Chapter 97 - 91: "The sage never acts great, and thus is able to achieve greatness.
Chapter 97: Chapter 91: "The sage never acts great, and thus is able to achieve greatness.
"..."
Chen Fan stared at the scene before him, his breath hitched, his eyes filled with utter shock.
He saw—
The moment the Copper Pipe was activated.
The ceiling of the Yunling Pavilion was studded with countless stalactites emitting a faint blue glow. Like an inverted river of stars, they cast down a cold, blue light.
The light did not scatter.
As if tangible, it fell straight down to the floor.
Like...
Dry ice.
He found a fitting descriptor in his mind: it was like countless wisps of blue dry ice falling from the ceiling.
And these stalactites weren’t arranged randomly; the cold, cyan light they cast formed an Array on the Moyu Stone floor. He couldn’t comprehend it, but one look told him it was very High Level.
At a glance, the interior of the Yunling Pavilion looked just like the Immortal Realm.
"Hooo..."
Chen Fan took in the scene, inhaling deeply. He then turned to look at his camp. The Yunling Pavilion seemed utterly out of place, not at all like a building that should belong to him.
’This building must be kept a strict secret.’
He had no doubt.
If word of it got out, many factions would covet the Yunling Pavilion.
Even a Training Room was a building many factions didn’t possess, yet here he was, with an even more High Level Yunling Pavilion.
He looked at the Yunling Pavilion’s panel.
It looked amazing, but its actual effects would be revealed on the panel.
-
「Building Name」: Yunling Pavilion
「Building Level」: White
「Building Level」: Level 4
「Building Effect」:
1. Increases Cultivation Speed, dependent on the number of Ghost Stones consumed, up to a maximum of 10x.
2. Increases the speed of comprehending Martial Arts, dependent on the number of Ghost Stones consumed, up to a maximum of 10x.
3. Contains Mountain Embryo Essence; provides a low chance of achieving an epiphany.
PS: Upgrading to Level 5 requires 5,000 Ghost Stones and 1x Sea Embryo.
-
"Ten times..."
After silently repeating the number to himself, Chen Fan strode into the Yunling Pavilion, found a spot, and sat down cross-legged. He gazed at the cold blue light falling on him from the ceiling; it felt pleasantly warm.
It felt like being in a sauna at a bathhouse from his previous life.
He slowly closed his eyes.
He silently began to circulate the Mental Method Zhou Mo had given him.
He had tried Cultivation before.
He used to spend many hours a day practicing. With the Mental Method from Zhou Mo, it would have taken him at least six months to absorb fifty Ghost Stones and become a Level 2 Cultivator. The pace was a bit too slow, so he hadn’t taken it very seriously.
An hour later.
He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
He had cranked the Yunling Pavilion to full power, cultivating at ten times the speed for an hour. And, worthy of the Yunling Pavilion’s name, he felt... he felt no progress whatsoever.
Even at ten times the speed...
...that was only equivalent to ten hours of Cultivation.
His body hadn’t grown any stronger—or if it had, the change was completely imperceptible. The seven Ghost Stones he had consumed, however, were a much more tangible result.
The number of Ghost Stones consumed in the Yunling Pavilion depended on how many people were inside. Since he was the only one cultivating, the consumption wasn’t considered high.
Using this building to quickly raise a batch of powerful Cultivators wasn’t actually cost-effective.
The time investment was a bit too long for his liking.
The return on investment for the Ghost Stones was also poor.
However, it would be perfectly fine for quickly raising everyone to Level 2 or Level 3 Cultivators, giving them stronger physiques and making their work easier. The cost would be lower, and it would also allow Zhou Mo to comprehend the Broken Water Sword Technique faster, making him safer on field missions.
Cultivators of a given level couldn’t possibly defeat Ghost Objects, much less City Defense Buildings like Arrow Towers, but they could defeat other people.
And that was the primary purpose of a Cultivator.
Beating people.
After all, how can you avoid conflict when you’re out and about? Compared to arguing, fists and feet are a much easier way to communicate.
This Yunling Pavilion was a foundational building.
"..."
Chen Fan walked out of the Yunling Pavilion and looked at Zhou Mo, who was waiting eagerly by the door. "You can go in and play later. First, come with me; we have work to do."
Then he looked at the others who had come to see the new building.
"Everyone else, follow me. We’re going up the mountain to dig for treasure."
’This Yunling Pavilion is too high-level.’
’I’m still in the Late Stage right now.’
’I want something a little more low-brow.’
’Hey Hey’s parents’ cesspit was something I could look forward to.’
’Low-brow is good.’
...
「On Nameless Mountain.」
Chen Fan, holding the Godslaying Spear, was in a clearing near the nest of Hey Hey’s parents. With every step, he forcefully plunged the Godslaying Spear into the ground, then pulled the spearhead out to sniff it carefully for any smell, repeating the process again and again.
Although it was a White-grade Exotic Treasure, it was quite sharp. The soil here wasn’t as hard as at the bottom of the Celestial Pit, so it worked quite well as a Luoyang Shovel.
Nearby.
Wang Mazi, Lame Monkey, and the others were doing the same, conducting a thorough, grid-like search. Even Hey Hey was constantly digging holes everywhere, trying to find the cesspit its parents had left behind.
But after a full hour of work, they hadn’t found a single thing.
"Young Master."
Lame Monkey came running over, panting for breath. "We’ve searched the entire area," he gasped, "and haven’t found a single cesspit. Could it be that when that senior figure left 180 years ago, he dug them all up and took them with him?"
"Impossible!"
Chen Fan shook his head, firmly dismissing the possibility.
"That was a senior we’re talking about. A great figure whose name even a Ghost King wouldn’t dare to speak. An expert who could smash a crater into an entire mountain with a single hammer strike. Tens of thousands of Ghost Stones might be a treasure to us, but in the eyes of a senior like that, they’re probably no different from toilet paper."
"If you had hundreds of thousands of Ghost Stones, would you bother to pick up a single one you saw lying on the side of the road?"
"I definitely would," Lame Monkey said with certainty.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Chen Fan’s own confidence wavered. "Well, you have a point. I’d definitely pick it up, too. But... if it were in a cesspit, you wouldn’t pick it up then, right?"