Chapter 41: Starry Sky Formula

Seven days later.

Cheng Buzheng returned to the secret chamber and placed a full basket of raw spirit stone ore in the corner. Sitting cross-legged on the ground with a pleased expression, he was highly satisfied with the day's harvest.

He sank his consciousness, allowing his awareness to enter his soul...

Master of the Heavens Jade Disk: Cheng Buzheng Realm: Qi Refinement Level 3 Tier 1 Cultivation Method: Low-grade (Exquisite) Starry Sky Manual + Tier 1 Spells: Low-grade (Ultimate) Amethyst Carving +, Low-grade (Ultimate) Earth Escape Technique +, Low-grade (Exquisite) Concealment Technique + Spiritual Power Value: 2213

Facing such a massive amount of spiritual power, he couldn't help but feel greatly excited. This was equivalent to over two thousand spirit stones; although it could only be used for deduction, it was still a massive fortune.

Although one spirit stone ore storage point had not been successfully collected, the remaining seven storage points were successfully claimed one by one through his patient lurking and waiting.

Unfortunately, he had failed at the seventh storage point. That Wang Daba was in seclusion within the spirit stone ore storage cave, focusing entirely on pure cultivation and not stepping foot outside, which left Cheng Buzheng with no way to make his move.

"It seems to be because his cultivation is about to break through! In the past... he wasn't so focused on pure cultivation, ignoring everything happening outside....That is the most likely possibility!" Cheng Buzheng thought to himself.

Afterward, he didn't dwell on it too much, planning to investigate again in a while. After all, one storage point contained nearly three hundred units of spirit stone ore, and he had no intention of giving up such a piece of meat.

With over two thousand spiritual power points on the panel, Cheng Buzheng had no intention of letting them sit idle; they would only be useful if put to use.

With a mere thought, the memories regarding the *Starry Sky Manual* surged. He then extracted all the memories, details, and experiences of the *Starry Sky Manual*, condensing them into the shape of a seed.

He placed it directly into the central depression of the small disk. The tiny figure formed from the tri-colored soul tapped the *Starry Sky Manual* on the panel with its finger.

Instantly, the spiritual power on the panel decreased by another eighteen points. The patterns on the surface of the small disk lit up slightly, and countless white rays enveloped the seed.

As the small disk performed the deduction, the patterns on its surface flickered continuously.

Before long, the white rays dispersed, the patterns dimmed, and a gray bead appeared in the central depression.

Seeing that the quality of the cultivation method had improved, Cheng Buzheng did not hesitate and tapped on the *Starry Sky Manual* again.

With unsparing expenditure, the spiritual power value dropped sharply. Finally, he deduced the *Starry Sky Manual* to the Tier 1 High-grade (Ultimate) level. With a wave of his hand, the gray bead in the depression flew into his palm.

He examined it; the gray bead's size had not changed, but its appearance had undergone a massive transformation. Countless gray characters formed a thin layer, rotating around the gray bead inside.

Seeing this, he raised his hand, opened his mouth, and swallowed it in one fluid motion.

Suddenly, countless gray characters rushed out from his three souls and seven spirits, enveloping his soul until not a trace of tri-color remained.

An arcane mystery merged into his soul. Numerous insights and experiences regarding the cultivation method were absorbed, becoming his own cultivation resources.

As his understanding deepened, the gray characters enveloping him gradually decreased until they vanished, and he had completely mastered the technique to a level comparable to its creator.

Seeing that he still had sufficient spiritual power, Cheng Buzheng steeled his heart. The tri-colored soul extended its trembling right hand and tapped on the *Concealment Technique* on the panel.

As the grade of the *Concealment Technique* continuously rose, the spiritual power value dropped at a visible rate.

Before long, the *Concealment Technique* had reached the Tier 1 High-grade (Ultimate) level.

He reached out and swallowed the transparent bead from the small disk's depression.

The exterior of the tri-colored soul seemed to be wrapped in a layer of flowing water, giving it a somewhat illusory feel. Upon closer inspection, one would find it was composed of countless transparent characters.

As his comprehension progressed, the illusory feeling gradually vanished.

Then, the tiny figure formed from the tri-colored soul looked at the panel deep within his sea of consciousness...

Master of the Heavens Jade Disk: Cheng Buzheng Realm: Qi Refinement Level 3 Tier 1 Cultivation Method: High-grade (Ultimate) Starry Sky Manual + Tier 1 Spells: Low-grade (Ultimate) Amethyst Carving +, Low-grade (Ultimate) Earth Escape Technique +, High-grade (Ultimate) Concealment Technique + Spiritual Power Value: 121

Seeing that only a hundred-odd spiritual power points remained, Cheng Buzheng felt no regret. Although the *Starry Sky Manual* had consumed nearly two thousand points, it was the cornerstone of his grand pursuit of immortality. No matter how great the consumption, he had to devote all his strength to completing its deduction.

He abandoned his original idea of melting multiple spells into one.

Deducing one *Starry Sky Manual* from three cultivation methods meant that for every additional method added, the spiritual power consumed for deduction would increase exponentially. The further the deduction went, the more staggering the cost.

If he hadn't scavenged enough spiritual power, he wouldn't even dare to dream of this. Such an amount was equivalent to over two thousand spirit stones; he truly could not afford it.

The spiritual power required to fuse multiple spells into one was simply too much. Spells were merely protective arts, not the foundation of the pursuit of immortality. Wouldn't it be better to just learn more spells?

Deducing the *Concealment Technique* to Tier 1 High-grade had only cost nearly two hundred points.

If he were to fuse multiple spells together, it would cost at least tens of thousands of points, which was simply not worth it; the gap between gain and loss was too vast.

As for *Amethyst Carving* and *Earth Escape Technique*, they were the best common tools for his current stage. Attempting to deduce them to higher grades would become a waste, as his mana could not support such massive consumption.

Seeing this, he wanted to experiment: just what was so miraculous about a Tier 1 High-grade (Ultimate) cultivation method?

Cheng Buzheng closed his eyes slightly and began to circulate the new cultivation method.

Instantly, visible wisps of spiritual energy rapidly gathered around him, being continuously sucked into his body.

Following the new meridian circulation map, the gray spiritual light in his meridians grew increasingly intense, and his meridians were undergoing a transformation. The gray vortex at the center of his dantian space gradually deepened in color, also undergoing a metamorphosis.

At this moment, fine sweat continuously seeped from his forehead. His face was pale, and he gritted his teeth, silently enduring the transformation within his body, knowing this was an irreversible process.

The surrounding spiritual energy flowed like water through his gray meridians. Accompanied by the rapid circulation of his internal cycles, it was quickly refined into wisps of even purer, stronger gray spiritual power.

As soon as those wisps of gray spiritual power entered the dantian, they were swept up by a terrifyingly powerful suction, disappearing into the gray vortex at the center of the dantian.

A wisp of incomparably pure and shockingly strong gray mana, emitting a golden-jade luster, appeared in the cloud layer beneath the vortex. His original mana was being reconstructed and tempered once again.

...

Three days later.

In the secret chamber, Cheng Buzheng, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes. A sharp light flashed in his eyes, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

Now, his speed of absorbing spiritual energy was comparable to someone with a Mutated Spiritual Root, and the efficiency of his internal circulation had improved greatly compared to before. However, his speed of cultivation progress remained unchanged.

This was because the mana refined by the newly deduced *Starry Sky Manual* had undergone a massive qualitative transformation.

He slightly raised his hand, and a wisp of gray mana emitting a golden-jade luster flickered from his fingertip.

After a bit of experimentation...

The current strength and purity of his mana were incomparable to before; it could absolutely rival the mana quality of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. Although the quantity of his mana was vastly different from a late-stage cultivator, the essence was the same.

Even though the essence was the same, a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator could kill him with a casual strike; that was the effect of absolute mana suppression.

Because he could not wield high-grade spiritual tools, nor could he cast Tier 1 High-grade offensive or defensive spells, he was limited. Although auxiliary spells had low consumption and could be cast by someone in the early stages of Qi Refinement, they were still relatively taxing.

But now, killing an early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would be a matter of a casual strike for him, and he could even contend with mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. Facing a late-stage cultivator, however, he would have to focus on escaping.

Having a clear understanding of his own strength, he prepared to cultivate. For the sake of his grand pursuit of immortality, he would not allow even a moment of slackness.

Cheng Buzheng flicked a wisp of mana from his fingertip, enveloping a piece of raw spirit stone ore. He reached out and grasped the irregularly shaped ore flying toward him.

With the ore held in his hand, he closed his eyes slightly. Wisps of spiritual energy began to gather around him. As he completed one full cycle of circulation, a large amount of spiritual energy was sucked into his body, and the process repeated.

In the silent underground secret chamber, there was only a single cultivator sitting cross-legged, immersed in bitter cultivation.