Chapter 363: Chapter 362: Failure to Cheat, Domestic Affairs at the Door

Ten minutes soon passed by.

The diligent Xia Ai promptly delivered the cultivated method that had been sorted out for Li Jing.

Less common are the practises that heavily rely on a single type of elemental spirit energy.

After all, apart from specific Earth Realms, the elemental spirit energy that naturally floats between heaven and earth usually exists in a perfectly balanced state.

This is the balance of nature.

Elemental imbalances often occur during special astronomical phenomenon or distinct seasons.

For instance, during a rainy day.

Water and wind elemental spirit energies tend to be more abundant and active.

And in case of a thunderstorm day.

In addition to water and wind elements, the thunder element also becomes plentiful.

Similarly, during the summer solstice, the fire element tends to be more abundant.

The hotter the weather, the more ample the fire element naturally dispersed between heaven and earth.

Of course.

In some places where the summer is not hot or even considered cold, there is no such thing as an abundance of fire elements even during the peak of summer.

In such places, water elements and its variant ice elements usually remain extraordinarily abundant year round.

As an aside.

Among all major elemental spirit energies, earth, metal and their relevant elemental variants are less impacted by astronomical events, seasons and weather.

Earth elements tend to be abundant only in desert areas.

In order for metal elements to become abundant, one usually needs to be in an Earth Realm with a large ore vein.

Put simply, the existence of elemental spirit energy is closely related to various factors such as natural phenomena, seasonal changes, local weather conditions and environmental conditions.

If a corresponding method of cultivation is overly dependent on a particular type of elemental spirit energy, failure to satisfy certain conditions may result in slow progress in cultivation.

As such, most cultivation methods are generally not "picky", they absorb whatever is available.

Essentially, no matter what type of elemental spirit energy, they are all spirit energy.

In the process of Inhalation and Refinement of Qi, once absorbed into the human body, they will automatically transform into unattributed spirit energy.

There is a phenomenon known as Elemental Affinity in the human body.

However, regardless of whichever path to cultivation one follows, the human body is incapable of accommodating elemental spirit energy.

Not only humans, but also monsters and other alien species cannot directly utilize elemental spirit energy.

From a certain perspective.

Inhalation and Refinement of Qi in essence is a process of absorption and transformation.

When casting magic or utilizing a talent ability, only then will the spirit energy within a person, monster or alien species transform into a different form.

The Forbidden Skill System is an exception.

Forbidden skills do not change the form of spirit energy, but rather, are realized by stimulating the world around with the spirit energy within one’s body, thereby attracting resonance from the spirit energy dispersed in the world.

The reason why forbidden techniques are terrifying in their formidable power is because they essentially do not rely on the power of the practitioner but borrow power from the whole world instead.

It should be noted that.

Inhalation and Refinement of Qi is exclusively characteristic of the Orthodox Immortality Path and its branches.

Although the Western Magic System, Faith System, and related branch systems all acquire power through spirit energy, they fundamentally differ greatly.

The cultivation method that Li Jing required, which had a dependency on the thunder element, was only selected and studied by those with specific physical conditions who had a demand for it.

Among a diverse array of elemental spirit energies, the thunder element itself is a particularly special and rare variant of elemental spirit energy.

No matter the season, or the Earth Realm.

Under normal weather conditions, thunder element spirit energy always stays at a relatively low level.

It only becomes dense when a thunderstorm strikes.

Its increase in density has relatively stringent requirements.

There are many theories about the rise in the density of thunder elemental spirit energy.

The most practical one is that it occurs due to the combined effects of water vapor, hot climate and wind power in natural science, involving the three major elements of water, wind, and fire.

The stringent requirements lead to a smaller demand.

As the demand decreases, naturally, the variety of cultivation methods also decreases.

Nevertheless, even so, the cultivation practices sorted out by Xia Ai still amount to thousands.

After all, Immortal Learning did not come into existence only after the founding of Longyu.

No one can clearly define when it actually appeared.

According to verifiable historical records, its emergence dates back at least five thousand years.

Although many cultivation methods have been lost over time due to changes in eras, there are still a considerable number that have been passed down.

Furthermore, after the rapid development upon the founding of Longyu and the emergence of sciences closely related to Immortal Learning, the quantity of relatively less mainstream methods of cultivation isn’t lacking at all.

Looking at the densely packed text and astounding number of pages on his phone screen, Li Jing quickly skimmed through the pages.

The basic cultivation methods.

He had ideas, and was also prepared to officially dive in.

But before that.

He needed to confirm whether he could take a shortcut in gaining some unique ability, just like when he learned magic techniques.

Unfortunately, however.

He flipped through nearly a hundred or so cultivation methods, yet there wasn’t any response on the status bar of the panel, no prompts popped up either.

Quietly giving up his get-rich-quick mentality, Li Jing returned to the beginning of the document page and started flipping through again earnestly.

Being able to sense spirit energy is only the foundation of rudimentary cultivation methods.

The key is to choose one that suits oneself.

Everyone’s Qi sense varies in strength, and individual talents are also different.

Some more subtle cultivation methods are not something just anyone can wield.

Weak Qi sense, poor talents.

All one can choose are the more common, standard cultivation methods.

A suitable cultivation method can significantly impact the cultivator themselves.

Standard cultivation methods are not within Li Jing’s consideration.

The cultivation method with a high dependency on thunder elemental spirit energy is already considered special.

The related cultivation methods in front of him amount to thousands.

If it’s impossible to take a shortcut, then his only choice is to carefully select one himself.

Xia Ai was very considerate.

The sorted-out cultivation methods are neatly arranged according to their characteristics.

Behind each method of cultivation, from low to high, is a note on its degree of dependency on thunder elemental spirit energy.

In addition to this, she also collected personal experiences from pioneers who had previously chosen the related cultivation methods.

After a thorough look, Li Jing directly chose to flip towards the end of the document.

The cultivation methods ranked at the beginning in the document do indeed have a high dependency on thunder elemental spirit energy, but they’re not picky about other elemental spirit energies; they merely act faster when absorbing thunder elemental spirit energy.

Li Jing’s current condition is.

He can only sense thunder elemental spirit energy.

What the future holds, he doesn’t know.

But for now, he feels that it’s more reliable to pick a cultivation method that is highly dependent on thunder elemental spirit energy, and to the point where it can’t coexist with other elemental spirit energies.

The more unique and unconventional the cultivation method, the better.

It often proves more useful under specific conditions.

The existence of distinct things, most of the time, is justified.

Of course.

There are also instances where they can trick people.

Files containing cultivation methods that are extremely unpopular were sent by Xia Ai.

However, most of these cultivation methods meet Li Jing’s unique needs.

At first glance.

Most cultivation methods can only absorb and emit the energy of the Thunder Element, and a small portion could barely absorb one or two other elements.

These cultivation methods share a common characteristic.

That is, during a thunderstorm, they have an extremely high efficiency of in-and-out flow that cultivators must be cautious of their conditions.

Being able to absorb a lot of spiritual Qi is not necessarily a good thing.

Specifically, it depends on how much you can transform.

If the transformation efficiency can’t keep up, the consequences can be grievous.

If too much Thunder Element is absorbed and cannot be transformed promptly, an excessive accumulation of elemental spiritual Qi may cause damage to internal organs.

Worse still, a thunderstorm may occur within the body, blotting out everything inside and out.

In this regard, Li Jing has no worries.

Considering his physical strength, even if a thunderstorm should occur within his body, he won’t feel a thing.

Without guidance, the elemental spiritual Qi would merely cause some basic phenomena to occur.

Unless these phenomena reach the level of the Eighth Realm or forbidden skill, they won’t harm him in the slightest.

The problem at the moment is, which one should he choose?

Having browsed through to the very last cultivation method at the end of the file, Li Jing found himself struggling to make a choice.

At first glance, these cultivation methods all seem rather exotic.

Among them, some interesting ones allow control over Thunder Fire upon starting.

The ability to control Thunder Fire can be very convenient when refining artifacts and eliminates the need to learn the unique "Fire Control" skill in the Artifact Refinement Skill.

Another method deepens the understanding of Thunder Element spiritual Qi once started.

After successful initiation, one would learn Thunder Skills faster than others, and therefore be more effective when producing talisman related to Thunder Skills.

They all seem rather appealing at first glance.

However, these methods are not what Li Jing needs.

Although the comprehensive Thunder Skill no longer exists, its function remains intact.

Li Jing can manipulate the Five Thunder elements according to his needs.

In front of the all-consuming Fire Thunder, the Thunder fire induced by the Thunder Element spiritual Qi can’t even be considered a sibling.

As for learning Thunder Skill, he’s got the unfair advantage.

Regarding the talisman creation.

With his cultivation level at Seventh Realm, there will not be any difficulty as long as he learns it.

The higher the realm.

The higher their understanding of things in the world, and hence the faster they pick up new things.

When not involved in the relevant aspect, the advantage won’t be apparent.

However, once involved, enlightenment would naturally come to mind as long as it’s not a realm that is temporarily inaccessible.

After much consideration, Li Jing eventually chose the very last cultivation method at the end of the page.

This method is called Thousand Thunder Attraction.

The main reason for choosing Thousand Thunder Attraction is because it’s special enough.

This method involves invoking continuous thunder strikes during thunderstorms, forcibly absorbing the energy from these strikes and transforming it into the most basic Thunder Element spiritual Qi for absorption and transformation.

Talking about the highest efficiency in cultivation.

It stands out among the thousands of cultivation methods sorted out by Xia Ai.

Of course, there are also obvious drawbacks.

This method is not suitable as the basic cultivation method for those venturing into cultivation. It can only be adopted after obtaining certain cultivation level and self-protection ability, otherwise, they could do nothing but watch during thunderstorms.

A thunder strike in a natural phenomenon, no matter how ordinary, could easily send a Second Realm cultivator to heaven.

Those in the Third Realm could barely survive it.

However, if they are constantly hit by thunder strikes during cultivation, those in the Third Realm would not be able to withstand it.

When you’re seriously cultivating, you can’t really split your focus to operate a Defense Law against thunder strikes.

The most important thing about cultivation is concentration.

Being distracted is not advisable.

Moreover, if you really use Defense Law to resist thunder strikes, there is a question of whether the Thunder Element spiritual Qi contained in the thunder strikes can be successfully absorbed by you.

Once it hits the Defense Law, the power of the thunder strike dissipates...

Bearing thunder strikes is not a problem for Li Jing.

What attracts him is its peerless efficiency among related cultivation methods.

Thunderstorms are hard to come by.

However, natural phenomenon is not a problem for Li Jing now.

With the rule of Thunder Punishment in effect.

As long as he carefully perceives the Thunder Element spiritual Qi, the Thunder Element spiritual Qi naturally fluctuating in the world will show him signs of affinity and gradually gather around him.

If it accumulates to a certain degree, it will induce a thunderstorm climate.

Previously in Yun Cheng, Fu Yao had stopped him because of this and asked him not to gather more Thunder Element spiritual Qi.

Having made a decision, Li Jing carefully reviewed the cultivation method’s formula, exercise route, and precautions.

After going through the important points, Li Jing cross-leggedly sat on the sofa.

In the beginning, to embark on the journey of cultivation, he had done quite a bit of homework.

He understands how to practice.

The fundamental problem was that he didn’t possess Qi sense at that time.

Now, with the cultivation level of the Seventh Realm.

Under the support of the cognition brought by the realm, he had already understood just by simply reading the formula and exercise route.

What he wants to verify at this moment is.

Whether he could successfully absorb the Thunder Element spiritual Qi for his own use.

Sitting cross-legged, Li Jing calmed his mind.

The naturally fluctuating Thunder Element spiritual Qi in the world started to gather around him due to this.

Having sensed this, he tried as hard as possible not to feel the Thunder Element spiritual Qi to avoid attracting too much elemental spiritual Qi.

The cultivation method starts operating.

The original spiritual power flow route inside Li Jing subtly changed, turning into the exercise route of Thousand Thunder Attraction and stabilized.

This signifies his successful initiation.

Following that, he smoothly absorbed the Thunder Element spiritual Qi through in-and-out flow.

No.

To be precise.

It wasn’t him absorbing the Thunder Element spiritual Qi through in-and-out flow, but the Thunder Element spiritual Qi going into his body on its own because he was doing in-and-out flow.

At least to Li Jing’s senses.

He did not feel as though he was absorbing anything.

The Thunder Element Spirit Qi inside his body was easily converted into attribute-less Spirit Qi, which was then absorbed by the denser and much higher quality spiritual power within him.

The conversion process was very efficient.

Li Jing could clearly feel it.

If there was ever a situation where he used too much spiritual power, he could try to recover it quickly through this method.

Although he had three Origins, there was almost an inexhaustible amount of spiritual power in his body.

His natural recovery speed was very fast, as long as he took a breath, his spiritual power would recover rapidly.

But in a pinch, this could be another way to recover.

This could be considered a pleasant surprise.

With this understanding, Li Jing opened his eyes and stopped the exercise.

He had successfully started on the practice path.

However, there were also significant problems.

In the short time of his practice, he had absorbed a considerable amount of Thunder Element Spirit Qi.

This Thunder Element Spirit Qi was willingly "delivered" to him, with high efficiency indeed.

But the converted Spirit Qi had too low quality and could not augment his spiritual power after being absorbed.

If he wished to enhance his cultivation level this way, it would require great effort.

Like the method of recovery he just mentioned, he would need to fully immerse himself in it.

This posed a fatal problem.

If he were to sink his mind fully into the practice, who knows how much Thunder Element Spirit Qi he would attract.

This was simply unfeasible.

After all, the Thunder Element Spirit Qi he could absorb directly was relatively rare. The majority was gathered around him, "queuing up" and waiting, and the accumulating Thunder Element Spirit Qi would trigger changes in natural phenomena.

If he further studies the Thousand Thunder Attraction and masters this cultivation method, the situation might improve.

But at this beginner stage.

To cultivate using the Thousand Thunder Attraction, he would need to go to an uninhabited area.

Otherwise, wherever he goes, a thunderstorm would ensue.

Due to the characteristic of Thousand Thunder Attraction which directly absorbs lightning strikes, he couldn’t practice it secretly either.

If people see a thunderstorm appearing and lightning strikes continuously hitting him, those who don’t know might even think it’s a "Cultivator passing through a calamity".

Those who do know would surely blame him.

Taking a light breath, Li Jing gave up the idea of enhancing his cultivation level through this method.

He didn’t have much aspiration for this in the first place.

Now that he’s taken the first step in the cultivation method, he should start thinking about trying out Immortal Learning related to crafting.

Immortal crafting is an absolute goldmine.

But it also involves high-stakes gambling.

Previously, Li Jing had considered trying to become wealthy through this method.

Now that he’s not short of money, he’s thinking more about how to invest his assets more effectively.

Spirit Crystals are valuable, yet they are just a form of monetary substitute.

What he needs are things that can be exchanged for his own needs.

He simply can’t get these things through patrol work.

The items exchanged for merits in the work of the Management Bureau are largely equivalent in value, but you can’t exchange them for top-notch items.

Speaking of merits.

He currently has more than five million merits in his account with nowhere to spend, shouldn’t he make good use of them?

Exchanging things and then selling them off is definitely not worth it.

The items exchanged at the Management Bureau are all "commodities" at market price.

Take those to the market and sell, they can make a small profit.

Turn those into "products" related to Immortal Crafting is the real way to make a profit.

Should he start with an Artifact Refinement Skill?

After pondering for a moment, Li Jing picked up his phone and sent a message to Xiao Ai.

"Xiao Ai, search through the whole network, find me the Artifact Refinement Skill that has the best reputation and is related to the Thunder Element Spirit Qi."

"Received."

Xiao Ai replied.

Within two seconds, she sent over a comprehensive list of crafting methods.

Methods related to Immortal Crafting.

Both this and Artifact Refinement Skill are completely free.

No matter which nation it is, all encourage citizens to venture into crafting related fields for profit.

Those who want to set foot in this field need to consider talent as well as family circumstances.

Among these factors, talent is secondary.

As long as their cultivation level is high enough and their understanding of the world deep enough, mastering the methods of Immortal Craft making won’t be particularly difficult.

The challenge is whether or not your fortune can withstand the costs of crafting...

Low level cultivators, unless they are the rare wealthy, cannot enter this field.

High level cultivators generally have a substantial amount of wealth.

But it’s highly unlikely that they would refine a few low-level spirit weapons simply for fun...

What can you do with such a small amount of money?

In Li Jing’s case.

If he wanted to make that little money, he might as well think about slaying a few more monsters.

Therefore, in the field of Immortal Crafting, there has long been a vicious cycle.

Those with high cultivation levels are reluctant to invest in the crafting field.

On the one hand, the price they could earn is not enough to excite them, and on the other hand, they are already in the Sixth or Seventh Realm, and they don’t lack the small amount of money. It’s better to put more effort into cultivation and strive for further progress.

Another point is that.

If they start learning late, they would need to spend a lot of time and energy practicing crafting methods and integrating their knowledge.

The relevant industry.

Depends on luck, but also personal techniques and proficiency.

This directly leads to only those who have been involved in crafting related fields from the beginning of their cultivation choosing this path. Most of the people proficient in crafting have generally low cultivation levels.

For example, the alchemy master, Mo Qi, who has a mysterious connection with Li Jing.

Even if he is not the North Star of the alchemy field, he is considered top-tier.

However, his cultivation level only reaches the Four Realm.

In the final analysis.

It’s because Mo Qi has spent too much time in the field of alchemy, leaving him no time for cultivation.

For this aspect, Li Jing does not need to worry.

Simply because he doesn’t cultivate.

He has plenty of time.

Once he learns the techniques, he can delve into them at his leisure.

Now, he also has sufficient wealth to casually craft.

Unlike the cultivation methods related to Thunder Element Spirit Qi, which, although they are not popular, still number in the thousands, the number of feasible Artifact Refinement Skills on the market is much less.

So, Xiaozai easily found the Artifact Refinement Skill that Li Jing requested.

While Li Jing was about to study the Artifact Refinement Skill sent by Xiaozai, a panel popped up in his sight.

"Active Skill ’Thunder Implant’ found. Would you like to learn?"

Li Jing was surprised by the sudden message.

He had been studying and trying to research the Immortal Learning for creating things whenever he had free time.

There were never any prompt messages before.

But now there was one...

Was it because he had the basics in practicing the law?

How amazing!

If he could activate the skills, it meant he could use skill points.

And even...

He could try Boundary Breakthrough.

In the meantime, he could save time researching on his own.

This wasn’t because he didn’t want to research seriously!

It was because of the Panel Status Bar giving him an advantage!

Li Jing immediately chose ’yes’.

"The active skill, ’Thunder Implant,’ has been successfully registered."

A new message popped up, and in hurry, Li Jing opened the panel.

Looking at it made him grin from ear to ear.

He really could allocate the points!

Without hesitating, Li Jing used five skill points to maximize his ’Thunder Implant’ skill and immediately gained insight.

The Artifact Refinement Skill he had just started learning had reached Great Perfection.

Now, he was only one step away from becoming a master in Artifact Refinement, and that step was to gain "experience".

Should he find somewhere to test water refining an artifact right now?

Li Jing was on the edge of his seat.

Wanting to act on his thoughts, Li Jing quickly stood up.

Just as he was heading to the guest room door, a series of knocking echoed from outside.

Li Jing paused and furrowed his brows at the sound.

His Qi Sense told him a man and a woman had come to the door.

In the Capital City, he only knew a few people, and only three of them knew about his accommodation, the hotel.

Yulian and Jiu Li had taken a morning flight to Jianghai.

Sisi had gone shopping with Xiaoya.

Clearly.

The officials from Longyu had found him, and someone had come looking for him.

What was bound to come would come sooner or later.

Li Jing was not panicked.

But the timing chosen by the other party was impeccable.

They hadn’t come earlier, and they hadn’t come later. They showed up just when he was eager to practice Artifact Refinement.

With a sigh, Li Jing walked up to open the door.

Immediately.

A pair of handsome young man and woman appeared before his eyes.

When they saw him, the young man and woman both revealed warm smiles.

"Hello, Counselor Li," the young man initiated, and took out his Management Bureau ID card.

"I am Wen Chaowen, under the jurisdiction of the Capital City Management Bureau and work in the Internal Affairs Department. This is my colleague and my younger sister, Wen Wen."

With his words, the young woman beside him also took out her own ID card for presentation.

Seeing the two of them presenting their ID cards, Li Jing nodded.

"Nice to meet you."

After responding, he asked.

"What brings you two here all of a sudden?"

He had an idea of why they had come.

The fact that they were from the Internal Affairs Department of the Management Bureau confirmed his speculation.

The Internal Affairs Department of the Management Bureau was mainly responsible for problems arising from within the bureau.

He might have realized it, but Li Jing had to play along.

Otherwise, wouldn’t it be all too clear?

Wen Chaowen and Wen Wen were obviously cautious around Li Jing.

If Li Jing were still in his previous world, they would be the top-tier security and public safety personnel within the state, and they would never be polite to anyone.

But now matters involved Li Jing.

Not only was he a powerful individual with a spectacular background and a lot of potential, but they couldn’t just get pushy with him.

They came because they confirmed that Li Jing had secretly crossed the border to the Northern God Country, which was very likely related to the incident of the God Church Country.

Why did they say "very likely"?

Li Jing was a tough man with many "priors".

In addition to that, he also had a close connection with Chen Jing, who had almost blown up the capital city in the past.

As the saying goes, "A man is known by the company he keeps."

It couldn’t be said that the suspicion against him wasn’t significant.

They also wanted to believe that Li Jing was aware why they were here.

Clearly he was playing dumb, they had no choice but to pretend they didn’t know.

Wen Wen cleared her throat and started speaking.

"Counselor Li, we are here on the orders of the director of the General Bureau. The director wants to talk to you."

"What?"

Li Jing was surprised.

The Director of the General Administration Bureau, wasn’t that Jiang Yini’s father?

This man wanted to talk to him, which was beyond his expectations.

He had thought that with the arrival of two people from the Internal Affairs Department, he could just put them off.

Who would have thought that this matter could escalate to the point where the Director of the General Administration Bureau, Jiang Liao, "summoned" him?

As he was in shock, Wen Chaowen turned and made a gesture of "please" with a smile.

"Counselor Li, we are following orders. Please cooperate and don’t make it difficult for us."

"Alright."

Li Jing nodded silently.

If Jiang Liao wanted to "summon" him, he had no choice but to go.

...