Silent Care

The improvement in his strength naturally put Shen Changchuan in a very good mood.

Especially when the Light Body Technique reached perfection and manifested a perfect-tier trait just as he had anticipated, it stirred certain wild ambitions within him.

Although he had spent the two and a half years since his transmigration afraid to cultivate too diligently due to the infighting in the backyard of the Shen Family Estate, fearing that standing out would invite hostility, Shen Changchuan was well aware that his own aptitude for cultivation was quite mediocre.

It was not so poor as to be considered trash, but it was definitely inferior to those true cultivation geniuses.

Take, for instance, that cheap brother of his who had died by suicide after being stabbed seven times in the back.

The other party was also born of a concubine and had few cultivation resources, yet he had reached the sixth level of Qi Induction at a young age.

Compared to him, the gap was wider than the distance between a dog and a human.

Shen Changchuan had recognized his own reality long ago: he was no cultivation genius, merely an ordinary cultivator, one of the countless masses.

For someone like him, if he could break through to the seventh level of Qi Induction in the future, it would be a stroke of immense luck.

Even the ninth level of Qi Induction was incredibly difficult for a cultivator of his aptitude.

But the appearance of the spell progress panel had given Shen Changchuan a glimmer of hope.

His reasoning was simple: since a trait appeared every time he cultivated a spell to perfection, then if he could cultivate several more spells to 100% and acquire multiple traits, perhaps his aptitude would undergo a transformation and improve.

Even if his guess was wrong and perfect-tier spells could not improve his aptitude, a 100% perfect spell would at least bring a massive increase in strength.

And through powerful combat prowess, he could obtain more cultivation resources from the outside world, thereby compensating for his mediocre aptitude.

This was something the current Shen Changchuan had experienced firsthand.

A single perfect Gold Thorn Technique had allowed him to instantly slay a fourth-level Qi Induction demon boar, and the demon meat, rich in potent essence, had allowed his cultivation to rapidly advance by a small level in a short period.

At the same time, the carcass of the giant wild boar had frightened off Shen Shiying, the original guardian of Dawan Village, avoiding a conflict and even netting him five spirit stones in compensation.

This was the benefit brought by an increase in strength.

Although there might have been an element of luck in the process, the benefits were real and tangible.

As long as one had sufficient strength, the difficulty of obtaining cultivation resources would undoubtedly decrease significantly.

Thinking of the benefits gained after slaying the giant wild boar, Shen Changchuan could not help but entertain the thought of heading into the mountains to hunt demon beasts.

Fortunately, his steady temperament quickly suppressed the urge.

Forget it, better not take the risk. I'm only in the early stages of Qi Induction; no need to court death.

Even if I go out to hunt demon beasts, I should at least wait until my cultivation reaches the middle stage of Qi Induction.

Actually, even the middle stage of Qi Induction might not be safe. After all, I know nothing about the local terrain, the environment, the data on the active demon beasts, or the potential dangers. Running into the mountains without knowing anything is simply asking for death.

Without proper preparation, I'd better stay obediently in the village and cultivate in seclusion.

Having lived a second life, I cannot afford to be reckless.

Shen Changchuan poured a bucket of cold water over himself, quickly suppressing all the thoughts in his mind.

Even that giant wild boar he had luckily slain was only at the fourth level of Qi Induction.

If he truly believed himself invincible and ran into the mountains to hunt demon beasts, he would die without even knowing how it happened.

"Now that I have reached the peak of the third level of Qi Induction, I can finally use that."

Shen Changchuan pondered to himself, then took a palm-sized white jade bottle from his bosom, where the shadow of a thumb-sized pill flickered within.

A Qi Harmonizing Pill!

It was a type of medicinal pill capable of helping a cultivator break through the bottleneck between the early and middle stages of Qi Induction.

In other words, it was a precious pill that could assist a cultivator in breaking through from the peak of the third level of Qi Induction to the fourth level!

If he were to rely on normal meditation and cultivation, Shen Changchuan estimated that it would take at least two or three years of hard work to break through his current bottleneck and reach the fourth level of Qi Induction!

But with this single pill, it was enough for Shen Changchuan to achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time!

This pill was also the first one Shen Changchuan had ever received in his life.

It was given to him by his mother before he left the Shen Family Estate.

Clutching the jade bottle and recalling that gentle figure, Shen Changchuan fell into a long silence.

"Mother."

Any medicinal pill was never cheap.

Pills that could help cultivators break through were even more exorbitant.

This single Qi Harmonizing Pill alone cost over one hundred and fifty spirit stones to purchase within the Shen family!

And that was only the restricted internal price; if it were sold on the outside market, the cost would be even higher!

One hundred and fifty spirit stones—this was likely the majority of the savings she had accumulated since Shen Changchuan was born!

Because his mother was not a cultivator, her status within the Shen Family Estate as a mortal was only slightly higher than that of a servant.

Even that was only due to the slight leverage afforded by his status as the son of the family head and a cultivator.

Because of this, the personal funds she could obtain from the family were extremely limited.

Shen Changchuan could imagine how she had slowly saved those one hundred and fifty spirit stones, bit by bit, over the course of more than a decade.

Then, when her son was ready to spread his wings and fly, she had silently taken out everything she had to exchange it for the thing he needed most.

At this very moment, a feeling rose within Shen Changchuan's heart, one that he could not find the words to describe.

When he left, his mother had said nothing.

But he could feel the trace of worry hidden beneath her gentle gaze as she watched him depart, as well as her earnest expectations for him.

Shen Changchuan, oh Shen Changchuan, I have occupied your body, inherited your memories, and perhaps even merged with your soul.

Then, from this moment on, I am you, and you are me. Your mother is my mother as well!

Shen Changchuan gripped the jade bottle containing the Qi Harmonizing Pill, closed his eyes, and spoke to himself in his heart.

In this moment, he let go of his inner resistance and accepted everything about this body.

It seemed that in this instant, whether it was an illusion or not, Shen Changchuan felt as if his soul had shed some kind of burden. The world seemed to become clearer.

Shen Changchuan carefully sensed this change.

After a long while, he opened his eyes again, his gaze now completely calm.

However, the thought he had held even before leaving the Shen Family Estate had now become incredibly clear.

He had to keep moving forward and become stronger.

At the very least, he had to ensure that his mother lived better within the Shen Family Estate!

He was no longer living for himself alone.

Shen Changchuan lowered his head and looked at the jade bottle in his hand. After a moment of thought, he finally tucked it into his robes.

As for taking the pill, it would be better to wait a few days.

It is best to be prudent.

Having just reached the peak of the third level of Qi Induction, his cultivation base had yet to stabilize; if he were to rush a breakthrough now, he might risk damaging his meridians.

It would be safer to wait half a month to polish and solidify his cultivation realm first.

Fortunately, he did not come from a wealthy family and was not raised on a steady diet of medicine, so he did not need to worry about the existence of pill toxins.

Even if some medicinal power and trace amounts of pill toxins remained in his body after consuming the Qi Harmonizing Pill, a cultivator's body possessed self-purifying functions; it would naturally expel and digest them completely within a month or two.

Therefore, there was no need for concern.

Pill toxins were the worries of the wealthy who ate pills like daily meals.

Only when one consumed too many pills and the accumulated toxins exceeded the body's ability to purge them would they eventually build up and cause harm.

A pauper like Shen Changchuan, who was encountering pills for the first time in his life, had no need to consider such things.

Thus, once he brought his state to its peak, he could simply consume it and break through to the fourth level of Qi Induction.

Over the next few days, Shen Changchuan supervised the various reforms in Dawan Village and arranged the workload, beginning preparations for the next season of spirit grain planting, while simultaneously working hard at sitting in meditation to refine his Qi.

Even though he had reached a bottleneck and his internal mana could no longer be increased, he did not relax in the slightest.

He set aside one hour every day to sit in meditation and refine his Qi, polishing himself to perfection as much as possible.

Beyond that, he also spent at least an hour or more focusing on the cultivation of his spells.

With the progress bar panel, he naturally could not abandon his advantage.

Advancing on both fronts was the true path to success.

Gazing at the few spells he had mastered on the panel, Shen Changchuan pondered for a long time before deciding which spell he wanted to study to perfection next.

Considering that he currently had the Gold Thorn Technique for offense and the Light Body Technique for movement, he did not need to supplement those areas for the time being.

Therefore, he decided to bolster his reconnaissance capabilities.

With that, Shen Changchuan set his sights on the Spirit Eye Technique that Shen Shiying had gifted him.

That spell should be able to strengthen his repertoire.

Consequently, for the next few days, Shen Changchuan spent his spell-practice time grinding the Spirit Eye Technique.

However, Shen Changchuan soon encountered a problem.

With the demon boar meat exhausted and no food available to replenish his essence in large quantities, he found that every time he exhausted his internal mana after using the Spirit Eye Technique eight or nine times, he had to sit in meditation for a good half-hour to recover.

This caused his progress in the Spirit Eye Technique to be rather slow.

Seven or eight days passed, and the progress of the Spirit Eye Technique had only reached 51%.

Fortunately, Shen Changchuan was not in a hurry.

Compared to his time at the Shen Family Estate, where he had to suppress his cultivation, resulting in it taking two and a half years to master a single Gold Thorn Technique, his current speed of cultivating the Spirit Eye Technique without those shackles was already incredibly fast.

In any case, there was plenty of time ahead; there was no need to rush.

Moreover, a Spirit Eye Technique at 51% progress, if categorized by the standards of the cultivation world, was already beyond the level of minor accomplishment, and it could prove quite useful when cast.

However, Shen Changchuan ultimately did not continue his cultivation, as his hard work was interrupted.

Because a nearby neighbor had arrived at his door with gifts to pay a visit.