Grandmaster Eternal Spring Art

"Sister-in-law, I really can't take this!" Luo Chen hurried to decline. Freeloading an occasional meal on ordinary days was nothing, but this soup was meant to replenish Qin Liangchen's qi and blood, which bore directly on the upcoming death match. Thick-skinned though he was, even he did not dare drink this bowl. Murong Qinglian, however, insisted on setting the bowl down on Luo Chen's table. "It's only what was left at the bottom. Your Brother Qin already drank all the essence, so there's no need to refuse." "Still..." "No buts—unless you look down on your sister-in-law's cooking." "Uh, all right then!" Luo Chen declined no further and simply drained the small bowl of soup clean. "The blood fiend tiger is a second-tier demon beast. Its bone soup is an extraordinary tonic for Qi Refinement cultivators. Even though it is only a small bowl, you are in the middle stage of Qi Refinement, so it should still bring you immense benefit." Murong Qinglian took back the small bowl and urged Luo Chen not to waste the soup's medicinal potency. After she left, Luo Chen felt deeply moved. Though life had been exceedingly hard since transmigrating here, he had still met many good people along the path of cultivation. Sun Shou, who had been willing to rent him a house for half a spirit stone; Chen Xiuping, who had yielded a stall space to him; and these good neighbors in the courtyard. He even began to wonder if his transmigrator perk went beyond just that proficiency status panel. *Maybe my karmic fortune is maxed out too!* When pondering this, he naturally brushed aside rotten scum like the short-lived ghost Chen Xiao and the pauper Gao Ting'e. Those were merely a few specks of wind and frost on the cultivation journey! Just as he was lost in thought, a warm current began spreading outward from his stomach. Dry heat, impulses, surging strength—a cascade of illusions almost made him swell to bursting. Recalling what Murong Qinglian had just said, Luo Chen did not dare dally and rushed back to his bedroom to begin cultivating. Earlier, he had hesitated over whether to press forward in one burst today, but now there was no need to worry. Only, this cultivation session lasted for a full two hours. When Luo Chen opened his eyes, a feeling of boundless vitality welled up within him. He clenched his fists, feeling as though he could beat a tiger to death with his bare hands! Naturally, even before this, he could have killed an ordinary tiger. Yet that had relied on spiritual power and spells; now, sheer physical flesh and bone imparted such a sensation of strength. "And this was only a single small bowl of tiger bone soup!" "If I drank this kind of tiger bone soup every day, my physique would probably become as formidable as that of a demon beast blood fiend tiger sooner or later." The fantasy vanished in an instant. What a joke—this tiger bone soup was simmered from second-tier spiritual ingredients; he could nowhere near afford it right now. Of course, the benefits brought by this bowl of tiger bone soup went beyond strengthening his vitality and physique. Luo Chen summoned his status panel once again. Under the cultivation technique column, it had prominently turned into [Eternal Spring Art: Grandmaster 501/1000]. Grandmaster tier! Recalling those two hours just now, especially the scene when he circulated the Eternal Spring Art one last time, Luo Chen was overjoyed. A Grandmaster proficiency in the Eternal Spring Art actually brought about such miraculous changes. First, it adapted perfectly to his body, as if it were a cultivation method tailored specifically for him. Originally, completing one circulation cycle passed through only five meridians and six vessels. Now, as the spiritual power flowed, it had unlocked the remaining seven meridians and two vessels! Although they were only newly cleared and could carry only a small trickle of spiritual power, Luo Chen understood what it meant to have all twelve primary meridians linked and all eight extraordinary vessels opened. It meant that his efficiency in refining ambient spiritual qi would increase dramatically from now on. Even the speed at which he refined medicinal pills would double, as there were more meridians available to digest the medicinal potency. Previously, he could only refine one Qi-Nourishing Pill a day, but now he could take two a day. As long as he had enough spirit stones, it was practically equivalent to doubling his cultivation speed out of thin air. Of course, opening all twelve primary meridians and eight extraordinary vessels was not without cost. The fourth-layer Qi Refinement spiritual power throughout his body had been almost entirely depleted. And it was precisely this complete depletion that revealed to Luo Chen the second change Grandmaster-tier Eternal Spring Art had brought him. "It can actually recover qi automatically!" Automatic qi recovery meant the automatic replenishment of spiritual power. Luo Chen could sense that even without actively circulating the Eternal Spring Art, his body sent out waves of hunger signals. He was currently in the inner city, a place with a first-tier spirit vein. Even though other factions had drawn away most of the spiritual qi using Spirit Gathering Formations, the ambient concentration outside remained respectable. Under those hunger signals, his body seemed utterly translucent, absorbing the ambient spiritual qi naturally. This absorption rate was about one-tenth of full-effort circulation. While not massive, it operated continuously, without ceasing for a single moment. "This way, I'll never have to worry about consuming too much spiritual power while practicing spells again!" Luo Chen was ecstatic. All along, the bottleneck that had slowed his spell proficiency gains was spiritual power. The human body was like a sealed treasure trove, and the dantian was the vessel gathering spiritual power. To break through realms, the total volume of spiritual power had to climb continuously. Quantitative change leading to qualitative change, smashing through constraints. Therefore, when cultivators sought to break through, they usually ensured they were in peak condition for every cultivation session. That way, with every bit of spiritual qi refined, the spiritual power within their bodies would increase a bit. The vessel would also expand somewhat, breaking through the limits of the sealed treasure trove. However, when cultivators fought or practiced spells, they squandered large amounts of spiritual qi. Under those conditions, circulating a technique did not actually increase spiritual power or break through boundaries; it merely restored one to their original peak state. Luo Chen's spell proficiency had grown slowly precisely because he had to balance it against advancing his realm. Therefore, he had strictly limited the daily casts of each spell. The Fireball Art, which consumed the most, was cast four times a day; the Entangling Art, once or twice on occasion; the Cleansing Art, rarely. The Attraction Art and Spiritual Eye Art, which consumed relatively little spiritual power, were cast at least ten times a day. Even under those circumstances, it was difficult to increase his spiritual power ceiling through his own cultivation alone; he had to rely on Qi-Nourishing Pills. But now, he could recover qi automatically. This meant he could practice spells and grind proficiency with relative abandon. "The Grandmaster-tier Eternal Spring Art doesn't just improve my cultivation speed—it effectively boosts my combat power too." "As long as I work hard enough, I'll have plenty of time to grind every single spell to max level." Luo Chen had never seen the power of a max-level spell. Yet just Grandmaster-tier Fireball Art had allowed him to develop the deadly technique Dancing Fireflies. Thus, his excitement was entirely justified. Once the excitement faded, much of his abundant energy seemed to dissipate. Cultivating continuously for so long, his physique could endure it, but his mental stamina was truly running low. Not pushing himself, Luo Chen simply went to sleep. When he woke, his spirit felt thoroughly refreshed. He could not resist circulating the Eternal Spring Art once more. This time, he observed the various wonders of the Grandmaster Eternal Spring Art even more closely. Half an hour later, he opened his eyes, thick delight radiating across his entire being. "The efficiency of refining spiritual qi doubled again!" "It's nearly comparable to the normal cultivation efficiency of a three-spiritual-root cultivator." If the cultivation efficiency of a five-spiritual-root aptitude at the start was one base unit, the Perfection-tier Eternal Spring Art had doubled it to two base units, matching a four-spiritual-root aptitude. Now, Luo Chen clearly sensed that his efficiency in converting spiritual qi had reached four base units. Luo Chen had previously been uncertain about his self-defined efficiency metric. However, his time spent with Qin Liangchen had gradually confirmed this algorithm. Because Qin Liangchen possessed a three-spiritual-root aptitude and was forty-nine years old. Back then, he had started cultivating at seventeen, perfectly missing the age cutoff for sect recruitment. It had taken him over thirty years to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. In Qin Liangchen's own words, if he hadn't had to worry about earning a living midway through, or expend spiritual power practicing spells and familiarizing himself with magical instruments, he could have saved at least ten years. In other words, it wouldn't take over thirty years—twenty-some years at most—for someone with three spiritual roots to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. Of course, moving from the ninth layer of Qi Refinement to the Foundation Establishment stage was a long journey far exceeding all the time spent before. Setting aside the time from the ninth layer to Foundation Establishment for now... Qin Liangchen's cultivation speed, compared against Luo Chen's five spiritual roots and Chen Xiuping's four spiritual roots, aligned very well with Luo Chen's efficiency baseline algorithm. Relying on this algorithm, Luo Chen confirmed his current standing. "Without factoring in pills, my cultivation speed matches that of a three-spiritual-root cultivator." A three-spiritual-root cultivator! That was already the aptitude threshold for pursuing the Great Dao. Given abundant resources, one could reach Foundation Establishment in forty to fifty years at the fastest, and within a century at most. Luo Chen had always brooded over his lifespan. He had practiced so many spells and advanced through several realms, but his lifespan had never changed. This had constantly weighed on him with a sense of urgency. Like a sword hanging suspended above his head. Now, the Grandmaster-tier Eternal Spring Art had finally moved that sword a little farther away. Of course, to take that sword down completely, he still had to meet one condition: "Abundant resources!" "So, make money, make money—I still have to make money!"