly took out a piece of paper and placed it on the counter. It only took Li Lang a second to read through the list of mortal pills. The most expensive of them cost a hundred contribution points, while their cheapest cost five.It wasn't challenging for Li Lang to decide on which one to buy as his needs were clear. He planned to analyze the pill so he could refine it himself, so he picked the ones that were most common and had a steady demand."Give me one Qi Replenishment Pill," Li Lang said as he placed his token on the table.The Qi Replenishment Pill was just as popular as the Recovery Pill. The latter was for wounds, while the former was for quickly recovering Qi. Both were essential to any cultivator's survival, and it was safe to assume any cultivator would keep some on them for emergencies.After losing another ten contribution points, Li Lang decided to finish what he started earlier. He traveled back to the sect library and browsed through the various martial arts and Qi arts he previously set aside.After a whole hour of skimming through the titles of numerous manuals, he settled on three martial arts.He knew he was a complete blank canvas in terms of fighting, but he needed to at least be able to defend himself. That meant he must learn how to defend, dodge, and retaliate. The Qi arts techniques were passed over as they all required at least a cultivation of the fourth stage of Energy Gathering or higher.Each of the martial arts had cost five contribution points, so he was now left with seventy.By the time he finished checking out the books, he was starving, so he returned to the same food hall from the day before returning to his room.Instead of diving straight into his new techniques, Li Lang first placed the Qi Replenishment Pill into his auto-analyzer within Ruby's artifact space before working on devising a new schedule for himself."I can't just spend all day cultivating or I'd just become another forgettable outer disciple except worse, with my grade one aptitude. If I want to excel with my talent, then…I need to start testing out my theories on cultivation. I should try to accumulate more wealth to hire willing subjects…if those even exist."