[Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1] [Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1] [Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1] [Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1] [You trained diligently and triggered a special effect. Destiny Points +1] [Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1] [Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1] [You trained diligently and triggered a special effect. Destiny Points +1]
Shen Mo reviewed the feedback on his cultivation throughout the night. At last, among the stream of notifications, he found the message hidden among them.
"Training triggered a special effect?"
A hint of delight appeared on Shen Mo's face. "Just as I thought. Training really can earn me Destiny Points!"
I'd better see what these Destiny Points can do for me!
With that thought, Shen Mo reopened the Destiny Panel. To his surprise, the previously dim Fate Disk attributes now glimmered with options he could activate.
"Let's give it a try."
He calmed his mind and lightly tapped the aptitude Fate Disk.
[You spent 1 Destiny Point to try to improve your aptitude. You failed.]
His Destiny Points decreased by one, but nothing else changed.
Only the message in the information panel told Shen Mo what had happened.
"So it can fail. I'll try again." Shen Mo gritted his teeth and spent his last Destiny Point.
"Whoosh!"
As the Destiny Points at the top of his panel hit zero, the basic aptitude section of the Fate Disk changed.
[Aptitude: Superior Aptitude]
[You spent 1 Destiny Point to try to improve your aptitude. You succeeded.]
"My aptitude... really changed?"
Shen Mo stared blankly at the message before him, suppressing his excitement as he circulated the Heaven Origin Technique within his body.
[Through diligent practice, your Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +2]
Half an hour later, Shen Mo discovered that the increase in his Heaven Origin Technique cultivation had doubled.
"My aptitude used to give me only one point of experience each time. Now I can get two."
"If I keep this up..."
River-Facing Sect, mountain gate.
Shen Mo had spent ages fiddling around in his quarters before he finally remembered that he was on duty today. He hurried over to guard the mountain gate.
"You finally made it, you rascal. I thought you'd really gone down the mountain and left the sect to live among ordinary people."
When he saw Shen Mo arrive, a young man dressed in the same outer disciple robes of the River-Facing Sect spoke up.
The fellow on mountain-gate duty with him was named Cao Ren, one of Shen Mo's few friends in the River-Facing Sect.
Shen Mo had often confided in him before, sharing his misgivings and worries, as well as his thoughts of leaving the cultivation world.
"I wouldn't leave that quickly. I just got up late today and fell behind."
Shen Mo hurried over to his post and answered casually.
"I heard Steward Chen brought you a Qi Gathering Pill last night?"
Cao Ren came closer, looking envious. "That's a wonderful treasure for breaking through the Body Tempering Realm. Having an uncle who's a steward looking after you must be nice."
"Didn't your old man send you plenty of medicinal herbs for cultivation, too?" Shen Mo shot him a look and replied.
Though guarding the River-Facing Sect's mountain gate was a job the Inner Sect disciples looked down on, it was considered a cushy position among the outer disciples.
So most of those who got the job had connections in the Inner Sect.
Shen Mo had gotten it thanks to Chen An, who was a steward.
Cao Ren, meanwhile, had his father Cao Shanyue, an Inner Sect disciple of the River-Facing Sect, to thank for his position.
They were both nepo hires.
Still, Cao Ren was much more talented than Shen Mo.
They were about the same age, but Shen Mo had only just broken through to the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm last night.
Cao Ren, on the other hand, had already reached the ninth layer.
In a few more years, he would likely be able to reach the bottleneck of the Body Tempering Realm and attempt to break through to the Qi Gathering Realm.
Once he succeeded, he could join the Inner Sect and become a formal disciple truly recognized by the River-Facing Sect.
"You know what my old man's like. He's tight-fisted as they come."
"He doesn't even have enough cultivation resources for himself. How could he possibly save anything good for me?"
Cao Ren complained, "In the past two years, he's only sent me a few Changbai Ginseng roots that were over a decade old. They've barely helped my cultivation."
Hearing Cao Ren say that, Shen Mo couldn't help comparing their situations. He felt all the more grateful to Uncle Chen.
Even Cao Ren's own father was so stingy with him.
Uncle Chen had truly treated Shen Mo well.
"Well, what can you do? You just didn't luck out with a good father."
"Hey, Shen Mo, didn't you say you were planning to leave the River-Facing Sect?" Cao Ren's eyes shifted as he spoke. "Since you've given up on the immortal path, there's no use holding on to that Qi Gathering Pill."
"How about giving one to me?" Cao Ren thumped his chest and promised, "If I break through and join the Inner Sect, I'll seek you out in the mortal world and repay your kindness. I'll make sure your family enjoys a lifetime of wealth and glory."
The Qi Gathering Realm was only the second realm in the cultivation world, nowhere near enough to make someone an expert.
But the gap between immortals and mortals was like a heavenly chasm.
A Qi Gathering cultivator could protect a mortal family and give them wealth and glory. That was no empty boast.
"I knew you had an ulterior motive."
Shen Mo shook his head in exasperation.
If Cao Ren had made this request before Shen Mo discovered the Destiny Panel, he might well have been tempted and agreed to the deal.
But now, the appearance of the Destiny Panel had changed Shen Mo's mind. Naturally, he wouldn't agree.
"I have three Qi Gathering Pills. I took one last night, so I have two left." Shen Mo looked at Cao Ren. "I wouldn't mind giving you one."
"But you'll have to pay me back with something of equal value. I can't be bothered with vague promises like that."
"Something of equal value?" Cao Ren scratched his head. "What do you need?"
The question genuinely stumped Shen Mo.
If he had to name something he needed, the cultivation path required a vast range of resources, so naturally, he needed everything.
But some needs were more urgent than others. Shen Mo hadn't really thought about what he needed most at the moment.
"Do you have any manuals on Alchemy or making talismans?"
After thinking it over for a while, Shen Mo asked, "If you can find me some, I might consider giving you a Qi Gathering Pill."
What he urgently needed wasn't some divine technique or miraculous medicine, but a way to earn a living.
Pills and talismans were both highly sought after in the marketplace.
If he could learn Alchemy and Talisman Making, he could earn quite a few Spirit Stones each month to cover his expenses.
Of course, Alchemy and Talisman Making weren't without costs.
The ingredients needed for certain pills and talismans could be quite expensive.
If his skills weren't polished enough and his success rate was too low, making a living this way would be impossible.
But Shen Mo wasn't worried about that. After all, he had the Destiny Panel, so he was different from ordinary people.
Besides, he had just raised his aptitude to the superior level.
He figured he wouldn't be too slow at learning Alchemy and Talisman Making.
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