After some planning, Shen Mo's cultivation schedule was soon finalized.
There were no holidays, nor did he set aside any leisure time for himself.
He posted the schedule on the wall of his residence, washed up, and then fell into a deep sleep.
Over the following month, Shen Mo was exceptionally diligent. True to his schedule, he maintained remarkable self-discipline. As the saying goes, heaven rewards the diligent. His hard work paid off, and Shen Mo gained significantly this month.
[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]
[Cultivation: Body Tempering Realm, Layer VII]
[Cultivation Method: Heavenly Origin Technique (Junior, 325/1000)]
[Martial Arts: Supreme Clarity Sword Technique (Senior, 225/500)]
[Magic: Thunderclap Rapid Step (Primary, 240/500)...]
Shen Mo marked a circle on the last date on his schedule. He then opened his attribute panel, his gaze fixed on the recorded data of his various cultivation methods and martial arts.
Not a small improvement, he thought.
Over the course of this month of cultivation, his Heavenly Origin Technique had indeed improved. It had ascended from the 'Senior' level to the 'Junior' level. This breakthrough made Shen Mo feel that the Heavenly Origin Technique's speed of absorbing nature's spiritual energy had increased by at least thirty percent.
In addition to his foundational cultivation method, he had not neglected his swordplay. The Supreme Clarity Sword Technique was a swordplay Shen Mo had started learning when he first became a peripheral disciple of the Riverside Sect. Because he had practiced it infrequently before, it had long remained at the beginner level. However, after dedicating time to practice it for a month, it had finally reached the 'Senior' level, its power greatly increased!
As for the lightness magic, Thunderclap Rapid Step, which he had exchanged with Gu Qingshan, progress was not significant. Although Shen Mo highly valued this lightness magic and dedicated most of his practice time to it, it still hadn't reached the 'Senior' level. Its current proficiency was only at the 'Primary' level. This slow progress was likely due to the magic's inherent grade; the experience growth for Thunderclap Rapid Step was slow, and its cultivation difficulty was far greater than that of the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique.
"Apart from the improvements in my cultivation method and martial arts, my cultivation base has also increased rapidly this month!" he exclaimed, feeling the surging power of vital essence within his body.
During this period, Shen Mo no longer neglected his foundational cultivation due to an obsession with side occupations, as he had the previous month. Every day, he would dedicate three Shichen to meditation, diligently refining his cultivation. Supplemented by the effects of the Yang-strengthening Powder, Shen Mo's progress was rapid.
Although he hadn't broken through to the Eighth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm, he felt he had already touched the threshold of that realm, his accumulation sufficient. Now, he only needed a suitable opportunity to break through in one fell swoop!
I also made quite a few elixirs this month and have basically gotten the hang of it, Shen Mo thought, turning to look at the inner hall.
Two large vats stood there, one filled with Yang-strengthening Powder and the other with Qi Restoring Pills. These two types of elixirs were piled up like mountains.
After taking inventory, Shen Mo calculated the quantities. There were a total of one hundred fifty Qi Restoring Pills and two hundred fifty doses of Yang-strengthening Powder. Counting the finished products, there should have been 260 doses of Yang-strengthening Powder. However, he had consumed one dose every three days for his cultivation during this period, using up ten doses in total.
"As for Minor Yuan Cultivation Pills, there aren't as many," he sighed, touching his storage bag.
The success rate for refining those two unranked spiritual medicines was inherently high. Half a month prior, after Shen Mo's Alchemy Path advanced to Grade I, he had become quite adept at refining these two elixirs. However, the Grade I Elixir, the Minor Yuan Cultivation Pill, still had a low success rate in its refinement. From ten portions of medicinal ingredients, he had only managed to refine two pills, and his proficiency with this particular elixir remained low.
With this in mind, he opened the Destiny Panel, which recorded his level in the Alchemy Path.
[Alchemy Path (Grade I) 305/1000]
[Yang-strengthening Powder (Excellent) 233/5000]
[Qi Restoring Pill (Excellent) 13/5000]
[Minor Yuan Cultivation Pill (Great) 33/1000]
My Alchemy Path has finally reached a basic level, Shen Mo thought, looking at these figures. He then remarked with emotion, "The Talisman Path and the Alchemy Path, these two side occupations, are finally on the right track."
Thanks to the effects of the attribute panel and experience bar, he had never encountered the bottlenecks others often faced when refining elixirs or improving their alchemy and talisman skills. At least, that was how it seemed for now.
But this doesn't mean I can rest easy. To continue improving these two side occupations, I'll need to acquire more elixir recipes and talisman scrolls in the future, he mused.
Although he faced no bottlenecks and his experience increased once the bar was full, Shen Mo discovered that advancing his Alchemy Dao Realm presented a similar dilemma to that of his Talisman Dao Realm. Once his Alchemy Path reached the Grade I level, refining unranked, low-grade spiritual medicines like Qi Restoring Pills and Yang-strengthening Powder yielded very little experience. Sometimes, his experience didn't increase at all. For sustainable progress, he needed more high-grade elixir recipes.
KNOCK, KNOCK.
While deep in thought, Shen Mo suddenly heard a knock at the door.
He got off the bed, walked to the courtyard, and opened the main gate.
Outside the door stood a young girl.
It was Chen Mengze. She was here again.
"Per my father's instructions, I came to check on your cultivation progress," Chen Mengze said indifferently. "You haven't been slacking off recently, have you?"
"I'm doing alright," Shen Mo replied, recalling his efforts over the past month.
"How is your progress?"
"My cultivation has reached the bottleneck of Layer VII. I just need more time and effort to break through."
"Really?" Chen Mengze raised an eyebrow, seeming a bit skeptical. She extended a delicate hand, resting it on Shen Mo's shoulder. Using an observation technique, she carefully examined his cultivation for a long moment before finally believing his words.
"Your cultivation progress has been quite fast recently. It must be due to the effects of the Qi Gathering Pills," Chen Mengze mused, finally attributing it to this. After all, this was the same Shen Mo who had been stuck at the Fifth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm for a full three years.
Shen Mo didn't refute this. Part of the reason for his rapid cultivation speed was indeed attributable to those two Qi Gathering Pills.
"Relying on medicinal strength to advance your cultivation makes it difficult to grasp the opportunity for a breakthrough," Chen Mengze said after a moment's thought. "If you want to break through faster, you need to experience real battles."
"Real battles?" Shen Mo was startled.
"Yes," Chen Mengze nodded. "Just cultivating in seclusion makes it hard to find opportunities for a breakthrough. However, if you can venture out for trials, experiencing life-and-death battles, you can often achieve unexpected results."
The outside... seems very dangerous, Shen Mo thought. He indeed wanted to break through to the Eighth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm quickly. But... to him, safety was paramount. The world outside the Riverside Sect was exceedingly dangerous; the probability of death was unacceptably high. He still wanted to lie low for a while longer, waiting until his cultivation improved further.
"If one wishes to ascend the path of immortality, how can one avoid wind and rain?" Chen Mengze knew what Shen Mo was thinking and said, "You will have to encounter the outside world sooner or later. The Deacon Hall frequently posts various sect trial missions. Besides those in the Linjiang Mountain Range area, these trial missions often include some that low-level disciples can undertake. I heard you resigned from your post guarding the mountain gate? If you have free time, you might as well go out and see."