Villain Cultivator (Web Novel)
chapter-162

'Primary Element? What's that?'

Ding

[The system shall relay Your Sponsor's messages.]

["Primary Element is the core of your life essence production and regeneration. When you have mastered one of the elements, the primary element crystal will be at the center of your essence pond, pool, river, or sea. It will continue to generate essence water and become one of your critical foundation for your ascension in the future."]

Cao Mao scanned through his dantian again. Similar to the description of the system, his wood element crystal was the only one with life essence around itself while the lightning crystal simply floated around without relying on the essence pond. Currently, the wood element crystal was his default primary element.

["A low-level cultivator's dantian has a limited capacity, and you are no exception. One sea can only hold one primary element. At your current cultivation base, you can only possess one primary element. If you wish for a second primary element, you have to condense another life essence sea. But before you can do that, you have to establish your first life essence sea first!"]

Cultivators, including Cao Mao, never had it easy as the requirement for immortality and supreme power was impossibly tough. Without realizing it, the system gave him another homework to do.

The corner of Cao Mao's mouth twitched as the number of tasks and skills he had to work on increased once more. He recollected what he had to do every day.

1. Dual-Cultivating / Increasing Cultivation Base / Increasing Life Essence Volume

2. Improving alchemy skill for Kunwu's quest

3. Sparring against 200% difficulty clones

4. Swordsmanship training

5. Dual-Cultivating because of his stressful lifestyle

6. System Skill practical training

7. Core Skill training

8. Element Qi Application training

9. Studying the nature of dantian and its space.

10. Dual-Cultivating because life is stressful

11. Completing ITS upgrade conditions

12. Completing White Album's upgrade conditions

13. Researching for the best skill fusion combination.

14. Studying Xie Tian's murals and figure out the time-and-space laws.

15. More dual-cultivating because having too many beautiful wives is stressful.

16. Having many babies is stressful, so dual-cultivating is a must.

17. He didn't have enough sex in the previous life. Therefore, dual-cultivating is a must.

18. Sex is fun, so why not more dual-cultivating?

19. When he doesn't have anything to do, dual-cultivating is a good hobby.

Cao Mao could come up with 100 more tasks to do each day, but everything involved his D. With too many things to do, he was mentally exhausted by thinking about it. He wanted to finish this tribulation thingy as soon as possible, so he could go to sleep and summon his yin slaves to bang. His PP got erected, though.

While Cao Mao was fantasizing about the upcoming night activity, the System Sponsor's lecture continued.

["Primary elements are your specialties. When the element cores have the Life Essence Sea's support, the element power will be 50% stronger than the secondary elements without a supporting essence sea. Therefore, if you want to be good at a certain element, designate it an essence sea."]

["Secondly, you can use your primary elements without using the actual elemental Qi. For example, you can use wood element power by using life essence, which comes from the essence sea with the wood element crystal. However, you cannot substitute secondary element power with life essence from another element crystal."]

["And lastly, only primary elements can evolve into advanced elements. For example, the wood element can evolve into chloro element. Even the powerful lightning element can evolve into magnetic element. Therefore, plan it beforehand! Pick your life path carefully since it will affect your fighting style, your future dao, and your future power in the long run."]

Ding

[End of messages.]

After hearing everything, Cao Mao grumbled. At the moment, he didn't have enough info about each element characteristic to decide his goal.

'Haiz. It's too early for me to choose. I need to finish gathering this lightning energy into my new element crystal first. After that, I'll make my choice. For now, I should keep it as it is.'

Because of the lack of information, Cao Mao decided to keep his wood element as his primary element. After all, he had to evolve it into the chloro element to establish a connection with the dryad queen.

Ding

[You have chosen the wood element as your primary element.]

[The wood element crystal is now the permanent core of your first life essence pond.]

Unfortunately, the system mistook Cao Mao's mental note as his final decision.

After the messages, the wood element crystal hummed and devoured half of the remaining life essence in the pond. The yellowish miasma gathered around the pond, becoming a separator between the lightning Qi and pond of life essence.

It became easier for Cao Mao to control the wood element since the energy reacted to his every subtle thought. Still, he wasn't happy with the development.

'Oi! Wait a second! I haven't decided yet.'

[You did.]

"…"

Once again, Cao Mao got trolled by the system. He wanted to vent and yell at the system, but it wasn't an appropriate time at the moment.

Cao Mao had about 11-12 hours left to absorb and digest the lightning cloud. He needed to harvest and digest as many element strands as he could.

.

.

.

12 hours later.

The fog dispersed as the tribulation reward ended. It revealed the lone cultivator inside, sitting cross-legged and sweating profusely.

In the end, Cao Mao couldn't digest every strand of lightning Qi from the cloud. It kept regenerating non-stop, and he could never eat all of them.

Yet, Cao Mao's lightning element crystal was three times bigger than the wood element crystal inside the life essence pond. Electricity concentrated in the crystal as if it was an embodiment of a thunderstorm. Every time the crystal moved, it released forks of lightning.

Cao Mao kept the electric power inside his dantian without difficulty, but his stomach bloated as if he was 9-month pregnant. He was so full that he couldn't even drink a sip of water.

"Ara, Ara. Aren't you a bit greedy? I'm surprised, though. Who could have thought that a half-step Essence Gathering youngster can already control and digest lightning element Qi within a day."

Hearing Zhang Junyi's tranny voice, Cao Mao had goosebumps. He leaped away from the speaker.

"Be respectful, brat. If not, you'll die," Jia Wenhe reprimanded Cao Mao since the mind of a 7th-stage monster was unpredictable. Zhang Junyi could be either a saint or a tyrant, depending on his mood.

Cao Mao sensed the domineering air around Zhang Junyi. He gulped and knelt, "This junior is rude. Please forgive me, senior."

The garden master waved his hand, dismissing the formality, "Stand up, handsome boy. At ease!"

"O-Okay."

Zhang Junyi inspected Cao Mao from head to toes. Fortunately, the latter never cut his hair for almost a year. His long black hair reached his shoulder, so the status discrimination wasn't a problem anymore.

Still, the garden master was interested in Cao Mao's foundation and his cultivation style.

"Who taught you the cultivation method?"

"Pardon?"

"Ah, I should make things simple and direct. What is the name of your cultivation technique? Just tell me the name. I don't want your cultivation secret or anything. I'm just curious."

Cao Mao had a wry smile on his face. He looked around to check the situation.

Then, Cao Mao found CJ and two other 5th-stage elders. The black alchemist gestured with his mouth and hand, telling the former to give up resisting or he would be dead.

Jia Wenhe and Jia Shan also nodded at Cao Mao, signaling him to tell the garden master the truth.

Since nobody could help him, Cao Mao grumbled and told Zhang Junyi the truth, but he left out some information as always, "I'm a dual-cultivator."

"Oh, wow! I've never thought that you're also one of the heretics. Have you killed your sex partner yet?"

Cao Mao frowned, "I don't sink that low. My partners are healthy and happy."

"Hmm…" Zhang Junyi glanced at Ju Chen and the carriages, where he had sensed several strong girls and their babies, "You're right. No evil dual-cultivator has so many healthy partners and children. They would have killed and consumed their babies on sight to increase their longevity."

Hearing the description of local dual-cultivators, Cao Mao was disgusted. No wonder why everyone got skeptical when he told the others that he was a dual-cultivator.

"Don't worry. I'm a family man. Whenever I dual-cultivate, my wives benefit from it also."

Zhang Junyi giggled, "I believe you. Well, since you're an upright man, I see no problem releasing her."

"???"

Zhang Junyi tore a talisman, and a sealed power faded. Then, an old lady in a handcuff appeared behind him.

The person behind Zhang Junyi was Ju Shoufen!

"I have received a direct order from Yuan Hua to capture this woman and deliver her to you, junior Cao Mao. Say, how did you contact our dao goddess? You're not even one of us."

The garden master's tone changed. In before, it was a calm feminine voice. But this time, it was a threatening masculine voice.

Jia Wenhe, Ju Shoufen, and the others shrunk back in fear. Everyone could sense that Zhang Junyi had activated his domain power, showing his seriousness.

Cao Mao's right eyebrow twitched, warning him as well. He mustered his courage and left another partial truth, "She tried to recruit me. She even gave me a wet banana."

CJ, Zhang Junyi, and the two other wet banana garden elders widened their eyes in astonishment, "She did?"

"Yeah. I just ate the banana when the tribulation cloud formed."

Zhang Junyi gave Cao Mao a skeptical look. He wanted to take him back to the Myriad Cauldron Sect for further interrogation, but he didn't want to offend Yuan Hua. For now, Zhang Junyi couldn't touch Cao Mao.

"Alright then. As requested, Ju Shoufen has been expelled from the Myriad Cauldron Sect from this day onward. The sect will not harm her, her family members, her disciples, you, and your family. In turn, don't interfere with what our new lord, Yuan Shaoqing, is about to do. As long as we stay out of each other's ways, nobody gets hurt. Is that a deal?"

Ju Shoufen and Jia Wenhe frowned. They looked back and forth between Zhang Junyi and Cao Mao in suspicion.

Cao Mao grinned and cupped his fist, "Thank you very much for your cooperation. We won't get involved."

"Good. Then, senior Ju. I know that Lord Yuan Shaoqing was at fault, but we have already compensated you a lot back then. I hope you can start over and forget the past grudge."

Ju Shoufen only snorted and massaged her wrists, which had just been released from the cuff. She glared at Zhang Junyi, but her anger disappeared after a brief moment.

"Fetch me a phoenix down, and I'll vow with my dao heart that I won't pursue this matter ever again."

"That's impossible. A phoenix's feather is a god-grade item. Only Lady Yuan Hua or a Dao God can get their hands on it."

Ju Shoufen's killing intent soared. She tucked her hands in her sleeves, preparing for a fight.

But Cao Mao jumped in between Zhang Junyi and Ju Shoufen. He turned toward the old lady to appease her, "Now, now. Senior, please calm down."

Ju Shoufen opened her mouth and was about to yell at Cao Mao, but he whispered to her, "The Sun Crow told me to rescue you from Yuan Shaoqing's men. Please cooperate."

The old lady widened her eyes in shock. She stared at Cao Mao in disbelief, "How did you!?"

"Shh! Let's go, okay? No fighting."

"…"