336: Boring time

Wan Lin followed the task arrow to the Novice Secret Realm.

The entire process was similar to the video games he used to play; he just needed to follow the quests.

He entered the Secret Realm's small village, conversed with the village chief, and under the guidance of an NPC soldier, killed a small Yao Beast, which dropped a precious Medicinal Pill. The village chief rewarded him with a Cultivation Technique, and he began Spirit Nurturing... Everything seemed reasonable, a traditional video game design approach.

But the more Wan Lin played, the more uncomfortable he felt.

This isn't right. A Xuanhuan World shouldn't be so rigid, should it?

In the Novice Secret Realm's small village, Wan Lin was cheered and hailed as a hero by the villagers. There were even female NPCs who secretly harbored affection for him and wanted to invite him to their homes as a guest.

Although he felt something was off, his initial impression of the Xuanhuan World was good, so he swallowed the Medicinal Pill dropped by the Yao Beast without much thought.

After all, the Basic Analysis described it as: [A ninth-grade Medicinal Pill for Mortals to achieve Spirit Nurturing].

Advanced Analysis required at least ninth-grade Alchemy proficiency, which he couldn't achieve. He also didn't believe the state-stabilizing seal, a dignified Nascent Soul, would design a Medicinal Pill to trick him.

As for the Cultivation Technique, it was a high-grade seventh-rank Cultivation Technique:

[Golden Edge Emperor Qi Art (Subject Chapter)]

[Seventh-Rank Immortal Foundation Golden Core System Cultivation Technique]

[Basic Analysis:]

[The foundation of the Great Jiang Imperial Dynasty's establishment. Although it is a weakened version for subjects to cultivate, it is sufficient to support cultivation up to the Immortal Foundation Realm. If there are subsequent chapters, it can even be cultivated to the Golden Core and even higher Realms.]

Wan Lin checked the forums about this Cultivation Technique and confirmed it was indeed the founding method of the Great Jiang Imperial Dynasty's royal family.

Previously, some wealthy players spent a fortune to buy the Golden Edge Emperor Qi Art. Later, professional players also obtained a variant version at great cost when Great Jiang collapsed. It's even said that some role-playing players got the royal exclusive version.

This was a Cultivation Technique familiar to many players, and due to the Empress and the state-stabilizing seal, everyone believed its upper limit was at least fourth-rank, meaning Nascent Soul-level.

Therefore, cultivating the Golden Edge Emperor Qi Art during the Spirit Nurturing stage was a viable path with a clear future, far superior to the various low-grade Cultivation Techniques circulating on cultivation forums.

Wan Lin didn't overthink it. He consumed the Medicinal Pill, cultivated the Golden Edge Emperor Qi Art, and officially entered the Spirit Nurturing stage.

Spirit Nurturing is the stage between Mortal and Qi Refining. During this period, one continuously breathes in and out Spiritual Qi, circulates their Cultivation Technique, and gradually improves their Physique.

For previous players, no matter how poor their Aptitude, spending ten or twenty years of their Lifespan would allow them to bypass Spirit Nurturing and directly reach Qi Refining.

Even the Yao Race, who cultivated slowly, only needed to expend a bit more Lifespan; they wouldn't truly be stuck in Spirit Nurturing for too long.

But the current Xuanhuan World is different. There's no longer a Lifespan acceleration function; everyone has to experience the long time span of the Xuanhuan World.

Wan Lin cultivated for a full three days in the Novice Secret Realm village provided by the state-stabilizing seal, yet he was still stuck in Spirit Nurturing.

He could clearly feel that every time he circulated his Cultivation Technique, every time he breathed, there was a tangible improvement, but this improvement was very subtle.

It wasn't like what the Veteran Players described, where one moment you were a weak Mortal body, and the next you directly stepped into Qi Refining, breaking trees with a punch and jumping ten meters high.

The Spirit Nurturing period is a process that requires continuous accumulation. It's not impossible for someone with poor Aptitude to be stuck for ten or twenty years.

Even a Genius often needs a year of tempering to enter the Qi Refining Realm.

For Wan Lin, a patient with a terminal illness, his current body already satisfied him, and the slight improvements brought by the Spirit Nurturing stage each day filled him with ecstasy.

He liked this feeling of continuous accumulation, of his body constantly growing stronger.

But other players weren't so willing to endure it.

The forums were already flooded with related discussions, complaining about the time design:

[Seriously, Brothers, do we really have to accumulate Spirit for a whole year?]

[Damn it, after the update, I just died and had to restart, and now there's no Lifespan acceleration. Spirit Nurturing takes a year now?]

[A year? Heh heh, that's if your Aptitude is good. Normally, accumulating Spirit for ten or eight years is common.]

[No, don't you guys think this setting is weird? Does anyone actually like this boring cultivation?]

[Damn it, I chose the Prison Land as my starting point to become a superior being. Now you're telling me I have to cultivate painstakingly first?]

[Is there something wrong with this crappy Cultivation Technique given by the state-stabilizing seal? Why is it so slow to cultivate?]

[No, I asked around, the Cultivation Techniques at Heshui Prefecture are also roughly the same speed. Even Outer Sect Disciples need several years to successfully refine Qi.]

Amidst a flurry of complaints, some posts with ulterior motives gradually appeared:

[Brothers, isn't demonic cultivation the correct way to play? I heard demonic cultivators are much faster?]

[Yeah, before, Veteran Players could exchange Lifespan for acceleration, which was fine. Now everyone has to experience time, so aren't demonic cultivators just rampaging?]

[The Novice Area seems to forbid demonic cultivation, right? So we just leave and it's over?]

[Right, I heard there's a demonic cultivation organization in the Southern Mountains. Let's join them!]

[That's not right, I heard they're not really demonic cultivators? It seems their Cultivation Techniques aren't the Immortal Foundation Golden Core System, but they can't be rushed either.]

[Whatever, I'm going out to be a demonic cultivator anyway.]

"Demonic cultivation? Instant success?"

Wan Lin frowned as he read these posts.

He instinctively disliked demonic cultivation.

In reality, he was a pitiful person tormented by a terminal illness, with a pursuit and longing for physical strength that ordinary people lacked.

He had heard relevant information about demonic cultivation before; many involved sacrificing parts of their bodies, especially favoring secret arts like blood burning. This was unacceptable to Wan Lin.

"Forget it, the mainstream of the Xuanhuan World should still be righteous cultivation. Anyway, there's no way I'm becoming a demonic cultivator."

"As for time... I'm already a dying person with a terminal illness. Every extra day is excellent for me. Daily cultivation might be a punishment for others, but for me, it's a reward."

Wan Lin greatly enjoyed the improvements his body gained from cultivation. Although these improvements were subtle, they were definitely there, and he liked this gradual sense of advancement.

A few days later, the Novice Secret Realm finally kicked Wan Lin out, but it didn't give him any follow-up quests, as if the main storyline had suddenly ended.

Wan Lin had no choice but to find a village with decent Spiritual Qi outside Great River City and continue cultivating.

He quickly discovered that his starting capital was only one Spirit Stone, and the supplementary cultivation resources given at the end of the Novice Secret Realm were also quickly exhausted.

Without resource support, his cultivation speed slowed down. If this continued, he might truly need ten or even twenty years to successfully reach Qi Refining.

Wan Lin glanced at his trade points. Because he successfully achieved Spirit Nurturing, plus the various combat quests in the Novice Secret Realm, he now had a total of 100 trade points.

In the trade System, he could buy ninth-grade Medicinal Pills for cultivation, or directly exchange them for a thousand Spirit Stones, either of which would allow him to stably get through the early stage and continue to increase his cultivation speed.

But Wan Lin had read forum guides and knew that trade points were most important for exchanging for Golden Finger abilities, or rare items that could only be obtained through the trade point System.

Any resources easily obtainable in the Xuanhuan World were not worth exchanging for with trade points, especially Spirit Stones. The ratio for exchanging trade points for Spirit Stones was simply too cheap, completely not worth it.

However, if he didn't exchange, with his Spirit Nurturing strength, he couldn't acquire more resources. Wan Lin also knew that his Aptitude likely wouldn't allow him to join a Sect like Heshui Prefecture that provided resources.

His cultivation seemed poised to slow down completely, or even stagnate.

At this moment, a UI screen suddenly appeared before him, and a new "Server-Wide Event" abruptly emerged.