"This System, truly a creation of some passing Great Power, doesn't leave any loopholes for people to exploit..."

In the firewood room, Lin Feng complained in a low voice while diligently using Sword Qi to split the Spirit Wood into three-foot-long strips of wood about two fingers thick.

This Spirit Wood is needed for alchemy, not only to maintain the fire but also because the abundant Wood Element Spiritual Power it contains can accelerate the gestation of elixirs.

However, different elixirs have different requirements for Spirit Wood. Some elixirs don't need these wood materials at all and rely solely on a Pill Master's True Fire. For some elixirs, not only is Spirit Wood needed, but the wood must also be soaked five times in ginseng soup made from Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng before being placed into the Pill Furnace — of course, no one on Spirit Phoenix Island does this now; it's too extravagant.

Some elixirs even have requirements on the cultivation method of the person splitting the wood.

The Quenching Fire Pills from Luochen Sword Palace are like this. They require the extremely concentrated Yimu Essence found in Heavenly Blue Wood as fuel to maintain the Pill Furnace's temperature. This Heavenly Blue Wood, moreover, must be tempered with a slight amount of Geng Metal Qi to induce a "Wood Strong Metal Weak" pattern before it can be used in pill making.

Splitting the Spirit Wood according to these demands is challenging work. Firstly, the wood must be split into pieces of a specific size and length, which is mentally exhausting. Secondly, the person splitting the wood can't have high Power; otherwise, the "Wood Strong Metal Weak" pattern can't be formed. Each chop requires the person to gather enough Geng Metal Sword Qi, which is a great challenge for Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators lacking Mana. The backlash of Yimu Essence Qi against Geng Metal Sword Qi within the Heavenly Blue Wood can even cause a Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator with a slightly weak foundation to have swollen meridians and feel discomfort all over.

Of course, this practice is considered a form of training by the Luochen Sword Palace. The priority of Luochen Sword Palace's Sword Path is "technique," seeking lightness, sharpness, and skill. This miscellaneous task aims to let low-level disciples experience the principle of "using intent rather than Qi" amidst the countless cycles of life, counteraction, and insult between Geng Metal Sword Qi and Yimu Essence. Instead of solely pursuing the strength of Sword Qi, they pursue the sharpness of Sword Intent.

— Although Wang Qi always felt this was unnecessary, since this principle could be directly explained, saving a lot of time for disciples to learn profound principles.

Among the servant disciples, splitting the Heavenly Blue Wood was always a task people feared and avoided.

However, Lin Feng took on this task voluntarily.

For a straightforward reason.

[Daily Task: Luochen Sword Palace · Spirit Wood Igniting True Elixir]

[True Intent Reveals True Knowledge, Spiritual Insight Should Follow Suit. The Three Families Merge into One, Instantly Settling the Body and Mind. The Empty Room Yet Births Light, Calm Again Brings Yang. With Diligence, Train and Refine, Transformed into Purple Gold Frost. Spiritual Aperture and Wisdom Light Arise, Emotions Diminished When Nature Manifests. The Bright Night Pearl Shines Everywhere. The Turbulent Nature Turns to True Nature, the Human Heart Changes to the Dao Heart. Without Divine Fire's Refinement, How Can Gold Form in the Furnace? Elixirs, the most crucial materials in cultivation; a cultivator need not understand alchemy, but they must take elixirs. Therefore, even if you can't perform alchemy, you must learn to form connections with Pill Masters.]

[Task Objective: Split fifteen pieces of Heavenly Blue Spirit Wood and deliver them to the sect's Pill Master]

[Task Reward: Cultivation Points, ten; Experience, one hundred]

[Progress: Six/Fifteen]

He wiped his forehead, murmuring, "Still... still nine more..."

With the System as support, he could cultivate madly without worrying that his Dao Heart wouldn't control his Mana, or fearing Deviation. As long as he had resources, he could quickly push his cultivation upwards.

But Lin Feng was of humble origins and couldn't provide resources.

"Damn it... damn it..."

"I know... I come from a low status... I want to rest too..."

"But... without resources, don't I have to fight with my life? Compared to those second-generation rich kids, I can only fight on..."

"Without the System... I wouldn't even have the chance to risk my life!"

While wiping sweat, his eyes caught a glimpse of the "Spirit Compass" in his hand. His spirit tightened as he felt the pressure of death, and he vented his frustration by splashing cold water, steadied the seventh piece of Spirit Wood, adjusted it, then focused his mind and steadied his stance, raising his sword high.

In the next moment, Sword Light and Geng Metal Sword Qi collided fiercely with the Spirit Wood.

"Ugh..."

The Yimu Essence within the Spirit Wood was several times his Mana. The Geng Metal Sword Qi seemed to ignite the Yimu Essence, rapidly wearing down the Sword Qi, and the Yimu Qi retaliated into Lin Feng's hands.

After this strike, Lin Feng had to rest for quite a while before alleviating the nausea.

Quickly, he stood up again and resumed splitting wood.

The System required him to break through a stage before the "Spiritual Fire" extinguished completely. He observed that the rate of weakening of the Spiritual Fire was neither fast nor slow. By his estimation, he had about three months left.

He was still in the Qi Cultivation Early Stage. Three months to break through to Mid-Stage Qi Refining.

This was really a difficult challenge.

Unless he abandoned the Longevity Path and switched to cultivating a Heterodox method, he wouldn't be able to break through in three months.

And this mysterious "task" from the System was his only hope!

Lin Feng gritted his teeth, swinging one sword stroke after another.

By the ninth piece, his hands were in severe pain, the skin beginning to bleed underneath.

By the eleventh piece, he felt dizzy and nauseous. An excessive amount of Yimu Essence had infiltrated his body. Metal overcomes wood; wood strong, metal weak. Two forces utterly irreconcilable clashed within him.

If he continued, he would be ruined.

Under this pressure, he had to sit down in the five-hearted posture and circulate his cultivation method. The Void Sword Crossing Technique was far superior to the Geng Metal Sword Technique and had a greater inclusivity. The Yimu Essence Qi that rushed into his body was either refined or expelled, quickly reducing to a level that no longer hindered his movements.

"Good... Without this profound cultivation method, I might not have been able to complete it before midnight today..."

"I can't continue to rest..."

It was not until nightfall that Lin Feng completed his daily tasks.

After handing the Spirit Wood over to the Alchemist and humbly saying a few words in response to the other's astonishment, he returned to his room. Now, he was eager to see what so-called "Cultivation Points" and "Experience" were used for.

In the task interface, the [Daily Task: Luochen Sword Palace·Spirit Wood Fires True Pill] had already turned golden, and the task description and progress were gone. He gently clicked on this task. Then, a golden light drilled into his body through martial combat. On guard, Lin Feng felt a force surging into his body from the unseen world. His cultivation unexpectedly increased directly.

"This..."

Lin Feng was stunned.

In a short moment, that force had already passed through his meridians and completed a circulation cycle. Then, that abnormal phenomenon of mana rising like a tide finally disappeared.

"Equivalent to the mana I would get from refining a low-grade Spirit Stone..." Lin Feng looked at his hands, disbelief on his face: "Even with ten low-grade Spirit Stones just laying there for me to refine, it would take me a month or two... But it did it in an instant..."

"In this way, doing a dozen or so daily tasks would allow me to break through!"

"This system is truly unfathomable..."

…

At the same time, deep within the Sword Palace, Xiao Zong also opened his eyes and wondered: "Five hundred Cultivation Points, approximately equivalent to five mid-grade Spirit Stones?"

"That's a bit too extravagant for just a daily task!"

"But indeed... the Great Power who left the system aimed to expel the heterodox, so presumably, they wouldn't set up tasks that lead to certain death..."

"Only with such strong support can I leap from the early Golden Core Stage to the mid-Golden Core Stage within a year!"

He also completed his daily task, called [Daily Task·Luochen Sword Palace·Spirit Lamp Ancient Scroll Sun and Moon Heart], which involved chanting the Heart Clarity Spell three hundred times. Xiao Zong naturally liked tasks that were beneficial to cultivation.

And his daily task rewards were also different from Lin Feng's.

His task reward was five hundred Cultivation Points and twenty Experience Points.

In fact, given people's different cultivation levels, Wang Qi gave different rewards, ensuring they could advance on time as long as they diligently completed tasks.

Of course, the purpose of doing this was also to focus these people's attention on tasks, neglecting the process of personal training, further reducing their control over their own mana.

The faster their mana increased, the lower their control over their own mana. At the same time, their mana systems would increasingly resemble the portion of mana that had been "knocked down" and requisitioned from the three Great Elders.

As for the rewards Wang Qi distributed, they were naturally "amicably provided" by the higher-ups of Luochen Sword Palace.

Wang Qi currently controlled four Divine Separation Stage Cultivators and hundreds of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. For Divine Separation Stage Cultivators, infusing a Golden Core cultivator with no hope of advancement was not more laborious than casting a few spells. Infusing just twelve cultivators was a piece of cake.

Not to mention, Wang Qi could also remotely replenish mana from the Divine Capital. Although this replenishment was slow, it was enough to boost a dozen or so low-level cultivators.

While recording the minor data changes when cultivators' mana increased, Wang Qi also observed those "instances," searching for bugs.

For Wang Qi, this was also "cultivation."

The "system," in the eyes of others, was merely a malicious method to restrain others. But in Wang Qi's view, seeing it purely as a malicious method to control others would be too wasteful, wouldn't it?

Just as some poisons can be used in medicine, this "system" could likewise be put to good use.

For a dataized cultivator like him, the "system" could be used to manage mana and assist in combat.

Moreover, combined with the Heart Demon Mysterious Net, it could truly achieve "Immortal Cultivation for everyone."

In the future, perhaps professional administrative managers could appear. Researchers among Modern Cultivators wouldn't be bound by those messes and could devote themselves to researching the world and seeking the Great Dao.

And "cultivation" could be given as "wages" to those without talent for Seeking Dao but skilled in management.

This is the foundation of the Human Dao.

Wang Qi originally planned to do this project. Even without the affair of the Holy Emperor Venerable, he would conduct experiments in this area.

Now it just happens to kill two birds with one stone.

For Wang Qi, this was merely the beginning of a series of experiments.