(Blurb: "This old man is but a Rogue Cultivator. I achieved Qi Introduction at nine and cultivated for a hundred years just to reach Qi Refining Level 7. Now I am old and frail, preparing to return to my roots. Little friend, there is no need to see me off. Farewell!"
"Wait. Your hundred years of cultivation experience happen to be useful to me, so you should leave it behind."
They say pill refining earns the most Spirit Stones in the Cultivation World.
"In the art of pill refining, this old man became an apprentice at nine, entered the first-order low-grade tier at twenty-nine, achieved the middle grade at fifty, and only became first-order high-grade at eighty-nine. Boy, do you think pill refining is so easy to enter?"
"Then this junior will gladly accept your experience."
Note: The system consumes quite a lot of Spirit Stones.)
Qingshi Market's mornings were always wrapped in a lingering dampness from the night before, mixed with the earthy smell of spirit herb roots, the rusty scent of unknown beast blood, and the faint, unwashed odor of sweat and spiritual aura clinging to cultivators. It all hung heavily beneath the rising sunlight.
Fifteen-year-old Li Chengjie sat huddled at the outermost edge of the marketplace, near the chaotic area lined with ground stalls, with half a cold, rough bluestone slab beneath him.
Spread before Li Chengjie was a piece of coarse cloth washed pale white, though it was still recognizable as the hide of some Demonic Beast. Scattered atop it were several stacks of roughly cut yellowish talisman paper, seven or eight Talisman Brushes with worn-down tips, and two or three Low-grade Spirit Stones, dull in color and thin in Spiritual Energy.
Li Chengjie narrowed his eyes, seeming half-asleep. Yet his Spiritual Sense Perception was like an invisible little net, quietly cast over the area less than three feet before him, alert for any possible "third hand" reaching in.
Inside this body was a soul from Blue Star, a world of technological civilization from another realm. He had been reborn here for a full year now. The original owner had been a naive youth, careless in his actions and ignorant of the ways of the world.
He had been mediocre in his previous life, and this life did not seem much better. He was still an ant struggling to survive at the very bottom of the Cultivation World—a small Rogue Cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining.
Scenes from a year ago still occasionally crashed vividly into his mind.
It had also been near this marketplace. That old cultivator with white hair and beard, his face's deep ravines etched full of wind and frost—Old Man Li, at Qi Refining Level 7—had hunched his back as he packed up his pitifully meager belongings.
"Fellow Daoist Li,"
The old man's voice had been hoarse, carrying the exhaustion of someone whose every edge had been worn away by the years. "This old man is but a Rogue Cultivator. I achieved Qi Introduction at nine and considered myself diligent enough, never slacking off. Stumbling along, I cultivated for a hundred years... Heh, a hundred years, and I only reached Qi Refining Level 7. Now I am old and frail, my Qi and Blood depleted. The Great Dao... is beyond hope for me. I am preparing to return to my mortal hometown, find some remote mountain village, and let fallen leaves return to their roots. Little friend, there is no need to see me off. Farewell!"
The old man cupped his hands, turned around, and his staggering back disappeared into the dusty little road beyond the marketplace that led toward the Mortal World.
At that very moment, Li Chengjie clearly "heard" an icy voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation resound directly in the depths of his consciousness:
[Replicable Target detected: 'Old Man Li' (Qi Refining Level 7). Replicable Items: One hundred years of cultivation Experience and Insights in Mysterious Flame Art. Replicate?] [Prompt: Replicate?]
The shock and bewilderment he had felt then still lingered in his heart.
He had originally intended to see Old Man Li off, hoping Old Man Li might give him something like a Storage Bag.
Replicated Experience?
Not cultivation level?
Though he had not understood why, the words "hundred years of cultivation experience" held far too great a temptation for a low-level cultivator like him, who had been stuck at the third level of Qi Refining for years without making the slightest progress.
Almost on instinct, Li Chengjie had answered "yes" in his mind.
In an instant, it was as though a great flood had poured into his mind.
It was not specific text from a cultivation art, but one profound realization after another: how Spiritual Energy could circulate more smoothly through specific Meridian routes, how to breathe and cultivate more efficiently, the subtle Spiritual Energy tremors and control required when breaking through the minor barriers of early Qi Refining, and the conclusions drawn from countless failures and occasional successes over a hundred years... Vast and complicated, yet clearly organized, they had been branded into his memories and become a part of him.
Relying on those hundred years of insights obtained out of thin air, his cultivation of the Mysterious Flame Art over the past year had yielded twice the result with half the effort. It was unknown how much better it was than the former Basic Qi Refining Art. He had naturally broken through the bottleneck that had troubled the original owner for so long and quietly stepped into the fourth layer of Qi Condensation three months ago.
Even his formerly naive and headstrong personality had changed greatly.
Moreover, Li Chengjie could feel that his understanding of cultivation arts and his control over Spiritual Energy were far beyond those of an ordinary cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation.
At the same time, he had completely figured out that so-called "replication" ability.
It could only be activated once a year.
What it replicated was all of a target's experience, insights, and techniques in a particular cultivation art or skill, rather than their cultivation realm directly.
And replication required the consumption of something called Replication Points.
As for where Replication Points came from...
Li Chengjie lifted his eyelids slightly and swept his gaze over the three Low-grade Spirit Stones on his stall, which had not increased in number all morning. He silently recited in his heart.
A patch of faint light appeared before his eyes, forming a translucent panel only he could see:
Name: Li Chengjie (Three Spirit Roots of Metal, Wood, and Fire) Cultivation level: Qi Refining Stage Level 4 Cultivation Art: Mysterious Flame Art (Entered the Hall 87/100) Available Replication Points: 0 Replication Count: 1 (Cooldown complete) Replication Point recharge: One Low-grade Spirit Stone = One Replication Point
It was concise to the point of harshness.
There was not even a progress bar after the cultivation level entry. The realm evaluation of "Entered the Hall" and the proficiency after it had only appeared on their own after he fused with Old Man Li's experience.
And those glaring zero Replication Points, along with the Replication Count marked "cooldown complete" yet unusable, were like a tiny claw scratching at his heart and lungs.
Recharge?
Easy for it to say.
One Low-grade Spirit Stone for one Replication Point.
Li Chengjie's entire fortune, including the half-bluestone slab beneath his backside, the three Spirit Stones before him, and the five Spirit Stones hidden close to his chest and wrapped three layers inside and three layers outside in oil paper, amounted to only eight Low-grade Spirit Stones.
Eight Replication Points—what could he replicate?
Old Wang, the neighboring stall owner's experience in drawing those crooked Cleaning Talismans, where making ten and succeeding with half of one would already be impressive?
Poverty was the original sin.
In this Cultivation World, especially for Rogue Cultivators, it was even more so.
Li Chengjie gently exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing the churning distractions in his mind and returning his attention to his stall and the surrounding environment.
Cries of vendors, haggling, and the clatter of shoddy Dharma Artifacts continued without end.
Just then, the crowd suddenly stirred slightly, and an invisible pressure quietly spread through the area.
The vendors' cries unconsciously lowered, pedestrians slowed their steps, and gazes turned one after another toward the marketplace entrance.
A young man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe walked in at an unhurried pace, accompanied by a pretty female cultivator.
The young man appeared to be around twenty. His features were handsome, and his brows carried an obvious reserve and pride. A jade pendant glowing faintly with spiritual light hung at his waist. He walked with composed steps, while the Spiritual Energy Fluctuation around him was condensed and powerful. He was unmistakably at Qi Refining Level 6!
"It's Young Master Chen Xuan of the Chen Family!" someone cried out softly.
"Tsk tsk, as expected of the Chen Family's most outstanding young member. I heard he's only twenty-two, right? And he's already at Qi Refining Level 6!"
"The one beside him is the Liu Family's young lady, isn't she? What a talented man and beautiful woman..."
"Keep your voice down! Young Master Chen is said to be unmatched among mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators around Qingshi Market. His Geng Metal Sword Qi Art is incomparably fierce. They say even Rogue Cultivators at Qi Refining Level 7 do not dare to meet its edge lightly!"
The fragmented discussions reached Li Chengjie's ears.
Chen Xuan, a direct descendant of the Chen Family, one of Qingshi Market's three great lineages, possessed dual spirit roots. He had never lacked resources since childhood, cultivated a superior art, and was a genuine genius in this region.
Compared to a Rogue Cultivator like Li Chengjie, who rolled about in the mud, he was practically someone from another world.
Yet Li Chengjie's gaze remained firmly fixed on Chen Xuan, and his heart began pounding uncontrollably.
It was not because of the other man's status or strength. Rather, the instant Chen Xuan entered the range of his Spiritual Sense Perception, that icy notification sounded once more!
[Replicable Target detected: 'Chen Xuan' (Qi Refining Level 6). Replicable Items: cultivation experience and Insights in Geng Metal Sword Qi Art (including practical sword art combat techniques). Estimated Replication Point cost: 150.]
One hundred and fifty points!
Li Chengjie's breath caught, and it felt as though someone had slammed a fist hard into his chest.
Even if he sold himself, he could not scrape together even the fraction after the decimal!
An indescribable bitterness and enormous sense of disparity surged into his heart.
The Golden Finger was right there. A powerful opportunity capable of changing his fate lay before his eyes, yet he did not even have the qualifications to touch it, all because—he was poor.
Chen Xuan seemed long accustomed to the reverent and envious looks around him. He did not stop at any stall, instead chatting softly with the female cultivator beside him as he headed straight for the marketplace's core district, toward those imposing shops backed by great lineages. Wherever he passed, the crowd naturally parted to make way.
Li Chengjie silently watched that moon-white figure disappear around the street corner. The marketplace soon returned to its previous clamor, as though what had just occurred had only been a small stone tossed into water, its ripples gone without a trace.
Li Chengjie lowered his head and looked at the few lonely pieces of talisman paper on his stall. His fingers curled unconsciously.
The gap—naked, despairing, crushing.
It was not merely a gap in cultivation level and strength, but a gap in resources, background, and even the starting line of fate itself.
After one year of rebirth, relying on a hundred years of experience gained for free, he had painstakingly climbed from the third level of Qi Refining to the fourth. He had thought he might finally see a slightly different view.
But reality immediately dealt him a blow to the head—he was still spinning in place, still racking his brains over a few Low-grade Spirit Stones, still unable to afford even the "admission ticket" for replicating a worthwhile experience.
Unwilling.
Why? I crossed worlds with a cheat, yet I'm still living like this.
He had been mediocre in his previous life. Must he continue rolling through this mire in this life as well, watching those geniuses charge ahead in song, only to eventually turn into yellow earth, or... step onto that distant, unreachable road to immortality?
(Cultivation realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul...
Qi Refining Realm: Levels one through nine. One, two, and three are early stage; four, five, and six are middle stage; seven, eight, and nine are late stage.
Foundation Establishment Realm: Early stage, middle stage, late stage, peak.
Golden Core Realm: Early stage, middle stage, late stage, peak.
Nascent Soul Realm: Early stage, middle stage, late stage, peak.
Pills: First order, second order, third order, fourth order...)
(Realm lifespan divisions: Qi Refining stage—120 years; Foundation Establishment Realm—240 years; Golden Core Stage—500 years; Nascent Soul Realm—1,000 years; Spirit Transformation stage—2,000 years.)
Before you continue