After sensing the spiritual energy, Li Xiuchang immediately absorbed it into his dantian, where it merged with the Innate Qi within.
Then, following the cultivation method of the "Fire Starting Skill," he circulated the spiritual energy of heaven and earth together with the Innate Qi.
After a short while, Li Xiuchang sensed two streams of energy within his body. One was scorching hot, while the other brimmed with vitality. The former was fire attribute, and the latter was wood attribute.
The two streams of fire and wood energy collided like dry firewood meeting a raging flame.
Li Xiuchang sat cross-legged in silence and waited. Unfortunately, he still could not achieve inner vision and could only judge the situation within his body by how he felt.
As he waited, Li Xiuchang gradually sensed that something was wrong.
According to the cultivation method, when the fire and wood energy converged, the fire-attributed Spiritual Power would ultimately devour the wood-attributed Spiritual Power, using it as fuel to strengthen itself and thereby produce a strand of pure fire-attributed dharmic power.
But the two strands of Spiritual Power had been clashing for quite some time, and the fire-attributed Spiritual Power did not seem to have gained any advantage.
The two sides were evenly matched and locked in a stalemate, showing every sign of perishing together.
Li Xiuchang began to panic. Something going wrong during cultivation was no joke. What if he crippled himself on his very first day of cultivation?
Panic was inevitable, but he knew he absolutely could not lose his head.
Li Xiuchang did not lose his composure. He persisted, continuing to cultivate according to the steps described in the "Fire Starting Skill."
Time trickled by. The two streams of energy battling fiercely within Li Xiuchang finally seemed to make peace and merge into one.
Yet strangely, Li Xiuchang could no longer sense either the scorching heat of the fire attribute or the vitality of the wood attribute.
In any case, the two streams of energy ultimately fused into one, forming a strand of dharmic power.
This dharmic power was stored in Li Xiuchang's dantian. At present, he was still unable to make it circulate on its own and form a complete cycle, so when he was not cultivating, it remained in his dantian.
Now that he had cultivated his first strand of dharmic power, Li Xiuchang no longer had to worry about his Innate Qi dissipating again.
At the same time, this marked his crossing the threshold of cultivation and becoming a Qi Condensation Cultivator.
Delighted, Li Xiuchang extended one finger and gathered dharmic power at its tip.
The next moment, a cloud of black smoke rose from his fingertip.
Li Xiuchang's face filled with question marks.
Shouldn't fire-attributed dharmic power be crimson?
Why was it black?
Where had he gone wrong?
He carefully recalled every step of his cultivation just now and confirmed that he had not made any mistakes.
Even if he had gone astray and cultivated wood-attributed dharmic power, he could understand that.
But wood-attributed dharmic power shouldn't be black either!
Anyone who did not know better would think he was cultivating a demonic art!
Fortunately, although Li Xiuchang sensed neither the scorching heat of fire nor the vitality of wood from this black dharmic power, he also sensed none of the strange evil associated with demonic arts.
"Maybe only the color is wrong. Perhaps it really is fire-attributed dharmic power. Hmm, black fire."
Unwilling to give up, Li Xiuchang followed the instructions in the "Fire Starting Skill" and urged his dharmic power to condense flames.
"It worked!"
Li Xiuchang's face was full of excitement. A tiny flame truly rose from the black dharmic power at his fingertip!
It really was fire-attributed dharmic power. The "Fire Starting Skill" had not deceived him.
But before he could celebrate for even a few seconds, billowing thick smoke appeared along with the flame.
In an instant, the cramped space of the meditation room was filled with thick smoke.
The smoke stung not only his nose but also his eyes, leaving Li Xiuchang unable to breathe and streaming with tears and snot.
He hurriedly withdrew the dharmic power from his fingertip and rushed out of the meditation room, not forgetting to close the door behind him to keep the smoke from escaping.
"My fire-attributed dharmic power is a little strange..."
The flame just now seemed not to have been directly transformed from his dharmic power. Instead, it had been produced by using his dharmic power as fuel.
And the billowing smoke reminded Li Xiuchang of the coal stove his family had used when he was little.
"The Fire Starting Skill says that wood produces fire, making the flames burn more fiercely. But if fire burns wood, what will it ultimately produce?"
Li Xiuchang already had an answer in his heart.
Charcoal!
Could it be that his dharmic power had the "Charcoal Attribute"?
Was that why his dharmic power could serve as fuel to produce fire, and why it gave off billowing smoke?
Li Xiuchang analyzed the matter rationally for a while and felt that his guess was already quite close to the truth.
That raised the question: why had he cultivated such strange dharmic power?
Was it the cultivation method that had a problem, or was it him?
Li Xiuchang had no idea what had happened to him and felt that he should consult a reliable senior.
After all, this pitch-black dharmic power could not be hidden. It would be better to figure out what was going on sooner, so he could put his mind at ease.
Among the people he knew, the only ones who currently fit the image of a "reliable senior" were Senior Brother Song Yu and Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi.
"Senior Brother Song Yu once said that if I encountered any problems, I could seek his help. If I couldn't make up my mind about choosing among the Hundred Cultivation Arts, I could consult him as well.
"Now that I've cultivated dharmic power and am about to choose among the Hundred Cultivation Arts, I might as well pay Senior Brother Song Yu a visit and hear his advice."
Seeking Senior Brother Song Yu's help would not only let him ask about his "Charcoal Attribute" dharmic power, but also let him hear Song Yu's advice regarding his choice among the Hundred Cultivation Arts. It would accomplish two things at once.
After cultivating dharmic power, Li Xiuchang examined the Length Value in his field of vision and discovered that it had not changed.
This meant that cultivation was different from martial arts. Martial arts counted as a "martial skill," whereas cultivation did not belong to any single art.
It seemed that if he wanted to increase his Length Value, he still had to rely on the Hundred Cultivation Arts.
This also made Li Xiuchang take his upcoming choice among the Hundred Cultivation Arts more seriously. It was clearly necessary to hear the advice of reliable Senior Brother Song Yu.
Li Xiuchang did not delay and set out at once.
Although he was already a Qi Condensation Cultivator, his dharmic power was weak and he had not mastered any flying techniques, so he could only travel on foot.
Walking from the Eastern Geng District to the inner sect was far more distant than going to the Reception Area. Li Xiuchang estimated that by the time he arrived, the soles of his feet would be covered in a row of blisters.
He was reluctant to spend spirit stones on a rental flying boat, so after thinking it over, he headed toward the outer sect's Reception Area.
After cultivating dharmic power, Li Xiuchang had not initially noticed much of a change. It was only when he hurried along that he discovered he moved with long, swift strides, his steps were much quicker, and his stamina had improved considerably.
He took only a little over an hour to reach the entrance of the Reception Area, and, crucially, he did not even feel tired.
Li Xiuchang lingered outside the Reception Area for a quarter of an hour before finally spotting his target—Senior Brother Wang Long.
As a disciple assigned to the Reception Area, Wang Long often appeared there.
Li Xiuchang immediately stepped forward to "run into" him.
"Junior Brother Li, what a coincidence. We've run into each other again." Wang Long greeted him with a smile.
"Senior Brother Wang." Li Xiuchang also wore a pleasantly surprised expression.
"Junior Brother, you've come to the Reception Area again. Have you already cultivated dharmic power and are preparing to choose among the Hundred Cultivation Arts?"
Li Xiuchang nodded, then shook his head, saying with some difficulty, "I can't make up my mind at the moment, so I was planning to ask Senior Brother Song Yu for his advice."
"Senior Brother Song Yu? The inner sect is quite a distance from here. I'll take you there."
"This... How could I trouble you?"
"Don't mention it. It's just a small favor."
And so, Li Xiuchang boarded Wang Long's flying boat.
Before you continue