After reading for many hours and gaining some ideas, he exited the library.
Gaining knowledge was great, but he also needed to be realistic.
Since he didn't go to work today, he naturally didn't earn any money.
So Luo Chen decided to assess his situation properly before delving too deep into books.
He checked his belongings and confirmed through his memory.
He had enough food to last two weeks, but he had no money.
After two weeks, he would truly become a pauper.
Still, that was enough. Two weeks were plenty to not only absorb enough knowledge but also get started in his cultivation journey.
Once he became a cultivator, his physical condition would greatly improve, which would open up new ways to make money.
He could go to forage for herbs or hunt animals in the mountains.
Even if he didn't know the way, he could make do with his improved physical attributes and five senses.
So he would be a shut-in for two weeks, and he would emerge as a cultivator from his seclusion.
With this decision made, he first ate a meal, which was bland porridge, and delved back into the library.
Now that he was aware of his living conditions, he no longer had the luxury of casually browsing through.
After hours of reading, he established somewhat of a foundation in the knowledge necessary for a beginner cultivator.
What he needed to do now was to decide on a cultivation technique and study it.
He decided, after contemplation, to visit the dao section of the library.
The reason behind his decision was that cultivation techniques played an essential role in the journey of a cultivator.
The more profound and high-quality the cultivation technique, the more benefits one would have.
Therefore, the natural course of action was to go with the best, which was the dao section.
Compared to the mortal section, the dao section was just so much more. Just being there cleared his thoughts and opened up his mind.
Various insights flowed as he gained a more comprehensive understanding of the previously read knowledge.
The runes here shone brighter, the books were more ancient, the smell was so soothing, and a calming aura was ever-present.
Thankfully, the knowledge in the Dao Library was divided into sections, making it easier to find what he was looking for.
Or maybe it wasn't before, but the heavenly treasure sensed his intentions and categorized the knowledge according to his wishes without his knowledge.
In any case, once he found the section for the cultivation techniques, he started browsing.
Despite this being the most precious dao section, the books and scriptures were still numerous.
'This is going to take a while. I want to browse through everything, consider every option, and only then make a choice.'
Nine Suns Dao Scripture, Heavenly Thunder Dao Art, Blood Slaughter Dao Technique, Expanding Cosmos Divine Dao Image...
One thing to note is that in cultivation, there were three major paths: body cultivation, soul cultivation, and spirit cultivation.
As their name suggested, body cultivation tempered the body, soul cultivation elevated the soul, and spirit cultivation cultivated the spirit.
Of course, there were three thousand different ways to achieve the Dao, but those were minor paths under these three.
For example, one could achieve the Dao through treasure cultivation, but they would still be cultivating their body, soul, and spirit at the end of the day.
The most common and orthodox way was to cultivate the spirit, as you couldn't give up on cultivating your spirit if you wanted to elevate your level of life.
Those who only cultivated their body or only their soul were so rare that it wasn't worth mentioning.
The most profound way was to cultivate all three at the same time, but the requirements for that were so strict that barely anyone would choose such a thorny path. Even then, they would give up eventually due to the immense difficulty.
Naturally, Luo Chen wouldn't choose the path that countless others before him failed to walk, at least not yet, as he was rational enough to know he wasn't above everyone else.
There would always be those more talented than him, those with more willpower than him, those with more luck than him.
Right now, his priority was to begin his cultivation and gain a foothold in this world. At the very least, he should be able to feed himself.
Therefore, he wanted to choose a spirit cultivation technique, standing on the shoulders of the giants before him and following the orthodox path.
Despite the fact that he only read through the introductory page that was at the beginning of every cultivation technique, he wasn't able to finish going through every technique.
After he was more than halfway done, he began to feel sleepy. As someone who values sleep deeply, even treasuring it, he decided to go to bed.
Lying on the straws and dried leaves, he contemplated his new life. Today was more eventful than any of his previous life.
With philosophical questions about his existence, anticipation towards the future, and childlike wonder about the world of cultivation in his mind, he drifted to sleep.
...
He woke up at dawn naturally, ate his barely edible porridge, took care of his hygiene as much as he could in this backwater village, and delved back into the library.
Since he had already browsed through more than half of the cultivation techniques, it only took him a few more hours to finish the rest.
Once he was done, he already had a few techniques in mind. After repeatedly reading their introductions and considering various perspectives, he decided on his technique. It was called Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture.
As every other technique in the dao section of the library, Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture was an extremely profound technique that directly pointed to the Dao.
However, it also had its own specialties.
First of all, it was all-encompassing. It didn't have a tendency towards any specific attribute. This was also what Luo Chen wanted.
If you were to cultivate a fire attribute technique, you would have difficulties when it comes to water or metal attributes.
When he was making his choice, he was considering his future prospects as well. In order to reach higher in the path of cultivation, versatility was essential.
Being an expert in one path and sticking to it to the end might suit rare few people, but he didn't think it would suit him.
There weren't any elements or philosophies he felt particularly close to.
So, in order not to be limited by his cultivation technique, and when the time comes, be able to walk myriad paths to their peak, he chose a neutral technique.
And more importantly, since Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture didn't have any advantages towards any elements, it compensated with a different benefit.
Cultivating this technique would allow you to resonate with the Heavenly Dao and increase your affinity with the Dao and the spirit energy over time.
The spirit energy one would possess as they cultivate the Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture would also have incredible purity; it would be stable but powerful.
There were also many other big and small benefits, with many mysteries to be discovered.
All in all, cultivating this technique would bring countless benefits with no disadvantages, always supporting but never hindering.
The only thing that might be called a disadvantage was that it provided no additional benefit towards any path. But it also meant you could walk any path.
You could cultivate this technique and still specialize in fire elemental spells, which would be missing the point, but it was possible nevertheless.
Once he decided on the technique, Luo Chen became immersed in it.
Even though just being in the Dao Library cleared his mind and boosted his comprehension, he still took the entire day to read through the technique.
It was only the next day that he felt he had an initial understanding of it.
After waking up for the second time in his new life and eating breakfast, he felt ready.
He had both the fundamental knowledge of the cultivation and an initial understanding of the technique he wanted to cultivate.
He decided it was time to try cultivating for the first time.
He sat in a comfortable position on the makeshift bed and started following the instructions from the Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture.
The first stage of the cultivation was the Meridian Opening Realm.
There were 12 major meridians in a normal human body, 108 connections, and thousands of minor meridians.
But for mortals, these meridians were closed.
The main goal of the Meridian Opening Realm was to open the 12 major meridians and, therefore, pave the way for the spirit energy to circulate throughout the body.
As for the 108 connections and minor meridians, they were not mandatory. But following the Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture would ensure there would not be a single clogged meridian left in the body.
Naturally, opening every meridian has great benefits. Increasing the circulation speed of the spirit energy and future cultivating speed, creating a more stable foundation, and attuning the body to the spirit energy faster were some examples.
But first, he had to sense spirit energy and draw it into his body.