On how to cultivate with cheats

His consciousness was a sea of chaos.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Zhang Jing gradually came to his senses. Then he saw a pair of small, sleazy eyes staring straight at him.

He jolted and scrambled backward in fright.

"Brother Zhang, what's wrong?"

Across from him.

Ji Bochang stared at Zhang Jing, dumbfounded. He instinctively touched his face and muttered to himself, "Is there something dirty on my face I haven't picked off?"

Coming back to his senses.

"N-no." Zhang Jing wiped the sweat from his forehead and said quickly, "That's not something you should pick at! Anyway, Brother Ji, did you need something when you called me just now?"

"Oh, you were taking so long to wake up that I thought something might have gone wrong."

"It's nothing. This was my first encounter with an Immortal Dao cultivation method, and I was overwhelmed." Looking a little embarrassed, Zhang Jing held out his hand. "Hurry and pass the Jade Slip to the people behind us. They must be getting impatient."

"Huh? Where's the Jade Slip?"

Only then did Zhang Jing realize that the Jade Slip in his hand had vanished.

"Brother Zhang, here's what happened. You were taking rather a long time, and the people behind you were pressing us. I also saw that the Jade Slip had already come away from your forehead, so I took it upon myself to remove it. I'm truly sorry."

Seeing this, Chu Lingyun came over from beside them to explain.

At the same time, faint whispers drifted over from behind him.

"He doesn't think the longer he looks at it, the more likely he is to begin cultivating, does he?"

"Forget it. Stop talking. Maybe he just lacks talent. Be understanding."

Zhang Jing understood.

He glanced at the [Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method], which had already become a skill on the jade talisman. Reassured, he ignored their remarks outright.

Zhang Jing said apologetically:

"You're being too gracious, Fairy Chu. It was my fault for taking up your time."

"As long as you understand, Brother Zhang. In that case, I'll take my leave."

Seemingly in a hurry over something, Chu Lingyun left as soon as she finished speaking.

Behind him.

"Brother Zhang, it wasn't that I didn't want to stop her. The main thing was, if I'd stopped Chu Lingyun then, you would have become the target of every arrow. After all, those people behind you wouldn't dare blame me, so they could only turn their spearheads on you."

"Please don't hold it against me. Anyway, whether she took it then made no difference to you."

Ji Bochang patted Zhang Jing's shoulder, his voice full of apology.

Then, seemingly remembering something, he continued:

"Brother Zhang, is there anything you don't understand about that Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method? If there is, tell me. I might be able to help a little."

Hearing those words.

Zhang Jing thought he must have misheard and could not help turning to stare at Ji Bochang.

Perhaps sensing the question in Zhang Jing's eyes, Ji Bochang explained quietly:

"Brother Zhang, I know what you want to ask." He paused, as though arranging his words. "You've probably guessed by now that the clan behind me has cultivators, just like Chu Lingyun and the other two."

Zhang Jing nodded, but another trace of puzzlement immediately arose.

Without standing on ceremony, he asked directly:

"Brother Ji, since you come from a cultivating aristocratic clan, why are you taking the Dragon Lake Dao Academy's assessment? Doesn't your clan have a cultivation inheritance too?"

Meeting Zhang Jing's gaze, Ji Bochang said frankly:

"Put it this way, Brother Zhang. The Dragon Lake Dao Academy is the very sky over our Nanli Kingdom's cultivation world. Every other cultivation power has to live at its mercy."

"In fact, in terms of cultivation, the strongest ancestor of our Ji Clan is comparable to an inner court disciple of the academy. In terms of combat strength, however, he falls far short."

So that was it!

Zhang Jing said in sudden understanding:

"So, Brother Ji, although you've never practiced the visualization method, you encountered it beforehand in your clan-no, you mastered the methods of cultivation visualization. That's how you could-"

"Exactly! Not just me. The other disciples from cultivating aristocratic clans are all the same."

Ji Bochang's expression was solemn.

But that solemn expression lasted only a few breaths on his face before vanishing completely.

The next moment, his two small eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement, and he said eagerly:

"Heh, so if there's anything you don't understand, Brother Zhang, just ask. At my current level, I should be more than capable of guiding you."

"But let's agree beforehand: even brothers keep their accounts straight. For every question I answer, you help me come up with a new painted fan. The pose has to be something no one's ever seen before, and it has to-"

Seeing Ji Bochang growing more and more excited as he spoke.

Zhang Jing glanced guiltily around and cut him off.

"Stop! Brother Ji, let's talk about it another time. If there's anything I don't understand, I'll definitely come to you."

"Well... all right."

A trace of disappointment flashed through Ji Bochang's eyes.

The sky gradually darkened.

Inside the stone house.

Zhang Jing lit the oil lamp on the table.

As he watched the dancing flame, excitement began to boil within him too.

Just as he had predicted at the start, the Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method he had learned from the Jade Slip had indeed formed a skill on the jade talisman.

At that thought.

Zhang Jing looked at the jade talisman.

[Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method · Uninitiated (0/50)]

[Low-Tier Dharma Seed: Mind's Eye (cannot be upgraded)]

[Nether Dragon Devouring Emptiness Dao Rhyme · Fragmentary (cannot be upgraded)]

Hmm?

He suddenly noticed that the skills displayed on the jade talisman had changed this time.

"Why do the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed and the Dao rhyme I obtained yesterday now have a 'cannot be upgraded' label?"

Wasn't this like posting a sign saying, "No three hundred taels of silver buried here"?

Could it be-

These two skills could also be upgraded further, only I hadn't met the requirements yet. And this change was most likely related to the skill I'd just acquired.

Immortal Dao? Cultivation? Mental energy?

Or some other reason?

Zhang Jing's eyes abruptly grew exceptionally bright.

One day, he would find the answer.

After calming himself a little, he remembered tonight's main task.

Zhang Jing quickly finished washing up, then sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. He carefully recalled the contents of the inheritance and attempted visualization cultivation.

The first step: visualize pure origin spirit light.

Pure origin spirit light was the gentlest in nature and the purest and richest in hue. Its form seemed absent, its manifestation vast; it was the spirit light of primordial nature. Draw in heavenly mechanism spirit dew...

Time slipped silently by.

At one particular instant.

Zhang Jing felt as though a pure, substantial radiance had appeared before his eyes. But the very next moment, before he could rejoice, the radiance failed to hold and collapsed into nothing.

Failed!

A trace of dejection arose in his heart for no apparent reason.

Helplessly, Zhang Jing rallied his spirits and looked at the jade talisman.

[Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method · Uninitiated (1/50)]

The proficiency increased?

At the sight, Zhang Jing felt both surprise and delight.

This meant that, with the help of the jade talisman's skill proficiency, he only needed to practice the visualization method forty-nine more times to cross the threshold.

After checking how much energy he had expended, Zhang Jing felt reassured.

Although, just as the inheritance had said, forcing himself to practice the visualization method before crossing the threshold consumed a great deal of mental energy.

He seemed able to bear it.

He could roughly sustain two to three sessions of meditation practice a day.

"Thirty days, and I can gain at least two proficiency points every day. That's enough to get the visualization method skill past the threshold! If nothing unexpected happens, have I really got this assessment in the bag?"

"I can enter the Dragon Lake Dao Academy and practice Immortal Dao methods of longevity?!"

Zhang Jing found it a little hard to believe.

Wait!

He suddenly remembered that he still had the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed.

When Zhang Jing activated the Dao Seed and entered the Mind's Eye state, his perception and ability to comprehend and learn would surge, with an effect like using cheats.

Then what would happen if he practiced the visualization method in the Mind's Eye state?

He acted on the thought at once.

Zhang Jing took a few deep breaths, then activated the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed directly.

An illusory Mind's Eye emerged from the depths of his mind and snapped open. The vast sea of information from the Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method flashed rapidly through it.

In an instant.

Insights into practicing the visualization method poured into Zhang Jing's mind like an unending tide.

His cultivation speed was more than several times faster than before.