Chapter 34 - 28: The Five Supreme Cultivation Techniques, Heavenly Calculation Atlas

Wang Qi was stunned the moment he opened his lunch box. The meal provided by the kitchen consisted of four dishes and one soup, served with a bowl of white rice. The dishes were simply a mix of meat and vegetables, cooked slightly better than country cooking but not exquisite. The only commendable thing was the presence of spiritual energy in the food, but this wasn't because of special ingredients; it was infused by the cultivators during cooking. What truly amazed Wang Qi was the inscription on the lunch box. "To think they use such a lunch box for this meal. Tsk tsk, it's both thermally insulated and fresh-keeping. Selling one of these boxes outside could pay for a full Manchu Han Imperial Feast... Oh, this world doesn't have Manchu Han, maybe a Human Demon full feast?" Zhen Chan said, "This shows that the Immortal Alliance really cares about nurturing its disciples." After being hungry all day, Wang Qi quickly finished his dinner. After returning the lunch box and utensils, he wiped his mouth and walked out of the kitchen. "Surprisingly tasty," Wang Qi burped and commented. "It looks so-so. After eating, I actually felt completely relaxed. My body felt like it was soaking in warm water." "The spiritual energy in the food seeped from your stomach into your body, nourishing your physique," Zhen Chan explained. "As for the taste, hehe, controlling the ingredients with mana, it would be strange if it wasn't delicious. Does the Modern Immortal Path actually have cultivators who specialize in the path of gourmet?" "Are there such annoying sects among Ancient Method Practitioners too?" Wang Qi wondered. "It's not exactly a sect," replied the elder, "but I do know of a lineage that specializes in using spirit beasts and spiritual medicine in their cooking, which increases cultivation upon consumption. It's essentially a variation of alchemy. They believe the tastier the dish, the more effective it is." Enjoying the evening breeze, Wang Qi felt in high spirits. He strolled around the Immortal Institute as a post-dinner walk, and before he knew it, he found himself in front of the Transmitting Technique Hall. Wang Qi's eyes lit up: "I didn't plan to learn mental methods right now. But why not strike while the iron is hot? Let's check it out now!" Entering the Transmitting Technique Hall, there was a large hall immediately inside. Numerous orbs floated mid-air, illuminating the hall brightly. Although the hall wasn't very large, directly opposite the main door was a wall, and the floor of the hall was neatly lined with over a hundred meditation cushions. Each cushion was surrounded by talismans to ensure that disciples on them weren't disturbed by noise. The wall bore the basic heart methods of various sects. Wang Qi found a cushion and sat down to observe the heart methods on the wall. Starting from the left, the first was Mountain River City's "Yan Cheng Xuan Di Scripture." This cultivation technique endowed one with robust mana and strong combat power. After reaching the first level, one could draw a trace of earth fire into their body to nurture in the dantian, adding a hint of agility to their stalwart True Yuan. Wang Qi nodded, "Hmm, plate tectonics theory. The foundation of Mountain River City truly revolves around Earth sciences—perhaps here it should be called 'Shenzhou Science'?" Unfortunately, he had little interest in Earth sciences in his past life. "Liuyun Sect's 'Cloud Mist Sun Covering Technique.' Fluid dynamics and meteorology, huh? Lightweight flying escapes," Wang Qi imagined the image of a Liuyun Cloud Cultivator. Dressed in flowing white robes, light as a swallow, graceful in demeanor, their combat surely involved skilful maneuvering—or rather, skillful romancing. This style, good! Regrettably, based on his past life's understanding of fluid dynamics, which was only at a beginner level, he could easily impress middle school students in the Immortal Institute, but once he fully entered the sect, he feared he would be swiftly outclassed by other disciples. With that thought, Wang Qi skipped over the techniques of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, Tianling Ridge, and other sects, jumping directly to the entry-level heart methods of Guiyi Alliance and Wanfa Sect. "Fentian Prefecture, just the name tells you it should be thermodynamics," Wang Qi continued reading. "'Rapid Flame Body Method,' body method? Is there a mistake? Isn't this supposed to be about learning heart methods?" Startled, Wang Qi read carefully through the entry-level technique of Fentian Prefecture. After finishing, he slapped his thigh, "So it can be like this!" The "Rapid Flame Body Method" was not for combat, nor could it be used for long-distance rapid travel. This set of techniques simply replaced meditation with "movement." This technique's core involved converting the kinetic energy of physical movement directly into the thermal energy required by the heart method! At first glance, except for the novel training method, there didn't seem to be anything special about this technique. In gaming terms, it was just adding a bit of fire damage. However, this technique was the basis for all of Fentian Prefecture's spells; it could be converted to practice any of Fentian Prefecture's supreme techniques, promising a boundless future. "Wanfa Sect's 'Yibi Calculation Scripture' is quite interesting, increases computing power? Doesn't sound very powerful. 'The laws of numbers derive from the circle and the square, the circle from the square, the square from the rectangle, the rectangle from ninety-nine eighty-one... Train the rectangle to gaze high, cover the rectangle to measure the deep, lay the rectangle to know the distance. Encircle the rectangle to form a circle, unite the rectangles to form a square. The square pertains to the Earth, the circle to Heaven, Heaven is round, Earth is square. Squares serve as canons, with the square deriving the circle... Shelter with heaven. Heaven is blue-black, Earth is yellow-red, heaven's numbers as shelter, blue-black as appearance. The red-yellow inside, representing the positions of heaven and earth...'" As he recited the heart method of the Wanfa Sect, Wang Qi had a moment of enlightenment. This set of heart methods contained geometric principles, which Wang Qi had studied since he was young. Looking at the heart method, he instinctively started practicing! "Wait!" Wang Qi suddenly woke up, saying, "I haven't finished looking at the other techniques yet, I can't rashly choose!" Zhen Chan interjected, "You lad! Do you know, you were almost enlightened just now!" Zhen Chan voiced his frustration, a hint of exasperation towards someone who fails to meet expectations. His mind was not focused on manipulating mana, yet his body began to cultivate automatically. This was clearly a burst of accumulated understanding, greatly benefiting his comprehension of cultivation techniques. Ancient Cultivators called this "enlightenment." Moreover, this state was something one could encounter but not seek. Yet, this youngster actually consciously exited this state! Wang Qi ignored Zhen Chan and stroked his chin, thinking to himself, "This one uses geometry as its foundation and incorporates numerous mathematical algorithms, but it lacks conceptual depth. The algorithms it uses are also quite primitive; surely they can't be very advanced. On to the next." The collection in the center, however, belonged to the three major Sects of the Guiyi Alliance. "Elemental Power Sect's 'Heavenly Element True Understanding,' Yuanli Master's cultivation technique. Let me see... Ah, indeed, it derives from the three laws of mechanics. No excessively miraculous divine skills, but it offers a comprehensive growth in attributes! And it features agile movements, excelling in utilizing external forces." "Thunder Pavilion's 'Elemental Magnetic Technique,' 'Thunder Technique.' The former is neither outstanding in offense nor defense but manages magic artifacts well, excelling in clinging to the opponent; the latter allows for the practice of many highly offensive spells." Thunder Attribute, a commonly seen trait in characters like Long Aotian, imposing and fashionable. If considering purely from an aesthetic perspective, 'Thunder Technique' would be an excellent choice. However, Wang Qi had another concern. "Wonder if the Faraday cages work in this world. From what we know of electromagnetism, the principle behind it is likely valid!" A Faraday cage, commonly used on Earth, isolates its internal and external electromagnetic environments; simply put, staying inside a Faraday cage means that even a hundred thousand volts from outside can't harm a person. What's more essential, making one is exceptionally simple—a shell made of a good conductor suffices! Even with Wang Qi's limited knowledge in artifact refining, he could devise several methods to construct a Faraday cage within a vestment robe. If Faraday cages are common in this world, it's very likely one could see a scenario where he charges up a massive lightning spell, only to at most make someone's hair stand up! Wang Qi shook his head, pushing this terrifying thought out of his mind. "Light Hall... Optics? And there are two cultivation techniques here. 'Fiery Sun Wave Qi' and 'Heavenly Light Materialization Technique,' it seems one explains optics via wave theory and the other through particle theory." Fiery Sun Wave Qi, one of the introductory mental methods of Light Hall. Its force is like the Great Sun, like fierce fire, cultivating mana that is intangible yet substantial, capable of summoning the power of a fiery sun with the wave of a hand. Heavenly Light Materialization Technique, another introductory mental method of Light Hall. Training the unreal into the real, it can refine a ray of light into a physical form, transforming it into a weapon that can also harm the enemy invisibly. After reading them, Wang Qi shook his head. Both wave and particle theories are one-sided; cultivating these two methods might hardly help one reach the pinnacle. After reviewing the techniques from Light Hall, Wang Qi looked around, then frowned, "No techniques from Mysterious Palace? And these methods seem not very advanced either." Thinking it over, he then asked Zhen Chan, "So, old man, what do you think of these techniques?" Zhen Chan replied, "This old man is not very clear about the mental realms these techniques contain, but from my perspective and experience, they are all remarkable techniques." Wang Qi noticed that there were two small doors, one on each side of the wall filled with techniques, and he vaguely remembered Su Junyu mentioning this. The techniques in front of Transmitting Technique Hall were easy to start with and wouldn't hinder the practice of other divine skills, while the ones behind the hall were the truly supreme mental methods. Wang Qi went through the small door to the rear of Transmitting Technique Hall. Both doors led to a much smaller hall. The rear hall had several doors on either side, leading to different stone chambers, and the wall directly across from the small doors bore a single cultivation technique. The floor of the rear hall was likewise covered with many sitting mats. Wang Qi sat down to scrutinize the cultivation technique on the wall of the rear hall. However, as soon as he saw the technique, he sensed an ancient, vast, and vibrant aura. The technique wasn't wordy; it involved more Mysterious images. And above the images, prominently written were the words "Heavenly Calculation Atlas." "Heavenly Calculation Atlas," a supreme technique from Tianling Ridge! "Heavenly Calculation Atlas" was very easy to start, even more accessible than general techniques. In contrast, the initial boost in combat power it provided could be considered negligible, with no additional bonuses. Yet, despite these significant drawbacks, within Lu Renjia's weighted algorithm, it was the only mental method with a weight of six. It's known that internal cultivation methods don't carry much weight in combat, with even the core mental methods of the top five Sects generally scoring below three, and Ancient Cultivation mental methods often having negative values. The reason this mental method received such a high evaluation was because it could evolve. "Heavenly Calculation Atlas" possessed an extremely open system any person could deduce by themselves. And the techniques deduced by different people varied. Moreover, this evolution had no upper limit. If someone possessed great determination and wisdom, they could, without using any spells or magic artifacts, defeat everyone under heaven. The reason it only had a score of six was that the creator, Heavenly Selection Divine Monarch, had only deduced it to this level. Furthermore, since the method could be modified at will, "Heavenly Calculation Atlas" could be combined and practiced with any other technique! "A mental method derived from the theory of evolution could, of course, evolve," Wang Qi rejoiced. This technique combined trendiness, style, and a sense of intellectual superiority all in one, truly satisfying all needs! If there were no better options, this would be it!