NOVEL WEB Ch. 4
Chapter 4: Database
“No wonder it’s a true immortal pill!” Xu Zhengyang said excitedly as he watched his cultivation progress bar surge forward.
However, the Yellow Dragon Pill was, after all, only a Tier 1 pill.
That state which allowed Xu Zhengyang to cultivate at five times the usual speed lasted only for one hour before dropping off a cliff.
Once the medicinal power of the Yellow Dragon Pill dissipated—
Xu Zhengyang’s cultivation speed gradually declined, eventually returning completely to the disappointing rate of 0.475 per hour.
“The Yellow Dragon Pill is great, but its effects only last for an hour—leaves me wanting more.”
Xu Zhengyang spoke with a hint of regret.
He casually opened the Health Manager’s operation log, and after carefully reviewing the body data in the log, said, “All medicine has its toxicity. While the Yellow Dragon Pill can greatly boost my cultivation speed in a short time, it also puts quite a burden on my liver. Taking one Yellow Dragon Pill— My liver needs at least ten hours to completely metabolize and eliminate the pill toxins that have built up inside my body.”
With the Cultivation Method Manager running the Qi Refining Art on auto-pilot for him, he could take one Yellow Dragon Pill every ten hours.
Even considering drug tolerance—
Fourteen days would be enough for him to cultivate to the second level of Qi Refining and meet his master’s requirement!”
At this point—
Seeing that he could complete the task Pei Zhen had assigned him on time, Xu Zhengyang finally relaxed completely.
He took out the handwritten book that Pei Zhen had given him earlier, the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide.
Then—
Xu Zhengyang first created a new entry titled 【Cultivation】 in his internal database, and then created a sub-entry under it titled 【Talismans】.
After finishing the categorization and file management—
Xu Zhengyang began to flip through the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide, entering the contents of the book into his database.
*
Half an hour later—
After fully recording all the information from the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide into his database, Xu Zhengyang stretched with satisfaction.
He summarized, “Qi Refining cultivators have limited spiritual energy. In actual combat, casting just a few spells will deplete all their energy, making it hard to continue. But when cultivators travel outside, conflicts are inevitable. Because of this — Talismans came into being. Cultivators use spiritual materials like talisman paper and cinnabar to pre-seal various spells into talismans using specific methods. When the time comes — They only need a small amount of spiritual energy as a primer to activate the spell via the talisman, greatly enhancing their combat power!”
At this point—
Xu Zhengyang opened the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide again.
Looking thoughtfully at the various rune diagrams drawn on the talismans, he said, “Talismans are composed of runes written in cinnabar. Can I study these runes to summarize their underlying patterns and thereby organize a systematic theoretical framework for runes?”
Anyway, with the Cultivation Method Manager helping him cultivate at all times, Xu Zhengyang had free time on his hands.
So as soon as he finished speaking—
Xu Zhengyang closed his eyes and created a new entry titled 【Runes】 in his brain’s internal database.
He began organizing and storing the runes from the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide into categories.
The Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide was Pei Zhen’s labor of love, and it included nearly all Tier 1 talismans!
Because of this—
Xu Zhengyang’s workload was far more complicated than he had imagined!
……
The next day at noon—
After a full day and night of effort, Xu Zhengyang had made a preliminary categorization of the runes found in the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide.
Just as he was about to continue working—
Suddenly—
The restriction jade token from the Twilight Shadow Pavilion that Pei Zhen had given him yesterday began to vibrate.
“?”
Xu Zhengyang took out the jade token in confusion, only to hear a hearty voice coming from within:
“Little junior brother, I’m your senior brother Xing Yong. Master sent me to check on you and bring you some Fasting Pills so you don’t go hungry at home!”
Xing Yong was Pei Zhen’s first disciple and had outstanding talent—he possessed a Single Fire Heavenly Spiritual Root!
Because of this—
With Pei Zhen’s dedicated cultivation, Xing Yong had successfully formed his Foundation at the age of twenty-seven and was already renowned throughout Qingzhou, a true pillar of the True Essence Sect!
Not long ago—
When Xu Zhengyang was recommended into the True Essence Sect, it was Xing Yong who brought him to Divine Mechanism Peak.
In fact, even the Qi Refining Art he was currently cultivating—
Had been passed down to him by Xing Yong at that time.
So when Xu Zhengyang heard Xing Yong’s voice from the restriction jade token, he didn’t hesitate and jogged out of the meditation room.
He used the restriction token to open the main gate of Twilight Shadow Pavilion, cupped his fists and greeted, “Welcome, senior brother!”
Xing Yong was a burly man.
His originally flowing Daoist robe looked like battle gear on him, highlighting his muscles.
“No need to be so polite, little junior brother.”
Xing Yong gave a simple smile and flipped his hand, taking out a white jade gourd from his storage pouch. “You haven’t formally become a disciple yet. Master can’t break the rules to assign you a personal servant or maid to take care of your daily needs. You’ll have to endure for now. Temporarily rely on these Fasting Pills to stave off hunger.”
“Thank you, senior brother.”
Xu Zhengyang hadn’t eaten for an entire day and night and was indeed hungry.
So he accepted the white jade gourd that Xing Yong handed over, pulled out the stopper, and poured out a green elixir the size of a longan fruit, swallowing it in one go.
The Fasting Pill had a refreshing herbal fragrance.
After Xu Zhengyang swallowed it, not only did his hunger vanish, but even his spirit was lifted.
At this moment—
Xing Yong cast a Qi Observation Technique on himself.
Looking at Xu Zhengyang, he clicked his tongue in amazement and said, “Master told me before that you could multitask—running a cultivation technique while doing something else. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it!”
“It’s just a minor skill, not worth mentioning.”
Xu Zhengyang replied humbly, then turned to invite Xing Yong inside. “Senior brother, come in and have a cup of tea.”
“No need.”
Xing Yong waved his hand and said, “One Fasting Pill can sustain you for three days without food or drink. This gourd of Fasting Pills — Is enough for you to get by these next few days.”
At this point—
Xing Yong asked Xu Zhengyang again, “I’ve got other matters to attend to and will be heading down the mountain shortly. Little junior brother, is there anything else you need for daily life? I’ll pick it up for you when I go down this time!”
The Twilight Shadow Pavilion was fully stocked with daily necessities.
Xu Zhengyang wasn’t one to seek comfort either, so he was about to politely decline Xing Yong’s offer.
But before he could speak—
Xu Zhengyang suddenly thought of the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide, and so he took the opportunity to say to Xing Yong, “If possible — Could senior brother bring me a spiritual brush, talisman paper, and cinnabar—the materials used to draw talismans?”
Just talking on paper is ultimately superficial.
Although Xu Zhengyang had already made a basic summary and classification of all the runes recorded in the Divine Mechanism Talisman Guide—
It was, after all, still in the theoretical stage.
Xu Zhengyang needed to verify their actual effects to know whether his ideas were correct.