Heart Refining Path

Over the past three years, Lin Xuan had suffered greatly from damaged meridians. Every time he had to recover, it took a long time. As an ordinary person without a Spirit Root, even desperate effort made it difficult for him to keep pace with his fellow disciples. How could he afford to waste any time?

Lin Xuan carefully controlled the speed of his spiritual power's flow. Fortunately, through constant trials, he had come to understand his meridians' limits very clearly.

An hour later, he completed the circulation, and the spiritual power returned from his meridians to his dantian.

After checking himself with the Internal Vision Technique, a shadow passed through Lin Xuan's eyes. He had already worked so hard, yet his cultivation had not changed. By rights, after completing one major circulation, his spiritual power should have increased at least a little.

It seemed he had no choice but to go to the Heart Refining Path. Lin Xuan gritted his teeth.

The Heart Refining Path was a special place within Floating Cloud Valley. Three thousand years ago, it had been discovered by chance by the sect's patriarch. After investigation, it was confirmed to be a relic left behind by Ancient Cultivators.

It was an exceedingly strange place. Once someone entered, they would be enveloped by illusions—one moment standing amid mountains of blades and seas of fire, the next falling into the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Though the illusions caused no real harm, they made people suffer beyond endurance. Yet its benefits were equally obvious.

Though the Heart Refining Path was terrifying, its spiritual energy was extremely abundant. Cultivating there could yield twice the results with half the effort.

Moreover, the Heart Refining Path was open to disciples of the sect free of charge. Unfortunately, aside from experts at the Foundation Establishment Realm and above, low-level disciples of the Spirit Movement Stage simply did not dare attempt it. With their cultivation, their Dao hearts were unstable, and they could not withstand the assault of the illusions.

But Lin Xuan had no other path left. He could either remain stuck at the bottleneck or seek a breakthrough on the Heart Refining Path. He chose the latter.

Pushing open the heavy stone door, Lin Xuan walked out of the Cultivation Room. By then, the sky had gone completely dark, and the stars blinked feebly. Yet Lin Xuan had no intention of resting and headed for the Heart Refining Path.

At the rear mountain of Floating Cloud Valley, a slanting passageway in the cliff wall stretched down into bottomless darkness. This was the Heart Refining Path. Standing at the entrance, Lin Xuan took a deep breath and walked inside.

For the first hundred meters, there were no illusions, and the density of spiritual energy was exactly the same as outside. Yet Lin Xuan did not let down his guard in the slightest. Though this was his first time here, he had often heard of the Heart Refining Path's terrors.

After taking several more steps, the situation suddenly changed. The surrounding spiritual energy grew denser. This place truly was suited for cultivation.

Lin Xuan's expression turned solemn. He carefully surveyed his surroundings before cautiously sitting down cross-legged.

Boom!

Flames more than ten feet high suddenly burst from the ground, and the temperature around him soared...

A horrifying sight appeared. Lin Xuan's brows lifted slightly, but he did not panic. He turned a blind eye to it and continued wholeheartedly absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy. Everything that happened on the Heart Refining Path was an illusion. There was no need to pay it any heed.

Yet although he knew it was fake, it felt completely real. Before long, the flames had raised the surrounding temperature to an unbearable degree, and great beads of sweat dripped from Lin Xuan's face.

Hearsay truly was entirely different from experiencing it firsthand. Lin Xuan had once only listened to Foundation Establishment Realm experts speak of the Heart Refining Path. He had not expected it to be even more terrifying than the rumors.

Soon, the flames reached his body. With his cultivation at the first layer of the Spirit Movement Stage, he was unable to cast a protective barrier. He could only grit his teeth and endure.

While forcibly enduring the pain of being burned alive, he also had to focus his mind and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The hardship involved was beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Yet Lin Xuan relied on sheer tenacity to hold on.

The flames licked at his skin. Lin Xuan's teeth ground together with cracking sounds. Eventually, the pain numbed him, but the spiritual energy here truly was abundant. His absorption speed was several times faster than outside.

Though it was an illusion, it felt like a real inferno, tempering Lin Xuan's willpower.

Drawing spiritual energy into the body was merely the first step. Then, according to the secret method taught by the sect, he had to refine it bit by bit. There would be tremendous loss in the process. Usually, after absorbing hundreds of milliliters of spiritual energy, one could only refine a strand of spiritual power as thin as a hair.

He then had to circulate the spiritual power he gained through the eight extraordinary meridians before finally storing it in his dantian.

Even a person with an unyielding mind would find it impossible to complete the whole process amid blazing fire. After holding out for five minutes, Lin Xuan's endurance had already reached its limit. He rose to his feet and ran out as quickly as possible. Once he left the area rich in spiritual energy, the fiery Illusion Realm vanished along with it.

"Just as the rumors said." Lin Xuan examined his body and found not the slightest wound, yet the agony of being scorched by flames remained fresh in his memory.

Though it was painful, it was worth it. The spiritual power here was not only highly concentrated, but also extremely pure. Cultivating here could yield twice the results with half the effort, greatly increasing his hopes of breaking through the bottleneck.

After resting for a while, Lin Xuan stepped forward again. The flames reappeared, and he endured the pain of being burned as he continued absorbing spiritual energy.

Whenever his endurance reached its limit, he ran out to rest for a while. Once his strength recovered, he entered the fiery Illusion Realm again.

And so, over and over, Lin Xuan cultivated diligently on the Heart Refining Path through the strength of his own will.

Several days passed, and his spiritual power finally improved somewhat. Although the gains remained meager compared to what he had given, it was still far faster than cultivating outside.

At this rate, so long as he persevered, he should be able to enter the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage.

After silently calculating his cultivation progress, Lin Xuan stood up. He had already remained on the Heart Refining Path for four days, and it was time to go out and take a look. For one thing, after cultivating amid flames without rest or sleep for several days, his body had reached its limit. For another, today was the day the instructor would teach cultivation techniques.

According to Floating Cloud Valley's rules, every four days, a Foundation Establishment Realm expert would lecture the Spirit Movement Stage disciples. With guidance from an expert, one could avoid many detours in cultivation. Naturally, Lin Xuan would not miss such an opportunity.

Following the passageway, Lin Xuan arrived outside. Unlike when he had come, he happened to run into a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

"Martial Uncle!"

"You..." The man looked Lin Xuan over, his face full of surprise. "You went to the Heart Refining Path?"

"Yes, Martial Uncle."

After the two parted ways, the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator remained somewhat dazed. Although the illusions caused no real harm, they felt exactly the same as reality. A disciple at the early Spirit Movement Stage had actually endured them. This boy's willpower was truly astonishing.

Cultivation required not only a Spirit Root, but also an unyielding mind. This disciple named Lin Xuan truly made people look at him in a different light!