Chapter 14: Cultivating the

Before leaving Immortal Seed Valley, there would be a cultivation level assessment. Therefore, Su Yuan's main goal this time wasn't to improve his cultivation level, but to master the "Mystic Truth Derivation Art". Initial mastery: Increases Foundation Establishment success rate by 10%! Basic understanding: Increases Foundation Establishment success rate by 20%! Minor achievement: Increases Foundation Establishment success rate by 30%! Proficiency: Increases Foundation Establishment success rate by 40%, Core Formation success rate by 20%! Great achievement: Increases Foundation Establishment success rate by 50%, Core Formation success rate by 30%, Nascent Soul success rate by 10%! This technique was extremely important for Su Yuan because his spiritual roots were only low-grade triple spiritual roots. Breaking through bottlenecks would undoubtedly be much more difficult compared to those with high-grade spiritual roots. But with this technique, breaking through would become significantly easier! However, before comprehending the "Mystic Truth Derivation Art", Su Yuan needed to first digest all the knowledge from the numerous books in the Scripture Pavilion and the cultivation lectures he attended in the Scripture Hall. With this accumulated knowledge, comprehending the "Mystic Truth Derivation Art" would be twice as effective with half the effort. After hanging a "closed-door cultivation" sign on his door, Su Yuan activated the word function. [Activated Word: Balanced Work and Rest] The remaining 72 days and 8 hours of rest time instantly cleared! In an instant, Su Yuan's mind became several times clearer! Photographic memory, instant recall, comprehension and insight all skyrocketed! Meanwhile, the "Burning Wood Spirit Tempering Technique" automatically circulated within his body. Eighty-one strands of spiritual energy were mobilized, condensing into a three-colored spiritual snake that deftly entered his meridians to circulate. The surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy rapidly poured into Su Yuan's body. For now, Su Yuan paid little attention to the technique's circulation, focusing his main energy on absorbing knowledge. All the books he had read in the Scripture Pavilion reappeared in his mind one by one, quickly being digested, understood, summarized, and refined, becoming part of Su Yuan's knowledge reserve! Like a bottomless pit hungry for knowledge, Su Yuan continuously filled himself with various cultivation knowledge including spiritual herbs, pills, spiritual ores, talismans, technique explanations, spiritual energy classifications, spiritual vein identification, and more. All this knowledge was memorized and understood by Su Yuan. Su Yuan's understanding of the cultivation world rapidly increased, as did the depth of his knowledge. Six full days passed slowly! When Su Yuan opened his eyes, they showed no sign of fatigue—his spirit still shone brightly. He had completely digested all 180,000 books! He had also absorbed and understood all 280 lectures from the Scripture Hall. The harvest was beyond Su Yuan's expectations. He now felt his knowledge foundation was extremely solid, with basically no doubts about Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment. He even had his own insights about Core Formation! Su Yuan exhaled lightly, stretched his body, frowned as he swallowed a Fasting Pill, and finally began comprehending the "Mystic Truth Derivation Art"! "It's truly difficult. Just the initial part requires profound understanding of Qi Refining. How is this meant for ordinary disciples?" Su Yuan was astonished by the difficulty. What exactly was Zheng He's intention in recommending this technique to him? Su Yuan shook his head. Although Zheng He didn't have good intentions, this technique was perfectly suited for him. Closing his eyes, Su Yuan began comprehending the "Mystic Truth Derivation Art". Within just one hour, he had grasped the initial part and began attempting to cultivate it. Looking inward at his dantian, the total spiritual energy had reached 112,898 strands. Five days of automatic cultivation had accumulated over 110,000 strands of spiritual energy—an astonishing amount that surprised even Su Yuan. Quickly focusing, Su Yuan manipulated his spiritual energy according to the technique's requirements, slowly constructing a three-dimensional talisman! This three-dimensional talisman was extremely intricate, containing elements of array knowledge, talisman knowledge, spiritual energy transformation, energy fusion, five elements derivation, and energy control. Unsurprisingly, Su Yuan's first attempt ended in failure! "Tsk, tsk, this difficulty is somewhat exaggerated!" Su Yuan marveled at the technique's challenge. Ordinary technique talismans were flat, two-dimensional—even with many strokes, they weren't this difficult. But the three-dimensional talisman of the Mystic Truth Derivation Art was extremely complex, consisting of 108 components requiring 108 strands of spiritual energy. Upon failure, all 108 strands would dissipate without a trace—some power in heaven and earth directly seizing them from his dantian. From the very beginning, this technique was connected to heaven and earth—the "Derivation of Heaven" name wasn't for nothing. Each failure caused significant loss—108 strands of spiritual energy would pain any Qi Refining cultivator, making few able to persist. Thus, the difficulty was maxed out! But 108 strands meant nothing to Su Yuan, who calmly continued attempting. Nine consecutive attempts all failed, but each failure made the talisman construction more complete and solid. With the "Balanced Work and Rest" word effect, Su Yuan identified and corrected each failure reason. On the tenth attempt, Su Yuan succeeded! A complete three-dimensional talisman appeared in his dantian! Su Yuan immediately activated it. Surrounding spiritual energy poured into the talisman, transforming into strands of Mystic Truth Qi—12 strands of spiritual energy converting to 1 strand of Mystic Truth Qi. Each conversion produced 9 strands in fifteen minutes. "Let's test the effect." Su Yuan willed a strand of Mystic Truth Qi to flow through his meridians to his fingertip, shooting out and forming a three-colored shield around him. Tapping it produced metallic sounds. Another strand transformed into a three-colored spear—wooden shaft, metal tip wreathed in flames, emitting astonishing magical fluctuations. The small cultivation chamber couldn't withstand its power, so Su Yuan dispersed it. "This Mystic Truth Qi is incredibly useful! It has shape-shifting properties!" Su Yuan marveled. Mastering its applications required understanding heaven-earth principles, energy conversion, attribute changes, and spell basics—which Su Yuan now possessed, allowing him to quickly use shield and spear spells. Su Yuan was thrilled—his strength had leaped forward. He was no longer just a brute relying on martial arts, but a proper cultivator! One talisman wasn't enough. As Su Yuan attempted a second, he found the first talisman created resistance, slightly increasing the difficulty. After two more failures, he succeeded. Two talismans not only increased Mystic Truth Qi production but also formed a faint connection. The third talisman faced stronger resistance—thirteen failures before success. When formed, it connected with the other two. Su Yuan arranged the three into a triangular composite, boosting conversion efficiency not threefold but ninefold! Attempting a fourth talisman failed 99 times—three seemed his current limit. Su Yuan then moved the composite talisman from his dantian to his first spiritual node, where it automatically converted stored and regenerating energy into Mystic Truth Qi. He replicated this in other nodes, incidentally opening his sixth and seventh nodes—reaching Qi Refining Stage Three at only 6,000 spiritual energy cost! With 100,000 strands remaining, Su Yuan converted them to Mystic Truth Qi while practicing applications—consuming much without concern. When the word effect ended, only 7,000 strands remained, but his skill had reached proficient level. Exhausted, Su Yuan collapsed onto his bed, instantly asleep. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" "Su Yuan! Su Yuan!" Knocking startled him awake. Yawning, he opened his window to see Zhang Wei and Zhou Wuyou peering over his wall. "What's up?" Su Yuan called. Zhang Wei cheered, "You're finally awake! Today's the last day of March—the final assessment is about to begin! We're leaving Immortal Seed Valley!" Su Yuan realized, "Already? Wait for me!" After washing up, he opened his door. "Go! Go! Go!" Zhang Wei pulled him toward the square while Zhou Wuyou gave a questioning look—met with Su Yuan's reassuring nod. Throughout Immortal Seed Valley, disciples emerged from their dwellings, heading to the square with mixed excitement, nervousness, and tension. Regardless of what status they'd leave with, their true cultivation journey in Seven Extremes Sect was about to begin.