Chapter 18 - 14: Sorting the Harvest, Top Grade Spiritual Root

Chapter 18: Chapter 14: Sorting the Harvest, Top Grade Spiritual Root

As the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique reached the Breaking Realm, Lu Chen felt his body undergoing a massive transformation.

The meridians that had been damaged by forcibly executing the Dragon Roar Heaven-Breaking Strike were now rapidly healing. But the greatest change of all occurred in the Spiritual Root within his Dantian.

Lu Chen’s original Spirit Root Talent had never been as low as Low Grade. However, the upheaval ten years ago had not only caused his parents to die tragic deaths but had also severely damaged his foundation. Although he eventually recovered, his damaged Spiritual Root could never be restored to its former state, severely hindering his Cultivation.

But now, as the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique reached the Breaking Realm, his mostly solidified Spiritual Root seemed to be injected with new life, not only healing the hidden injuries from years ago but even advancing toward a higher level.

At this moment, Lu Chen felt as though he were bathed in warm sunlight, a comforting heat spreading throughout his entire body.

One hour later.

"Phew..."

Lu Chen exhaled a breath of impure air and slowly opened his eyes.

The next second, a pungent stench flooded his nose, prompting him to shoot to his feet. His body was covered in black grime, like foul-smelling mud, making it almost unbearable. He figured this had to be the impurities expelled from his body through Purification after the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique reached the Breaking Realm.

Without any hesitation, Lu Chen quickly exited the Dungeon and returned to reality.

Lu Chen looked at his real body and frowned. "This much grime won’t do. I need to take a shower first."

Luocheng First High School, Cultivation Chamber.

As Lu Chen washed off the grime, he took stock of his gains from this Dungeon run.

It had been a full three days since he first entered the Dungeon. Although it was only three days, to Lu Chen, it felt like an eternity. After all, he had been engaged in high-intensity combat the entire time he was in the Dungeon. It was perfectly normal for time to feel as if it were crawling by.

Converted into game time, he had spent a full thirty days inside. And the changes those thirty days had brought him were undeniably astonishing.

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

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

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Second Level (2,200/20,000)]

[Talent Divine Techniques (32/100): Unawakened]

[Cultivation Technique: Five Spirits Primordial Technique]

[Technique: Dragon Roar Heaven-Breaking Strike (Broken Mirror 1/30,000), Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique (Broken Mirror), Flowing Cloud Step (Broken Mirror), Rainfall Skill (Proficient 15/100), Immortal Alliance Five Elements Basic Talisman (entry-level 50/200), Qingxuan Puppet Technique (entry-level 50/200)]

[Current Experience Points: 2,151]

"It took so long, but I finally upgraded the Purple Mist Health Cultivation Technique to the Breaking Realm. With this Top Grade Spiritual Root, I should be considered a true genius now, right?"

Lu Chen dried his hair, changed into clean clothes, and then took out his phone. He hadn’t forgotten that besides earning a substantial amount of Experience Points from this Dungeon trip, he had also obtained quite a bit of loot.

The Qingxuan Puppet Technique was a Special Skill Lu Chen unexpectedly acquired after defeating the Cyan Profound Puppet. The Effect of this skill was straightforward: it allowed him to craft Cyan Profound Puppets. However, since he couldn’t find any Cyan Profound Wood in reality at the moment, he didn’t plan on leveling up this skill anytime soon.

On the other hand, the ’Ten Thousand Talisman True Understanding - Fragment’ he obtained after defeating Ye Chenglin seemed incredibly useful. Even though it was just a fragment, it still contained records of many practical Talismans.

What interested Lu Chen the most was the ’Small Five-Thunder Talismans’ that Ye Chenglin had used earlier. He had been thoroughly bombarded by them during their fight. Admittedly, the power of a single Small Five-Thunder Talisman might not be exceptional, but considering its astonishing attack speed, it was a threat. If Lu Chen hadn’t possessed the Breaking Realm Flowing Cloud Step and the experience from fighting Ye Chenglin multiple times, dodging the Small Five-Thunder Talismans wouldn’t have been an easy feat.

However, there were priorities for everything. The Small Five-Thunder Talisman was undoubtedly good, but it wasn’t of much use to him right now. He could start practicing it once his Cultivation Level was higher.

Aside from the ’Qingxuan Puppet Technique’ and the ’Ten Thousand Talisman True Understanding’, Lu Chen currently had two other items in his storage space: a ’Soul Crystal Fragment (Green)’ and a ’Special Tomb Key’.

[Soul Crystal Fragment (Green)]

[Effect: Can be used to upgrade the Tier Two Talent Divine Power Level, or exchanged for 30 Soul Crystal Fragments (White)]

...

[Special Tomb Key]

[Effect: Can unlock a certain hidden tomb]

...

Lu Chen understood the purpose of the Soul Crystal Fragment (Green) at a single glance. However, he was still unsure of how to use the Special Tomb Key item for the time being.

Now that he had defeated Ye Chenglin, the Ancient Cultivator’s Tomb Dungeon could no longer be opened. He would have to wait for a three-month refresh period in reality before he could enter it again. He speculated that this so-called Special Tomb Key probably belonged to some unknown tomb within the Ancient Cultivator’s Tomb. If he wanted to use this key, he could only do so during the next Dungeon opening.

"I don’t need to spend too much energy on Skills anymore. Right now, I should focus on Cultivation. I need to level it up as quickly as possible and strive to achieve Foundation Establishment—or even attempt Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment—before the college entrance exam.

"If I remember correctly, tomorrow is the mock exam.

"If I can get a good score, I’ll earn a lot of Academic Credits.

"And Academic Credits can be used not only to exchange for various Cultivation Techniques but also to redeem plenty of Cultivation resources.

"But being too high-profile isn’t necessarily a good thing. If outsiders found out that my Spirit Root Talent went from Low Grade to Top Grade in just one month, it would be a bit hard to explain.

"The best approach is undoubtedly to drag things out for a while. That way, I’ll have more breathing room."

With that in mind, Lu Chen quickly decided on his strategy for tomorrow’s mock exam. He needed to adequately display his Power and potential during the exam, but at the same time, he couldn’t reveal too much. Doing so would serve his best interests.

As for how to explain the issue of his Spirit Root Talent in the future, Lu Chen had already thought of an answer. Comprehension. That was the answer he had formulated.

Unlike Talent Divine Techniques and Spirit Root Talent, which could be measured, a Cultivator’s Comprehension was a Quality that was impossible to test yet immensely important. In the history of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance, there was no shortage of Great Cultivators who had possessed mediocre Talent in their early years but ultimately defied the heavens and altered their destinies due to their outstanding Comprehension.

Lu Chen intended to replicate this very process. Besides, in a sense, he wouldn’t even be lying.

"Once the mock exam is over, I’ll focus entirely on improving my Cultivation.

"When my Cultivation reaches Qi Cultivation Fourth Level, the second beginner quest in the game will be completed.

"Now that my Spirit Root Talent has reached Top Grade, I wonder how much more it can improve after finishing the beginner quest.

"Either way, having some improvement is better than none. Every little bit counts."

Having figured everything out, Lu Chen immediately sat cross-legged and began his Cultivation. He also set his in-game character to idle cultivation mode. As for the original wood-chopping quest, he had abandoned it early on. After all, now that he possessed a Top Grade Spiritual Root, the Experience Points he gained from normal Cultivation were far more than what he’d get from chopping wood.

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