Residential Area.
Inside the room.
Zhao Huaian sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating the Azure Wood Art and slowly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him.
Zhao Huaian didn't swallow an Elixir Pill right away. Just as before, he relied solely on his aptitude and his mastery of the Azure Wood Art to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
The main reason he did this was to see how long it would take him to gain one point of cultivation proficiency after breaking through to Qi Refining Layer Two, without using any outside assistance.
After all, the higher one's cultivation, the more spiritual energy one needed. Even though the Azure Wood Art had already reached the proficient level, he couldn't possibly gain three points of cultivation proficiency every day as he had before.
As he circulated the Azure Wood Art, Zhao Huaian continued absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth while time slipped away.
Before long, the sun sank in the west and night fell.
Six and a half shichen had passed.
Feeling mentally exhausted, Zhao Huaian slowly opened his eyes.
Gathering his thoughts, he focused his attention on the Attribute Heavenly Book in his mind.
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Layer Two (2/100)]
"As expected, Qi Refining Layer Two requires much more spiritual energy than Qi Refining Layer One. After more than six shichen, I've only gained one point of cultivation proficiency."
"At this rate, if I had no cultivation resources, it would take me about a hundred days to reach Qi Refining Layer Three."
"But there's been an unexpected bonus: after my breakthrough, the time I can spend cultivating at full effort each day has increased by half a shichen."
"If this continues, as my cultivation grows higher, I'll surely be able to enter a true state of ascetic cultivation, perhaps even seclude myself for months or a whole year, cultivating at full effort."
Looking at his cultivation progress, Zhao Huaian pondered, quietly calculating in his mind.
Breaking through to Qi Refining Layer Three in a hundred days without using any resources was already quite fast.
What's more, he still had a bottle of Elixir Pills he hadn't used.
If he cultivated while taking Elixir Pills, his progress would surely be even faster.
"Besides, my speed at absorbing spiritual energy isn't fixed. As I improve my mastery of the Azure Wood Art, I'll absorb it faster and faster."
"Given that, if I cultivate while taking Elixir Pills, the time it takes me to break through to Qi Refining Layer Three will surely be greatly reduced."
Thinking of the Attribute Heavenly Book's help, Zhao Huaian's eyes filled with anticipation. The road ahead seemed bright.
"I'll rest for now. Tomorrow morning, I'll take an Elixir Pill and start cultivating. Then I'll see just how much faster my cultivation progresses."
Having made up his mind, he instantly relaxed.
As soon as he lay down, Zhao Huaian felt a powerful wave of drowsiness sweep over him.
He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning.
The sun rose in the east, its rays painting half the sky red.
"Now that feels good!"
Zhao Huaian stretched comfortably, greedily breathing in the air, fragrant with the scent of grass.
After washing up, Zhao Huaian wasted no time. He sat cross-legged on the bed, took out an Elixir Pill, and swallowed it.
The Elixir Pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth.
In an instant, Zhao Huaian felt the spiritual energy within him surge, and the Azure Wood Art began circulating more smoothly.
As the Elixir Pill's medicinal effects took hold, Zhao Huaian felt the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy increase more and more.
"It works this well?"
Feeling the Elixir Pill's effects, Zhao Huaian was delighted. He quickly focused himself, growing even more attentive.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three days went by.
For all three days, Zhao Huaian maintained six and a half shichen of high-intensity cultivation each day.
Over those three days, he used up all the Elixir Pills he had bought for three Low-grade Spirit Stones.
Slowly opening his eyes, Zhao Huaian focused his gaze on the Attribute Heavenly Book in his mind.
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Layer Two (9/100)]
"Not bad. With the Elixir Pills' help, I gained seven points of cultivation proficiency in just three days."
Seeing that he had gained seven points of cultivation proficiency, Zhao Huaian grinned and nodded in satisfaction.
One bottle of Elixir Pills had helped him gain four extra points of proficiency in three days, greatly reducing the time he would need to break through to Qi Refining Layer Three.
This only strengthened Zhao Huaian's conviction about the importance of cultivation resources.
"Cultivation resources really are important. If I had an endless supply of Elixir Pills, I could reach Qi Refining Layer Three in two months at most."
"And if I had other, higher-grade pills, I might even break through to Qi Refining Layer Three within a month."
"Too bad even a single Spirit Stone can stump a hero. Without Spirit Stones, how could I possibly get my hands on cultivation resources?"
Zhao Huaian shook his head regretfully.
At that moment, he truly understood how important Spirit Stones were.
"No, I can't just rely on the two Low-grade Spirit Stones the sect gives me each month. I need to find a way to earn more."
Just as he took out the Basic Five Elements Spell, intending to study and learn it, Zhao Huaian couldn't help thinking of the effects of the Elixir Pills.
The thought unsettled him, and he began racking his brain for ways to make money in the Greenwood Sect.
Based on what he knew about the Outer Sect of the Greenwood Sect,
there were quite a few ways to make money.
First, he could accept tasks from the Mission Hall and earn rewards by completing them.
But that was clearly out of the question for Zhao Huaian right now.
After all, he was only at Qi Refining Layer Two. Taking on tasks at that level of cultivation would pose a safety risk, and it would also waste too much time.
Second, he could set up a stall at the Market.
Thinking of setting up a stall, Zhao Huaian immediately recalled the old man who had been selling Elixir Pills before.
"That's it! A stall!"
"Maybe I can set up a stall in my spare time and earn the Spirit Stones I need to buy cultivation resources."
As Zhao Huaian pondered, one idea after another for running a stall flashed through his mind.
"Elixir Pills... That definitely won't work. I don't know how to refine pills, and I have no other way to get them. Besides, becoming an alchemist would require too much investment at the start. It's completely impractical. I'll have to put that off until I have a solid financial foundation."
"Dharma Artifacts... That's even less feasible..."
"Wait, Spirit Talismans!"
At that thought, Zhao Huaian's eyes lit up.
The poor drew talismans, the rich refined pills; refining artifacts impoverished three generations, while formations ruined a lifetime.
The latter three paths were completely out of reach for him right now. They required too much financial support at the start.
But the way of Spirit Talismans was different!
Spirit Talismans sold for much less than pills, Dharma Artifacts, and other cultivation items, but they also required less initial investment.
With just one Low-grade Spirit Stone, he could buy a large stack of blank Talisman Paper. A Talisman Brush wouldn't cost too much either.
"Then it's settled! If I save up two or three months' worth of my stipend, I'll be able to buy Talisman Paper and a Talisman Brush and learn the art of drawing talismans."
"With the Attribute Heavenly Book, I don't need to worry about whether I have the aptitude for drawing talismans. As long as I work hard and build up my proficiency, successfully drawing a Spirit Talisman will be a sure thing."
"But I can't rush into it now. The most important thing is to cultivate in peace and try to reach Qi Refining Layer Three as soon as possible."
After working it all out, Zhao Huaian's face broke into a broad smile, and his mood lightened. He opened the Basic Five Elements Spell and began studying it intently.
But in his excitement, Zhao Huaian never considered that without the correct method for drawing Spirit Talismans, even the Attribute Heavenly Book couldn't help him improve his proficiency.
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