In Zuo Lin'an's eyes, Feng Xingyun had long since reached the very peak of the Xiantian Rank and would likely never make another step forward in this lifetime. Thus, unless Zuo Lin'an had so many Contribution points that he didn't care about wasting ten of them, he wouldn't buy a Cultivation Card for him.
As for the old Daoist and Lin Xiaolei?
If they wanted to enter a dungeon as NPCs, they would have to wait until the next world.
That would be at least three to five years away.
Therefore, there was no need to rush.
Only Chang Sheng was different.
His Puppet Vitalization Art had yet to be cultivated to its limit.
Giving him a Cultivation Card now would allow him to cultivate properly over the next few years. Perhaps by the time the next world opened, he would be able to use the Puppet Vitalization Art to vitalize puppet life-forms.
Lin Xiaolei looked a little disappointed, but he also knew he wasn't the top priority.
“Alright...”
The old Daoist sighed.
“There's nothing we can do if we don't have enough Contribution points. In that case, I'll just wait a bit longer.”
“I can use this time to carefully study those obscure and difficult inheritances. Once I have a Cultivation Card, I might be able to master them quickly.”
He rubbed Lin Xiaolei's hair.
“The same goes for you. Since you can't improve the spells you cast right now, come and study diligently with me.”
“Once you can cultivate in the future, the speed at which you master spells will definitely be much faster.”
Lin Xiaolei nodded.
“I understand, Grandpa.”
Feng Xingyun didn't say anything, simply watching Zuo Lin'an quietly.
Zuo Lin'an felt a pang of guilt under his gaze.
“Don't look at me like that. Once I have more Contribution points, I'll buy one for you too.”
Only then did Feng Xingyun show a smile.
“As long as Young Master remembers me, that is enough.”
Having said that, he walked away to an empty space on the other side to practice Tai Chi.
Zuo Lin'an sighed, then turned his gaze to Chang Sheng.
“Are you confident in your talent?”
Chang Sheng was taken aback.
“Huh?”
Then, reacting, he quickly nodded.
He had only just arrived.
Although he had a general understanding of the supernatural world and the specter dungeons, he didn't know how precious Contribution points actually were.
But seeing how the other three had been eager to get it just now, he knew this thing was absolutely invaluable.
Moreover, the dungeon boss in front of him didn't have many Contribution points to begin with.
Yet, because of his cultivation of the Puppet Vitalization Art, the boss was willing to give the very first Cultivation Card to him.
“I have confidence!”
When it came to talent, he wasn't afraid at all, his face full of absolute confidence.
“I've been carving puppet parts and assembling puppets with my master since I was a child. It's been over ten years! I can guarantee you that my craftsmanship is absolutely top-tier!”
“Moreover, my master always said I was the most talented disciple he had ever met.”
“Only after I reached adulthood did I begin to cultivate the Puppet Vitalization Art...”
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat puzzled.
“Wait, why did you only start learning it after reaching adulthood?”
Chang Sheng explained, “Because the Puppet Vitalization Art requires the cultivator to condense a point of spiritual glow to vitalize the puppets, giving them intelligence and a chance to become true living beings.”
“And that spiritual glow is the key.”
“I have to condense it myself, which consumes a massive amount of mental energy.”
“If one cultivates it before reaching adulthood... my master said it could damage the brain. Becoming a bit slow is considered lucky; the more unfortunate ones would turn into complete fools.”
“Therefore, members of the Huasheng Sect must first learn the craft of making puppets. This is both a test of character and a refinement of skill. Once they reach adulthood and their mind stabilizes, they can begin to cultivate the secret art.”
“Of course, this long period of training is also a filtering process. Aside from those who truly love puppets and have talent in this area, no one else could persist for so long.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded slightly.
“That makes sense.”
The spiritual glow used to vitalize puppets was highly unique, so it was only natural that its cultivation requirements were strict.
Chang Sheng continued.
“Furthermore, due to the unique nature of the spiritual glow, I cannot condense it multiple times within a short period. After all, overusing mental energy could damage one's foundation.”
“So, I basically followed my master's advice, condensing it once a week and vitalizing a puppet once. This way, the consumed mental energy has time to slowly recover.”
“Because of this, my progress in cultivating the secret art has been extremely slow.”
“This is the drawback of the Puppet Vitalization Art.”
“To make any progress in cultivation, it requires a slow, painstaking grind. It takes time to accumulate, and it absolutely cannot be rushed.”
Zuo Lin'an looked at Lin Xiaolei in the distance, who was holding several puppets and talking to the old Daoist about something.
One of the puppets was struggling particularly violently.
“Then why did you keep condensing spiritual glow to vitalize puppets after entering the dungeon?”
“Weren't you afraid of overusing your mental energy?”
Chang Sheng scratched his hair, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Well, about that...”
“Actually, it's because after I cleared a dungeon for the first time, I realized that all damage sustained inside a dungeon is completely restored and reset once it ends.”
“So I wanted to exploit this bug to level up my secret art.”
Zuo Lin'an still found it a bit strange.
“Condensing spiritual glow consumes mental energy. Can the side effects of overusing mental energy really be delayed?”
After all, Chang Sheng had been constantly crafting and vitalizing puppets right from the start of the dungeon.
Logically, his mental energy must have been depleted on the spot.
And overusing mental energy would surely be accompanied by severe side effects.
Chang Sheng nodded, then shook his head.
“Of course there are side effects, but the consequences of overusing mental energy don't explode all at once. Instead, they gradually worsen.”
“For example, at first, you'll just feel easily fatigued and sleepy. As time passes, your emotions will gradually become irritable and uncontrollable, and you'll even start overthinking and having hallucinations.”
“If you stop using the secret art in time and get proper rest, you can gradually recover.”
“But if you ignore it and keep using the secret art, the subsequent condition will rapidly deteriorate.”
He seemed to think of someone and sighed.
“In the end, you'll either suffer irreversible mental damage, become slow and foolish, or worse, turn into a complete lunatic, spending the rest of your life in madness.”
“Of course, the most severe outcome is direct mental collapse and brain death.”
“And the mental side effects usually take at least two to three days to even begin showing.”
“As for the deterioration period, according to my master, it lasts about five to twenty days. Since most specter dungeons only last three to five days...”
Zuo Lin'an finally understood. So the Puppet Vitalization Art couldn't just be used whenever one wanted.
Previously in the dungeon, seeing how frequently Chang Sheng used the spiritual glow to vitalize puppets, Zuo Lin'an had thought this magical secret art could be used without limit.
Now it seemed that such a heaven-defying secret art, capable of vitalizing puppets into true living beings, was not something that could be used casually.
Chang Sheng was merely exploiting a dungeon bug. It was quite impressive that he had even thought of it.
However, there was no need for such concerns now.
Since Chang Sheng had already become a dungeon puppet, no matter how much mental energy he consumed, it would quickly recover.
Rate on N.U.
