Translator: AnubisTL
No matter how one breaks down and transforms the Essence, Qi, and Spirit within the body, or the myriad things in the external world, the process can only yield "elements," not "spiritual energy."
Yet Jieming had not only cultivated spiritual energy using this method but had even reached the foundation establishment realm.
Without exaggeration, this was truly the earliest instance of Jieming encountering "something from nothing."
Now that I think about it, the cultivation method the Great Dao Library Pavilion gave me must be transcendent. Though it appears to be a simple refinement of essence into qi on the surface...
When Jieming first arrived in this world, he had asked the Great Dao Library Pavilion for cultivation methods. The only method it provided was this refinement of essence into qi technique.
If he had asked for other spiritual energy cultivation methods, the Great Dao Library Pavilion would have provided the corresponding knowledge.
But whenever he asked for "methods of cultivation," the Great Dao Library Pavilion would only offer this single technique.
Fortunately, Jieming wasn't stubborn. After experimenting a few times and confirming the Great Dao Library Pavilion's impressive "intelligence," he obediently accepted its recommendation.
Looking back now, it seems the Great Dao Library Pavilion had already detected the true nature of this world, which is why it only provided a single cultivation method.
Judging by Jieming's subsequent cultivation speed, his aptitude was actually quite remarkable.
The reason it took him over a decade to barely reach the first layer of qi refining was likely because he spent most of that time constructing some kind of "converter" within his body.
"To think that merely through specific breathing techniques and special movements, one could construct a converter capable of creating spiritual energy from nothing... It seems the immortal cultivation world has taken half a step further than our current wizard civilization."
Indeed, just half a step.
This was because the wizard civilization had likely already mastered the perpetual motion machine that creates something from nothing.
Though Jieming had never met a ninth-tier wizard, virtually all descriptions of them were consistent: due to some transcendent circumstances, their power could be considered infinitely vast.
Such descriptions naturally piqued Jieming's interest.
Despite the scarcity of information on the magic network, Jieming had become convinced that the ninth-tier wizards of the wizard civilization had also mastered the power to create something from nothing.
The current gap between the wizard civilization and the immortal cultivation world lies in the "level of popularization" of this perpetual motion.
In the wizard civilization, only the nine most elite ninth-tier wizards have mastered the ability to create something from nothing. In contrast, the cultivation civilization has already integrated this principle into its most fundamental cultivation techniques.
"However... taking even this half-step further might not be a good thing for the entire civilization..."
Jieming's reasoning stemmed from a book he had read in the Great Dao Library Pavilion: Records of Chen Jie's Mortal Trials (Chapter 23).
The author of that memoir, Chen Jiezi, was born during the end of dao era in the immortal cultivation world.
The book explained that the cultivation world's mastery of capturing concepts to create something from nothing was precisely because they had entered the end of dao era.
Before understanding the specific concept of spiritual energy, the end of dao era hadn't been difficult for Jieming to imagine—it was simply like the historical dramas from his previous life, with a touch of transcendent elements added.
But after learning that spiritual energy constituted all matter, energy, time, space, and even destiny in the immortal cultivation world, Jieming found it impossible to imagine what the spiritual energy-scarce end of dao era could have been like.
Even the Great Dao Library Pavilion contained no records of this. After all, the pavilion only documented the knowledge of the cultivation world. If no one recognized the difference, the pavilion naturally wouldn't know either.
The depletion of spiritual energy was an extraordinarily prolonged event. Many cultivators were born into a world already in this state, and they lived and died without ever witnessing any change. Naturally, they remained unaware of the world's underlying problem.
Of course, there were also some undying old monsters.
But such ancient beings viewed the world through an excessively fundamental lens. External changes had little impact on their judgment, so their conclusions invariably boiled down to a single phrase: "depletion of spiritual energy."
"The only thing we know for certain is that the root cause of the spiritual energy depletion lies with those undying old monsters."
Cultivators pursued longevity and the dao, with strength and cultivation merely byproducts of this pursuit.
Overall, cultivators who sought immortality were invariably powerful.
The structure of the immortal cultivation world more closely resembled Jieming's previous life's technological world, with planets as the fundamental units of the universe. However, this universe occasionally contained spatial bubbles, known as Ggotto-heavens or small worlds.
The immortal cultivation world naturally shared some characteristics of the universe, such as its boundless expansion at ever-increasing, faster-than-light speeds.
Initially, the immortal cultivation world possessed abundant resources.
But as time passed, the undying cultivators grew increasingly powerful, and the material and energy they consumed through natural respiration expanded almost without limit.
Even more terrifying was the constant increase in the number of these undying beings.
High-ranked cultivators continuously absorbed everything between heaven and earth into their domains of nothingness, ultimately causing the immortal cultivation world not only to cease expanding but to shrink relentlessly.
In truth, there was a solution to the spiritual energy depletion, and it lay in plain sight: eliminate the high-ranked cultivators, and the spiritual energy would revive.
However, this was nearly impossible. Even if one could defeat a high-ranked cultivator powerful enough to influence the entire world's state, the entity capable of such a feat would undoubtedly be formidable, making it the next target for annihilation.
The Great Dao Library Pavilion didn't specify the final outcome of the immortal cultivation world, but it likely ended in destruction.
"Still, given how advanced their technology for creating something from nothing has become, perhaps they've already escaped that fate," Jieming mused.
After a moment of contemplation, he shifted his attention to another object within his dantian.
"After years of nurturing, it has finally begun to develop spirituality."
Feeling the lively spirituality emanating from the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror, Jieming's face lit up with satisfaction.
As expected of the type of magic artifact he had specifically chosen for its exceptional spiritual affinity, it was already so active even in the foundation establishment realm.
This level of spiritual intensity was sufficient to serve as an auxiliary AI, helping him process simple information.
This meant that his reconnaissance system was finally complete!
"The space ring issue has been resolved through inner circulation. Now that the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror has gained spirituality, it's time to accelerate the mass production of rune-imbued magical artifacts."
After all, the testing at Noren Workshop was fast approaching.
(End of the Chapter)