Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 848 The Cultivation Process That Does Not Match the Description
"So this is what they call meridians?"

Li Zheng "saw" that there were countless invisible fine lines running through his body. These fine lines covered every corner of his body, some of which branched out like capillaries, so fine that they were hard to find.

If it weren't for his incredibly strong mental power, he might not have even been able to "see" those fine branches.

Recalling the description of the technique, Li Zheng had a sudden realization.

"The human body has eight extraordinary meridians, which are the main channels of the meridians. Cultivation mainly utilizes these main channels."

"As for those branches... they don't seem to have any important function. Generally speaking, opening up each meridian is beneficial to cultivation. The more meridians that are opened up, the faster the cultivation speed and the greater the power of using supernatural abilities and techniques."

"In addition, certain branches of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians can also play different amplifying roles in different cultivation methods. For example, the Zuo Jiao Yang Meridian group, once fully opened and cultivated, is conducive to the circulation of spiritual energy in the body. It is the most important thing that must be cultivated in all cultivation methods."

"The three main meridian groups cultivated by the Ten Thousand Evils Demon Art are the Left Jiao Yang, Right Jiao Yang, and Central Meridian."

"The left and right Jiao Yang meridians each possess different functions, and once connected, they can extend to generate additional amplification characteristics based on the characteristics of the cultivation technique, further enhanced by the central meridians..."

"And there are even more changes within that."

"Alright, the cultivation of emotions is like program code; it has essential rules to follow, and it's not as simple as it's written in novels."

Thinking back to those cultivation novels I read a long time ago, the protagonists were like gods. They could cultivate as soon as they got a secret manual, and they were invincible among those of the same level with their eyes closed, and they could even take on those of higher levels one by one.

Those people probably can't even explain what cultivation is, why one can cultivate, or why spiritual energy can circulate within the body.

If you press them for answers, they'll spout some seemingly plausible but ultimately meaningless phrases, like "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao," which will then trigger a resonance with the Great Tao, a blessing from Heaven, an epiphany, a surge in cultivation, and the ability to kill any god who stands in your way.

Their main selling point is utter nonsense.

Half an hour later, Li Zheng opened his eyes, looked at the stone in his hand that had become transparent and pure, and fell into deep thought.

"What do you mean?"

I've only opened half of the Left Jiao Yang Meridian Group, and I've already used up a spirit stone?
With such abundant spiritual energy absorbed into the body, it's impossible to open up even a single meridian group.
Snapped!
With a gentle pinch of his fingers, the once indestructible spirit stone became as fragile as lime, turning into dust between his fingers.

Li Zheng took out another spirit stone, closed his eyes, and continued cultivating.

Half an hour later.

Snapped!
The second spirit stone was used up.

carry on.

Snapped!
continue!

Snapped!
……

Snapped!
……

Snapped!
As cultivation progressed, the spirit stones were used up faster and faster, from one every half hour at the beginning to one every five minutes in the end!
"It feels numb when you squeeze it, isn't that wrong?"

After an unknown amount of time, Li Zheng stopped cultivating and stared blankly at the pile of spirit stone powder in front of him.

He used up over a hundred spirit stones but still couldn't open up all three main meridian groups.
This is different from what is described in the cultivation manuals.

Isn't it said that one spirit stone is enough to satisfy the needs of an ordinary cultivator for ten days or half a month of cultivation?

I must have used up over a hundred pills by now.

Is it caused by different body constitutions?
Or is it due to racial differences?
Or is it an environmental issue?

In terms of physique, I possess the "Formless Physique" that Yan Bujin speaks of. Judging from how envious Yan Bujin is, the "Formless Physique" is definitely a protagonist-level physique, and in the world Yan Bujin came from, there might not be one in billions.

So it's understandable that cultivation requires a larger amount of energy... right?

In terms of race, I am a transmigrator from Earth.

Then there was another clone that had undergone several genetic modifications.

So it's quite reasonable that cultivation requires a larger amount of energy...?

In terms of environment, this universe is different from the world beyond words. There is no natural spiritual energy to supply the needs of cultivation, and it relies entirely on spiritual stones for energy.

So it's reasonable that cultivation requires a larger quantity... right?

"Forget it, I don't know anything about this. For such professional matters, I have to rely on professionals to answer my questions."

Li Zheng dared not cultivate for the time being. Even if there were three explanations, such a large increase in spirit stone consumption did not seem like a normal phenomenon. He had to find Yan Bujin to ask for clarification in order to avoid any problems.

Heading out to the Institute of Basic Research, Yan Bujin has now completely transformed into a professional researcher, dressed in a plain white lab coat and wearing glasses, looking quite professional.

However, as he gained more and more knowledge, his temper also grew. He looked down on almost everyone in the entire research institute, and always treated everyone with an air of superiority.

"Your problem is easy to solve. The fundamental reason why fire-type abilities and water-type abilities are incompatible is that there is no buffer in between. I will help you sort it out later, test your genetic compatibility, and choose a buffer that you can adapt to, and that will solve the problem."

"Money? The Institute of Basic Research has never cared about money. You just need to leave your gene sample and promise to continue to provide it whenever needed in the future."

"Guinea pig?"

"No, no, no, don't compare yourself to a lab rat. You're less than a ten-thousandth the value of a healthy mouse to me." "Any more questions? If not, go to that room over there and clean yourself inside and out. Don't get my lab table... cough, I mean, medical bed dirty like last time."

"Next!"

As soon as Li Zheng entered, he saw Yan Bujin sitting behind a silver metal table, acting all high and mighty, and bossing around the long line of people in front of the table.

The results from the Institute of Genetic Engineering spread throughout the neighborhood in a short time after they were released, and even people from other neighborhoods came here to try out the new genetic abilities.

After testing, it was found that this new genetic ability was not only much more powerful than before, but even the most difficult problem of battery life was greatly improved.

Almost without any additional publicity, those races spontaneously spread the new genetic abilities.

Compared to the technologically advanced weaponry, this kind of power with greater control is undoubtedly more popular among the outer city residents, and many long-time outer city residents are willing to empty their savings to try to develop new genetic abilities.

The Basic Research Institute can also use these people to expand its gene pool and collect more data for research purposes.

To put it bluntly, Yan Bujin is using the entire outer city's residents as experimental subjects.

However, he was also perceptive and knew that Block 4 was Li Zheng's foundation. The research results used on the residents of Block 4 were already very mature and supported by no less than a thousand clinical cases. Generally, there would be no problems.

"Lord!"

Yan Bujin pointed his nose at the next guest who walked to the table, but when he suddenly caught sight of Li Zheng's arrival, he jumped up and came over to greet him with a servile bow and scrape, like an old dog trying to please its master.

"What brings you to the Institute of Basic Research today? Is there anything I can do for you?"

“A little.” Li Zheng took out a spirit stone and played with it in his hand. “Take care of things here first, then find me a quiet place to talk.”

Upon seeing the spirit stone in Li Zheng's hand, Yan Bujin's eyes twitched, then his gaze turned fiery. He impatiently waved to a researcher passing by not far away: "Hey you, yes, you, the one with eyes all over his body, come over here and take charge of handling these consumable requests! Whatever their major, whatever their requests, just tell them to get into that room over there, clean it inside and out, and wait!"

After saying that, he looked embarrassed and said to Li Zheng, "My lord, this way please."

He spoke as he led the way.

Li Zheng followed behind, and only spoke after they were far away from the crowd: "When did I give you permission to receive residents from other neighborhoods?"

brush!
Yan Bujin's forehead instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

He wiped his sweat repeatedly: "Don't worry, my lord, I know what I'm doing. All mature research results and powerful gene abilities will be given priority to the residents of this neighborhood. The consumables are just some unstable gene injections. I'm doing this for the future of our neighborhood residents."

"After all, this scientific research requires a lot of materials as support. The genetic materials of various races in other districts always have their unique features. If we can use them, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"

"Just be mindful of what you're doing." Li Zheng didn't understand all this nonsense. He was just giving Yan Bujin a warning to prevent the kid from causing any more trouble without his permission.

The key is that it's fine if they create something good, but if they create something illegal or beyond the limits, even Li Zheng's strength won't be able to cover it up, and then it's all over.

Soon, led by Yan Bujin, the two arrived at a room that had been decorated as a medical room.

The rooms in these research institutes all utilize space expansion technology, making the interior area much larger than the exterior.

However, there are limits to the expansion space. The main scientific research technology comes from the special rules within the matrix and is extracted from the capsule dwelling.

Within the matrix, as long as the terminal is willing, it can upgrade the capsule dwelling step by step, expanding the limited space to an incredibly terrifying value.

The outer city lacks the special rules found in the matrix, thus limiting its potential. It can only expand to about twenty times its original size before it cannot be further developed.

In other words, space expansion technology has been researched to its limit. Unless a new breakthrough can be found, there will be no way to make further progress and advance this technology.

"Lord..."

Yan Bujin's eyes burned with desire, eager to inquire about the spirit stone, but he swallowed his words and instead asked Li Zheng the purpose of his visit: "My lord just said he had something to ask me to resolve. May I ask what troubles you?"

"It's nothing," Li Zheng said, explaining the question he had encountered during his cultivation.

Upon hearing this, Yan Bujin was shocked: "My lord... does my lord mean that there is a cultivation method that can be practiced in this world?!"

He had tried before, but the techniques he knew couldn't be practiced in this universe.

After summarizing the reasons, there are two possibilities.

First, the limitations imposed by global rules prevent the practice from functioning smoothly.

Secondly, it lacks spiritual energy.

Just like a car cannot run without the right fuel.

It is precisely because he is unable to cultivate his previous techniques, yet cannot let go of the immense power he possessed during his cultivation, that Yan Bujin has devoted himself so wholeheartedly to researching gene technology, attempting to find an alternative path.

But now Li Zheng says he has a cultivation technique and even has spirit stones to support his practice?

How could this not fill one with endless surprise?

"Is the cultivation technique the main point?" Li Zheng said unhappily, "Explain to me why I'm consuming so many more spirit stones than the records in the ancient texts."

"Well..." Yan Bujin pondered for a moment before answering seriously, "I believe Your Majesty's speculation is correct; it should be the influence of those three factors."

(End of this chapter)