Zhen observed the city, which held the aesthetics of Ancient Chinese culture but appeared more advanced in terms of fashion. The robes and dresses people wore had vibrant colors, paired with boots that rivaled modern footwear.
Additionally, their jewelry far surpassed anything the modern world had to offer.
The way they interacted with one another made Zhen wonder whether this was a game world or the real world.
He didn't see a single person who gave off the impression of being an NPC.
However, from Zhen's observation, most of the people were ordinary humans, not cultivators.
It seemed that not everyone could become a cultivator even in a world abundant with Qi.
But for the players, all of them likely had bodies designed for cultivation.
"Zhen, have you arrived in a city?"
Zhen heard Tang Xin's voice again. This time it was a direct account-to-account communication.
"Yes," Zhen replied.
"What city is it?"
"It seems to be called Spring City."
Zhen had seen the name of the city written on several shops and street intersections.
"Ohh, that's pretty far. I'm in Summer City. Can you travel here so we can cultivate together?"
"You should be the one coming here!" Zhen rolled his eyes.
Who wanted to meet whom? Why did he have to be the one making the trip?
"Hahaha, you lazy bum!" the girl laughed.
Zhen had nothing more to say and didn't want to continue the conversation.
"Mm!" His attention was drawn to a fairly large store.
It sold weapons and cultivation materials.
Zhen saw a variety of spiritual plants, but the most eye-catching was a row of green pills inside a glass cabinet, each placed in its own glass case.
The pills varied in size—the larger they were, the stronger the aura they emitted. The biggest one was the size of a chicken egg. Zhen could sense the immense Qi within each pill.
He entered the shop without realizing it, driven by curiosity.
Flowing Qi Pills, that was the name of the pills, according to the description Zhen read on the cabinet.
They were divided into three Tiers. Tier 1 contained 5,000 Qi and could be directly absorbed by the body, priced at 5,000 Spirit Coins. Tier 2 contained 10,000 Qi for 10,000 Spirit Coins, and Tier 3 held 20,000 Qi for 20,000 Spirit Coins.
Consuming one of these pills allowed you to absorb a large amount of Qi in a short period of time, removing the need for prolonged cultivation.
The requirement, however, was having a solid foundation, meaning a good understanding of a scripture. Without it, the Qi would simply disperse from the body.
It would be a waste if someone only understood 5% of their scripture yet tried to break through with a Tier 3 Flowing Qi Pill.
'I have 35 System Coins. How many Spirit Coins can I get with that?' Zhen asked the game system mentally.
It could respond to basic communication—just thinking about speaking to it was enough.
(35 System Points are equivalent to 350 Spirit Coins!) A response echoed in Zhen's mind.
He became aware of just how expensive those pills were. Who knew how long it would take to gather 2,000 System Points to exchange for 20,000 Spirit Coins to buy a Tier 3 Flowing Qi Pill?
'Not worth it when I can absorb Qi from the environment quickly,' he thought.
Pills like these were essentially for people with enough understanding of their scripture but who needed a faster way to absorb Qi.
This often happened due to the low quality of their scriptures or weak Soul Power.
Zhen exited the shop and saw, next to it, a cultivation inn for travelers who wanted to undergo closed-door cultivation.
Besides being safe, the inn provided rooms with abundant Qi, shortening the time needed for cultivation.
However, on the price board, Zhen saw that the cheapest room cost 100 Spirit Coins per night.
'Doesn't matter if it's safe,' Zhen thought.
System, convert 10 System Coins into Spirit Coins!
DING!
(Command received. Your 10 System Coins have been converted into 100 Spirit Coins and added to your Inventory!)
[System Points: 25]
[Inventory:
– 100 Spirit Coins]
'So that's how it works!'
Zhen could take items out from his inventory using just his thoughts.
100 Spirit Coins appeared in his hand.
They were small coins of various colors, each emitting a faint glow.
These coins contained spiritual energy that could heal wounds, replenish lost Qi, and power sect formations.
With so many uses, practically everyone accepted Spirit Coins. Finding a Spirit Coin mine was enough to cause sects to go to war.
Zhen entered the inn, paid 100 Spirit Coins to the receptionist, and was handed a key labeled number 13.
He was then directed to find his room on the second floor.
Going upstairs, Zhen easily found room number 13. He entered without hesitation and locked the door from inside.
Inside, he was surprised by the density of the Qi. It was so thick he could faintly see it floating in the air.
Without further thought, he sat cross-legged on a provided chair and began absorbing the surrounding Qi.
Even if it was just for one night, he could do it. After all, he used to do this in the real world despite there being no Qi. So doing it here, where Qi gave such a comforting sensation, was nothing.
Even though he knew this was just a game, he believed things weren't as simple as they seemed, which made him very excited.
Tang Xin tried speaking to him a few times, but he ignored her.
An hour later, his cultivation had advanced two stages, reaching the fifth stage. He received a bonus of 20 System Points.
[Cultivation: Stage Five of Qi Master Realm]
[Qi: 0/6000]
[System Points: 45]
After reaching the fifth stage, he noticed a slight difference in his cultivation.
His absorption speed had decreased by about a third. He suspected this was because he was getting closer to the ninth stage, the limit of his current understanding.
Cultivation had never been easy, but what he now considered slow was still incredibly fast for others.
Eventually, it took him two more hours to break through again.
DING!
(You have broken through to Stage Six of the Qi Master Realm. You receive 20 System Points!)
[Name: Xia Zhen]
[Cultivation: Stage Six of Qi Master Realm]
[Qi: 0/7000]
[System Points: 65]
This time, there was a slight increase in System Points rewarded, but for him, it still felt too little.
His future plan was to use System Points to enhance his comprehension of scriptures and techniques, knowing it would be too hard to comprehend them alone.
What he had now was the result of years of learning.
"It's night already!" He looked out the window, finding the sky dark and filled with stars surrounding an enormous moon.