The Benefits of Cultivation Arts

"Can't remember?"

Zhou Chen's alcohol-blurred eyes instantly cleared. He murmured, "Did someone use a method to tamper with the Third Young Master's memories?"

Marquis of Martial Achievement was a loyal supporter of the emperor. He had always been at odds with the Chancellor in court, and this incident would inevitably fan the flames and further intensify their conflict.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Chen suddenly turned to look at Si Ziyu again, his expression strange and astonished.

"Wait, didn't you say you were responsible for the Third Young Master's safety at the time? He can't remember, but you're a Grandmaster. How could you not remember?"

"..."

A desolate wind swept in from the horizon, making their robes flap loudly.

Si Ziyu met Zhou Chen's gaze in silence for two seconds, then gently shook his head.

"That's right. I don't remember either."

"Someone from the Origin Beginning Realm?"

"I'm not sure. I heard the Chancellor arranged for the Shadow Guards to investigate more than a year ago, but they still haven't found anything."

Zhou Chen fell silent for a long while, then gulped down a large mouthful of fiery liquor and let out a long breath.

"Tsk, what a turbulent time. At least I was transferred to Jingjiang City to protect the Third Young Master."

"Don't forget the task the Eldest Young Master gave us," said Si Ziyu.

Hearing this, Zhou Chen lazily ruffled his tousled hair and waved a hand, replying casually, "We're just supposed to teach the Third Young Master how to cultivate. I know. Don't worry."

In the main bedroom of the pavilion, Xu Yuan was panting heavily.

By now, he had completely dismantled all the expensive furniture in the room.

Of course, he had left the bed he'd woken up in.

After all, if he took it apart, he'd have to sleep on the floor.

But now he was getting this tired just from dismantling furniture. His stamina was probably even worse than the husky his family had kept in his previous life.

This frail body hadn't changed much after he acquired an Innate Body. He was still as weak as ever.

Cultivating and building up Source Qi would gradually improve and strengthen his physique, but Xu Yuan had only just begun cultivating, so the changes weren't obvious yet.

He stood still and took two deep breaths, then climbed back onto the bed and sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

As the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art began circulating, Xu Yuan's ragged breathing quickly steadied.

Now that he had officially begun cultivating, Xu Yuan had discovered many interesting things.

For instance, a well-developed cultivation art usually contained several different meridian circulation routes, each suited to a different situation.

There was one for healing, one for cultivation, another for combat, and so on.

The different routes complemented one another, yet were clearly distinct.

Another example was that all cultivators' strength could be divided into two stages.

The first was their normal state. Put simply, it was when a cultivator wasn't circulating their cultivation art.

At this stage, cultivators relied entirely on the strength they had accumulated through past cultivation.

Like when Ran Qingmo had used a few strikes with the scabbard to tame the great white tiger. Xu Yuan reckoned she had relied entirely on the strength she'd built up through past cultivation, without any boost from a cultivation art.

The second stage began when the cultivation art inside a cultivator started circulating.

Circulating a cultivation art greatly increased a cultivator's strength.

The more efficiently they circulated it, the greater the boost became.

Just like when Xu Yuan had faced the vine whip Xu Changge swung at him earlier.

He'd only needed to circulate his art partially to dodge the first two lashes, but to take the third, he'd had to circulate it at full strength.

Xu Yuan also suspected that different types of cultivation arts provided different levels of enhancement.

The more powerful the art, the greater the boost it provided.

Since crossing over, Xu Yuan had cultivated two different arts, so he could compare them.

One was the Lotus Sword Art that Ran Qingmo had taught him. The other was his current Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art, which was blood grade.

The boosts they provided were on completely different levels.

With the Blood Origin Heart-Meteor Art empowering him, Xu Yuan's stamina, reflexes, and even strength had all begun to exceed the bounds of an ordinary person.

Of course,

the benefits of cultivation arts went far beyond that. They also came with special techniques.

Like Xu Yuan's crimson flames, or Ran Qingmo's Ice Cloud Steps.

The more he cultivated, the more Xu Yuan marveled at this world's cultivation system.

As for why cultivators couldn't keep their cultivation arts running at all times, maintaining their peak strength in case of a sneak attack, there were two reasons.

First, meridians were fragile. Aside from those with special constitutions, cultivators couldn't circulate their arts at full strength for long. Maintaining such a high-intensity flow for too long would damage their meridians.

Second, the meridian routes used in combat continuously consumed the Source Qi within the body.

After getting himself into the best possible condition, Xu Yuan took two bottles of pills from his Sumeru Ring.

One contained Green Forest Pills, the other Pulse Protection Pills. He took one of each, tipped them into his mouth, closed his eyes, and entered a state of cultivation.

The two medicinal powers spread through his body.

A thin medicinal film appeared along the inner walls of his meridians. At the same time, Xu Yuan felt as if his Will Soul had been stimulated, becoming clearer.

The effects were remarkably obvious. No wonder these were early-game miracle pills that Xu Yuan had barely managed to get his hands on in the game Cangyuan.

Wasting no more time, he extended his Will Soul and immediately sensed the viscous Source Qi around him, already condensed into liquid.

A trace of surprise surfaced in his heart.

Even in the cavern abode with a pool of Spirit Spring water, he hadn't sensed Source Qi this dense.

As Xu Changge's personal transport, the Mystic Eagle Pavilion was naturally covered in all kinds of arrays. Among them was a Spirit Gathering Array, which aided cultivation.

The Spirit Gathering Array also had the effects of a Spirit Locking Array, but the two were used in very different places.

A Spirit Locking Array was discreet. It prevented Source Qi from leaking out of a space, and was mostly used around Spirit Springs and Spirit Wells.

A Spirit Gathering Array, on the other hand, drew in the Source Qi from the surrounding area. It was mostly used in open terrain, and once built, the fluctuations from the gathered Source Qi could easily be sensed by others' Will Souls.

But looking at the Source Qi, already condensed into liquid, even a Spirit Gathering Array couldn't possibly produce an effect like this in the room.

As Xu Yuan pondered, he didn't begin cultivating right away. Instead, he drifted through the ocean of liquid Source Qi, searching for its source.

He suspected there was a treasure in his brother's bedroom.

The talent of his Innate Soul Body came into play once more. By tracking the subtle currents of Source Qi, Xu Yuan eventually located their source.

He opened his eyes and slowly walked to the center of the room.

After a moment's silence, he activated his cultivation art. Crimson flames rose from his fist, and he punched the floor.

"Bang!"

Wood splinters flew through the air, and a powerful force of recoil sent Xu Yuan tumbling backward.

"Thud!"

He slammed heavily into the wooden wall with a muffled thump.

Xu Yuan's head spun. Even the cultivation art he'd been circulating continuously was knocked out of rhythm by the recoil.

When he struggled to his feet and looked again, he saw a white pearl half a foot in diameter beneath the shattered floorboards!