Chapter 3 Cultivation is Hard

After Old Wang left, Shangguan Yi wasted no time and immediately began studying the contents of the thick black book. Tons of information flooded his brain like a broken dam.

Meanwhile, the system absorbed this information at an astonishing rate. Tons of pill names and their refining methods began to appear in the pill refining function, lighting up like stars in the sky.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Shangguan Yi finally skimmed through all the contents of the thick black book.

To his surprise, he memorized all of them.

"It couldn't be the ability of my brain; it must be related to the system," Shangguan Yi realized. Connecting to the system to confirm his suspicion, he quickly discovered that all the contents had indeed been stored within the pill refining function.

He delved deeper into the pill refining function, and the system stunned him once more.

It appeared that the system could refine all kinds of level 2 pills, known as elite pills, commonly used by Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

There were thousands of types of level 2 pills, covering all kinds of possibilities. For instance, cultivation pills like Essence Pill, Five Elements Essence Pill, Great Yin Pills, and Extreme Flame Pill helped in cultivation. Healing pills included Thousand Resonance Pill and Burying Toxins Pill. Supporting pills like Day Pill, Month Pill, and Year Pill were also available, which, when consumed, eliminated the need for eating and drinking for specific periods.

After all, Foundation Establishment Cultivators still needed to eat and drink occasionally, typically once every ten days or once a month.

Shangguan Yi reveled in his newfound knowledge for a while before delving deeper into the refining methods.

This limitation was not unexpected for Shangguan Yi. As a level 1 Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the system could refine at most ten batches of low-grade elite pills per day. For mid or high-grade elite pills, the system's refining capacity decreased, and his essence consumption increased.

As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, replenishing his energy wasn't as simple as eating and resting like in the Body Refining Realm. Now, he needed to replenish his essence, which required more effort and resources.

Refining low-grade elite pills would be the most efficient use of his time and resources, allowing him to replenish his essence gradually without overexerting himself.

"As I contemplate the need for resources, perhaps I should seek assistance from the pavilion," Shangguan Yi mused. Just then, a knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts.

Knock! Knock! Knock! 

"Xiaoyi, I've brought the information you requested," Old Wang's voice echoed from outside.

Shangguan Yi swiftly concluded his cultivation session and stepped out of the room to greet Old Wang.

"Old Wang, you've come." 

"Here are all the formations I could find." Old Wang handed ten white pearls to Shangguan Yi.

The white pearl was a treasure crafted by an artifact refiner, containing divine text within. With just a transfer of Divine Sense, the information could be stored in the pearl, accessible to the receiver who needed only to use their own Divine Sense to access the contents. It was the most widely used communication method in the world.

Shangguan Yi didn't immediately checked on them, instead he spoke to Old Wang,

"I trust your arrangements, Old Wang. Also, I need to inform you that I'll be going into seclusion from now on. You can expect the pills to be delivered monthly, and rest assured, the quantity will be the same or even more. As for the ingredients for one month time, I'll rely on your assistance with that matter."

Old Wang nodded approvingly. "It seems you've gained some insights. Congratulations on that. As for the ingredients, leave it to me, Xiaoyi. They'll be here by evening."

"That would be ideal," Shangguan Yi agreed with a nod.

Old Wang nodded and didn't linger for long; as a shopkeeper, he had many matters to attend to.

Shangguan Yi returned to his room and began to examine the information. As his Divine Sense swept through the white pearl, it shone brightly for a moment before dimming, flooding his mind with a torrent of information, like a breached dam.

The first pearl contained general information about Shanxi County.

Shanxi County spanned approximately one million square miles, constituting about one-third of China's territory. It comprised a total of 36 cities, with Xi'An city serving as the central hub. The city boasted a population of 100 million, roughly 10% of the county's total population. However, these figures were approximate, as accurate demographic data was difficult to ascertain due to the challenges of measuring birth and death rates in the region.

Xi'An city was home to millions of cultivation families, among which the ten most prominent boasted a history spanning a thousand years. These revered lineages collectively earned the title of the "Ten Great Families of Xi'An City."

The power structure of Xi'An city consisted of the City Lord Manor, the Ten Great Families, the Three Great Sects, and the Commercial Alliance.

The Azure Cloud Pavilion was among the most influential and powerful pill commercial industries, holding a significant position within Xi'An's Commercial Alliance.

Shangguan Yi then immersed himself in the detailed information regarding the overarching influences of these dominant factions, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation in Xi'An City.

After going through each pearl until evening, he gained a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation spanning from ten thousand years ago to the present. It could be said that he was no longer a novice.

At evening, Old Wang arrived to deliver the month's materials. Shangguan Yi greeted him outside, accepting the supplies before retreating inside to commence his cultivation session.

In the Foundation Establishment Realm, essence was the key. It permeated the world, albeit in varying degrees of abundance and purity depending on the location.

In the first realm of cultivation, Body Refining, people develop formidable physical strength, yet remain limited by mortal vulnerabilities. Despite their robust physique, they lack the ability to wield techniques, rendering them vulnerable in the face of true calamity.

Only by transcending mortal limitations and advancing into the Foundation Establishment Realm can one transition from being a mere mortal to a genuine Cultivator.

For a genuine Cultivator, essence was the key; it needed to be absorbed and refined before it could be utilized. The Sixth Sense Realm served as the foundation for every Cultivator, containing the essence of a Cultivator.

The essence is the natural power of the world. Cultivators utilize cultivation techniques to absorb this essence and refine it into their Sixth Sense Realm.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator's pillars within the Sixth Sense Realm represent their current cultivation base.

Shangguan Yi, a 1st level Foundation Establishment Cultivator, possessed a single towering essence pillar within his Sixth Sense Realm. This pillar not only symbolized his current level of essence but also served as a measure of his overall cultivation. In combat against an opponent of similar rank, he could sustain himself for approximately an hour before depleting his essence reserves.

To advance, Shangguan Yi simply needed to construct a second pillar within his Sixth Sense Realm, followed by subsequent pillars as he ascended to higher levels.

To build a pillar, he needed to absorb the world essence and refined them into Sixth Sense Realm.

However, absorbing and refining essence wasn't an easy task.

Firstly, absorbing the world essence into the Sixth Sense Realm isn't enough; it just kept inside and it'll slowly disappear. The speed of absorption depends on various factors such as cultivation techniques, innate talent, physical constitution, familiarity with the process, and proficiency. Some may take a day, half a day, ten hours, five hours, or even just an hour at best, depending on individual capabilities.

Humans, being intelligent creatures, have devised various treasures to expedite this process, such as essence stones, pills, and natural treasures. For instance, if a Cultivator takes a day to absorb the world essence, they can achieve the same effect in just an hour using essence stones. This isn't about talent or cultivation technique; it's a unique property of essence stones. However, if one's talent is average, they'll consume more essence, similarly to how they'd need to use more essence stones with average cultivation techniques.

However, even with this advantage, people still coveted essence stones. Yet, the pinnacle was the essence pill, which boasted even greater effects than essence stones.

Secondly, once the world essence entered the Sixth Sense Realm, the refining process began, and it was even more challenging than absorption. If it took a day to absorb the world essence, refining it to fill the pillar would take ten days. During this process, the world essence slowly dissipated, adding to the challenge.

Indeed, essence stones were indispensable for Cultivators. While they could shorten the absorption process to just an hour, refining still took considerable time, potentially up to ten days. However, there was no shortcut, so Cultivators relied on continuously absorbing essence stones to replenish their Sixth Sense Realm with more world essence.

Indeed, if one were to absorb a sufficient amount of world essence and immediately refine it, it would be possible. However, this method is impractical with essence stones because once you start absorbing from a stone, you can't stop without wasting it. This is where pills become more crucial. By consuming a pill, one can directly absorb world essence into the Sixth Sense Realm in a short time. Additionally, even without using a cultivation technique to absorb it, the essence still gradually enters the Sixth Sense Realm, albeit at a slower pace.

In optimal conditions, such as possessing a superior cultivation technique, talent, and physique, one could absorb the world essence within an hour and refine it in just ten hours.

The success rate for achieving such efficiency is incredibly high, attainable only by legendary geniuses of the world. As far as records show, no one in Xi'An City has accomplished this feat in the past ten thousand years.

Indeed, this process merely involves transforming the world essence into a Cultivator's essence, serving as a means to replenish lost energy.

To progress in cultivation, one had to use the essence to condense the pillar inside the Sixth Sense Realm. This process was the most difficult and challenging.

Accelerating progress requires access to vast resources to procure ample supplies.

A prodigy from humble origins might advance one level in a year, while one from a prestigious background could manage two levels in the same span. But for average cultivators? Progression might take three to five years per level, or perhaps even longer.

Delving into this information, Shangguan Yi realized the immense challenges of cultivation, especially considering he needed to allocate his essence to both his own cultivation and the system's requirements for pill refinement.

Thankfully, Shangguan Yi discovered many pills with potent effects for both absorbing and refining world essence, giving him an advantage over ordinary geniuses. Additionally, his cultivation technique was of exceptional quality, providing him with reassurance, yet he still yearned for even better cultivation techniques.

Shangguan Yi wasted no time, eager to fully utilize the essence pills at his disposal. Despite their low grade, he was keen to understand their effects, promptly ingesting one of the pills.

The essence filled him with a delightful sensation, akin to the satisfaction of eating when famished, yet combined with the comforting embrace of sleep.

Shangguan Yi employed his cultivation techniques, observing as numerous white dots gradually materialized within his Sixth Sense Realm, each one a tangible manifestation of his progress.

After 40 minutes, the essence from the pill was fully absorbed, prompting Shangguan Yi to initiate the refining process.

Shangguan Yi was keenly aware of his average talent. Without the aid of a pill to help refining, he hoped to complete the refining process within five days—a task that would be considered a blessing given his circumstances. This timeframe assumed he possessed a decent cultivation technique; otherwise, the process could extend even further.