Transcending Dreams

Chapter 80: Secret of the Oasis

William waited to see if the attribute max would increase anymore. When it didn’t, he supposed that even a windfall like this had to stop. Anything more, and he figured it would be unreasonable. Well, more unreasonable than it already was.

Of course, that was only if his cultivating speed would increase as he guessed.

William sat straight in the water before closing his eyes, ensuring he wouldn’t accidentally breathe in water because of bad posture.

The beginning of the cultivation was fairly standard, with his Qi slowly starting to flow through his pathways. He was slightly disappointed that there didn’t seem to be any accelerated effect. Still, he supposed the increased max attribute was worth more in the long run. At the very least, it gave him the knowledge that there were things out there that would let him increase it.

Since William was already starting to cultivate, plus the increased motivation to better himself and gain usable stat points, he decided to keep going.

Over the next hour, the familiar sensation of his Qi getting denser before suddenly reverting to the original state happened around ten times. It was the fruit of his cultivation being converted to experience points.

The following hour was far different, and William noticed the change immediately. With the average cultivation rate of the oasis, it took around five to six minutes for the cycle of his Qi to become dense before reverting back.

It started to take around four seconds. William almost lost his concentration at sensing the rapid change in his Qi. Still, he recovered just in time as he reverted back to the focus that was necessary when he first started cultivating.

Thoughts about stats, the outside world, or anything other than cultivating were blocked out. William kept circulating his Qi, watching his pathways almost pulse with the quickness of the cycle of it reaching the limit before resetting back to normal.

William had lost track after counting the thousandth time it had occurred. It wasn’t that he couldn’t keep up, but he started to purposely ignore it since he could feel the excitement building in him, enough to break him out of this state.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been cultivating when the insane rate of cultivation finally slowed to the usual of the oasis. After a few more circulations to ensure it was truly over, William opened his eyes with a broad smile on his lips.

He wasn’t sure exactly how many experience points he had gotten from that session, but it was definitely more than enough for a level.

[Cultivate in Qi-dense environment for 1 hour: +10 XP]

[Cultivate in Qi-rich environment for 8 hours: +8000 XP]

[Level Up! | 5 Stat Points Added]

[Level Up! | 5 Stat Points Added]

[Level Up! | 5 Stat Points Added]

[Cultivate in a Qi-dense environment for 20 minutes: +3 XP]

William laughed loudly, finally glad that things were going his way. There was no surprise increase of Impurity to ruin the mood, no random monster that would fly out of nowhere and nearly kick him to death…

He quickly looked around to make sure one hadn’t popped into existence while he was being deliriously happy, and thankfully it was still safe.

William was about to automatically max out his Spirit and Luck attribute before remembering that the enhanced Lightning Berry was still on the grass where he had placed it. It could be possible for it to give points to more attributes with its evolution, there was no way of knowing before actually eating it, but remembering how many attribute points the Dragonheart Plum gave him, he wanted to try his luck and go deeper into the mini lake.

If the efficiency of the water strengthened further inside, it might be possible to raise the max of his attributes one more time. And while it would be harder to cultivate constantly deeper into the mini lake, he would try to find a way if he once again got that type of experience point gain.

William took a deep breath before wading in, submerging his head under the water as he started to swim more than walk. He could feel something in the water changing, almost feeling like a supercharged version of what he experienced in the shallower area.

Just when his excitement was about to shoot through the roof, thinking about all the possibilities, he was hit by an almost fatal alert.

[-100 HP]

William’s emotion went from unmatched happiness to fear. A swing that could only be mentioned on the opposite ends of the spectrum. It wasn’t that he lost a hundred health that made him dread for his life. It was that he had utterly forgotten to restore his health after becoming enamored with all the benefits the oasis gave him. If not forgotten, then delayed long enough because of the apparent safety.

Health: 197/1100

William had already burst into action the second he had received the alert for the lost health. He tried to pull the Vitality Restoration Pill to consume it underwater, but the pill instantly dissolved into nothing when it was taken out.

William left nothing to chance and used his full speed to try and get back to land, including trying to use the Impact Boots, the only thing he was wearing at the moment. It was too bad that it refused to activate.

He tried multiple times and was sure he wasn’t screwing up the activation in panic. After the fourth failed try, he stopped the attempts and focused everything into swimming faster.

All those tries occurred within a fraction of a second, but that distraction length was enough.

[-100 HP]

William gritted his teeth as wisps of Qi dispersed through his body, helping with firming his muscles when he almost tore them to shreds with the strain he was putting on them. William had reached the part where he could stand on his feet in the water, but he wanted to leave nothing to chance and swam until he was forced to run when the water became too shallow.

When he was back on land, he got several feet away from the edge before pulling out a pill from the spatial stone.

[+600 HP]

William immediately took out another pill and was ready to take it the moment he felt the effects of the previous one dissipate.

Health: 697/1100

A short glance at his health let him know how close it was to death. Something that could have slowed him down for another fraction of a second might have done the job. He looked back at the depths of the mini-lake and wondered at what point it changed from beneficial to harmful.

And, more importantly, why? Perhaps it was William’s endless greed whispering in the back of his mind, but he hoped it was because he was too weak to enter that area. Perhaps it would be worth giving it another try after maxing an attribute.

Since the water benefits cultivating the most, the Spirit attribute would make the most sense. Besides, it was one that he was going to max anyway.

William felt the pill he had taken settle inside his body and took the one he was holding in his hand.

[+403 HP]

That brought his health back to full, so he should have plenty of time underwater before having to escape for his life. Of course, he should max his Spirit before trying again, but before that, he needed to see what the enhanced Lightning Berry offered him.

He picked it off the grass and wondered if it was wiser to rid his Impurity before eating the spirit fruit.

Impurity: Stage 1 (40%)

4 Days Remaining

William had taken that on from the two Vitality Restoration Pills. Still, even at zero, it was likely that the Impurity would immediately go to stage two with how much the water enhanced the Lightning Berry.

With a shrug, he popped the berry into his mouth and chewed, feeling the shocks running through his body, reminding him of the time he had eaten the fruit as a mortal.

[+5 Stamina]

[Max Stamina Reached]

[+5 Agility]

[Max Agility Reached]

[+5 Spirit]

[Max Spirit Reached]

[Modified | Spiritual Energy]

[Spiritual Energy Capacity | 175 —> 200]

[Trait Modified | Soul Damage (Minor)]

[12% —> 11% Attribute Reduction]

[Trait Added | Spirit Plant Addict - XP Gain Decreased (10%)]

William expected every single alert except for the Spirit. He certainly hoped that he would get that after eating the enhanced berry, but thought it was too much to wish for. Thankfully, the water passed some of its cultivation properties to the Lightning Berry.

With the relatively low amount of Qi released from his dantian compared to how much he already possessed, William was able to guide it to his heart meridian without meditating. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a change with the glowing speck, not that he expected anything.

There was only one more thing to do before heading back into the water.

William had plenty of Lightning Berries in the spatial stone to enhance, but that wouldn’t help with his Luck attribute. Thankfully, he had plenty of stat points to spare.

[+7 Luck]

[Max Luck Reached]

Level: 24

Experience: 181/3000

Cultivation: Qi Gathering (2nd Level)

Health: 1100/1100

Spiritual Energy: 200/200 (20% per Hour)

Spirit: 45 (40)

Strength: 40 (35)

Stamina: 45 (40)

Agility: 45 (40) + 10

Luck: 45 (40)

Points: 8

William nodded in satisfaction at his stats and prepared to make another run.

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