Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 91 Thirty Consecutive Thrilling Draws

Meanwhile, on Zhang Chengdao's side...

After a month of seclusion, in addition to finally breaking through to the Core Formation realm, he also learned the "Great Sword Summoning Technique"—also known as the Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin.

This technique is not difficult to learn, but it has a high barrier to entry when used.

The main reason why the manual stipulates that only those above the Core Formation Realm can practice it is that without cultivating an inner core, the spiritual power required to use Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin once is simply insufficient.

The phrase "ten thousand swords returning to their origin" doesn't literally mean that ten thousand swords are needed to use it; "ten thousand" is just a figurative number.

Of course, even if you don't need 10,000 swords, you need at least five to start—controlling five flying swords at the same time, and coordinating them perfectly from different directions and angles, even forming a sword formation, is no easy task.

Fortunately, perhaps due to some kind of cheat code, when Zhang Chengdao learned the Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin technique, he didn't actually need to gather a bunch of swords in the real world to practice. Instead, after meditating, he entered a strange space—not a real space, but more like a place created by his divine consciousness itself.

Here, the world is created by him. He can "create" any number of swords and then practice them. So, he doesn't feel the days and months are long when he is practicing. Sometimes he even forgets himself and doesn't distinguish between day and night. He has even mastered the art of sword control. At least next time he can take a bunch of apprentices with him!

If Zhang Chengdao had the "Elementary Book of Elixir Formation," he would understand that this "space" is not a cheat code, but rather a spiritual abode opened up within the body by the divine consciousness after elixirs are formed.

The term "opening the mansion and condensing the elixir" refers to the spiritual mansion and inner elixir.

The Spiritual Abode is an inner world created by a cultivator at the Core Formation stage using their divine sense. The more perfectly this inner world is visualized, the more stable the Spiritual Abode becomes, and the more solid the cultivation will be.

Generally speaking, to open up a spiritual palace, one needs an extremely powerful divine sense and a sufficiently solid inner core.

But Zhang Chengdao did not experience the Heavenly Tribulation—that's right, when he broke through to the Core Formation Realm, he did not experience the Heavenly Tribulation either. Outside, the sun was shining brightly, birds were singing and flowers were blooming, and the sky above the roof was clear. Not to mention heavenly lightning, not even a dark cloud appeared!

There was no need to painstakingly condense the core—it was as natural as water flowing into a channel. As soon as he broke through, a perfectly round golden inner core naturally appeared in his body. It was the most top-grade golden core that cultivators in the Core Formation Realm could only dream of!
Therefore, opening up one's spiritual abode seems like a talent that appeared out of nowhere, something that was accomplished suddenly.

However, the initial spiritual abode was nothingness, and the so-called "heaven" and "earth" were all imagined by the cultivators themselves.

The moment Zhang Chengdao opened his spiritual palace, he visualized the world without any instruction. However, it was all gray and white, which was very much in line with the image of a system space that readers who like to read novels on Dian Niang imagine. No wonder Zhang Chengdao thought this was his cheat code.

"system?"

Hey, beautiful? Handsome?

Is the old man there?

"senior?"

"Calling number 2333!"

After calling out several times within his spiritual abode, seemingly summoning a cheat code, Zhang Chengdao gave up his hope that the cheat code would respond to him, as the surroundings remained empty.

Once he could barely use the Myriad Swords Return to One technique with nine swords, he let out a long sigh and ended his meditation.

In just one month, or thirty days, Zhang Chengdao had accumulated thirty new member red envelopes in his backpack, enough for another round of thirty consecutive draws.

"Received 1 [Extra Large Winter Melon]".

"Received 10 servings of [Kudzu Root Soup]." "Received 30 servings of [Meat]."

"Received 10 servings of [Pickled Fish]".

……

As each notification flashed through his vision, veins bulged on Zhang Chengdao's forehead.

It's all garbage!

Aside from gray, it's all about green quality!
For example, the [Giant Winter Melon], although it's a green-quality item, its only use in the game is to sell it to the Mysterious Merchant for in-game currency; it has no other practical function!
In reality, apart from being a little bigger than a regular winter melon, Zhang Chengdao couldn't imagine what other use it could have!

As for "pickled fish", it's also a green food, and although it tastes delicious, it's not worth any money at all!

Can't you drop some good stuff?!

Zhang Chengdao was so angry that his face turned black. He cursed the non-existent planner in his heart, but he still stubbornly continued to open the membership red envelopes.

After opening dozens more dishes, I finally got something different: 10 servings of Shu Brocade and 1 decorative item, a Wisteria Swing.

In the original game, Shu Brocade is a mid-grade fabric. Clothes made from it can significantly reduce internal diseases and increase lifespan and experience. However, it takes at least 12 pieces of Shu Brocade to make one piece of clothing. The 10 pieces I drew... aren't even enough to make one piece of clothing!
As for the [Wisteria Swing], it's just an ordinary ornament, purely for decoration. It doesn't provide any attribute bonuses, and you can't get any special items from it. It's fine to put it in the herb garden for the two kids to play with.

While calculating, Zhang Chengdao continued to open the remaining member red envelopes.

Hard work pays off! I opened thirty member red envelopes and actually got another red item!

[Exquisite Seeking Wood Branch]!
This item can be placed in the card slots of various buildings in the game to repair the daily durability loss of the buildings.

but……

There are no card slots on real-world buildings, so where would he use them?!

Does this thing even work?
Muttering to himself, Zhang Chengdao took the [Supreme Wood-Seeking Branch] out of his backpack, examined it carefully, and pondered its use.

It has a fresh woody scent that smells wonderful, and as soon as you take it out, you can feel a very strong spiritual energy emanating from it—the red-quality item is indeed extraordinary!

The branches are adorned with golden leaves that shimmer and sparkle, and the entire branch is enveloped in a pale gold hue, truly deserving of its title as a "sacred tree".

and……

This thing seems to be alive, doesn't it?
Zhang Chengdao observed the leaves and the tips of the branches on the [Supreme Seeking Wood Branch], pondering to himself.

Maybe... we could try planting it?
With that thought in mind, he finally picked up the [Supreme Wood-Seeking Branch] and walked out of the room.

The open space around Peach Garden is quite large, and because of the presence of the Crane Pond Reflecting the Moon Lamp, the concentration of spiritual energy in this area is extremely high. Otherwise, Zhang Chengdao would not have chosen to build a thatched hut here for secluded cultivation.

With that in mind, he decided to simply plant the [Supreme Seeking Wood Branch] next to it.

If he can actually grow it, the spiritual energy from this red-quality "tree" might, combined with the spiritual energy released by the [Crane Pool Reflecting the Moon Lamp] and all the peach trees in the peach grove, allow him to cultivate even faster!
There's no time to spare, so I'll just post this now. I'll go turn on my computer and add more pictures. Dear readers, please log out and log back in to refresh the page, and the pictures will be there!
(bows)
Oh no! I've exceeded my image review limit for today. I can't post the last remaining high-quality image, "Finding Wood Branch." I'll repost it at the end of a later chapter after the limit is refreshed tomorrow at 12 PM.
(Bowing again~~)
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(End of this chapter)