After Garrett Lance left, Joe Di immediately shut the door and began to restore his meridians.
Although he was a Level Four Array Master, most of his knowledge was theoretical and he had never actually set up a real array. Besides, he couldn't set up any arrays right now anyway, so he simply closed the door first.
Once the Grandwalk Codex began running a complete circulation, Joe Di felt his meridian healing speed increase rapidly.
At this rate, he would be fully recovered in at most two days.
Two hours passed. As true essence began to fill his dantian, Joe Di suddenly remembered that the Grandwalk Codex was obtained on Earth. The Starstream School, however, was a true cultivation sect. If he cultivated using the Starstream Technique, perhaps it would be even better than the Grandwalk Codex.
Both the Starstream Technique and the Grandwalk Codex only had Qi Refining stage methods. On the other hand, he still hadn't found any follow-up techniques for the Grandwalk Codex, but the Starstream Technique's advanced methods were surely within the Starstream School. As long as he advanced, he'd have a chance to obtain them.
Given these circumstances, why keep cultivating the Grandwalk Codex? Joe Di quickly stopped his practice and took out the Starstream Technique.
"There are stars in the universe, chaos carves out rivers; the Starstream turns, as the body ascends... Starstream is the interweaving of the five elements, reversing the nine directions, the way of transformation! The first realm of Starstream is to open the spirit veins, the second to open the aperture veins, and the third to open the Starstream veins..."
Joe Di was stunned after reading the opening—he wasn't confused, but he hadn't expected the Starstream Technique to have three different cultivation methods.
The conventional cultivation method was, of course, to open the spirit veins. Absorbing spiritual energy, circulating it through the meridians, and after one full cycle, the absorbed energy would be converted into cultivation.
It seemed he should attend tomorrow's lecture—otherwise, he wouldn't even understand the first chapter.
No matter what, he had to try it himself.
Naturally, Joe Di knew the first method—opening the spirit veins. Following the energy circulation route described in the Starstream Technique, he began to absorb spiritual energy and circulate it.
Very quickly, Joe Di was stunned—the spiritual energy he absorbed was completely incompatible with that of the Grandwalk Codex. Or rather, the spiritual energy he absorbed clashed with the true essence he'd already refined through the Grandwalk Codex. He couldn't even complete a single small circulation; it got stuck in his meridians.
Joe Di tried to forcefully break through the blockage, but a tearing pain shot through him—as if his spiritual sea and meridians were about to rupture all over again. It was unbearable.
Just from this attempt, a layer of fine sweat broke out on Joe Di's forehead from the pain.
Joe Di's heart sank. He suspected that even if he told the elder at the lecture, they might not be able to solve his problem. More importantly, he couldn't tell the elder. He was already at the seventh level of Qi Refining—if he confessed, they'd know he'd cultivated before.
Having cultivated wasn't the issue—the sect would surely investigate his background. But he had no origins, so how would they investigate?
If the Grandwalk Codex had follow-up techniques, he could just keep cultivating it. But it didn't, and besides, when he absorbed spiritual energy with the Starstream Technique, the scale felt far more vast than with the Grandwalk Codex.
Unwilling to give up, Joe Di tried circulating the Starstream Technique once more, then attempted to mobilize the Graystone in his spiritual sea.
Almost as soon as Joe Di's spiritual sense touched the Graystone in his spiritual sea, the Starstream Technique's circulation seemed to find a breakthrough. Instantly, it rushed into the Graystone, then emerged from it, entering new meridians and forming a complete cycle.
Boom! At the same time, Joe Di felt his body tremble with a loud bang, and a faint, tiny stream appeared within his circulation.
No, this wasn't a stream—there was no water. It seemed more like a highly compressed, illusory starry sky.
During cultivation, a highly compressed starry sky formed within his body—Joe Di had never heard of such a thing before.
Joe Di knew pitifully little about cultivation—he only cared that he could cultivate. And now, not only could he cultivate, but his rate of absorbing spiritual energy was several times faster than before.
After the Starstream Technique began circulating, he noticed his meridians expanding. No matter how much spiritual energy he absorbed, it still seemed insignificant within the miniature starry sky formed by the cycle.
After just a few cycles, Joe Di's injured meridians completely healed. It didn't take two days, or even two hours—just a few circulations and his wounds vanished without a trace.
Joe Di was ecstatic—the Starstream Technique was at least ten times more powerful than the Grandwalk Codex!
He was now at the seventh level of Qi Refining. At this cultivation rate, it wouldn't be long before he reached the eighth level. But Joe Di quickly realized he was too naive. As the Starstream Technique circulated and he kept absorbing spiritual energy, not only did he fail to advance to the eighth level, his cultivation actually fell from the seventh to the sixth level.
And that wasn't all—his cultivation kept dropping even after reaching the sixth level.
What's going on? Panicked, Joe Di quickly stopped cultivating. Immediately, he sensed a surging, powerful energy in his true essence, even feeling a tangible presence.
Even if Joe Di knew little about cultivation, he understood that his cultivation level had dropped, but his strength had risen sharply.
By cultivating the Starstream Technique and connecting with the Graystone, a faint, illusory starry sky shadow formed within him during the circulation process. The spiritual energy he absorbed passed through this illusory starry sky, compressing his original true essence. As his true essence was compressed, his cultivation level naturally dropped.
Though his cultivation level dropped, the quality of his vital energy improved, and his strength naturally increased.
Joe Di let out a breath—this was probably a tremendous secret, and he absolutely couldn't reveal it. It seemed he'd still need to attend tomorrow's lecture; in any case, his wounds had already healed ahead of time.
There was still some time before dawn, and Joe Di had no intention of wasting it. He continued absorbing spiritual energy, compressing his true essence as he cultivated.
The night passed quickly, and Joe Di, immersed in cultivation, had no intention of waking up.
Just as dawn was breaking, Garrett Lance stood at Joe Di's door. Seeing the door tightly shut, he could only scratch the back of his head and mutter, "Still not awake, huh? Guess I'll go first."
Joe Di had reminded him, so he remembered not to disturb Joe Di's rest.
The Outer Disciples' Lecture Hall was located on the outermost mountain peak, known as Starstream Lecture Peak.
Garrett Lance lived at the very edge of the outer disciples' quarters, a long way from the Lecture Peak. Even though he woke up early, it still took him over half an hour to walk from his place to Starstream Lecture Peak. By the time he arrived, the Lecture Hall was already packed.
With no seats left, Garrett Lance could only stand at the back. Fortunately, his tall stature meant his view wasn't blocked much.
Most of those in the hall were new disciples, chattering and introducing themselves to one another.
After another half hour or so, a cultivator in a black lecture robe entered the hall. Instantly, the noisy chatter vanished as if silenced.
The man in black ascended the lecture platform without any introduction and began, "The Starstream Technique is the cultivation method of our Starstream School. Though our sect is only a second-tier school on the Polar Night Continent, the Starstream Technique is the finest method on the entire continent. Entry is simple—if you have a spiritual root, you can cultivate the Starstream Technique."
"At the same time, the Starstream Technique is also the most complex method. No other technique has three cultivation paths like it. Once you begin, the path you choose will be the one you follow to the end. Today, I'll explain the differences among the three Starstream Technique methods."
The lecture hall fell silent; everyone listened intently to the man in black.
After receiving the Starstream Technique, every outer disciple had read it and knew there were three cultivation paths. Even if the man in black didn't explain in detail, everyone guessed that their choice would have a major impact on their future.
"The first Starstream Technique method, opening the spirit veins, is the simplest. Like ordinary cultivation methods, it involves absorbing spiritual energy and circulating it through the meridians. This is the path chosen by over ninety percent of our disciples, including myself. The second method is opening the aperture veins, which cultivates by opening acupoints. During circulation, spiritual energy flows through these points, and this method achieves greater results than the first..."
Many new disciples joined the sect with lofty ambitions. Upon hearing that opening the aperture veins led to greater achievements than opening the spirit veins, many began considering whether to choose the aperture vein path.
The man in black seemed not to notice the eager looks in the disciples' eyes and continued, "The third method is opening the Starstream veins. During circulation, a shadow of an illusory starstream forms within the body, and the spiritual energy passes through this shadow before circulating. This is just an analogy—not a real starstream. This method is the most powerful in our sect, and its future prospects are limitless, even allowing one to cross realms..."
Sensing the fervor and longing in the hall, the man in black swept his gaze over everyone and said coldly, "I misspoke earlier—it's not that you choose which method to cultivate the Starstream Technique, but rather which method suits you. Since Patriarch Starstream founded the sect, only he has been able to cultivate through the Starstream veins."
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)