After taking a look at the nearly exhausted pills, Su Yu put away his magical treasure after killing the last wave, took out the paper crane, and flew towards Thousand Feather City.
"The mana is still not enough, I need to continue improving it."
Returning to Thousand Feather City, he headed straight to the central commercial street and stopped in front of the Thousand Feather Commerce Association.
"I want ten First-grade Dao Heart Elixirs."
Consuming the Dao Heart Elixir can increase one's Dao cultivation. The first grade is the lowest, increasing Dao cultivation by 3 points upon consumption. The market price is 10 taels of silver each, but guild members get a 10% discount when buying from the guild's commerce association, costing only 9 taels of silver.
With ten First-grade Dao Heart Elixirs in hand, Su Yu had only 65 silver left.
"The consumption is too great."
He gritted his teeth and bought another 200 High-grade Spirit Recovery Elixirs, spending 10 silver.
Then he found a restaurant in the commercial district and booked a private room.
Closing the room door, he took out a Dao Heart Elixir, placing one in his palm. It was as lustrous as jade, resembling more a gemstone than a pill.
The pill melted quickly in his mouth into a warm current that integrated into his body.
He opened the system panel, and the notification section showed:
"Notice: Consumed a First-grade Dao Heart Elixir, gained 3 points of Dao cultivation."
"Notice: Unknown factor influence, gained 6 points of Dao cultivation."
"Wow!"
Su Yu pursed his lips to maintain composure, but the smile in his eyes betrayed his inner excitement.
He quickly consumed the remaining Dao Heart Elixirs one by one, gaining a total increase of 60 points in Dao cultivation, plus the previous 3 points, totaling 63 points.
Cross-legged, Su Yu focused his mind, opened the panel, and began improving the Purple Essence Qi Refining Skill.
Raising the ten levels of the Purple Essence Qi Refining Skill to the eleventh level requires 140,000 cultivation points and 4 Dao cultivation points.
Raising the eleventh level to the twelfth requires 160,000 cultivation points and 4 Dao cultivation points.
And so on, raising it from the tenth to the fifteenth level in one go, consuming 900,000 cultivation points and 20 Dao cultivation points.
The fifteenth level of the Purple Essence Qi Refining Skill: Qi and Blood +600, Mana +1200, Magic Power +600, Mana recovery +3 points/second.
This heart skill has reached the normal limit for improvement; continuing further will be troublesome.
Usually, the maximum number of levels mentioned at the start of a Qi Refining Heart Skill refers to the directly improveable levels, not the ultimate limit. Beyond that, further conditions must be met to increase the level cap for continued improvement.
Generally, there are three ways to continue improving.
The first way is to purchase the cultivation manual of a Loose Immortal who has passed a celestial tribulation, learn from it, and based on personal insight, increase the level cap of the Purple Essence Qi Refining Skill from fifteen to twenty. Only then can you continue to invest cultivation points and Dao cultivation points to raise the heart skill from the fifteenth to the new cap of twenty.
These cultivation manuals are expensive, with the cheapest First-grade costing one tael of gold.
The second way is to listen to a Dao lecture; a Loose Immortal-level expert can lecture, and listening may also increase the level cap of the heart skill based on insight.
The Thousand Feather Guild is a venerable large guild established over hundreds of years, with many experts. Several Loose Immortal-level experts who have passed a celestial tribulation lecture monthly. Guild members can use guild contributions to exchange for listening opportunities.
The third method is the arduous way, forcibly raising the Qi Refining Heart Skill level by spending ten times the normal cultivation points and Dao cultivation points.
For instance, to raise the Purple Essence Qi Refining Skill from fifteen levels to sixteen normally requires 120,000 cultivation points and 4 Dao cultivation points, but forcibly raising it requires 1,200,000 cultivation points and 40 Dao cultivation points, ignoring any conditions for a forcible upgrade.
The vast majority of ordinary players, without money or connections, rely on this arduous method to forcibly enhance their cultivation later.
Su Yu doesn't need to use such a method now; he should first level up to enhance his strength.
As for the remaining 1,530,000 cultivation points and 43 Dao cultivation points, they'll be saved for later.
So much Dao cultivation cost a lot of money; if forced to improve for just one level, it wouldn't be worth it.
But in any case, making money still needs to be prioritized.
He quickly finished eating and, before setting out, bought a magical treasure, a second-grade Fire Talisman, spending 2 taels of silver.
Bing Fire Talisman (Second-grade Magical Treasure): A fire-type talisman capable of launching fireballs to damage enemies.
Attributes: Fireball Power 110, Magic Damage Bonus 15%, Range 120 meters, Mana Cost 20, Cooldown 1 second.
Equipment Requirement: Any Qi Refining Heart Skill above level five.
Used to finish off remaining health; if the Three Yang Fan doesn't kill in one strike or if a wave of fire rain leaves some HP, use this to tactically kill.
The Fire Talisman consumes only 20 mana, much more cost-effective than the Fireball Technique derived from the Fire Element True Understanding, which consumes 50 mana.
He stood by Chensha River again, but not at the previous riverbank location; instead, a bit further upstream where the riverbanks are slightly steep, and the water spirits are of slightly higher level, around level fifteen, with 300 health.
He summoned the feather fan, igniting a blazing flame, splitting into three fireballs that flew out. Simultaneously multitasking, he activated the Fire Talisman; a ball of fire flew out, finishing off the Black Fish Spirit with leftover HP.
A level fifteen spirit monster with 300 health can't be taken down by one fireball.
The Fire Talisman has only a one-second cooldown, so Su Yu continuously used it to finish off the rest with low health, resting slightly before continuing the battle.
With previous experience, this time Su Yu didn't brush continuously like before; the mana couldn't sustain it.
Now, with a fifteen-layer Qi Refining Skill, he can recover 3 mana per second, so taking a few seconds of rest after each battle can recover a significant amount of mana, improving endurance.
In half an hour, he cleared most of the nearby spirits and continued a few kilometers upstream.
Thus, back and forth, before he knew it, it was dark.
Due to the slower pace, he only gained 250,000 cultivation points in the afternoon, with no increase in Dao cultivation.
Early the next morning, he set out again, still by the Chensha River.
At the same spot, around level fifteen spirits.
Brushing from morning till noon, returning to the city for a meal and rest, continuing in the afternoon, grinding until the evening, he accumulated around 500,000 slaying experience in a day.
Without double experience, it would normally be only around 250,000.
In fact, contemporaries without double attributes can't easily solo similarly leveled spirits like him.
In the following days, Su Yu woke up early every day and headed to the Chensha River, fighting for five hours in the morning and five hours in the afternoon, returning by night.
"Damn, it feels like a regular job!"
But in reality, it's not much different from a job; in the early stages, you have to grind.
Day by day, Su Yu accumulated a lot of practical experience in battle, such as maximizing output while balancing mana consumption, trying to cause the most damage with the least mana.
He learned how to adjust rhythms, maximizing his mana recovery to improve endurance, reducing consumption of mana pills, and minimizing expenses.
Initially, 200 High-grade Spirit Recovery Elixirs would be nearly used up in a day, by the second day, they'd be almost finished by midday.
After learning to conserve mana, 200 High-grade Spirit Recovery Elixirs could last two full days.
A week later, 200 High-grade Spirit Recovery Elixirs could last three full days, without affecting experience gain.
Gaining 500,000 slaying experience a day, roughly 3.5 million a week, still no increase in Dao cultivation.
That's expected; there'd be no bosses by the river.
On the eighth day, Su Yu got up early, habitually ordered a breakfast, and was about to head out when he suddenly received a new message.
Curious, he opened it, finding it was from a stranger named Fu Ping:
"I'm Fu Ping, an instructor in the guild's newcomer division. Are you Su Yu?"
"Uh, yes, I'm Su Yu. Is there something, instructor?"
"Nothing much, just routinely understanding the newcomer situation. I noticed you haven't joined a team yet. Is it because other teams haven't accepted you, or do you have your own team?"
"Oh, I prefer going solo."
"Hmm...."
Fu Ping paused slightly, then said:
"While the guild won't interfere with your choice, going solo as a newcomer is not only dangerous but also inefficient. As a senior, I suggest you find a team."
He continued:
"Human Resources should have told you during the signing that the guild recruits a large number of newcomers each year, but not every newcomer can stay."
"At the end of the year, there will be an assessment, where half will be directly demoted to affiliate members."
"Soloing is inefficient, making the assessment difficult compared to others next year."
"There's a trial period for all independent squads in the guild. You can try joining a squad for a day; you can leave and change squads if it doesn't fit. The guild has dozens of independent squads, surely one will suit you."