Ning did not linger near the Treasure Abundant Pavilion for long. After Sun Jing promised to explain the situation to Shopkeeper Feng, Ning had little else to do.

  Both Sun Jing and Xiao Fan chose to stay behind for a while longer, as Shopkeeper Feng was still busy dealing with customers.

  Ning, however, decided to return immediately, not only because he'd had enough excitement for one day, but also because of the potential security risk.

  After obtaining such a rare jade talisman slip, there was no way he would stay around drawing attention, especially with a trouble-magnet protagonist nearby.

  Thus, he quietly slipped away. After all, his main purpose had already been fulfilled.

  Using Turtle Breathing and Shadow Steps, he swiftly made his way back to the sect. With no news of his find spreading and his outer sect robes masking his presence, returning unnoticed was easy.

  Fortunately, no one followed him.

  Only after confirming that the surroundings were completely quiet did Ning return to his humble hut.

  Sitting down on his bed, he muttered, "It's time to check the loot."

  He laid the items out neatly on the table.

  The first thing that caught his eye was the pair of boots.

  High-Grade Wind-Stepping Boots.

  They were the first high-grade, first-tier piece of equipment Ning had ever possessed. Inscribed with a speed enhancement, the runes carved into them were simple and direct, designed purely to increase movement speed, without refining control or reducing qi consumption.

  In other words, the boots served a single purpose:

  Speed.

  Next, his gaze shifted to the second item.

  The sock.

  "…This thing," Ning murmured softly.

  It was strange enough that he'd obtained boots and a single sock in one trip, but that wasn't the point; the sock itself was something special.

  He picked the sock up.

  At first glance, it looked like an ordinary gray sock, soft to the touch. But once he focused his spiritual sense, faint strands of a different texture revealed themselves beneath the surface.

  His eyes sharpened.

  "Netherspider silk."

  That realization alone caused his expression to change.

  Netherspider silk was a high-quality first-tier material, notoriously difficult to process. It was valued for its durability, corrosion resistance, and excellent compatibility with spiritual energy.

  More importantly, it was a luxury material. Clothes woven from it were said to be extremely comfortable to wear.

  The fact that it had been crafted into something as mundane as a sock was… extravagant.

  "I can't tell the exact grade of the finished item nor the inscription," Ning murmured, "but the material alone is already valuable."

  He tugged at it lightly.

  The fabric stretched just a little, then snapped back into place, completely unmarked.

  It didn't actively circulate qi like the boots, nor did it reveal any obvious enchantments. If a formation was embedded within it, it was either extremely subtle or incomplete.

  Of course, it might just be an ordinary sock, only more luxurious,

  Ning planned to visit a member of the mutual aid association who worked as an apprentice spiritual craftsman to consult about it.

  If the material could be extracted smoothly, that would be ideal.

  Otherwise… as Xiao Fan had jokingly said, it would still make a handy tool for rocks.

  Finally, his attention settled on the last item.

  The jade talisman slip.

  The jade was smooth and faintly warm to the touch, its surface etched with thin, elegant markings that hinted at layered and complex inscriptions.

  Ning did not immediately pour spiritual energy into it. Instead, he lit a stick of spiritual incense and sat down cross-legged, allowing his breathing and thoughts to settle.

  It was said that activating a jade talisman slip placed a considerable burden on the mind. In severe cases, an unprepared cultivator could even black out. That was precisely why Ning had refrained from using it earlier and had chosen to return home quietly.

  Only after his state of mind stabilized did he send a thin thread of spiritual energy into the jade.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  In the next instant, a torrent of information surged into his consciousness.

  Lines of text, flowing diagrams, and unfamiliar symbols appeared all at once, like a dam breaking. Ning had prepared himself. He slowed his breathing, anchored his thoughts, and carefully absorbed the influx without resisting it.

  When the transmission finally settled, his eyes widened.

  "An ocular technique…" Ning murmured, carefully reviewing the imparted knowledge.

  Among martial arts, ocular techniques were extremely rare; at the very least, he had never seen one on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

  Moreover, this did not appear to be a simple mortal or spirit-grade martial art.

  [Pure Eyes: Refine the eyes to a pure state, allowing the practitioner to perceive truth beyond appearances. The cultivated gaze grows clear and undefiled, able to pierce falsehoods, discern hidden qi, and see through illusory veils.]

  The reason Ning judged it to be extraordinary was simple: this technique possessed multiple stages, a trait usually reserved for earth-grade or even heaven-grade techniques.

  From the information contained within, Ning learned that Pure Eyes had five stages in total.

  But the jade talisman slip contained only the first two.

  Ning was momentarily speechless.

  It wasn't impossible to imprint the complete technique into a jade slip, yet for some reason, it hadn't been done.

  Finding the remaining portions would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. He didn't even have a starting point.

  Fortunately, Ning knew exactly how to solve that problem.

  He only needed to pass this incomplete technique to Xiao Fan. With overwhelming probability, Xiao Fan would "coincidentally" encounter the rest sooner or later.

  After all, this was one of the correct ways to make use of a protagonist's halo.

  Moreover, the technique itself was special.

  To cultivate Pure Eyes, the eyes had to be nourished with various spiritual liquids formed from the essences of heaven and earth, dew gathered at dawn, refined spiritual spring water, and extracts from rare plants. Each served to temper and strengthen the eyes over time.

  Without such nourishment, progress would stagnate, no matter how diligently one practiced.

  "My poor wallet is going to suffer again," Ning sighed.

  But despite that, his excitement was unmistakable.

  Not only because of the technique's power, but because special eyes had always been cool.

  Sharingan. Six Eyes. Mystic eyes.

  What anime lover wouldn't want a pair of special eyes?

  ...

  What is cultivation?

  Some predecessors claimed that cultivating immortality was about achieving longevity. Others said it was about pursuing freedom, or about standing tall between heaven and earth.

  Ning understood cultivation in far more tangible terms, unlike the flowery words and lofty explanations most people favored.

  To him, cultivation was the deliberate process by which a cultivator used their spiritual roots to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then refined it through cultivation techniques to expand their upper limit of spiritual qi.

  In essence, cultivation was about one thing: increasing how much spiritual qi one's body could contain and withstand.

  But how was that limit actually increased?

  Over the past four years, Ning had not cultivated blindly. Instead, he paid close attention to his own state during cultivation. This was one of the reasons his progress remained fast even among others at the same mid-stage realm.

  He understood that the knowledge he brought from his previous life had limits. If he relied on it alone, he would eventually hit a wall. So he began to observe, compare, and experiment.

  After all, to Ning, knowledge truly was power.

  And it was through these observations that he noticed something odd.

  Using Know Thyself, or rather, the panel, Ning could clearly see two distinct forms of pressure during cultivation:

  External spiritual pressure, determined by the density of spiritual energy in the environment.

  Internal spiritual pressure, generated as spiritual energy accumulated within his meridians and dantian.

  At first, he assumed that higher environmental density was the key to faster cultivation. After all, that was what most manuals emphasized.

  But repeated observation told him otherwise.

  When cultivating in similar environments, his progress still fluctuated. Sometimes pills were absorbed quickly; other times, their effects lingered and leaked away. The difference, he found, lay not in the surroundings, but inside his body.

  Through careful comparison, Ning discovered that the true limiting factor of cultivation speed was how much internal spiritual pressure his body could stably maintain.

  If internal pressure was too low, absorbed energy dispersed before it could be refined. If it rose too sharply, meridians strained, and excess energy leaked away violently.

  Only when internal pressure was held at a stable, controlled threshold did spiritual energy refine efficiently.

  With this realization, Ning adjusted his approach.

  He activated his spirit-gathering formation and placed ten low-grade spirit stones into the array plate. A faint blue light spread outward, forming a hemispherical barrier as spiritual energy condensed rapidly within the space.

  The increased external pressure ensured a steady supply of energy.

  Then, once his internal state stabilized, Ning sat cross-legged.

  The preparations were complete.

  It was time to cultivate.

  He swallowed a Purple Cloud Pill, a commonly used pill for mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators. Its medicinal nature was mild, allowing controlled absorption rather than violent surges.

  As the pill dissolved, its medicinal power spread throughout his body, and the panel immediately reflected a sharp rise in internal spiritual pressure. His meridians showed slight swelling as they filled, approaching, but not exceeding, their safe limit.

  When the pressure reached its peak threshold, Ning guided the excess energy outward through circulation, preventing stagnation or backlash.

  "Success."

  He silently recited the cultivation incantation, directing the spiritual energy through his meridians in steady cycles.

  With each cycle, raw energy was refined into pure spiritual qi and drawn into his dantian, expanding it little by little. At the same time, the medicinal power of the pill continued to release energy, but now at a controlled pace.

  The result was a balance:

  Internal spiritual pressure regulated how quickly the pill's power was released.

  External spiritual pressure ensured that any consumed energy was immediately replenished.

  This balance prevented waste.

  By maintaining his internal spiritual pressure at an optimal level, Ning effectively slowed the pill's dissipation while accelerating refinement.

  The result was clear.

  Through this method alone, Ning increased the effective digestion rate of cultivation pills by at least thirty percent. That meant his cultivation speed would likely increase.

  "Finally, catching up with those of clans," Ning thought.

  He was not arrogant enough to think that he was the only one who could find ways to optimize cultivation. Those clans that had been established over a century naturally had their own tricks. Be it using peculiar formations, pills, or even the environment. Especially those who cultivated their clan's foundational method usually progressed much faster.

  "Thankfully, the panel is truly useful." Ning smiled.

  Know Thyself was often regarded as a rather mediocre ability, but that judgment came from the perspective of others. After all, unless the supernatural power made things go boom, or helped things go boom, it was rarely recognized as exceptional.

  Abilities like Know Thyself, whose true value lay in research, analysis, and long-term development, naturally occupied an awkward position in such a world.

  Alas! true strength wasn’t just about what one could do now, but how much further one could still grow.

  And for him, know thyself truly illuminated the way ahead.

  ...

  Thanks for reading~