Xiao Lin's original Dou Qi attribute was earth.
Normally, the Dou Qi he cultivated would carry the earth attribute.
But after switching to the Star Codex he had developed himself, his Dou Qi had naturally become Astral Dou Qi.
Astral Dou Qi could be used both to attack and to defend.
It was formidable whether he used it to strike an opponent or protect himself.
The Star Codex, a Mid-Tier Earth Rank Cultivation Method, also had room for improvement.
But with Xiao Lin's current cultivation, improving it further would be difficult.
Of course, he was confident he could raise it from Mid-Tier Earth Rank to a High-grade Earth-tier Cultivation Method.
After all, the Heavenly Soul Realm was originally associated with Dou Sheng cultivation.
With Heavenly Realm Soul Power, developing a High-grade Earth-tier Cultivation Method was within his reach.
Yet after thinking it over, Xiao Lin decided against it.
The effort simply would not be worth the return!
When upgrading the Starlight Formula into the Star Codex, he had needed only about a year to reach Earth Tier Low Grade.
He had to say it again: the Heavenly Soul Realm was incredibly useful!
Even with a Dou Venerable's cultivation, he might not have managed all that in a year. But with the Heavenly Soul Realm, he had.
A powerful soul really was a cheat!
At the time, though, Xiao Lin had not been satisfied with an Earth Tier Low Grade Cultivation Method. He had wanted to go further, so he had spent another four years raising it to Mid-Tier Earth Rank.
His own strength still held him back. Even with the advantage of the Heavenly Soul Realm, his low cultivation meant that developing a Cultivation Method was far from smooth sailing.
He had created the Earth Tier Low Grade Star Codex in just one year, yet raising it to Mid-Tier Earth Rank had taken another four.
At that rate, upgrading the Star Codex to a High-grade Earth-tier Cultivation Method would probably take him at least ten years, perhaps longer.
But if he first used the Mid-Tier Earth Rank Star Codex to reach Dou Zong, or even Dou Venerable, upgrading it afterward might not take him a year!
That was what made the effort not worth the return.
The time he would spend was out of proportion to what he would gain.
That was why Xiao Lin had stopped working on the Star Codex after raising it to Mid-Tier Earth Rank.
No, he had not stopped. He had set it aside for now!
Once his Dou Qi cultivation caught up, he would naturally continue.
As for why he did not try to develop it into a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method?
He could dream on!
Every Heaven Rank Cultivation Method had to undergo Tribulation Lightning when it came into being. More importantly, its ability to command the power of heaven and earth was beyond anything he could create with the Heavenly Soul Realm alone.
If Xiao Lin truly wanted to develop the Star Codex into a Heaven Rank Cultivation Method, he would need to raise his soul power another level and reach Peak Dou Zun. Even then, he would have only a slight chance.
Clearly, all of that was still far beyond Xiao Lin.
He was no Alchemist and had no Cultivation Method devoted to training the soul. Who knew how many years it would take to raise his soul power from the early to the middle stage of the Heavenly Realm?
For now, Xiao Lin was not even considering it.
"Phew. The Mid-Tier Earth Rank Star Codex is enough for me to cultivate with. Next comes raising my Dou Qi cultivation..."
He had a Cultivation Method, and he could not improve his soul power for the time being. That left his Dou Qi as the only thing he could raise.
Although Xiao Lin had spent most of the past five years developing the Star Codex, his Dou Qi had improved too.
After all, when developing a Cultivation Method, he had to try cultivating with it.
Otherwise, how would he know whether it worked?
Besides, his Cultivation Method had gone from Profound Tier Low Grade to Mid-Tier Earth Rank. His Dou Qi was bound to improve as well, and not by a small amount!
One of the greatest benefits of a higher-grade Cultivation Method was that it let its user absorb Dou Qi faster.
Thanks to the Star Codex's powerful effects, Xiao Lin had reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Spirit over those five years without deliberately training. He could break through to Dou Wang at any time!
That was what a high-grade Cultivation Method could do for someone.
"Now that I've created the Cultivation Method, it's time to focus entirely on cultivation!"
That was exactly what Xiao Lin intended.
Until now, his priority had been developing the Cultivation Method. His cultivation had mostly been a way to test whether it was complete.
Now that it was ready, what else was there to do but cultivate?
Ever since his Past-Life Wisdom had awakened, Xiao Lin had felt profoundly unsafe.
Thinking of the upheavals to come, he knew he needed enough strength to protect himself if he hoped to survive until the end, then ride his grandson's coattails to ascension.
If he was too weak to survive the ending, how could he ascend to the Greater World?
As for why Xiao Lin did not find his own way to become a Dou Emperor?
Come on. Once he discovered that he lacked Fire Attribute Dou Qi and could not cultivate the Flame Mantra, becoming a Dou Emperor was out of the question.
According to the original story, without some strange system or other cheat, there were only two ways to reach the Dou Emperor realm.
The first was to cultivate the Flame Mantra and inherit the legacy of Tou She Ancient God.
The second was the Emperor-Grade Embryonic Pill.
But the Emperor-Grade Embryonic Pill was not a true Emperor Pill. It could not directly make someone a Dou Emperor.
And Xiao Lin had no way to turn the Emperor-Grade Embryonic Pill into a finished pill!
Even if he could, he knew he did not have Hun Tiandi's resolve to sacrifice more than half his clan's fighting strength.
Neither path to becoming a Dou Emperor was open to Xiao Lin!
That made clinging to his grandson's coattails his best choice.
He was the protagonist Xiao Yan's grandfather, after all.
When one person rose to glory, even their family benefited. He understood that much.
So Xiao Lin's goal was simple: survive the ending.
And to survive the ending, he had to get just a "tiny" bit stronger.
"If I want to live, I'd better train hard!"
Murmuring to himself, Xiao Lin began to cultivate.
Unless it was necessary, he intended to do nothing but cultivate.
He even planned to find a time to resign his post as a general of the Jia Ma Empire.
As far as Xiao Lin was concerned, if training did not kill him, he would train like hell!
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