Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Minor Achievement in Cultivation Technique (Part 1)

“Bang!” A crisp sound echoed as a Spirit Sword Embryo on the forging table suddenly exploded.

If it weren’t for Li Mu’s quick reflexes, he would have been injured by the shattered iron fragments.

Li Mu frowned and looked at the character log panel.

[Ding, your refining failed, Artifact Refining Proficiency +0.]

Just as expected! No proficiency gained from a failed refining attempt.

After successfully refining a Tier One Lower Grade Profound Iron Sword, Li Mu decided to continue attempting to refine a Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Sword, trying to condense two Artifact Patterns on the embryo.

The result was clear; attempting to condense two patterns without fully mastering the skill led to a conflict in Spirit Patterns, causing the embryo to explode.

The refining failed, and the fragmented pattern-laden embryo shards were also scrapped, losing dozens of Lower Spirit Stones in vain.

Therefore, it’s better to wait for the Wind Spirit Grass to mature, harvest the Plant Spirit for Free Proficiency, and then increase the level of Artifact Refining maybe before refining a Spirit Sword again!

Li Mu sighed, shut down the Flame Sun Array of the Artifact Refining Furnace, and prepared to focus his time and effort on the already Level 4 Talisman Making Technique.

“Woof Woof!”

As soon as Li Mu stepped out of the Artifact Refining Room, a larger Red Wolf immediately ran up to him, wagging its tail enthusiastically.

“Hungry, huh? Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” Li Mu patted the Red Wolf’s head and walked towards the stove.

The Fire-igniting Technique ignited the stove fire.

He thoroughly washed the Spirit Rice and put it in the pot to cook.

Then, he prepared a piece of Spirit Deer Meat and soaked some dried vegetables, which would be the lunch.

One person, one dog, a simple three meals a day, and life felt quite fulfilling to Li Mu, who was very content.

Farming and cultivating! It’s destined to be a solitary path, as for marrying a Dao companion, Li Mu never considered it; one, it’s bothersome and he doesn’t have the energy to take care of a companion; two, he has many secrets, and having a companion would mean keeping guard and hiding from her; three, isn’t Zhen’an Town’s Hehuan Tower appealing? They excel in the art of dual cultivation, what positions can’t they satisfy?

After finishing lunch, he cleaned up the pot and bowls.

Li Mu began to tend to the Spirit Fields, five acres of Wind Spirit Grass are the easiest to take care of, simply casting the Clear Wind Rain Summoning Skill a few times would leave them lush and green;

The Spirit Rice and Cui Ling Fruit needed weeding and fertilization, so Li Mu released the Slave Puppet, directing it to dig fertile mud from the pond,…

After tending to the Spirit Fields, Li Mu took the Slave Puppet to continue cultivating new fields.

…

Time flew by, and a month and a half passed. Li Mu had been staying on Little Liang Mountain for farming, only going to Qing’an Town for supplies when he needed Talisman Paper or biological resources, leading a simple yet fulfilling life.

As Li Mu hoped for, the five acres of Wind Spirit Grass finally entered the harvest season.

Li Mu eagerly grabbed a sickle and headed to the fields to harvest.

Grasping a batch of Wind Spirit Grass, the sharp sickle sliced forward and back, and in the next moment, clusters of soft green light masses appeared at the cut stems.

Li Mu couldn’t wait to bend down and stroke with his hand.

[Innate Divine Techniques – Plant Spirit Absorption took effect, you absorbed a cluster of Plant Spirit, Free Skill Points +1]

[Innate Divine Techniques – Plant Spirit Absorption took effect, you absorbed a cluster of Plant Spirit, Free Skill Points +1]

…

The log panel at the bottom of the character virtual frame instantly jumped out with a dozen notification messages, harvesting a batch of Wind Spirit Grass yielded a total of 23 Free Skill Points.

Exhilarated, Li Mu burst into laughter, continuing to wield the sickle, harvesting Wind Spirit Grass one batch after another, one field after another, tirelessly.

An hour later, Li Mu successfully harvested an acre of Wind Spirit Grass, feeling a bit too stiff to straighten his back, yet his face was filled with a happy smile.

One acre of Wind Spirit Grass successfully harvested: 35,952 Free Skill Points.

Li Mu rested for a moment and then moved on to continue harvesting Wind Spirit Grass, spending an entire day to complete the harvest of five acres, totaling 175,899 Free Skill Points.

With nightfall, Li Mu dragged his weary body back to the house and started allocating his Free Attribute Points.

Firstly, the Artifact Refining Technique.

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Artifact Refining Proficiency +1.]

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Artifact Refining Proficiency +1.]

…

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Artifact Refining Proficiency +1, Artifact Refining Skill Level increased to: Level 5, your refining experience gained greatly, with increased success rate, and you comprehended the Artifact Refining Skill: Divine Refining Spirit Fusion.]

In one go, Li Mu brought Artifact Refining Technique up to Level 5, his mind flooded with abundant Artifact Refining Knowledge and experience, along with understanding a special Artifact Refining Ability, manipulating Artifact Embryos with Divine Sense, accommodating Soul Spirits, greatly increasing the chance of generating an Artifact Spirit during refining.

Li Mu opened his eyes, taking quite some time to assimilate the vast Artifact Refining experience and newly understood Artifact Refining Skill.

Li Mu took another glance at the character panel, noting that upgrading to Level 6 Artifact Refining Technique would require 30,000 Free Skill Points.

He immediately decided to forgo upgrading the Artifact Refining Technique and planned to allocate the remaining Free Skill Points to other skills and cultivation techniques, as there were many techniques and skills he needed to enhance.

Next, upgrading the “Illusion Breathing Technique.”

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Illusion Breathing Technique Proficiency +1.]

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Illusion Breathing Technique Proficiency +1.]

…

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Illusion Breathing Technique Proficiency +1, Illusion Breathing Technique Level increased to: Level 5, reaching Minor Achievement Realm, with greatly improved illusion effects, and you grasped the Minor Divine Techniques: Illusion to Reality.]

Li Mu took a deep breath, fully executing the Illusion Breathing Technique, and in the very next moment, all the spiritual pressure aura on his body vanished, transforming him into an ordinary person.

Even someone at a higher Foundation Establishment Realm would find it hard to discern his true realm, which delighted Li Mu, as concealing his cultivation with the Illusion Breathing Technique would likely make it difficult to detect going forward.

So the advancement to Level 5 grants new special effects upon reaching Minor Achievement in a cultivation technique, yet Li Mu wondered what transformations would occur if he advanced the technique to Great Success Realm at its maximum level?

However, the Free Skill Points needed to go from Level 5 to Level 6 were too many; rising from Level 1 to Level 5 only required 15,000 Free Skill Points, yet going from Level 5 to Level 6 demanded 30,000 points of proficiency.

Li Mu gave up the thought of continuing to upgrade the Illusion Breathing Technique, and while looking at the character panel, he focused on the next cultivation technique to upgrade: “Dragon Elephant Eighteen Array.”

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Dragon Elephant Eighteen Array Proficiency +1.]

…

[Ding, you consumed a Free Skill Point, Dragon Elephant Eighteen Array Proficiency +1, Dragon Elephant Eighteen Array Level increased to: Level 5, you successfully understood Transformation of Dragon Elephant Array, with improvements in Array Formation Technique, Pulse Diagnosis Technique, and acquired the special Array Formation ability: Gathering Spirit Array]

As Dragon Elephant Eighteen Array rose to Level 5, a flood of knowledge and experience related to arrays spontaneously arose in his mind, pushing Li Mu to hold his head in response to the brain-aching pressure from the sudden surge of knowledge.

No more!

Need a breather.

After cultivation techniques and skills break through Level 5, they undergo significant changes.

After advancing three techniques beyond Level 5, Li Mu absorbed too much cultivation technique knowledge and experience, feeling terrible as if his head was about to burst.

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