The [Heavenly Eyes] skill was more than just a tool; it was the difference between fumbling in the dark and having a detailed, real-time blueprint. It provided the data Lin Yun's programmer's mind craved to execute the process flawlessly.
Curious, he pulled up the skill's information.
[Heavenly Eyes (Level 1)]
[Rank: SSR]
[Effect: Allows the user to analyze the spiritual properties and composition of ingredients and concoction processes. Reveals basic information.]
[Progression: 98/10000 to Level 2.]
His eyebrows rose. Before he started the refinement process, he distinctly remembered the progression was at a paltry 68/10000. Now it was 98.
A slow smile of understanding dawned on his face. He had already figured out the pattern. When he had used the skill earlier to simply identify common ingredients like the Moonlit Dewdrops or the Spirit Larkspur flowers, the progression had been minuscule, maybe a point or two.
But using it during the intense, complex process of pill refinement? That was a different matter entirely. The constant analysis of energy flows, temperature gradients, and ingredient fusion states provided a massive boost to the skill's progression.
"It seems that as long as I use it for more complex tasks, like refining pills, it will improve much faster," he concluded.
This was crucial information. It meant the path to leveling this divine skill was through practice and challenge, not through mundane identification.
The deep satisfaction of his successful alchemy began to recede, replaced by the stark reality of his physical state.
"Alas…" Lin Yun let out a long, weary sigh, the sound heavy in the quiet room. His body felt like a wrung-out rag, his dantian utterly barren. A profound sense of weakness settled in his bones.
"Just refining one batch of the most basic Qi Gathering Pill, and I'm already completely drained," he muttered, a frown creasing his brow. "This is simply outrageous."
The euphoria of creation couldn't mask the fundamental problem: he was pathetically weak. His cultivation base at the 3rd Level of Qi Condensation was a joke. More importantly, the talent of this body was, as the memories confirmed, thoroughly mediocre.
He lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind shifting from the joy of accomplishment to the cold, hard analysis of his limitations. He delved into the original Lin Yun's memories, pulling up everything he knew about the foundations of cultivation talent.
It all boiled down to three major, innate factors.
The first was the Spiritual Root. This was the core, the very seed of one's potential. It was an innate talent that separated the gifted from the mediocre from birth.
The analogy in the memories was simple: a Spiritual Root was like the root of a great tree. The bigger, stronger, and more developed the root system, the taller and mightier the tree could grow.
A person with a Heaven-grade Spiritual Root could draw in spiritual energy as easily as breathing, their path to power wide and clear. Someone with a Mortal-grade root, like the original Lin Yun, had to fight for every wisp of energy, their path narrow and choked with weeds. It defined one's ceiling.
The second factor was the Meridian Entrances, also known as Acupoints.
The memories provided another clear analogy: the body's meridians were the roads through which spiritual energy traveled. The acupoints were the gates along these roads. If the gates were closed, the energy could not flow freely to complete its circulation.
As a cultivator progressed from the Body Tempering Realm into the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Realms, they would slowly 'open' these gates.
There were 361 common acupoints known to all, and legends spoke of 48 hidden acupoints that only supreme geniuses could unlock. The more acupoints one opened, the more complex and powerful cultivation techniques one could learn and execute.
A technique was, after all, just a specific pattern of energy circulation. More open gates meant more intricate and efficient pathways, leading to greater power.
The third and final factor was Mental Power. This was also largely innate, akin to intelligence or brainpower in his old world. Some people were simply born with stronger, more resilient minds
A powerful mental force allowed for finer control of spiritual energy, deeper comprehension of complex techniques, and greater resistance to illusions and mental attacks. It was the processor that managed the entire cultivation system.
The problem was, all three of his factors—Spiritual Root, Acupoints, and Mental Power—were average at best. The original owner had opened only a few dozen of the most basic acupoints. His mental power was unremarkable. And his Spiritual Root was solidly Mortal-grade.
A grim determination settled over him. He couldn't accept these limits. In the world of programming, there was always an upgrade, a patch, a way to optimize performance. Surely, cultivation was the same.
While he didn't know the methods of this cultivation world to improve these innate factors—such things were likely closely guarded secrets of major sects or required heaven-defying luck—he knew exactly how it worked in Alchemy to Immortality.
In the game, you could purchase special, incredibly rare items.
A Spirit Root Washing Pill could cleanse and upgrade the quality of one's Spiritual Root. Meridian Unlocking Pills could forcibly open stubborn acupoints. And Soul Nourishing Pills could directly enhance one's mental power.
These were mid-game items, fantastically expensive and difficult to obtain, but they existed. The logic was there. If the game, which was based on the mechanics of this world, had them, then they must exist here too in some form.
His gaze was drawn irresistibly to his system interface, to one tab in particular that had been grayed out since the beginning: the [Market].
A spark of hope, tempered by caution, flickered in his heart.
In the game, the Market was a global auction house, a central hub connected to every player on the server. You could sell your excess pills and materials and buy anything other players were selling. If this system's Market was the same... if it was somehow still connected...
Then he wouldn't be limited by the resources of this backwater kingdom or even this continent. He could potentially access a multiverse of cultivation goods.
He could buy a Spirit Root Washing Pill from some other player in a distant, advanced realm and have it delivered to his inventory. It was a dizzying, almost blasphemous thought.
But what if it's not?