Cultivation Technique Optimization

Shen Xiyue gave Li Jun a waist token. On the front of the token was stamped an alchemy furnace, with her name written above it, while the back was carved with the three large characters "Azure Cloud Sect."

The Azure Cloud Sect had five peaks—Artifact Peak, Medicine Peak, Beast Peak, Formation Peak, and Azure Cloud Peak, where the sect elders resided.

The four peaks each had their own focus, but overall, Artifact Peak had the greatest strength, and its disciples' cultivation was quite profound.

Medicine Peak was slightly weaker than Artifact Peak, but because it was responsible for supplying the Azure Cloud Sect's pills, this gave Medicine Peak the highest status in the hearts of the many disciples.

Formation Peak and Beast Peak were similar in strength, and the two peaks were usually fairly harmonious.

They were unlike Medicine Peak and Artifact Peak, where from top to bottom, every matter had to be fought over until one side stood higher and the other lower. The competition was extremely fierce.

As the number one figure among Medicine Peak's younger generation, Shen Xiyue had broken the situation in which the position of chief disciple had always been monopolized by disciples of Artifact Peak, invisibly intensifying the competition between the two peaks even further.

Aside from the token, Shen Xiyue also gave him a key and a booklet.

The booklet recorded Medicine Peak's rules and regulations, while the key was the key to the cowshed.

As the chief senior sister, Shen Xiyue held an extremely high position on Medicine Peak.

Not only did she have several mu of Spirit Fields, she also had several beast sheds specifically used to feed Spirit Beasts.

And Li Jun had been assigned by Shen Xiyue to the cowshed. From now on, he would be specifically responsible for feeding the Spirit Oxen inside.

Li Jun naturally had no objection to this arrangement. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied.

This alchemy matter would probably stir up no small storm, and he did not want to attract too much attention to himself.

He was still very weak right now. What he needed most was to hide his brilliance and bide his time.

He still understood the principle of building high walls, storing grain in abundance, and slowly claiming kingship.

"I'll just stay here tonight. Oak Garden is absolutely out of the question."

Li Jun walked out of the alchemy room and sat down beside a huge rock nearby.

Within the Azure Cloud Sect, status was strictly ranked. Zhao Wenjie's look earlier had clearly shown that he was afraid Shen Xiyue would ruin the medicinal ingredients because of what he had said, dragging him down along with it.

Fortunately, that final furnace of pills had succeeded today.

If it had not, he himself would certainly have died, and Zhao Wenjie could forget about escaping either.

Therefore, to avoid some unnecessary trouble, Zhao Wenjie was most likely waiting in his room right now for him to return.

If he went back, he would definitely die.

So, Li Jun planned to sleep out on Medicine Peak for the night.

Once he received his outer sect disciple waist token tomorrow, he would move straight into Medicine Peak, saving himself from Zhao Wenjie's underhanded attacks.

"Since I can cultivate now, I shouldn't waste a single minute or second."

Li Jun raised his head and looked at the sky full of stars, feeling that tonight's stars were especially enchanting.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, formed seals with both hands, silently recited the mental art in his heart, and began cultivating.

However, just as he guided Spirit Qi into his body, a term once again appeared before him.

[Spirit Qi Mismatch]

"Hm? Is this a new term?"

Li Jun straightened his back, instantly energized.

"Spirit Qi Mismatch... Could it be referring to the path Spirit Qi takes inside the body?"

He sensed the Spirit Qi within him. According to the records of the Azure Origin Art, cultivation in the Qi Refining Realm mainly involved only a few dozen meridians.

If it really was an issue with the direction Spirit Qi traveled through the meridians, then there would be quite a lot of possibilities.

"The meridians on the body's surface, inside the body, and in the dantian—if those three parts are randomly combined, there should be over a thousand possibilities."

Li Jun pondered.

In this world, cultivation methods were as vast as a sea of smoke. Their quality, from high to low, was usually divided into Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.

Although cultivation methods came in all kinds of strange varieties, most high-quality methods shared one common trait.

The higher the grade of the method, the more meridians it involved.

Cultivating such a method could develop more of the human body's meridians, and the efficiency of Spirit Qi conversion would also become stronger. The spells a cultivator cast would become more powerful as well.

Clearly, the Azure Origin Art that Li Jun knew by heart did not have this feature.

As a widely circulated Qi Refining Realm cultivation method, the Azure Origin Art's greatest characteristic was its strong compatibility.

Not only was it suited to spiritual roots of any attribute, it also did not involve many meridians, making it extremely easy to get started with.

"For now, I can only try them one by one. Good thing the Azure Origin Art doesn't involve many meridians."

No sooner said than done. Li Jun roused his spirits and began testing the meridians one by one, attempting to find the optimal path.

The night passed without incident.

In the early morning, cooking smoke curled up from Medicine Peak. Heavy dew dampened the grasses and trees, and beneath the newly risen morning sun, it gradually steamed into a vast expanse of white mist.

Beside the huge rock, Li Jun slowly opened his eyes.

Although he had cultivated for an entire night, he actually did not feel tired. On the contrary, at this moment, he only felt full of life and vigor, advancing with brave ferocity!

"Fortunately, I did not fail my mission. The optimal execution route has finally been found!"

Li Jun let out a long breath, and the entry before his eyes finally changed.

[Myriad Apertures Universe Art: Progress 100%]

After that, Li Jun felt his head tremble, and a stream of memories appeared out of thin air in his mind.

"Huh? This is a Qi Refining Realm cultivation technique?"

Li Jun quickly digested the memories and soon discovered what was unique about this technique.

First of all, the execution route of this technique was similar to the Azure Origin Art, but it was more complete and more profound.

It was comparable to an enhanced version of the Azure Origin Art!

Secondly, the meridians involved in this technique were actually fewer than those in the Azure Origin Art.

"No, the direction these meridians take is very unique. It seems to integrate multiple paths into one, with a certain charm of the great Dao being reduced to simplicity."

Li Jun's eyes shone. Could it be that this entry could even optimize cultivation techniques?

He could not wait to execute the technique according to the new route.

The instant he began executing it, he actually seemed to faintly hear from within his own body the sound of waves surging through rivers, lakes, and seas!

"Not only can it absorb spiritual energy of all attributes, the absorption speed is faster too. The spiritual energy also seems to have become more resilient."

Li Jun was delighted. This time, he had truly picked up a treasure!

"Although I don't know what grade this Myriad Apertures Universe Art is, there's no doubt it suits me best."

He repeatedly clenched his hands, feeling the power within his body, and was very satisfied with this result.

"It's getting late too. I should go collect the waist token of an outer disciple."

Li Jun raised his head to look at the sky, shook the dew off his body, and ran toward the main peak of the Azure Cloud Sect.

The main peak of the Azure Cloud Sect was called Azure Cloud Peak. It was said that back then, the founding patriarch, True Person Xuanruo, had risen from humble beginnings precisely by relying on a single Azure Cloud Art, ultimately condensing a Golden Core within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and from then on his might shook the region.

In the Azure Cloud Sect today, there were roughly tens of thousands of low-level laborers, all doing the hardest and most exhausting work.

There were about three thousand outer disciples, most of them in the Qi Refining Realm.

There were about two hundred inner disciples, with strengths varying within the Foundation Establishment Realm.

There were fifteen sect elders, with strengths varying within the Golden Core Realm.

As for the current sect master of the Azure Cloud Sect, True Person Xuanmi, he had not appeared in the world for thirty years.

Some said he was in a death seclusion, attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Others said he had long since formed his Nascent Soul and was now roaming freely across the Nine Provinces Continent.

But regardless of which situation it was, the reason the Azure Cloud Sect could establish itself in the Hundred Thousand Mountains was because it relied on the prestige of True Person Xuanmi, as well as the Elder Council of fifteen Golden Core elders.

Aside from that, there were also many deacons within the Azure Cloud Sect.

Depending on their different duties, the strength gap between different deacons was very large.

For example, Zhao Wenjie, who was in charge of Oak Garden, belonged to the very lowest tier among deacons, with strength at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

As for deacons responsible for sect security patrols, the strong ones could possess cultivation at Foundation Establishment Perfection.

At present, the person Li Jun was looking for, Xia Qiugeng, who was in charge of disciple registration, had been part of the patrol team in his early years.

Because he had been injured, he was later assigned to an idle post, specifically responsible for registering sect disciples.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Jun arrived at the Registration Hall, pushed open the door, and walked inside.