Chapter 41: Comprehension Room lv1
Although Ji Yuan’s spiritual root was of the four-element type, he considered his comprehension ability to be quite decent.
However, if he could raise it even further, that would be even better.
Just like the novels he had read in his previous life, with phrases like “heaven-defying comprehension” or “ten-thousandfold comprehension” and such.
So, upon returning home, the first thing Ji Yuan did was to grab pen and paper and once again write down the three characters for “悟道室” (Comprehension Room).
After looking around for a while, he finally pasted this white paper with black characters on the door of his storage room.
And right at the moment he stuck it on, the panel refreshed.
It worked!
【Comprehension Room lv0】
【lv1: Effect: Calms the mind and gathers Qi, increasing personal comprehension by 10%】
【Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade Spirit Stones ×10, Clear Mind Grass ×3, Black Crystal Sand 1 jin (not yet met)】
Ji Yuan glanced at it.
The effect was extremely straightforward, simply boosting comprehension by 10%.
Excellent. Absolutely excellent.
This 【Comprehension Room】 was meant to be this direct and simple.
However, compared to other effects, this 10% seemed a bit lacking… but comprehension was far too precious and rare.
In other words, being able to increase comprehension by 10% was already extremely powerful.
As for the upgrade requirements, they didn’t seem too difficult.
Clear Mind Grass was sold at Zengtou Market.
It wasn’t some rare treasure, just a common herb used for alchemy, and it only cost one spirit stone per stalk.
Black Crystal Sand was a material used in weapon refinement and was also available for sale.
This was a bit pricier, costing five spirit stones per jin.
Still, for Ji Yuan in his current state, it wasn’t a problem at all.
So, having just returned home, he pushed the door open again and went back out.
Outside the courtyard, the family of three from the neighboring Wen family were fishing at their doorstep.
Though they called it fishing, it was really just Wen Lin and his wife entertaining their child.
When they saw Ji Yuan coming out, Wen Lin handed his fishing rod to Zhao Yuechan, stood up, and smiled as he spoke, “Brother Ji, you just got back, and now you’re heading out again?”
“Mm, I didn’t buy enough things, so I need to make another trip to the market.”
Ji Yuan smiled. He had a pretty good impression of the Wen family, not to mention they had helped him before.
“Big Brother Ji, are you going to buy New Year’s goods? Remember to bring me something tasty!”
Holding a small fishing rod, Wen Ling’er swayed her head as she spoke.
“New Year’s goods?”
Ji Yuan, who had been about to take out his magical boat, paused for a moment before recalling that this world also had the custom of celebrating the New Year.
And now… it was already the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, indeed nearing the end of the year.
In previous years, the original owner had spent the New Year with his parents, but this year, it seemed he would be alone.
Across two lifetimes, this appeared to be the first time he would spend the New Year by himself… He smiled and responded.
“Alright, I’ll definitely bring something back for Ling’er.”
Naturally, Wen Lin and Zhao Yuechan exchanged a few more polite words before watching Ji Yuan summon his magical boat and depart.
Once the boat entered the water, fishing became unnecessary, so Wen Lin simply set down his rod. Beside him, Zhao Yuechan looked at Ji Yuan’s departing figure and softly asked, “Husband, was that a mid-grade magical boat just now?”
“Mm, and one of excellent quality among mid-grade boats. If not for the lack of materials, it might have even reached high-grade.”
Wen Lin was experienced and knowledgeable.
“Then, these past few days when he was away…”
Wen Lin folded his hands into his sleeves and smiled, “Where else could he have gone? He must have gone to make a fortune.”
But after smiling, Wen Lin couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “Who would have thought that just by picking a random place to stay, we’d end up with such a remarkable neighbor? Looks like we really ought to build a good relationship with him.”
“It must be fate.”
Zhao Yuechan strongly agreed with this sentiment.
Not long after, Ji Yuan returned by boat, handing over a few sugar figurines he had picked up on the way to Wen Ling’er before hurriedly heading back inside.
Arriving in the living room, he looked at the makeshift Comprehension Room before immediately choosing to upgrade it.
As the three required items disappeared from his storage pouch, the panel refreshed again.
The effects of the lv2 【Comprehension Room】 appeared.
【Comprehension Room lv2】
【Effect: Comprehension boost increased to 20%. When encountering a bottleneck, gain an additional 10% comprehension bonus.】
【Upgrade Requirements: Mid-grade Spirit Stones ×20, Illusion Heart Flower ×3, Earth Vein Spiritual Marrow ×1 jar, Entry-level proficiency in one Intermediate Spell (not yet met)】
The upgrade requirements were still much the same—spirit stones plus some special materials.
The only difference was that now it required entry-level proficiency in an intermediate spell.
But as for the effect… it was absolutely a tool made for closed-door cultivation.
Gaining an extra comprehension bonus when facing bottlenecks—this was too considerate of the struggles of cultivators!
Encountering a bottleneck and gaining a total of 30% increased comprehension… what more could he ask for?
Time to cultivate, no hesitation!
Not daring to waste such excellent conditions, Ji Yuan spent the following days, aside from making occasional trips to Zengtou Market to restock survival and cultivation supplies, staying put at home.
In the past, he might have needed to draw talismans from time to time to make a living.
But now, there was no need.
Half a liang of Blood Essence sold for ten spirit stones each day.
Plus, there were thirty Spiritual Eggs, along with the blood from the red-crested chicken’s crest, and Ji Yuan had even started raising a Spiritual Pig.
After raising this pig, he stopped eating the eggshells of the Spiritual Eggs, mostly using them as pig feed.
Additionally, his Semi-Spiritual Fish occasionally evolved as well.
Ji Yuan felt that he simply couldn’t spend all his spirit stones, no matter how hard he tried.
With so many spirit stones, Ji Yuan’s cultivation became a little extravagant, and he started… relying on pills.
The most suitable cultivation pill for the Qi Refining Stage was called the Qi Gathering Pill, which increased a cultivator’s absorption rate of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, shortening the time required for a complete circulation of Qi.
The price wasn’t cheap either, costing ten spirit stones per pill.
Still, it was within Ji Yuan’s budget, so he spent his days studying spells in the Comprehension Room or drawing talismans in the Talisman Room.
At night, he would take pills to cultivate.
Under this cultivation regime, the first breakthrough he made was with the second layer of the Water Droplet Finger.
He figured it was likely thanks to the foundation laid by the first layer, so by the third day of seclusion, he had comprehended “Piercing Stone.”
To test it, he specifically went out to a reed marsh and watched as three strands of spiritual light, as fine as hair, condensed at his fingertip.
Compared to the first layer, this second layer’s concealment ability was even stronger.
However, hitting the same spot with three consecutive strands of spiritual light was a bit challenging.
It had to be combined with the Canglang Sword Manual for better results.
After a few tests, Ji Yuan returned home for further cultivation.
He had originally expected that his next breakthrough would be either gaining entry into the first layer of the Canglang Sword Manual or breaking through his current cultivation level, which was already nearing the edge.
But to his surprise, he made no progress with the sword art and instead broke through in the field of talismans.
That day, Ji Yuan even forgot that he was in the 【Comprehension Room】, not the 【Talisman Room】, when he picked up his talisman brush and started drawing.
Before he knew it, he had crossed the threshold that had troubled him for so long—mid-grade talismans.
And the first talisman he drew was the life-saving Golden Body Talisman.
After successfully drawing the first one, Ji Yuan immediately moved to the 【Talisman Room】.
With the success rate boost, a single mid-grade talisman could sell for around ten spirit stones…
Ji Yuan, who already wasn’t lacking in spirit stones, became even more wealthy.
That evening.
Ji Yuan, still unable to make any progress with the Canglang Sword Manual, finished his daytime studies and was about to begin his nighttime pill-based cultivation.
But just then, he suddenly noticed that the neighboring courtyards seemed livelier than usual.
Before long, he even heard the sound of fireworks exploding in the distance, coming from Zengtou Market.
After cultivating diligently for days, Ji Yuan took a moment to think before realizing that… today was New Year’s Eve.
“Well, I suppose I’ll give myself a little holiday.”
Ji Yuan stood up and walked to the front yard. In the distance, fireworks continued to bloom over Zengtou Market, like silver flowers blossoming in the night sky.
Laughter and cheer could be heard from the neighboring courtyards.
Wu Qin, rarely raising her voice, was arguing with Lin Hu about which fireworks looked the best.
In the other courtyard, Wen Ling’er’s tender voice kept ringing out, along with Zhao Yuechan calling after her to slow down.
At that moment, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but feel a trace of loneliness.
The festivities were theirs, and it felt like he had nothing at all… adding to the sense of loss he already felt from his lack of progress with the sword art.
Almost unconsciously, he summoned his flying sword, White Water.
White Water Flying Sword coiled softly around his finger.
“Boom—”
A firework suddenly exploded overhead, and Ji Yuan looked up to see the sky blooming like a tree of fire.
In that brief moment, he felt something stir within him and whispered to himself, “Go.”
White Water Flying Sword slipped from his hand, moving like surging waves.
On New Year’s Eve.
Ji Yuan finally entered the first layer of the Canglang Sword Manual.