Imortal Hermit System

Entering cultivation

Antoine, completely abandoning the idea that he was sane, focused on the blue screen displaying various pieces of information.

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Status
Shop
Quests
Domain
Link
Disciple

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After reading through the different data, a voice echoed again. This time, Antoine remained calm as he heard it.
"Congratulations to the host for becoming familiar with the system panel. As a reward, you will receive the beginner's pack."
While listening to the system, he noticed that the voice was different from before. More distant and enchanting, it sounded like it belonged to an old sage nearing the end of his life. However, convinced that it was his madness at work, he didn't dwell on it for too long.
"Really realistic haha, a beginner's pack. I seem to be quite creative. Even insane, I must remain a genius," he exclaimed, laughing.
"Very well, system, open the famous beginner's pack. I can't wait to see what surprise it holds for me."
"Opening the beginner's pack..."
"Congratulations, host, for obtaining the following manuscripts: Introduction to Cultivation, Basics of Formations, Basics of Agriculture, Basics of Beast Breeding, Transcendental Manual Volume 1, and the following items: Concealment Formation, Qi Gathering Formation, 3rd Grade Qi Vein, storage ring, 1000 hermit points."
"The system has installed the formations and the Qi vein in your place of residence. The formations cover a 2 km radius around your cave. If you wish to move them, please make the request to the system."
Antoine felt slightly disappointed when he saw all the rewards.
"Pff, it would be so great if this were real. Being able to cultivate in isolation would be perfect with my lifestyle."
He fell into a contemplative state for a short while before pulling himself together.
"I'll look at the system in more detail tomorrow if it's still there. The sun has already set, and I have to get up early tomorrow to take care of the animals and crops."
On his way back, Antoine felt some discomfort in one of the fingers on his left hand. Raising his hand to see the cause, he noticed a ring. Intrigued but also mentally exhausted from the day's events, he decided to deal with it the next day.
As soon as he reached his cave, he lay down on his straw bed and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, awakened by the powerful crowing of roosters, Antoine got up early and witnessed a beautiful sunrise.
Without paying attention to the ring still on his hand, he went to feed the animals. He then collected the manure and mixed it with straw to make fertilizer, which he loaded into baskets carried by a yak.
With the yak, they headed toward another plateau lower down the mountain, where he had planted various crops such as barley, buckwheat, and potatoes.
Once they arrived without trouble, he started by weeding out any unwanted plants from the field, then spread the fertilizer and checked the state of the crops. At noon, when all his tasks were completed, he returned to the ranch to eat in the company of Custos. After a frugal but sufficient meal, he headed toward his meditation spot.
Before starting to meditate, Antoine remembered the events of the previous day and the ring on his finger. Deciding to explore his madness, he turned his attention to the ring, which intrigued him greatly. It was a cold metal ring with strange inscriptions that seemed to move. Holding it in his hand, it felt strangely real.
Focusing on the ring, Antoine suddenly got a glimpse of what it seemed to contain. Surprised, he focused on one of the objects. It then mysteriously appeared in his hand, greatly increasing his astonishment.
An old manuscript titled Introduction to Cultivation was now in his possession. Carefully opening it, Antoine began reading its contents.
From the very first lines, the content intrigued him so much that he became completely absorbed in it. According to his growing madness and increasingly realistic hallucinations, the book contained a method for beginning the cultivation of legendary immortality.
Although relatively short, the book contained several dozen very precise pages, even including several diagrams.
After spending three hours reading through it over and over, perfectly absorbing all its contents, Antoine looked up from the manuscript.
"So, according to this book, I need to sit in a position that allows me to enter a meditative and highly focused state. The first step is to sense the energy called Qi through a breathing method. Once I succeed, I have to try to control this Qi, absorb more with the breathing method, and make it circulate through my body to open my meridians."
"Once all the body's meridians are open, that means I've reached the lowest stage of cultivation, the first level of the foundation stage. Each level contains a specific cultivation method and different objectives. Once the nine levels are completed, the cultivator has the foundation needed to embark on the path to immortality. Fortunately, the method for each of the nine stages is included in the manuscript."
"I'm already completely mad, so I might as well dive in fully and give it a try."
Making his decision, Antoine sat in a lotus position and began breathing according to the manuscript's instructions. Quickly adapting to the breathing technique, he became more and more immersed, his concentration deepening with each passing moment.
After an hour, he still hadn't felt the slightest trace of Qi. However, not losing focus, he continued to meditate.
As the day came to a close and the sun set on the horizon, he started to feel a strange energy present in the air. This energy matched the manuscript's description of Qi. Antoine tried to absorb as much as possible into his body and make it circulate according to the diagrams he had read.