Chapter 931: Future Plans P2

Aksai’s eyes narrowed as he continued reading.

"The inscription method of Essence Equation Runes on... oh damn!"

He understood it now.

The difference between Connate Spells and Innate Spells wasn’t simply the quality of the spells.

It was where their Essence Equation Runes were engraved.

For an Innate Spell, the corresponding Essence Equation Runes were etched onto the Innate Spirit Cube.

For a Connate Spell...

They were etched directly onto the Spirit Core.

Aksai’s breathing slowed.

"That’s the difference."

Nuri immediately added,

[Correct. The location of the Essence Equation Runes creates a fundamental difference in efficiency, stability, and potential.]

Aksai couldn’t help but think of his previous homeworld.

"If I had to explain it using the knowledge from my previous life..."

He paused.

"Innate Spellcasting is like using an external peripheral device to process data."

He raised a finger.

"Whereas Connate Spellcasting is like installing a dedicated data-processing card directly inside the system."

The analogy was crude but it more or less explained the information Aksai was trying to comprehend.

No matter how advanced the peripheral device became, it would always have to communicate with the main system through an additional layer.

The same principle applied here.

No matter how perfectly an Innate Spirit Cube was constructed, it could never compete with Essence Equation Runes directly etched onto the Spirit Core itself.

"The Spirit Core is the foundation."

Aksai murmured.

"The Connate Spell is practically built into it. No matter there are very few Connate Spells a Connate technique user can practice. The limit on number of Connate Spells comes from the Spirit Core itself."

That was why Connate Spells could be twice as efficient as Innate Spells.

Sometimes even more.

The difference wasn’t merely in power but in efficiency as well.

Stability.

Control.

And future potential.

Yet Innate Spells still had one significant advantage.

Variety.

A cultivator relying on Innate Spell Cubes could learn numerous spells across different elements.

They could become a multispecialist.

But that flexibility came at the cost of specialization.

A cultivator who spread their comprehension across too many elements would struggle to establish a truly firm foundation in any single one.

And that problem became increasingly severe at higher realms.

Especially after reaching the late stage of the Core Formation realm.

Aksai’s expression darkened.

"So that’s why breaking through further becomes so difficult."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

The pieces were connecting.

Intent.

Elemental comprehension.

Spirit Cores.

Essence Equation Runes.

Connate Spells.

Nascent Soul.

They were all part of the same chain.

Then Aksai suddenly remembered something.

"Intent."

His eyes sharpened.

"Intent is the tool."

[Correct.]

Aksai looked toward his Spirit Core again.

A Connate cultivator needed to inscribe Essence Equation Runes onto the Spirit Core.

And that process was extremely delicate.

One mistake could damage the Spirit Core.

One mistake could cause the cultivator’s cultivation to regress by years.

Perhaps even decades.

Therefore, the sharper and more refined the Intent...

The easier that process became.

It was like using a crude chisel compared to a masterfully forged engraving tool.

Both could carve.

Only one could produce perfect results.

Aksai slowly clenched his fist.

"And Intent is refined through understanding elemental laws."

[Yes.]

Aksai’s pupils contracted.

Everything returned to the Intent Refining Pills.

Those seemingly strange pills.

Those illusions.

That sea of flames.

They weren’t merely helping Kalina understand fire.

They were sharpening the very tool she would eventually use to engrave her Spirit Core.

And that meant...

Aksai’s expression became solemn.

"The Intent Refining Pills are directly connected to the Nascent Soul realm."

Nuri did not immediately respond.

She didn’t need to.

Aksai already understood.

His gaze fell onto the jade scroll.

The information regarding the Nascent Soul realm was something he had barely understood before this.

In fact, before studying Kalina’s Connate technique, Aksai had been almost completely clueless about the true requirements for breaking through to that realm.

He had only known that late-stage Lords eventually needed to shatter their Core.

But he hadn’t understood what that actually meant.

Now he did.

A Nascent Soul was condensed within the Spirit Core.

Only after the process known as Core Shattering could that Nascent Soul be born.

And before that happened, the Spirit Core had to be sufficiently prepared.

The refined Intent engraved upon it played a crucial role.

The more refined the Intent...

The more precise the Essence Equation Runes.

The more deeply those runes seeped into the Spirit Core...

The stronger the foundation for the eventual Nascent Soul.

Aksai’s expression changed.

"So refining Intent increases the chances of becoming a Nascent Soul King."

[Significantly.]

Silence descended over the cave.

Aksai stared at the bottle of Intent Refining Pills.

Suddenly, he understood their true value.

These weren’t ordinary cultivation pills.

They were resources that could potentially influence the fate of a late-stage Lord.

No wonder they were considered must-have resources within the Shinayin Empire.

No wonder they were valuable even in the Eternal Sea.

Aksai suddenly remembered something else.

His brows furrowed.

"Wait."

He quickly searched through Kalina’s storage ring with his Spirit Sense.

"Where are the mid-grade Spirit Stones?"

There were plenty of low-grade Spirit Stones.

There were plenty of high-quality cultivation resources.

But the number of mid-grade Spirit Stones was strangely low.

At first, Aksai had simply assumed Kalina had spent them.

Now he understood where they had gone.

His eyes widened slightly.

"She exchanged them."

[That is the most probable explanation.]

Aksai stared at the Intent Refining Pills again.

"She exchanged a large portion of her resources with her imperial faction to obtain these."

That made sense.

Kalina was an imperial cultivator.

She had access to resources that ordinary cultivators could never obtain.

And she had been preparing for a dangerous expedition into the subcontinent.

Rather than hoarding Spirit Stones, she had exchanged a significant portion of them for resources that could directly improve her long-term cultivation foundation.

Aksai couldn’t help but sigh.

"An imperial faction really is an imperial faction."

Then his expression became complicated.

For the first time, he truly understood why the subcontinent had no Nascent Soul Kings.