Chapter 24: Replenishing Qi and Vitality Water

"Good books..." Chen Mobai was conflicted.

There was no doubt that if Gui Bao managed his account at the National Library, the benefits would far outweigh those from the mediocre cultivation assistance software.

The Immortal Sect had a strict hierarchical system: the higher one's cultivation, the greater the privileges one enjoyed.

The National Library, without question, was one of the Immortal Sect's most vital treasures. It housed eighty-four thousand Daoist scriptures, claimed to be all-encompassing. As long as a cultivator reached the required rank, they could access corresponding cultivation insights, techniques, and Daoist formulas.

Even the seven cultivation techniques passed down by the Immortal Sect, which could lead to the Soul Transformation realm, were stored there.

However, only Nascent Soul True Lords were permitted to view that specific content.

Although Chen Mobai understood the principle of acting within one's capabilities, he was currently just a small sixth-layer Qi Cultivator. Even if a Soul Transformation technique were placed before him, he could only look at it, not cultivate it.

Yet, humans are inherently curious.

If Gui Bao successfully managed his account and elevated his permissions to the fifth rank, wouldn't he be able to browse all content within the National Library?

While downloading complete texts still required points, these were Soul Transformation techniques; even seeing the beginning would bring him joy.

Still, he retained some sense of reason.

He felt it was necessary to devise a foolproof plan to ensure the Immortal Sect wouldn't trace it back to him before proceeding with the proxy.

Chen Mobai clicked open his user interface at the National Library. His account name was a line from an ancient poem he thought was very cool when he was young:

"If I become the Azure Emperor in the future!"

Looking at it now, it seemed a bit childish, but since only he knew about it, he hadn't bothered to change it over the years.

A small checkmark next to the account name indicated that it had passed real-name verification.

If this account were to be upgraded to a fifth-rank user, the Immortal Sect would be knocking on his door that very night. He decided to take it slow.

After calming down, Chen Mobai stood up, gathered his belongings, and prepared to leave the water mansion.

Successfully breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation today was already a great cause for joy; he shouldn't become greedy and invite misfortune.

He packed the tin foil box that had held the Purple Fire Pill, the drained and grayed spirit stones, and his empty drink bottles and snack bags, intending to sort the trash at home.

With his backpack on, just as he was about to press the "return to city" button on his phone, he suddenly noticed the three side halls, which had always been sealed.

He had been so engrossed in cultivation lately that he had almost forgotten about the three side halls in the water mansion.

He wouldn't bother with the two side halls sealed by lightning spell restrictions, but he could now try to break through the water wave formation.

"I'll go buy some more Green Arrow Talismans, and I'll break it within the next two days," Chen Mobai muttered to himself. Then, he vanished in a flash of silver light.

At school.

While the teacher lectured, Chen Mobai and most of the other students were preoccupied with their own affairs.

In Immortal Sect cultivation, one's realm took precedence.

After all, the higher one's cultivation, the longer one's lifespan. Knowledge could always be acquired later, perhaps when cultivation hit a bottleneck.

The teachers were aware of this, so they didn't interfere and simply continued their lectures.

Generally, there were only two types of cultivators who became teachers: those who were old and had no hope of forming a Foundation, like Ding Jinglue; and those who wished to use teaching as an opportunity to re-experience the four arts—spells, pills, artifacts, and formations—and earn some merit points.

For instance, their class teacher Chai Deyun had reached a cultivation bottleneck, while their formation teacher Chansi had accepted a teaching assignment from Danzhu Academy. Chansi herself was also studying formations, using the teaching opportunity to solidify her own foundational knowledge more deeply.

Chen Mobai was online shopping.

The "Green Arrow Talismans" he bought last time had been very effective, so he placed another order at the same shop.

Now that he had money, he bought ten talismans in one go to ensure he was fully prepared.

Although half the money on his card was gone, he didn't feel bad, as these merit points had been acquired without any initial investment.

With the remaining points, he bought two Wood Armor Talismans.

Spending money felt great.

Chen Mobai also had incredible luck, snagging two bottles of "Qi Replenishing Spirit Water" that had just been stocked by the Gou Mang Daoist Academy. Rated as first-tier mid-grade, this water could quickly fill up one's cultivation at a new level after a breakthrough.

For example, Chen Mobai had just broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation. If he were to absorb spiritual energy and practice the Five Elements Technique on his own, it would take approximately two years to fully complete the sixth layer and attempt to break through to the late stage of Qi Cultivation.

However, consuming "Qi Replenishing Spirit Water" could significantly shorten this process.

According to the elixir's instructions, consuming one bottle while cultivating in a spirit-rich environment would provide the efficiency of ten days in a single day.

This meant that if Chen Mobai consumed "Qi Replenishing Spirit Water" daily, he could shorten the two-year period to 70 days, completing the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation.

Many so-called young prodigies were "fed" this kind of "Qi Replenishing Spirit Water."

However, there were pros and cons.

Firstly, the price was steep: 200 merit points per bottle.

Secondly, while this "Qi Replenishing Spirit Water" shortened cultivation time, it naturally made one's foundation unstable. The time required to break through bottlenecks would also far exceed that of cultivators who progressed steadily, step by step.

Minor realm bottlenecks were manageable, but for the crucial Foundation Establishment stage, a shaky foundation almost guaranteed failure.

Chen Mobai wouldn't have thought of buying this initially, but after breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, he felt that with some effort, he might have a chance to advance to the seventh layer before the college entrance examination.

Reaching the late stage of Qi Cultivation was entirely different; it virtually guaranteed entry into one of the ten great academies. Even with a slightly unstable foundation, he could find ways to compensate for it later.

True Lord Qingping had said, "Realm comes first."

This Nascent Soul True Lord had engaged in over 300 battles since beginning his cultivation, never once suffering defeat. His reliance was on his superior cultivation realm.

He fought Qi Cultivators when he was at Foundation Establishment, defeated Foundation Establishment cultivators when he was at Golden Core, and after reaching Nascent Soul, he only engaged Golden Core True Persons, never clashing with cultivators of the same realm.

Chen Mobai found True Lord Qingping's words very reasonable.

In his battle at the water mansion, if he hadn't been a mid-stage Qi Cultivator while the old man was only at the third layer of Qi Cultivation, he might not have won.

Therefore, improving one's realm was still the most crucial aspect.

This was precisely why he bought the "Qi Replenishing Spirit Water."

He was also lucky; this was a bestseller, usually selling out within a minute of being stocked. Each account was limited to five bottles, and if Chen Mobai hadn't been refreshing the Gou Mang Daoist Academy's official flagship store at that exact moment, he might not have managed to snatch any.

It was a pity his pockets were shallow; otherwise, he would have bought all five bottles. Even if he didn't use them himself, reselling them could have earned him a small hundred merit points.

As he felt this regret, Chen Mobai heard the bell signaling the end of class.

In the school's cultivation room, instead of re-watching True Lord Qingping's lectures on the Five Elements Technique, he searched for videos on breaking restrictions. Thanks to his high permissions, he found over three hundred methods for dismantling compound restrictions similar to the water wave formation.