Better to Specialize Than Generalize

Chapter 32: Better to Master One Than Be a Jack of All Trades!

Logging into the game, Lu Qingfeng glanced at his attributes list.

The attributes in the game were similar to reality, only his cultivation was higher.

Over these eight years, Lu Qingfeng had completely put aside talismans.

As the saying goes, it's better to master one thing than be a jack of all trades!

Alchemy, talismans, and artifact refining – each of these was profound and vast, and a cultivator might not master them even if they spent their entire life. Although Lu Qingfeng had plenty of time, he couldn't dabble in everything.

Otherwise, his time would be wasted, and he would achieve nothing in the end!

Among the three major skills, alchemy was indispensable.

Given the root bone of the Lu siblings, without the aid of pills, they would barely make any progress. Relying on external sources for pills always had many limitations, and it wasn't always possible to find suitable ones.

Therefore, alchemy was a mandatory course.

Talismans and artifact refining were both means of combat and self-defense.

Lu Qingfeng had previously studied talismans because, in the deep mountains, he didn't have enough resources for artifact refining. He had to settle for the next best thing, practicing talisman arts for temporary self-preservation.

Now that he had settled in Miao Yin City, he could collect various resources through it.

He could set aside talismans for now and focus on artifact refining!

Compared to talisman artifacts and magic artifacts, talismans were, after all, consumables. Moreover, as Lu Qingfeng's strength increased, the speed at which he mastered talismans clearly couldn't keep up.

For example, although Lu Qingfeng's cultivation was still at the Fourth Layer of the Fetal Respiration Realm, his actual combat power was enough to contend with the True Qi Stage.

However, he could only refine low-grade talismans now, which were effective against cultivators in the early and middle stages of the Fetal Respiration Realm, but he was somewhat outmatched against those in the late stages.

It was rather useless.

Artifact refining was much better.

Even the lowest-grade first-grade talisman artifact provided benefits and bonuses to Lu Qingfeng at his current level.

Furthermore, by mastering a few talisman artifacts, he could fully equip himself!

This was clearly more suitable than talismans.

Besides, the grade of the talismans drawn was closely related to one's cultivation. It emphasized a single, continuous flow of energy. Lu Qingfeng's inner breath was limited, and the talismans he could draw were at most intermediate grade, only capable of posing a threat to those in the late stage of the Fetal Respiration Realm.

Relying on quantity to win would be too time-consuming.

Therefore.

Lu Qingfeng had abandoned talismans from the very beginning in this life. In terms of alchemy, he focused on mastering pill formulas that were beneficial for cultivation.

Such as the intermediate pill, Gold Marrow Pill, and the advanced pills, Harmony Qi Pill and Qi Circulation Powder.

The former was suitable for cultivators in the late stage of the Fetal Respiration Realm and could increase inner breath. The latter could enhance True Qi and was very helpful in breaking through the bottleneck when advancing from the Inner Breath Stage to the True Qi Stage.

Lu Qingfeng practiced these three pills constantly. With Wang Tao and Yue Ran, two top alchemy apprentices, and even Mu Yuanyi, a first-grade alchemist, to consult, he had mastered them proficiently within a few years.

He could also start refining them in reality by collecting medicinal herbs.

His remaining energy was then dedicated to artifact refining and cultivation.

The lifespan of a mortal was short!

If Lu Qingfeng remained in the Fetal Respiration Realm, his lifespan limit would be 68 years. After that, reincarnation would take sixteen years, and the early stages of cultivation and accumulation would also take time.

So, Lu Qingfeng decided to focus on cultivation while practicing his skills in this life.

Over the past eight years, his cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of the Fetal Respiration Realm.

This was after consuming a considerable amount of experience points to strengthen pill formulas and refinement methods for the Crimson Flame Pill Cauldron; otherwise, he might have already broken through to the True Qi Stage.

Within the Yuan Yi Guild, there were countless experts.

There were originally three Great Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage. In the past eight years, one more had advanced, and another had been recruited, bringing the total to five Foundation Establishment experts guarding the guild.

There were hundreds of experts at the True Qi Stage!

Given Lu Qingfeng's status in the Yuan Yi Guild, few people would refuse if he sought guidance on cultivation matters.

With the guidance of these True Qi Stage experts and Foundation Establishment Stage Great Cultivators, Lu Qingfeng had avoided countless detours. Coupled with ample pill assistance, his cultivation naturally progressed at lightning speed.

"Normally, without pill assistance, relying solely on arduous cultivation, a normal sect disciple with 4 points of root bone would complete the Fetal Respiration Realm in about five to eight years. Those with 3 points of root bone would take about twenty years. Those with 2 points of root bone would take about forty years."

"With 1 point of root bone, it is theoretically impossible to break through to the True Qi Stage through arduous cultivation alone. It might not even be possible to cultivate to the Fetal Respiration Realm."

This was also why the major immortal sects in the Bingling Realm had a minimum root bone requirement of 4 points for their first assessment of disciples.

In Guangyuan Prefecture, the requirements for disciples recruited by various sects were much lower.

Take the Returning Truth Sect, for example.

Those with 2 points of root bone who had a chance to advance to the True Qi Stage within their lifetime could be accepted as servant disciples. Those with 3 or 4 points of root bone could become ordinary disciples.

However, they still did not accept those with 1 point of root bone.

But the above assessment of root bone was only theoretical.

The world was vast, and there were not a few individuals with extremely low root bone who defied fate and soared to great heights. There were also those with high root bone who, due to various accidents, changes, or difficulties, were stuck at low levels and unable to break through.

Furthermore, there are pills and various means to aid cultivation in this world.

This way, even a talentless person with only 1 point of Root Bone has hope of ascending the Immortal Dao!

"Even geniuses can't avoid relying on the fortune from pills to speed up their cultivation! For someone like me with my Root Bone, I need even more pills to pile up my cultivation."

"Without a proper Cultivation Method, I'll eventually end up with a weak Foundation. I'll reach a certain realm and be unable to advance further. It's even common for the Foundation to collapse and cultivation to regress when breaking through."

"However, the Orthodox Level Azure Origin Sword Scripture is a sword cultivator's Cultivation Method. It uses fierce Sword Qi to expel pill poison and condense Inner Breath and True Qi, without the worry of an unstable Foundation!"

Lu Qingfeng chuckled.

Orthodox Level Cultivation Methods are naturally extraordinary.

Cultivators in the world, and even the top Immortal Sects, are eager for them. The profound benefits cannot be fully explained in just a few words.

Take the Azure Origin Sword Scripture for example. Not to mention its various Traits, just its ability to expel pill poison, allowing Lu Qingfeng to recklessly boost his cultivation with pills, is considered top-tier in the world!

The only downside is that it requires more arduous cultivation to refine the pill poison, which will slightly slow down the cultivation progress, and one must endure the suffering of Sword Qi's lingering torment.

However, compared to the benefits, it's completely insignificant!

Currently, Lu Qingfeng is only a small step away from reaching Level 20 with full Experience Points. Lu Qingfeng plans to raise his level to 21 and reach the True Qi Stage!

"The difference between the True Qi Stage and the Fetal Respiration Realm lies in True Qi and Inner Breath. To advance to the True Qi Stage, one must first purify the Inner Breath, compress it into a wisp of pure True Qi. Then, use True Qi to open up the Lower Dantian, allowing True Qi to reside in the Dantian, and thus the True Qi Stage is achieved."

Lu Qingfeng recalled the guidance from Mu Yuanyi and others, as well as the key points for breaking through to the True Qi Stage.

He took out a bottle of Harmony Qi Pills from his Storage Bag.

Harmony Qi Pills are second only to top-tier pills like Condensing Qi Pills and Gathering Qi Pills in their effectiveness for breaking through to the True Qi Stage.

With Lu Qingfeng's status and wealth, obtaining the latter two top-tier pills would not be difficult. However, considering the difficulty of refining top-tier pills and the scarcity of materials in reality, Lu Qingfeng decided to use Harmony Qi Pills to break through to the True Qi Stage.

This way, he can accumulate usable experience for reality.