Unable to figure it out, Su Yu suppressed his doubts and began to focus on his cultivation.
He asked Lin Dong to cook half a pound of spirit rice at noon. After consuming the spirit rice, Su Yu sat cross-legged under a tree in the courtyard, using the faint spiritual energy from the rice to calm his mind and cultivate the Wutong Green Wood Technique.
'The spiritual energy is a bit thin. Although the mansion has set up a spirit gathering array, and this place is the most spiritually dense spot nearby, it still can't compare to the blessed lands of those sects.'
Carefully sensing his own cultivation speed, Su Yu gently shook his head.
The Su family's strength was still too lacking.
They didn't even have a low-grade spirit vein in their ancestral land.
If they could have a low-grade spirit vein, his cultivation speed would probably increase two to threefold.
Now, in this sparse spiritual energy environment, he could only rely on the spiritual energy from the spirit rice to cultivate.
Fortunately, with the nourishment of the spirit rice's spiritual energy, Su Yu's cultivation speed did improve slightly.
Originally, he needed to cultivate for more than four hours a day to reach his limit. After consuming the spirit rice, he only needed to cultivate for less than four hours each day.
The next day, the proficiency of the Wutong Green Wood Technique's first layer increased to 1.88%.
This was an increase of about 0.28% compared to the previous day.
Calculating this way, it would take him a year to reach the second level of the Qi Refining Realm.
Since he had just embarked on the path of cultivation, Su Yu had no specific duties arranged for him in the family. He only needed to follow a routine cultivation schedule and could receive a monthly supply of spirit stones and spirit rice.
"Let's try a low-grade spirit stone." Su Yu couldn't resist using the only low-grade spirit stone he had for cultivation.
Five days passed, and Su Yu's cultivation speed doubled.
No, it should be said that the growth rate of the Wutong Green Wood Technique's proficiency doubled.
In five days, the proficiency increased from 1.88% to 4.7%.
The spiritual power of the Wutong Green Wood Technique within his body had grown significantly.
Unfortunately, after five days, the spiritual energy of the low-grade spirit stone was completely depleted. Without the spirit stone, he could only rely on the spirit rice for cultivation.
His cultivation speed decreased significantly.
"Using spirit stones is still more comfortable." Su Yu felt a bit uncomfortable but quickly adjusted himself.
It's okay if it's a bit slower, as long as the proficiency can increase steadily. There's no rush.
After all, he was only sixteen years old and had several decades of lifespan left. He believed that by steadily and diligently cultivating, he would have a chance to successfully build his foundation.
By then, he would have two hundred years of lifespan and could attempt to find the opportunity to form a golden core...
By being cautious, he might have a chance to become a Core Formation cultivator!
Life was peaceful. Besides cultivation, Su Yu also practiced two spells he had mastered.
The proficiency of these two spells increased much more easily than his cultivation technique. By following a routine and practicing from nine to five every day, the proficiency quickly rose above 10%.
Without the need to oversee family affairs, Su Yu's daily life was very fulfilling, with a strict routine of cultivating his techniques and spells.
One day, during his free time, Su Yu visited the family's library, reading various texts related to the cultivation world.
"Thousand Years of Cloud Sword Sect."
"The Untold Secrets of the Great Ming Mansion and the Great Ming Palace."
"Observations from the Moon Worshiping Immortal City."
"Strange Tales from the Great Qian Cultivation World."
"The founder of the Cloud Sword Sect, the Cloud Sword Fairy, is said to be an exceptionally beautiful sword immortal who once flattened a mountain with a single strike, establishing the Cloud Sword Sect's mountain gate."
"Five hundred years ago, the Cloud Sword Sect produced a prodigious Daoist disciple who reached the Golden Core Realm at the mere age of sixty, leading the sect to its peak. However, a hundred years later, this disciple was severely injured and died under mysterious circumstances. It was rumored that he had challenged a Nascent Soul powerhouse from the Great Moon Palace."
"The Great Moon Palace's inheritance is shrouded in secrecy. It is said that within its core Daoist grounds lies the Great Moon Lake, a blessed land where cultivation progresses a thousand miles in a single day."
"Bai Yue Zhenren's lifelong aspiration was to become a legendary figure of the Great Moon Palace."
Most of these books recorded trivial matters and common knowledge of the cultivation world.
There were also numerous rumors and gossip about prominent figures, especially the past romantic affairs of Bai Yue Zhenren, which Su Yu found quite entertaining, though unfortunately, there were no sequels. For half a month, Su Yu would spend his free time in the archives.
One day, he came across a tattered ancient tome.
"Hmm, 'The 108 Forms of Crocodile Demon Body Refinement Technique'?" Su Yu's heart stirred as he read the title.
In the game, cultivation techniques were the most superior and essential foundation for cultivators.
But aside from cultivation techniques, body refinement was equally important.
The pinnacle of body refinement led to the ancient gods. In the era of the ancient Witch Clan, physical strength dominated an entire epoch, unmatched by any.
Perhaps body refinement techniques were not as esteemed as cultivation techniques, but it was hard to say which was ultimately stronger.
Even though some cultivators looked down on body refinement, many secretly practiced it.
Because compared to the might of their spiritual power, a cultivator's physical body was often a weakness.
Practicing body refinement had many benefits.
In the game, Su Yu's character had also practiced a body refinement technique.
Su Yu carefully examined the "108 Forms of Crocodile Demon Body Refinement Technique" in his hands and understood why it had been left to gather dust in the archives.
This body refinement technique was not simple; it originated from an ancient crocodile demon.
The technique was based on the bloodline of that demon's kin, making it difficult to master.
Nowadays, in the cultivation region of Jiangcheng, such crocodile demon bloodlines no longer existed.
Naturally, this technique had become obsolete.
The version Su Yu held contained the first eighteen forms.
"Heh, Little Yu found this body refinement technique? Feeling tempted?" An elderly voice came from behind. "It's a pity. We tried many times in the past, even going to great lengths to obtain the essence blood of a crocodile demon to attempt its cultivation."
"But in the end, we never succeeded. This technique isn't unique to our Su family; other cultivation sects have it too."
"But after all these years, no one has ever succeeded in mastering it."
"The bloodline of the Crocodile Demon Clan is probably extinct by now."
Su Yu turned around to see the fifth elder of the clan, Su Bin, a senior with slightly graying hair and a cultivation level at the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
It was said that the archives were built under the fifth elder's sole initiative, and most of the tomes here were collected through his immense effort, all to broaden the knowledge and horizons of the younger generation.
"Fifth Grandfather." Su Yu respectfully bowed, showing great reverence for this elder.
Then, hesitating, Su Yu asked, "May I borrow this body refinement technique for a while?"
Su Bin smiled and said, "That's fine, but if you find that you can't cultivate it successfully, don't waste your time and energy. The most important thing is still the cultivation of your own techniques."
"Thank you, Fifth Grandfather," Su Yu replied happily.
After seeing this body-refining technique, Su Yu had no interest in looking at other texts. He immediately took the "Crocodile Demon One Hundred and Eight Forms Body Refining Technique" and left.
Returning to his courtyard, Su Yu carefully studied this body-refining technique.
Although he didn't have the so-called Crocodile Demon bloodline foundation, he silently began practicing the eighteen forms of the body-refining technique as recorded.
Ten days passed in a row.
Every day, apart from diligently practicing the Wutong Green Wood Technique and his spells, Su Yu spent his extra time cultivating the Crocodile Demon Body Refining Technique.
On this day, accompanied by a loud roar within his body, Su Yu felt his blood energy boil like molten lava, incredibly intense.
His skin, flesh, and bones were all undergoing transformation. Vaguely, the surging blood energy within him coalesced into the form of a giant crocodile, surrounded by a bloody aura, resembling a demon. The moment the giant crocodile took shape, it let out a roar towards the sky.
"Roar!"
Su Yu was startled. Blood patterns appeared on his skin, and a tremendous force surged within him, giving him the illusion that he could split mountains and shatter rocks with a single punch.
[Technique: Crocodile Demon One Hundred and Eight Forms Body Refining Technique (First Layer, Proficiency 0.1%).]