Re-cultivation

The Grey Bead was no different in size from the beads he had seen before.

But the color it gave off was very different. Perhaps the special color formed by mixing three attributes was no longer the distinct color of any one attribute.

Inside the Grey Bead, dense Grey Text could be seen drifting faintly.

Cheng Buzheng glanced at it, then swallowed it without hesitation.

In an instant,

a misty grey light emerged from his soul and transformed into countless densely packed Grey Text characters. They wrapped around his Three-Colored Soul, leaving not a trace of its three-colored glow.

Then, a profound insight entered his soul, along with a flood of cultivation methods and experience.

His consciousness arrived in a vast, white world, where he studied and pondered the mysteries of the technique, day and night. It was as if a teacher had broken the knowledge into pieces and explained it to him in minute detail.

Who knew how much time passed? Perhaps it was an instant; perhaps ten thousand years. Time had lost all meaning. At last, he comprehended the technique to its utmost heights, reaching a level comparable to its creator.

As soon as Cheng Buzheng had comprehended the technique to its utmost heights, he abruptly opened his eyes.

He recalled the profound and extensive technique in his mind. This Custom-made Cultivation Technique could no longer keep its former name, since it was no longer a cultivation method for a single attribute.

After pondering for a while, Cheng Buzheng decided to name the technique the Starry Sky Technique.

He did not immediately begin re-cultivation. Instead, he sank his mind into the panel...

Master of the Heavenly Jade Disc: Cheng Buzheng

Realm: Third Level of Qi Refining

First-Order Cultivation Technique: Low-grade (Fine) Starry Sky Technique+

First-Order Spells: Low-grade (Extreme) Purple Crystal Bracelet+, Low-grade (Extreme) Earth Escape Technique+, Low-grade (Ordinary) Concealment Technique (Not Initiated)+

Spiritual Power Value: 1

Cheng Buzheng saw that the Starry Sky Technique was only a First-Order Low-grade Cultivation Technique, but its depth was beyond what any single-attribute middle-grade technique could match.

At the moment, he had only one point of Spiritual Power Value, so he could not continue deducing. Deducing a three-attribute technique had consumed nine points of Spiritual Power Value alone, leaving him unable to deduce the newly acquired spell, Concealment Technique.

He did not know how much Spiritual Power Value it would take to deduce the Starry Sky Technique to First-order High-grade Extreme, but he knew it would be no small amount.

This Custom-made Cultivation Technique was the foundation of his Great Cause of Longevity. He absolutely could not allow it to waver in the slightest. No matter the cost, he had to deduce it to First-order High-grade Extreme.

Fortunately, he now had eight fat sheep to fleece. Otherwise, he would have been at a loss.

After all,

the Small Plate could not directly absorb Spirit Stone Raw Ore from the rock walls. Otherwise, there would be no need for all this trouble; he could simply seek out a rich Mineral Point.

After checking the changes on the panel, Cheng Buzheng prepared to re-cultivate without hesitation. He had originally intended to improve the Starry Sky Technique to First-order High-grade Extreme before switching over.

But he considered that he still had ten days of Rest Day. Even if he cultivated, without pills or Spirit Stone Raw Ore to help him, his progress would be limited. He might as well switch to the Starry Sky Technique now.

Even if he later improved the Starry Sky Technique to First-order High-grade Extreme and switched over again, it would cost him nothing. After all, it would have been deduced from the Starry Sky Technique he was cultivating now, so the two would share the same lineage.

By then, he would only need to change the Circulation Route Map.

However, switching between two different cultivation techniques came at vastly different costs, depending on one's level of cultivation.

Thinking of this, Cheng Buzheng did not delay any longer. His will descended into his dantian, commanding the entire space as he gathered immense pressure and brought it to the center.

His will, bearing an irresistible pressure, crushed down on the vortex.

The vortex at the center of his dantian teetered on the brink of collapse.

Wave after wave of excruciating pain surged from within his dantian, as if someone were peeling off his skin, pulling out his bones, and draining his blood.

Cheng Buzheng furrowed his brows and clenched his teeth. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his face was as pale as paper, and thin trails of blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. Yet his expression remained utterly resolute.

Clearly, a cultivation technique was a foundation, and switching to another was no easy matter. It required one to endure unbearable pain and would leave them badly weakened. The cost varied with one's level of cultivation.

Although Cheng Buzheng had to endure intense pain, it was almost impossible for him to suffer serious damage to his vitality. After all, he was only in the Early Qi Refining Stage, with a very low level of cultivation. Besides, he had comprehended the Starry Sky Technique to its utmost heights.

At most, he would suffer a minor injury. That was one reason he was switching now; the higher his cultivation, the greater the cost.

A short while later,

a thunderous boom rang out inside his dantian. The vortex at its center completely collapsed.

The Red Magic Power Cloud hovering below seemed to explode, scattering countless Red Mana Threads in all directions.

Before long,

countless strands of Red Magic Power drifted freely through the entire dantian.

Before, Cheng Buzheng could stir his magic power in an instant. Now, he had to gather it together bit by bit before he could use it, a clear drop in efficiency.

At that moment, he did not care in the slightest.

He followed the Starry Sky Technique's Circulation Route Map and began to circulate his power. Wisps of visible spiritual energy gathered around him, then entered his body and flowed through his meridians along the Celestial Cycle.

After one full Celestial Cycle, a wisp of refined Grey Spiritual Power drifted into his dantian.

In his Sea of Consciousness, a wisp of Divine Sense, exactly the same size, separated off and descended to the center of his dantian.

Under the command of his will, a wisp of Grey Spiritual Power and a wisp of Divine Sense entwined in the dantian.

Before long,

the wisp of Grey Spiritual Power and the wisp of Divine Sense began to resist each other.

They met and circled at the center of his dantian.

With past experience, he did not hold back. His will commanded the entire space, bringing its immense pressure to bear on the two colliding strands.

Under the omnipresent pressure, the two gradually formed a Grey Vortex.

The tiny vortex spun faster and faster, whirling wildly as the essence of both began to emerge.

A strand of grey Magic Power, gleaming like metal, hovered beneath the Grey Vortex.

As the Grey Vortex's suction grew stronger, it slowly drew in the surrounding Red Mana Threads.

The Grey Vortex devoured a Red Mana Thread and grew a little larger; its suction strengthened a little, too.

As time passed, it went from absorbing only the Red Mana Threads nearby to unleashing a fearsome pull that swept in every Red Mana Thread in the entire dantian.

Yet the vortex glowing with misty grey light was now somewhat smaller than before, and the Misty Grey Mana Cloud had shrunk as well.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng flicked a strand of misty grey Magic Power from his fingertip. The strand cut through the air, leaving a tiny ripple behind, and shot straight toward the Earth Wall in the distance.

The strand of misty grey power sank like heavy iron dropped into water, plunging downward. In the blink of an eye, the strand of misty grey Magic Power passed beyond the reach of his Divine Sense.

A Red Mana Thread of the same size was nowhere near as strong as its misty grey counterpart. The difference was simply too obvious.

By comparison, they differed greatly in both Magic Power Intensity and purity.

Magic Power Intensity determined the attacking power of one's magic, while purity determined how long it would last.

When breaking through to a new realm, all else being equal, the greater one's Magic Power Intensity and purity, the easier it was to advance.

Cheng Buzheng now had a general grasp of all kinds of information about the Qi Refining Stage. He could not claim to know it all, but he understood the basics.

His re-cultivation was complete.

He did not stop cultivating. Instead, he continued to strengthen his foundation while nurturing the minor injury he had sustained from switching techniques.

As he circulated the Starry Sky Technique, spiritual energy slowly gathered around him. Streams of it poured into his meridians and flowed through them along the Celestial Cycle.

What pleased him was that he could now absorb spiritual energy just as well as someone with Double Spiritual Roots, while his circulation efficiency remained much the same as before.

When he completed a full Celestial Cycle, he found that the Magic Power he refined was slightly less than before. That was the drawback of increasing Magic Power Intensity and purity.

At least each Celestial Cycle only produces a little less Magic Power. It's not a big problem. I just don't know what the techniques I deduce later will be like. Hopefully, the difference won't be too great!

Cheng Buzheng felt a little worried.

Everything had two sides. Where there were drawbacks, there were benefits.

Besides, he had it much easier than others when it came to cultivating and breaking through.

Cheng Buzheng pushed aside his distracting thoughts, calmed his mind, and continued circulating the Starry Sky Technique with his eyes closed, strengthening his foundation.