Body Tempering Realm, Seventh Heaven

However, before that.

Better to cultivate first!

Shen Mo sat on his bed, crossed his legs, and took out the last Qi Gathering Pill he possessed: "Counting the days, a month has passed since I last took a Qi Gathering Pill."

"It is time to take another one!"

According to Uncle Chen's instructions, it was best to take these Qi Gathering Pills at one-month intervals.

On one hand, the medicinal potency of the Qi Gathering Pill was too strong for his Body Tempering Realm sixth-layer cultivation; he could not fully absorb it in a short time and needed to wait a while to refine the power completely.

On the other hand, every medicine has its toxicity.

For spiritual medicines like this that directly boost cultivation, taking them too often would not only build up a resistance but also cause negative impacts on a cultivator's foundation.

Therefore, Shen Mo had restrained his impatience and waited until today!

"Gulp!"

Without hesitation, he swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill.

The medicinal power gradually dispersed, and a scorching heat began to burn within his body.

"Heaven Origin Technique, absorb!"

Shen Mo murmured, his internal cultivation technique already set in motion.

The vast medicinal power flowing through his body was gradually guided and digested by Shen Mo through his technique.

[You have absorbed the surging medicinal power of the Qi Gathering Pill, converting it into your own blood and energy. Your cultivation has improved.]

[As the Heaven Origin Technique runs, your understanding of the Heaven Origin Technique has deepened. Heaven Origin Technique experience +1.]

Shen Mo ignored the constant stream of notifications.

He remained focused, immersed entirely in his state of cultivation.

This meditative practice lasted for about four hours.

When he opened his eyes again, a sharp glint flashed within them.

[After long cultivation, you have finally broken through the bottleneck of your realm, successfully reaching the seventh layer of the Body Tempering Realm.]

"I've broken through!"

Body Tempering Realm seventh layer!

Shen Mo felt the surging strength within his body, and a sense of joy welled up in his heart: "The immortal path is long, and I have crossed another barrier!"

With a thought, the Destiny Panel appeared, displaying all his data.

[Master of Destiny: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation: Body Tempering Realm seventh layer]

[Technique: Heaven Origin Technique, Small Success (450/500)]

[Martial Skill: Supreme Clarity Sword Technique, Initial Mastery (95/100)]

"Not only has my cultivation improved, but by constantly running the Heaven Origin Technique during this time, my comprehension of it has also reached a new level!"

Shen Mo's gaze fixed on the technique column.

Half a month ago, he had accumulated enough experience to advance the Heaven Origin Technique from Initial Mastery to Small Success.

After this improvement, the Heaven Origin Technique's ability to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth had increased significantly.

This had also accelerated Shen Mo's cultivation speed.

Right now, the experience bar was nearly full again.

"In a few days at most, the Heaven Origin Technique will reach the next level. By then, my cultivation speed should increase even further!"

A flicker of anticipation danced in Shen Mo's eyes.

He didn't know if it was because of the experience bar, but there was simply no such thing as a bottleneck for Shen Mo when it came to improving his techniques.

Unlike other cultivators, who often needed various opportunities, coincidences, and patient waiting to break through when their techniques hit a bottleneck, he could reach a new level the moment his experience points were full.

This effect gave Shen Mo a massive advantage over ordinary cultivators in practicing techniques and immortal arts.

However, Shen Mo could not yet fully confirm whether he was truly free of bottlenecks for every technique at every level; after all, he had only been at this for a short time, and his only sample was the Heaven Origin Technique.

Moreover, it was only a Heaven Origin Technique practiced to the stage of Small Success.

Everything remained to be verified in the future.

After letting his mind wander for a moment, Shen Mo turned his gaze to another piece of data on the panel.

[Destiny Points: 1.]

"Another Destiny Point has appeared?"

Seeing that the Destiny Points were no longer zero, a look of pleasant surprise crossed Shen Mo's face.

He scrolled back through the information log and, sure enough, found that bright spot hidden among the many notifications from his cultivation last night.

[You practiced diligently, triggering a special effect: Destiny Points +1]

"This time, I must use my Destiny Points with caution; I absolutely cannot waste them!" Shen Mo thought to himself.

The last time he had used his Destiny Points was three days ago. After a month of accumulation, he had finally scraped together 10 Destiny Points, eager and ready to elevate his aptitude once more, striving to advance from his current "Superior" aptitude to the level of a "Martial Arts Prodigy."

To his disappointment, the promotion failed. His 10 Destiny Points were wiped out on the spot, leaving him with nothing to show for his efforts—a total waste of time.

Consequently, Shen Mo reflected on his pain and decided that whenever he gained Destiny Points in the future, he would no longer stubbornly fixate on his aptitude. Although aptitude was of paramount importance to a cultivator, the success rate for improving it was far too low, and he had many other shortcomings that could be improved using Destiny Points. Good steel must be used on the blade's edge.

[Body: Robust]

[Aptitude: Superior]

[Luck: Average]

[Appearance: Ordinary]

[Wisdom: Dull-witted]

[Fate: ???]

[Longevity: ???]

Opening the Basic Fate Disk, Shen Mo hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to attempt to improve the attributes of his Basic Fate Disk again.

"Improving the Basic Fate Disk is extremely difficult; the failure rate must be quite high," Shen Mo thought. "The fact that I managed to raise my aptitude to the green tier after only two attempts previously was purely due to good luck. Rather than improving these things, it would be better to explore special destinies."

With this in mind, Shen Mo opened the Destiny Vault once again. Two Destiny Slots appeared before his eyes. Aside from the special destiny [Robust (White)] already equipped, the other empty slot stood out conspicuously.

"Using Destiny Points should allow me to redeem special destinies. Let's give it a try!" Shen Mo focused his mind on the special slot and set his intent.

In an instant, his remaining 1 Destiny Point dropped to zero. At the same time, within the Destiny Vault, countless grayed-out, unusable special destinies began to emit streaks of dazzling fluorescence.

"Is it drawing? Can I spend Destiny Points to draw special destinies from the vault?" Shen Mo watched the display, guessing to himself. "I wonder what kind of special destiny will appear."

As the fluorescence filled the Destiny Vault, a destiny entry wrapped in flowing light gradually emerged. Shen Mo held his breath, his heart filled with anticipation.

"Give me purple, give me orange, preferably gold!" He had browsed through this Destiny Vault before; although all the destinies were grayed out and unusable, he could still view their basic attributes and bonuses. Even though this Destiny Panel did not explicitly tell him the specific grading system for destinies, Shen Mo had deduced a system based on the various destiny data and colors he had seen: Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Gold—seven colors in total, representing seven levels. Gray destinies were the lowest, providing only the most basic attribute bonuses, while the Gold tier offered the highest destiny bonuses.

"Hum!" Finally, under Shen Mo's gaze, the destiny entry gradually revealed itself.