Chapter 16: Black Water Skill

People can be so treacherous.

After walking out of Wu's Gold Shop, Chen Mobai sighed inwardly.

No wonder many cultivators prefer to pay a bit more and go to large, branded stores; at least they won't try to pull a customer into illegal activities the moment they see them.

Although fictitious transactions to exchange for points are commonplace in the Immortal Sect, they are typically only conducted between acquaintances, as they represent both parties holding leverage over each other. Chen Mobai and Wu Wan had only done business once, and there was absolutely no trust, not even a shred, between them.

Chen Mobai was still young. Given his current cultivation progress and the second-tier spiritual land of the Water Estate, he was certainly capable of reaching the peak of Qi Cultivation and attempting Foundation Establishment. There was simply no need for him to take such risks yet.

After this transaction, Chen Mobai, who had initially planned to do more shopping, lost all desire to continue.

After returning home by public transport, feeling flush with his newfound wealth, he decided to treat himself. He didn't bother cutting talisman paper, or even cooking; instead, he ordered some Mala Tang.

While waiting for his takeout, Chen Mobai scanned the complete 'Detailed Explanation of the Clear Water Array' into a document and sent it to Teacher Chan. Then, he took out the 'Black Water Art' and began to read it.

This was a typical water-attribute Qi Cultivation technique, consisting of nine layers. It could be cultivated all the way to the peak of Qi Cultivation and also included three supplementary spells.

These were Water Control Art, Water Elemental Shield, and Ice Art.

The three spells progressed sequentially: the Water Control Art was the simplest, but mastering it still required considerable time.

Once water control was proficient, one could manipulate refined spiritual water to form a Water Elemental Shield, protecting oneself. This was also considered a spell that could substitute for defensive artifacts, and it was quite popular among low-tier cultivators.

The final spell, Ice Art, was the most difficult.

According to the description in the Black Water Art, one first needed to condense their spiritual power into a breath of ice. Then, by combining it with the Water Control Art, they could freeze refined spiritual water and shape it into any form they desired, whether for attack or defense.

Although this cultivation method was simple, it was a complete system in itself. Moreover, practicing the three spells could, in turn, promote the advancement of one's Qi Cultivation realm.

"Not bad, not bad. If my water spirit root attribute wasn't only 23, I would seriously consider switching to this immediately."

Several major hospitals in the Immortal Sect had jointly conducted experiments, finding that if a spirit root attribute exceeded 33 points, cultivating Five Elements techniques would be less efficient than cultivating single-attribute Qi Cultivation techniques.

For talents like Chen Mobai, who were almost classified as pseudo-spirit roots, cultivating Five Elements techniques was the most suitable, both in terms of cultivation progress and efficiency in refining spiritual energy.

For Chen Mobai, the Black Water Art's greatest value, besides serving as a reference, lay in the three spells it contained.

While knowledge in the Immortal Sect was shared, it all required points to exchange for.

Furthermore, before exchanging for spells from the Immortal Sect, one had to swear an oath to only cultivate them oneself and not teach them to others.

Only schools were permitted to openly teach spells.

The Movement Art, Cleansing Art, Qi Nurturing Art, and other spells Chen Mobai knew were taught at school. However, most students were instilled with the philosophy of 'cultivation above all else' from a young age, and the spells they enthusiastically practiced were limited to those convenient for daily use.

After all, the Prime Star was simply too peaceful. Petty theft and tax evasion were common, but major crimes like murder had not been heard of for a long time.

Only when frontier wars approached would cultivators begin practicing spells for combat.

In peaceful times, students at school were solely focused on Qi Cultivation, improving their realm, and hoping to reach the peak of Qi Cultivation and attempt Foundation Establishment as soon as possible.

Just as Chen Mobai was comparing the Water Elemental Shield with the Flowing Water Shield given by Old Man Ding, the doorbell rang.

The takeout had arrived.

Chen Mobai went into the kitchen, poured the Mala Tang into a bowl, and was about to scoop out some spiritual rice to eat when he suddenly noticed a fish in the sink. It had been gutted, but still looked somewhat familiar.

Wait, wasn't this the fish he had brought back from the Water Estate? He had been in a hurry that morning, and after dealing with his spoils, he had casually thrown it into the sink.

He had originally planned to make a bowl of boiled fish with it that evening, to avoid waste, but after earning a good sum from selling gold, Chen Mobai had completely forgotten about it.

His mom must have dealt with it before she left.

As Chen Mobai thought this, he looked at the faintly pinkish-white, translucent fish meat. With a practiced motion, he sliced the fish into individual pieces. Then, he lit the stove, poured his Mala Tang into the pot to use as the soup base, and added the fish slices one by one.

After his efforts, the moment the tender, spicy fish entered his mouth, Chen Mobai squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

After finishing his meal, he wasted no time and immediately teleported into the Water Estate.

First, he circled the Water Estate, confirmed that nothing had changed since he left, and only then did he feel at ease. He walked to the array flag, sat cross-legged on the futon he had brought, and began refining the dense spiritual energy of the second-tier water vein...

The next day.

During class, Chen Mobai looked at his phone screen with a strange expression.

He had a habit of recording his cultivation sessions on his phone each time, then importing the footage into a software called 'Auxiliary Cultivation.' This software would compare it with previous cultivation recordings to identify differences, correct errors, and adopt beneficial practices.

However, the 'Auxiliary Cultivation' software hadn't displayed a pop-up window for half a year. This indicated that his cultivation time and posture were already optimal, with no room for further improvement.

But this morning, it had suddenly displayed one.

It read: 'Detected that the water attribute in the spiritual power cultivated by the user last night is 2 points higher than usual. Please confirm the reason.'

The Auxiliary Cultivation software identified the discrepancy but did not analyze the cause; users needed to find the reason themselves and provide feedback.

Chen Mobai recalled his cultivation session from the previous day. It had been exactly the same as his previous sessions in the Water Estate; he hadn't even moved from his position on the futon.

Unable to understand, he could only conduct more experiments.

That day, Chen Mobai activated the recording again and cultivated for another night in the Water Estate. His Five Elements technique showed further improvement.

It read: 'Detected that the water attribute in the spiritual power cultivated by the user last night is 2 points lower than yesterday. Please confirm the reason.'

Another pop-up window appeared.

Chen Mobai confirmed that something about him must have been different the day before yesterday. The 'Auxiliary Cultivation' software was developed by the Heaven-Mending Daoist Academy, one of the Four Great Daoist Academies, and after centuries of refinement, it was highly sophisticated.

The software couldn't be wrong, so what exactly had happened to him?

Chen Mobai fell into deep thought, recalling all of his experiences from the day before yesterday.

Classes, consulting his teacher, reading in the cultivation room and experimenting with the needle box, selling gold...

Thinking of Wu's Gold Shop, Chen Mobai slightly furrowed his brow, but he confirmed that he hadn't had any physical contact with Wu Wan, only a conversation and a business transaction.

His memory rewound further: ordering takeout, slicing fish, eating, returning to the Water Estate to cultivate, then coming back for class!

A complete loop clearly emerged in Chen Mobai's mind. He considered what had been different about that day compared to his usual routine, something that could affect the adaptive spiritual power generated by his Five Elements technique. The most likely cause, then, was a change in his spirit root attribute points.

The takeout!?

Chen Mobai thought about the food he had eaten. It was possible for food to affect spirit roots, but it shouldn't have been this way. He had secretly ordered takeout several times before, and the Auxiliary Cultivation software had never shown a pop-up then.

Could it be... the fish was the problem?