Advancement and Breakthrough

Kle In thought of random things about cultivation correlated to advancement in an attempt of better understanding his predicament. If he is able to properly understand the underlying reason he cannot break through, then he might be able to find other ways to fix it.

He refuses to believe that there is only one solution to it.

Considering what he knew so far, the first that came to his mind is that, there seem to be a required number of Qi Nodes required per cultivation level however, he already opened up all his.

The second is that cultivators do not seem to consume Qi Sensing Pills after they have broken through Early Condensation. He recalled when he had to consume Qi Sensing Pills every time he has to open up a Qi Node because he could not locate them when the pill effect is gone. He just recalled the images from his Failed Superman's Eye that while their Major Qi Nodes are not completely opened, it is still lit up but dim.

The third is the problem he cannot break through given his weak elemental affinity however it can be fixed by consuming rare and treasured medicine after winning it from powerhouses.

Fourth, is how his strength which almost tripled when he broke through Late-Early Qi Condensation Realm. Before he came up with the fifth, he was suddenly reminded about Formations was the key to concocting High Quality pills.

He stopped and tried to correlate those geometric patterns with cultivation break through. It is a fact that the every level of advancement requires more Qi Nodes involved in circulation which is exactly what he was doing. Comparing himself to her maid’s daughter, he felt like Mebiline will break through soon without encountering Qi deviation.

Kle In felt he is on the right course and tried to remember the Basics of Formation he once read. After the introduction, there was a part of about Gathering Formation. The materials for simple layout involved common materials and third example included a more expensive ones.

Kle In suddenly remembered when he asked himself what he has that other cultivators don’t and his obvious answer was that he opened up all his meridians. He just realized he was wrong because Nascent Level expert have it as well.

Having all these clues, everything fits together.

Just like Formations, the higher the level of Formation being carved, the higher the level of materials needed. Comparing it to his body, by opening up all Major Qi Nodes, he is already like a high level of Formation and treasures that improve his body constitution is needed to equally support it.

At this point, everything makes sense why he must compete with powerhouses to acquire it because cultivators need it as well to break through. But this still does not explain what Spiritual Elemental Affinity is.

Kle In stopped and meditated. He needed more data to prove his idea.

He waited 'til morning and asked Mabna'y to accompany him. Unlike their previous visits, he asked to stop by near a place where decent cultivators would gather. They sat on a restaurant with outside dining near an auction house. He activated his Failed Superman’s Eyesight and observed each passerby.

Engrossed with observation after an hour, though the strongest he has seen is Late Foundation Establishment cultivator, it followed the premise that there is a dedicated number of opened Qi Nodes each level of cultivation just like he thought.

But what he came for today was to further observe the Major Qi Nodes of these cultivators. It looks like half of them have partially lit up Qi Nodes and when closely analyzed, those are Qi Nodes that are needed to be opened when advancing to the next level. One thing he saw as well from these cultivators is the brightness of the color of their souls. He believes it is probably related so he included it on the things he needed to look out for.

Kle In smiled and asked Aunt Mabna’y.

“Is there a way to close someone else’s meridians when they are opened?”

Aunt Mabna'y was surprised by the sudden question. She did not know what they have come to accomplish today, and she has been thinking about the mysterious alchemist is coming in and out of the house to train the boy.

There were times she was tempted to knock when Kle In is cooped up in the Alchemy room, but she never had the nerve to do it in fear of offending someone powerful. While she belongs to the lower strata of a branch family, like Deacon Sar Aran, she is not that witless to believe it was Kle In who refined the pills.

“Opening one’s meridians is one of the key in breaking through and I have never heard of a way of undoing it”

"Based on your clan's history, was there anyone whose Qi Nodes or cultivation destroyed?"

"Young master, cultivation being wasted is not just limited to our clan. And those with crippled cultivation are people who would either kill themselves or live in humiliation because they must. We have someone in the family who was crippled more than twenty years ago. It took the clan more than a year to help him recover, but he has been stuck at Early Qi Condensation since. They say that Bou Patanii Fruit could restore Qi Nodes, but our elders were not willing to fork out such rare medicine. If master is willing, I can have him meet you today?"

Kle In read about Bou Patanii Fruit from the Encyclopedia of Useful Flora. It is a primary ingredient for Core Formation Breakthrough Pill, but it did not mention being able to heal broken Qi Nodes.

"If it's not too much trouble. Can you as well arrange two family members within your clan whose Spiritual Elemental Affinity is weak, someone your clan would consider trash? I want to see if the potency of my pills can help them breakthrough."

Now that he has a lead, he wants to conduct more observations. First is to further prove the logic of incrementing number of Opened Qi Nodes to someone with the same constitution as him. If that truly is the case, then there must be a way to close his opened Qi Nodes. Second is the size and brightness of the soul.

After walking around the city, he went back home to concoct more pills.