Chapter 1: Mysterious Game, True Cultivation

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Mysterious Game, True Cultivation

Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance, Luocheng.

[You killed an unranked Demon Insect - Chewing Locust, gaining 0.01 Experience Points.]

Lu Chen controlled the game character on his phone, killing the "pest" that had invaded his Spirit Field. Then, he cast the Sharpness Skill on the sickle in his hand and began harvesting the mature Spirit Rice in the Spirit Field with the special tool. After gathering all the Spirit Rice and placing it into his Storage Pouch, the in-game time shifted to night.

[You have completed Novice Quest 1: Plant Spirit Rice (100/100 catties). You gained 1,000 Experience Points.]

"Ten days in reality, one hundred days in the game. I’ve finally completed this novice quest."

Lu Chen looked at the full 1,000 Experience Points credited to his game panel, feeling quite pleased. At this rate, it was entirely possible for him to achieve Foundation Establishment within a year. At the very least, his Cultivation could reach the Qi Cultivation Seventh and Eighth Levels. With such Power, applying to the top Four Great Dao Schools in the Immortal Alliance during the college entrance exam a year from now would be virtually guaranteed.

And the source of all this confidence was the magical little game in his hands—True Cultivation.

True Cultivation was a special game that had suddenly appeared on his phone ten days ago. As a transmigrator and a Dao Class student at Luocheng First High School, Lu Chen didn’t pay much attention to the game at first. But that was until he suddenly discovered that as his in-game character grew stronger, he simultaneously grew stronger in reality. His view on True Cultivation completely changed.

[Name: Lu Chen (Cyan Cloud Sect Handyman)]

[Talent: Low Grade Mixed Spiritual Root (Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth)]

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Second Level (2150/10000)]

[Cultivation Technique: Five Spirits Primordial Technique]

[Technique: Rainfall Skill (Proficient 15/100), Sharpness Skill (Proficient 5/100), Immortal Alliance Five Elements Basic Talisman (Entry-Level 50/200)]

[Current Experience Points: 1050]

...

[Novice Quest 2: Raise Cultivation to Qi Cultivation Fourth Level and become an Outer Disciple of the Cyan Cloud Sect (Incomplete)]

[Quest Reward: 2000 Experience Points, Spirit Root Talent +1]

"Aside from a massive amount of experience, the second novice quest also improves Spirit Root Talent?" Looking at this second novice quest, Lu Chen immediately fell deep in thought.

"Because of what happened ten years ago, my current Cultivation Talent isn’t that good. I can barely practice.

"According to the Teacher, a Low Grade Spiritual Root only has a one-in-ten-thousand chance of achieving Ninth Grade Human Dao Foundation Establishment, and a one-in-ten-million chance of achieving True Foundation Establishment.

"Only the legendary Top Grade Spiritual Root has a sliver of hope to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

"If I want to achieve True Foundation Establishment, or even the legendary Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, my Spirit Root Talent needs to be raised to Upper Grade at the very least.

"If I just follow the steps to complete the novice quests, my Spirit Root Talent will barely reach Middle Grade.

"While that Talent isn’t bad, dreaming of achieving True Foundation Establishment with it is pure fantasy.

"To maximize the rewards of this quest, the best approach is obviously to improve my Spirit Root Talent as much as possible before completing it.

"If I remember correctly, there are Dharma Gates and Heavenly and Earthly Treasures in the school’s Treasure Pavilion that can enhance Spirit Root Talent."

With that in mind, Lu Chen immediately put the game into idle mode, allowing the game character to carry out its daily Cultivation on its own. Meanwhile, he opened an app on his phone—the Luocheng First High School Treasure Pavilion App.

As the best Cultivation high school in Luocheng, the items in the Treasure Pavilion might not have been completely exhaustive, but it was a dazzling lineup nonetheless. More importantly, the items in this Treasure Pavilion were exclusively available to First High School students and could only be purchased using Academic Credits. It was a form of support from the Immortal Alliance for students across the regions. After all, if these students were forced to seek out Cultivation resources themselves, whether they could even find them would be unknown, let alone if they had the capital for them.

After searching for a while, Lu Chen actually found an item in the Treasure Pavilion that suited him perfectly.

[Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique]

[Effect: Bone Marrow Cleansing, improves Talent, Great Success grants Purple Mist Divine Light]

[Cultivation Requirement: Child’s Body]

[Price: 100 Academic Credits]

Seeing that the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique cost a mere 100 Academic Credits, Lu Chen initially thought the school had mislabeled the price. After all, aside from improving Talent, this Cultivation Technique could even grant a Practitioner a special "Protective Divine Light." For such a Cultivation Technique, let alone 100 Academic Credits, even 1,000 or 10,000 Academic Credits would feel like a bargain to Lu Chen. Yet as far as he knew, out of the over three thousand students at Luocheng First High School, it seemed no one had cultivated this technique.

"Does this Cultivation Technique have some massive flaw, or are its Cultivation requirements too harsh?" Out of curiosity, Lu Chen checked the student reviews below the Cultivation Technique.

[Student 1: Don’t learn it! Avoid at all costs! Junior classmates, do not be fooled by the Purple Mist Divine Light. This Cultivation Technique is a massive trap! Anyone who learns it is an idiot!]

[Student 2: I regret not listening to the senior above. This Cultivation Technique is truly a scam. Not only can you only practice it for ten minutes a day during the first light of the Purple Mist, but the Purple Mist Divine Light can also only be cultivated if you possess a Child’s Body!]

[Student 3: Between finding a partner and getting stronger, you can only pick one. But the highest probability is that you stay single for decades and still don’t get any stronger... Now that’s pure suffering.]

GASP!

Lu Chen read the top three student comments and instantly understood why the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique was priced so low and why so few people practiced it. Being restricted to cultivating only during the ten minutes when the Purple Mist first rose equated to a severely compressed daily Cultivation timeframe. Coupled with the requirement of a Child’s Body to cultivate the Purple Mist Divine Light, this undoubtedly told everyone that if you wanted to cultivate the Purple Mist Divine Light through this technique, a conservative estimate meant staying single for ten or twenty years, perhaps even longer.

The school likely set the price this low in hopes of encouraging as many students as possible to study this Cultivation Technique. After all, no matter how you looked at it, the Effect of this Cultivation Technique was still exceptionally good. Reaching Great Success not only improved Talent but also granted an additional Protective Divine Light, offering extremely high value for the cost. Unfortunately, the Child’s Body requirement had deterred far too many people. After all, not everyone had the willpower to endure being a monk for decades. Otherwise, squeezing out ten minutes a day for Cultivation would have been manageable.

But whether it was the Cultivation timeframe or the Child’s Body, neither was an issue for Lu Chen!

"Ordinary people can only cultivate the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique for ten minutes a day, but the time ratio between True Cultivation and reality is ten to one. If I factor in my Cultivation time in reality...

"My one day of Cultivation is equivalent to eleven days for someone else, not to mention I can directly use Experience Points to raise my Skill Level..."

The more Lu Chen analyzed it, the more he felt that this Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique was practically tailor-made for him. Or rather, because of the existence of the game True Cultivation, he could fast-track many Cultivation Techniques with demanding requirements by utilizing "Experience Points" or "multiplied Cultivation time."

With this realization, Lu Chen bought the Cultivation Technique without hesitation. Shortly after, the Cultivation method for the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique was sent to his student inbox. The Cultivation Technique wasn’t complicated, nor was the difficulty of Cultivation high. With just a quick glance, Lu Chen pretty much grasped the underlying principles.

As expected, once he finished reading and understood the principles of the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique, the character panel in True Cultivation also updated.

[Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique: Entry-Level 1/200]

"It takes 200 Experience Points just to go from Entry-Level to Proficient. Truly worthy of a special Cultivation Technique that yields a Protective Divine Light."

Without a shred of hesitation, Lu Chen made a completely instinctive reaction.

True Cultivation, add points!

[You consumed 200 Experience Points. Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique has been raised to ’Proficient’.]

...